Osteoblastoma del sacro. A propósito de dos casos clínicos.

El osteoblastoma es un tumor óseo primitivo de frecuente localización en los elementos posteriores de la columna vertebral, aunque raro en el sacro. Se presentan dos osteoblastomas del sacro, con un seguimiento medio de ocho años, tratados mediante resección intralesional que, sin morbilidad, deparó un excelente resultado. El curetaje sería un procedimiento de resección válido en osteoblastomas sacros no agresivos, si bien obliga a un seguimiento prolongado del paciente para vigilar la posibilidad de recidivas locales.Osteoblastoma is a primary neoplasm of bone fre- quently located in the posterior elements of the spine, alt- hough rarely affecting the sacrum. Two cases in this location are reported, with a mean follow-up of eight years, treated with an intralesional resection that, without any morbidity, has provided an excellent result. Curettage should be a valid re- section procedure for nonagressive osteoblastomas of the sacrum, although it makes necessary a long follow-up in or- der to watch over the possibility of a local recurrence

Waist circumference percentiles for Hispanic-American children and comparison with other international references

Introduction Waist circumference (WC) constitutes an indirect measurement of central obesity in children and adolescents. Objective To provide percentiles of WC for Hispanic-American children and adolescents, and compare them with other international references. Materials and methods The sample comprised 13 289 healthy children between 6 and 18 years coming from public schools of middle and low socioeconomic levels in different parts of Argentina, Cuba, Spain, Mexico, and Venezuela. The LMS method to calculate WC percentiles was applied. Sex and age differences were assessed using Student'sttest and ANOVA (SPSS v.21.0). Comparisons were established with references from the United States, Colombia, India, China, Australia, Kuwait, Germany, Tunisia, Greece, and Portugal. Results WC increases with age in both sexes. Boys show higher WC in P3, P50, and P97. Comparison of 50th and 90th percentiles among populations from diverse sociocultural and geographical contexts shows high variability, not all justified by the measurement method. Discussion and conclusions Specific WC percentiles for sex and age, and P90 cut-off points are provided; these values are potentially useful to assess central obesity in Hispanic-American adolescent children

Detection of kinase domain mutations in BCR::ABL1 leukemia by ultra-deep sequencing of genomic DNA

The screening of the BCR::ABL1 kinase domain (KD) mutation has become a routine analysis in case of warning/failure for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) Philadelphia (Ph)-positive patients. In this study, we present a novel DNA-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) methodology for KD ABL1 mutation detection and monitoring with a 1.0E−4 sensitivity. This approach was validated with a well-stablished RNA-based nested NGS method. The correlation of both techniques for the quantification of ABL1 mutations was high (Pearson r = 0.858, p < 0.001), offering DNA-DeepNGS a sensitivity of 92% and specificity of 82%. The clinical impact was studied in a cohort of 129 patients (n = 67 for CML and n = 62 for B-ALL patients). A total of 162 samples (n = 86 CML and n = 76 B-ALL) were studied. Of them, 27 out of 86 harbored mutations (6 in warning and 21 in failure) for CML, and 13 out of 76 (2 diagnostic and 11 relapse samples) did in B-ALL patients. In addition, in four cases were detected mutation despite BCR::ABL1 < 1%. In conclusion, we were able to detect KD ABL1 mutations with a 1.0E−4 sensitivity by NGS using DNA as starting material even in patients with low levels of disease.Tis project was funded in part by CRIS CANCER FOUNDATION

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Retraso de la adquisición de la succión-deglución-respiración en el pretérmino: efectos de una estimulación precoz Delay in the acquisition of sucking-swallowing-breathing in the preterm: efects of early stimulation

Introducción: La nutrición oral del prematuro no es posible hasta la adquisición del reflejo de la succión-deglución-respiración. Su retraso prolonga la estancia hospitalaria y aumenta la incidencia de trastornos oro-motores en los primeros años de la infancia. Objetivos: Analizar la transición de la nutrición enteral a la oral, la comorbilidad asociada con su retraso y el impacto de una estimulación precoz de la succión en una cohorte de prematuros. Pacientes y métodos: Revisión retrospectiva de 95 prematuros menores de 32 semanas de gestación (SG) ingresados en una UCI neonatal en los últimos 4 años. Se revisó la edad gestacional, somatometría al nacimiento y al alta, comorbilidad asociada, duración de la ventilación mecánica, necesidades de oxígeno, momento de inicio/fin de nutrición enteral/oral, inicio del método canguro y estimulo de la succión y ganancia ponderal media diaria. Resultados: La estimulación de la succión se inició entre la semana 29 y 40 SG (media y mediana 32 SG). La nutrición oral se inició entre la 31-40 SG (media y mediana 33SG) y completó entre la 33-44 SG (media y mediana 35 SG). La nutrición oral se retrasó en los pacientes que necesitaron más tiempo de ventilación mecánica y oxigenoterapia. Hubo una correlación positiva entre el inicio de la estimulación de la succión y el momento de adquisición de una nutrición oral completa (84% test de correlación de Spearman) y el tiempo de estancia hospitalaria (80% test de correlación de Spearman). Conclusiones: El estímulo precoz de la succión en el paciente pretérmino parece facilitar la nutrición oral completa de manera precoz, asociándose a una disminución en la estancia hospitalaria y a una mejora en la ganancia ponderal media diaria.Introduction: Premature baby's oral feeding is not possible until the reflex of sucking-swallowing-breathing adquisition. Its delay extends hospital stay and increases the incidence of oral motor disorders in early childhood. Aims: To analyze the transition from enteral to oral nutrition, the comorbidity associated with its delay and the impact of an early suction stimulation in a cohort of premature babies. Patients and methods: Retrospective checking of 95 infants less than 32 gestation weeks (GW) admitted to a neonatal ICU in the last 4 years. It was revised the gestational age, anthropometric at birth and discharge, comorbidity, duration of mechanical ventilation, oxygen requirements, time of beginning and end of enteral/oral nutrition, beginning of Kangaroo method and the suction stimulation and the daily weight gain average. Results: Suction stimulation began between weeks 29 and 40 GW (average and median 32 GW). Oral nutrition was initiated between 31-40 GW (average and median 33 GW) and completed between 33-44 GW (average and median 35 GW). Oral nutrition was delayed in patients who required longer mechanical ventilation and oxygen therapy. There was a positive correlation between the beginning of suction stimulation and the time of acquisition of a complete oral nutrition (84% Spearman correlation test) and length of hospital stay (80% Spearman correlation test). Conclussions: Early suction stimulation in a preterm patient seems to facilitate full oral nutrition at an early stage and it is associated with a hospital stay decrease and the improvement in the daily weight gain average

