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Introducción: Los gliomas corresponden a aproximadamente el 28 por ciento de los tumores del sistema nervioso central. Menos del 5 por ciento de los gliomas tienen un origen familiar, siendo reportadas en la literatura causas genéticas no sindrómicas. Se presenta el caso de madre e hija afectadas por oligodendrogliomas, ambas firman consentimiento informado. Caso clínico: Paciente de 52 años con cuadro de cefalea, mareos y crisis epilépticas. En el estudio imagenológico se diagnóstica una lesión frontal derecha. Se indica cirugía, cuya biopsia resulta concordante con oligodendroglioma grado 3. La hija, de 28 años, asintomática, se realiza estudio imagenológico de tamizaje, con diagnóstico de lesión frontal derecha, también se indica cirugía, con diagnóstico de oligodendroglioma grado 2; en estudio genético realizado a la hija, se pesquisa variante de significado incierto en genes POT1 y NBN. Discusión: Otras variantes genéticas del gen POT1 se han reportado en la literatura en familias con integrantes diagnosticados con oligodendrogliomas. Este reporte de caso aporta a la literatura con un nuevo caso de oligodendrogliomas con agregación familiar relacionados a mutaciones del gen POT1. Palabras clave: Oligodendroglioma, glioma. Introduction: Gliomas account for approximately 28 percent of central nervous system tumors. Less than 5 percent of gliomas have a familial origin, with non-syndromic genetic causes reported in the literature. This case presents a mother and daughter affected by oligodendrogliomas, both of whom signed informed consent. Clinical Case: A 52-year-old patient presented with headaches, dizziness, and epileptic seizures. Imaging studies diagnosed a right frontal lesion. Surgery was indicated, and the biopsy confirmed a grade 3 oligodendroglioma. The daughter, a 28-year-old asymptomatic patient, underwent a screening imaging study, which diagnosed a right frontal lesion. Surgery was also indicated, resulting in a diagnosis of grade 2 oligodendroglioma. Genetic testing performed on the daughter identified a variant of uncertain significance in the POT1 and NBN genes. Discussion: Other genetic variants of the POT1 gene have been reported in the literature in families with members diagnosed with oligodendrogliomas. This case report contributes to the literature with a new case of oligodendrogliomas with familial aggregation related to mutations in the POT1 gene. Key words: Oligodendroglioma, glioma., Hereditary oligodendroglioma related to the POT1 gene: case report Introducción Los gliomas comprenden aproximadamente el 28% de todos los tumores del sistema nervioso central (1). La Clasificación de Tumores del [...]

ObjectiveTo document the recovery of vascular services in Europe following the first COVID-19 pandemic peak.MethodsAn online structured vascular service survey with repeated data entry between 23 March and 9 August 2020 was carried out. Unit level data were collected using repeated questionnaires addressing modifications to vascular services during the first peak (March - May 2020, "period 1"), and then again between May and June ("period 2") and June and July 2020 ("period 3"). The duration of each period was similar. From 2 June, as reductions in cases began to be reported, centres were first asked if they were in a region still affected by rising cases, or if they had passed the peak of the first wave. These centres were asked additional questions about adaptations made to their standard pathways to permit elective surgery to resume.ResultsThe impact of the pandemic continued to be felt well after countries' first peak was thought to have passed in 2020. Aneurysm screening had not returned to normal in 21.7% of centres. Carotid surgery was still offered on a case by case basis in 33.8% of centres, and only 52.9% of centres had returned to their normal aneurysm threshold for surgery. Half of centres (49.4%) believed their management of lower limb ischaemia continued to be negatively affected by the pandemic. Reduced operating theatre capacity continued in 45.5% of centres. Twenty per cent of responding centres documented a backlog of at least 20 aortic repairs. At least one negative swab and 14 days of isolation were the most common strategies used for permitting safe elective surgery to recommence.ConclusionCentres reported a broad return of services approaching pre-pandemic "normal" by July 2020. Many introduced protocols to manage peri-operative COVID-19 risk. Backlogs in cases were reported for all major vascular surgeries.

