Patología implanto-endodóncica: concepto, tipos, diagnóstico, tratamiento y prevención.

La patología implanto-endodóncica (PIE) está descrita en la literatura implantológica como una de las causas de periimplantitis apical, entendida como la lesión osteolítica en la región apical del implante, con normal osteointegración de su porción coronal, provocada por la infección por contigüidad a partir de la lesión periapical del diente adyacente. Pero el concepto de PIE no sólo abarca la periimplantitis retrógrada por contaminación diente-a-implante, sino también los procesos inflamatorios periapicales en dientes adyacentes al implante por contaminación implante-adiente, cuando la colocación del implante provoca la necrosis del diente adyacente y la consiguiente periodontitis apical. Incluso podríamos incluir dentro de la PIE los casos de periimplantitis apical en implantes postextracción provocada por la infección residual presente en el alvéolo de un diente extraído con periodontitis apical. En definitiva, la PIE incluye las lesiones endodóncicas e implantarias apicales que son el resultado de infecciones residuales o por contigüidad entre diente e implante. En esta revisión bibliográfica se define y clasifica la PIE, repasándose la casuística publicada así como su influencia en el resultado del tratamiento implantológico

The Risk of Stable Partnerships: Associations between Partnership Characteristics and Unprotected Anal Intercourse among ...

Background Partnership type is an important factor associated with unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and subsequent risk for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI). We examined the association of partnership type with UAI among men who have sex with men (MSM) and male-to-female transgender women (TGW) in Lima, Peru, recently diagnosed with HIV and/or STI. Methods We report data from a cross-sectional analysis of MSM and TGW recently diagnosed with HIV and/or STI in Lima, Peru between 2011 and 2012. We surveyed participants regarding UAI with up to their three most recent sexual partners according to partner type. Multivariable Generalized Estimate Equating (GEE) models with Poisson distribution were used to estimate prevalence ratios (PR) for UAI according to partner type. Results Among 339 MSM and TGW recently diagnosed with HIV and/or STI (mean age: 30.6 years, SD 9.0), 65.5% self-identified as homosexual/gay, 16.0% as bisexual, 15.2% as male-to-female transgender, and 3.3% as heterosexual. Participants provided information on 893 recent male or TGW partners with whom they had engaged in insertive or receptive anal intercourse: 28.9% stable partners, 56.4% non-stable/non-transactional partners (i.e. casual or anonymous), and 14.7% transactional partners (i.e. transactional sex client or sex worker). Unprotected anal intercourse was reported with 41.3% of all partners. In multivariable analysis, factors associated with UAI included partnership type (non-stable/non-transactional partner APR 0.73, [95% CI 0.59–0.91], transactional partner APR 0.53 [0.36–0.78], p 10 encounters APR 1.43 [1.06–1.92], p < 0.05. Conclusion UAI was more commonly reported for stable partners and in partnerships with > 10 sexual encounters, suggesting UAI is more prevalent in partnerships with a greater degree of interpersonal commitment. Further research assessing partner-level factors and behavior is critical for improving HIV and/or STI prevention efforts among Peruvian MSM and TGW

Performance and energy-efficient implementation of a smart city application on FPGAs

The continuous growth of modern cities and the request for better quality of life, coupled with the increased availability of computing resources, lead to an increased attention to smart city services. Smart cities promise to deliver a better life to their inhabitants while simultaneously reducing resource requirements and pollution. They are thus perceived as a key enabler to sustainable growth. Out of many other issues, one of the major concerns for most cities in the world is traffic, which leads to a huge waste of time and energy, and to increased pollution. To optimize traffic in cities, one of the first steps is to get accurate information in real time about the traffic flows in the city. This can be achieved through the application of automated video analytics to the video streams provided by a set of cameras distributed throughout the city. Image sequence processing can be performed both peripherally and centrally. In this paper, we argue that, since centralized processing has several advantages in terms of availability, maintainability and cost, it is a very promising strategy to enable effective traffic management even in large cities. However, the computational costs are enormous, and thus require an energy-efficient High-Performance Computing approach. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide comparable computational resources to CPUs and GPUs, yet require much lower amounts of energy per operation (around 6$$\times$$ and 10$$\times$$ for the application considered in this case study). They are thus preferred resources to reduce both energy supply and cooling costs in the huge datacenters that will be needed by Smart Cities. In this paper, we describe efficient implementations of high-performance algorithms that can process traffic camera image sequences to provide traffic flow information in real-time at a low energy and power cost