Non linear properties of nitride-based nanostructures for optically controlling the speed of light at 1.5 μm

Future bandwidth demand in optical communications requires all-optical devices based on optical non-linear behavior of materials. InN, with a room temperature direct bandgap well below 0.82 eV (1.5 μm) is very attractive for these applications. In this work, we characterize the non-linear optical response and recombination lifetime of the interband transition of InN layers grown on GaN template and Si(1 1 1) by molecular beam epitaxy. Non-linear characterization shows a decrease of the third-order susceptibility, χ(3), and an increase of recombination lifetime when decreasing the energy difference between the excitation and the apparent optical band-gap energy of the analysed samples. Taking into account the non-linear characterization, an optically controlled reduction of the speed of light by a factor S=4.2 is obtained for bulk InN at 1.5 μm. The S factor of InN (5 nm)/In0.7Ga0.3N (8 nm) multiple quantum well heterostructures at the same operation wavelength is analysed, predicting an increase of this factor of three orders of magnitude. This result would open the possibility of using InN-based heterostructures for all-optical devices applications. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Novel nitride - Based materials for nonlinear optical signal processing applications at 1.5 μm

We characterize the third order nonlinear optical response of the interband transition of bulk InN and the intraband transition of GaN/AlN quantum dots, both of them in the spectral region around 1.5 μm. The results show that these materials can be very suitable for optical signal processing applications in the spectral region of wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) transmission. Considering the temporal behavior of the nonlinear response, InN seems particularly useful in all-optical control of light speed (slow-light generation), whereas GaN/AIN quantum dots are promising for switching and wavelength conversion applications.Comunidad de MadridMinisterio de Educación y CienciaConsejo Superior de Investigaciones Científica

Non-linear properties of nitride-based nanostructures for optically controlling the speed of light at 1.5 μm

Future bandwidth demand in optical communications requires all-optical devices based on optical non-linear behavior of materials. InN, with a room temperature direct bandgap well below 0.82 eV (1.5 μm) is very attractive for these applications. In this work, we characterize the non-linear optical response and recombination lifetime of the interband transition of InN layers grown on GaN template and Si(1 1 1) by molecular beam epitaxy. Non-linear characterization shows a decrease of the third-order susceptibility, χ(3), and an increase of recombination lifetime when decreasing the energy difference between the excitation and the apparent optical band-gap energy of the analysed samples. Taking into account the non-linear characterization, an optically controlled reduction of the speed of light by a factor S=4.2 is obtained for bulk InN at 1.5 μm. The S factor of InN (5 nm)/In0.7Ga0.3N (8 nm) multiple quantum well heterostructures at the same operation wavelength is analysed, predicting an increase of this factor of three orders of magnitude. This result would open the possibility of using InN-based heterostructures for all-optical devices applications. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Partial financial support was provided by Spanish government Projects TEC2006-09990-C02-02/TCM, TEC2005-00074/MIC, and HF2007-0065.Peer Reviewe

The association between sleep quality, low back pain and disability: A prospective study in routine practice

[EN] Background: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between sleep quality (SQ) and improvements in low back pain (LBP) and disability, among patients treated for LBP in routine practice. Methods: This prospective cohort study included 461 subacute and chronic LBP patients treated in 11 specialized centres, 14 primary care centres and eight physical therapy practices across 12 Spanish regions. LBP, leg pain, disability, catastrophizing, depression and SQ were assessed through validated questionnaires upon recruitment and 3 months later. Logistic regression models were developed to assess: (1) the association between the baseline score for SQ and improvements in LBP and disability at 3 months, and (2) the association between improvement in SQ and improvements in LBP and disability during the follow-up period. Results: Seventy-three per cent of patients were subacute. Median scores at baseline were four points for both pain and disability, as assessed with a visual analog scale and the Roland-Morris Questionnaire, respectively. Regression models showed (OR [95% CI]) that baseline SQ was not associated with improvements in LBP (0.99 [0.94; 1.06]) or in disability (0.99 [0.93; 1.05]), although associations existed between ‘improvement in SQ’ and ‘improvement in LBP’ (4.34 [2.21; 8.51]), and ‘improvement in SQ’ and ‘improvement in disability’ (4.60 [2.29; 9.27]). Conclusions: Improvement in SQ is associated with improvements in LBP and in disability at 3-month follow-up, suggesting that they may reflect or be influenced by common factors. However, baseline SQ does not predict improvements in pain or disability. Significance: In clinical practice, sleep quality, low back pain and disability are associated. However, sleep quality at baseline does not predict improvement in pain and disability.S