LIPOCALIN 2 PROMOTES THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PRO-TUMORIGENIC MICROENVIRONMENT IN PANCREATIC CANCER

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a disease characterized by a dismal prognosis with a 5-year survival rate of 7%. A unique hallmark of this disease is an abundant desmoplastic reaction that can account for up to 90% of the solid tumor volume. Key components of the PDAC stroma include the extracellular matrix (ECM) rich in collagen type I and III, activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) and inflammatory cells such as neutrophils and macrophages. The main line of evidence has suggested a pro-tumorigenic role for the PDAC stroma as it has been shown to help enhance tumor growth, invasive potential and drug resistance. Recent reports however, have challenged these findings and shown that the stroma offered protection from tumor growth. Given the extensive presence of stroma and its presumed roles in PDAC, characterization of the function of molecules that can alter stromal composition is warranted. LCN2 is a molecule that has been confirmed to be differentially expressed in PDAC. Attempts to investigate its biological function in PDAC have unfortunately led to conflicting results. In this study, we examined the effect of LCN2 depletion on tumor growth in a syngeneic orthotopic model of PDAC. We report that LCN2 depletion delayed tumor growth, decreased changes in stromal composition, and diminished inflammatory cell infiltration leading to increased survival. In addition, we examined the role of LCN2 and its specific receptor SLC22A17 in human PSCs. We revealed for the first time that hPSCs don’t produce LCN2, but do express LCN2 receptors. Moreover, ectopic LCN2 promoted hPSCs to produce inflammatory factors in a receptor-mediated manner. Finally, because LCN2 is involved in iron transport, we showed that LCN2’s effects on hPSCs were also mediated by changes in iron levels. Overall, our results suggest a model for LCN2 function in the regulation of the tumor microenvironment and shown its ability to promote tumor growth in PDAC

calidad de atención, manejo y cuidado de enfermería a mujeres embarazadas con problemas de nutrición atendidos en el puesto de salud Quebrada Honda, Matagalpa durante el II semestre del año 2011

El estado nutricional de la mujer en época de concepción y calidad de dieta que consume durante los meses siguientes contribuyen a determinar su salud y bienestar, así como la del feto, una alimentación balanceada durante el embarazo tal vez no corrija todos los problemas nutricionales pero si constituye un paso muy grande en ese sentido. La presente investigación se realizo con el propósito de evaluar la calidad de atención, manejo y cuidado de enfermería a mujeres embarazadas con problemas de nutrición atendidas en el puesto de salud Quebrada Honda durante el segundo semestre del año 2011. El tipo de estudio es descriptivo con enfoque cuantitativo cuya recolección de datos se obtuvo atraves de encuesta , expediente clínicos , enfermeras , gestantes y bibliografía , nuestro universo fue 96 embarazadas de donde se tomo una muestra por conveniencia de 38 gestantes con problemas de nutrición .El embarazo esta frecuentemente asociado con una disminución, de las reservas corporales de algunos nutrientes, especialmente mujeres de bajo nivel socioeconómico, multíparas y de bajo consumo dietético lo que puede conducir a deficiencias especificas de nutrientes .Los factores socio demográfico son los que más influyen en el manejo de enfermería a mujeres embarazadas con problema de nutrición que asisten en el puesto de salud de Quebrada Honda , siendo las principales alteraciones nutricionales la obesidad y la desnutrición materna hay que tener en cuenta que la consejería sobre una dieta y alimentación adecuada durante la gestación es primordial para ayudar a prevenir los problemas de nutrició

Application of programmable bio-nano-chip system for the quantitative detection of drugs of abuse in oral fluids

Objective: There is currently a gap in on-site drug of abuse monitoring. Current detection methods involve invasive sampling of blood and urine specimens, or collection of oral fluid, followed by qualitative screening tests using immunochromatographic cartridges. While remote laboratories then may provide confirmation and quantitative assessment of a presumptive positive, this instrumentation is expensive and decoupled from the initial sampling making the current drug-screening program inefficient and costly. The authors applied a noninvasive oral fluid sampling approach integrated with the in-development chip-based Programmable bio-nano-chip (p-BNC) platform for the detection of drugs of abuse. Method: The p-BNC assay methodology was applied for the detection of tetrahydrocannabinol, morphine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, methadone and benzodiazepines, initially using spiked buffered samples and, ultimately, using oral fluid specimen collected from consented volunteers. Results: Rapid (∼10 min), sensitive detection (∼ng/mL) and quantitation of 12 drugs of abuse was demonstrated on the p-BNC platform. Furthermore, the system provided visibility to time-course of select drug and metabolite profiles in oral fluids; for the drug cocaine, three regions of slope were observed that, when combined with concentration measurements from this and prior impairment studies, information about cocaine-induced impairment may be revealed. Conclusions: This chip-based p-BNC detection modality has significant potential to be used in the future by law enforcement officers for roadside drug testing and to serve a variety of other settings, including outpatient and inpatient drug rehabilitation centers, emergency rooms, prisons, schools, and in the workplace