Thyroid lobectomy in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer: an analysis of the clinical outcomes in a nationwide multicenter study

Cirugía de tiroides; Lobectomía; Recurrencia del tumorCirurgia de tiroides; Lobectomia; Recurrència del tumorThyroid surgery; Lobectomy; Tumor recurrenceBackground: Total thyroidectomy is the standard initial surgery for differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), but the extent of the thyroidectomy remains controversial. Thyroid lobectomy (TL) has been widely used in eastern countries; however, its use has not been generalized in western countries, including Spain. Our aims were to analyse the clinical outcome of a multicentre nation-wide cohort of DTC patients treated by TL and to assess the proportion of patients who required completion of the thyroidectomy and who presented disease recurrence. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent TL for DTC and were followed-up for ≥12 months. We collected demographic, clinical, and histopathological data. Dynamic risk stratification (DRS) was performed at 12 months and at last visit. Results: One hundred and sixty-four patients (128 women, mean age 50.8 years, median follow-up 45.4 months) from 9 hospitals were included. There were 158 cases of papillary and 6 of follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC). Remission of the disease (excellent response) was shown in 71.6% of the patients at 12 months and in 74.4% at the end of follow-up. At that time, there were 34 patients (20.7%) with indeterminate response, 6 (3.7%) with biochemical incomplete response, and 2 (1.2%) with structural incomplete response. Completion of the thyroidectomy was necessary in 8 patients (4.9%), but only 3 of them (1.8%) had disease recurrence. Conclusions: These results, obtained in real clinical practice, suggest that TL is a safe operative option for selected patients with DTC and that the intensity of the treatment must be tailored according to the presurgical tumor-associated risk, in line with a personalized medicine

ANÁLISE COMPARATIVA DA PRODUTIVIDADE DOS PARES ORIENTADOR-ORIENTADO EM CIÊNCIA DA COMPUTAÇÃO

The increasing involvement of graduate students in scientific communication has been the subject of studies in many countries that have been discussing the role of doctoral studies in the research career. In this article we are interested on the study of the academic relationship between the advisor and the advisee for a group of PhD pairs in the Computer Science area, with curricula registered in the Lattes Platform. We analyze the main characteristics of the group and their coauthor relationships. In terms of co-authorship: (i) we observe that the duration that is established between advisor and advisee can extrapolate the formal period of supervision, and (ii) we show that the duration of the collaboration is correlated with both the number of articles published by the advisee and the ones published by the advisor. In this work we also present the advisee profile for researchers that worked in some of the graduate courses in Computer Science in Brazil in the triennium 2007-2009.A crescente participação dos pós-graduandos na comunicação científica das diversas áreas da ciência tem sido tema de estudos em diversos países que vêm discutindo o papel do doutoramento na carreira de pesquisa. Neste artigo é estudada a relação acadêmica temporal existente entre o aluno orientado e seu orientador para o conjunto de pares de doutores da área de Ciência da Computação com currículos cadastrados na plataforma Lattes. Analisamos as principais características do grupo e suas relações de coautoria. Em termos de coautoria: (i) observamos que o tempo de duração da parceria que se estabelece entre orientador e orientado pode extrapolar o período formal de orientação e (ii) mostramos que a duração do tempo de colaboração correlaciona-se com o número de artigos em periódicos publicados pelo orientado e o número de artigos publicados pelo orientador. Neste trabalho também apresentamos o perfil dos orientados para pesquisadores que atuaram como docentes de algum dos cursos de pós-graduação em Ciência da Computação no Brasil no triênio 2007-2009

Cimetidine disrupts the renewal of testicular cells and the steroidogenesis in a hermaphrodite fish

The importance of histamine in the physiology of the testis in mammals and reptiles has been recently shown. Histamine receptors (Hrs) are well conserved in fish and are functional in several fish species. We report here for the first time that histamine and the mRNA of Hrh1, Hrh2 and Hrh3 are all present in the gonad of the hermaphrodite teleost fish gilthead seabream. Moreover, cimetidine, which acts in vitro as an agonist of Hrh1 and Hrh2 on this species, was intraperitoneally injected in one and two years old gilthead seabream males. After three and five days of cimetidine injection, we found that this compound differently modified the gonadal hrs transcript levels and affects the testicular cell renewal and the gene expression of steroidogenesis-related molecules as well as the serum steroid levels. Our data point to cimetidine as a reproductive disruptor and elucidate a role for histamine in the gonad of this hermaphrodite fish species through Hr signalling.Postprint2,616

Pantothenate Rescues Iron Accumulation in Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration Depending on the Type of Mutation

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a group of inherited neurologic disorders in which iron accumulates in the basal ganglia resulting in progressive dystonia, spasticity, parkinsonism, neuropsychiatric abnormalities, and optic atrophy or retinal degeneration. The most prevalent form of NBIA is pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) associated with mutations in the gene of pantothenate kinase 2 (PANK2), which is essential for coenzyme A (CoA) synthesis. There is no cure for NBIA nor is there a standard course of treatment. In the current work, we describe that fibroblasts derived from patients harbouring PANK2 mutations can reproduce many of the cellular pathological alterations found in the disease, such as intracellular iron and lipofuscin accumulation, increased oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Furthermore, mutant fibroblasts showed a characteristic senescent morphology. Treatment with pantothenate, the PANK2 enzyme substrate, was able to correct all pathological alterations in responder mutant fibroblasts with residual PANK2 enzyme expression. However, pantothenate had no effect on mutant fibroblasts with truncated/incomplete protein expression. The positive effect of pantothenate in particular mutations was also confirmed in induced neurons obtained by direct reprograming of mutant fibroblasts. Our results suggest that pantothenate treatment can stabilize the expression levels of PANK2 in selected mutations. These results encourage us to propose our screening model as a quick and easy way to detect pantothenate-responder patients with PANK2 mutations. The existence of residual enzyme expression in some affected individuals raises the possibility of treatment using high dose of pantothenate.Instituto de Salud Carlos III FIS PI16/00786Junta de Andalucía CTS-5725, BIO-122Dirección General de Investigación Científica y Técnica BFU2015-64536-

