Frequency of cancer in children residing in Mexico City and treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (1996–2001)

BACKGROUND: The objective of this article is to present the frequency of cancer in Mexican children who were treated in the hospitals of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social in Mexico City (IMSS-MC) in the period 1996–2001. METHODS: The Registry of Cancer in Children, started in 1996 in the IMSS-MC, is an on-going, prospective register. The data from 1996 through 2001 were analyzed and the different types of cancer were grouped according to the International Classification for Cancer in Children (ICCC). From this analysis, the general and specific frequencies by age and by sex were obtained for the different groups of neoplasms. Also, the frequency of the stage of the disease that had been diagnosed in cases of children with solid tumors was obtained. RESULTS: A total of 1,702 new cases of children with cancer were registered, with the male/female ratio at 1.1/1. Leukemias had the highest frequency with 784 cases (46.1%) and, of these, acute lymphoblastic leukemias were the most prevalent with 614 cases (78.3%). Thereafter, in descending order of frequency, were tumors of the central nervous system (CNST) with 197 cases (11.6%), lymphomas with 194 cases (11.4%), germinal cell tumors with 110 cases (6.5%), and bone tumors with 97 cases (5.7%). The highest frequency of cancer was found in the group of one to four year-olds that had 627 cases (36.8%). In all the age groups, leukemias were the most frequent. In the present work, the frequency of Hodgkin's disease (~4%) was found to be lower than that (~10%) in previous studies and the frequency of tumors of the sympathetic nervous system was low (2.3%). Of those cases of solid tumors for which the stage of the disease had been determined, 66.9% were diagnosed as being Stage III or IV. CONCLUSIONS: The principal cancers in the children treated in the IMSS-MC were leukemias, CNST, and lymphomas, consistent with those reported by developed countries. A 2.5-fold reduction in the frequency of Hodgkin's disease was found. Of the children, the stage of whose disease had been determined, two thirds were diagnosed as having advanced stages of the disease

Study of radiactivity on Arctic marine seaweed from Kongsfjorden (Svalbard)

Levels of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides have been determined in six brown and red seaweed species from Arctic coasts (Kongsfjorden, Spitsbergen, Svalbard Islands) in order to characterize the radioactivity in this ecosystem. Samples were collected in September 2014, August 2017 and July 2019. Levels of 7Be, 40K, 208Tl, 210Pb, 226Ra and 228Ra were measured by high-resolution gamma spectrometry. While anthropogenic radionuclides (1 4 C and 1 2 9 I) were determined by low-energy accelerator mass spectrometry (LEAMS). The activities of 129I are two orders of magnitude higher than those found in algae collected on the Spanish Atlantic Coast and presents more variability than the 14C results, indicating their different affinity to this element depending on the species. Radionuclide tracers discharged from Sellafield and La Hague are transported into the Arctic Ocean where they circulate at different depth levels, marking water of Atlantic origin (Karcher et al., 2012).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech. Proyecto CGL2015/67014

White matter injury restoration after stem cell administration in subcortical ischemic stroke

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.-- et al.[Introduction]: An animal model of subcortical ischemic stroke with white matter affectation was induced in rats by injection of endothelin-1. At 24 hours, 2 × 10 6 ADMSC were administered intravenously to the treatment group. Functional evaluation, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, cell death, proliferation, white matter repair markers (Olig-2, NF, and MBP) and NogoA were all studied after sacrifice (7 days and 28 days). ADMSC migration and implantation in the brain as well as proteomics analysis and functions of the secretome were also analyzed. [Results]: Neither ADMSC migration nor implantation to the brain was observed after ADMSC administration. In contrast, ADMSC implantation was detected in peripheral organs. The treatment group showed a smaller functional deficit, smaller lesion area, less cell death, more oligodendrocyte proliferation, more white matter connectivity and higher amounts of myelin formation. The treated animals also showed higher levels of white matter-associated markers in the injured area than the control group. Proteomics analysis of the ADMSC secretome identified 2,416 proteins, not all of them previously described to be involved in brain plasticity. [Conclusions]: White matter integrity in subcortical stroke is in part restored by ADMSC treatment; this is mediated by repair molecular factors implicated in axonal sprouting, remyelination and oligodendrogenesis. These findings are associated with improved functional recovery after stroke.This study was supported by research grants PS12/01754, PI11/00909 and INVICTUS (RD12/0014) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), SAF2010-37926, ProteoRed-PT13/0001/0017 and a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD12/00706, to LOO) from Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain. Furthermore, TS (CP12/03121) and FC (CP14/00154) are recipients of a research contract from Miguel Servet Program of Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Peer Reviewe

Classification of kinematic and electromyographic signals associated with pathological tremor using machine and deep learning.

