Mezclas de cemento u otros ligantes aplicables a materiales y técnicas constructivas utilizando EPS molido y cascotes reciclados provenientes de residuos de construcción y demolición.

Desde el CEP desarrollamos materiales de construcción alternativos a los tradicionales para minimizar el impacto medioambiental generado por los residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD). El hormigón es el material de construcción más empleado en el mundo gracias a sus excelentes propiedades: durabilidad, resistencia y adaptación a moldes. Su uso produce grandes costos medioambientales: enorme cantidad de energía consumida para extracción, acarreo, fabricación y traslado de componentes. Esta investigación desarrolla distintas fórmulas utilizando EPS molido y cascotes fraccionados mezclados con ligantes apropiados para fabricar Materiales Constructivos durables, económicos, de bajo peso y con buena aislación térmica, reduciendo el impacto ambiental que produce la fabricación tradicional de bloques, ladrillos y revestimientos. El EPS es uno de los RCD de restos y de embalajes más perjudiciales al medio ambiente tanto por su volumen como por su prolongado tiempo de degradación, mientras que los cascotes son el principal RCD en nuestra área de trabajo. Estas mezclas pueden ser utilizadas para autoconstrucción y planes de vivienda contribuyendo a generar empleo, creando nuevos conocimientos y expandiendo la conciencia del cuidado Medioambiental. Los profesionales del Centro trabajamos junto con alumnos en programas de pasantías de investigación con crédito académico. Para la obtención de las citadas materias primas se han generado acuerdos con empresas generadoras, con planes logísticos para optimizar recorridos reduciendo consumo de combustible. De esta forma se evita que un considerable volumen de RCD llegue a vertederos y centros de enterramiento habituales y se reduce la potencialidad de su voladura tapando desagues pluviales. Se desarrollan por un lado mezclas aislantes en densidades de 500 a 600 kg/m3 que utilizadas en espesores habituales de construcción cumplen con las normas actuales de transmisión térmica. Estas mezclas incluyen cemento, residuos de EPS molidos pasantes por tamiz de 6mm y aditivios. Por otro lado se desarrollan mezclas en densidades de 900 a 1100 kg/m3 que utilizadas en espesores habituales cumplen con resistencia equivalente a la de ladrillos comunes. Estas mezclas incluyen cemento, residuos de EPS molidos pasantes por tamiz de 6mm, restos de cascotes molidos pasantes por tamiz de 20mm, arena y aditivos. Los moldes requeridos son fabricados a su vez con materiales reciclados de EPS

Altered inflammasome machinery as a key player in the perpetuation of Rett syndrome oxinflammation

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a progressive neurodevelopmental disorder mainly caused by mutations in the X-linked MECP2 gene. RTT patients show multisystem disturbances associated with an oxinflammatory status. Inflammasomes are multi-protein complexes, responsible for host immune responses against pathogen infections and redox-related cellular stress. Assembly of NLRP3/ASC inflammasome triggers pro-caspase-1 activation, thus, resulting in IL-1β and IL-18 maturation. However, an aberrant activation of inflammasome system has been implicated in several human diseases. Our aim was to investigate the possible role of inflammasome in the chronic subclinical inflammatory condition typical of RTT, by analyzing this complex in basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)+ATP-stimulated primary fibroblasts, as well as in serum from RTT patients and healthy volunteers. RTT cells showed increased levels of nuclear p65 and ASC proteins, pro-IL-1β mRNA, and NLRP3/ASC interaction in basal condition, without any further response upon the LPS + ATP stimuli. Moreover, augmented levels of circulating ASC and IL-18 proteins were found in serum of RTT patients, which are likely able to amplify the inflammatory response. Taken together, our findings suggest that RTT patients exhibited a challenged inflammasome machinery at cellular and systemic level, which may contribute to the subclinical inflammatory state feedback observed in this pathology