PurposeWe studied the impact of mTOR signaling inhibition with rapamycin in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) in the neoadjuvant setting. The goals were to evaluate the mTOR pathway as a therapeutic target for patients with advanced HNSCC, and the clinical safety, antitumor, and molecular activity of rapamycin administration on HNSCC.Patients and methodsPatients with untreated stage II-IVA HNSCC received rapamycin for 21 days (day 1, 15 mg; days 2-12, 5 mg) prior to definitive treatment with surgery or chemoradiation. Treatment responses were assessed clinically and radiographically with CT and FDG-PET. Pre- and posttreatment biopsies and blood were obtained for toxicity, immune monitoring, and IHC assessment of mTOR signaling, as well as exome sequencing.ResultsSixteen patients (eight oral cavity, eight oropharyngeal) completed rapamycin and definitive treatment. Half of patients were p16 positive. One patient had a pathologic complete response and four (25%) patients met RECIST criteria for response (1 CR, 3 PR, 12 SD). Treatment was well tolerated with no grade 4 or unexpected toxicities. No significant immune suppression was observed. Downstream mTOR signaling was downregulated in tumor tissues as measured by phosphorylation of S6 (P < 0.0001), AKT (P < 0.0001), and 4EBP (P = 0.0361), with a significant compensatory increase in phosphorylated ERK in most patients (P < 0.001). Ki67 was reduced in tumor biopsies in all patients (P = 0.013).ConclusionsRapamycin treatment was well tolerated, reduced mTOR signaling and tumor growth, and resulted in significant clinical responses despite the brief treatment duration, thus supporting the potential role of mTOR inhibitors in treatment regimens for HNSCC.

Objective: This study aims to describe clinical variables and quality care indicators in pediatric stroke management at a high-complexity pediatric care center in Latin America. Methods: Retrospective study of patients with stroke, aged 2–18 years from 2011 to 2021. The principal outcomes were the mRs and mortality. Differences between groups were assessed using Fisher's exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test. We used logistic regression to explore the association between characteristics reported as relevant in literature and mortality. Results: One hundred thirty six patients included, with a median age of 11 years, 54% were male. 47% were hemorrhagic strokes, followed by ischemic strokes at 39%. One-third of the cases presented in hospital. 51% of the patients had no prior medical history. The most common symptoms were altered consciousness, headache, and hemiparesis. The median door-to-image time was 123 min. The most frequent etiologies in ischemic stroke were arteriopathies and cardiac pathology, while vascular malformation and coagulopathies were predominant in hemorrhagic stroke. No patient received reperfusion therapy. At discharge, 48% of patients had a favorable mRs. The mortality rate was 21%. Patients with in-hospital stroke have approximately 7.37 times the odds of dying compared to those with out-of-hospital stroke. Patients with hemorrhagic stroke have approximately 7.46 times the odds of dying compared to those with ischemic stroke. Conclusion: Significant gaps exist in the epidemiology and quality indicators of pediatric stroke care compared to adult protocols. Implementing a "Pediatric code stroke" protocol and conducting prospective studies are crucial for improving pediatric stroke care and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agitated vessels are essential in many industrial processes to improve mass and heat transfer. These tanks consist of a vessel, a stirring system, and four baffles, which are critical to creating turbulent conditions by converting the tangential velocity component to an axial velocity component, thus creating homogeneous conditions throughout the tank. However, this also results in increased energy consumption. In this context, tubular baffles have emerged as a promising alternative, as previous studies have shown that they can reduce energy consumption. Various works have evaluated the effect of baffles on tank performance, but they often rely solely on experimental results or numerical simulations. This comprehensive study evaluates the effect of tubular baffles on flow patterns using Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The results showed a 12% reduction in energy consumption and an increase in flow through the impeller, resulting in a 20% increase in pumping efficiency when using tubular baffles. Tubular baffles were found to alter flow patterns, creating two main circulation loops: the first in the lower part of the tank, increasing flow circulation at the impeller, and the second in