The Egyptian Red Sea coast is periodically exposed to flash floods that cause severe human and economic losses. That is due to its hydro-geomorphological characteristics. Therefore, identifying flash ...flood hazards in these areas is critically important. This research uses an integrated approach of remote sensing data and GIS techniques to assess flash flood hazards based on morphometric measurements. There are 12 drainage basins in the study area. These basins differ in their morphometric characteristics, and their main streams range between the 4th and 7th order. The morphometric parameter analysis indicates that three wadis are highly prone to flooding, five wadis are classified as moderate hazard, and four wadis are rated under low probability of flooding. The study area has a probability offlooding, which could cause serious environmental hazards. To protect the region from flash flood hazards and the great benefit of rainwater, the study recommended detention, crossing, diversion, and/or storage of the accumulated rainwater by building a number of dams or culverts along the main streams of wadis to minimize the flooding flow.
Background
The survival benefit of elective neck dissection (END) for patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) of the head and neck and no evidence of regional metastasis (cN0) has ...never been reported. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of END on patient survival.
Methods
The authors included patients with head and neck cSCC who had undergone primary surgery from 1995 to 2017. The primary end point was survival, and the secondary end points were the incidence of occult regional disease and regional disease control. To assess the impact of END on survival, the authors used multivariable Cox proportional hazards models with propensity score and matching techniques for internal validation.
Results
A total of 1111 patients presented with no evidence of nodal disease; 173 had END, and 938 were observed. Adjuvant radiotherapy to the neck was administered to 101 patients (9%). END resulted in a 5‐year overall survival rate of 52%, whereas the rate was 63% in the observation group (P = .003 log‐rank). The 5‐year disease‐free survival rate for patients undergoing END was similar to that for the observation group (73% vs 75%; P = .429). A multivariate regression model showed that the performance of END was not associated with improved rates of overall, disease‐specific, or disease‐free survival; similarly, among patients with advanced disease (T3‐4), those who underwent END did not have improved survival rates.
Conclusions
Among patients with cSCC of the head and neck, observation of the neck nodes resulted in noninferior survival rates in comparison with END at the time of primary surgery. Further studies are required to elucidate the role of END in patients with advanced disease.
Among patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, observation of the neck nodes results in similar survival rates in comparison with elective neck dissection at the time of primary surgery.
To present the long-term and final report of a phase 3 trial designed to assess dose-response relationship for postoperative radiation therapy (PORT) and pathologic risk groups in head and neck ...cancer.
Patients who underwent primary surgery for American Joint Committee on Cancer stage III or IV squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx, hypopharynx, or larynx and who required PORT were eligible. Patients' primary sites and involved necks were independently assigned to higher- or lower-risk categories based on a cumulative point score representing increasing risk of recurrence. The sites in the lower-risk group were randomized to receive 57.6 or 63 Gy and those in the higher-risk group were randomized to receive 63 or 68.4 Gy, all at 1.8 Gy per fraction.
A total of 264 patients were included. The actuarial 5-year locoregional control rate was 67%. A second primary cancer was documented in 27% of patients. The 5- and 10-year freedom-from-distant metastasis rates were 64% and 60%, respectively, whereas the 5- and 10-year overall survival rates were 32% and 20%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in tumor control between different dose levels in both the lower- and higher-risk groups. On multivariate analysis, nonwhite race (P=.0003), positive surgical margins (P=.009), extracapsular extension (ECE, P=.01), and treatment package time (TPT) ≥85 days (P=.002) were independent correlates of worse locoregional control, whereas age ≥57 years (P<.0001), positive surgical margins (P=.01), ECE (P=.026), and TPT ≥85 days (P=.003) were independently associated with worse overall survival.
This long-term report of PORT delivered at 1.8 Gy/d to total doses of 57.6 to 68.4 Gy without chemotherapy for head and neck squamous cell carcinoma demonstrated that increasing dose did not significantly improve tumor control. On multivariate analysis, the only significant treatment variable was TPT. The results confirm that positive surgical margins and/or nodal ECE remains the most significant predictive pathologic factors.
PI3K/mTOR inhibition leads to apoptosis of NOTCH1-mutant head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. We tested the efficacy of the PI3K/mTOR inhibitor bimiralisib in patients with ...NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC.
Patients with recurrent/metastatic NOTCH1-mutant HNSCC who had progressed during chemotherapy and immunotherapy received bimiralisib until unacceptable toxicity or progression. To assess whether NOTCH1 mutations can be detected in blood, we measured circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA). To assess activated NOTCH1 protein levels, we quantitated cleaved NOTCH1 (cl-NOTCH) by immunohistochemistry.
Eight patients were treated, and 6 were evaluable for response. The objective response rate was 17%. For all 8 patients, median progression-free and overall survival was 5 and 7 months, respectively. Bimiralisib was well tolerated, with expected hyperglycemia. Pharmacokinetic values were consistent with published studies. NOTCH1 mutations were detected in 83.3% of ctDNA. Staining for tumor cl-NOTCH1 was negative. The trial closed early due to sponsor insolvency.
Although the trial was small, outcomes with bimiralisib were better than the historical standard of care; Results will need to be confirmed in a larger trial. The lack of cl-NOTCH1 was consistent with loss-of-function mutations and validated our mutation function algorithm. The ability to detect NOTCH1 mutations in blood will help future studies. (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03740100).
Background
The prognostic performance of the recently updated American Joint Committee on Cancer lymph node classification of cutaneous head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has not been ...validated. The objective of this study was to assess the prognostic role of extranodal extension (ENE) in cutaneous HNSCC.
