Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Identification of gastric cancer from speckle patterns

Speckle technique is based on the light intensity distribution randomly formed when a laser light is reflected on a rough surface, creating a pattern of illuminated grains (constructively) and dark (destructive) on scales of 1 μm. When the samples are displaced or deformed, the speckle pattern is altered. In this paper we present speckle patterns obtained from samples of gastric mucosa that is physically altered for the carcinogenesis process. Biopsies were studied with different diagnoses and were grouped according to the characteristics of speckle patterns. Speckle patterns were obtained by illuminating the samples with green laser. Morphological parameters of the speckle patterns reveal existence of 3 descriptors: the average grain size, hydraulic radius and the radio of the Weddel disc, which showed a high, intermediate and low value. The comparison shows agreement between the histopathological diagnosis and the values obtained by the speckle technique, making this technique emerge as a new classification system for quantitative diagnosis of precancerous lesions.Facultad de Ingenierí

Strategies to design clinical studies to identify predictive biomarkers in cancer research

The discovery of reliable biomarkers to predict efficacy and toxicity of anticancer drugs remains one of the key challenges in cancer research. Despite its relevance, no efficient study designs to identify promising candidate biomarkers have been established. This has led to the proliferation of a myriad of exploratory studies using dissimilar strategies, most of which fail to identify any promising targets and are seldom validated. The lack of a proper methodology also determines that many anti-cancer drugs are developed below their potential, due to failure to identify predictive biomarkers. While some drugs will be systematically administered to many patients who will not benefit from them, leading to unnecessary toxicities and costs, others will never reach registration due to our inability to identify the specific patient population in which they are active. Despite these drawbacks, a limited number of outstanding predictive biomarkers have been successfully identified and validated, and have changed the standard practice of oncology. In this manuscript, a multidisciplinary panel reviews how those key biomarkers were identified and, based on those experiences, proposes a methodological framework—the DESIGN guidelines—to standardize the clinical design of biomarker identification studies and to develop future research in this pivotal field

Improved functionalization of oleic acid-coated iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can providemultiple benefits for biomedical applications in aqueous environments such asmagnetic separation or magnetic resonance imaging. To increase the colloidal stability and allow subsequent reactions, the introduction of hydrophilic functional groups onto the particles’ surface is essential. During this process, the original coating is exchanged by preferably covalently bonded ligands such as trialkoxysilanes. The duration of the silane exchange reaction, which commonly takes more than 24 h, is an important drawback for this approach. In this paper, we present a novel method, which introduces ultrasonication as an energy source to dramatically accelerate this process, resulting in high-quality waterdispersible nanoparticles around 10 nmin size. To prove the generic character, different functional groups were introduced on the surface including polyethylene glycol chains, carboxylic acid, amine, and thiol groups. Their colloidal stability in various aqueous buffer solutions as well as human plasma and serum was investigated to allow implementation in biomedical and sensing applications.status: publishe

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Observación de la autofocalización en azul de metileno utilizando "Z SCAN"

Dentro de la enseñanza de la física es común modelar los fenómenos considerando tan solo su ca-rácter lineal, debido a que los efectos de orden superior, generalmente pasan desapercibidos. Exis-ten sin embargo otros fenómenos que son de carácter evidentemente no lineal y que pueden utili-zarse para ilustrar este comportamiento de la naturaleza. En este trabajo se presentan los resultados obtenidos al implementar la técnica denominada "z scan" para observar el efecto de autofocaliza-ción que presentan soluciones de azul de metileno en diferentes concentraciones. Como fuente de iluminación se utilizó un láser de He-Ne de 5 mW y la detección de la intensidad se realizó por medio de un fotodiodo pin. Los resultados obtenidos permiten observar la presencia de este fenó-meno no lineal de una forma sencilla y utilizando equipos de bajo costo que usualmente se encuen-tran en laboratorios de enseñanz

Counter-regulatory response to a fall in circulating fatty acid levels in rainbow trout. Possible involvement of the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal axis.

We hypothesize that a decrease in circulating levels of fatty acid (FA) in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss would result in the inhibition of putative hypothalamic FA sensing systems with concomitant changes in the expression of orexigenic and anorexigenic factors ultimately leading to a stimulation of food intake. To assess this hypothesis, we lowered circulating FA levels treating fish with SDZ WAG 994 (SDZ), a selective A1 adenosine receptor agonist that inhibits lipolysis. In additional groups, we also evaluated if the presence of intralipid was able to counteract changes induced by SDZ treatment, and the possible involvement of the hypothalamus-pituitary-interrenal (HPI) axis by treating fish with SDZ in the presence of metyrapone, which decreases cortisol synthesis in fish. The decrease in circulating levels of FA in rainbow trout induced a clear increase in food intake that was associated with the decrease of the anorexigenic potential in hypothalamus (decreased POMC-A1 and CART mRNA abundance), and with changes in several parameters related to putative FA-sensing mechanisms in hypothalamus. Intralipid treatment counteracted these changes. SDZ treatment also induced increased cortisol levels and the activation of different components of the HPI axis whereas these changes disappeared in the presence of intralipid or metyrapone. These results suggest that the HPI axis is involved in a counter-regulatory response in rainbow trout to restore FA levels in plasma

Diseño y construcción de un riel de aire automatizado para el estudio del movimiento utilizando sensores magnéticos

Se diseñó e implementó un riel de aire, que mediante el uso de sensores de posición magnéticos permite la adquisición automática de datos para el estudio del movimiento rectilíneo uniforme y uniformemente acelerado. El sistema de adquisición consta básicamente de una interfaz al puerto paralelo del PC que se controla a través de una aplicación desarrollada en LabVIEW . El sistema fue probado en un curso de laboratorio de mecánica obteniéndose excelentes resultados en las medidas en cuanto a precisión, confiabilidad y reproductibilidad. El sistema construido es de bajo costo comparado con los sistemas comerciales disponibles en el mercado