Clinical Relevance of Tumour-Infiltrating Immune Cells in HER2-Negative Breast Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Currently, therapy response cannot be accurately predicted in HER2-negative breast cancer (BC). Measuring stromal tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (sTILs) and mediators of the tumour microenvironment and characterizing tumour-infiltrating immune cells (TIICs) may improve treatment response in the neoadjuvant setting. Tumour tissue and peripheral blood samples were retrospectively collected from 118 patients, and sTILs were evaluated. Circulating exosomes and myeloid-derived suppressor cells were determined by flow cytometry. TIICs markers (CD4, CD8, CD20, CD1a, and CD68) were assessed immunohistochemically. High sTILs were significantly associated with pathological complete response (pCR; p = 0.048) and event-free survival (EFS; p = 0.027). High-CD68 cells were significantly associated with pCR in triple-negative (TN, p = 0.027) and high-CD1a cells with EFS in luminal-B (p = 0.012) BC. Cluster analyses of TIICs revealed two groups of tumours (C1 and C2) that had different immune patterns and clinical outcomes. An immunoscore based on clinicopathological variables was developed to identify high risk (C1) or low-risk (C2) patients. Additionally, cluster analyses revealed two groups of tumours for both luminal-B and TNBC. Our findings support the association of sTILs with pCR and show an immunological component in a subset of patients with HER2-negative BC. Our immunoscore may be useful for future escalation or de-escalation treatments.

Impacto de problemas de salud mental y apoyo social en la calidad de sueño: Seguimiento longitudinal antes y durante la pandemia de COVID-19 en universitarios chilenos / Impact of mental health problems and social support on sleep quali-ty: Follow-up before and during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Chilean university student

Introducción: Antecedentes refieren altos índices de problemas de salud mental en universitarios antes y durante la pandemia por COVID-19, con efectos sobre la baja calidad de sueño; sin embargo, el apoyo social percibido actuaría como un factor protector. Objetivo: Evaluar el impacto de la salud mental (ansiedad, depresión y estrés) sobre la calidad de sueño, de forma transversal y longitudinal, antes y durante la pandemia por COVID-19 en universitarios chilenos, verificando si el apoyo social percibido podría moderar esta relación. Material y Métodos: 1.619 universitarios en el año 2019 y 1.862 en el año 2020 respondieron cuestionarios orientados a medir depresión, ansiedad, estrés, calidad del sueño y apoyo social percibido. Con una fracción de la muestra que respondió en ambos años (n = 325) se realizó análisis longitudinal y se contrastaron los puntajes de los instrumentos entre ambos años, mediante una matriz de transición y un modelo de regresión múltiple. Resultados: Se encuentran altas prevalencias de problemas de salud mental, aumentando en el año 2020 la sintomatología moderada y grave. Se agudizan los problemas de sueño y la percepción de bajo apoyo social. Todas las variables de salud mental pueden predecir la calidad del sueño, excepto el apoyo social y longitudinalmente, aumenta la severidad de la baja calidad de sueño y la depresión. No se encuentran moderaciones significativas entre apoyo social percibido y el resto de las variables. Conclusiones: El efecto de la pandemia en la salud mental es complejo, requiriéndose acciones concretas para apoyar psicológicamente a los estudiantes.(AU)

Introduction: Research has revealed high rates of mental health problems in university students before and during the COVID-19 pan-demic, with effects on poor sleep quality; however, perceived social sup-port appears to act as a protective factor. Objective: To assess the impact of mental health (anxiety, depression, and stress) on sleep quality, cross-sectionally and longitudinally, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chilean university students, verifying whether perceived social support could act as a moderatorin this relationship.Material and Methods: 1,619 university students in 2019 and 1,862 in 2020 answered questionnaires aimed at measuring depression, anxiety, stress, sleep quality, and perceived social support. Longitudinal analysis was per-formed with afraction of the sample that responded in both years (n= 325). The scores of the instruments for both years were contrasted using a transition matrix and a multiple regression model. Results: High prevalence rates of mental health problems were found, with moderate and severe symptoms increasing in 2020. Sleep problems and the perception of low social support worsened. All mental health variables were found to predict sleep quality except for social support; longitudinally, the severity of poor sleep quality and depression increased. No significant moderation effects were found between perceived social support and the rest of the variables. Conclusions: The effect of the pandemic on mental health is complex, re-quiring concrete actions to provide students with psychological suppor.(AU)

La Internación en sala: Una Nueva Apuesta / Hospitalisation in general room: a new bet

El presente trabajo surge como extensión de un encuentro entre profesionales destinado a repensar nuestras prácticas y sus efectos, en dos de los dispositivos de un Hospital Interzonal General de Agudos del conurbano bonaerense: la guardia y la sala de internación de salud mental. En el mismo nos propusimos abordar las vicisitudes y desafíos que el trabajo interdisciplinario con lleva y las articulaciones entre cada dispositivo. En esta oportunidad nos centraremos en el dispositivo de la sala de internación, con la finalidad de profundizar aquello que resonó en ese primer encuentro con la guardia.