Anticipated Notification of Sexual Partners following STD Diagnosis among Men Who Have Sex with Men and Transgender Women in Lima, Peru: A Mixed Methods Analysis

Background: New strategies to support partner notification (PN) are critical for STD control and require detailed understanding of how specific individual and partnership characteristics guide notification decisions. Methods: From 2011 to 2012, 397 MSM and TW recently diagnosed with HIV, syphilis, or another STD completed a survey on anticipated notification of recent sexual partners and associated factors. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of participants to provide further depth to quantitative findings. Prevalence ratios and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models were used to analyze participant- and partner-level factors associated with anticipated PN. Results: Among all partners reported, 52.5% were described as “Very Likely” or “Somewhat Likely” to be notified. Anticipated notification was more likely for main partners than casual (adjusted Prevalence Ratio [aPR], 95% CI: 0.63, 0.54–0.75) or commercial (aPR, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.31–0.62) partners. Other factors associated with likely notification included perception of the partner as an STD source (aPR, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.10–1.48) and anticipated future sexual contact with the partner (aPR, 95% CI: 1.30, 1.11–1.52). An HIV diagnosis was associated with a lower likelihood of notification than non-HIV STDs (aPR: 0.68, 0.55–0.86). Qualitative discussion of the barriers and incentives to PN reflected a similar differentiation of anticipated notification according to partnership type and type of HIV/STD diagnosis. Discussion: Detailed attention to how partnership characteristics guide notification outcomes is essential to the development of new PN strategies. By accurately and thoroughly assessing the diversity of partnership interactions among individuals with HIV/STD, new notification techniques can be tailored to partner-specific circumstances

Caffeinating the biofuels market:Effect of the processing conditions during the production of biofuels and high-value chemicals by hydrothermal treatment of residual coffee pulp

5 figures, 4 tables, supplementary information.-- © 2021. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/The manufacturing of coffee, one of the most popular beverages globally, renders enormous amounts of by-products and wastes, which may trigger severe environmental issues if not treated appropriately. The coffee pulp, resulting from the wet processing of coffee, is the predominant by-product, with around 10 Mt annually produced worldwide. For the first time, this work addresses the hydrothermal treatment of coffee pulp to produce biofuels and platform molecules, scrutinising the influence of the processing conditions (temperature, pressure, reaction time and solid/water ratio) on the process. This strategy allowed the transformation of coffee pulp into bio-crude and hydrochar in different yields (10–26% and 10–42%, respectively), depending on the conditions. The bio-crude included a pool of alkanes, carboxylic acids, ketones, phenols and nitrogen species, with varying quantities of C (54–71 wt%), H (6–7 wt%), O (18–34 wt%) and N (3–5 wt%) and a calorific value shifting from 23 to 32 MJ/kg. The hydrochar contained different proportions of C (57–72 wt%), H (4–6 wt%), O (20–35 wt%) and N (2–3 wt%) and had a calorific value between 22 and 29 MJ/kg. Process optimisation showed that up to 45% of the coffee pulp could be simultaneously converted into energy-rich (29 MJ/kg), merchantable liquid (20% bio-crude) and solid (24% hydrochar) biofuels during the treatment of a 15 wt% coffee pulp suspension at 320 °C and 162 bar for 1 h. At the same time, a bio-crude with a high proportion of profitable phenolic derivatives (42%) can be attained in high yield (25%) when a 5 wt% suspension is treated at 280 °C and 120 bar for 2 h. These promising results, along with the bespoke nature of this hydrothermal treatment, are a landmark achievement for the economy and sustainability of coffee producer countries, thus representing a pioneering step change towards the sustainable management of early-stage coffee leftovers.The authors wish to express their gratefulness to FEDER, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (Grant Number ENE2017-83854-R) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) (Grant Number COOPA20367) for providing financial support. Besides, Javier Remón is very grateful to the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the Juan de la Cierva (JdC) fellowships (Grant Numbers FJCI-2016-30847 and IJC2018-037110-I) awarded. Lorena Pedraza-Segura and Pedro Arcelus-Arrillaga would like to acknowledge the financial support of INIAT and DINV at Universidad Iberoamericana for their research.Peer reviewe

