Gastrointestinal stromal tumor as cause of acute abdominal pain in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1: case report and literature review

Acute abdomen is a common and sometimes dramatic clinical condition, which can be fatal if diagnosis is not made in time. There are many etiologies for acute abdominal pain; therefore, the diagnostic approach should be based on clinical assessment, including laboratory and image studies. Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition, characterized by cutaneous pigmentation and tumor formation along nerves in the brain, skin and other organs, the gastrointestinal stromal tumors are rare mesenchymal neoplasms associated with NF1. The close correlation between both pathologies is well known, and the clinical relevance relies on the different pathogenesis from sporadic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), with important therapeutic implications as the use of imatinib prior or after surgery, regarding the individual context of the patient. This case report illustrates the management of an NF1 patient presenting with acute abdomen to the emergency room and follow-up

On the Evaluation of x86 Web Servers Using Simics: Limitations and Trade-Offs

Abstract. In this paper, we present our first experiences using Simics, a simulator which allows full-system simulation of multiprocessor architectures. We carry out a detailed performance study of a static web content server, showing how changes in some architectural parameters affect final performance. The results we have obtained corroborate the intuition of increasing performance of a dual-processor web server opposite to a single-processor one, and at the same time, allow us to check out Simics limitations. Finally, we compare these results with those that are obtained on real machines

Extraordinary transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect in a superlens

It has been shown that a slab of a negative index material can behave as a superlens enhancing the imaging resolution beyond the wavelength limit. We show here that if such a slab possesses in addition some magneto-optical activity, it could act as an ideal optical filter and exhibit an extraordinary transverse magneto-optical Kerr effect. Moreover, we show that losses, which spoil the imaging resolution of these lenses, are a necessary ingredient to observe this effect.E.M.-V. was financially supported by the Colombian agency COLCIENCIAS. A.G.-M. acknowledges funding from Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through grants “FUNCOAT” CONSOLIDER CSD2008-00023 and “MAPS” MAT2011-29194-C02-01, and from Comunidad de Madrid through grant “MICROSERES-CM” S2009/TIC-1476. J.C.C. acknowledges financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Contract No. FIS2011-28851-C02-01).Peer Reviewe

Using Location-Allocation Algorithms to Distribute Multioutlet Hydrants in Irrigation Networks Design

Location-allocation algorithms allow for situating services in an efficient way in zones where the demand is dispersed across the area. In the present work, the minisum location-allocation algorithm is used to optimize the placement multioutlet hydrants, which are needed to supply irrigation to the region. The objective function aims to minimize the total access costs of the service. Because the total number of hydrants is the same as what currently exists the results can be compared with the presented solution. The proposed model reduces the total distance run to access the service, from 16,177 m to 13,560 m (16.17%), and the objective function (proportional to the cost) by 28.95%. © 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.González Villa, FJ.; García Prats, A. (2011). Using Location-Allocation Algorithms to Distribute Multioutlet Hydrants in Irrigation Networks Design. Journal of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering. 274-283. doi:10.1061/(ASCE)IR.1943-4774.0000405S27428

Experimental and statistical evaluation of a brain-computer interface (BCI) prototype.

En este trabajo se propone un estudio experimental y estadístico para comparar el prototipo de ICC con un sistema comercial (USBamp), estudiando si existen diferencias significativas entre los dos sistemas.In this paper, we propose an experimental and statistical design to compare the BCI prototype with a comercial device (USBamp), studyng if they show significant differences or not

Cytogenetic and genomic analysis of a patient with turner syndrome and t(2;12): a case report

Background: Turner syndrome is a genetic disorder that afects women. It is caused by an absent or incomplete X chromosome, which can be presented in mosaicism or not. There are 12 cases of Turner syndrome patients who present structural alterations in autosomal chromosomes. Case presentation: The present case report describes a patient with a reciprocal, maternally inherited translocation between chromosomes 2 and 12 with a mosaicism of X monosomy 45,X,t(2;12)(p13;q24)[95]/46,XX,t(2;12)(p13;q24) [5]. Through genetic mapping arrays, altered genes in the patient were determined within the 23 chromosome pairs. These genes were associated with the patient’s clinical features using a bioinformatics tool Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the frst case in which a translocation (2;12) is reported in a patient with Turner syndrome and confrmed by conventional cytogenetics, FISH and molecular genetics. Clinical features of our patient are closely related with the loss of one X chromosome, however mild intellectual disability can be likely explained by autosomal genes. The presence of familial translocations was a common fnding, thus emphasizing the need for familiar testing for further genetic counselling

The relation between surface star formation rate density and spiral arms in NGC 5236 (M83)