Genotype, environment and their interaction on olive

Resumen del trabajo presentado en la 6th International Conference on the Olive Tree and Olive Products, celebrada en Sevilla (España) del 15 al 19 de octubre de 2018.The wide olive genetic patrimony has revealed high variability for most of the agronomic and oil quality traits of interest in olive growing. Few studies, however, have addressed the interaction of this variability with the environment, a subject of particular interest considering the natural high instability of the Mediterranean climate and the challenge of the predicted climate change. The current work presents results on the interaction between genotype and environment from multi-environment trials of olive cultivars and breeding selections, planted in different edaphoclimatic conditions of Andalusia, Southern Peninsular Spain and Canary Islands. For most of the agronomic and oil quality characters evaluated (flowering phenology, flower quality, pattern of oil accumulation, fatty acid composition and phenol content and composition), significant genotype and environment effects have been observed. For example, olive cultivars grown in Tenerife under much milder winter temperatures than in the Iberian Peninsula showed substantially earlierflowering and oil accumulation. Only in the case of flowering phenology was no significant genotype effect found. Furthermore, a strong genotype x environment effect was highly consistent in all characters considered. Regarding resistance to disease, such as Verticillium wilt, the variability of results from both natural and artificial inoculations also tends to indicate a considerable environmental effect and the need for careful testing of disease evolution. All this information strongly suggests the necessity of comparative trials of olive cultivars for both adequate choice of cultivar and final selection in breeding programs

Neurodegeneration, Mitochondria, and Antibiotics

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons, synapses, dendrites, and myelin in the central and/or peripheral nervous system. Actual therapeutic options for patients are scarce and merely palliative. Although they affect millions of patients worldwide, the molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions remain unclear. Mitochondrial dysfunction is generally found in neurodegenerative diseases and is believed to be involved in the pathomechanisms of these disorders. Therefore, therapies aiming to improve mitochondrial function are promising approaches for neurodegeneration. Although mitochondrial-targeted treatments are limited, new research findings have unraveled the therapeutic potential of several groups of antibiotics. These drugs possess pleiotropic effects beyond their anti-microbial activity, such as anti-inflammatory or mitochondrial enhancer function. In this review, we will discuss the controversial use of antibiotics as potential therapies in neurodegenerative diseases.This project was supported by FIS PI19/00377 (2019) and FIS PI22/00142 (2022) grants, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain; and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER Unión Europea), Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport. This activity was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by the Regional Ministry of Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge, and Universities of the Junta de Andalucía, within the framework of the ERDF Andalusia operational program 2014–2020 Thematic objective “01—Reinforcement of research, technological development and innovation” through the reference research project CTS-5725 and PY18-850.Peer reviewe

Guía de gestión integrada de plagas: mango

Coordinadores: Ángel Martín Gil y Gregoria Aranda Aranda

The Effect of a Physical Activity Program on the Total Number of Primary Care Visits in Inactive Patients: A 15-Month Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background: Effective promotion of exercise could result in substantial savings in healthcare cost expenses in terms of direct medical costs, such as the number of medical appointments. However, this is hampered by our limited knowledge of how to achieve sustained increases in physical activity. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of a Primary Health Care (PHC) based physical activity program in reducing the total number of visits to the healthcare center among inactive patients, over a 15-month period. Research Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: Three hundred and sixty-two (n = 362) inactive patients suffering from at least one chronic condition were included. One hundred and eighty-three patients (n = 183; mean (SD); 68.3 (8.8) years; 118 women) were randomly allocated to the physical activity program (IG). One hundred and seventy-nine patients (n = 179; 67.2 (9.1) years; 106 women) were allocated to the control group (CG). The IG went through a three-month standardized physical activity program led by physical activity specialists and linked to community resources. Measures: The total number of medical appointments to the PHC, during twelve months before and after the program, was registered. Self-reported health status (SF-12 version 2) was assessed at baseline (month 0), at the end of the intervention (month 3), and at 12 months follow-up after the end of the intervention (month 15). Results: The IG had a significantly reduced number of visits during the 12 months after the intervention: 14.8 (8.5). The CG remained about the same: 18.2 (11.1) (P = .002). Conclusions: Our findings indicate that a 3-month physical activity program linked to community resources is a shortduration, effective and sustainable intervention in inactive patients to decrease rates of PHC visits. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0071483

A clinically compatible drug-screening platform based on organotypic cultures identifies vulnerabilities to prevent and treat brain metastasis

We report a medium‐throughput drug‐screening platform (METPlatform) based on organotypic cultures that allows to evaluate inhibitors against metastases growing in situ. By applying this approach to the unmet clinical need of brain metastasis, we identified several vulnerabilities. Among them, a blood–brain barrier permeable HSP90 inhibitor showed high potency against mouse and human brain metastases at clinically relevant stages of the disease, including a novel model of local relapse after neurosurgery. Furthermore, in situ proteomic analysis applied to metastases treated with the chaperone inhibitor uncovered a novel molecular program in brain metastasis, which includes biomarkers of poor prognosis and actionable mechanisms of resistance. Our work validates METPlatform as a potent resource for metastasis research integrating drug‐screening and unbiased omic approaches that is compatible with human samples. Thus, this clinically relevant strategy is aimed to personalize the management of metastatic disease in the brain and elsewhere