Realistic Membrane Modeling using Complex Lipid Mixtures in Simulation Studies.

Lipids are structural building blocks of cell membranes; lipid species vary across cell organelles and across organisms. This variety results in different mechanical and structural properties in the membrane that directly impact the molecules and processes that occur at this interface. Lipid composition is dynamic and can serve to modulate cell signaling processes. Computational approaches are increasingly used to predict interactions between biomolecules and provide molecular insights to experimental observables. Molecular dynamics (MD) is a technique based on statistical mechanics that predicts the movement of atoms based on the forces that act on them. MD simulations can be used to characterize the interaction of biomolecules. Here, we briefly introduce the technique, outline practical steps for beginners who are interested in simulating lipid bilayers, demonstrate the protocol with beginner-friendly software, and discuss alternatives, challenges, and important considerations of the process. Particularly, we emphasize the relevance of using complex lipid mixtures to model a cell membrane of interest to capture the appropriate hydrophobic and mechanical environments in simulation. We also discuss some examples where membrane composition and properties modulate the interactions of bilayers with other biomolecules.

Carcinomatosis peritoneal en cáncer de pulmón: revisión de la literatura con reporte de caso / Peritoneal Carcinomatosis in Lung Cancer: Literature Review with a Case Report

En Colombia, para 2020, el cáncer de pulmón se reportó como la segunda neoplasia con mayor incidencia y la primera con mayor tasa de mortalidad según las cifras del minis-terio de salud de Colombia. El compromiso peritoneal en el cáncer de pulmón es algo extremadamente raro, se considera <1%. A continuación, exponemos un caso de car-cinomatosis peritoneal en cáncer de pulmón en un hospital en la ciudad de Bogotá. Se incorpora una posterior revisión descriptiva de la literatura de los casos clínicos de car-cinomatosis peritoneal en cáncer de pulmón reportados en la literatura mundial en los últimos 20 años, con el objetivo de resumir las principales características de estos pa-cientes que permiten plantear hipótesis de su enfoque terapéutico y pronóstico

In Colombia for 2020, lung cancer was reported as the fifth neoplasm with the highest incidence and the second with the highest mortality rate. Peritoneal involvement in lung cancer is extremely rare, it is considered <1%. Next, we present a case of peritoneal car-cinomatosis in lung cancer in Bogotá, with a subsequent literature review of the litera-ture of clinical cases of peritoneal carcinomatosis in lung cancer reported in the world li-terature in the last 20 years. The aim is to summarize the main characteristics of these patients that allow to hypothesize their prognostic and therapeutic approach

Early ABI Testing May Decrease Risk of Amputation for Patients With Lower Extremity Ulcers.

BACKGROUND: Patients with lower extremity wounds from diabetes mellitus or peripheral artery disease (PAD) have a risk of amputation as high as 25%. In patients with arterial disease, revascularization decreases the risk of amputation. We aimed to determine if the early assessment of arterial perfusion correlates with the risk of amputation. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients referred to the vascular clinic over 18 months with Rutherford Grade 5 and 6 chronic limb-threatening ischemia to determine if patients had a pulse exam done at the time the wound was identified and when ankle brachial index (ABI) testing to evaluate perfusion was performed. Kaplan Meier analysis was used to determine if the timing of ABI testing affected the time to revascularization, wound healing, and risk of amputation. RESULTS: Ninety-three patients with lower extremity wounds were identified. Of these, 59 patients (63%) did not have a pulse exam performed by their primary care provider when the wound was identified. Patients were classified by when they underwent ankle brachial index testing to assess arterial perfusion. Twenty-four had early ABI (<30 days) testing, with the remaining 69 patients having late ABI testing. Patients in the early ABI group were more likely to have a pulse exam done by their PCP than those in the late group, 12 (50%) vs. 22 (32%), P = 0.03. Early ABI patients had a quicker time to vascular referral (13 days vs. 91 days, P < 0.001). Early ABI patients also had quicker times to wound healing than those in the late group (117 days vs. 287 days, P < 0.001). Finally, patients that underwent early ABI were less likely to require amputation (Fig. 1), although this did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Early ABI testing expedites specialty referral and time to revascularization. It can decrease the time to wound healing. Larger cohort studies are needed to determine the overall effect of early ABI testing to decrease amputation rates.

Proyecto genoma humano / Human Genome Project

El color de tus ojos, del cabello, tener el lóbulo de la oreja pegado o no, poder enrollar la lengua, todo esto está en nuestros genes, son nuestra herencia; pero existen también enfermedades que sería mejor evitar, las cuales provienen de nuestros genes. El hombre siempre ha anhelado tener la posibilidad de prevenir todo aquello que lo afecta ; y es ahora que la ciencia le da esta posibilidad, de curar muchas enfermedades, gracias a la tecnología que se ha desarrollado hasta ahora, con la cual se puede escrutar hasta lo más recóndito del cuerpo humano. Así es como desde Watson y Crick hemos llegado al Proyecto Genoma Humano que trae con sigo la terapia genética. ¨Realmente vale la pena tantos esfuerzos y tantos gastos para mapear lo que por algunos fue denominado ADN "basura"?...