For a long time the consensus has been that star formation rates are higher in the interior of spiral arms in galaxies, compared to inter-arm regions. However, recent studies have found that the star formation inside the arms is not more efficient than elsewhere in the galaxy. Previous studies have based their conclusion mainly on integrated light. We use resolved stellar populations to investigate the star formation rates throughout the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 5236. We aim to investigate how the star formation rate varies in the spiral arms compared to the inter-arm regions, using optical space-based observations of NGC 5236. Using ground-based H\alpha images we traced regions of recent star formation, and reconstructed the arms of the galaxy. Using HST/ACS images we estimate star formation histories by means of the synthetic CMD method. Arms based on H\alpha images showed to follow the regions where stellar crowding is higher. Star formation rates for individual arms over the fields covered were estimated between 10 to 100 Myr, where the stellar photometry is less affected by incompleteness. Comparison between arms and inter-arm surface star formation rate densities (\Sigma$_{SFR}$) suggested higher values in the arms (\sim0.6 dex). Over a small fraction of one arm we checked how the \Sigma$_{SFR}$ changes for the trailing and leading part. The leading part of the arm showed to have a higher \Sigma$_{SFR}$ in the age range 10-100 Myr. Predictions from the density wave theory of a rapid increase in the star formation at the edge where the stars and the gas enter the density wave are confirmed. The \Sigma$_{SFR}$ presents a steep decrease with distance from the center of the arms through the inter-arm regions.Comment: 10 pages, 11 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Mild and short-term caloric restriction prevents obesity-induced cardiomyopathy in young zucker rats without changing in metabolites and fatty acids cardiac profile

Caloric restriction (CR) ameliorates cardiac dysfunction associated with obesity. However, most of the studies have been performed under severe CR (30-65% caloric intake decrease) for several months or even years in aged animals. Here, we investigated whether mild (20% food intake reduction) and short-term (2-weeks) CR prevented the obese cardiomyopathy phenotype and improved the metabolic profile of young (14 weeks of age) genetically obese Zucker fa/fa rats. Heart weight (HW) and HW/tibia length ratio was significantly lower in fa/fa rats after 2 weeks of CR than in counterparts fed ad libitum. Invasive pressure measurements showed that systolic blood pressure, maximal rate of positive left ventricle (LV) pressure, LV systolic pressure and LV end-diastolic pressure were all significantly higher in obese fa/fa rats than in lean counterparts, which were prevented by CR. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the increase in LV end-systolic volume, stroke volume and LV wall thickness observed in fa/fa rats was significantly lower in animals on CR diet. Histological analysis also revealed that CR blocked the significant increase in cardiomyocyte diameter in obese fa/fa rats. High resolution magic angle spinning magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of the LV revealed a global decrease in metabolites such as taurine, creatine and phosphocreatine, glutamate, glutamine and glutathione, in obese fa/fa rats, whereas lactate concentration was increased. By contrast, fatty acid concentrations in LV tissue were significantly elevated in obese fa/fa rats. CR failed to restore the LV metabolomic profile of obese fa/fa rats. In conclusion, mild and short-term CR prevented an obesity-induced cardiomyopathy phenotype in young obese fa/fa rats independently of the cardiac metabolic profile.This study was supported by grants from Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (BFU2011-25303), Spanish Institute of Health Carlos III (CP15/00129), UCM groups (GR-921641), SESCAMET, Fundación Mutua Madrileña, Fundación Eugenio Rodríguez Pascual and Fondos FEDER.Peer Reviewe

Linezolid for infective endocarditis. A structured approach based on a national database experience

Current data on the frequency and efficacy of linezolid (LNZ) in infective endocarditis (IE) are based on small retrospective series. We used a national database to evaluate the effectiveness of LNZ in IE. This is a retrospective study of IE patients in the Spanish GAMES database who received LNZ. We defined 3 levels of therapeutic impact: LNZ 50% of the total treatment, and > 50% of the LNZ doses prescribed in the first weeks of treatment), and LNZ ? 7 days not fulfilling the high-impact criteria (LNZ-NHI). Effectiveness of LNZ was assessed using propensity score matching and multivariate analysis of high-impact cases in comparison to patients not treated with LNZ from the GAMES database matched for age-adjusted comorbidity Charlson index, heart failure, renal failure, prosthetic and intracardiac IE device, left-sided IE, and Staphylococcus aureus. Primary outcomes were in-hospital mortality and one-year mortality. Secondary outcomes included IE complications and relapses

First record of the miniature catfish Malacoglanis gelatinosus Myers & Weitzman, 1966 (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae) in the Orinoco river basin

Malacoglanis gelatinosus, a species of miniature catfish of the family Trichomycteridae, is only known from 4 specimens from the Amazon basin. Recently, we collected 3 specimens from the upper basin of the Meta River, a tributary of the Orinoco. This is the first record of M. gelatinosus from the Orinoco river basin, which significantly expands the known geographic distribution of this species, making it one of the most broadly distributed species within the subfamily Sarcoglanidinae. High-resolution photographs of specimens, remarks on character variation, and an updated distribution in Colombia are provided