Characterization of a population of helicotylenchus dihystera (cobb, 1893) sher, 1961, parasitizing maize roots, in southern Córdoba, Argentina

Los nematodos en espiral del género Helicotylenchus, son parásitos de raíz de numerosas plantas cultivadas y no cultivadas. La identificación específica puede resultar compleja porque comparten diferentes caracteres diagnósticos similares y muestran una considerable variabilidad interespecífica. Su reconocimiento resulta esencial para poder establecer estrategias apropiadas de control o para prevenir su propagación a otras áreas. En este trabajo se evaluaron caracteres morfológicos y caracteres morfométricos de una población relacionada con el cultivo de maíz. Al mismo tiempo, análisis moleculares por PCR de una región del D2-D3 del gen 28s y la región 5.8s-ITS2 permitieron generar dos nuevas secuencias que fueron depositadas en Genbank. Además, por análisis filogenéticos utilizando inferencia Bayesiana, se complementó la identificación de la especie. Este trabajo constituye la primera caracterización morfológica, morfométrica y molecular de una población de Helicotylenchus dihystera para Argentina.Fil: Brücher, Elsa. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Vuletic, Ezequiel Esteban.Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Guerra, Fernando Andrés. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: De Rossi, Roberto Luis. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Plazas, María Cristina. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; ArgentinaFil: Guerra, Gustavo Darío. Universidad Católica de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias; Argentin

New food, new technology: innovative spreadable cream with strawberry syrup

A strawberry spreadable cream was developed, valorizing regional raw materials, contributing to food waste reduction and agri-food ecosystem sustainability. Spreadable creams are water-in-oil emulsions whose lipid phase normally contains a blend of vegetable oils, natural colourants, stabilizers, emulsifers, favourings, antioxidants, lecithin, and fat-soluble vitamins. The aqueous phase normally contains skim milk proteins and small quantities of other ingredients, such as salt, preservatives, thickeners, and water-soluble vitamins. The methodology involved the experimental technological development articulated with microbiological, proximal, physicochemical, and sensorial analysis. This new product revealed nutritional advantages over similar products already on the market. The fnal prototype was subjected to food pairing and food design with incre mental acceptance according to gastronomic use, in addition to its direct use as a spreadable cream. This work was part of the project Agrio et Emulsio—new products development (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-023583), whose main objective was the formulation and design of innovative food emulsions based on processed raw materials, with potential application in certain markets such as gourmet, diet, and vegan.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Tumor Phyllodes de la mama

 Introduction Phyllodes tumor (PT) is a rare tumor of the breast, representing less than 1% of all breast neoplasms (1) and 2 to 3% of fibroepithelial tumors (7). This neoplasm is classified as: Benign PT, Borderline PT and Malignant PT (Norris and Taylor-WHO) (9). Objective To carry out a review about the diagnosis and treatment of phyllodes tumor. Development PTs are fibroepithelial neoplasms that according to stromal cellularity, nuclear atypia, mitotic rate, heterologous elements are classified as: benign, borderline and malignant (1). The maximum incidence occurs between 35-55 years. Imaging diagnosis is based on the use of mammography, ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging and radioguided core biopsy. Optimal surgical management is the fundamental tool in PT. There is controversy about the use of adjuvant treatment with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Conclusions: PT is a benign neoplasm of the breast, surgery is the treatment of choice. The free edge greater than 1 cm recommended by the NCCN is predictive of a lower percentage of local recurrence. Complementary treatments with radiotherapy and chemotherapy are controversial. Introducción: El tumor phyllodes (TP) es un tumor raro de la mama, representa menos del 1% de todas las neoplasias de la mama (1) y el 2 a 3 % de los tumores fibroepiteliales (7). Esta neoplasia se clasifica en: TP Benigno, TP Borderline y TP Maligno (Norris y Taylor-OMS) (9). Objetivo: Realizar una revisión acerca del diagnóstico y tratamiento del tumor phyllodes. Desarrollo: Los TP son neoplasias fibroepiteliales qué de acuerdo a la celularidad estromal, atipia nuclear, tasa mitótica, elementos heterólogos son clasificados como: benignos, borderline y malignos (1). La máxima incidencia se da entre los 35-55 años. El diagnóstico por imágenes se basa en el uso de mamografía, ecografía, resonancia magnética y biopsia core radioguiada. El óptimo manejo quirúrgico constituye la herramienta fundamental en TP. Existe controversia acerca del uso de tratamiento adyuvante con radioterapia y quimioterapia.  Conclusiones: TP es una neoplasia benigna de la mama, la cirugía es el tratamiento de elección. El borde libre mayor de 1 cm recomendado por la NCCN es predictivo para un menor porcentaje de recurrencia local. Los tratamientos complementarios con radioterapia y quimioterapia son controversiales

