The symmetries of the Carroll superparticle

Motivated by recent applications of Carroll symmetries we investigate, using the method of nonlinear realizations, the geometry of flat and curved (AdS) Carroll space and the symmetries of a particle moving in such a space both in the bosonic as well as in the supersymmetric case. In the bosonic case we find that the Carroll particle possesses an infinite-dimensional symmetry which only in the flat case includes dilatations. The duality between the Bargmann and Carroll algebra, relevant for the flat case, does not extend to the curved case. In the supersymmetric case we study the dynamics of the N = 1 AdS Carroll superparticle. Only in the flat limit we find that the action is invariant under an infinite-dimensional symmetry that includes a supersymmetric extension of the Lifshitz Carroll algebra with dynamical exponent z = 0. We also discuss in the flat case the extension to N = 2 supersymmetry and show that the flat N = 2 superparticle is equivalent to the (non-moving) AT = 1 superparticle and that therefore it is not BPS unlike its Galilei counterpart. This is due to the fact that in this case kappa-symmetry eliminates the linearized supersymmetry. In an appendix we discuss the N = 2 curved case in three dimensions only and show that there are two N = 2 theories that are physically different

Nonrelativistic superparticle in a curved background

Using a component formulation, we construct the supersymmetric action for a superparticle in a three-dimensional Newton-Cartan supergravity background and clarify its symmetries. Our construction proceeds by first constructing the superparticle in a flat background. Next, by boosting up the background symmetries, we replace in a first step the flat background by a Galilean supergravity background. In a second step the Galilean supergravity background is replaced by a Newton-Cartan supergravity background. We extend our results by adding a supersymmetric cosmological constant and compare the nonrelativistic superparticle with the relativistic κ -symmetric three-dimensional superparticle

HPV Vaccination as Adjuvant to Conization in Women with Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia: A Study under Real-Life Conditions

Background: Recent studies have shown preliminary evidence that vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) could decrease the risk of persistent/recurrent HSIL in women treated for high-grade cervical intraepithelial lesion (HSIL). We aimed to determine the benefits of HPV vaccination in patients undergoing conization for HSIL in real-life conditions and evaluate vaccination compliance associated with different funding policies. Methods: From January 2013 to July 2018, 265 women underwent conization in our center. From January 2013 to July 2017, treated patients (n = 131) had to pay for the vaccine, whereas after July 2017 the vaccine was publicly funded and free for treated women (n = 134). Post-conization follow-up controls were scheduled every six months with a Pap smear, HPV testing, and a colposcopy. Results: 153 (57.7%) women accepted vaccination (vaccinated group), and 112 (42.3%) refused the vaccine (non-vaccinated group). Persistent/recurrent HSIL was less frequent in vaccinated than in non-vaccinated women (3.3% vs. 10.7%, p = 0.015). HPV vaccination was associated with a reduced risk of persistent/recurrent HSIL (OR 0.2, 95%CI: 0.1–0.7, p = 0.010). Vaccination compliance increased when the vaccine was publicly funded (from 35.9% [47/131] to 79.1% [106/134], p < 0.001). Conclusions: HPV vaccination in women undergoing conization is associated with a 4.5-fold reduction in the risk of persistent/recurrent HSIL. Vaccination policies have an important impact on vaccination compliance

CADM1, MAL, and miR124 Promoter Methylation as Biomarkers of Transforming Cervical Intrapithelial Lesions

Background: Squamous intraepithelial lesions/cervical intraepithelial neoplasias (SIL/CIN) are high-risk human papilloma virus (hrHPV)-related lesions which are considered as high grade (HSIL/CIN2-3) or low grade (LSIL/CIN1) lesions according to their risk of progression to cervical cancer (CC). Most HSIL/CIN2-3 are considered as transforming hrHPV infections, so truly CC precursors, although some clear spontaneously. hrHPV testing has a high sensitivity for the detection of HSIL/CIN2-3 but a relatively low specificity for identifying transforming lesions. We aimed to determine whether the combination of CADM1, MAL and miR124 promoter methylation status assessed in histological samples can be used as a biomarker in the identification of transforming HSIL/CIN lesions. Design: 131 cervical biopsies, including 8 cases with no lesion and a negative hrHPV test result (control group), 19 low-grade (L)SIL/CIN1, 30 HSIL/CIN2, 60 HSIL/CIN3, and 14 CC were prospectively collected. hrHPV was detected and genotyped using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based technique SPF10 HPV LIPA. A multiplex quantitative methylation-specific PCR (qMSP) was used to identify the methylation status of the CADM1, MAL, and miR124 promoter genes. Results: Significantly higher methylation levels of CADM1, MAL and miR-124 were found in HSIL/CIN2-3 and CC compared with normal and LSIL lesions. DNA methylation of at least one gene was detected in 12.5% (1/8) of normal samples, 31.5% (6/19) of LSIL/CIN1, 83.3% (25/30) of HSIL/CIN2, 81.6% (49/60) of HSIL/CIN3 and 100% (14/14) of CC (p < 0.001). The sensitivity and specificity for HSIL/CIN2-3 and CC of having at least one methylated gene were 84.6% and 74.0%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the combination of at least one methylated gene and a positive hrHPV test were 80.7% and 85.1% for HSIL/CIN2-3 and CC, respectively. Conclusions: The methylation rate of CADM1, MAL and miR124 increases with the severity of the lesion. Further research is warranted to evaluate the usefulness of these biomarkers for the identification of transforming HSIL/CIN

