hypersaline infusion protocol through the portal vein may focus electroporation on tumor tissue, but is it really safe? Ppreliminary results

Introduction: irreversible Electroporation (IRE) is highly dependent on the electrical conductivity of the tissue and the high conductivity of tumor tissue, which leads to a lower field than that in the surrounding healthy tissue. Hypersaline Infusion (HI) through the portal vein focuses IRE on scattered liver tumors, by creating a differential conductivity between the different types of tissue. The aim of this study is to determine the effects of the HI protocol on the hepatic and histological biochemical results. Methods: Ten male Sprague Dawley rats were used for HI protocol. Blood samples were collected at pre-, immediately post-, 24-hrs, 72-hrs, 1- week and 3-weeks post-HI. All the animals were sacrificed after a one-month follow-up in order to collect histological samples. Results: The mortality rate in this procedure reached 30% (3/10). Only the pH and transaminases at 24-hrs were significantly and directly linked to mortality (p=0.036 and p=0.004, respectively). The three non-surviving animals had a four-time higher AST level at 24-hrs. Natremianormalized at 24-hrs post-HI. Statistically significant differences were found in hepatic necrosis between the non-surviving (n=3) and surviving rats (n=7) (30.67 ± 10.97 vs. 2.86 ± 7.56% respectively, p=0.01). Discussion: HI through the portal system involves a significant risk of possibly lethal cytolysis and acidosis. Therefore, compensatory measures and a reduced saline overload are warranted to improve the survival rates

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in cancer mortality in Barcelona: 1992–2003

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The objective of this study was to assess trends in cancer mortality by educational level in Barcelona from 1992 to 2003.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study population comprised Barcelona inhabitants aged 20 years or older. Data on cancer deaths were supplied by the system of information on mortality. Educational level was obtained from the municipal census. Age-standardized rates by educational level were calculated. We also fitted Poisson regression models to estimate the relative index of inequality (RII) and the Slope Index of Inequalities (SII). All were calculated for each sex and period (1992–1994, 1995–1997, 1998–2000, and 2001–2003).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cancer mortality was higher in men and women with lower educational level throughout the study period. Less-schooled men had higher mortality by stomach, mouth and pharynx, oesophagus, larynx and lung cancer. In women, there were educational inequalities for cervix uteri, liver and colon cancer. Inequalities of overall and specific types of cancer mortality remained stable in Barcelona; although a slight reduction was observed for some cancers.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study has identified those cancer types presenting the greatest inequalities between men and women in recent years and shown that in Barcelona there is a stable trend in inequalities in the burden of cancer.</p

Cancer mortality by educational level in the city of Barcelona

The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between educational level and mortality from cancer in the city of Barcelona. The data were derived from a record linkage between the Barcelona Mortality Registry and the Municipal Census. The relative risks (RR) of death and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) according to level of education were derived from Poisson regression models. For all malignancies, men in the lowest educational level had a RR of death of 1.21 (95% CI 1.13–1.29) compared with men with a university degree, whereas for women a significant decreasing in risk was observed (RR 0.81; 95% CI 0.74–0.90). Among men, significant negative trends of increasing risk according to level of education were present for cancer of the mouth and pharynx (RR 1.70 for lowest vs. highest level of education), oesophagus (RR 2.14), stomach (RR 1.99), larynx (RR 2.56) and lung (RR 1.35). Among women, cervical cancer was negatively related to education (RR 2.62), whereas a positive trend was present for cancers of the colon (RR 0.76), pancreas (RR 0.59), lung (RR 0.55) and breast (RR 0.65). The present study confirms for the first time, at an individual level, the existence of socioeconomic differences in mortality for several cancer sites in Barcelona, Spain. There is a need to implement health programmes and public health policies to reduce these inequities. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

La fertilización fosfatada disminuye la riqueza y aumenta el número de especies exóticas de plantas en pastizales intersembrados con leguminosas.