Methods
This was a retrospective analysis of 1258 patients with cutaneous HNSCC who underwent surgery with or without adjuvant therapy between 1995 and 2019 at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The primary outcome was disease‐specific survival (DSS). Local, regional, and distant metastases‐free survival were secondary outcomes. Recursive partitioning analysis (RPA) and a Cox proportional hazards regression model were used to assess the fitness of staging models.
Results
No significant differences in 5‐year DSS were observed between patients with pathologic lymph node‐negative (pN0) disease (67.4%) and those with pN‐positive/ENE‐negative disease (68.2%; hazard ratio, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.61‐1.79) or between patients with pN‐positive/ENE‐negative disease and those with pN‐positive/ENE‐positive disease (52.7%; hazard ratio, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.31‐1.01). The RPA‐derived model achieved better stratification between high‐risk patients (category III, ENE‐positive with >2 positive lymph nodes) and low‐risk patients (category I, pN0; category II, ENE‐positive/pN1 and ENE‐negative with >2 positive lymph nodes). The performance of the RPA‐derived model was better than that of the pathologic TNM classification (Akaike information criterion score, 1167 compared with 1176; Bayesian information criterion score, 1175 compared with 1195).
Conclusions
The number of metastatic lymph nodes and the presence of ENE are independent prognostic factors for DSS in cutaneous HNSCC, and incorporation of these factors in staging systems improves the performance of the American Joint Committee on Cancer lymph node classification.
An improved lymph node classification for head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma is proposed that includes extranodal extension. This classification should be considered in future versions of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system after external validation.
Fungal diseases have always been a major problem for cantaloupe crops; however, synthetic fungicides are hazardous to humans and the environment. Consequently, a feasible alternative to fungicides ...without side effects could be by using bio agents and naturally occurring plants with antibacterial potential. This study has achieved a novel procedure for managing wilt and root rot diseases by potentially using
sp. culture filtrates in consortium with plant extract of
,
,
, and
, which were isolated from infected cantaloupe roots with identified root rot symptoms. The antagonistic activity of four
isolates and analysis of antibiotics and filtrate enzymes of the most active
isolate were determined as well as phytochemical analysis of
plant extract using HPLC-UV. The obtained results showed that all
isolates considerably lowered the radial growth of
,
, and
in varying degrees. The scanning electron micrographs illustrate the mycoparasitic nature of
sp. on
. The phytochemical analysis of
indicated that phenolic contents were the major compounds found in extracts, such as vanillin (46.79%), chlorogenic acid (30.24%), gallic acid (8.06%), and daidzein (3.45%) but including only a low amount of the flavonoid compounds rutin, naringenin, and hesperetin. The Pot experiment's findings showed that cantaloupe was best protected against wilting and root rot diseases when it was treated with both
sp. culture filtrates (10%) and
extract of (15 mg/mL), both alone and in combination. This study demonstrates that the application of bio agent
spp. filtrate with
extract appears useful for controlling wilting and root rot disease in cantaloupe. This innovative approach could be used as an alternative to chemical fungicide for the control of wilting and rot root diseases.
The transmission routes and risk factors for zoonotic Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infections are still unknown. We used the World Health Organization questionnaire for ...MERS-CoV case-control studies to assess risk factors for human MERS-CoV seropositivity at a farm complex in Qatar. Nine camel workers with MERS-CoV antibodies and 43 workers without antibodies were included. Some camel-related activities may pose a higher risk of MERS-CoV infection, as may cross-border movements of camels, poor hand hygiene, and overnight hospital stays with respiratory complaints. The risk factors identified in this study can be used to develop infection prevention and control measures for human MERS-CoV infections.
Abstract
This study focuses on the integrated application of the frequency-domain terrain conductivity (TC) and transient electromagnetic (TEM) methods to map an ancient riverine harbour (port) at ...the Egyptian archaeological site of Tell el-Rub'a (prehistoric Mendes). Fifty-one TC profiles were measured using six EM frequencies and 16 TEM soundings were performed at the selected site. The apparent conductivity maps derived from the TC survey enabled defining the lateral extension of the harbour basin and its edges to penetration depths ranging between 12 and 30 m. The vertical extension of the harbour basin was determined using the TEM inversion. Three layers were defined: the topsoil, the conductive silty clay infill and the resistive sand bedrock. The bedrock is found at depths ranging from 19 to 31 m. The TC and TEM results were combined to form a 3D image of the harbour basin. This study confirms the existence of Mendes harbour and demonstrates the effectiveness of the TC and TEM methods for such archaeological studies.
The Mamuniyat sandstones represent the main reservoir in the “A” Oil Field, NC115 Concession, Murzuq Basin of Libya. As a result, the primary objectives of the current work are to evaluate and define ...the Mamuniyat Formation’s petrophysical parameters using well-logging analysis. For this study, the available well-logging data from ten exploratory wells were provided. Several cross-plots were used to evaluate the lithologic constituents and fluid saturations in the form of litho-saturation cross-plots, and their output parameters were fed as inputs for Interactive Petrophysics (IP) software. According to the output results, the Mamuniyat Formation is primarily composed of sandstones with a few shales. These sandstones are generally fine- to coarse-grained, as indicated by the cross-plots, with a coarsening-upward sequence. According to the litho-saturation analysis, the Mamuniyat Formation is primarily oil-bearing with some levels of water-bearing sand. The petrophysical parameters derived from well-logging data agree with those derived from core sample analysis, demonstrating that the Mamuniyat Formation is a good reservoir.
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