Primary pleural myxoid liposarcoma: case report and literature review

Myxoid liposarcoma is a histological subtype of malignant tumors within the group of sarcomas. It is more common in men between the ages of 40 and 50 years. Diagnosis is difficult because they are usually asymptomatic lesions, computed tomography (CT) scan and magnetic resonance are the studies of choice. The gold of treatment is surgical resection with free margins. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have shown a good response. A 46-year-old male was detected incidental mediastinal lesion by radiography, CT scan showed a hypodense lesion in the right hemithorax that extended to the left hemithorax, infiltrating the diaphragm and large vessels. The patient underwent an exploratory thoracotomy, finding a multilobulated tumor and mucous content approximately 600 ml, adjacent structures were infiltrated, so complete resection was not possible. Subsequently, adjuvant chemotherapy given. The histopathological diagnosis was myxoid liposarcoma. Myxoid liposarcoma is a malignant lesion. The primary pleural origin is rare. Surgical resection with free margins has a good prognosis. Due to advanced disease, a complete resection in this case was not possible, that compromised the patient prognosis

The ALMA Early Science View of FUor/EXor Objects - V. Continuum Disc Masses and Sizes

Low-mass stars build a significant fraction of their total mass during short outbursts of enhanced accretion known as FUor and EXor outbursts. FUor objects are characterized by a sudden brightening of ∼5 mag at visible wavelengths within 1 yr and remain bright for decades. EXor objects have lower amplitude outbursts on shorter time-scales. Here we discuss a 1.3 mm Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) mini-survey of eight outbursting sources (three FUors, four EXors, and the borderline object V1647 Ori) in the Orion Molecular Cloud. While previous papers in this series discuss the remarkable molecular outflows observed in the three FUor objects and V1647 Ori, here we focus on the continuum data and the differences and similarities between the FUor and EXor populations. We find that FUor discs are significantly more massive (∼80–600 MJup) than the EXor objects (∼0.5–40 MJup). We also report that the EXor sources lack the prominent outflows seen in the FUor population. Even though our sample is small, the large differences in disc masses and outflow activity suggest that the two types of objects represent different evolutionary stages. The FUor sources seem to be rather compact (Rc \u3c 20–40 au) and to have a smaller characteristic radius for a given disc mass when compared to T Tauri stars. V1118 Ori, the only known close binary system in our sample, is shown to host a disc around each one of the stellar components. The disc around HBC 494 is asymmetric, hinting at a structure in the outer disc or the presence of a second disc

Obesity-induced insulin resistance in human skeletal muscle is characterised by defective activation of p42/p44 MAP kinase

Insulin resistance (IR), an impaired cellular, tissue and whole body response to insulin, is a major pathophysiological defect of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Although IR is closely associated with obesity, the identity of the molecular defect(s) underlying obesity-induced IR in skeletal muscle remains controversial; reduced post-receptor signalling of the insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1) adaptor protein and downstream effectors such as protein kinase B (PKB) have previously been implicated. We examined expression and/or activation of a number of components of the insulin-signalling cascade in skeletal muscle of 22 healthy young men (with body mass index (BMI) range, 20–37 kg/m2). Whole body insulin sensitivity (M value) and body composition was determined by the hyperinsulinaemic (40 mU. min−1.m−2.), euglycaemic clamp and by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) respectively. Skeletal muscle (vastus lateralis) biopsies were taken before and after one hour of hyperinsulinaemia and the muscle insulin signalling proteins examined by western blot and immunoprecipitation assay. There was a strong inverse relationship between M-value and BMI. The most striking abnormality was significantly reduced insulin-induced activation of p42/44 MAP kinase, measured by specific assay, in the volunteers with poor insulin sensitivity. However, there was no relationship between individuals' BMI or M-value and protein expression/phosphorylation of IRS1, PKB, or p42/44 MAP kinase protein, under basal or hyperinsulinaemic conditions. In the few individuals with poor insulin sensitivity but preserved p42/44 MAP kinase activation, other signalling defects were evident. These findings implicate defective p42/44 MAP kinase signalling as a potential contributor to obesity-related IR in a non-diabetic population, although clearly multiple signalling defects underlie obesity associated IR

Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments

[EN] The continuous development of ultra-fast high-power lasers (HPL) technology with the ability of working at unprecedented repetition rates, between 1 and 10 Hz, is raising the target needs for experiments in the different areas of interest to the HPL community. Many target designs can be conceived according to specific scientific issues, however to guarantee manufacturing abilities that enable large number production and still allow for versatility in the design is the main barrier in the exploitation of these high repetition rate facilities. Here, we have applied MEMS based manufacturing processes for this purpose. In particular, we have focused on the fabrication and characterization of submicrometric conductive membranes embedded in a silicon frame. These kinds of solid targets are used for laser-driven particle acceleration through the so-called Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism (TNSA). They were obtained by top-down fabrication alternating pattern transfer, atomic layer deposition, and selective material etching. The adaptability of the approach is then analyzed and discussed by evaluating different properties of targets for use in laser-driven particle acceleration experiments. These characteristics include the surface properties of membranes after fabrication and the high density of the target array. Finally, we were able to show their efficiency for laser-driven proton acceleration in a series of experiments with a 3 TW table-top laser facility, achieving stable proton acceleration up to 2 MeV.The authors highly appreciate the collaboration of Radosys (Budapest) which provided CR-39 detector material, etching bath, and readout equipment. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P. Mur has received a grant of the Garantia Juvenil 2015 program. This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Quirión, D.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Benlliure, J.... (2018). Preparation and characterization of micro-nano engineered targets for high-power laser experiments. Microelectronic Engineering. 194:67-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mee.2018.03.011S677019

Wafer-scale fabrication of target arrays for stable generation of proton beams by laser-plasma interaction

[EN] Large-scale fabrication of targets for laser-driven acceleration of ion beams is a prerequisite to establish suitable applications, and to keep up with the challenge of increasing repetition rate of currently available high-power lasers. Here we present manufacturing and test results of large arrays of solid targets for TNSA laser-driven ion acceleration. By applying micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) based methods allowing for parallel processing of thousands of targets on a single Si wafer, sub-micrometric, thin-layer metallic membranes were fabricated by combining photolithography, physical and chemical vapor deposition, selective etching, and Si micromachining. These structures were characterized by using optical and atomic force microscopy. Their performance for the production of laser-driven proton beams was tested on a purpose-made table-top Ti:Sapphire laser system running at 3 TW peak power with a contrast over ASE of 108. We have performed several test series achieving maximum proton energy values around 2 MeV.This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos- Colaboración 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P. Mur has received a grant of the Garantía Juvenil 2015 program.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Bellido-Millán, PJ.; Lera, R.... (2018). Wafer-scale fabrication of target arrays for stable generation of proton beams by laser-plasma interaction. Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Online). 1079. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1079/1/012007S0120071079Abedi, S., Dorranian, D., Abari, M. E., & Shokri, B. (2011). Relativistic effects in the interaction of high intensity ultra-short laser pulse with collisional underdense plasma. Physics of Plasmas, 18(9), 093108. doi:10.1063/1.3633529Antici, P., Fuchs, J., d’ Humières, E., Lefebvre, E., Borghesi, M., Brambrink, E., … Pépin, H. (2007). Energetic protons generated by ultrahigh contrast laser pulses interacting with ultrathin targets. Physics of Plasmas, 14(3), 030701. doi:10.1063/1.2480610Ceccotti, T., Lévy, A., Popescu, H., Réau, F., D’Oliveira, P., Monot, P., … Martin, P. (2007). Proton Acceleration with High-Intensity Ultrahigh-Contrast Laser Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 99(18). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.18500

Efficient proton acceleration from a 3 TW table-top laser interacting with submicrometric mass-produced solid targets

