TOX3 rs3803662 Polymorphism Is Associated With Breast Cancer Protection In Northeastern Mexican Woman

Introduction: Low penetrance genes are involved in breast cancer (BC) and confer risk for the development of this neoplasia. Different single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BC have been identified, such as rs3803662 (TOX3), which is related to estrogen receptors in European and African-American women. The contribution of this variant in the Mexican population is unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate, through a case-control design, the association of the SNP rs3803662 (TOX3), with the risk of BC in women from northeastern Mexico. Methods: We included 434 cases and 228 controls. Genotyping was carried out using RFLPs. The SPSS 7.0 statistical program was used to determine the gene frequencies, the estimation of the relative risk (Odds ratio [OR]), and the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (EHW). Results: The homocygote (T/T) genotype of the SNP TOX3 rs3803662 was identified as a protective allele for BC (OR: 0.47, 95% CI: 0.29 - 0.78). Conclusions; The T allele of the SNP rs3803662 can be considered as a protective factor for BC from northeastern Mexico women

Mid-trimester prediction of spontaneous preterm birth with automated cervical quantitative ultrasound texture analysis and cervical length: a prospective study

The objective of this study was to evaluate a novel automated test based on ultrasound cervical texture analysis to predict spontaneous Preterm Birth (sPTB) alone and in combination with Cervical Length (CL). General population singleton pregnancies between 18+ 0 and 24 + 6 weeks' gestation were assessed prospectively at two centers. Cervical ultrasound images were evaluated and the occurrence of sPTB before weeks 37 + 0 and 34 + 0 were recorded. CL was measured on-site. The automated texture analysis test was applied ofine to all images. Their performance to predict the occurrence of sPTB before 37 + 0 and 34 + 0 weeks was evaluated separately and in combination on 633 recruited patients. AUC for sPTB prediction before weeks 37 and 34 respectively were as follows: 55.5% and 65.3% for CL, 63.4% and 66.3% for texture analysis, 67.5% and 76.7% when combined. The new test improved detection rates of CL at similar low FPR. Combining the two increased detection rate compared to CL alone from 13.0 to 30.4% for sPTB< 37 and from 14.3 to 42.9% sPTB< 34. Texture analysis of cervical ultrasound improved sPTB detection rate compared to cervical length for similar FPR, and the two combined together increased signifcantly prediction performance. This results should be confrmed in larger cohorts

Epidemiological Algorithm and Early Molecular Testing to Prevent COVID-19 Outbreaks in a Mexican Oncologic Center

Introduction: Prevention strategies and detection of latent COVID-19 infections in oncology staff and oncologic patients are essential to prevent outbreaks in a cancer center. In this study, we used two statistical predictive models in oncology staff and patients from the radiotherapy area to prevent outbreaks and detect COVID-19 cases. Methods: Staff and patients answered a questionnaire (electronic and paper surveys, respectively) with clinical and epidemiological information. The data was collected through two online survey tools: Real-Time Tracking (R-Track) and Summary of Factors (S-Facts). According to the algorithm\u27s models, cut-off values were established. SARS-CoV-2 qRT-PCR tests confirmed the algorithm\u27s positive individuals. Results: Oncology staff members (n=142) were tested, and 14% (n=20) were positives for the R-Track algorithm; 75% (n=15) were qRT-PCR positive. The S-Facts algorithm identified 7.75% (n=11) positive oncology staff members, and 81.82% (n=9) were qRT-PCR positive. Oncology patients (n=369) were evaluated, and 1.36% (n=5) were positive for the algorithms. The 5 patients (100%) were confirmed by qRT-PCR at a very early stage. Conclusions: The proposed algorithms could prove to become an essential prevention tool in countries where qRT-PCR tests and vaccines are insufficient for the population

Tractography passes the test: Results from the diffusion-simulated connectivity (disco) challenge.

Estimating structural connectivity from diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging is a challenging task, partly due to the presence of false-positive connections and the misestimation of connection weights. Building on previous efforts, the MICCAI-CDMRI Diffusion-Simulated Connectivity (DiSCo) challenge was carried out to evaluate state-of-the-art connectivity methods using novel large-scale numerical phantoms. The diffusion signal for the phantoms was obtained from Monte Carlo simulations. The results of the challenge suggest that methods selected by the 14 teams participating in the challenge can provide high correlations between estimated and ground-truth connectivity weights, in complex numerical environments. Additionally, the methods used by the participating teams were able to accurately identify the binary connectivity of the numerical dataset. However, specific false positive and false negative connections were consistently estimated across all methods. Although the challenge dataset doesn't capture the complexity of a real brain, it provided unique data with known macrostructure and microstructure ground-truth properties to facilitate the development of connectivity estimation methods

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality