The Swamp of Cancer

What is metastasis? Metastasis is the process in which a tumor cell migrates through the circulatory system and settles in a new tissue or organ to form a secondary tumor. How does it take place? The main tumor grows and there's a migration of malignant cells through the blood to form the secondary tumor. Thereafter, there's an invasion of the new tissue or organ by different biological molecules which are important in physiological processes. And finally, tumor cells proliferate to develop the secondary tumor

Cross-sectional study of the association between empathy and burnout and drug prescribing quality in primary care

Burnout; Empathy; EthicsEsgotament; Empatia; ÈticaAgotamiento; Empatía; ÉticaObjective: The aim of this study was to assess whether burnout and empathy levels among general practitioners (GPs) might influence prescribing performance assessed using pharmaceutical prescription quality standard indicators. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional descriptive study of 108 GPs from 22 primary care centers in Lleida, Spain, and of centralized data corresponding to 183 600 patients under their care. The study was conducted between May and July 2014. Main Outcome Measures: Burnout and empathy were measured using the Spanish versions of the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Jefferson Scale for Physician Empathy, and prescribing quality was measured using the Catalan Pharmaceutical Prescription Quality Standard (EQPF). Normal distribution of scores was verified using the Chi-square and Kolmogorov–Smirnov–Lilliefors tests. The effect of each of the variables was evaluated using crude odds ratios. Results: Older GPs scored significantly higher in the EQPF (P < 0.05). High empathy scores were positively associated with high EQPF scores. GPs with low burnout also performed better in the EQPF. Conclusions: More empathic, less burned-out, older GPs showed better prescribing performance according to quality indicators. However, further studies are needed to evaluate other factors influencing prescribing habits. The promotion of communication skills may increase empathy and reduce burnout, thus benefiting patients.The authors did not receive any grants for this study. However, previous research in this field was conducted with the support of the Victor Grífols Foundation

Polarized cortical tension drives zebrafish epiboly movements

The principles underlying the biomechanics of morphogenesis are largely unknown. Epiboly is an essential embryonic event in which three tissues coordinate to direct the expansion of the blastoderm. How and where forces are generated during epiboly, and how these are globally coupled remains elusive. Here we developed a method, hydrodynamic regression (HR), to infer 3D pressure fields, mechanical power, and cortical surface tension profiles. HR is based on velocity measurements retrieved from 2D+T microscopy and their hydrodynamic modeling. We applied HR to identify biomechanically active structures and changes in cortex local tension during epiboly in zebrafish. Based on our results, we propose a novel physical description for epiboly, where tissue movements are directed by a polarized gradient of cortical tension. We found that this gradient relies on local contractile forces at the cortex, differences in elastic properties between cortex components and the passive transmission of forces within the yolk cell. All in all, our work identifies a novel way to physically regulate concerted cellular movements that might be instrumental for the mechanical control of many morphogenetic processes.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Engineering of hybrid nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals by heterogeneous pulse anodization

In this study, we present an advanced nanofabrication approach, so-called ‘heterogeneous pulse anodization’ (HPA), in which galvanostatic stepwise and apodized sinusoidal pulse anodizations are combined in a single process. This novel anodization method enables the precise optical engineering of the characteristic photonic stopbands (PSBs) of nanoporous anodic alumina photonic crystals (NAA-PCs). The resulting structures are hybrid PCs (Hy-NAA-PCs) composed of distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) and apodized gradient-index filters (APO-GIFs) embedded within the same PC structure. The modification of various anodization parameters such as anodization period, relative and total anodization time, structural arrangement of PCs within Hy-NAA-PCs, and pore widening time allows the fine-tuning of the PSBs’ features (i.e. number, position and bandwidth of central wavelength) across the spectral regions. The effects of these fabrication parameters are systematically assessed, revealing that the positions of the characteristic transmission bands of Hy-NAA-PCs are highly controllable. Our study provides a comprehensive rationale towards the development of unique Hy-NAA-PCs with controllable optical properties, which could open new opportunities for a plethora of applications.Siew Yee Lim, Cheryl Suwen Law, Lluis F. Marsal and Abel Santo

Caracterización agronómica-morfológica de 6 entradas de "tomaca tipo masclet" de la colección de variedades tradicionales del IVIA

