The anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody rituximab, first approved for clinical use in 1997, has changed the standard of care for many patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). Recent data from large ...randomized clinical trials confirm that the addition of rituximab to standard chemotherapy regimens (chemoimmunotherapy) improves both response rates and survival outcomes in patients with follicular NHL and diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the two most common subtypes of NHL. Population-based analyses have found substantial improvements in NHL survival over the past decade; studies indicate that rituximab has favorably altered the long-term prognosis of follicular NHL and DLBCL patients. This review discusses the clinical development of rituximab-based therapies for patients with low-grade or follicular NHL and newly diagnosed DLBCL, highlighting recent key randomized trials with a focus on survival outcomes.
The extant tourism literature contains few studies that have examined brand equity and its determining factors in the wine tourism research area. This paper aims to address this gap in the existing ...literature by proposing a model for the influence of the designation of origin (DO) brand image and the destination image on the brand equity of wine tourism destinations and examining these effects on two stakeholder groups, winery managers and winery visitors. Using a survey questionnaire that was completed by 219 managers and 598 visitors and a partial least squares-based multi-group analysis, the results demonstrate that the effects of the two influential factors varied between the stakeholder groups. The research also confirmed that overall, managers evaluate wine tourism destination brand equity, DO brand image and destination image more positively than visitors do.
•Gap between the internal approach and the external approach.•Managers' perceptions are more favorable than visitors'.•The effect of the two determinants varies across stakeholder groups.•More positive assessment for Rioja than for the other four DOs.
Luxury brand marketers have recently turned their attention to customer-driven social media devoted to their brands. The key concepts of involvement, interaction and behavioral intention provide the ...theoretical foundation to investigate luxury brands. The purpose of this study is to test a model that analyzes the relationship among brand involvement, consumer-brand interaction and behavioral intention in the context of luxury brand-related activities on social media. Based on content value theory, the present research identifies the moderating role of utilitarian/hedonic motivations on the relationships proposed. Data were collected from 326 social media users who look for information on internet about luxury brands before purchasing a specific brand. We provide evidence indicating positive relationships between brand involvement, consumer-brand interaction and behavioral intention. The results also confirm the moderating role of the utilitarian/hedonic motivations. This study provides recommendations to luxury brands to understand the nature of consumer involvement and brand-customer relationship in order to forecast the behavioral intention of their consumers more accurately.
•Luxury brand-related activities on social media.•Effects of brand involvement and consumer-brand interaction on behavioral intention.•The moderating effect of utilitarian/hedonic motivations is analyzed.•Results confirm positive relationships between the variables.•Practical recommendations to understand the nature of brand-customer relationship.
Purpose Androgen receptor signaling remains essential for many prostate cancers that have progressed despite androgen deprivation therapy. After medical or surgical castration persistent though not ...insignificant low levels of androgens are produced from nongonadal sources, such as the adrenal glands. Some castration resistant prostate cancers acquire the ability to convert adrenal steroids to androgens, maintaining levels sufficient to activate androgen receptor. Inhibition of persistent androgen production and androgen receptor mediated signaling are relevant therapeutic strategies for castration resistant prostate cancer. Materials and Methods The scientific foundation of and clinical experience with secondary hormonal therapy as well as the development of new investigational agents for castration resistant prostate cancer, specifically selective cytochrome p450 17 inhibitors and second generation antiandrogens, are discussed. Results Selective inhibition of cytochrome p450 17 has emerged as an important therapeutic pathway for castration resistant prostate cancer. The selective cytochrome p450 17 inhibitor abiraterone acetate showed promising activity and tolerability in phase I-II trials. Phase III studies are underway in men with chemotherapy naïve castration resistant prostate cancer as well as those with progression after docetaxel based chemotherapy. TAK-700 and TOK-001 (formerly VN124-1) are novel selective cytochrome p450 17 inhibitors that recently entered phase I/II evaluation. MDV3100 is a second generation antiandrogen that blocks androgen receptor signaling by inhibiting nuclear translocation of the ligand-receptor complex. Clinical data on MDV3100 are encouraging and support continued phase III study. Conclusions Novel therapies for castration resistant prostate cancer that target persistent androgen production and androgen receptor mediated signaling have demonstrated promising activity in many men with castration resistant prostate cancer and may redefine the clinical management of these patients.
Mobile health apps are increasingly being recognized as effective tools for improving the efficiency and sustainability of healthcare systems. However, a major challenge faced by the industry is ...achieving long‐term adoption of Apps. This is a critical issue because many apps are abandoned after only a few uses, and low adoption rates limit the potential impact of these apps on healthcare outcomes. In this paper, we examine this issue by integrating the Customer Value Theory and the Person‐Artifact‐Task model to study how the functional experience of app users, derived from technology features such as perceived ease of use, personalization, and usefulness, enables a state of flow through the users’ hedonic and social experiences of recognition and attractiveness. We comprehensively measure the impact of the psychological state of flow in terms of users’ cognitive, emotional, and conative responses. Our results indicate that the functional experience of users is central to achieving flow through hedonic and social experiences, while other antecedents of flow, such as health severity and health empowerment, have a lower impact on app use. Developing a positive psychological response towards Apps is also essential to improve users’ perception of health improvement, satisfaction, and loyalty. By understanding the factors that contribute to long‐term adoption of apps, we can better design and promote these apps to improve healthcare outcomes and promote sustainable healthcare systems.