High-pressure optical absorption in InN: Electron density dependence in the wurtzite phase and reevaluation of the indirect band gap of rocksalt InN

We report on high-pressure optical absorption measurements on InN epilayers with a range of free-electron concentrations (5×1017–1.6×1019 cm−3) to investigate the effect of free carriers on the pressure coefficient of the optical band gap of wurtzite InN. With increasing carrier concentration, we observe a decrease of the absolute value of the optical band gap pressure coefficient of wurtzite InN. An analysis of our data based on the k·p model allows us to obtain a pressure coefficient of 32 meV/GPa for the fundamental band gap of intrinsic wurtzite InN. Optical absorption measurements on a 5.7-μm-thick InN epilayer at pressures above the wurtzite-to-rocksalt transition have allowed us to obtain an accurate determination of the indirect band gap energy of rocksalt InN as a function of pressure. Around the phase transition (∼15 GPa), a band gap value of 0.7 eV and a pressure coefficient of ∼23 meV/GPa are obtained. ©2012 American Physical SocietyThis work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through Project No. MAT2010-16116.Ibáñez, J.; Segura, A.; García-Domene, B.; Oliva, R.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.; Yamaguchi, T.; Nanishi, Y.... (2012). High-pressure optical absorption in InN: Electron density dependence in the wurtzite phase and reevaluation of the indirect band gap of rocksalt InN. Physical Review B. 86:35210-1-35210-5. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.86.035210S35210-135210-586Wu, J. (2009). When group-III nitrides go infrared: New properties and perspectives. Journal of Applied Physics, 106(1), 011101. doi:10.1063/1.3155798Ueno, M., Yoshida, M., Onodera, A., Shimomura, O., & Takemura, K. (1994). Stability of the wurtzite-type structure under high pressure: GaN and InN. Physical Review B, 49(1), 14-21. doi:10.1103/physrevb.49.14Uehara, S., Masamoto, T., Onodera, A., Ueno, M., Shimomura, O., & Takemura, K. (1997). Equation of state of the rocksalt phase of III–V nitrides to 72 GPa or higher. Journal of Physics and Chemistry of Solids, 58(12), 2093-2099. doi:10.1016/s0022-3697(97)00150-9Pinquier, C., Demangeot, F., Frandon, J., Chervin, J.-C., Polian, A., Couzinet, B., … Maleyre, B. (2006). Raman scattering study of wurtzite and rocksalt InN under high pressure. Physical Review B, 73(11). doi:10.1103/physrevb.73.115211Ibáñez, J., Manjón, F. J., Segura, A., Oliva, R., Cuscó, R., Vilaplana, R., … Artús, L. (2011). High-pressure Raman scattering in wurtzite indium nitride. Applied Physics Letters, 99(1), 011908. doi:10.1063/1.3609327Li, S. X., Wu, J., Haller, E. E., Walukiewicz, W., Shan, W., Lu, H., & Schaff, W. J. (2003). Hydrostatic pressure dependence of the fundamental bandgap of InN and In-rich group III nitride alloys. Applied Physics Letters, 83(24), 4963-4965. doi:10.1063/1.1633681Franssen, G., Gorczyca, I., Suski, T., Kamińska, A., Pereiro, J., Muñoz, E., … Svane, A. (2008). Bowing of the band gap pressure coefficient in InxGa1−xN alloys. Journal of Applied Physics, 103(3), 033514. doi:10.1063/1.2837072Kamińska, A., Franssen, G., Suski, T., Gorczyca, I., Christensen, N. E., Svane, A., … Georgakilas, A. (2007). Role of conduction-band filling in the dependence of InN photoluminescence on hydrostatic pressure. Physical Review B, 76(7). doi:10.1103/physrevb.76.075203Shan, W., Walukiewicz, W., Haller, E. E., Little, B. D., Song, J. J., McCluskey, M. D., … Stall, R. A. (1998). Optical