Cribriform-morular variant of thyroid carcinoma

It is very rewarding for endocrine pathologists to see, in the new book of the World Health Organization (WHO) classification of endocrine organs 1, how the molecular characterization of hyroid tumours has confirmed the types and subtypes of tumours previously recognized by less sophisticated techniques.Supported by Grant PI15/01501-FEDER from the Insti-tuto de Salud Carlos III, Ministry of Science, Innova-tion and Universities, SpainS

INFECÇÃO POR CHLAMYDIA TRACHOMATIS E NEISSERIA GONORRHOEAE EM UTENTES DE UMA CONSULTA DE DOENÇAS DE TRANSMISSÃO SEXUAL - ANÁLISE DE DEZ ANOS

Background: Reports indicating incidence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) infections have been increasing. Objectives: To determine the prevalence of CT and NG infected individuals attending a Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) clinic in a University Hospital. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on attendees of the STD clinic throughout a 10 year period. Diagnoses of CT and NG infections were enabled upon nucleic acid amplification analysis (PCR). Results: In our study population there was a male predomi- nance (83.3%). Overall prevalence of CT and NG infection was 1.6% and 0.8%, respectively. A prevalence of 3% of chlamydia infection was recorded when routine screening was implemented. More so, 53% of individuals displayed asymptomatic infection, 78% of which had chlamydia infection and 22% had gonococcal infection (p<0.05). Routine screening of STD attendees has resulted in the diagnosis and treatment of an average of 13.7 asymptomatic individuals. Conclusion: Unlike gonococcal infection we found an increase of chlamydia infection prevalence when routine screening was implemented. Screening of STD attendees for CT provided the opportunity to identify and treat asymptomatic Chlamydia infections. Systematic screening of STD attendees of both genders for CT should be offered.KEYWORDS – Chlamydia Infections; Chlamydia trachomatis; Gonorrhea; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Ambulatory Care Facilities.Introdução: Estudos recentes têm apontado para um aumento da incidência de infecções por Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) e Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG). Objetivos: Determinar a prevalência de infecção por CT e NG em utentes de uma consulta de Doenças de Transmissão Sexual (DST) num Hospital Universitário. Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo transversal nos utentes de uma clínica de DTS ao longo de um período de 10 anos. Os diagnósticos foram efectuados recorrendo a análise de amplificação de ácidos nucleicos (PCR). Resultados: Na população estudada houve um predomínio do sexo masculino (83,3%). A prevalência global da infecção por CT e NG foi de 1,6% e 0,8%, respectivamente, e após implementação do rastreio a todos os utentes observados, a prevalência de infecção por CT subiu para 3%. Adicionalmente, 53% dos utentes assintomáticos foram diagnosticados como portares da infecção, 78% com infecção por CT e 22% com infecção por NG (p <0,05). O rastreio sistemático resultou no diagnóstico e no tratamento de uma média de 13,7 indivíduos assintomáticos. Conclusão: Contrariamente ao observado na infecção por NG, os autores encontraram um aumento da prevalência da infecção por CT, após implementação do rastreio sistemático de todos os utentes da consulta. A triagem para a infecção por CT possibilitou a identificação e tratamento das infecções assintomáticas por este microorganismo. Os autores sugerem o rastreio sistemático de todos os utentes das consultas de STD para a infecção por CT.PALAVRAS-CHAVE – Chlamydia Trachomatis; Neisseria gonorrhoeae; Infecções por Clamídia; Gonorreia

Recozimento de homogeneização da liga 6063 na empresa SAPA II Perfis

Estágio realizado na SAPA II Perfis - e orientado pelo Eng. Horário CardosoTese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 201

