Digestive toxicity in cancer treatments. Bibliographic review. Influence on nutritional status.

Introduction: The cause of death can be attributed to malnutrition in 10-20% of cancer patients. Patients with sarcopenia present more chemotherapy toxicity, less progression-free time, less functional capacity and more surgical complications. Antineoplastic treatments have a high prevalence of adverse effects that compromise nutritional status.

Technical note: preliminary insight into a new method for age-at-death estimation from the pubic symphysis.

Age-at-death estimation methods are important in forensic anthropology. However, age assessment is problematic due to inter-individual variation. The subjectivity of visual scoring systems can affect the accuracy and reliability of methods as well.

Evaluating the conservation state of the ecosystem: An object-based image analysis and CART algorithm approach for central Ecuador.

Ecuadorian ecosystems (EPEs) function as water sources, contain large soil carbon stores and high levels of biodiversity, and support human populations. The EPEs are mainly herbaceous (HP). To inform policy and management and help drive ecological science toward a better understanding of the HP ecosystem, and the relationships among its multiple ecosystem services, we asked: (1) What is the state of the HP regarding its land use/land cover (LULC)?; and (2) Is the HP being pushed away from its natural state or it is regenerating? To answer these questions, we assessed the LULC in central EPEs using Landsat 8 imagery, Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA) and a Classification and Regression Trees (CART) algorithm.

Glycoprotein K8.1A of Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus Is a Critical B Cell Tropism Determinant Independent of Its Heparan Sulfate Binding Activity.

B lymphocytes are the major cellular reservoir in individuals infected with Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), and the virus is etiologically linked to two B cell lymphoproliferative disorders. We previously described the MC116 human B cell line as a KSHV-susceptible model to overcome the paradoxical refractoriness of B cell lines to experimental KSHV infection. Here, using monoclonal antibody inhibition and a deletion mutant virus, we demonstrate that the KSHV virion glycoprotein K8.

[Detection and evaluation of the role of sarcopenia in elderly patients with cancer treated with chemotherapy. ONCOSARCO project].

Objectives: To develop a predictive model of toxicity to chemotherapy in elderly patients with cancer, using the variables associated with sarcopenia, and to identify which of these parameters, sarcopenia or frailty, is the best predictor of toxicity to chemotherapy in the elderly.

Material And Methods: A prospective observational study with patients ≥70 years treated with chemotherapy in the Cancer Unit for the Elderly, in the Medical Oncology Section of the Hospital Virgen de la Luz de Cuenca. The following tests will be performed by each patient before chemotherapy: muscle strength (handgrip, cylindrical handgrip, pinch gauge, hip flexion, knee extension), muscle mass (skeletal muscle mass index), and physical function (gait speed and 5STS test).

Efficient infection of a human B cell line with cell-free Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus.

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is causatively linked to two B cell lymphoproliferative disorders, multicentric Castleman's disease and primary effusion lymphoma. Latently infected B cells are a major KSHV reservoir, and virus activation from tonsillar B cells can result in salivary shedding and virus transmission. Paradoxically, human B cells (primary and continuous) are notoriously refractory to infection, thus posing a major obstacle to the study of KSHV in this cell type.

Sensitivity of laser light depolarization analysis for detection of malaria in blood samples.

Automated light depolarization analysis could be a useful tool for diagnosing malarial infections. This work discusses the results of a diagnostic efficacy study on 411 samples from patients with suspected malaria infection performed with a Cell-Dyn 4000 analyser. Light dispersed at 90 degrees and depolarized can be used for identifying and counting eosinophils.