Solitary fibrous tumor surrounding the carotid sheath

Solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs) are rare spindle cell neoplasms that are mostly found arising from the pleura. Although SFTs recently have been reported in other regions, they are rare in the head and neck and have often been misdiagnosed due to their rarity. SFTs are benign in most cases. Clinically, SFTs usually manifest as wellcircumscribed, slow-growing, smooth and painless masses. Symptoms are often minimal, although they may include sore throat, difficulty in swallowing, change of voice or trismus. CT-Scan and MRI are the most sensitive imaging procedures used. The treatment of choice is complete surgical excision of the lesion. Because recurrences have been noted up to 30 years after surgery, long-term follow up is mandatory. In this article, we present a case of a Solitary Fibrous Tumor arising in the parapharyngeal space in a 20-year-old man, involving the carotid sheath, treated by surgical excision with no recurrence after 1 year. The clinical presentation, surgical management and pathological findings are described

A novel ensemble method for electric vehicle power consumption forecasting: Application to the Spanish system

The use of electric vehicle across the world has become one of the most challenging issues for environmental policies. The galloping climate change and the expected running out of fossil fuels turns the use of such non-polluting cars into a priority for most developed countries. However, such a use has led to major concerns to power companies, since they must adapt their generation to a new scenario, in which electric vehicles will dramatically modify the curve of generation. In this paper, a novel approach based on ensemble learning is proposed. In particular, ARIMA, GARCH and PSF algorithms' performances are used to forecast the electric vehicle power consumption in Spain. It is worth noting that the studied time series of consumption is non-stationary and adds difficulties to the forecasting process. Thus, an ensemble is proposed by dynamically weighting all algorithms over time. The proposal presented has been implemented for a real case, in particular, at the Spanish Control Centre for the Electric Vehicle. The performance of the approach is assessed by means of WAPE, showing robust and promising results for this research field.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad Proyectos ENE2016-77650-R, PCIN-2015-04 y TIN2017-88209-C2-R

Recurrence of the blue wing enhancements in the high ionization lines of SDSS 1004+4112 A

We present integral field spectroscopic observations of the quadruple-lensed QSO SDSS 1004+4112 taken with the fiber system INTEGRAL at the William Herschel Telescope on 2004 January 19. In May 2003 a blueward enhancement in the high ionization lines of SDSS 1004+4112A was detected and then faded. Our observations are the first to note a second event of similar characteristics less than one year after. Although initially attributed to microlensing, the resemblance among the spectra of both events and the absence of microlensing-induced changes in the continuum of component A are puzzling. The lack of a convincing explanation under the microlensing or intrinsic variability hypotheses makes the observed enhancements particularly relevant, calling for close monitoring of this object.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

LAU-0901, a novel platelet-activating factor receptor antagonist, confers enduring neuroprotection in experimental focal cerebral ischemia in the rat

LAU-0901, a novel platelet-activating factor (PAF) receptor antagonist, is highly neuroprotective in a rodent model of cerebral ischemia. This study was conducted to establish whether the neuroprotection induced by LAU-0901 persists with chronic survival. Male Sprague–Dawley rats were anesthetized with isoflurane and subjected to 2 h of temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) induced by means of a poly-l-lisine-coated intraluminal nylon suture. Animals were treated with either LAU-0901 (60 mg/kg) or vehicle (45% cyclodextran) administered i.p. at 2 h from onset of MCAo. They received neurobehavioral examinations during MCAo (60 min) and then at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days followed by histopathology at 30 days. LAU-0901 significantly improved the behavior compared to the vehicle group, beginning on day 1 (by 29%, p = 0.00007) and persisting throughout a 30-day survival period (42%, p = 0.0001). Compared with vehicle treatment, LAU-0901 treatment significantly increased volume of non-infarcted brain tissue loss relative to the unlesioned hemisphere (16.3 ± 4.6% vs. 46.0 ± 10.3%, respectively). These results establish that LAU-0901 confers enduring ischemic neuroprotection.NIH Grant NS023002 (NGB

OntoTag: XML/RDF(S)/OWL Semantic Web Page Annotation in ContentWeb

As the Semantic Web and the Language Resources research fields become closer, the need for standard representation formats and languages gets clearer, specially taking into account the increasing need for cooperation and interoperability between both fields that is being set forth. The purpose of this paper is to present how this process of standardisation and integration is being achieved in ContentWeb by means of OntoTag, a multi-level (also multi-purpose and possibly multi-language) hybrid (ontologic and linguistic) platform for Semantic Web annotation, designed according to EAGLES standards and implemented with last generation Semantic Web languages (XML/ RDF(S)/OWL)

Evaluación del contenido de esteviósido y rebaudiósido A en una población de Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (kaâ heê) cultivada comercialmente. Estudio preliminar

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni (kaâ heê) es un arbusto originario de la Región Oriental de Paraguay. Sus hojas contienen glucósidos diterpénicos que producen un sabor dulce, pero sin valor calórico y son de 150 a 300 veces más dulces que la sacarosa (solución al 0,4%). Durante las temporadas agrícolas 1998 y 1999 se establecieron sembrados de selección individual, en el Instituto Agronómico Nacional (Caacupé, Paraguay).El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar el contenido de esteviósido y rebaudiósido A en plantas seleccionadas en campo a fin de evaluar la variabilidad existente en la población e identificar clones con alto contenido de dichos glucósidos. De una población original de 2000 individuos, se seleccionaron fenotípicamente 140 plantas por características agronómicas superiores y se cosecharon en etapa de prefloración y libres de polinización. En los Laboratorios del Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Normalización y Metrología (INTN) fueron evaluados los contenidos de esteviósido y rebaudiósido A por detección por cromatografía liquida de alta resolución. El contenido de esteviósido fluctuó entre 0 y 21 % concentrándose el 92 % de la población entre valores del 5 al 15 % .En cuanto al contenido de rebaudiósido A se obtuvieron valores entre 0 y 12 % correspondiendo al 68 % de la población un contenido entre 3 y 9 %. La demanda actual de stevia se halla en creciente aumento, por lo que las acciones orientadas a establecer líneas clonales con alto contenido de principios edulcorantes permitirá a los productores primarios la obtención de cultivos más productivos e incrementara el rendimiento de obtención de glucósidos