properties of InxGa1−xN alloys grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Journal of Applied Physics, 84(8), 4452-4458. doi:10.1063/1.368669Millot, M., Geballe, Z. M., Yu, K. M., Walukiewicz, W., & Jeanloz, R. (2012). Red-green luminescence in indium gallium nitride alloys investigated by high pressure optical spectroscopy. Applied Physics Letters, 100(16), 162103. doi:10.1063/1.4704367Franssen, G., Suski, T., Perlin, P., Teisseyre, H., Khachapuridze, A., Dmowski, L. H., … Schaff, W. (2006). Band-to-band character of photoluminescence from InN and In-rich InGaN revealed by hydrostatic pressure studies. Applied Physics Letters, 89(12), 121915. doi:10.1063/1.2356994Ibáñez, J., Segura, A., Manjón, F. J., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2010). Electronic structure of wurtzite and rocksalt InN investigated by optical absorption under hydrostatic pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 96(20), 201903. doi:10.1063/1.3431291Cuscó, R., Ibáñez, J., Alarcón-Lladó, E., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2009). Raman scattering study of the long-wavelength longitudinal-optical-phonon–plasmon coupled modes in high-mobility InN layers. Physical Review B, 79(15). doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.155210Cuscó, R., Alarcón-Lladó, E., Ibáñez, J., Yamaguchi, T., Nanishi, Y., & Artús, L. (2009). Raman scattering study of background electron density in InN: a hydrodynamical approach to the LO-phonon–plasmon coupled modes. Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter, 21(41), 415801. doi:10.1088/0953-8984/21/41/415801Syassen, K. (2008). Ruby under pressure. High Pressure Research, 28(2), 75-126. doi:10.1080/08957950802235640Wu, J., Walukiewicz, W., Shan, W., Yu, K. M., Ager, J. W., Li, S. X., … Schaff, W. J. (2003). Temperature dependence of the fundamental band gap of InN. Journal of Applied Physics, 94(7), 4457-4460. doi:10.1063/1.1605815Wu, J., Walukiewicz, W., Li, S. X., Armitage, R., Ho, J. C., Weber, E. R., … Jakiela, R. (2004). Effects of electron concentration on the optical absorption edge of InN. Applied Physics Letters, 84(15), 2805-2807. doi:10.1063/1.1704853Wu, J., Walukiewicz, W., Shan, W., Yu, K. M., Ager, J. W., Haller, E. E., … Schaff, W. J. (2002). Effects of the narrow band gap on the properties of InN. Physical Review B, 66(20). doi:10.1103/physrevb.66.201403Rinke, P., Winkelnkemper, M., Qteish, A., Bimberg, D., Neugebauer, J., & Scheffler, M. (2008). Consistent set of band parameters for the group-III nitrides AlN, GaN, and InN. Physical Review B, 77(7). doi:10.1103/physrevb.77.075202Furthmüller, J., Hahn, P. H., Fuchs, F., & Bechstedt, F. (2005). Band structures and optical spectra of InN polymorphs: Influence of quasiparticle and excitonic effects. Physical Review B, 72(20). doi:10.1103/physrevb.72.205106Serrano, J., Rubio, A., Hernández, E., Muñoz, A., & Mujica, A. (2000). Theoretical study of the relative stability of structural phases in group-III nitrides at high pressures. Physical Review B, 62(24), 16612-16623. doi:10.1103/physrevb.62.16612Christensen, N. E., & Gorczyca, I. (1994). Optical and structural properties of III-V nitrides under pressure. Physical Review B, 50(7), 4397-4415. doi:10.1103/physrevb.50.4397Duan, M.-Y., He, L., Xu, M., Xu, M.-Y., Xu, S., & Ostrikov, K. (Ken). (2010). Structural, electronic, and optical properties of wurtzite and rocksalt InN under pressure. Physical Review B, 81(3). doi:10.1103/physrevb.81.03310