Peripheral Electrical Stimulation (PES) of afferent pathways has received increased interest as a solution to reduce pathological tremors with minimal side effects. Closed-loop PES systems might present some advantages in reducing tremors, but further developments are required in order to reliably detect pathological tremors to accurately enable the stimulation only if a tremor is present. This study explores different machine learning (K-Nearest Neighbors, Random Forest and Support Vector Machines) and deep learning (Long Short-Term Memory neural networks) models in order to provide a binary (Tremor; No Tremor) classification of kinematic (angle displacement) and electromyography (EMG) signals recorded from patients diagnosed with essential tremors and healthy subjects. Three types of signal sequences without any feature extraction were used as inputs for the classifiers: kinematics (wrist flexion-extension angle), raw EMG and EMG envelopes from wrist flexor and extensor muscles. All the models showed high classification scores (Tremor vs. No Tremor) for the different input data modalities, ranging from 0.8 to 0.99 for the f1 score. The LSTM models achieved 0.98 f1 scores for the classification of raw EMG signals, showing high potential to detect tremors without any processed features or preliminary information. These models may be explored in real-time closed-loop PES strategies to detect tremors and enable stimulation with minimal signal processing steps

Análisis del somatotipo de jugadores juveniles de fútbol asociación

The anthropometric characteristics of the subjects in association football were rarely considered in the selection of young soccer players in relation to their positions on the pitch. At present, in this sport it is becoming more and more frequent, as well as adding variables that contribute to the improvement of sports performance. Therefore, the main objective of this research is to identify and analyze the somatotype of amateur level players enrolled in the delfines academy who participate in the Veracruz soccer league, within the selection criteria of the participants is that they are in the age range of 14-17 years, they were evaluated for body composition through the bioimpedance technique (tanita tbf 300a, manual), with this the values ​​of weight, height, and BMI were obtained. Likewise, the anthropometry technique was obtained to obtain a complete profile of each player taking as a reference the calculation of the Heath - Carter somatotype, one of the results obtained is the prevalence of the endomorph somatotype for the forwards (2.87 ± 0. 76), defenders (2.99±0.55) and midfielders (2.55±0.47) and mesomorph: forwards (5.34±1.17), defenders (5.86±1.55) and midfielders (4.71±0.67), It was shown that the means present less mesomorphy and greater ectomorphy with (3.64±1.29). It is concluded from the results obtained that the predominance is of the balanced mesomorphic component, a situation that coincides with the results of other investigations, where the players of the amateur sector and professional soccer players according to the position they occupy on the pitch presenting a somatotype similar to those found in the studyLas características antropométricas de los sujetos en el fútbol asociación pocas veces eran consideradas en la selección de los jóvenes futbolistas en relación con sus posiciones dentro del terreno de juego. En la actualidad, en este deporte se hace cada vez más frecuente, así como sumar variables que coadyuvan a la mejora del rendimiento deportivo. Por tanto, el objetivo principal de esta investigación es identificar y analizar el somatotipo de jugadores de nivel amateur inscritos en la academia delfines que participa en la liga veracruzana de fútbol, dentro de los criterios de selección de los participantes es que estén en el rango de edad de 14-17 años, a ellos se les evaluación de composición corporal a través de la técnica de bioimpedancia (tanita tbf 300a, manual), con ello se obtuvieron los valores de peso, talla, IMC. Así mismo se utilizó la técnica de antropometría para obtener un perfil completo de cada jugador tomando como referencia el cálculo del somatotipo de Heath – Carter, alguno de los resultados obtenidos es la prevalencia del somatotipo de endomorfo para los delanteros (2,87±0,76), defensas (2.99±0,55) y medios campistas (2,55±0,47) y mesomorfo: delanteros (5,34±1,17), defensas (5,86±1,55) y medios campistas (4,71±0,67), Se observó que los medios presentan menor mesomorfia y mayor ectomorfia con (3,64 ±1,29). Se concluye por los resultados obtenidos que la predominancia es del componente mesomórfico balanceado, situación que coinciden con los resultados de otras investigaciones, donde los jugadores del sector amateur y jugadores de fútbol profesional de acuerdo a la posición que ocupan en el terreno de juego presentan un somatotipo similar a los hallazgos en el estudio

Sublittoral soft bottom communities and diversity of Mejillones Bay in northern Chile (Humboldt Current upwelling system)

