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Simple Summary: Prediction equations allow small farmers who do not have a scale to estimate the live weight of animals from their body measurements. The aim of this study was to describe the morphology and estimate the live weight from body measurements of Socorro Island Merino lambs. A group of Socorro Island Merino lambs was recorded from birth to year for live weight, rump width, rump length, withers height, body length, cannon bone perimeter, and chest girth, width, and depth. Sex and crossbreeding with hair breeds affected weight and mainly thoracic morphology at birth and at the year of Socorro Island Merino lambs, with the greatest and smaller weights and body measurements being observed in crossbreed males and purebred females, respectively. The highly significant and positive correlation between LW and CG suggests that this variable can be used as the sole predictor in exponential and linear models and in combination with other measurements in multiple linear models to provide a good estimate of LW. Chest measurements could be used as an indirect selection criterion to improve growth traits in this breed. The aim of this study was to describe the morphology and estimate live weight from body measurements of Socorro Island Merino lambs. A group of Socorro Island Merino lambs was recorded from birth to year for live weight, rump width, rump length, withers height, body length, cannon bone perimeter, and chest girth, width, and depth. The effect of the lamb type on body measurements and live weight was analyzed using ANOVA, Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to estimate the relationship between body measurements and live weight, multiple linear regressions were fitted to obtain prediction equations of live weight from the body measurements and finally, chest girth was used to generate prediction equations using linear and exponential models. At birth and at year, differences were observed in body measurements, especially those related to the thoracic region, with crossbred males showing the highest values. Live weight was correlated with almost all the body measurements, with the highest coefficients observed with chest girth, chest width, and chest depth. Live weight can be accurately predicted from multiple regression equations using several body measurements, but using only chest girth (CG) as a predictor, the exponential equation W0–365 = 0.9142 exp(0.0462 CG) showed the best accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sports supplements (SS) are widely consumed by many types of athletes to improve their performance. These SS are classified according to their level of scientific evidence, by the ABCD system from the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). In open water swimming, their use may be necessary due to the physiological challenges posed by this sport discipline. However, there is currently little literature on the use of SS in open water swimmers. The aim of this work is to analyze the pattern of consumption of SS by open water swimmers, by studying the differences according to the competitive level (regional vs. national). Methods: Descriptive and cross-sectional study on the consumption and use of SS by federated open water swimmers in Spain in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 seasons. The data were collected through a validated questionnaire. Results: 79.5% of the participants consumed SS, with significant differences according to their level, being higher in athletes at the national level. The most-consumed SS by the swimmers studied were sports drinks, energy bars, caffeine, vitamin C, and vitamin D. Conclusions: It was observed that the consumption of SS in open water swimmers was high, and of the five most-consumed SS, four of them belonged to the category of greatest scientific evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanoma develops as a result of several genetic alterations, with UV radiation often acting as a mutagenic risk factor. Deep knowledge of the molecular signaling pathways of different types of melanoma allows better characterization and provides tools for the development of therapies based on the intervention of signals promoted by these cascades. The latest World Health Organization classification acknowledged the specific genetic drivers leading to melanoma and classifies melanocytic lesions into nine distinct categories according to the associate cumulative sun damage (CSD), which correlates with the molecular alterations of tumors. The largest groups are melanomas associated with low-CSD or superficial spreading melanomas, characterized by frequent presentation of the BRAFV600 mutation. High-CSD melanomas include lentigo maligna type and desmoplastic melanomas, which often have a high mutation burden and can harbor NRAS, BRAFnon-V600E, or NF1 mutations. Non-CSD-associated melanomas encompass acral and mucosal melanomas that usually do not show BRAF, NRAS, or NF1 mutations (triple wild-type), but in a subset may have KIT or SF3B1 mutations. To improve survival, these driver alterations can be treated with targeted therapy achieving significant antitumor activity. In recent years, relevant improvement in the prognosis and survival of patients with melanoma has been achieved, since the introduction of BRAF/MEK tyrosine kinase inhibitors and immune checkpoint inhibitors. In this review, we describe the current knowledge of molecular pathways and discuss current and potential therapeutic targets in melanoma, focusing on their clinical relevance of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Emerging evidence points to succinate as an important oncometabolite in cancer development; however, the contribution of the succinate-SUCNR1 axis to cancer progression remains unclear. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is associated with disease and treatment-related morbidity so there is an urgent need for innovation in treatment and diagnosis practices. Our aim was to evaluate the potential of the succinate-related pathway as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in HNSCC. The circulating succinate levels are increased in HNSCC, being a potential noninvasive biomarker for HNSCC diagnosis. Moreover, the succinate receptor (SUCNR1) and genes related to succinate metabolism, which are predominantly expressed in the tumoral mucosa as compared with healthy tissue, are positively associated with plasma succinate. Remarkably, we found that SUCNR1 and SDHA expression levels predict prognosis. Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is characterized by high rates of mortality and treatment-related morbidity, underscoring the urgent need for innovative and safe treatment strategies and diagnosis practices. Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of cancer and can lead to the accumulation of tricarboxylic acid cycle intermediates, such as succinate, which function as oncometabolites. In addition to its role in cancer development through epigenetic events, succinate is an extracellular signal transducer that modulates immune response, angiogenesis and cell invasion by activating its cognate receptor SUCNR1. Here, we explored the potential value of the circulating succinate and related genes in HNSCC diagnosis and prognosis. We determined the succinate levels in the serum of 66 pathologically confirmed, untreated patients with HNSCC and 20 healthy controls. We also surveyed the expression of the genes related to succinate metabolism and signaling in tumoral and nontumoral adjacent tissue and in normal mucosa from 50 patients. Finally, we performed immunohistochemical analysis of SUCNR1 in mucosal samples. The results showed that the circulating levels of succinate were higher in patients with HNSCC than in the healthy controls. Additionally, the expression of SUCNR1, HIF-1α, succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) A, and SDHB was higher in the tumor tissue than in the matched normal mucosa. Consistent with this, immunohistochemical analysis revealed an increase in SUCNR1 protein expression in tumoral and nontumoral adjacent tissue. High SUCNR1 and SDHA expression levels were associated with poor locoregional control, and the locoregional recurrence-free survival rate was significantly lower in patients with high SUCNR1 and SDHA expression than in their peers with lower levels (77.1% [95% CI: 48.9–100.0] vs. 16.7% [95% CI: 0.0–44.4], p = 0.018). Thus, the circulating succinate levels are elevated in HNSCC and high SUCNR1/SDHA expression predicts poor locoregional disease-free survival, identifying this oncometabolite as a potentially valuable noninvasive biomarker for HNSCC diagnosis and prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Postmortem studies are crucial for providing insight into emergent diseases. However, a complete autopsy is frequently not feasible in highly transmissible diseases due to biohazard challenges. Minimally invasive autopsy (MIA) is a needle-based approach aimed at collecting samples of key organs without opening the body, which may be a valid alternative in these cases. We aimed to: (a) provide biosafety guidelines for conducting MIAs in COVID-19 cases, (b) compare the performance of MIA versus complete autopsy, and (c) evaluate the safety of the procedure. Between October and December 2020, MIAs were conducted in six deceased patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19, in a basic autopsy room, with reinforced personal protective equipment. Samples from the lungs and key organs were successfully obtained in all cases. A complete autopsy was performed on the same body immediately after the MIA. The diagnoses of the MIA matched those of the complete autopsy. In four patients, COVID-19 was the main cause of death, being responsible for the different stages of diffuse alveolar damage. No COVID-19 infection was detected in the personnel performing the MIAs or complete autopsies. In conclusion, MIA might be a feasible, adequate and safe alternative for cause of death investigation in COVID-19 cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted NGS allows a fast and efficient multi-gene analysis and the detection of key gene aberrations in melanoma. In this study, we aim to describe the genetic alterations in a series of 87 melanoma cases using the oncomine focus assay (OFA), relate these results with the clinicopathological features of the patients, and compare them with our previous study results in which we used a smaller panel, the oncomine solid tumor (OST) DNA kit. Patients diagnosed with advanced melanoma at our center from 2020 to 2022 were included and DNA and RNA were extracted for sequencing. Common mutated genes were BRAF (29%), NRAS (28%), ALK , KIT , and MAP2K1 (5% each). Co-occurring mutations were detected in 29% of the samples, including BRAF with KIT , CTNNB1 , EGFR , ALK , HRAS , or MAP2K1. Amplifications and rearrangements were detected in 5% of cases. Only BRAF mutation showed a significant statistical association with sun exposure. For patients with a given genetic profile, the melanoma survival and recurrence-free survival rates were equivalent, but not for stage and LDH values. This expanded knowledge of molecular alterations has helped to more comprehensively characterize our patients and has provided relevant information for deciding the best treatment strategy., Competing Interests: C.T. declared no competing non-financial interests but reported advisory and consulting fees from Merck Sharp and Dohme (MSD), Novartis, and AstraZeneca, lecture fees from Roche, Pfizer, Biocartis, and MSD, and research from Novartis and AstraZeneca. Other authors declare no conflicts of interest.