Performance and energy-efficient implementation of a smart city application on FPGAs

The continuous growth of modern cities and the request for better quality of life, coupled with the increased availability of computing resources, lead to an increased attention to smart city services. Smart cities promise to deliver a better life to their inhabitants while simultaneously reducing resource requirements and pollution. They are thus perceived as a key enabler to sustainable growth. Out of many other issues, one of the major concerns for most cities in the world is traffic, which leads to a huge waste of time and energy, and to increased pollution. To optimize traffic in cities, one of the first steps is to get accurate information in real time about the traffic flows in the city. This can be achieved through the application of automated video analytics to the video streams provided by a set of cameras distributed throughout the city. Image sequence processing can be performed both peripherally and centrally. In this paper, we argue that, since centralized processing has several advantages in terms of availability, maintainability and cost, it is a very promising strategy to enable effective traffic management even in large cities. However, the computational costs are enormous, and thus require an energy-efficient High-Performance Computing approach. Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) provide comparable computational resources to CPUs and GPUs, yet require much lower amounts of energy per operation (around 6 × and 10 × for the application considered in this case study). They are thus preferred resources to reduce both energy supply and cooling costs in the huge datacenters that will be needed by Smart Cities. In this paper, we describe efficient implementations of high-performance algorithms that can process traffic camera image sequences to provide traffic flow information in real-time at a low energy and power cost

