Interacción de dos hongos toxicogénicos con una cepa de Streptomyces sobre el desarrollo de plantas de trigo

Entre los microorganismos antagonistas de los suelos donde se cultivan cereales se hallan Streptomyces capaces de producir sustancias inhibidoras que pueden afectar la viabilidad y capacidad de diseminación de distintas especies de Aspergillus Y Fusarium y su capacidad para producir aflatoxinas y trichotecenos.El objetivo del presente estudio fue evaluar el efecto de la interacción entre hongos toxicogénicos (Aspergillus parasiticus y Fusarium tricinctum NRRL 3299) Y Streptomyces sp.antagónicos del crecimiento de tales hongos sobre el desarrollo de plantas de trigo.Se realizaron las siguientes actividades: a) inoculación de semillas de trigo, con el Streptomyces inhibidor, b) estudio del poder germinativo de las semillas de trigo, c)cultivo en cámara invernáculo de semillas inoculadas y sin inocular sembradas en tierras con y sin los hongos toxicogénicos, d) comprobación de la invasividad o ataque de los hongos mediante el rociado de espigas de plantas provenientes de suelos infectados con una suspensión de conidios de los hongos infectantes,e) determinación de las variaciones en las características botánicasde las plantas de trigo.Se pudo concluir que: 1) la presencia de hongos toxicogénicos no alteró el poder gemtinativo de las semillas de trigo, 2) el desarrollo vegetal, número y peso promedio de los granos de las plantas provenientes desuelos infectados con los hongos toxicogénicos fué significativamentemayor al de las plntas crecidas en tierra esteril,  3) el estudio anatómico de las plantas no puso en evidencia invasión o ataque por parte de los hongos

A homogeneous treatment for non-DIPG diffuse midline glioma

Introduction: The H3K27M-mutant diffuse midline glioma (DMG) was first included in the World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of central nervous system (CNS) tumors in 2016, and confirmed in its fifth edition. The biological behavior and dismal prognosis of this tumor resemble diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas (DIPG). Homogeneously-treated series are rarely reported. Methods: From 2016 onwards, we treated patients with DMG with radiotherapy and concomitant/adjuvant nimotuzumab/vinorelbine, plus re-irradiation at relapse, as already done for DIPG. Results: We treated nine patients, seven females, with a median age at diagnosis of 13 years. Tumor sites were: thalamic in five cases, pontocerebellar in two, pineal in one, and paratrigonal with nodular/leptomeningeal dissemination in one. Three patients were biopsied, and six had partial tumor resections. Central pathological review was always performed. The median time to local progression was 12.7 months, and the median overall survival was 17.8 months. Six patients died of tumor progression, one of cerebral bleeding at progression. Two were alive, one in continuous remission, the other after relapsing, at 38.6 and 46.3 months after diagnosis. Progression-free survival was 33.3% at one year. Overall survival was 88.9%, 33.3% and 22.2% at 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively. Conclusions: This is a small series of homogeneously-treated DMG patients. The results obtained are comparable with those of DIPG patients. Given the phenotypically- and molecularly-defined setting of DMG and severe outcome in this orphan population, they should be treated and included in registries and protocols of DIPG

Actividad tripanocida y antibacteriana de extractos de Alvaradoa subovata Cronquist

En el presente trabajo se estudió la actividad antioxidante, antibacteriana y tripanocida de extractos de Alvaradoa subovata. La mayor actividad depuradora de  radicales libres se observó en el extracto etanólico de corteza (CI50 = 4.7 ± 0.18 µg/mL). El extracto en diclorometano de  madera inhibió el crecimiento de la  bacteria fitopatógena Xanthomona axonopodis con una CIM = 100 µg/mL. El mismo extracto mostró inhibición del crecimiento de Trypanosoma cruzi (CI50 =  0.063 ± 0.003 mg/mL). Una fracción de este extracto (100 ug/mL), cuyo componente mayoritario es emodina, inhibió en un 60% el crecimiento del parásito.  Los compuestos mayoritarios detectados en el extracto de madera fueron antraquinonas, entre las cuales se identificaron emodina y crisofanol, y la cumarina  escopoletina. Estos tres compuestos podrían servir como marcadores analíticos del extracto. Los resultados de este trabajo muestran que los extractos de A.  subovata constituyen una fuente de compuestos bioactivos con potencial como antiparasitarios y plaguicidas

Secreting Germ Cell Tumors of the Central Nervous System: A Long-Term Follow-up Experience

