Fibroelastolytic papulosis: two cases of disease spectrum variants

Fibroelastolytic papulosis (FEP) is an acquired cutaneous disorder of elastin that encompasses both white fibrous papulosis of the neck (WFPN) and pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE)-like papillary dermal elastolysis (PDE). Although FEP is a benign acquired disorder, it shares overlapping clinical features with pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE), a genetic disorder with systemic manifestations. We report two cases of FEP, including the WFPN and PXE-like PDE variants, in elderly women. In one case, a woman in her 70s with hyperlipidemia and chronic kidney disease presented with white-to-yellow, smooth, monomorphic papules coalescing into plaques on the posterior neck and bilateral antecubital fossa. A punch biopsy and elastic stain revealed a loss of elastic fibers in the papillary dermis. Based on these findings, we diagnosed our patient with PXE-like PDE. In another case, a woman in her 60s with no significant medical history similarly presented with skin-colored, smooth monomorphic papules on the posterior and anterior neck. A punch biopsy was also performed and an elastic stain showed a loss of elastic fibers in the papillary dermis, confirming the diagnosis of WFPN. Although rare, FEP is an important entity for dermatologists to recognize and differentiate from PXE given the potential for systemic complications in PXE

Betti numbers for numerical semigroup rings

We survey results related to the magnitude of the Betti numbers of numerical semigroup rings and of their tangent cones.Comment: 22 pages; v2: updated references. To appear in Multigraded Algebra and Applications (V. Ene, E. Miller Eds.

Comparative Genomic Analysis of 31 Phytophthora Genomes Reveals Genome Plasticity and Horizontal Gene Transfer

Phytophthora species are oomycete plant pathogens that cause great economic and ecological impacts. The Phytophthora genus includes over 180 known species, infecting a wide range of plant hosts, including crops, trees, and ornamentals. We sequenced the genomes of 31 individual Phytophthora species and 24 individual transcriptomes to study genetic relationships across the genus. De novo genome assemblies revealed variation in genome sizes, numbers of predicted genes, and in repetitive element content across the Phytophthora genus. A genus-wide comparison evaluated orthologous groups of genes. Predicted effector gene counts varied across Phytophthora species by effector family, genome size, and plant host range. Predicted numbers of apoplastic effectors increased as the host range of Phytophthora species increased. Predicted numbers of cytoplasmic effectors also increased with host range but leveled off or decreased in Phytophthora species that have enormous host ranges. With extensive sequencing across the Phytophthora genus, we now have the genomic resources to evaluate horizontal gene transfer events across the oomycetes. Using a machine-learning approach to identify horizontally transferred genes with bacterial or fungal origin, we identified 44 candidates over 36 Phytophthora species genomes. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates that the transfers of most of these 44 candidates happened in parallel to major advances in the evolution of the oomycetes and Phytophthora spp. We conclude that the 31 genomes presented here are essential for investigating genus-wide genomic associations in genus Phytophthora. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license

Recent evolutions of gender, state feminism and care models in Latin America and Europe

Production of INCASI Project H2020-MSCA-RISE-2015 GA 691004This chapter presents and characterises the way in which, in the twenty-first century, after years of feminist struggles inside and outside of institutions, gender relations are organised in the different countries of the INCASI project (on the European side, Spain, Italy, Finland, France and the United Kingdom, on the side of the South American Southern Cone, Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay). It pays special attention to the implementation of feminist issues on political agendas, and in particular the assignment of women to unpaid care work-an aspect of the power continuum that we look to relate to other aspects. Gradually and for almost a century all countries in both continents have granted women the status of subjects, citizens and employees. However, the conditions, challenges and timelines of this process differ considerably from one continent to another, so they need to be addressed separately. The neoliberal era did not have the same impact in Europe as it did in South America (nor was it exactly the same between particular European countries or among South American ones)

TESS and ESPRESSO discover a super-Earth and a mini-Neptune orbiting the K-dwarf TOI-238

