Focal Dermal Hypoplasia with Uterus Bicornis and Renal Ectopia: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Focal dermal hypoplasia (FDH) is a rare inherited genodermatosis with an X-linked dominant trait. FDH is associated with skin defects and other abnormalities of bone, nails, hair, limbs, teeth and eyes. We present the case of a 26-year-old female in the 27th pregnancy week and a previous history of miscarriage. After careful physical examination and dermal biopsy, histopathology revealed that the patient was a carrier of FDH. This is the first report in the literature describing that FDH is associated with uterus bicornis and renal ectopia. Our association could be attributable to early embryonic abnormalities related with FDH because both the uterus bicornis and the renal ectopia originate around the 3th-6th week of embryonic development. We are unable to confirm that the miscarriages were caused by inherited FDH or that uterus bicornis was the cause. We conducted a literature review using the following terms: FDH, Goltz syndrome, uterus bicornis, and renal ectopia

Physical Layer Security of Large Reflecting Surface Aided Communications with Phase Errors

The physical layer security (PLS) performance of a wireless communication link through a large reflecting surface (LRS) with phase errors is analyzed. Leveraging recent results that express the \ac{LRS}-based composite channel as an equivalent scalar fading channel, we show that the eavesdropper's link is Rayleigh distributed and independent of the legitimate link. The different scaling laws of the legitimate and eavesdroppers signal-to-noise ratios with the number of reflecting elements, and the reasonably good performance even in the case of coarse phase quantization, show the great potential of LRS-aided communications to enhance PLS in practical wireless set-ups.Comment: This work has been submitted to the IEEE for publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

On the Effect of Correlation on the Capacity of Backscatter Communication Systems

We analyse the effect of correlation between the forward and backward links on the capacity of backscatter communication systems. To that aim, we obtain an analytical expression for the average capacity under a correlated Rayleigh product fading channel, as well as closed-form asymptotic expressions for the high and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regimes. Our results show that correlation is indeed detrimental for a fixed target SNR; contrarily to the common belief, we also see that correlation can be actually beneficial in some instances when a fixed power budget is considered.Comment: This work has been submitted for publication. Copyright may be transferred without notice, after which this version may no longer be accessibl

Pain reduction and tolerance of type II undenatured collagen in patients with knee osteoarthritis

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common cause of pain and disability in adults. Dietary supplements such as undenatured type II collagen (UC-II) have shown to have some benefits in OA treatment. This study aimed to assess changes in pain levels among knee OA patients treated with UC-II for 6 months. Methods: Patients with knee OA of any grade were given a daily 40 mg dose of UC-II (CondroArtil®) as a dietary supplement for 6 months. Pain levels were measured using the visual analog scale (VAS) before starting UC-II 6 months thereafter. A total of 100 patients (62/38: male/female) with a mean age of 46.3±13.8 years participated in the study. Most patients (60%) had mild to moderate OA (grade I or II). Results: The UC-II supplementation was shown to significantly reduce pain levels (p<0.001) with a negative correlation between pain reduction and age (p=0.006) and BMI (p=0.049). The OA severity also affected pain reduction (p=0.011), with grade II OA experiencing higher pain levels. Previous physical therapy and food supplements had a significant impact on pain reduction (p=0.017 and p=0.012, respectively). Conclusions: The study suggests that UC-II is an effective treatment for reducing pain in patients with knee OA

A Primer on Resonances in Quantum Mechanics

After a pedagogical introduction to the concept of resonance in classical and quantum mechanics, some interesting applications are discussed. The subject includes resonances occurring as one of the effects of radiative reaction, the resonances involved in the refraction of electromagnetic waves by a medium with a complex refractive index, and quantum decaying systems described in terms of resonant states of the energy. Some useful mathematical approaches like the Fourier transform, the complex scaling method and the Darboux transformation are also reviewed.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, lectures presented at the Advanced Summer School in Physics 2008, Cinvestav, Mexic

Phenotypic, transcriptomic, and genomic features of clonal plasma cells in light-chain amyloidosis

Immunoglobulin light-chain amyloidosis (AL) and multiple myeloma (MM) are 2 distinct monoclonal gammopathies that involve the same cellular compartment: clonal plasma cells (PCs). Despite the fact that knowledge about MM PC biology has significantly increased in the last decade, the same does not apply for AL. Here, we used an integrative phenotypic, molecular, and genomic approach to study clonal PCs from 24 newly diagnosed patients with AL. Through principal-component-analysis, we demonstrated highly overlapping phenotypic profiles between AL and both monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance and MM PCs. However, in contrast to MM, highly purified fluorescence-activated cell-sorted clonal PCs from AL (n = 9) showed almost normal transcriptome, with only 38 deregulated genes vs normal PCs; these included a few tumor-suppressor (CDH1, RCAN) and proapoptotic (GLIPR1, FAS) genes. Notwithstanding, clonal PCs in AL (n=11) were genomically unstable, with a median of 9 copy number alterations (CNAs) per case, many of such CNAs being similar to those found in MM. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) performed in 5 AL patients revealed a median of 15 nonrecurrent mutations per case. Altogether, our results show that in the absence of a unifying mutation by WES, clonal PCs in AL display phenotypic and CNA profiles similar to MM, but their transcriptome is remarkably similar to that of normal PCs

