Implementing precision oncology in Latin America to improve patient outcomes: the status quo and a call to action for key stakeholders and decision-makers.

Background: The advent of precision oncology (PO) has revolutionised diagnostic and follow up strategies and improved clinical outcomes for cancer patients. However, socio-economic inequalities in the level of implementation of PO in different countries is a prevailing issue. To improve this situation, the Latin America Patients Academy has gathered the recommendations of healthcare professionals and social civil members experienced in cancer management from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Argentina regarding the areas that need to be prioritised to improve the access to PO in Latin American (LATAM) countries.

Five-Fraction Proton Therapy for the Treatment of Skull Base Chordomas and Chondrosarcomas: Early Results of a Prospective Series and Description of a Clinical Trial.

(1) Background: Our purpose is to describe the design of a phase II clinical trial on 5-fraction proton therapy for chordomas and chondrosarcomas of the skull base and to present early results in terms of local control and clinical tolerance of the first prospective series. (2) Methods: A dose of 37.5 GyRBE in five fractions was proposed for chordomas and 35 GyRBE in five fractions for chondrosarcomas.

Fluence requirements in existing UV disinfection facilities to comply with EU validation performance targets for reclaimed water: a case study.

Since 2020, there is a new European Regulation (EU, 2020/741) on minimum requirements for water reuse, where routine and validation monitoring requirements (log reductions of indicator microorganisms and reference pathogens) have been established. Many reclamation facilities that are already in operation might have difficulties to comply with these performance targets. Existing disinfection systems must be expanded and upgraded.

Role of Cholangioscopy in a Patient With Hepatolithiasis and Caroli Disease.

Caroli disease is an infrequent congenital pathology that is part of the spectrum of fibrocystic diseases, characterized mainly by malformation of bile ducts. These patients often have stones and cholangitis, which respond poorly to conventional endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. To date, there is little evidence on the usefulness of cholangioscopy in this disease, so we describe the experience of performing cholangioscopy in a patient with hepatolithiasis and Caroli disease.

Top-down modulation impairs priming susceptibility in complex decision-making with social implications.

Could social context variables prime complex decisions? Could top-down processes impair this priming susceptibility? Complex decisions have been mainly studied from economic and moral perspectives, and Dual Process Theories provide evidence of how these processes could be affected. To address these issues from a political perspective, online experiments were conducted. Participants (n = 252) were asked to choose a face from 4 options, each associated with different frequencies (repetition priming) or with phrases with different emotional valence (emotional priming), for an unspecified task (UST group) or an important task (IMT group).

Prevention of bleeding after percutaneous biopsy with a small intestinal submucosa hemostatic plug.

Percutaneous biopsies (PBs) are the gold standard diagnostic procedures indicated for renal and hepatic disorders. Nevertheless, they can cause hemorrhages and are contraindicated for coagulopathic patients. In this study we designed, fabricated, and evaluated a small intestinal submucosa (SIS) plug to reduce, and potentially cease, bleeding to decrease death risk after percutaneous hepatic and renal biopsies in healthy and coagulopathic in vivo models.

Lithium-ion batteries towards circular economy: A literature review of opportunities and issues of recycling treatments.

Nowadays, Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in advanced technological devices and Electric and Hybrid Vehicles, due to their high energy density for weight, reduced memory effect and significant number of supported charging/discharging cycles. As a consequence, the production and the use of Lithium-ion batteries will continuously increase in the near future, focusing the global attention on their End-of-Life management. Unfortunately, wasted Lithium-ion batteries treatments are still under development, far from the optimization of recycling processes and technologies, and currently recycling represents the only alternative for the social, economic and environmental sustainability of this market, able to minimize toxicity of End-of-Life products, to create a monetary gain and to lead to the independence from foreign resources or critical materials.

Erratum: Surface cytometer for fluorescent detection and growth monitoring of bacteria over a large field-of-view: publisher's note.

[This corrects the article on p. 2101 in vol. 10, PMID: 31061773.

Surface cytometer for fluorescent detection and growth monitoring of bacteria over a large field-of-view.

Monitoring the early onset of bacterial film formation is critical in many clinical, environmental, and food quality control applications. We built a small inexpensive optical surface cytometer, in contrast with bulk spectroscopic methods, around a light-emitting diode (LED) and a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) image sensor. It is designed to offer a large field-of-view of 200 mm and a large depth-of-field of 2-3 mm to overcome the limitations of routine methods like spectrophotometry and fluorescence microscopy.

