Multidisciplinary management of liver metastases in patients with colorectal cancer: a consensus of SEOM,AEC, SEOR,SERVEI, and SEMNIM

Clinical and Translational Oncology - Colorectal cancer (CRC) has the second-highest tumor incidence and is a leading cause of death by cancer. Nearly 20% of patients with CRC will have metastases...     

A preliminary observation: Male pattern hair loss among hospitalized COVID‐19 patients in Spain – A potential clue to the role of androgens in COVID‐19 severity

A preliminary observation of high frequency of male pattern hair loss among admitted COVID‐19 patients and suggest that androgen expression might be a clue to COVID‐19 severity.     

Effect of transection in the brainstem on short-term maintenance of deoxycorticosterone-salt hypertension

Sections were made to determine supraspinal areas that participate in the maintenance of deoxycorticosterone (DOC)-salt hypertension. Blood pressure (BP) falls after cuts which severed: (a) the lateral connections between pons and midbrain, (b) the pathways between caudal hypothalamus and midbrain, and (c) parasagittal between medial and lateral hypothalamus. No changes in BP were found either after coronal cuts that severed a central area located at: (a) the pons-midbrain edge, (b) above the caudal hypothalamus, and (c) the level of the anterior hypothalamic area, or after parasagittal cuts at the level of the capsula interna or after a hypophysial stalk lesion. These results implicate the hypothalamus in the maintenance of DOC-salt hypertension. The hypothalamus-neural lobe system appears not to be involved in the lowering of BP found.     

Development of nano- and microdevices for the next generation of biotechnology,wearables and miniaturized instrumentation

This is a short communication based on recent high-impact publications related to how various chemical materials and substrate modifications could be tuned for nano- and microdevices, where their application for high point-of-care bioanalysis and further applications in life science is discussed. Hence, they have allowed different high-impact research topics in a variety of fields, from the control of nanoscale to functional microarchitectures embedded in various support materials to obtain a device for a given application or use. Thus, their incorporation in standard instrumentation is shown, as well as in new optical setups to record different classical and non-classical light, signaling, and energy modes at a variety of wavelengths and energy levels. Moreover, the development of miniaturized instrumentation was also contemplated. In order to develop these different levels of technology, the chemistry, physics and engineering of materials were discussed. In this manner, a number of subjects that allowed the design and manufacture of devices could be found. The following could be mentioned by way of example: (i) nanophotonics; (ii) design, synthesis and tuning of advanced nanomaterials; (iii) classical and non-classical light generation within the near field; (iv) microfluidics and nanofluidics; (v) signal waveguiding; (vi) quantum-, nano- and microcircuits; (vii) materials for nano- and microplatforms, and support substrates and their respective modifications for targeted functionalities. Moreover, nano-optics in in-flow devices and chips for biosensing were discussed, and perspectives on biosensing and single molecule detection (SMD) applications. In this perspective, new insights about precision nanomedicine based on genomics and drug delivery systems were obtained, incorporating new advanced diagnosis methods based on lab-on-particles, labs-on-a-chip, gene therapies, implantable devices, portable miniaturized instrumentation, single molecule detection for biophotonics, and neurophotonics. In this manner, this communication intends to highlight recent reports and developments of nano- and microdevices and further approaches towards the incorporation of developments in nanophotonics and biophotonics in the design of new materials based on different strategies and enhanced techniques and methods. Recent proofs of concept are discussed that could allow new substrates for device manufacturing. Thus, physical phenomena and materials chemistry with accurate control within the nanoscale were introduced into the discussion. In this manner, new potential sources of ideas and strategies for the next generation of technology in many research and development fields are showcased.

This is a short communication based on recent high-impact publications related to how various chemical materials and substrate modifications could be tuned for nano- and microdevices, where their application for high point-of-care bioanalysis and further applications in life science is discussed.     

Sonographic measurement of the umbilical cord and fetal anthropometric parameters.

OBJECTIVE: To determine reference ranges for the diameter and the cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord during pregnancy and to determine if umbilical cord morphometry is related to fetal size. METHODS: A prospective cross-sectional study was designed to assess the sonographic cross-sectional diameter and area of the umbilical cord. The sonographic umbilical cord measurements were obtained in a plane adjacent to the insertion of the cord into the fetal abdomen. Nomograms for the umbilical cord diameter and area were computed. Fetal biometry included: biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference, and femur length. Polynomial regression analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Five hundred and fifty seven patients were included into the study. The regression equation for the umbilical cord diameter (y) according to gestational age (x) was y=-10.0563+1.4265x+0.0194x2 and for the umbilical cord area (y') was y'=91.6-3.3x+0.03x2-0.00007x3. A significant relationship was found between umbilical cord measurements and fetal anthropometric parameters. CONCLUSION: Reference ranges for umbilical cord diameter and area have been generated. The sonographic diameter and cross-sectional area of the umbilical cord increase as a function of gestational age and both diameter and area correlate with fetal size.