Don't Let Beauty Blind You: Unveiling Clinical Diagnoses During Cosmetic Dermatology Practice.

There has been a notable rise in the prevalence of cosmetic dermatology services worldwide, involving a diverse range of providers. Patients presenting with cosmetic concerns should be thoroughly assessed and require meticulous attention because subtle, unexpected clinical cues might necessitate the application of dermatologic expertise. In this study, we present a case series involving patients who sought cosmetic care at an academic cosmetic dermatology center, revealing subsequent diagnoses of significant medical conditions.

Activation of retinoid X receptors protects retinal neurons and pigment epithelial cells from BMAA-induced death.

Exposure to the non-protein amino acid cyanotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), released by cyanobacteria found in many water reservoirs has been associated with neurodegenerative diseases. We previously demonstrated that BMAA induced cell death in both retina photoreceptors (PHRs) and amacrine neurons by triggering different molecular pathways, as activation of NMDA receptors and formation of carbamate-adducts was only observed in amacrine cell death. We established that activation of Retinoid X Receptors (RXR) protects retinal cells, including retina pigment epithelial (RPE) cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

MAPK-dependent control of mitotic progression in S. pombe.

Background: Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) preserve cell homeostasis by transducing physicochemical fluctuations of the environment into multiple adaptive responses. These responses involve transcriptional rewiring and the regulation of cell cycle transitions, among others. However, how stress conditions impinge mitotic progression is largely unknown.

Dual-Target Radiosurgery for Concomitant Continuous Pain Presentation of Trigeminal Neuralgia: Radiomodulation Effect and Dose.

Objectives: Patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) experience concomitant continuous pain (CCP) that can be difficult to treat. A dual-target approach delivering a high dose of radiation to the nerve and the contralateral thalamus can develop a fast radiomodulation effect on lowering pain. We sought to determine if this effect was dose dependent.

Synthesis, Characterization, and Proton Conductivity of Muconic Acid-Based Polyamides Bearing Sulfonated Moieties.

Most commercially available polymers are synthesized from compounds derived from petroleum, a finite resource. Because of this, there is a growing interest in the synthesis of new polymeric materials using renewable monomers. Following this concept, this work reports on the use of muconic acid as a renewable source for the development of new polyamides that can be used as proton-exchange membranes.

Can heterosis and inbreeding depression explain the maintenance of outcrossing in a cleistogamous perennial?

Premise: What maintains mixed mating is an evolutionary enigma. Cleistogamy-the production of both potentially outcrossing chasmogamous and obligately selfing cleistogamous flowers on the same individual plant-is an excellent system to study the costs of selfing. Inbreeding depression can prevent the evolution of greater selfing within populations, and heterosis in crosses between populations may further tip the balance in favor of outcrossing.

Divergence of cytokinesis and dimorphism control by myosin II regulatory light chain in fission yeasts.

Non-muscle myosin II activation by regulatory light chain (Rlc1) phosphorylation at Ser35 is crucial for cytokinesis during respiration in the fission yeast We show that in the early divergent and dimorphic fission yeast non-phosphorylated Rlc1 regulates the activity of Myo2 and Myp2 heavy chains during cytokinesis. Intriguingly, Rlc1-Myo2 nodes delay yeast to hyphae onset but are essential for mycelial development. Structure-function analysis revealed that phosphorylation-induced folding of Rlc1 α1 helix into an open conformation allows precise regulation of Myo2 during cytokinesis.

Myosin II regulatory light chain phosphorylation and formin availability modulate cytokinesis upon changes in carbohydrate metabolism.

Cytokinesis, the separation of daughter cells at the end of mitosis, relies in animal cells on a contractile actomyosin ring (CAR) composed of actin and class II myosins, whose activity is strongly influenced by regulatory light chain (RLC) phosphorylation. However, in simple eukaryotes such as the fission yeast , RLC phosphorylation appears dispensable for regulating CAR dynamics. We found that redundant phosphorylation at Ser35 of the RLC homolog Rlc1 by the p21-activated kinases Pak1 and Pak2, modulates myosin II Myo2 activity and becomes essential for cytokinesis and cell growth during respiration.

Fungal communities in Brazilian cassava tubers and food products.

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is one of the most widely cultivated foods in the world and is of great socio-economic importance, especially in developing countries. It is predominantly consumed in boiled form, but also is used to produce a number of products, including cassava starch, sour starch, cassava flour and tapioca flour (hydrated cassava starch). Fungal spoilage can occur throughout the production chain, impairing both productivity and quality, as well as posing a potential risk of contamination by mycotoxins.

cAMP-Protein kinase A and stress-activated MAP kinase signaling mediate transcriptional control of autophagy in fission yeast during glucose limitation or starvation.

Macroautophagy/autophagy is an essential adaptive physiological response in eukaryotes induced during nutrient starvation, including glucose, the primary immediate carbon and energy source for most cells. Although the molecular mechanisms that induce autophagy during glucose starvation have been extensively explored in the budding yeast , little is known about how this coping response is regulated in the evolutionary distant fission yeast . Here, we show that autophagy in response to glucose limitation relies on mitochondrial respiration and the electron transport chain (ETC), but, in contrast to , the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and DNA damage response pathway components do not modulate fission yeast autophagic flux under these conditions.