Synthesis and pharmacology of alkanediguanidinium compounds that block the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Taking as models the polyamine toxin fraction FTX from the funnel-web spider venom, and the guanidinium moiety of guanethidine, a series of azaalkane-1,omega-diguanidinium salts were obtained. Some of them blocked ion fluxes through the neuronal nicotinic receptors for acetylcholine (nAChR). The blockade was exerted at submicromolar concentrations, suggesting a highly selective interaction with the nAChR. In fact, the active compounds on the nAChR ion channel did not recognize the voltage-dependent Na+ or Ca2+ channels of bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. Therefore, these compounds may be useful tools to clarify the functions of nAChR receptors in the central and peripheral nervous systems.Fundación Ramón Arece

Integration Host Factor (IHF) binds to the promoter region of the phtD operon involved in phaseolotoxin synthesis in P. syringae pv. phaseolicola NPS3121

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Pseudomonas syringae </it>pv. phaseolicola, the causal agent of halo blight disease in beans, produces a toxin known as phaseolotoxin, in whose synthesis participate a group of genes organized within the genome in a region known as the "Pht cluster". This region, which is thought to have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer, includes 5 transcriptional units, two monocistronic (<it>argK, phtL</it>) and three polycistronic (<it>phtA, phtD, phtM</it>), whose expression is temperature dependent. So far, the regulatory mechanisms involved in phaseolotoxin synthesis have not been elucidated and the only well-established fact is the requirement of low temperatures for its synthesis. In this work, we searched for regulatory proteins that could be involved in phaseolotoxin synthesis, focusing on the regulation of the <it>phtD </it>operon.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study we identified the global regulator IHF (Integration Host Factor), which binds to the promoter region of the <it>phtD </it>operon, exerting a negative effect on the expression of this operon. This is the first regulatory protein identified as part of the phaseolotoxin synthesis system. Our findings suggest that the Pht cluster was similarly regulated in the ancestral cluster by IHF or similar protein, and integrated into the global regulatory mechanism of <it>P. syringae </it>pv. phaseolicola, after the horizontal gene transfer event by using the host IHF protein.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study identifies the IHF protein as one element involved in the regulation of phaseolotoxin synthesis in <it>P. syringae </it>pv. phaseolicola NPS3121 and provides new insights into the regulatory mechanisms involved in phaseolotoxin production.</p

Adapting cord blood collection and banking Standard Operating Procedures for HLA-homozygous induced Pluripotent Stem Cells production and banking for clinical application

In this article, we will discuss the main aspects to be considered to define standard operation procedures (SOPs) for the creation of an induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) bank using cord blood (CB)-or similar cell type-bank guidelines for clinical aims. To do this, we adapt the pre-existing SOP for CB banking that can be complementary for iPSCs. Some aspects of iPSC manufacturing and the particular nature of these cells call for special attention, such as the potential multiple applications of the cells, proper explanation to the donor for consent of use, the genomic stability and the risk of genetic privacy disclosure. Some aspects of the iPSC SOP are solidly established by CB banking procedures, other procedures have good consensus in the scientific and medical community, while others still need to be further debated and settled. Given the international sharing vocation of iPSC banking, there is an urgent need by scientists, clinicians and regulators internationally to harmonize standards and allow future sample interchange between many iPSC bank initiatives that are springing up worldwide

Microlensing variability in the gravitationally lensed quasar Q2237+0305 = the Einstein Cross, I. Spectrophotometric monitoring with the VLT

We present the results of the first long-term (2.2 years) spectroscopic monitoring of a gravitationally lensed quasar, namely the Einstein Cross Q2237+0305. The goal of this paper is to present the observational facts to be compared in follow-up papers with theoretical models to constrain the inner structure of the source quasar. We spatially deconvolve deep VLT/FORS1 spectra to accurately separate the spectrum of the lensing galaxy from the spectra of the quasar images. Accurate cross-calibration of the 58 observations at 31-epoch from October 2004 to December 2006 is carried out with non-variable foreground stars observed simultaneously with the quasar. The quasar spectra are further decomposed into a continuum component and several broad emission lines to infer the variations of these spectral components. We find prominent microlensing events in the quasar images A and B, while images C and D are almost quiescent on a timescale of a few months. The strongest variations are observed in the continuum of image A. Their amplitude is larger in the blue (0.7 mag) than in the red (0.5 mag), consistent with microlensing of an accretion disk. Variations in the intensity and profile of the broad emission lines are also reported, most prominently in the wings of the CIII] and center of the CIV emission lines. During a strong microlensing episode observed in June 2006 in quasar image A, the broad component of the CIII] is more highly magnified than the narrow component. In addition, the emission lines with higher ionization potentials are more magnified than the lines with lower ionization potentials, consistent with the results obtained with reverberation mapping. Finally, we find that the V-band differential extinction by the lens, between the quasar images, is in the range 0.1-0.3 mag.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures, A&A accepted, corrected Fig. 1