The number of super-Earth and mini-Neptune planet discoveries has increased significantly in the last two decades thanks to transit and radial velocity surveys. When it is possible to apply both techniques, we can characterise the internal composition of exoplanets, which in turn provides unique insights on their architecture, formation and evolution. We performed a combined photometric and radial velocity analysis of TOI-238 (TYC 6398-132-1), which has one short-orbit super-Earth planet candidate announced by NASA's TESS team. We aim to confirm its planetary nature using radial velocities taken with the ESPRESSO and HARPS spectrographs, to measure its mass and to detect the presence of other possible planetary companions. We carried out a joint analysis by including Gaussian processes and Keplerian orbits to account for the stellar activity and planetary signals simultaneously. We detected the signal induced by TOI-238 b in the radial velocity time-series, and the presence of a second transiting planet, TOI-238 c, whose signal appears in RV and TESS data. TOI-238 b is a planet with a radius of 1.402$^{+0.084}_{-0.086}$ R$_{\oplus}$ and a mass of 3.40$^{+0.46}_{-0.45}$ M$_{\oplus}$. It orbits at a separation of 0.02118 $\pm$ 0.00038 AU of its host star, with an orbital period of 1.2730988 $\pm$ 0.0000029 days, and has an equilibrium temperature of 1311 $\pm$ 28 K. TOI-238 c has a radius of 2.18$\pm$ 0.18 R$_{\oplus}$ and a mass of 6.7 $\pm$ 1.1 M$_{\oplus}$. It orbits at a separation of 0.0749 $\pm$ 0.0013 AU of its host star, with an orbital period of 8.465652 $\pm$ 0.000031 days, and has an equilibrium temperature of 696 $\pm$ 15 K. The mass and radius of planet b are fully consistent with an Earth-like composition, making it likely a rocky super-Earth. Planet c could be a water-rich planet or a rocky planet with a small H-He atmosphere.Comment: 33 pages, 31 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication at A&

DNA multigene characterization of Fasciola hepatica and Lymnaea neotropica and its fascioliasis transmission capacity in Uruguay, with historical correlation, human report review and infection risk analysis

Fascioliasis is a highly pathogenic zoonotic disease emerging in recent decades, in part due to the effects of climate and global changes. South America is the continent presenting more numerous human fascioliasis endemic areas and the highest Fasciola hepatica infection prevalences and intensities known in humans. These serious public health scenarios appear mainly linked to altitude areas in Andean countries, whereas lowland areas of non-Andean countries, such as Uruguay, only show sporadic human cases or outbreaks. To understand this difference, we characterized F. hepatica from cattle and horses and lymnaeids of Uruguay by sequencing of ribosomal DNA ITS-2 and ITS-1 spacers and mitochondrial DNA cox1, nad1 and 16S genes. Results indicate that vectors belong to Lymnaea neotropica instead of to Lymnaea viator, as always reported from Uruguay. Our correlation of fasciolid and lymnaeid haplotypes with historical data on the introduction and spread of livestock species into Uruguay allow to understand the molecular diversity detected. We study the life cycle and transmission features of F. hepatica by L. neotropica of Uruguay under standardized experimental conditions to enable a comparison with the transmission capacity of F. hepatica by Galba truncatula at very high altitude in Bolivia. Results demonstrate that although L. neotropica is a highly efficient vector in the lowlands, its transmission capacity is markedly lower than that of G. truncatula in the highlands. On this baseline, we review the human fascioliasis cases reported in Uruguay and analyze the present and future risk of human infection in front of future climate change estimations

Comparative genomic analysis of 31 Phytophthora genomes reveal genome plasticity and horizontal gene transfer

Phytophthora species are oomycete plant pathogens that cause great economic and ecological impacts. The Phytophthora genus includes over 180 known species, infecting a wide range of plant hosts including crops, trees, and ornamentals. We sequenced 31 individual Phytophthora species genomes and 24 individual transcriptomes to study genetic relationships across the genus. De novo genome assemblies revealed variation in genome sizes, numbers of predicted genes, and in repetitive element content across the Phytophthora genus. A genus-wide comparison evaluated orthologous groups of genes. Predicted effector gene counts varied across Phytophthora species by effector family, genome size, as well as plant host range. Predicted numbers of apoplastic effectors increased as the host range of Phytophthora species increased. Predicted numbers of cytoplasmic effectors also increased with host range but leveled off or decreased in Phytophthora species that have enormous host ranges. With extensive sequencing across the Phytophthora genus we now have the genomic resources to evaluate horizontal gene transfer events across the oomycetes. Using a machine learning approach to identify horizontally transferred genes with bacterial or fungal origin we identified 44 candidates over 36 Phytophthora species genomes. Phylogenetic reconstruction indicates that the transfers of most of these 44 candidates happened in parallel to major advances in the evolution of the oomycetes and Phytophthoras. We conclude that the 31 genomes presented here are essential for investigating genus-wide genomic associations in Phytophthora