Serum proteomics of active tuberculosis patients and contacts reveals unique processes activated during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most lethal infection among infectious diseases. The specific aim of this study was to establish panels of serum protein biomarkers representative of active TB patients and their household contacts who were either infected (LTBI) or uninfected (EMI-TB Discovery Cohort, Pontevedra Region, Spain). A TMT (Tamdem mass tags) 10plex-based quantitative proteomics study was performed in quintuplicate containing a total of 15 individual serum samples per group. Peptides were analyzed in an LC-Orbitrap Elite platform, and raw data were processed using Proteome Discoverer 2.1. A total of 418 proteins were quantified. The specific protein signature of active TB patients was characterized by an accumulation of proteins related to complement activation, inflammation and modulation of immune response and also by a decrease of a small subset of proteins, including apolipoprotein A and serotransferrin, indicating the importance of lipid transport and iron assimilation in the progression of the disease. This signature was verified by the targeted measurement of selected candidates in a second cohort (EMI-TB Verification Cohort, Maputo Region, Mozambique) by ELISA and nephelometry techniques. These findings will aid our understanding of the complex metabolic processes associated with TB progression from LTBI to active disease

Elastic scattering, inelastic excitation, and 1 n pick-up transfer cross sections for 10 B + 120 Sn at energies near the Coulomb barrier

The 10 B + 120 Sn reaction has been systematically studied at laboratory energies around the Coulomb barrier: E LAB = 31.5 , 33.5, 35.0, and 37.5 MeV. Cross sections for the elastic scattering and some reaction processes have been measured: excitation to the 1 + state of 10 B ; excitation to the 2 + and 3 − states of 120 Sn ; and the one-neutron pick-up transfer 120 Sn ( 10 B , 11 B ) 119 Sn . Coupled reaction channel (CRC) calculations have been performed in the context of the double-folding São Paulo potential. The theoretical calculations result in a good overall description of the experimental angular distributions. The effect on the theoretical elastic-scattering angular distributions of couplings to the inelastic and transfer states (through the CRC calculations) and to the continuum states (through continuum-discretized coupled-channels calculations) has been investigated.Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia–Física Nuclear e Aplicações (INCT-FNA) 464898/2014-5Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad de España y el Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) FIS2014-51941-P,Junta de Andalucía. FQM-160Programa de investigación e innovación de la Unión Europea Horizonte 2020. 65400

SEOM clinical guideline for treatment of kidney cancer (2017)

The goal of this article is to provide recommendations about the management of kidney cancer. Based on pathologic and molecular features, several kidney cancer variants were described. Nephron-sparing techniques are the gold standard of localized disease. After a randomized trial, sunitinib could be considered in adjuvant treatment in high-risk patients. Patients with advanced disease constitute a heterogeneous population. Prognostic classification should be considered. Both sunitinib and pazopanib are the standard options for first-line systemic therapy in advanced renal cell carcinoma. Based on the results of two randomized trials, both nivolumab and cabozantinib should be considered the standard for second and further lines of therapy. Response evaluation for present therapies is a challenge

11Li Breakup on 208Pb at Energies Around the Coulomb Barrier

The inclusive breakup for the 11Li+208Pb reaction at energies around the Coulomb barrier has been measured for the first time. A sizable yield of 9Li following the 11Li dissociation has been observed, even at energies well below the Coulomb barrier. Using the first-order semiclassical perturbation theory of Coulomb excitation it is shown that the breakup probability data measured at small angles can be used to extract effective breakup energy as well as the slope of B(E1) distribution close to the threshold. Four-body continuum-discretized coupled-channels calculations, including both nuclear and Coulomb couplings between the target and projectile to all orders, reproduce the measured inclusive breakup cross sections and support the presence of a dipole resonance in the 11Li continuum at low excitation energy.Consolider Ingenio 2010 Program CPAN CSD2007- 00042Proyectos Nacionales Españoles FPA2009-08848 FPA2009-07387 FPA2010-22131-C02-01 FPA2009-076

What do primary caregivers of cancer patients understand as "death with dignity"?