Image guided SBRT for multiple liver metastases with ExacTrac Adaptive Gating.

Aim: To report the outcome and toxicity of sequential stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) for multiple liver metastases in patients treated with ExacTrac Adaptive Gating.

Background: In selected patients with a limited number of liver metastases, SBRT has been evaluated as a safe and effective treatment, with minimal toxicity and high rates of local control.

Materials And Methods: From April 2008 to October 2013, 21 patients with multiple (3-14) liver metastases ( = 101) were treated sequentially with SBRT at our institution.

Antileishmanial Effect of 5,3'-Hydroxy-7,4'-dimethoxyflavanone of Picramnia gracilis Tul. (Picramniaceae) Fruit: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies.

Species of Picramnia genus are used in folk medicine to treat or prevent skin disorders, but only few species have been studied for biological activity and chemical composition. P. gracilis Tul.

Tomographic and functional findings in severe COPD: comparison between the wood smoke-related and smoking-related disease.

Objective: Wood smoke exposure is a risk factor for COPD. For a given degree of airway obstruction, the reduction in DLCO is smaller in individuals with wood smoke-related COPD than in those with smoking-related COPD, suggesting that there is less emphysema in the former. The objective of this study was to compare HRCT findings between women with wood smoke-related COPD and women with smoking-related COPD.

Portal hypertensive biliopathy: A single center experience and literature review.

Portal hypertensive biliopathy (PHB) is characterized by anatomical and functional abnormalities of the intrahepatic, extrahepatic and pancreatic ducts, in patients with portal hypertension associated to extrahepatic portal vein obstruction and less frequently to cirrhosis. These morphological changes, consisting in dilatation and stenosis of the biliary tree, are due to extensive venous collaterals occurring in an attempt to decompress the portal venous blockage. It is usually asymptomatic until it progresses to more advanced stages with cholestasis, jaundice, biliary sludge, gallstones, cholangitis and finally biliary cirrhosis.

Parallel Niche Pareto AlineaGA--an evolutionary multiobjective approach on multiple sequence alignment.

Multiple sequence alignment is one of the most recurrent assignments in Bioinformatics. This method allows organizing a set of molecular sequences in order to expose their similarities and their differences. Although exact methods exist for solving this problem, their use is limited by the computing demands which are necessary for exploring such a large and complex search space.

Institutional experience on the treatment of lung and liver lesions with stereotactic body radiotherapy and Novalis Exactrac Adaptive Gating technique.

Introduction: Gating technique can improve the accuracy of the treatment of lung and liver lesions with SBRT, by monitoring organ tumor motion and irradiating within a selected area of the respiratory cycle.

Methods: We have treated 75 patients (34 lung and 41 liver) with Novalis LINAC SBRT Adaptive Gating Technique. A total of 130 lesions, 49 lung lesions (11 primary NSCLC and 38 metastases) and 81 liver lesions (10 primary and 71 metastases).

[Update in the clinic of addictions: learning and dopamine].

There are two parallel explanatory models for addictions. One is the homeostatic model, that explains tolerance and the abstinence syndrome. Tolerance and abstinence are reversible phenomena that mask sensitization.

A spectroscopic and electrochemical approach to the study of the interactions and photoinduced electron transfer between catechol and anatase nanoparticles in aqueous solution.

We have combined in situ photoelectrochemical and spectroscopic techniques (Attenuated Total Reflection Infrared, ATR-IR, and Resonance Raman Spectroscopy) for the study of the charge-transfer complex formed upon adsorption of catechol on anatase nanoparticles in contact with aqueous acidic solutions. Vibrational spectroscopies reveal the existence of at least two adsorbate configurations: catecholate in a chelate configuration and molecularly adsorbed catechol, with apparent values of -12.3 and -10.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica: helical CT findings in 4 cases.

Tracheopathia osteochondroplastica is an uncommon abnormality of the cartilaginous tracheal wall, characterized by the presence of osteocartilaginous calcified nodules within the submucosa, with variable degree of diffuse tracheal narrowing. Imaging findings in CT are characterized by the presence of calcified nodular densities protruding into the tracheal lumen, with an abnormally irregular tracheal morphology and often decreased lateral diameter. This can extend to the proximal main stem bronchi.