Simple Summary Nongerminomatous germ cell tumors of the central nervous system are rare tumours. Differently from germinomas, they have a severe prognosis above all when presenting with high alfafetoprotein levels. We report the results of a combined chemo- and radiotherapy approach in 28 patients affected by this disease with craniospinal irradiation and a boost tailored on the response to pre-radiant chemotherapy. Metastatic patients and high-risk disease are discussed as well. The 5 years overall survival and event-free survival were both 81% while at 10 years they were 81% and 76% respectively. Our series, even if small, concerns nongerminomatous germ cell tumors only (whereas in some papers they are mixed with pure germinomas), furthermore our patients had a very long follow-up (over 11 years) with encouraging survival data for localized and metastatic disease. Improving survival while trying to contain/avoid the long-term sequelae of chemotherapy and radiotherapy are the main goals of future studies. Introduction: Due to the rarity of nongerminomatous germ cell tumors (NGGCT) with non-standard treatment as yet, we report retrospectively our 30 year experience with chemotherapy followed by craniospinal irradiation (CSI), plus a boost of whole ventricular irradiation (WVI)/tumor bed (TB), tailored to pre-radiation chemotherapy response. Methods: Between 1988 and 2016, 28 patients received four cycles of PEB (cisplatin/etoposide/bleomycin), then CSI, and two further PEB cycles. Between 1988 and1994, CSI was 25.5 Gy for patients in complete remission (CR), 30 Gy if in partial remission (PR) or metastatic, with a boost to TB up to 45-54 Gy. In the period of 1995-2010, the boost included WVI and any extra-ventricular tumor sites up to 45 Gy. After 2010, CSI was reduced to 25.5 Gy for all non-metastatic patients, and a boost was given only to TB up to 40.5/45.5 Gy, depending on patients' CR/PR status. After 2003, patients with alfafetoprotein (alpha FP) > 1000 ng/mL received intensified treatment, also including autologous stem cell transplantation. Results: Among 28 patients (23 males; median age 12 years, 6 metastatic), 25 responded to PEB, and three progressed (PD) after one to four cycles; 26 received radiotherapy obtaining 13 CR, 7 PR and 5 stable disease (SD), 1 PD; 6 (21%) died (5 for disease, 1 for pneumonia while in CR). Five-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were both 81%; 10 year OS and PFS 81% and 76%, respectively (median follow-up 11 years). Conclusions: Survival for children with NGGCT, independently from disease extent, was encouraging. Further studies should elucidate which patients could benefit from reduced volume and dose irradiation

Multidisciplinary Clinician Perspectives on Embedded Palliative Care Models in Pediatric Cancer

CONTEXT: Integration of palliative care (PC) into pediatric cancer care is considered best practice by national oncology and pediatric organizations. Optimal strategies for PC integration remain understudied, although growing evidence suggests that embedded models improve quality of care and quality of life for patients and families. OBJECTIVE: To describe the perspectives and preferences of multidisciplinary clinicians regarding ideal models for PC integration in pediatric cancer care; to introduce clinicians to the theoretical concept of an embedded care model; to empower clinicians in co-design of a new institutional model through collaborative discussion of anticipated benefits and challenges of embedded model implementation. METHODS: Trained facilitators conducted 24 focus groups, stratified by discipline and care team. Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed for inductive content analysis using MAXQDA software. RESULTS: 174 clinicians participated (25 physicians, 30 APPs, 70 nurses, 49 psychosocial clinicians). Clinicians across disciplines verbalized that an embedded PC model would improve access to PC; however, identified benefits and challenges varied by discipline. Benefits included earlier integration of PC (physicians, APPs), normalization of PC as an integral aspect of care by patients/families (nurses, psychosocial), collaboration (physicians, psychosocial clinicians), and communication (APPs, psychosocial). Anticipated challenges included inadequate resources and physician resistance (physicians, APPs, nurses) and multidisciplinary role confusion (APPs, nurses, psychosocial). CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric clinicians recognize the potential value of an embedded PC model. Although some concepts overlapped, multidisciplinary clinicians offered unique beliefs, highlighting the importance of including representative perspectives to ensure that pediatric PC models align with priorities of diverse stakeholders

Spectrophotometric measurements of the carbonate ion concentration:aragonite saturation states in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean

Research articleMeasurements of ocean pH, alkalinity, and carbonate ion concentrations ([CO3 2−]) during three cruises in the Atlantic Ocean and one in the Mediterranean Sea were used to assess the reliability of the recent spectrophotometric [CO3 2−] methodology and to determine aragonite saturation states. Measurements of [CO3 2−] along the Atlantic Ocean showed high consistency with the [CO3 2−] values calculated from pH and alkalinity, with negligible biases (0.4 ± 3.4 μmol· kg−1). In the warm, salty, high alkalinity and high pH Mediterranean waters, the spectrophotometric [CO3 2−] methodology underestimates the measured [CO3 2−] (4.0 ± 5.0 μmol·kg−1), with anomalies positively correlated to salinity. These waters also exhibited high in situ [CO3 2−] compared to the expected aragonite saturation. The very high buffering capacity allows the Mediterranean Sea waters to remain over the saturation level of aragonite for long periods of time. Conversely, the relatively thick layer of undersaturated waters between 500 and 1000 m depths in the Tropical Atlantic is expected to progress to even more negative undersaturation values. Moreover, the northern North Atlantic presents [CO3 2−] slightly above the level of aragonite saturation, and the expected anthropogenic acidification could result in reductions of the aragonite saturation levels during future decades, acting as a stressor for the large population of cold-water-coral communities.Preprint5,228

Ultra Short Course Chemotherapy for Early-Stage Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Children

Early-stage non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (ES-NHL) are associated with high survival rates. To minimize the risk of long-term sequelae, the duration and intensity of chemotherapy have been progressively reduced. Between 1988 and 2018, children with ES-NHL were treated at a single institute with two subsequent protocols. Protocol I consisted of a 7-week induction phase followed by a maintenance phase alternating 6-mercaptopurine plus MTX, a brief reinduction, and thioguanine plus cytosine arabinoside, for a total duration of 8 months. The subsequent protocol II (applied since 1997) was modified adding etoposide plus a further dose of HD-MTX and omitting maintenance in all histological subtypes except T-lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-LBL), for a total duration of 9 weeks. Intrathecal prophylaxis was not provided in either protocol. With a median follow-up of 98.4 months, the 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rates in protocol I (n = 21) and II (n = 25) were 76.2% and 96%, respectively, and the 5-year overall survival (OS) rates were 90.5% and 96%, respectively. None of the patients experienced disease progression or relapse within the central nervous system (CNS). Acute toxicity was manageable in both protocols, except for a case of presumed acute cardiotoxic death; no chronic sequelae were evident. Low-intensity chemotherapy for 9 weeks without intrathecal prophylaxis was sufficient for curing children with ES-NHL, without jeopardizing the excellent survival rate of this disease