Sphingosine-1-phosphate and ceramide-1-phosphate promote migration, pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic responses in retinal pigment epithelium cells.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, essential for preserving retina homeostasis, also contribute to the development of retina proliferative diseases, through their exacerbated migration, epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and inflammatory response. Uncovering the mechanisms inducing these changes is crucial for designing effective treatments for these pathologies. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P) are bioactive sphingolipids that promote migration and inflammation in several cell types; we recently established that they stimulate the migration of retina Müller glial cells (Simón et al.

Radiomodulation in Mixed, Complex Cancer Pain by Triple Target Irradiation in the Brain: A Preliminary Experience.

Introduction Up to 30% of terminally ill cancer patients experiencing intense pain might be refractory to opioid treatment. Complex cancer pain can be a mixture of somatic, visceral, and neuropathic pain with few or no effective alternatives to ameliorate pain. Radiosurgery to treat refractory pain in cancer has been reported with different degrees of success.

Synthesis and Characterization of Thiol-Functionalized Polynorbornene Dicarboximides for Heavy Metal Adsorption from Aqueous Solution.

The contamination of water resources with heavy metals is a very serious concern that demands prompt and effective attention due to the serious health risks caused by these contaminants. The synthesis and ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene dicarboximides bearing thiol pendant groups, specifically, -4-thiophenyl--norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (), -4-(methylthio)phenyl--norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide () and -4-(trifluoromethylthio)phenyl--norbornene-5,6-dicarboximide (), as well as their assessment for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous systems, is addressed in this work. The polymers were characterized by NMR, SEM and TGA, among others.

Visual Symptoms Outcomes in Cavernous Sinus Radiosurgery and a Systematic Review.

Introduction The complex anatomy of the cavernous sinus confers a true challenge when it comes to safe tumor resection. Due to its non-invasive nature, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is expected to have lower mortality and morbidity rates than microsurgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical results regarding visual symptoms after SRS for benign tumors invading the cavernous sinus.

Low-cost, specific PCR assays to identify the main aflatoxigenic species of Aspergillus section Flavi.

Aflatoxins are fungal metabolites that are present as contaminants in food globally. Most aflatoxigenic species belong to Aspergillus section Flavi, and the main ones are grouped in the A. flavus clade, where many cryptic species that are difficult to discriminate are found.

CIGB-300-Regulated Proteome Reveals Common and Tailored Response Patterns of AML Cells to CK2 Inhibition.

Protein kinase CK2 is a highly pleiotropic and ubiquitously expressed Ser/Thr kinase with instrumental roles in normal and pathological states, including neoplastic phenotype in solid tumor and hematological malignancies. In line with previous reports, CK2 has been suggested as an attractive prognostic marker and molecular target in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood malignant disorder that remains as an unmet medical need. Accordingly, this work investigates the complex landscape of molecular and cellular perturbations supporting the antileukemic effect exerted by CK2 inhibition in AML cells.

The Fission Yeast Cell Integrity Pathway: A Functional Hub for Cell Survival upon Stress and Beyond.

The survival of eukaryotic organisms during environmental changes is largely dependent on the adaptive responses elicited by signal transduction cascades, including those regulated by the Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) pathways. The Cell Integrity Pathway (CIP), one of the three MAPK pathways found in the simple eukaryote fission of yeast , shows strong homology with mammalian Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinases (ERKs). Remarkably, studies over the last few decades have gradually positioned the CIP as a multi-faceted pathway that impacts multiple functional aspects of the fission yeast life cycle during unperturbed growth and in response to stress.

Retina stem cells, hopes and obstacles.

Retinal degeneration is a major contributor to visual dysfunction worldwide. Although it comprises several eye diseases, loss of retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) and photoreceptor cells are the major contributors to their pathogenesis. Early therapies included diverse treatments, such as provision of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor and many survival and trophic factors that, in some cases, slow down the progression of the degeneration, but do not effectively prevent it.

Pregnancy after iliac vein stenting for pelvic venous insufficiency.

Background: The use of iliac vein stenting for the treatment of pelvic pain secondary to pelvic venous insufficiency has significantly increased. In women of childbearing age, the effect of the gravid uterus on stent function and patency is unclear. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the effect of pregnancy on stent patency and reintervention rate in women with iliac vein stents.

The Multiple Functions of Rho GTPases in Fission Yeasts.

The Rho family of GTPases represents highly conserved molecular switches involved in a plethora of physiological processes. Fission yeast has become a fundamental model organism to study the functions of Rho GTPases over the past few decades. In recent years, another fission yeast species, , has come into focus offering insight into evolutionary changes within the genus.

Specific Functional Features of the Cell Integrity MAP Kinase Pathway in the Dimorphic Fission Yeast .

Mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways execute essential functions in eukaryotic organisms by transducing extracellular stimuli into adaptive cellular responses. In the fission yeast model the cell integrity pathway (CIP) and its core effector, MAPK Pmk1, play a key role during regulation of cell integrity, cytokinesis, and ionic homeostasis. , another fission yeast species, shows remarkable differences with respect to , including a robust yeast to hyphae dimorphism in response to environmental changes.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) and derived peptides promote survival and differentiation of photoreceptors and induce neurite-outgrowth in amacrine neurons.

Pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) is a cytoprotective protein for the retina. We hypothesize that this protein acts on neuronal survival and differentiation of photoreceptor cells in culture. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the neurotrophic effects of PEDF and its fragments in an in vitro model of cultured primary retinal neurons that die spontaneously in the absence of trophic factors.