Molecular aspects of thyroid calcification

In thyroid cancer, calcification is mainly present in classical papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), despite being described in benign lesions and in other subtypes of thyroid carcinomas. Thyroid calcifications are classified according to their diameter and location. At ultrasonography, microcalcifications appear as hyperechoic spots = 1 mm in diameter and can be named as stromal calcification, bone formation, or psammoma bodies (PBs), whereas calcifications > 1 mm are macrocalcifications. The mechanism of their formation is still poorly understood. Microcalcifications are generally accepted as a reliable indicator of malignancy as they mostly represent PBs. In order to progress in terms of the understanding of the mechanisms behind calcification occurring in thyroid tumors in general, and in PTC in particular, we decided to use histopathology as the basis of the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of calcification formation in thyroid cancer. We explored the involvement of molecules such as runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2), osteonectin/secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone sialoprotein (BSP), and osteopontin (OPN) in the formation of calcification. The present review offers a novel insight into the mechanisms underlying the development of calcification in thyroid cancer.This research was funded by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério daCiência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” Funding: This research was funded by FEDER—Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). Additional funding by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization—COMPETE2020; Portuguese national funds via FCT, under project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016390: CANCEL STEM; and from the FCT, under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031438: The other faces of telomerase: Looking beyond tumour immortalization (PDTC/MED_ONC/31438/2017). J.V. is funded with a research contract (CEECIND/00201/2017) by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT). This research was funded by FEDER?Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional funds through the COMPETE 2020?Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT?Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia/Minist?rio da Ci?ncia, Tecnologia e Inova??o in the framework of the project ?Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences? (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). Additional funding by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization?COMPETE2020; Portuguese national funds via FCT, under project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-016390: CANCEL STEM; and from the FCT, under the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-031438: The other faces of telomerase: Looking beyond tumour immortalization (PDTC/MED_ONC/31438/2017). J.V. is funded with a research contract (CEECIND/00201/2017) by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e a Tecnologia, Minist?rio da Ci?ncia, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (FCT)

Inherited Thyroid Tumors With Oncocytic Change

Familial non-medullary thyroid carcinoma (FNMTC) corresponds to 5-10% of all follicular cell-derived carcinoma (FCDTC). Oncocytic thyroid tumors have an increased incidence in the familial context in comparison with sporadic FCDTC, encompassing benign and malignant tumors in the same family presenting with some extent of cell oxyphilia. This has triggered the interest of our and other groups to clarify the oncocytic change, looking for genetic markers that could explain the emergence of this phenotype in thyroid benign and malignant lesions, focusing on familial aggregation. Despite some advances regarding the identification of the gene associated with retinoic and interferon-induced mortality 19 (GRIM-19), as one of the key candidate genes affected in the “Tumor with Cell Oxyphilia” (TCO) locus, most of the mutations follow a pattern of “private mutations”, almost exclusive to one family. Moreover, no causative genetic alterations were identified so far in most families. The incomplete penetrance of the disease, the diverse benign and malignant phenotypes in the affected familial members and the variable syndromic associations create an additional layer of complexity for studying the genetic alterations in oncocytic tumors. In the present review, we summarized the available evidence supporting genomic-based mechanisms for the oncocytic change, particularly in the context of FNMTC. We have also addressed the challenges and gaps in the aforementioned mechanisms, as well as molecular clues that can explain, at least partially, the phenotype of oncocytic tumors and the respective clinico-pathological behavior. Finally, we pointed to areas of further investigation in the field of oncocytic (F)NMTC with translational potential in terms of therapy