Resumen: El Uruguay forma parte de los Pastizales del Río de la Plata, una de las áreas más extensas de pastizal en el mundo, con una biodiversidad destacada. Actualmente, la presión derivada de la intensificación en el uso del suelo determina que estos ecosistemas se encuentren deteriorados. A nivel productivo, una práctica usual es sembrar leguminosas exóticas en cobertura, con fertilización fosforada, sobre pastizal natural. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar el impacto de niveles crecientes de fertilización sobre la riqueza de especies vegetales, la presencia de exóticas y la productividad primaria neta. También se revisaron posibles mecanismos que expliquen los cambios observados en la diversidad. Se establecieron dos sitios experimentales: PA, en las Sierras del Este, y GL, en la Cuesta Basáltica. Se dispuso de ocho tratamientos con niveles variables de fertilización fosforada en parcelas sembradas con Lotus angustissimus. Se calculó la productividad primaria neta total y de L. angustissimus (PPNAt y PPNALa) para los primeros tres años del experimento. Además, se realizó un muestreo florístico al tercer año y medio, en el que se evaluó la riqueza de especies vegetales (total y de exóticas). La riqueza total disminuyó con la fertilización y la riqueza de exóticas aumentó. La PPNAt y la PPNALa aumentaron con la fertilización en PA, pero no en GL. Para PA no es posible afirmar qué mecanismos actúan detrás de la pérdida de especies, mientras que en GL es posible que entren en juego mecanismos de las hipótesis de 'dimensionamiento del nicho' y de 'competencia total'. Concluimos que se debe estudiar más esta tecnología en búsqueda de estrategias de fertilización que logren mejoras en la productividad sin comprometer la biodiversidad.Abstract. Phosphorus fertilization lowers richness and increases the number of exotic plant species in grasslands overseeded with legumes. Uruguay sits in the Rio de la Plata Grasslands, one of the biggest grassland biomes in the world, with a pronounced biodiversity. Nowadays, intensification of land use has led to the degradation of this ecosystem. A common practice for enhancing productivity of natural grasslands in the region is the overseeding of an exotic legume, alongside phosphorus fertilization. The objective of this study is to measure the impact of a phosphorous fertilization gradient on total plant species richness, the presence of exotic species and the net primary productivity. With the data obtained, we explored possible mechanisms that explain the changes in diversity observed. Two experimental sites were used: PA (in the geomorphological region ?Sierras del Este?), and GL (in the geomorphological region ?Cuesta Basáltica?). Eight plots were established, with different amounts of phosphorus fertilization, with overseeding of Lotus angustissimus. A vegetation sampling of each treatment was done on the third year and a half after the establishment of the experiment. Total and exotic species richness was evaluated, alongside the effect of each treatment on the total and the L. angustissimus net primary productivity of the first three years of the experiment. We found that total species richness decreased with increasing amounts of phosphorus fertilization, while exotic species richness increased with increasing amounts of phosphorus fertilization. The total and the L. angustissimus net primary productivity increased with fertilization for PA, but didn?t for GL. This suggests that, in GL, mechanisms regarding the ?niche dimension? and the ?total competition? hypothesis are taking place. In PA, it isn?t possible to distinguish which mechanisms are the predominant ones behind the species loss observed. We conclude that more studies need to be done on this technology, in search of fertilization thresholds that allow for greater productivity without putting biodiversity in jeopardy

Ultrafine particles and black carbon personal exposures in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children at school age.

Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) exposure during childhood is associated with asthma; however, the contribution of the different TRAP pollutants in each microenvironment (home, school, transportation, others) in asthmatic and non-asthmatic children is unknown. Daily (24-h) personal black carbon (BC), ultrafine particle (UFP), and alveolar lung-deposited surface area (LDSA) individual exposure measurements were obtained from 100 children (29 past and 21 current asthmatics, 50 non-asthmatics) aged 9±0.7 years from the INMA-Sabadell cohort (Catalonia, Spain). Time spent in each microenvironment was derived by the geolocation provided by the smartphone and a new spatiotemporal map-matching algorithm. Asthmatics and non-asthmatics spent the same amount of time at home (60% and 61%, respectively), at school (20% and 23%), on transportation (8% and 7%), and in other microenvironments (7% and 5%). The highest concentrations of all TRAPs were attributed to transportation. No differences in TRAP concentrations were found overall or by type of microenvironment between asthmatics and non-asthmatics, nor when considering past and current asthmatics, separately. In conclusion, asthmatic and non-asthmatic children had a similar time-activity pattern and similar average exposures to BC, UFP, and LDSA concentrations. This suggests that interventions should be tailored to general population, rather than to subgroups defined by disease

Irreversible electroporation of the liver: is there a safe limit to the ablation volume?

Irreversible electroporation is a fast-growing liver ablation technique. Although safety has been well documented in small ablations, our aim is to assess its safety and feasibility when a large portion of liver is ablated. Eighty-seven mice were subjected to high voltage pulses directly delivered across parallel plate electrodes comprising around 40% of mouse liver. One group consisted in 55 athymicnude, in which a tumor from the KM12C cell line was grown and the other thirty-two C57-Bl6 nontumoral mice. Both groups were subsequently divided into subsets according to the delivered field strength (1000 V/cm, 2000 V/cm) and whether or not they received anti-hyperkalemia therapy. Early mortality (less than 24 hours post-IRE) in the 2000 V/cm group was observed and revealed considerably higher mean potassium levels. In contrast, the animals subjected to a 2000 V/cm field treated with the anti-hyperkalemia therapy had higher survival rates (OR = 0.1, 95%CI = 0.02-0.32, p < 0.001). Early mortality also depended on the electric field magnitude of the IRE protocol, as mice given 1000 V/cm survived longer than those given 2000 V/cm (OR = 4.7, 95% CI = 1.8-11.8, p = 0.001). Our findings suggest that ionic disturbances, mainly due to potassium alterations, should be warned and envisioned when large volume ablations are performed by IRE