Combining Molecular, Imaging, and Clinical Data Analysis for Predicting Cancer Prognosis.

Cancer is one of the most detrimental diseases globally. Accordingly, the prognosis prediction of cancer patients has become a field of interest. In this review, we have gathered 43 state-of-the-art scientific papers published in the last 6 years that built cancer prognosis predictive models using multimodal data. We have defined the multimodality of data as four main types: clinical, anatomopathological, molecular, and medical imaging; and we have expanded on the information that each modality provides. The 43 studies were divided into three categories based on the modelling approach taken, and their characteristics were further discussed together with current issues and future trends. Research in this area has evolved from survival analysis through statistical modelling using mainly clinical and anatomopathological data to the prediction of cancer prognosis through a multi-faceted data-driven approach by the integration of complex, multimodal, and high-dimensional data containing multi-omics and medical imaging information and by applying Machine Learning and, more recently, Deep Learning techniques. This review concludes that cancer prognosis predictive multimodal models are capable of better stratifying patients, which can improve clinical management and contribute to the implementation of personalised medicine as well as provide new and valuable knowledge on cancer biology and its progression.

Relación entre microbiota intestinal, epigenética y exposoma en la salud materno infantil / Relation between intestinal microbiota, epigenetics and exposome in mother-child health

Introducción: El exposoma, la epigenética y la microbiota de un individuo son categorías que se interrelacionan y pueden contribuir a una mejor comprensión del proceso salud enfermedad. Objetivo: Exponer la relación entre las categorías mencionadas con enfoque biopsicosocial. Métodos: Búsqueda bibliográfica en Medline, Pubmed, Scielo, LILACS y Cochrane en los últimos cinco años en idioma inglés y español, sobre la relación entre nutrición y aparición de enfermedades, el eje intestino cerebro, la correspondencia entre epigenética y el exposoma y la microbiota intestinal y su relación con algunas afecciones. Resultados: La alimentación adecuada de la madre, en calidad y cantidad, es un seguro de salud para la vida futura del hombre. El eje intestino cerebro puede afectarse por factores de riesgo, de ahí la importancia de regular su funcionamiento para la prevención de enfermedades como la depresión, síndrome de ansiedad, sobrepeso, y otras. El 10 por ciento del riesgo de padecer enfermedades crónicas puede deberse a factores genéticos pero se desconoce que muchas exposiciones humanas al ambiente, podrían iniciar procesos de enfermedad en el futuro. El exposoma es una herramienta útil para evaluar factores de riesgo de enfermedades generadas por el medio ambiente: exposición a productos químicos y contaminantes; el estilo de vida, el nivel socioeconómico y el entorno social de un individuo. Consideraciones finales: La ruptura del equilibrio entre la microbiota intestinal, la epigenética y el exposoma está relacionada con la etiopatogenia de diversas enfermedades, con las características individuales del ser humano y su relación con el medio ambiente(AU)

Introduction: Exposome, epigenetics and microbiota of an individual are categories that are interrelated and can contribute to a better understanding of the health-sickness process. Objective: To deepen the comprehensive analysis of the mentioned categories with a biopsychosocial approach. Methods: A bibliographic search in Medline, Pubmed, Scielo, LILACS and Cochrane databases was made in the last five years in English and Spanish, on the relation between nutrition and diseases onset, the intestine-brain axis, the correspondence between epigenetics and the exposome, and intestinal microbiota and its relation with some conditions. Results: The proper feeding of the mother in quality and quantity is a health insurance for the future life of a person. The intestine -brain axis can be affected by risk factors, hence the importance of regulating its functioning for the prevention of diseases such as depression, anxiety syndrome, overweight, and others. 10 percent of the risk of chronic diseases may be due to genetic factors but it is unknown that many human exposures to the environment could initiate disease processes in the future. The exposome is a useful tool to evaluate risk factors for diseases generated by the environment: exposure to chemicals and contaminants, lifestyle, socioeconomic status and social environment of an individual. Final considerations: The rupture of the equilibrium between intestinal microbiota, epigenetics and exposome is related to the etiopathogenesis of various diseases, with the individual characteristics of human beings and their relationship with the environment(AU)

Monitoring trihalomethanes in chlorinated waters using a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method with a non-chlorinated organic solvent and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

The environmental monitoring of trihalomethanes (THMs) has been performed by setting up a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method in combination with gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS). The optimized method only requires ∼26 µL of decanol as extractant solvent, dissolved in ∼1 mL of acetone (dispersive solvent) for 5 mL of the environmental water containing THMs. The mixture is then subjected to vortex for 1 min and then centrifuged for 2 min at 3500 rpm. The microdroplet containing the extracted THMs is then sampled with a micro-syringe, and injected (1 µL) in the GC-MS. The method is characterized for being fast (3 min for the entire sample preparation step) and environmentally friendly (low amounts of solvents required, being all non-chlorinated), and also for getting average relative recoveries of 90.2-106% in tap waters; relative standard deviation values always lower than 11%; average enrichment factors of 48-49; and detection limits down to 0.7 µg·L-1. Several waters: tap waters, pool waters, and wastewaters were successfully analyzed with the method proposed. Furthermore, the method was used to monitor the formation of THMs in wastewaters when different chlorination parameters, namely temperature and pH, were varied.

