Travel burden and clinical presentation of retinoblastoma: analysis of 1024 patients from 43 African countries and 518 patients from 40 European countries

BACKGROUND: The travel distance from home to a treatment centre, which may impact the stage at diagnosis, has not been investigated for retinoblastoma, the most common childhood eye cancer. We aimed to investigate the travel burden and its impact on clinical presentation in a large sample of patients with retinoblastoma from Africa and Europe. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis including 518 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 40 European countries and 1024 treatment-naïve patients with retinoblastoma residing in 43 African countries. RESULTS: Capture rate was 42.2% of expected patients from Africa and 108.8% from Europe. African patients were older (95% CI -12.4 to -5.4, p<0.001), had fewer cases of familial retinoblastoma (95% CI 2.0 to 5.3, p<0.001) and presented with more advanced disease (95% CI 6.0 to 9.8, p<0.001); 43.4% and 15.4% of Africans had extraocular retinoblastoma and distant metastasis at the time of diagnosis, respectively, compared to 2.9% and 1.0% of the Europeans. To reach a retinoblastoma centre, European patients travelled 421.8 km compared to Africans who travelled 185.7 km (p<0.001). On regression analysis, lower-national income level, African residence and older age (p<0.001), but not travel distance (p=0.19), were risk factors for advanced disease. CONCLUSIONS: Fewer than half the expected number of patients with retinoblastoma presented to African referral centres in 2017, suggesting poor awareness or other barriers to access. Despite the relatively shorter distance travelled by African patients, they presented with later-stage disease. Health education about retinoblastoma is needed for carers and health workers in Africa in order to increase capture rate and promote early referral

Phloxine B as a probe for entrapment in microcrystalline cellulose

The photophysical behaviour of phloxine B adsorbed onto microcrystalline cellulose was evaluated by reflectance spectroscopy and laser induced time-resolved luminescence in the picosecond-nanosecond and microsecond- millisecond ranges. Analysis of the absorption spectral changes with concentration points to a small tendency of the dye to aggregate in the range of concentrations under study. Prompt fluorescence, phosphorescence and delayed fluorescence spectral decays were measured at room temperature and 77 K, without the need of sample degassing because cellulose protects triplet states from oxygen quenching. In all cases, spectral changes with time and lifetime distribution analysis were consistent with the dye coexisting in two different environments: dyes tightly entrapped between polymer chains in crystalline regions of cellulose showed longer fluorescence and phosphorescence lifetimes and more energetic triplet states, while dyes adsorbed in more amorphous regions of the support showed shorter lifetimes and less energetic triplet states. This behaviour is discussed in terms of the different dye-support interactions in both kinds of adsorption sites.Fil:Rodríguez, H.B. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

Flood Hazard Index Application in Arid Catchments: Case of the Taguenit Wadi Watershed, Lakhssas, Morocco

During the last decade, climate change has generated extreme rainfall events triggering flash floods in short periods worldwide. The delimitation of flood zones by detailed mapping generally makes it possible to avoid human and economic losses, especially in regions at high risk of flooding. The Taguenit basin, located in southern Morocco, is a particular case. The mapping of the flood zones of this basin by the method of the Flood Hazard Index (FHI) in a GIS geographic information systems environment was based on the multi-criteria analysis, taking into consideration the seven parameters influencing these extreme phenomena, namely rainfall, slope, flow accumulation, drainage network density, distance from rivers, permeability, and land use. Average annual rainfall data for 37 years (1980 to 2016) was used in this study for floodplain mapping. A weight was calculated for each parameter using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The combination of the maps of the different parameters made it possible to draw up a final map classified into five risk intervals: very high, high, moderate, lower and very lower presenting, respectively, 8.04%, 20.63%, 31.47%, 15.36%, and 24.50% of the area of the basin. The reliability of this method was tested by a Flood susceptibility analysis. The results generated by the Flood Hazard Index (FHI) model are similar to those of previous historical events. Realistic and applicable solutions have been proposed to minimize the impact of these floods as much as possible

HTLV-I negative tropical spastic paraparesis: a scientific challenge Paraparesia espástica tropical HTLV-I negativa: um desafio científico

We reviewed the historical, clinical and etiological aspects of the progressive chronic spastic myelopathies of unknown etiology, disserting on the clinical similarities between HTLV-I seropositive and seronegative tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP), as well as focusing on the PCR studies of the seronegative TSP.<br>Fazemos uma revisão dos aspectos históricos, clínicos e etiológicos das mielopatias espásticas crônicas progressivas de causa desconhecida, dissertando sobre as semelhanças clínicas entre a paraparesia espástica tropical (PET) soro-positiva e soro-negativa para HTLV-I, focalizando também os estudos sobre PCR na PET soro-negativa

Faba Bean

BAP GEAPSI EcolDurInternational audienceFaba bean is a grain legume producing protein-rich seeds and offering valuable ecological services in sustainable agriculture. Its wide-world distribution demonstrates a basic good capacity to adapt to diverse climates. Breeding represents a major lever to bring reliable yields, seed quality adapted to valuable uses, and new ecosystem services. Positive interactions with beneficial organisms such as root symbionts or pollinating insects may be amplified by the cultivar choice. Ideotypes targeted by breeders will be more efficiently achievable with well-characterised genetic resources and genomic tools. This chapter reviews the advances in both faba bean genetics and breeding, underlining the significant progress currently made on molecular genetics which will help and speed up the breeding efforts to improve targeted traits