the upper part, with low flow reducing turbulent conditions. These findings highlight the potential of tubular baffles to optimize agitator tank operation and their relevance in industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of catalysts in the degradation of dyes in aqueous systems has been the focus of intense research due to the toxicity of these pollutants. This study aims to assess the effect on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2- based catalysts subjected to ultrasound at different frequencies and various degrees of hydrolysis during the synthesis process. For TiO2 synthesis using the sol-gel method, ultrasound at frequencies of 250 and 1,000 kHz was used, along with complete hydrolysis (H2O/alkoxide = 8) and incomplete hydrolysis (H2O/alkoxide = 0.5). The catalytic activity of each catalyst was evaluated using a 30 mL sample of Black 5 dye solution, at an initial concentration of 5 ppm. The results indicate that the catalyst synthesized with ultrasound at 1,000 kHz and complete hydrolysis exhibits a shorter degradation time (30 min) compared to the catalyst synthesized without ultrasound under the same H2O/alkoxide ratio (40 min). SEM micrographs clearly show the formation of spheres, especially in catalysts subjected to complete hydrolysis, with and without ultrasound. In UV-Vis DRS spectra, the intrinsic TiO2 absorption band between 200 and 400 nm in the ultraviolet region suggests potential higher catalytic activity in this region. However, the determination of the band gap energy reveals that, although the photocatalyst with incomplete hydrolysis and ultrasound at 250 kHz has a lower band gap energy (2.76 eV), other factors, such as surface area, also influence photocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimal chemotherapy protocols for high-risk mast cell tumours (MCTs) are unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the tolerability and toxicity profile of a rapidly escalating vinblastine and prednisolone protocol (VPP) in which 3.00 mg/m2 was administered once 7 days apart: at day 14 and at day 21. Dogs with chemotherapy-naïve MCTs presenting to the Oncology Service of a single institution were prospectively enrolled to receive escalating vinblastine, and haematology and a standardised quality-of-life questionnaire were assessed prior to each dosage. Thirty-four dogs were included: 30 with microscopic disease treated with adequate local therapy and four with macroscopic disease. Of 220 doses of vinblastine administered, 4% were associated with grade 3 and 4 toxicity. A total of 70% of dogs tolerated 3.00 mg/m2 given 7 days apart at day 14 and 21, although 29% of dogs developed dose-limiting toxicities and 8% discontinued the protocol due to toxicity. In conclusion, VPP was well-tolerated overall, although prior to further dose intensity optimisation, it is important to determine if dose intensity is linked to outcome in canine MCT to avoid unwarranted toxicity.

Background Clinical trial participation at Comprehensive Cancer Centers (CCC) is inequitable for minoritized racial and ethnic groups with acute leukemia. CCCs care for a high proportion of adults with acute leukemia. It is unclear if participation inequities are due to CCC access, post-access enrollment, or both. Methods We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adults with acute leukemia (2010-2019) residing within Massachusetts, the designated catchment area of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC). Individuals were categorized as non-Hispanic Asian (NHA), Black (NHB), White (NHW), Hispanic White (HW), or Other. Decomposition analyses assessed covariate contributions to disparities in (1) access to DF/HCC care and (2) post-access enrollment. Results Of 3698 individuals with acute leukemia, 85.9% were NHW, 4.5% HW, 4.3% NHB, 3.7% NHA, and 1.3% Other. Access was lower for HW (age- and sex-adjusted OR = 0.64, 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.90) and reduced post-access enrollment for HW (aOR = 0.54, 95% CI =0.34 to 0.86) and NHB (aOR = 0.60, 95% CI = 0.39 to 0.92) compared to NHW. Payor and socioeconomic status (SES) accounted for 25.2% and 21.2% of the +1.1% absolute difference in HW access. Marital status and SES accounted for 8.0% and 7.0% of the -8.8% absolute disparity in HW enrollment; 76.4% of the disparity was unexplained. SES and marital status accounted for 8.2% and 7.1% of the -9.1% absolute disparity in NHB enrollment; 73.0% of the disparity was unexplained. Conclusions A substantial proportion of racial and ethnic inequities in acute leukemia trial enrollment at CCCs are from post-access enrollment, the majority of which was not explained by sociodemographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]