Radiological Features of Microvascular Invasion of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the presence and the prognostic value of the radiological signs of microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods: Between January 2015 and December 2017, all patients (91 patients) with de novo HCC or HCC recurrence occurring at least 2 years after the last treatment in NAFLD (36 patients) or with hepatitis C virus (HCV) liver disease (55 patients) were included. Each HCC was treated with liver resection and transplantation to obtain the anatomopathological confirmation of MVI. All patients had at least one available computed tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) performed no more than one month prior to the treatment. The clinical data of each patient, tumor burden (diameter, margins, two-trait predictor of venous invasion (TTPVI), and peritumoral enhancement), the recurrence rate (RR) after a 1-year follow-up, and the time to recurrence (TTR) were collected. Results: The NAFLD–HCC nodules were larger as compared to HCV–HCC (51 mm vs. 36 mm, p = 0.004) and showed a higher prevalence of TTPVI (38.9 vs. 20.0%, p = 0.058). At multivariate analysis, nodule diameter >50 mm was found to be the only independent prognostic factor of TTPVI (hazard ratio: 21.3, 95% confidence interval: 4.2–107.7, p < 0.001), and the presence of TTPVI was confirmed to be the only independent prognostic factors of recurrence (hazard ratio: 2.349, 95% confidence interval: 1.369–4.032, p = 0.002). No correlations were found between TTR and irregular tumor margins or peritumoral enhancement. Conclusion: The NAFLD–HCC patients had larger tumors at diagnosis and showed a more frequent presence of radiological signs of MVI as compared to the HCV–HCC patients. The MVI was related to a more rapid recurrence after curative treatments, demonstrating the prognostic value of this radiological diagnosis

Segmental Distribution of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cirrhotic Livers

Background: To evaluate the segmental distribution of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) according to Couinaud’s anatomical division in cirrhotic patients. Methods: Between 2020 and 2021, a total of 322 HCC nodules were diagnosed in 217 cirrhotic patients who underwent computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the evaluation of suspicious nodules (>1 cm) detected during ultrasound surveillance. For each patient, the segmental position of the HCC nodule was recorded according to Couinaud’s description. The clinical data and nodule characteristics were collected. Results: A total of 234 (72.7%) HCC nodules were situated in the right lobe whereas 79 (24.5%) were detected in the left lobe (p < 0.0001) and only 9 nodules were in the caudate lobe (2.8%). HCC was most common in segment 8 (n = 88, 27.4%) and least common in segment 1 (n = 9, 2.8%). No significant differences were found in the frequencies of segmental or lobar involvement considering patient demographic and clinical characteristics, nodule dimension, or disease appearance. Conclusions: The intrahepatic distribution of HCC differs among Couinaud’s segments, with segment 8 being the most common location and segment 1 being the least common. The segmental distribution of tumour location was similar to the normal liver volume distribution, supporting a possible correlation between HCC location and the volume of hepatic segments and/or the volumetric distribution of the portal blood flow

Diagnosis of persistent ovarian carcinoma with three-step immunoscintigraphy

The diagnosis of recurrent ovarian carcinoma is usually determined at surgical re-exploration since the main non-invasive diagnostic tests have low accuracy. It would be desirable to have a high accuracy non-invasive diagnostic procedure. With this aim, we have assessed the utility of three-step immunoscintigraphy. Thirty patients were intravenously injected with biotinylated monoclonal antibodies MOv18 and B72.3, followed by avidin–streptavidin injection and finally by111In-biotin. Tumour recurrences were imaged 2 h post radioactivity injection. All patients underwent surgical re-exploration 3–4 days after immunoscintigraphy; the presence of tumour in the area of immunoscintigraphic uptake was evaluated in the biopsied material. Twenty-one patients studied were true-positive, five were true-negative, four were false-positive and none was false-negative. The diagnostic accuracy, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 87%, 84% and 100% respectively. If these findings are confirmed in a larger number of patients, we expect immunoscintigraphy to be introduced as a cost-effective procedure in the follow-up of patients who have received surgery for ovarian carcinoma, since it promises to reliably identify patients who do not require surgical re-exploration, and guide biopsies when they are indicated. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

Are Three Additional Cycles of Chemotherapy Useful in Patients with Advanced-stage Epithelial Ovarian Cancer After a Complete Response to Six Cycles of Intravenous Adjuvant Paclitaxel and Carboplatin?†

