Dermatophyte Morphology: A Scanning Electron Microscopy Study

The Dermatophytes are a broad group of fungi belonging to the class Fungii imperfecti that are the causative agents of dermophytosis (ringworm infections). The present work offers an overview of the morphology of these fungi found in cultures according to the scanning electron microscope. The fungi were obtained from cultures left to develop over variable periods of time that would be sufficient for growth. The morphological features of some dermatophytes obtained in artificial cultures are detailed: M. canis, M. gypseum, M. audouini, M. cookei, T. mentagrophytes, T. schoulemu, T. verrucosuin, T. ajelloi, T. prohferans, and E. floccosum. In all cases an analysis of the morphology of the reproductive mycelium developed in the culture was made: hyphae, macroconidia, microconidia, and chlamydospores; details that serve to distinguish one fungus from another. In the perfect forms, the morphology of the peridial hyphae and of the ascocarps (cleistotethia) are described

The first year of the ST Operation Committee: is there a future ?

The main objective of the ST Operation Committee (STOC) was to develop a proactive and homogeneous service of operation that satisfies the needs of the service users. Furthermore, the role of the Technical Control Room (TCR) should have been developed to a unique and competent entry point for ST operation by bringing the operation teams closer together on a daily basis. Have these objectives been achieved and to what extend? Is there a future for this committee and what could it look like? What are the implications of the first year of work on ST operation as a whole? This paper answers these questions and gives recommendations how to make best use of the STOC for the ST partners and ST, respectively

Drop Traffic in Microfluidic Ladder Networks with Fore-Aft Structural Asymmetry

We investigate the dynamics of pairs of drops in microfluidic ladder networks with slanted bypasses, which break the fore-aft structural symmetry. Our analytical results indicate that unlike symmetric ladder networks, structural asymmetry introduced by a single slanted bypass can be used to modulate the relative drop spacing, enabling them to contract, synchronize, expand, or even flip at the ladder exit. Our experiments confirm all these behaviors predicted by theory. Numerical analysis further shows that while ladder networks containing several identical bypasses are limited to nearly linear transformation of input delay between drops, mixed combination of bypasses can cause significant non-linear transformation enabling coding and decoding of input delays.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Urinary incontinence related to perineal muscle strength in the first trimester of pregnancy: cross-sectional study

Objective To analyze pelvic floor muscle strength (PFMS), urinary continence and quality of life related to urinary incontinence (UI) of women in the first trimester of pregnancy. Method Cross-sectional study with a sample of 500 women who started prenatal care in a complementary healthcare facility in Guarulhos, state of São Paulo, from 2012 and 2013. Pelvic floor muscle strength was evaluated through perineometry. The pregnant women who presented UI answered the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Short Form (ICIQ-SF). Results It was found that maternal age (OR=1.06; CI95% 1.02-1.11) and prior UI (OR=15.12; 95%CI 8.19-27.92) are the variables that, in tandem, best explain the occurrence of UI at the beginning of pregnancy. The mean score on the ICIQ-SF was 8.2 (SD=3.9), considered a moderate impact on quality of life. Conclusion Older pregnant women with prior UI are more likely to have UI in the first trimester of pregnancy.
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The correlation between immune subtypes and consensus molecular subtypes in colorectal cancer identifies novel tumour microenvironment profiles, with prognostic and therapeutic implications

Background Solid tumour growth is the consequence of a complex interplay between cancer cells and their microenvironment. Recently, a new global transcriptomic immune classification of solid tumours has identified six immune subtypes (ISs) (C1–C6). Our aim was to specifically characterise ISs in colorectal cancer (CRC) and assess their interplay with the consensus molecular subtypes (CMSs). Methods Clinical and molecular information, including CMSs and ISs, were obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) (N = 625). Immune cell populations, differential gene expression and gene set enrichment analysis were performed to characterise ISs in the global CRC population by using CMSs. Results Only 5 ISs were identified in CRC, predominantly C1 wound healing (77%) and C2 IFN-γ dominant (17%). CMS1 showed the highest proportion of C2 (53%), whereas C1 was particularly dominant in CMS2 (91%). CMS3 had the highest representation of C3 inflammatory (7%) and C4 lymphocyte depleted ISs (4%), whereas all C6 TGF-β dominant cases belonged to CMS4 (2.3%). Prognostic relevance of ISs in CRC substantially differed from that reported for the global TCGA, and ISs had a greater ability to stratify the prognosis of CRC patients than CMS classification. C2 had higher densities of CD8, CD4 activated, follicular helper T cells, regulatory T cells and neutrophils and the highest M1/M2 polarisation. C2 had a heightened activation of pathways related to the immune system, apoptosis and DNA repair, mTOR signalling and oxidative phosphorylation, whereas C1 was more dependent of metabolic pathways. Conclusions The correlation of IS and CMS allows a more precise categorisation of patients with relevant clinical and biological implications, which may be valuable tools to improve tailored therapeutic interventions in CRC patients.This work was funded by projects DTS15/00157 , PI16/01827 and CIBER-ONC CB16/12/00442 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III ( Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, Spain ) and cofunded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, European Union), and approved by the Ethics Committee or our Institution. BS is funded by AECC (Spain). MCR is funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and SEOM (Spain) CCP and BRC are funded by CAM (Programa de Empleo Juvenil (YEI)