[EN] Thin layer membranes with controllable features and material arrangements are often used as target materials for laser driven particle accelerators. Reduced cost, large scale fabrication of such membranes with high reproducibility, and good stability are central for the efficient production of proton beams. These characteristics are of growing importance in the context of advanced laser light sources where increased repetition rates boost the need for consumable targets with design and properties adjusted to study the different phenomena arising in ultra-intense laser-plasma interaction. Wepresent the fabrication of sub-micrometric thin-layer gold or aluminum membranes in a silicon wafer frame by using nano/micro-electro-mechanical-system (N/MEMS) processing which are suitable for rapid patterning and machining of many samples at the same time and allowing for high-throughput production of targets for laser-driven acceleration. Obtained targets were tested for laserproton acceleration through the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration mechanism (TNSA) in a series of experiments carried out on a purpose-made table-top Ti:Sa running at 3 TW peak power and 10 Hz diode pump rate with a contrast over ASE of 10(8)The authors highly appreciate the collaboration of Radosys (Budapest) which provided CR-39 detector material, etching bath, and readout equipment. This project has been financed by the Spanish Ministry for Economy and Competitiveness within the Retos-Colaboracion 2015 initiative, ref. RTC-2015-3278-1. P Mur has received a grant of the Garantia Juvenil 2015 program. This work has made use of the Spanish ICTS Network MICRONANOFABS partially supported by MEINCOM.Zaffino, R.; Seimetz, M.; Ruiz-De La Cruz, A.; Sánchez, I.; Mur, P.; Quirión, D.; Bellido-Millán, PJ.... (2018). Efficient proton acceleration from a 3 TW table-top laser interacting with submicrometric mass-produced solid targets. Journal of Physics Communications. 2(4):1-6. https://doi.org/10.1088/2399-6528/aabc25S1624Borghesi, M., Campbell, D. H., Schiavi, A., Haines, M. G., Willi, O., MacKinnon, A. J., … Bulanov, S. (2002). Electric field detection in laser-plasma interaction experiments via the proton imaging technique. Physics of Plasmas, 9(5), 2214-2220. doi:10.1063/1.1459457Ledingham, K., Bolton, P., Shikazono, N., & Ma, C.-M. (2014). Towards Laser Driven Hadron Cancer Radiotherapy: A Review of Progress. Applied Sciences, 4(3), 402-443. doi:10.3390/app4030402Spindloe, C., Arthur, G., Hall, F., Tomlinson, S., Potter, R., Kar, S., … Tolley, M. K. (2016). High volume fabrication of laser targets using MEMS techniques. Journal of Physics: Conference Series, 713, 012002. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/713/1/012002Schomburg, W. K. (2011). Thin Films. RWTHedition, 9-20. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-19489-4_4Bellido, P., Lera, R., Seimetz, M., Cruz, A. R. la, Torres-Peirò, S., Galán, M., … Benlloch, J. M. (2017). Characterization of protons accelerated from a 3 TW table-top laser system. Journal of Instrumentation, 12(05), T05001-T05001. doi:10.1088/1748-0221/12/05/t05001Mayer, M. (1999). SIMNRA, a simulation program for the analysis of NRA, RBS and ERDA. AIP Conference Proceedings. doi:10.1063/1.59188Ceccotti, T., Lévy, A., Popescu, H., Réau, F., D’Oliveira, P., Monot, P., … Martin, P. (2007). Proton Acceleration with High-Intensity Ultrahigh-Contrast Laser Pulses. Physical Review Letters, 99(18). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.99.185002Dollar, F., Reed, S. A., Matsuoka, T., Bulanov, S. S., Chvykov, V., Kalintchenko, G., … Maksimchuk, A. (2013). High-intensity laser-driven proton acceleration enhancement from hydrogen containing ultrathin targets. Applied Physics Letters, 103(14), 141117. doi:10.1063/1.4824361Neely, D., Foster, P., Robinson, A., Lindau, F., Lundh, O., Persson, A., … McKenna, P. (2006). Enhanced proton beams from ultrathin targets driven by high contrast laser pulses. Applied Physics Letters, 89(2), 021502. doi:10.1063/1.2220011Green, J. S., Carroll, D. C., Brenner, C., Dromey, B., Foster, P. S., Kar, S., … Zepf, M. (2010). Enhanced proton flux in the MeV range by defocused laser irradiation. New Journal of Physics, 12(8), 085012. doi:10.1088/1367-2630/12/8/085012Giuffrida, L., Svensson, K., Psikal, J., Dalui, M., Ekerfelt, H., Gallardo Gonzalez, I., … Margarone, D. (2017). Manipulation of laser-accelerated proton beam profiles by nanostructured and microstructured targets. Physical Review Accelerators and Beams, 20(8). doi:10.1103/physrevaccelbeams.20.08130