Immunochip analysis identifies multiple susceptibility loci for systemic sclerosis

In this study, 1,833 systemic sclerosis (SSc) cases and 3,466 controls were genotyped with the Immunochip array. Classical alleles, amino acid residues, and SNPs across the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region were imputed and tested. These analyses resulted in a model composed of six polymorphic amino acid positions and seven SNPs that explained the observed significant associations in the region. In addition, a replication step comprising 4,017 SSc cases and 5,935 controls was carried out for several selected non-HLA variants, reaching a total of 5,850 cases and 9,401 controls of European ancestry. Following this strategy, we identified and validated three SSc risk loci, including DNASE1L3 at 3p14, the SCHIP1-IL12A locus at 3q25, and ATG5 at 6q21, as well as a suggested association of the TREH-DDX6 locus at 11q23. The associations of several previously reported SSc risk loci were validated and further refined, and the observed peak of association in PXK was related to DNASE1L3. Our study has increased the number of known genetic associations with SSc, provided further insight into the pleiotropic effects of shared autoimmune risk factors, and highlighted the power of dense mapping for detecting previously overlooked susceptibility loci

Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Mediates Bronchioalveolar Stem Cell Expansion in Mouse Models of Oncogenic K-ras-Induced Lung Cancer

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common cause of cancer-related death in Western countries. Developing more effective NSCLC therapeutics will require the elucidation of the genetic and biochemical bases for this disease. Bronchioalveolar stem cells (BASCs) are a putative cancer stem cell population in mouse models of oncogenic K-ras-induced lung adenocarcinoma, an histologic subtype of NSCLC. The signals activated by oncogenic K-ras that mediate BASC expansion have not been fully defined. Methodology/Principal Findings: We used genetic and pharmacologic approaches to modulate the activity of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K), a key mediator of oncogenic K-ras, in two genetic mouse models of lung adenocarcinoma. Oncogenic K-ras-induced BASC accumulation and tumor growth were blocked by treatment with a small molecule PI3K inhibitor and enhanced by inactivation of phosphatase and tensin homologue deleted from chromosome 10, a negative regulator of PI3K. Conclusions/Significance: We conclude that PI3K is a critical regulator of BASC expansion, supporting treatment strategies to target PI3K in NSCLC patients

Expression Signatures of Metastatic Capacity in a Genetic Mouse Model of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the foremost cause of cancer-related death in Western countries, which is due partly to the propensity of NSCLC cells to metastasize. The biologic basis for NSCLC metastasis is not well understood. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we addressed this deficiency by transcriptionally profiling tumors from a genetic mouse model of human lung adenocarcinoma that develops metastatic disease owing to the expression of K-rasG12D and p53R172H. We identified 2,209 genes that were differentially expressed in distant metastases relative to matched lung tumors. Mining of publicly available data bases revealed this expression signature in a subset of NSCLC patients who had a poorer prognosis than those without the signature. Conclusions/Significance: These findings provide evidence that K-rasG12D; p53R172H mice recapitulate features of human NSCLC metastasis and will provide a useful platform on which to study the biologic basis for lung adenocarcinom

Population normative data for the 10/66 Dementia Research Group cognitive test battery from Latin America, India and China: a cross-sectional survey