High-pressure Raman scattering in wurtzite indium nitride

Copyright (2011) American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics.We perform Raman-scattering measurements at high hydrostatic pressures on c-face and a-face InN layers to investigate the high-pressure behavior of the zone-center optical phonons of wurtzite InN. Linear pressure coefficients and mode Grneisen parameters are obtained, and the experimental results are compared with theoretical values obtained from ab initio lattice-dynamical calculations. Good agreement is found between the experimental and calculated results. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.Work supported by the Spanish MICINN (Projects MAT2010-16116, MAT2008-06873-C02-02, MAT2010-21270-C04-04, and CSD2007-00045), the Catalan Government (BE-DG 2009), and the Spanish Council for Research (PIE2009-CSIC).Ibanez, J.; Manjón Herrera, FJ.; Segura, A.; Oliva, R.; Cusco, R.; Vilaplana Cerda, RI.; Yamaguchi, T.... (2011). High-pressure Raman scattering in wurtzite indium nitride. Applied Physics Letters. 99:119081-119083. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3609327S11908111908399Veal, T., McConville, C., & Schaff, W. (Eds.). (2009). Indium Nitride and Related Alloys. doi:10.1201/9781420078107Gallinat, C. S., Koblmüller, G., Brown, J. S., Bernardis, S., Speck, J. S., Chern, G. D., … Wraback, M. (2006). In-polar InN grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. Applied Physics Letters, 89(3), 032109. doi:10.1063/1.2234274Li, S. X., Wu, J., Haller, E. E., Walukiewicz, W., Shan, W., Lu, H., & Schaff, W. J. (2003). Hydrostatic pressure dependence of the fundamental bandgap of InN and In-rich group III nitride alloys. Applied Physics Letters, 83(24), 4963-4965. doi:10.1063/1.1633681Gorczyca, I., Plesiewicz, J., Dmowski, L., Suski, T., Christensen, N. E., Svane, A., … Speck, J. S. (2008). Electronic structure and effective masses of InN under pressure. Journal of Applied Physics, 104(1), 013704. doi:10.1063/1.2953094Domènech-Amador, N., Cuscó, R., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2011). Raman scattering study of anharmonic phonon decay in InN. Physical Review B, 83(24). doi:10.1103/physrevb.83.245203Serrano, J., Bosak, A., Krisch, M., Manjón, F. J., Romero, A. H., Garro, N., … Kuball, M. (2011). InN Thin Film Lattice Dynamics by Grazing Incidence Inelastic X-Ray Scattering. Physical Review Letters, 106(20). doi:10.1103/physrevlett.106.205501Pinquier, C., Demangeot, F., Frandon, J., Pomeroy, J. W., Kuball, M., Hubel, H., … Gil, B. (2004). Raman scattering in hexagonal InN under high pressure. Physical Review B, 70(11). doi:10.1103/physrevb.70.113202Pinquier, C., Demangeot, F., Frandon, J., Chervin, J.-C., Polian, A., Couzinet, B., … Maleyre, B. (2006). Raman scattering study of wurtzite and rocksalt InN under high pressure. Physical Review B, 73(11). doi:10.1103/physrevb.73.115211Yao, L. D., Luo, S. D., Shen, X., You, S. J., Yang, L. X., Zhang, S. J., … Xie, S. S. (2010). Structural stability and Raman scattering of InN nanowires under high pressure. Journal of Materials Research, 25(12), 2330-2335. doi:10.1557/jmr.2010.0290Cuscó, R., Ibáñez, J., Alarcón-Lladó, E., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2009). Raman scattering study of the long-wavelength longitudinal-optical-phonon–plasmon coupled modes in high-mobility InN layers. Physical Review B, 79(15). doi:10.1103/physrevb.79.155210Wagner, J.-M., & Bechstedt, F. (2003). First-principles study of phonon-mode softening under pressure: the case of GaN and AlN. physica status solidi (b), 235(2), 464-469. doi:10.1002/pssb.200301603Weinstein, B. A. (1977). Phonon dispersion of zinc chalcogenides under extreme pressure and the metallic transformation. Solid State Communications, 24(9), 595-598. doi:10.1016/0038-1098(77)90369-6Yakovenko, E. V., Gauthier, M., & Polian, A. (2004). High-pressure behavior of the bond-bending mode of AIN. Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics, 98(5), 981-985. doi:10.1134/1.1767565Reparaz, J. S., Muniz, L. R., Wagner, M. R., Goñi, A. R., Alonso, M. I., Hoffmann, A., & Meyer, B. K. (2010). Reduction of the transverse effective charge of optical phonons in ZnO under pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 96(23), 231906. doi:10.1063/1.3447798Perlin, P., Jauberthie-Carillon, C., Itie, J. P., San Miguel, A., Grzegory, I., & Polian, A. (1992). Raman scattering and x-ray-absorption spectroscopy in gallium nitride under high pressure. Physical Review B, 45(1), 83-89. doi:10.1103/physrevb.45.83Manjón, F. J., Errandonea, D., Romero, A. H., Garro, N., Serrano, J., & Kuball, M. (2008). Lattice dynamics of wurtzite and rocksalt AlN under high pressure: Effect of compression on the crystal anisotropy of wurtzite-type semiconductors. Physical Review B, 77(20). doi:10.1103/physrevb.77.205204Jephcoat, A. P., Hemley, R. J., Mao, H. K., Cohen, R. E., & Mehl, M. J. (1988). Raman spectroscopy and theoretical modeling of BeO at high pressure. Physical Review B, 37(9), 4727-4734. doi:10.1103/physrevb.37.4727Ibáñez, J., Segura, A., Manjón, F. J., Artús, L., Yamaguchi, T., & Nanishi, Y. (2010). Electronic structure of wurtzite and rocksalt InN investigated by optical absorption under hydrostatic pressure. Applied Physics Letters, 96(20), 201903. doi:10.1063/1.3431291Goñi, A. R., Siegle, H., Syassen, K., Thomsen, C., & Wagner, J.-M. (2001). Effect of pressure on optical phonon modes and transverse effective charges inGaNandAlN. Physical Review B, 64(3). doi:10.1103/physrevb.64.03520