Virus transmitidos por alimentos: primer reporte en ostras (Crassostrea gigas), provincia de Buenos Aires

Este trabajo constituye la primera detección de Norovirus GII.4 y Rotavirus G8P[1] en alimentos en Argentina. Los norovirus NoV junto con los rotavirus ( humanos, son los principales agentes virales causantes de brotes de gastroenteritis en todo el mundo En Argentina, alrededor de 1 200 000 de casos de diarrea aguda se reportan anualmente y la mitad de estos ocurre en niños menores de 5 años Los moluscos bivalvos son alimentos especialmente peligrosos porque concentran activamente los virus al filtrar grandes volúmenes de agua y, con frecuencia, se consumen crudos o escasamente cocidos La gastroenteritis asociada al consumo de moluscos bivalvos ha sido ampliamente documentada En Argentina, desde la introducción de especímenes de ostras para su producción en el año 1982 se ha expandido su distribución desde el estuario de Bahía Blanca hasta la provincia de Río Negro Toda la zona se caracteriza por su cercanía a ciudades importantes y balnearios con afluencia turística, siendo susceptibles de concentrar contaminantes de efluentes cloacales Estudios previos demuestran que la ostra Crassostrea gigas es capaz de bioacumular una variedad de virus Los virus entéricos pueden persistir en los sedimentos marinos y mariscos durante varias semanas o meses, no pudiéndose lograr la inactivación viral completa luego de los procesos normales de depuración En este trabajo se propone estudiar la presencia de NoV y RVA en ostras Crassostrea gigas del sur de la provincia de Buenos AiresFil: Barbieri, E. S. Universidad de la República. Salto; Uruguay. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Victoria, M. Centro Para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR). Centro Nacional Patagónico, Centro Científico Tecnológico (CENPAT).Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Cap, Mariana. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Vega, C. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Virología e Innovaciones Tecnológicas INTA-CONICET; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Barón, P. Universidad de la República; Uruguay.Fil: Miño, S. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Virología e Innovaciones Tecnológicas INTA-CONICET; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Lopez, F. Centro Para el Estudio de Sistemas Marinos (CESIMAR). Centro Nacional Patagónico, Centro Científico Tecnológico (CENPAT).Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Parreño, V. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Virología e Innovaciones Tecnológicas INTA-CONICET; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET); Argentina.Fil: Mozgovoj, Marina Valeria. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Gonzalez, Cintia Natalia. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina

What are the living conditions and health status of those who don't report their migration status? a population-based study in Chile

BACKGROUND: Undocumented immigrants are likely to be missing from population databases, making it impossible to identify an accurate sampling frame in migration research. No population-based data has been collected in Chile regarding the living conditions and health status of undocumented immigrants. However, the CASEN survey (Caracterizacion Socio- Economica Nacional) asked about migration status in Chile for the first time in 2006 and provides an opportunity to set the base for future analysis of available migration data. We explored the living conditions and health of self-reported immigrants and respondents who preferred not to report their migration status in this survey. METHODS: Cross-sectional secondary analysis of CASEN survey in Chile in 2006. Outcomes: any disability, illness/accident, hospitalization/surgery, cancer/chronic condition (all binary variables); and the number of medical/emergency attentions received (count variables). Covariates: Demographics (age, sex, marital status, urban/rural, ethnicity), socioeconomic status (education level, employment status and household income), and material standard of living (overcrowding, sanitation, housing quality). Weighted regression models were estimated for each health outcome, crude and adjusted by sets of covariates, in STATA 10.0. RESULTS: About 1% of the total sample reported being immigrants and 0.7% preferred not to report their migration status (Migration Status - Missing Values; MS-MV). The MS-MV lived in more deprived conditions and reported a higher rate of health problems than immigrants. Some gender differences were observed by health status among immigrants and the MS-MV but they were not statistically significant. Regressions indicated that age, sex, SES and material factors consistently affected MS-MVs’ chance of presenting poor health and these patterns were different to those found among immigrants. Great heterogeneity in both the MS-MV and the immigrants, as indicated by wide confidence intervals, prevented the identification of other significantly associated covariates. CONCLUSION: This is the first study to look at the living conditions and health of those that preferred not to respond their migration status in Chile. Respondents that do not report their migration status are vulnerable to poor health and may represent undocumented immigrants. Surveys that fail to identify these people are likely to misrepresent the experiences of immigrants and further quantitative and qualitative research is urgently required