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the efficacy of three additional cycles of chemotherapy in patients with the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics Stage III or IV, who achieved a complete response after six cycles of intravenous adjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin after surgery. METHODS: The clinical data of 94 patients with complete response after six cycles of adjuvant paclitaxel/carboplatin after surgery between January 1997 and March 2007 were reviewed retrospectively. Three additional cycles using the same chemotherapy were administered to 57 patients as consolidation chemotherapy (Group 1). Thirty-seven patients without the additional cycles served as controls (Group 2). Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test. The importance of consolidation chemotherapy as a prognostic factor affecting survival was examined using the Cox's proportional hazard analysis. The incidence of chemotherapy-induced hematological toxicities was compared between the two groups using chi-square test. RESULTS: Median DFS and mean OS were not significantly different between the two groups (15 versus 22 months, P = 0.703; 69 versus 73 months, P = 0.891, respectively). Consolidation chemotherapy was not a prognostic factor of survival although optimal debulking surgery and lower value of serum CA-125 levels after six cycles of the chemotherapy were prognostic factors improving DFS (P < 0.01). Grade 3 or 4 leukopenia was more common in patients treated with consolidation chemotherapy than in those not treated (50.9 versus 21.6%, P = 0.004). CONCLUSION: Consolidation chemotherapy using paclitaxel/carboplatin may be inefficient and relatively toxic to advanced-stage epithelial ovarian cancer patients with complete response to six cycles of the same chemotherapy after surgery

Phase II of oral gimatecan in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer, previously treated with platinum and taxanes

Background: A prospective phase II study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of oral gimatecan in patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal cancer

Cathepsins B, L and cystatin C in cyst fluid of ovarian tumors

Contains fulltext : 88032.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)INTRODUCTION: In cancer, an extracellular and membrane bound localization of cathepsins contribute to the invasion of tumor cells at the basement membrane. METHODS: This is the first study that explored levels of cathepsins B (CatB), L (CatL) and their inhibitor cystatin C (CysC) in the cystic fluid (CF) of ovarian tumors (n = 110). RESULTS: CF contained considerable amounts of CatB, CatL and CysC. Remarkable differences in CatB and CatL and CysC CF levels were found between different histopathological tumor subtypes. Levels of CatB and CysC were significantly higher in CF of malignant serous tumors compared to those found in benign serous tumors (p = 0.010 and p = 0.001 respectively), whereas levels of CatL were significantly higher in CF of malignant mucinous tumors compared to those found in benign mucinous tumors (p = 0.035). CatB and CysC showed a strong correlation in the group of patients with malignant serous tumors (p < 0.001; R = 0.921) suggesting that the increase in CatB might be balanced by a corresponding increase in CysC. CONCLUSION: Further studies are warranted to investigate cathepsins as possible prognostic biomarkers for the aggressiveness of ovarian cancer.1 mei 201

Role of MRI in staging and follow-up of endometrial and cervical cancer:pitfalls and mimickers

Abstract MRI plays important roles in endometrial and cervical cancer assessment, from detection to recurrent disease evaluation. Endometrial cancer (EC) is the most common malignant tumor of the female genital tract in Western countries. EC patients are divided into risk categories based on histopathological tumor type, grade, and myometrial invasion depth. EC is surgically staged using the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) system. Since FIGO (2009) stage correlates with prognosis, preoperative staging is essential for tailored treatment. MRI reveals myometrial invasion depth, which correlates with tumor grade and lymph node metastases, and thus correlates with prognosis. Cervical cancer (CC) is the second most common cancer, and the third leading cause of cancer-related death among females in developing countries. The FIGO Gynecologic Oncology Committee recently revised its CC staging guidelines, allowing staging based on imaging and pathological findings when available. The revised FIGO (2018) staging includes node involvement and thus enables both therapy selection and evaluation, prognosis estimation, and calculation of end results. MRI can accurately assess prognostic indicators, e.g., tumor size, parametrial invasion, pelvic sidewall, and lymph node invasion. Despite these important roles of MRI, radiologists still face challenges due to the technical and interpretation pitfalls of MRI during all phases of endometrial and cervical cancer evaluation. Awareness of mimics that can simulate both cancers is critical. With careful application, functional MRI with DWI and DCE sequences can help establish a correct diagnosis, although it is sometimes necessary to perform biopsy and histopathological analysis