[ES] En el presente trabajo se muestran las características morfológicas y de interés agronómico del fruto, correspondientes a 6 entradas de tomate valenciano perteneciente a la colección de variedades tradicionales del IVIA. Las 6 entradas son: IVIA-2 (origen Moncada); IVIA-27 (origen Siete Aguas); IVIA-28 (origen Paiporta); IVIA-69 (origen Moncada); IVIA-72 (origen Moncada); IVIA-126 (origen El Perelló). Respecto a la arquitectura de la planta, las 6 entradas son similares. La diferencia más importante entre ellas es debido a la morfología del fruto; tanto en su sección longitudinal, número de lóculos y el peso medio de los frutos. Las entradas con el extremo distal del fruto con forma puntiaguda, característica muy apreciada por los consumidores, son las IVIA-27 e IVIA-69. Por otro lado, IVIA-28, presenta el mayor peso medio de los frutos con un valor de 262g con una gran calidad, aunque la forma del fruto es menos puntiaguda que ninguno de los otros. Las 6 entradas presentan un gran potencial agronómico dado que presentan un tamaño, forma y color de fruto atrayentes dentro de los cánones de la denominación del tomate valenciano.[EN] In the present work we present the morphological and agronomical interest characteristics of 6 accessions of Valencian tomato from the IVIA traditional varieties collection. The 6 accesions are: IVIA-2 (origin Moncada); IVIA-27 (origin Siete Aguas); IVIA-28 (origin Paiporta); IVIA-69 (origin Moncada); IVIA-72 (origin Moncada); IVIA-126 (origin El Perelló). Regarding plant architecture, the 6 accessions are similar. The most important difference among them is due to the fruit morphology; in particular in its longitudinal section, number of locules and mean fruit weight. The accessions with the distal part of the fruit more pointed, a characteristic very appreciated by consumers, are IVIA-27 and IVIA-69. On the other side, IVIA-28 has the greatest fruit size with a value of 262g and a great quality, although the fruit shape is less pointed than any of the others. The 6 accessions have a great agronomic potential as they have an attractive fruit size, shape and color within the typical characteristics of the denomination Valencian tomato.El equipo de horticultura del IVIA agradece a la Conselleria d`Agricultura, Medi Ambient, Canvi Climatic i Desenvolupament Rural por el soporte y ayuda para el mantenimiento de la colección de variedades tradicionales valencianas del IVIA.Marsal, J.; Cerdá, J.; López Serrano, L.; Penella, C.; Calatayud Chover, Á. (2020). Caracterización agronómica-morfológica de 6 entradas de "tomaca tipo masclet" de la colección de variedades tradicionales del IVIA. En I Congrés de la Tomaca Valenciana: La Tomaca Valenciana d'El Perelló. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 65-71. https://doi.org/10.4995/TOMAVAL2017.2017.6320OCS657

Achieving orphan designation for placental insufficiency: annual incidence estimations in Europe

Objective To determine whether a novel therapy for placental insufficiency could achieve orphan drug status by estimating the annual incidence of placental insufficiency, defined as an estimated fetal weight below the 10th centile in the presence of abnormal umbilical artery Doppler velocimetry, per 10 000 European Union (EU ) population as part of an application for European Medicines Agency (EMA ) orphan designation. Design Incidence estimation based on literature review and published national and EU statistics. Setting and population European Union. Methods Data were drawn from published literature, including national and international guidelines, international consensus statements, cohort studies and randomised controlled trials, and published national and EU statistics, including birth rates and stillbirth rates. Rare disease databases were also searched. Results The proportion of affected pregnancies was estimated as 3.17% (95% CI 2.93–3.43%), using a weighted average of the results from two cohort studies. Using birth rates from 2012 and adjusting for a pregnancy loss rate of 1/100 gave an estimated annual incidence of 3.33 per 10 000 EU population (95% CI 3.07–3.60 per 10 000 EU population). This fell below the EMA threshold of 5 per 10 000 EU population. Conclusions Maternal vascular endothelial growth factor gene therapy for placental insufficiency was granted EMA orphan status in 2015 after we demonstrated that it is a rare, life‐threatening or chronically debilitating and currently untreatable disease. Developers of other potential obstetric therapies should consider applying for orphan designation, which provides financial and regulatory benefits