Epigenetic alterations leading to TMPRSS4 promoter hypomethylation and protein overexpression predict poor prognosis in squamous lung cancer patients

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, which highlights the need of innovative therapeutic options. Although targeted therapies can be successfully used in a subset of patients with lung adenocarcinomas (ADC), they are not appropriate for patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCC). In addition, there is an unmet need for the identification of prognostic biomarkers that can select patients at risk of relapse in early stages. Here, we have used several cohorts of NSCLC patients to analyze the prognostic value of both protein expression and DNA promoter methylation status of the prometastatic serine protease TMPRSS4. Moreover, expression and promoter methylation was evaluated in a panel of 46 lung cancer cell lines. We have demonstrated that a high TMPRSS4 expression is an independent prognostic factor in SCC. Similarly, aberrant hypomethylation in tumors, which correlates with high TMPRSS4 expression, is an independent prognostic predictor in SCC. The inverse correlation between expression and methylation status was also observed in cell lines. In vitro studies showed that treatment of cells lacking TMPRSS4 expression with a demethylating agent significantly increased TMPRSS4 levels. In conclusion, TMPRSS4 is a novel independent prognostic biomarker regulated by epigenetic changes in SCC and a potential therapeutic target in this tumor type, where targeted therapy is still underdeveloped

Traditional and Web-Based Technologies to Improve Partner Notification Following Syphilis Diagnosis Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Lima, Peru: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Patient-initiated partner notification (PN) following the diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection is a critical component of disease control in men who have sex with men (MSM) sexual networks. Both printed and internet-based technologies offer potential tools to enhance traditional partner notification approaches among MSM in resource-limited settings. Objective: This randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effect of 2 different PN technologies on notification outcomes following syphilis diagnosis among MSM in Peru: A Web-based notification system and patient-delivered partner referral cards. Methods: During 2012-2014, we screened 1625 MSM from Lima, Peru, for syphilis infection and enrolled 370 MSM with symptomatic primary or secondary syphilis (n=58) or asymptomatic latent syphilis diagnosed by serology (rapid plasma reagin, RPR, and Microhemagglutination assay for Treponema pallidum antibody; n=312). Prior to enrollment, potential participants used a computer-based self-interviewing system to enumerate their recent sexual partnerships and provide details of their 3 most recent partners. Eligible participants were randomly assigned to one of 4 intervention arms: (1) counseling and patient-initiated Web-based PN (n=95), (2) counseling with Web-based partner notification and partner referral cards (n=84), (3) counseling and partner referral cards (n=97), and (4) simple partner notification counseling (control; n=94). Self-reported partner notification was assessed after 14 days among 354 participants who returned for the follow-up assessment. Results: The median age of enrolled participants was 27 (interquartile range, IQR 23-34) years, with a median of 2 partners (IQR 1-5) reported in the past month. Compared with those who received only counseling (arm 4), MSM provided with access to Web-based partner notification (arms 1 and 2) or printed partner referral cards (arms 2 and 3) were more likely to have notified one or more of their sexual partners (odds ratio, OR, 2.18, 95% CI 1.30-3.66; P=.003 and OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.01-2.79; P=.045, respectively). The proportion of partners notified was also higher in both Web-based partner notification (241/421, 57.2%; P<.001) and referral card (240/467, 51.4%; P=.006) arms than in the control arm (82/232, 35.3%). Conclusions: Both new Web-based technologies and traditional printed materials support patient-directed notification and improve self-reported outcomes among MSM with syphilis. Additional research is needed to refine the use of these partner notification tools in specific partnership contexts.Revisión por paresRevisión por pare