The macrozoobenthos of Mejillones Bay (23°S; Humboldt Current) was quantitatively investigated over a 7-year period from austral summer 1995/1996 to winter 2002. About 78 van Veen grab samples taken at six stations (5, 10, 20 m depth) provided the basis for the analysis of the distribution of 60 species and 28 families of benthic invertebrates, as well as of their abundance and biomass. Mean abundance (2,119 individuals m-2) was in the same order compared to a previous investigation; mean biomass (966 g formalin wet mass m-2), however, exceeded prior estimations mainly due to the dominance of the bivalve Aulacomya ater. About 43% of the taxa inhabited the complete depth range. Mean taxonomic Shannon diversity (H', Log e) was 1.54 ± 0.58 with a maximum at 20 m (1.95 ± 0.33); evenness increased with depth. The fauna was numerically dominated by carnivorous gastropods, polychaetes and crustaceans (48%). About 15% of the species were suspensivorous, 13% sedimentivorous, 11% detritivorous, 7% omnivorous and 6% herbivorous. Cluster analyses showed a significant difference between the shallow and the deeper stations. Gammarid amphipods and the polychaete family Nephtyidae characterized the 5-mzone, the molluscs Aulacomya ater, Mitrella unifasciata and gammarids the intermediate zone, while the gastropod Nassarius gayi and the polychaete family Nereidae were most prominent at the deeper stations. The communities of the three depth zones did not appear to be limited by hypoxia during non-El Niño conditions. Therefore, no typical change in community structure occurred during El Niño 1997–1998, in contrast to what was observed for deeper faunal assemblages and hypoxic bays elsewhere in the coastal Humboldt Current system

Spanish experience on the design of radon surveys based on the use of geogenic information

One of the requirements of the recently approved EU-BSS (European Basic Safety Standards Directive, EURATOM, 2013) is the design and implementation of national radon action plans in the member states (Annex XVIII). Such plans require radon surveys. The analysis of indoor radon data is supported by the existing knowledge about geogenic radiation. With this aim, we used the terrestrial gamma dose rate data from the MARNA project. In addition, we considered other criterion regarding the surface of Spain, population, permeability of rocks, uranium and radium contain in soils because currently no data are available related to soil radon gas concentration and permeability in Spain. Given that, a Spanish radon map was produced which will be part of the European Indoor Radon Map and a component of the European Atlas of Natural Radiation. The map indicates geographical areas with high probability of finding high indoor radon concentrations. This information will support legislation regarding prevention of radon entry both in dwellings and workplaces. In addition, the map will serve as a tool for the development of strategies at all levels: individual dwellings, local, regional and national administration

Increased chromosomal radiosensitivity in asymptomatic carriers of a heterozygous BRCA1 mutation

Background: Breast cancer risk increases drastically in individuals carrying a germline BRCA1 mutation. The exposure to ionizing radiation for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes of BRCA1 mutation carriers is counterintuitive, since BRCA1 is active in the DNA damage response pathway. The aim of this study was to investigate whether healthy BRCA1 mutations carriers demonstrate an increased radiosensitivity compared with healthy individuals. Methods: We defined a novel radiosensitivity indicator (RIND) based on two endpoints measured by the G2 micronucleus assay, reflecting defects in DNA repair and G2 arrest capacity after exposure to doses of 2 or 4 Gy. We investigated if a correlation between the RIND score and nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) could be established. Results: We found significantly increased radiosensitivity in the cohort of healthy BRCA1 mutation carriers compared with healthy controls. In addition, our analysis showed a significantly different distribution over the RIND scores (p = 0.034, Fisher’s exact test) for healthy BRCA1 mutation carriers compared with non-carriers: 72 % of mutation carriers showed a radiosensitive phenotype (RIND score 1–4), whereas 72 % of the healthy volunteers showed no radiosensitivity (RIND score 0). Furthermore, 28 % of BRCA1 mutation carriers had a RIND score of 3 or 4 (not observed in control subjects). The radiosensitive phenotype was similar for relatives within several families, but not for unrelated individuals carrying the same mutation. The median RIND score was higher in patients with a mutation leading to a premature termination codon (PTC) located in the central part of the gene than in patients with a germline mutation in the 5′ end of the gene. Conclusions: We show that BRCA1 mutations are associated with a radiosensitive phenotype related to a compromised DNA repair and G2 arrest capacity after exposure to either 2 or 4 Gy. Our study confirms that haploinsufficiency is the mechanism involved in radiosensitivity in patients with a PTC allele, but it suggests that further research is needed to evaluate alternative mechanisms for mutations not subjected to NMD