The impact of socioeconomic and phenotypic traits on self-perception of ethnicity in Latin America

Self-perception of ethnicity is a complex social trait shaped by both, biological and non-biological factors. We developed a comprehensive analysis of ethnic self-perception (ESP) on a large sample of Latin American mestizos from five countries, differing in age, socio-economic and education context, external phenotypic attributes and genetic background. We measured the correlation of ESP against genomic ancestry, and the influence of physical appearance, socio-economic context, and education on the distortion observed between both. Here we show that genomic ancestry is correlated to aspects of physical appearance, which in turn affect the individual ethnic self-perceived ancestry. Also, we observe that, besides the significant correlation among genomic ancestry and ESP, specific physical or socio-economic attributes have a strong impact on self-perception. In addition, the distortion among ESP and genomic ancestry differs across age ranks/countries, probably suggesting the underlying effect of past public policies regarding identity. Our results indicate that individuals’ own ideas about its origins should be taken with caution, especially in aspects of modern life, including access to work, social policies, and public health key decisions such as drug administration, therapy design, and clinical trials, among others

Serum Carotenoids and Pediatric Metabolic Index Predict Insulin Sensitivity in Mexican American Children

High concentrations of carotenoids are protective against cardiometabolic risk traits (CMTs) in adults and children. We recently showed in non-diabetic Mexican American (MA) children that serum α-carotene and β-carotene are inversely correlated with obesity measures and triglycerides and positively with HDL cholesterol and that they were under strong genetic influences. Additionally, we previously described a Pediatric Metabolic Index (PMI) that helps in the identification of children who are at risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we quantified serum lycopene and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations in approximately 580 children from MA families using an ultraperformance liquid chromatography-photodiode array and determined their heritabilities and correlations with CMTs. Using response surface methodology (RSM), we determined two-way interactions of carotenoids and PMI on Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI). The concentrations of lycopene and β-cryptoxanthin were highly heritable [h2 = 0.98, P = 7 × 10–18 and h2 = 0.58, P = 1 × 10–7]. We found significant (P ≤ 0.05) negative phenotypic correlations between β-cryptoxanthin and five CMTs: body mass index (− 0.22), waist circumference (− 0.25), triglycerides (− 0.18), fat mass (− 0.23), fasting glucose (− 0.09), and positive correlations with HDL cholesterol (0.29). In contrast, lycopene only showed a significant negative correlation with fasting glucose (− 0.08) and a positive correlation with HDL cholesterol (0.18). Importantly, we found that common genetic influences significantly contributed to the observed phenotypic correlations. RSM showed that increased serum concentrations of α- and β-carotenoids rather than that of β-cryptoxanthin or lycopene had maximal effects on ISI. In summary, our findings suggest that the serum carotenoids are under strong additive genetic influences and may have differential effects on susceptibility to CMTs in children

Serum carotenoids and Pediatric Metabolic Index predict insulin sensitivity in Mexican American children