SINTAINNOVA. Metodologías e-learning para la enseñanza de la sintaxis tradicional

Memoria ID-0026. Ayudas de la Universidad de Salamanca para la innovación docente, curso 2016-2017

HPV-negative tumors of the uterine cervix

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the causative agents of virtually all cervical carcinomas. Nevertheless, a small proportion of cervical cancer are negative for HPV, although the significance of this finding remains unclear. We aimed to provide insight into the differential clinico-pathological characteristics of this unusual subset of HPV-negative cervical cancer. We performed HPV-DNA detection using a highly sensitive PCR test (SPF10) and p16 immunostaining in 214 cervical carcinomas specimens from women treated at the Gynecological Oncology Unit of the Hospital Clinic (Barcelona, Spain) from 2012 to 2015. The clinical and pathological characteristics, including disease-free survival and overall survival, of HPV-negative and -positive cervical carcinomas were compared. Twenty-one out of 214 tumors (10%) were negative for HPV DNA. HPV-negative tumors were more frequently of the non-squamous type (9/21, 43% vs. 37/193, 19%; p\xE2\x80\x89<\xE2\x80\x890.01) and showed negative p16 staining (9/21; 43% vs. 7/193; 4%; p\xE2\x80\x89<\xE2\x80\x890.01). HPV-negative tumors were more frequently diagnosed at advanced FIGO stage (19/21, 91% vs. 110/193, 57%; p\xE2\x80\x89<\xE2\x80\x890.01) and more frequently had lymph node metastases (14/21, 67% vs. 69/193, 36%; p\xE2\x80\x89<\xE2\x80\x890.01). Patients with HPV-negative cervical cancer had a significantly worse disease-free survival (59.8 months, 95% confidence interval 32.0-87.6 vs. 132.2 months, 95% confidence interval 118.6-145.8; p\xE2\x80\x89<\xE2\x80\x890.01) and overall survival (77.0 months, 95% confidence interval 47.2-106.8 vs. 153.8 months, 95% confidence interval 142.0-165.6; p\xE2\x80\x89=\xE2\x80\x890.01) than women with HPV-positive tumors. However, only advanced FIGO stage and lymph node metastases remained associated with a poor disease-free survival and overall survival on multivariate analysis. In conclusion, our results suggest that a low percentage of cervical cancer arise via an HPV-independent pathway. These HPV-negative tumors are diagnosed at advanced stages, show higher prevalence of lymph nodes metastases and have an impaired prognosis

mRNA Detection in Anal Cytology: A Feasible Approach for Anal Cancer Screening in Men Who Have Sex with Men Living With HIV

There is growing interest in anal cancer screening strategies. However, cytological/molecular evaluation of anal samples is challenging. We aimed to determine the feasibility of detecting, in anal liquid-based cytologies, the expression of biomarkers involved in the cell cycle disturbance elicited by human papillomavirus (HPV). The accuracy of this approach in the identification of high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions/anal intraepithelial neoplasia grade2-3 (HSIL/AIN2-3) was also evaluated. 215 anal cytologies from men having sex with men living with human immunodeficiency virus were evaluated. Patients showing concordant cytological and anoscopy-directed biopsy diagnosis were selected: 70 with negative cytology and HPV test, 70 with low-grade SIL (LSIL/AIN1) cytology and biopsy, and 75 with cytology and biopsy of HSIL/AIN2-3. CDKN2A/p16, MKI67 and TOP2A mRNA expression was analyzed. HPV detection was performed with Xpert HPV Assay (Cepheid, Sunnyvale, CA, USA). HSIL/AIN2-3 showed higher expression for the biomarkers than LSIL/AIN1 or negative samples. The specificity for HSIL/AIN2-3 detection for a sensitivity established at 70% was 44.7% (95%confidence interval [CI] 36.5-53.2) for TOP2A and MKI67 and 54.5% (95%CI 46.0-62.8%) for CDKN2A/p16. mRNA detection of cell biomarkers in anal liquid-based cytology is feasible. Further studies are warranted to confirm if strategies based on mRNA detection have any role in anal cancer screening

