Medicinal Plants of Chile: Evaluation of their Anti-Trypanosoma cruzi Activity

San Martin, J (San Martin, Jose). Univ Talca, Inst Biol Vegetal & Biotecnol, Talca, ChileThe extracts of several plants of Central Chile exhibited anti-Trypanosoma cruzi trypomastigotes activity. Most active extracts were those obtained from Podanthus ovatifolius, Berberis microphylla, Kageneckia oblonga, and Drimys winteri. The active extract of Drimys winteri (IC50 51.2 mu g/mL) was purified and three drimane sesquiterpenes were obtained: polygodial, drimenol, and isodrimenin. Isodrimenin and drimenol were found to be active against the trypomastigote form of T cruzi with IC50 values of 27.9 and 25.1 mu M, respectivel

Mineralogical and geochemical evidence of magma mingling/mixing in the Sierra de las Cruces volcanic range, Mexican Volcanic Belt

Pliocene – Pleistocene lava flows, mainly of dacitic composition, are exposed in the Sierra de las Cruces (SC) volcanic range within the Mexican Volcanic Belt (MVB). SC volcanic rocks are porphyritic, generally containing an assemblage of plagioclase + amphibole + orthopyroxene ± clinopyroxene ± quartz ± Fe-Ti oxides. Most of them exhibit diverse mineralogical and geochemical features that attest a magma mixing and mingling processes with concomitant fractional crystallization in which a small volume of hot andesite magma injects into dacitic magma. Both rock types are probably derived from partial melting of continental crust at different levels. The evidences of magma mixing and mingling include: (a) normal and sieved plagioclases in the same sample, rounded and embayed crystals, and armoured rims over the dissolved crystal surfaces; (b) subrounded, vesicular magmatic enclaves, ranging from a few millimeters to ~20 centimeters in size, with plagioclase + orthopyroxene + amphibole + quartz ± olivine ± Fe-Ti-oxides assemblage; (c) mineral chemistry evidence such as crystals with reaction rims or heterogeneous plagioclase compositions (inverse and oscillatory zoning or normally and inversely zoned crystals) in the same sample; and (d) elemental geochemical variations and trace-element ratio more akin to magma mixing and to some extent diffusion process. These andesitic enclaves could be considered as portions of the intermediate magma that did not mix completely (mingling) with the felsic host lavas, confirming the major role of magma mixing and mingling processes in the overall evolution of the MVB

The comparative responsiveness of Hospital Universitario Princesa Index and other composite indices for assessing rheumatoid arthritis activity

Objective To evaluate the responsiveness in terms of correlation of the Hospital Universitario La Princesa Index (HUPI) comparatively to the traditional composite indices used to assess disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to compare the performance of HUPI-based response criteria with that of the EULAR response criteria. Methods Secondary data analysis from the following studies: ACT-RAY (clinical trial), PROAR (early RA cohort) and EMECAR (pre-biologic era long term RA cohort). Responsiveness was evaluated by: 1) comparing change from baseline (Delta) of HUPI with Delta in other scores by calculating correlation coefficients; 2) calculating standardised effect sizes. The accuracy of response by HUPI and by EULAR criteria was analyzed using linear regressions in which the dependent variable was change in global assessment by physician (Delta GDA-Phy). Results Delta HUPI correlation with change in all other indices ranged from 0.387 to 0.791); HUPI's standardized effect size was larger than those from the other indices in each database used. In ACT-RAY, depending on visit, between 65 and 80% of patients were equally classified by HUPI and EULAR response criteria. However, HUPI criteria were slightly more stringent, with higher percentage of patients classified as non-responder, especially at early visits. HUPI response criteria showed a slightly higher accuracy than EULAR response criteria when using Delta GDA-Phy as gold standard. Conclusion HUPI shows good responsiveness in terms of correlation in each studied scenario (clinical trial, early RA cohort, and established RA cohort). Response criteria by HUPI seem more stringent than EULAR''s

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 84.7%) were from low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 62.8%), followed by strabismus (n = 429 10.2%) and proptosis (n = 309 7.4%). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 95% CI, 12.94-24.80, and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 95% CI, 4.30-7.68). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs. © 2020 American Medical Association. All rights reserved

Aggregate distance based clustering using Fibonacci series-FIBCLUS

This paper proposes an innovative instance similarity based evaluation metric that reduces the search map for clustering to be performed. An aggregate global score is calculated for each instance using the novel idea of Fibonacci series. The use of Fibonacci numbers is able to separate the instances effectively and, in hence, the intra-cluster similarity is increased and the inter-cluster similarity is decreased during clustering. The proposed FIBCLUS algorithm is able to handle datasets with numerical, categorical and a mix of both types of attributes. Results obtained with FIBCLUS are compared with the results of existing algorithms such as k-means, x-means expected maximization and hierarchical algorithms that are widely used to cluster numeric, categorical and mix data types. Empirical analysis shows that FIBCLUS is able to produce better clustering solutions in terms of entropy, purity and F-score in comparison to the above described existing algorithms

Modeling the formation of a giant planet with collisions among planetesimals

During the process of giant planet formation, the planetesimals relative velocities are increased due to the gravitational perturbations produced by the growing planet. The equations of the planetesimals relative velocities usually used in the literature are revised. We study the validity of these equations as the orbital eccentricities of planetesimals increase. A change of regime is produced in planetesimals collisions, from coagulation at low relative velocities to fragmentation as their velocities grow. Although models of planetary formation that include planetesimal fragmentation consider the specific impact energy for a fixed velocity and composition, this energy is a function of these physical properties. We study the formation of a giant planet at 5 AU incorporating such dependences