Hormone Therapy and the Risk of Breast Cancer in BRCA1 Mutation Carriers

Background: Hormone therapy (HT) is commonly given to women to alleviate the climacteric symptoms associated with menopause. There is concern that this treatment may increase the risk of breast cancer. The potential association of HT and breast cancer risk is of particular interest to women who carry a mutation in BRCA1 because they face a high lifetime risk of breast cancer and because many of these women take HT after undergoing prophylactic surgical oophorectomy at a young age. Methods: We conducted a matched case-control study of 472 postmenopausal women with a BRCA1 mutation to examine whether or not the use of HT is associated with subsequent risk of breast cancer. Breast cancer case patients and control subjects were matched with respect to age, age at menopause, and type of menopause (surgical or natural). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated with conditional logistic regression. Statistical tests were two-sided. Results: In this group of BRCA1 mutation carriers, the adjusted OR for breast cancer associated with ever use of HT compared with never use was 0.58 (95% CI = 0.35 to 0.96; P =. 03). In analyses by type of HT, an inverse association with breast cancer risk was observed with use of estrogen only (OR = 0.51, 95% CI = 0.27 to 0.98; P =. 04); the association with use of estrogen plus progesterone was not statistically significant (OR = 0.66, 95% CI = 0.34 to 1.27; P =. 21). Conclusion: Among postmenopausal women with a BRCA1 mutation, HT use was not associated with increased risk of breast cancer; indeed, in this population, it was associated with a decreased risk

SARS-CoV-2 infects the human kidney and drives fibrosis in kidney organoids

Kidney failure is frequently observed during and after COVID-19, but it remains elusive whether this is a direct effect of the virus. Here, we report that SARS-CoV-2 directly infects kidney cells and is associated with increased tubule-interstitial kidney fibrosis in patient autopsy samples. To study direct effects of the virus on the kidney independent of systemic effects of COVID-19, we infected human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived kidney organoids with SARS-CoV-2. Single-cell RNA sequencing indicated injury and dedifferentiation of infected cells with activation of profibrotic signaling pathways. Importantly, SARS-CoV-2 infection also led to increased collagen 1 protein expression in organoids. A SARS-CoV-2 protease inhibitor was able to ameliorate the infection of kidney cells by SARS-CoV-2. Our results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can directly infect kidney cells and induce cell injury with subsequent fibrosis. These data could explain both acute kidney injury in COVID-19 patients and the development of chronic kidney disease in long COVID

Values of mortgages with top-up payment options

10.1142/S0219024906003779International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Finance95801-82

Características produtivas da melancia em diferentes espaçamentos de plantio Yield characteristics of watermelon in different planting spaces

Diferentes espaçamentos de plantio foram avaliados na produção de melancia em experimento da Embrapa Semi-Árido em Petrolina, de outubro a dezembro de 1998. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial 2 x 3, consistindo de dois espaçamentos entre linhas (2,50 e 3,00 m) e três espaçamentos entre plantas (0,40; 0,60 e 0,80 m) e 3 repetições, sendo utilizada a cultivar Crimson Sweet. O espaçamento entre linhas de 3,00 m apresentou maior produção (42,46 t/ha), sendo que entre plantas os espaçamentos de 0,60 e 0,80 m alcançaram as maiores produções com 42,50 e 45,29 t/ha, respectivamente, não mostrando diferenças entre si. Não foram verificadas diferenças significativas para produção de frutos refugo nos espaçamentos entre linhas. No entanto, o menor espaçamento entre plantas proporcionou maior produção com 20,21 t/ha, seguido pelos espaçamentos de 0,60 m (12,86 t/ha) e 0,80 m (8,62 t/ha). O incremento dos espaçamentos, tanto entre linhas como entre plantas, resultou em frutos de maior tamanho, tendo o espaçamento 3,00 x 0,80 m apresentado a maior massa fresca do fruto (8,83 kg/fruto). O maior número de frutos por planta (1,35 frutos) foi obtido com o espaçamento de 3,00 x 0,80 m.<br>The yield of watermelon as a result of different planting space was evaluated, from October to December 1998 in Petrolina, Pernambuco State, Brazil. The experimental design was a randomized blocks in a 5 x 3 factorial scheme, with three replications. The cultivar Crimson Sweet was planted in 2.5 and 3.0 m row spacing and in 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 m inside the row. The 3.0 m row spacing resulted in the highest marketable yield with 42.46 t ha-1. Higher yields (42.50 and 45.29 t ha-1) were obtained with the 0.2 and 0.4 m plant spacing, with no difference between them. No significant differences were observed for unmarketable fruit yield in the row spacings. However, the smallest plant spacing (0.4 m) showed the highest yield with 20,21 t ha-1, followed by the 0.6 m (12.86 t ha-1) and 0,80 m (8.62 t ha-1). The increase of the row and plant spacing produced larger sized fruits, and the spacing 3.0 x 0.8 m showed the highest weight of fresh fruit mass (8.83 kg). The largest number of fruits per plant (1.35 fruits) was observed in the 3.00 x 0.8 m spacing