CENTRO DE PARTO NORMAL COMO ESTRATÉGIA DE INCENTIVO AO PARTO NORMAL: ESTUDO DESCRITIVO

Recientemente se verificó un esfuerzo gubernamental para reducir las tasas de cesariana en el sector público y cualificar la asistencia al parto normal. Así, se crearon los Centros de Parto Normal (CPN) destinados al acompañamiento de nacimientos fisiológicos, a cargo de enfermeras obstétricas. Este estudio descriptivo tuvo como objetivo caracterizar a las parturientas en cuanto a la edad materna, historia obstétrica, condiciones del parto y del recién-nacido en un CPN, en la ciudad de São Paulo. Se utilizaron datos secundarios de registros de nacimientos atendidos por enfermeras obstétricas y se analizaron 1.860 registros de partos ocurridos en julio y agosto de 2001. Los resultados indican: edad media de 23,7 años; 44,4% de nulíparas; 79,0% de partos normales; peso medio de los recién-nacidos de 3.174g; Apgar ≥7 en el primer y quinto minutos en 93,7% y 99,1% de los recién nacidos, respectivamente. Se concluyó que la atención al parto hecha por enfermeras obstétricas es importante para valorar la fisiología del parto y nacimiento, con indicadores obstétricos y neonatales de calidad.Tem-se verificado um esforço governamental para reduzir as taxas de cesariana no setor público e qualificar a assistência ao parto normal. Assim, foram criados Centros de Parto Normal (CPN) destinados ao acompanhamento de nascimentos fisiológicos, a cargo de enfermeiras obstétricas. Este estudo descritivo teve como objetivo caracterizar as parturientes quanto à idade materna, história obstétrica, condições do parto e do recémnascido em um CPN, na cidade de São Paulo. Utilizaram-se dados secundários de registros de nascimentos assistidos por enfermeiras obstétricas. Foram analisados 1.860 registros de partos ocorridos em julho e agosto de 2001. Os resultados indicam: idade média de 23,7 anos; 44,4% de nulíparas; 79,0% de partos normais; peso médio dos recém-nascidos de 3.174 g; índice de Apgar ≥7 no primeiro e quinto minutos em 93,7% e 99,1% dos recémnascidos, respectivamente. Concluiu-se que a assistência prestada por enfermeiras obstétricas em CPN vai ir ao encontro da valorização da fisiologia do parto e nascimento, com indicadores neonatais e obstétricos de qualidade

Planet-star interactions with precise transit timing. III. Entering the regime of dynamical tides

Hot Jupiters on extremely short-period orbits are expected to be unstable to tidal dissipation and spiral toward their host stars. That is because they transfer the angular momentum of the orbital motion through tidal dissipation into the stellar interior. Although the magnitude of this phenomenon is related to the physical properties of a specific star-planet system, statistical studies show that tidal dissipation might shape the architecture of hot Jupiter systems during the stellar lifetime on the main sequence. The efficiency of tidal dissipation remains poorly constrained in star-planet systems. Stellar interior models show that the dissipation of dynamical tides in radiation zones could be the dominant mechanism driving planetary orbital decay. These theoretical predictions can be verified with the transit timing method. We acquired new precise transit mid-times for five planets. They were previously identified as the best candidates for which orbital decay might be detected. Analysis of the timing data allowed us to place tighter constraints on the orbital decay rate. No statistically significant changes in their orbital periods were detected for all five hot Jupiters in systems HAT-P-23, KELT-1, KELT-16, WASP-18, and WASP-103. For planets HAT-P-23 b, WASP-18 b, and WASP-103 b, observations show that the mechanism of the dynamical tides dissipation probably does not operate in their host stars, preventing them from rapid orbital decay. This finding aligns with the models of stellar interiors of F-type stars, in which dynamical tides are not fully damped due to convective cores. For KELT-16 b, the span of transit timing data was not long enough to verify the theoretical predictions. KELT-1 b was identified as a potential laboratory for studying the dissipative tidal interactions of inertial waves in a convective layer.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&

Randomized phase II trial of FOLFIRI-panitumumab compared with FOLFIRI alone in patients with RAS wild-type circulating tumor DNA metastatic colorectal cancer beyond progression to first-line FOLFOX-panitumumab : the BEYOND study (GEMCAD 17-01)

Altres ajuts: Fundació la Marató de TV3 (201330.10); Fundacion Olga Torres (Modalitat A. 2019/2020); Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC, PROYE19040POST_001).Purpose: Panitumumab plus FOLFOX (P-FOLFOX) is standard first-line treatment for RAS wild-type (WT) metastatic colorectal cancer. The value of panitumumab rechallenge is currently unknown. We assessed addition of panitumumab to FOLFIRI (P-FOLFIRI) beyond progression to P-FOLFOX in patients with no RAS mutations in liquid biopsy (LB). Methods: In this randomized phase II trial, patients were assigned (3:2 ratio) to second-line P-FOLFIRI (arm A) or FOLFIRI alone (arm B). LB for circulating tumor DNA analysis was collected at study entry and at disease progression. Primary endpoint was 6-month progression-free survival. Two-stage Simon design required 85 patients to be included (EudraCT 2017-004519-38). Results: Between February 2019 and November 2020, 49 patients were screened (16 RAS mutations in LB detected) and 31 included (18 assigned to arm A and 13 to arm B). The study was prematurely closed due to inadequate recruitment. Serious adverse events were more frequent in arm A (44% vs. 23%). Overall response rate was 33% (arm A) vs. 7.7% (arm B). Six-month progression-free survival rate was 66.7% (arm A) and 38.5% (arm B). Median progression-free survival was 11.0 months (arm A) and 4.0 months (arm B) (hazard ratio, 0.58). At disease progression, RAS or BRAF mutations in LB were found in 4/11 patients (36%) in arm A and 2/10 (20%) in arm B. Conclusions: The BEYOND study suggests a meaningful benefit of P-FOLFIRI beyond progression to P-FOLFOX in metastatic colorectal cancer patients with WT RAS status selected by LB. This strategy deserves further investigation