Plasmonic antenna hybrids for active control in the near and midinfrared

Resumen del trabajo presentado a la Spanish Conference on Nanophotonics (Conferencia Española de Nanofotónica-CEN), celebrada en Donostia-San Sebastián (España) del 3 al 5 de octubre de 2018.Hybrid platforms combining metallic plasmonic nanoantennas (NAs) and materials with interesting properties as phase-change or spintronics offer excellent technological opportunities for active plasmonics, as they can provide large changes in their optical response. In this talk I will demostrate first how gold NAs grown on vanadium dioxie (VO2), characterized by a reversible insulator-to-metal transition (IMT) at around 68ºC, can improve the performance of this material by providing an efficient enhancement mechanism for both the optically induced excitation and readout. Using picosecond laser pulses a highly localized phase transition is driven in nanoscale regions around the NAs. These antennas-VO2 hybrid solutions provide a conceptual framework to merge field localization and phase transition enabling nanoscale optical memory functionalities. In the second part I will show how the combination of Au microantenna arrays with a Ni81Fe19/Au multilayer supports provide metamaterial platforms with new functionalities. In this case, the plasmon resonance sustained by the NAs alliate with the GMR and MRE effects of the multilayer to allow low magnetic-field controlled modulation in the mid-infrared, where light modulation is very challenging. This approach establishes a roadmap for spintronically-controlled devices in the whole mid-IR to THz band.Peer Reviewe

Reliable identification of women with CIN3+ using hrHPV genotyping and methylation markers in a cytology-screened referral population

Cervical screening aims to identify women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion/cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2-3 (HSIL/CIN2-3) or invasive cervical cancer (ICC). Identification of women with severe premalignant lesions or ICC (CIN3+) could ensure their rapid treatment and prevent overtreatment. We investigated high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) detection with genotyping and methylation of FAM19A4/miR124-2 for detection of CIN3+ in 538 women attending colposcopy for abnormal cytology. All women had an additional cytology with hrHPV testing (GP5+/6+-PCR-EIA+), genotyping (HPV16/18, HPV16/18/31/45), and methylation analysis (FAM19A4/miR124-2) and at least one biopsy. CIN3+ detection was studied overall and in women <30 (n = 171) and ≥30 years (n = 367). Positivity for both rather than just one methylation markers increased in CIN3, and all ICC was positive for both. Overall sensitivity and specificity for CIN3+ were, respectively, 90.3% (95%CI 81.3–95.2) and 31.8% (95%CI 27.7–36.1) for hrHPV, 77.8% (95%CI 66.9–85.8) and 69.3% (95%CI 65.0–73.3) for methylation biomarkers and 93.1% (95%CI 84.8–97.0) and 49.4% (95%CI 44.8–53.9) for combined HPV16/18 and/or methylation positivity. For CIN3, hrHPV was found in 90.9% (95%CI 81.6–95.8), methylation positivity in 75.8% (95%CI 64.2–84.5) and HPV16/18 and/or methylation positivity in 92.4% (95%CI 83.5–96.7). In women aged ≥30, the sensitivity of combined HPV16/18 and methylation was increased (98.2%, 95%CI 90.6–99.7) with a specificity of 46.3% (95%CI 40.8–51.9). Combination of HPV16/18 and methylation analysis was very sensitive and offered improved specificity for CIN3+, opening the possibility of rapid treatment for these women and follow-up for women with potentially regressive, less advanced, HSIL/CIN2 lesions

The symmetries of the Carroll superparticle

Motivated by recent applications of Carroll symmetries we investigate, using the method of nonlinear realizations, the geometry of flat and curved (AdS) Carroll space and the symmetries of a particle moving in such a space both in the bosonic as well as in the supersymmetric case. In the bosonic case we find that the Carroll particle possesses an infinite-dimensional symmetry which only in the flat case includes dilatations. The duality between the Bargmann and Carroll algebra, relevant for the flat case, does not extend to the curved case. In the supersymmetric case we study the dynamics of the N = 1 AdS Carroll superparticle. Only in the flat limit we find that the action is invariant under an infinite-dimensional symmetry that includes a supersymmetric extension of the Lifshitz Carroll algebra with dynamical exponent z = 0. We also discuss in the flat case the extension to N = 2 supersymmetry and show that the flat N = 2 superparticle is equivalent to the (non-moving) AT = 1 superparticle and that therefore it is not BPS unlike its Galilei counterpart. This is due to the fact that in this case kappa-symmetry eliminates the linearized supersymmetry. In an appendix we discuss the N = 2 curved case in three dimensions only and show that there are two N = 2 theories that are physically different