Sun exposure, particularly unprotected, can cause damage to the skin and cancer. In equatorial climates, exposure to UV rays from the sun is higher than in polar climates. Due to this fact, inhabitants of equatorial climates are more susceptible to sunburns and development of skin cancer. Over 5 million Americans are diagnosed with skin cancer annually, and this number is expected to grow by approximately 6% in 2021. Applying sunscreen is the number one way to prevent sunburn and subsequent damage to the skin. This project differs from others because our proposition will educate users and help prevent and detect skin lesions that can occur with exposure to the sun. The multipurpose device will detect skin lesions by allowing the user to scan their skin for any abnormalities, and simultaneously allow them to apply sunscreen anywhere on their body with ease. One of the fundamental steps needed to meet our clients' needs was to conduct market research. We developed and distributed a survey that reinforced the preexisting market need and helped us to develop functional product features for our customers. Through this survey, critical feedback was generated that allowed us to gauge how we would design the hardware of the product itself. This resulted in the development of two different prototypes, with the most recent iteration being produced into a 3-D printed prototype. Mentor: Christine King Ph.D, Hadar Ziv, Christian Johnson (Founder & Inventor) MBA

In today’s world, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected many lives and forced the people to take safety precautions like never before. Therefore, designing an environmentally friendly theatre minimizing germ propagation using filtration mechanisms is a valuable project, as it would help struggling businesses, and give people a chance to enjoy a day outside, safely. With safety being the highest priority, the incorporation filtration systems and contactless food delivery networks is essential while providing a fun and lasting memory for the visiting audience. However, to meet the previously listed goals, solutions to major obstacles are necessary. This includes designing a robot with consistent movements while simultaneously avoiding its surrounding obstacles, building an energy environment friendly cooling system, and creating a filtration mechanism to filter the COVID-19 particles. With these overall designs incorporated into the traditional movie theatre, the team presents the “COVID-less Movie Theatre”.

Purposes

Most molecular-based published studies on breast cancer do not adequately represent the unique and diverse genetic admixture of the Latin American population. Searching for similarities and differences in molecular pathways associated with these tumors and evaluating its impact on prognosis may help to select better therapeutic approaches.

Patients and methods

We collected clinical, pathological, and transcriptomic data of a multi-country Latin American cohort of 1,071 stage II-III breast cancer patients of the Molecular Profile of Breast Cancer Study (MPBCS) cohort. The 5-year prognostic ability of intrinsic (transcriptomic-based) PAM50 and immunohistochemical classifications, both at the cancer-specific (OSC) and disease-free survival (DFS) stages, was compared. Pathway analyses (GSEA, GSVA and MetaCore) were performed to explore differences among intrinsic subtypes.

Results

PAM50 classification of the MPBCS cohort defined 42·6% of tumors as LumA, 21·3% as LumB, 13·3% as HER2E and 16·6% as Basal. Both OSC and DFS for LumA tumors were significantly better than for other subtypes, while Basal tumors had the worst prognosis. While the prognostic power of traditional subtypes calculated with hormone receptors (HR), HER2 and Ki67 determinations showed an acceptable performance, PAM50-derived risk of recurrence best discriminated low, intermediate and high-risk groups. Transcriptomic pathway analysis showed high proliferation (i.e. cell cycle control and DNA damage repair) associated with LumB, HER2E and Basal tumors, and a strong dependency on the estrogen pathway for LumA. Terms related to both innate and adaptive immune responses were seen predominantly upregulated in Basal tumors, and, to a lesser extent, in HER2E, with respect to LumA and B tumors.

Conclusions

This is the first study that assesses molecular features at the transcriptomic level in a multicountry Latin American breast cancer patient cohort. Hormone-related and proliferation pathways that predominate in PAM50 and other breast cancer molecular classifications are also the main tumor-driving mechanisms in this cohort and have prognostic power. The immune-related features seen in the most aggressive subtypes may pave the way for therapeutic approaches not yet disseminated in Latin America.

Clinical trial registration

ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT02326857).