La muerte supone la experiencia más dura de afrontar en la vida, morir con dignidad es una cualidad intrínseca compleja difícil de definir. En la situación terminal, corresponde realizar una intervención en equipo para ofrecer un mejor control de los síntomas desde la atención domiciliaria, fomentando la autonomía y el respeto a la dignidad

Cambios precoces en la tomografía de coherencia óptica en un niño con maculopatía inducida por puntero láser.

Niño de 9 años de edad, que refiere pérdida visual en su ojo derecho, después de jugar con un puntero láser. En la primera exploración (12h después) la agudeza visual (AV) era 0,15, la fóvea presentaba una lesión hipopigmentada, y la tomografía de coherencia óptica (OCT) demuestra la presencia de bandas hiperreflectivas verticales. Al cabo de 6 meses, la AV había mejorado a 0,5 y se aprecia en la OCT un área bien definida de interrupción de la retina externa. Discusión Un inadecuado uso de los punteros láser, puede producir pérdida visual severa e irreversible.pre-print671 K

The little skate genome and the evolutionary emergence of wing-like fins

Skates are cartilaginous fish whose body plan features enlarged wing-like pectoral fins, enabling them to thrive in benthic environments1,2. However, the molecular underpinnings of this unique trait remain unclear. Here we investigate the origin of this phenotypic innovation by developing the little skate Leucoraja erinacea as a genomically enabled model. Analysis of a high-quality chromosome-scale genome sequence for the little skate shows that it preserves many ancestral jawed vertebrate features compared with other sequenced genomes, including numerous ancient microchromosomes. Combining genome comparisons with extensive regulatory datasets in developing fins—including gene expression, chromatin occupancy and three-dimensional conformation—we find skate-specific genomic rearrangements that alter the three-dimensional regulatory landscape of genes that are involved in the planar cell polarity pathway. Functional inhibition of planar cell polarity signalling resulted in a reduction in anterior fin size, confirming that this pathway is a major contributor to batoid fin morphology. We also identified a fin-specific enhancer that interacts with several hoxa genes, consistent with the redeployment of hox gene expression in anterior pectoral fins, and confirmed its potential to activate transcription in the anterior fin using zebrafish reporter assays. Our findings underscore the central role of genome reorganization and regulatory variation in the evolution of phenotypes, shedding light on the molecular origin of an enigmatic trait

Vulnerable marine ecosystems and biological features of Gazul mud volcano (Gulf of Cádiz): A contribution towards a potential "Gulf of Cádiz" EBSA

The Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) represents an area of socioeconomic and scientific importance for oceanographic, geological and biological processes. An interesting feature of the GoC is the presence of a large amount of mud volcanoes (MVs) and diapirs that display different seepage, seabed types, oceanographic settings and biological communities. Detailed exploration of some MVs is still needed for detecting Vulnerable Marine ecosystems (VMEs) that seem to be rare in other areas of the GoC, improving the current knowledge on its biodiversity and ecological attributes. During different expeditions (MEDWAVES-ATLAS, INDEMARES-CHICA 0610 & 0412 and ISUNEPCA 0616) carried out in different years, biological samples and videos were obtained in Gazul MV (Spanish Margin of the GoC). The study of those samples and videos has revealed the presence of several ecologically important VMEs (e.g. 3 species of reef framework-forming corals, coral gardens including solitary scleractinians, gorgonians and antipatharians, as well as deep-sea sponge aggregations and chemosynthesis-related structures) and a large number of species occurring in this MV, including new records for the European margin, threatened species and non-previously described species. The combination of different environmental and anthropogenic factors allowed the present-day persistence of these VMEs in the GoC. Some of Gazul MV biological and ecological attributes fit several criteria of the Convention on Biological Diversity for EBSA description (e.g. 1,3,4,6) that, together with those of other areas of the GoC, may contribute to the future potential nomination of an EBSA in this area of the NE Atlantic