Next generation sequencing (NGS) technologies have improved the study of hereditary diseases. Since the evaluation of bioinformatics pipelines is not straightforward, NGS demands effective strategies ...to analyze data that is of paramount relevance for decision making under a clinical scenario. According to the benchmarking framework of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), we implemented a new simple and user-friendly set-theory based method to assess variant callers using a gold standard variant set and high confidence regions. As model, we used TruSight Cardio kit sequencing data of the reference genome NA12878. This targeted sequencing kit is used to identify variants in key genes related to Inherited Cardiac Conditions (ICCs), a group of cardiovascular diseases with high rates of morbidity and mortality.
We implemented and compared three variant calling pipelines (Isaac, Freebayes, and VarScan). Performance metrics using our set-theory approach showed high-resolution pipelines and revealed: (1) a perfect recall of 1.000 for all three pipelines, (2) very high precision values, i.e. 0.987 for Freebayes, 0.928 for VarScan, and 1.000 for Isaac, when compared with the reference material, and (3) a ROC curve analysis with AUC > 0.94 for all cases. Moreover, significant differences were obtained between the three pipelines. In general, results indicate that the three pipelines were able to recognize the expected variants in the gold standard data set.
Our set-theory approach to calculate metrics was able to identify the expected ICCs related variants by the three selected pipelines, but results were completely dependent on the algorithms. We emphasize the importance to assess pipelines using gold standard materials to achieve the most reliable results for clinical application.
Nowadays, the concept of Industry 4.0 aims to improve factories’ competitiveness. Usually, manufacturing production is guided by standards to segment and distribute its processes and implementations. ...However, industry 4.0 requires innovative proposals for disruptive technologies that engage the entire production process in factories, not just a partial improvement. One of these disruptive technologies is the Digital Twin (DT). This advanced virtual model runs in real-time and can predict, detect, and classify normal and abnormal operating conditions in factory processes. The Automation Pyramid (AP) is a conceptual element that enables the efficient distribution and connection of different actuators in enterprises, from the shop floor to the decision-making levels. When a DT is deployed into a manufacturing system, generally, the DT focuses on the low-level that is named field level, which includes the physical devices such as controllers, sensors, and so on. Thus, the partial automation based on the DT is accomplished, and the information between all manufacturing stages could be decremented. Hence, to achieve a complete improvement of the manufacturing system, all the automation pyramid levels must be included in the DT concept. An artificial intelligent management system could create an interconnection between them that can manage the information. As a result, this paper proposed a complete DT structure covering all automation pyramid stages using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to model each stage of the AP based on the Digital Twin concept. This work proposes a virtual model for each level of the traditional AP and the interactions among them to flow and control information efficiently. Therefore, the proposed model is a valuable tool in improving all levels of an industrial process. In addition, It is presented a case study where the DT concept for modular workstations underpins the development of technologies within the framework of the Automation Pyramid model is implemented into a didactic manufacturing system.
Current weather monitoring systems often remain out of reach for small-scale users and local communities due to their high costs and complexity. This paper addresses this significant issue by ...introducing a cost-effective, easy-to-use local weather station. Utilizing low-cost sensors, this weather station is a pivotal tool in making environmental monitoring more accessible and user-friendly, particularly for those with limited resources. It offers efficient in-site measurements of various environmental parameters, such as temperature, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure, carbon dioxide concentration, and particulate matter, including PM 1, PM 2.5, and PM 10. The findings demonstrate the station’s capability to monitor these variables remotely and provide forecasts with a high degree of accuracy, displaying an error margin of just 0.67%. Furthermore, the station’s use of the Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) model enables short-term, reliable forecasts crucial for applications in agriculture, transportation, and air quality monitoring. Furthermore, the weather station’s open-source nature significantly enhances environmental monitoring accessibility for smaller users and encourages broader public data sharing. With this approach, crucial in addressing climate change challenges, the station empowers communities to make informed decisions based on real-time data. In designing and developing this low-cost, efficient monitoring system, this work provides a valuable blueprint for future advancements in environmental technologies, emphasizing sustainability. The proposed automatic weather station not only offers an economical solution for environmental monitoring but also features a user-friendly interface for seamless data communication between the sensor platform and end users. This system ensures the transmission of data through various web-based platforms, catering to users with diverse technical backgrounds. Furthermore, by leveraging historical data through the ARIMA model, the station enhances its utility in providing short-term forecasts and supporting critical decision-making processes across different sectors.
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