High concentrations of carotenoids are protective against cardiometabolic risk traits (CMTs) in adults and children. We recently showed in non-diabetic Mexican American (MA) children that serum α-carotene and β-carotene are inversely correlated with obesity measures and triglycerides and positively with HDL cholesterol and that they were under strong genetic influences. Additionally, we previously described a Pediatric Metabolic Index (PMI) that helps in the identification of children who are at risk for cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we quantified serum lycopene and β-cryptoxanthin concentrations in approximately 580 children from MA families using an ultraperformance liquid chromatography-photodiode array and determined their heritabilities and correlations with CMTs. Using response surface methodology (RSM), we determined two-way interactions of carotenoids and PMI on Matsuda insulin sensitivity index (ISI). The concentrations of lycopene and β-cryptoxanthin were highly heritable [h2 = 0.98, P = 7 × 10-18 and h2 = 0.58, P = 1 × 10-7]. We found significant (P ≤ 0.05) negative phenotypic correlations between β-cryptoxanthin and five CMTs: body mass index (- 0.22), waist circumference (- 0.25), triglycerides (- 0.18), fat mass (- 0.23), fasting glucose (- 0.09), and positive correlations with HDL cholesterol (0.29). In contrast, lycopene only showed a significant negative correlation with fasting glucose (- 0.08) and a positive correlation with HDL cholesterol (0.18). Importantly, we found that common genetic influences significantly contributed to the observed phenotypic correlations. RSM showed that increased serum concentrations of α- and β-carotenoids rather than that of β-cryptoxanthin or lycopene had maximal effects on ISI. In summary, our findings suggest that the serum carotenoids are under strong additive genetic influences and may have differential effects on susceptibility to CMTs in children

Structural Evolution of CO2-Filled Pure Silica LTA Zeolite under High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions

[EN] The crystal structure of CO2-filled pure-SiO2 LTA zeolite has been studied at high pressures and temperatures using synchrotron-based X-ray powder diffraction. Its structure consists of 13 CO2 guest molecules, 12 of them accommodated in the large alpha-cages and one in the beta-cages, giving a SiO2/CO2 stoichiometric ratio smaller than 2. The structure remains stable under pressure up to 20 GPa with a slight pressure-dependent rhombohedral distortion, indicating that pressure-induced amorphization is prevented by the insertion of guest species in this open framework. The ambient temperature lattice compressibility has been determined. In situ high-pressure resistive-heating experiments up to 750 K allow us to estimate the thermal expansivity at P approximate to 5 GPa. Our data confirm that the insertion of CO2 reverses the negative thermal expansion of the empty zeolite structure. No evidence of any chemical reaction was observed. The possibility of synthesizing a silicon carbonate at high temperatures and higher pressures is discussed in terms of the evolution of C-O and Si-O distances between molecular and framework atoms.The authors thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO), the Spanish Research Agency (AEI), and the European Fund for Regional Development (FEDER) under Grant Nos. MAT2016-75586-C4-1-P, MAT2015-71842-P, Severo Ochoa SEV-2012-0267, and No.MAT2015-71070-REDC (MALTA Consolider). D.S.-P. and J.R.-F. acknowledge MINECO for a Ramon y Cajal and a Juan de la Cierva contract, respectively. Portions of this work were performed at GeoSoilEnviroCARS (Sector 13), Advanced Photon Source (APS), Argonne National Laboratory. GeoSoilEnviroCARS is supported by the National Science Foundation - Earth Sciences (EAR-1128799) and Department of Energy- GeoSciences (DE-FG02-94ER14466). This research used resources of the Advanced Photon Source, a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility operated for the DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. Use of the COMPRES-GSECARS gas loading system was supported by COMPRES under NSF Cooperative Agreement EAR 11-57758. CO2 gas was also loaded at Diamond Light Source. Authors thank synchrotron ALBA-CELLS for beamtime allocation at MSPD line. British Crown Owned Copyright 2017/AWE. Published with permission of the Controller of Her Britannic Majesty's Stationery Office.Santamaria-Perez, D.; Marqueño, T.; Macleod, S.; Ruiz-Fuertes, J.; Daisenberger, D.; Chulia-Jordan, R.; Errandonea, D.... (2017). Structural Evolution of CO2-Filled Pure Silica LTA Zeolite under High-Pressure High-Temperature Conditions. Chemistry of Materials. 29(10):4502-4510. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.7b01158S45024510291