An in-situ extraction-preconcentration method using ionic liquid-based surfactants for the determination of organic contaminants contained in marine sediments.

The determination of a group of organic contaminants from marine sediments samples including three polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, five alkylphenols (i.e., bisphenol-A or nonylphenol) and one paraben has been carried out using an extraction/preconcentration strategy with ionic liquid-based surfactants and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD). Sediments are first extracted using two IL-based surfactants, specifically 1-hexadecyl-3-methyl imidazolium bromide (C(16)MIm-Br) and 1-hexadecyl-3-butyl imidazolium bromide (C(16)C(4)Im-Br), as the extraction media in a microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) procedure, followed by a novel in situ preconcentration method. The optimized MAE method requires 0.1 g of sediment and 5 mL of 40 mM C(16)MIm-Br IL solution. The extracts are then centrifuged and filtered. The subsequent preconcentration in situ approach consists of the insolubilization of an IL-based surfactant formed by a metathesis reaction using the anion-exchange reagent lithium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide (LiNTf(2)), which produces an analyte enriched IL microdroplet. The optimized in situ approach utilizes 4 mL of the filtered extract, which are mixed with acetonitrile and 92 µL of LiNTf(2) solution (0.5 g mL(-1)), heated, vortexed and centrifuged. The formed IL microdroplet is then simply diluted with acetonitrile (~100 µL) and injected in the chromatograph without any further clean-up steps. The overall extraction/preconcentration method requires approximately 25 min in spite of dealing with complex solid samples, is nearly free of organic solvent (requires ~900 µL of acetonitrile per sample), and produces high preconcentration factors and quantification limits down to 0.04 mg kg(-1) using HPLC-DAD.

A novel preconcentration strategy for extraction methods based on common cationic surfactants: an alternative to classical coacervative extraction.

A novel and simple preconcentration step for aqueous micellar solutions of the common cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) has been developed. The procedure is based on the formation of another phase (a micro-droplet), not soluble in water, in which analytes (originally present in the aqueous solution) experience preconcentration. The method resembles to that of classical coacervation, but it does not require high ionic strengths neither acidic pH values. The optimum method implies mixing aqueous micellar solutions of CTAB with lithium bis[(trifluoromethane)sulfonyl]imide (Li-NTf2) in a 1:1 molar ratio with a 16.5% (v/v) of acetonitrile content, followed by vortex, heating at 65 °C during 2 min, and centrifugation. The obtained microdroplet containing analytes is then subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode-array detection (DAD). The method has been applied to the determination of a group of organic contaminants including alkylphenols, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and parabens, present in aqueous samples (including seawater) or solid samples (such as sediment samples, which are subjected to a previous microwave-assisted extraction). Average preconcentration factors of roughly 14 and 12 are obtained for aqueous and sediment samples, respectively; being the limits of quantification down to 0.5 µg L⁻¹ and 0.02 mg kg⁻¹, respectively.

Determination of carbonyl compounds in smoke samples: strategies for sampling and standardization.

There are significant drawbacks to the calibration procedure recommended in the normalized Spanish or American methods used to determine carbonyl compounds in ambient air by quantifying hydrazones that form with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine. The impurities present in 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine, as well as the lack of quantitativity and the slow kinetics of some derivatization reactions can lead to considerable errors in quantification. This work proposes two alternative systems for sampling biomass smoke in order to analyze aldehydes and ketones. The standardization process used by both systems requires standard solutions to be reacted with 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine under experimental conditions similar to those used to collect the sample. The resulting calibration curve slopes differ between 8% and 74% from the curves used in methods that employ commercial standard hydrazone solutions. The detection limits reached by using the proposed methods are between 0.07 and 0.47 mg L(-1). Both methods are complementary for smoke samples that have significant differences in the concentrations of aldehydes or ketones.

Coupling micelle-mediated extraction using mixtures of surfactants and fluorescence measurements with a fiber-optic for the screening of PAHs in seawater.

The screening of PAHs from seawater samples using cloud-point extraction (CPE) as a step prior to their determination by fluorescence measurements with a fiber-optic is proposed. The CPE is carried out with the nonionic surfactants mixture POLE and Brij 30. The fluorescence measurement parameters were optimized, allowing selection of benzo(a)pyrene (B(a)Py) and benzo(k)fluoranthene (B(k)Ft) as the target analytes for the screening. The reproducibility of the whole screening system, expressed as relative standard deviation, was 9.0% for B(a)Py and 12.1% for B(k)Ft (both for n = 7). The reliability of the method was established at five concentrations for B(a)Py (between 0.5 and 3.3 times the detection limit: 0.31 ng ml(-1)) and at three concentrations for B(k)Ft (between 0.6 and 2.5 times the detection limit: 0.56 ng ml(-1)). The resolution of binary mixtures of these PAHs at different levels of concentration, and a study of the interferences with the rest of the PAHs were also carried out.