Access to cancer pain management in Ecuador from health workers' perspective: a qualitative study.

Ecuador is facing increasing health-related suffering due to cancer; however, the distributed opioid analgesic in the country is below the global average. This study explores the access to cancer pain management (CPM) from the healthcare professionals' perspective in a middle-income country. Thirty problem-centered interviews with healthcare providers were conducted in six cancer facilities and were analyzed thematically.

Highlights of the 'I Congress ecancer Choosing Wisely' March 30 and 31, 2022 Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

The ecancer 'Choosing Wisely' conference was held for the first time in Latin America in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The event had more than 150 registered attendees in addition to 22 speakers from different countries and different specialities in the field of oncology, who presented topics on prevention, oncological surgery, clinical oncology and palliative care, in order to demonstrate the current evidence of how to approach a patient in daily clinical practice based on the human resources, materials and drugs available, trying to offer the maximum benefit to the patient based on current scientific evidence. In addition to addressing issues of vital importance in breast cancer, during the 2 days of the event, updated information generated in recent years was presented, the results of which will change clinical practice.

A non-canonical RNA degradation pathway suppresses RNAi-dependent epimutations in the human fungal pathogen Mucor circinelloides.

Mucorales are a group of basal fungi that includes the casual agents of the human emerging disease mucormycosis. Recent studies revealed that these pathogens activate an RNAi-based pathway to rapidly generate drug-resistant epimutant strains when exposed to stressful compounds such as the antifungal drug FK506. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of this epimutation pathway, we performed a genetic analysis in Mucor circinelloides that revealed an inhibitory role for the non-canonical RdRP-dependent Dicer-independent silencing pathway, which is an RNAi-based mechanism involved in mRNA degradation that was recently identified.

A single argonaute gene participates in exogenous and endogenous RNAi and controls cellular functions in the basal fungus Mucor circinelloides.

The mechanism of RNAi is well described in metazoans where it plays a role in diverse cellular functions. However, although different classes of endogenous small RNAs (esRNAs) have been identified in fungi, their biological roles are poorly described due, in part, to the lack of phenotype of mutants affected in the biogenesis of these esRNAs. Argonaute proteins are one of the key components of the RNAi pathways, in which different members of this protein family participate in the biogenesis of a wide repertoire of esRNAs molecules.

Comparison of antioxidant activity of hydroethanolic fresh and aged garlic extracts and their effects on cerebral ischemia.

Antioxidant properties and protective effect of aged garlic extract (AGE) and of 20% hydroethanolic fresh extracts from garlic clove (GCE) and skin (GSE) on cerebral ischemia were evaluated by administering extracts at the beginning of reperfusion in a rat model of stroke. All three extracts scavenged superoxide anion, peroxynitrite anion, and peroxyl radicals, but with different efficiencies; furthermore, GCE and GSE scavenged hydroxyl radicals and GSE scavenged singlet oxygen. These extracts significantly prevented reduction of neuronal nuclear antigen in the infarcted area, although no improvement in neurological function was observed.

A weight-loss intervention program designed for Mexican-American women: cultural adaptations and results.

This study assessed the feasibility of a culturally-appropriate weight-loss intervention targeting obese Spanish-speaking Mexican women. This 12-month weight-loss program was based on behavioral interventions previously used successfully with English-speaking participants. Cultural adaptations included: female interventionists, minimal written materials, emphasis on group activities, focus on Mexican traditions and beliefs, and skill-building approach to food measurement.

Influence of soil properties on trace element availability and plant accumulation in a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes: implications for phytomanagement.

The aims of this study were to determine the factors which control metal and As phytoavailability in the different microenvironments (Sand Dunes, Salt Flat, Dry River and Shrubs) present at a Mediterranean salt marsh polluted by mining wastes. We performed a field study following a plot sampling survey. The analyses of soil parameters (pH, electrical conductivity (EC), organic carbon contents, etc.

Sporangiospore size dimorphism is linked to virulence of Mucor circinelloides.

Mucor circinelloides is a zygomycete fungus and an emerging opportunistic pathogen in immunocompromised patients, especially transplant recipients and in some cases otherwise healthy individuals. We have discovered a novel example of size dimorphism linked to virulence. M.

A single dicer gene is required for efficient gene silencing associated with two classes of small antisense RNAs in Mucor circinelloides.

RNA silencing in the zygomycete Mucor circinelloides exhibits uncommon features, such as induction by self-replicative sense transgenes and the accumulation of two size classes of antisense small interfering RNAs (siRNAs). To investigate whether this silencing phenomenon follows the rules of a canonical RNA-silencing mechanism, we used hairpin RNA (hpRNA)-producing constructs as silencing triggers and analyzed the efficiency and stability of silencing in different genetic backgrounds. We show here that the dsRNA-induced silencing mechanism is also associated with the accumulation of two sizes of antisense siRNAs and that this mechanism is not mediated by the previously known dcl-1 (dicer-like) gene, which implies the existence of an additional dicer gene.

Spermatozoa epididymal maturation in the Mexican big-eared bat (Corynorhinus mexicanus).

Prolonged epididymal sperm storage in vespertilionid and rhinolophid bats, provides an interesting experimental model for the study of spermatozoa epididymal maturation. We examined the presence of the cytoplasmic droplet, and the sequential induction of capacitation and the acrosome reaction in spermatozoa obtained from different epididymal regions (caput, corpus, cauda) throughout the annual reproductive cycle of Corynorhinus mexicanus (C. mexicanus).

Conversion of the lycopene monocyclase of Myxococcus xanthus into a bicyclase.

Depending on the cyclized hydrocarbon backbone ends, carotenoids can be acyclic, monocyclic, or bicyclic. Lycopene cyclases are the enzymes responsible for catalyzing the formation of cyclic carotenoids from acyclic lycopene. Myxococcus xanthus is a bacterium that accumulates monocyclic carotenoids such as a glycoside ester of myxobacton.

Cooperation of two carotene desaturases in the production of lycopene in Myxococcus xanthus.

In Myxococcus xanthus, all known carotenogenic genes are grouped together in the gene cluster carB-carA, except for one, crtIb (previously named carC). We show here that the first three genes of the carB operon, crtE, crtIa, and crtB, encode a geranygeranyl synthase, a phytoene desaturase, and a phytoene synthase, respectively. We demonstrate also that CrtIa possesses cis-to-trans isomerase activity, and is able to dehydrogenate phytoene, producing phytofluene and zeta-carotene.

Active infectious endocarditis: postoperative outcome.

Objective: Many changes have occurred in the natural history and the management of active infectious endocarditis (AIE) in recent years. Therefore, the records of patients admitted in a tertiary care specialized hospital presenting with the Duke criteria were reviewed.

Methods: Adults operated on to treat AIE were included during a 3-year period.

Role for vitamin B(12) in light induction of gene expression in the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus.

A light-inducible promoter (P(B)) drives the carB operon (carotenoid genes) of the bacterium Myxococcus xanthus. A gene encoding a regulator of carotenoid biosynthesis was identified by studying mutant strains carrying a transcriptional fusion to P(B) and deletions in three candidate genes. Our results prove that the identified gene, named carA, codes for a repressor of the P(B) promoter in the dark.