Lotsizing and scheduling in the glass container industry

Manufacturing organizations are keen to improve their competitive position in the global marketplace by increasing operational performance. Production planning is crucial to this end and represents one of the most challenging tasks managers are facing today. Among a large number of alternatives, production planning processes help decision-making by tradingoff conflicting objectives in the presence of technological, marketing and financial constraints.Two important classes of such problems are lotsizing and scheduling. Proofs from complexity theory supported by computational experiments clearly show the hardness of solving lotsizing and scheduling problems.Motivated by a real-world case, the glass container industry production planning and scheduling problem is studied in depth. Due to its inherent complexity and to the frequent interdependencies between decisions that are made at and affect different organizational echelons, the system is decomposed into a two-level hierarchically organized planning structure: long-term and short-term levels.This dissertation explores extensions of lotsizing and scheduling problems that appear in both levels. We address these variants in two research directions. On one hand, we develop and implement different approaches to obtain good quality solutions, as metaheuristics (namely variable neighborhood search) and Lagrangian-based heuristics, as well as other special-purpose heuristics. On the other hand, we try to combine new stronger models and valid inequalities based on the polyhedral structure of these problems to tighten linear relaxations and speed up the solution process.Manufacturing organizations are keen to improve their competitive position in the global marketplace by increasing operational performance. Production planning is crucial to this end and represents one of the most challenging tasks managers are facing today. Among a large number of alternatives, production planning processes help decision-making by tradingoff conflicting objectives in the presence of technological, marketing and financial constraints.Two important classes of such problems are lotsizing and scheduling. Proofs from complexity theory supported by computational experiments clearly show the hardness of solving lotsizing and scheduling problems.Motivated by a real-world case, the glass container industry production planning and scheduling problem is studied in depth. Due to its inherent complexity and to the frequent interdependencies between decisions that are made at and affect different organizational echelons, the system is decomposed into a two-level hierarchically organized planning structure: long-term and short-term levels.This dissertation explores extensions of lotsizing and scheduling problems that appear in both levels. We address these variants in two research directions. On one hand, we develop and implement different approaches to obtain good quality solutions, as metaheuristics (namely variable neighborhood search) and Lagrangian-based heuristics, as well as other special-purpose heuristics. On the other hand, we try to combine new stronger models and valid inequalities based on the polyhedral structure of these problems to tighten linear relaxations and speed up the solution process

Comprehensive Assessment of TERT mRNA Expression across a Large Cohort of Benign and Malignant Thyroid Tumours

The presence of TERT promoter (TERTp) mutations in thyroid cancer have been associated with worse prognosis features, whereas the extent and meaning of the expression and activation of TERT in thyroid tumours is still largely unknown. We analysed frozen samples from a series of benign and malignant thyroid tumours, displaying non-aggressive features and low mutational burden in order to evaluate the presence of TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression in these settings. In this series, TERTp mutations were found in 2%, only in malignant cases, in larger cancers, and from older patients. TERT mRNA expression was detected in both benign and malignant tumours, with increased frequencies in the malignant tumours with aggressive histotypes, larger tumours, and from older patients. In benign tumours, TERT mRNA expression was found in 17% of the follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA) with increased levels of expression in smaller tumours and associated with the presence of thyroiditis. TERTp mutations and TERT mRNA expression are correlated with worse prognosis features in malignant thyroid tumours, whereas TERT mRNA expression in the benign tumours is associated with the presence of thyroiditis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

INFECÇÃO CUTÂNEA POR MYCOBACTERIUM HAEMOPHILUM EM DOENTE IMUNODEPRIMIDO

Mycobacterium haemophilum skin infection is a rare disease with a difficult diagnosis and a challenging treatment. We report the case of a patient on chronic corticotherapy for myositis with nodules on the lower limbs in which Mycobacterium haemophilum was identified by PCR technique. This case emphasizes the need for a high index of suspicion for the diagnosis. In fact, this infection can currently be underdiagnosed due to the special requirements for culture. It should be considered in patients with chronic granulomatous processes in combination with negative my- cobacteriological examination.KEYWORDS – Mycobacterium haemophilum; Immunocompromised host; Mycobacterium infections; Skin diseases, bacterial.A infecção cutânea por Mycobacterium haemophilum é uma patologia rara, de difícil diagnóstico e cujo tratamento constitui um desafio. Descreve-se o caso de um doente sob corticoterapia crónica no contexto de miosite com nódulos dos membros inferiores, nos quais foi detectada uma estirpe de Mycobacterium haemophilum pela téc- nica de PCR. Este caso enfatiza a necessidade de um alto nível de suspeição clínica para o diagnóstico. De facto, esta infecção pode actualmente estar sub-diagnosticada devido aos requisitos especiais de cultura. Deve ser considerada em doentes com processos granulomatosos crónicos em associação a exame cultural persistentemente negativo.PALAVRAS-CHAVE – Mycobacterium haemophilum; Micobactéria atípica; Imunossupressão