Background: 1) To report site-specific normative values by age, sex and educational level for four components of the 10/66 Dementia Research Group cognitive test battery; 2) to estimate the main and interactive effects of age, sex, and educational level by site; and 3) to investigate the effect of site by region and by rural or urban location. Methods: Population-based cross-sectional one phase catchment area surveys were conducted in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Peru, Mexico, China and India. The protocol included the administration of the Community Screening Instrument for Dementia (CSI 'D', generating the COGSCORE measure of global function), and the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease (CERAD) verbal fluency (VF), word list memory (WLM, immediate recall) and recall (WLR, delayed recall) tests. Only those free of dementia were included in the analysis. Results: Older people, and those with less education performed worse on all four tests. The effect of sex was much smaller and less consistent. There was a considerable effect of site after accounting for compositional differences in age, education and sex. Much of this was accounted for by the effect of region with Chinese participants performing better, and Indian participants worse, than those from Latin America. The effect of region was more prominent for VF and WLM than for COGSCORE and WLR. Conclusion: Cognitive assessment is a basic element for dementia diagnosis. Age- and education-specific norms are required for this purpose, while the effect of gender can probably be ignored. The basis of cultural effects is poorly understood, but our findings serve to emphasise that normative data may not be safely generalised from one population to another with quite different characteristics. The minimal effects of region on COGSCORE and WLR are reassuring with respect to the cross-cultural validity of the 10/66 dementia diagnosis, which uses only these elements of the 10/66 battery.Clinical NeurologySCI(E)SSCI17ARTICLEnull

Employing an open-source tool to assess astrocyte tridimensional structure

Astrocytes display important features that allow them to maintain a close dialog with neurons, ultimately impacting brain function. The complex morphological structure of astrocytes is crucial to the role of astrocytes in brain networks. Therefore, assessing morphologic features of astrocytes will help provide insights into their physiological relevance in healthy and pathological conditions. Currently available tools that allow the tridimensional reconstruction of astrocytes present a number of disadvantages, including the need for advanced computational skills and powerful hardware, and are either time-consuming or costly. In this study, we optimized and validated the FIJI-ImageJ, Simple Neurite Tracer (SNT) plugin, an open-source software that aids in the reconstruction of GFAP-stained structure of astrocytes. We describe (1) the loading of confocal microscopy Z-stacks, (2) the selection criteria, (3) the reconstruction process, and (4) the post-reconstruction analysis of morphological features (process length, number, thickness, and arbor complexity). SNT allows the quantification of astrocyte morphometric parameters in a simple, efficient, and semi-automated manner. While SNT is simple to learn, and does not require advanced computational skills, it provides reproducible results, in different brain regions or pathophysiological states.The authors acknowledge funding from national funds through the FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology—project (PTDC/SAU-NSC/118194/2010) to G.T., V.M.S., S.G.G. and J.F.O., and fellowships (SFRH/BD/89714/2012 to V.M.S., SFRH/BPD/97281/2013 to J.F.O., SFRH/BD/101298/2014 to S.G.G., PD/BD/114120/2015 to S.P.N, and PD/BD/127822/2016 to G.T.); Marie Curie Fellowship FP7-PEOPLE-2010-IEF 273936 and BIAL Foundation Grants and 207/14 to J.F.O.; QREN and FEDER funds through Operational program for competitiveness factors—COMPETE, “ON.2 SR&TD Integrated Program—NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000021”; National and European funds through FCT, and FEDER through COMPETE (PEst-C/SAU/LA0026/2011 and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-022724; PEst-C/SAU/LA0026/2013 and FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-037298, respectively)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Are new models needed to optimize the utilization of new medicines to sustain healthcare systems?

Medicines have made an appreciable contribution to improving health. However, even high-income countries are struggling to fund new premium-priced medicines. This will grow necessitating the development of new models to optimize their use. The objective is to review case histories among health authorities to improve the utilization and expenditure on new medicines. Subsequently, use these to develop exemplar models and outline their implications. A number of issues and challenges were identified from the case histories. These included the low number of new medicines seen as innovative alongside increasing requested prices for their reimbursement, especially for oncology, orphan diseases, diabetes and HCV. Proposed models center on the three pillars of pre-, peri- and post-launch including critical drug evaluation, as well as multi-criteria models for valuing medicines for orphan diseases alongside potentially capping pharmaceutical expenditure. In conclusion, the proposed models involving all key stakeholder groups are critical for the sustainability of healthcare systems or enhancing universal access. The models should help stimulate debate as well as restore trust between key stakeholder groups