Unlike the tropical to subtropical areas where reef-building corals are distributed, high latitude paleoenvironmental records with high temporal resolution over the past centuries are scarce. ...Long-living bivalve shells can be a good candidate for paleoenvironmental recorders. In such a situation, it has recently been revealed that modern cold-water bivalve Mercenaria stimpsoni (Stimpson's hard clam) living in shallow seafloors of North Japan have a lifespan of over 100 years. In this review, details of sclerochronological analysis and analytical procedures oxygen stable isotope and radiocarbon measurements of M. stimpsoni shells collected from shallow seafloors of Funakoshi Bay and Otsuchi Bay are described. Then, ecological (e.g., shell growth patterns) and paleoenvironmental (e.g., oceanic currents, tsunamis) findings that were obtained through these analyses are described.
Chemotherapy‐induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is one of the most problematic adverse events that affects the well‐being of cancer patients. Risk factors for CINV and its elimination are necessary ...to increase the indications for and effectiveness of chemotherapy. We enrolled 1549 chemotherapy‐naïve patients in two phase II trials and one phase III trial of palonosetron between 2005 and 2007. Treatment failure (any emetic episodes or any administration of rescue medication) and/or nausea, and their associations with patient factors were evaluated in acute and in delayed phases using univariate and multivariate analyses. Female gender (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval: 2.96, 2.09–4.20), age <55 years (2.56, 1.94–3.37), non‐habitual alcohol intake (1.90, 1.43–2.51) and non‐smoker (1.40, 1.04–1.90) were associated with treatment failure in the acute phase. In contrast, only female gender (1.88, 1.34–2.64) was associated with treatment failure in the delayed phase. The number of risk factors was significantly associated with CINV in both acute and delayed phases. Patient risk factors were significantly associated with CINV. Depending on the relationship between CINV‐related risk factors and a tailored antiemetic treatment, high‐risk patients defined by the listed risk factors may be candidates for future clinical trials.
In patients with locally advanced non–small-cell lung cancer who have undergone concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy, the use of durvalumab in the year after completing treatment ...significantly prolonged disease-free and overall survival as compared with placebo.
Relapse is common in patients with locally advanced unresectable lung cancer after concurrent chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In a randomized study, addition of the anti–PD-L1 antibody durvalumab ...every 2 weeks for 12 months increased relapse-free survival by 47%.
The aim of this study was to identify the effects of a communication skills training (CST) program for oncologists, developed based on patient preferences regarding oncologists' communication.
Thirty ...oncologists were randomly assigned to either an intervention group (IG; 2-day CST workshop) or control group (CG). Participants were assessed on their communication performance during simulated consultation and their confidence in communicating with patients at baseline and follow-up. A total of 1,192 patients (response rate, 84.6%) who had consultations with the participating oncologists at baseline and/or follow-up were assessed regarding their distress using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, satisfaction with the consultation, and trust in their oncologist after the consultation.
At the follow-up survey, the performance scores of the IG had improved significantly, in terms of their emotional support (P = .011), setting up a supportive environment (P = .002), and ability to deliver information (P = .001), compared with those of the CG. Oncologists in the IG were rated higher at follow-up than those in the CG in terms of their confidence in themselves (P = .001). Patients who met with oncologists after they had undergone the CST were significantly less depressed than those who met with oncologists in the CG (P = .027). However, the CST program did not affect patient satisfaction with oncologists' style of communication.
A CST program based on patient preferences is effective for both oncologists and patients with cancer. Oncologists should consider CST as an approach to enhancing their communication skills.
The heart urchin Echinocardium cordatum is an important bioturbator in shallow marine environments throughout the world. Although hard sediment and low water temperature are known to decrease the ...burrowing ability of benthic invertebrates, the effect of these factors on E. cordatum, one of the most important bioturbators, has remained unknown. Here, we quantified the burrowing ability (i.e., burrowing time) of this species in an aquarium where sediment hardness and water temperature were artificially controlled. The aquarium experiment revealed that both sediment hardness and water temperature significantly affected the burrowing time of E. cordatum. No significant interactions were detected between the two factors. Under hard-sediment and low-temperature (10 °C) conditions, reburrowing times for E. cordatum were around 3.5 times longer than with soft sediment and high temperatures (20 °C). The burrowing time in the hardened sediment due to liquefaction at low temperatures was compared with the observed in-situ interval between the occurrence of an earthquake and the first arrival of a tsunami. The results provide useful insights into the mass mortality of the species that was observed on the Pacific coast after the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and associated liquefaction and tsunami events on March 11, 2011. Rapid reburrowing would have been vital at the time to prevent individuals from being swept away by tsunami currents after being expelled from the seafloor sediments by the seabed liquefaction. However, our results indicated that E. cordatum would not have been able to easily reburrow into the seafloor sediment, thereby becoming vulnerable to tsunami currents. This would have resulted in the heart urchin's observed mass mortality and prolonged absence from the region after the disaster.
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•We experimentally measured the burrowing time of Echinocardium cordatum.•Hardened sediment due to liquefaction and low water temperature negatively affected the burrowing time.•An in-situ earthquake–tsunami interval was compared with the burrowing time.•The results provide useful insights into a mass-mortality event of the species caused by the 2011 disaster.
Spherical carbonate concretions are present in sedimentary strata of varying geological ages worldwide. Recent studies reveal that calcium carbonate concretions form very rapidly around dead ...organisms after burial in the seabed. However, the formation mechanism of spherical dolomite concretions in marine sediments, particularly the carbon source and the reason for their spherical shape, are still moderately known. This study aims to elucidate their formation process and diagenetic evolution through the characterization of the structure, mineralogical composition, and geochemistry in and around a concretion. Here, detailed studies were conducted on a gigantic dolomite concretion approximately 170 cm in diameter, which formed in tuffaceous fine sandstone of the Morozaki Group in Chita Peninsula, Japan. The Ca and Mg distributions in and around the concretion show that it rapidly formed by outward diffusion of bicarbonate from the carbon source in its center. The δ13C values ranging from +4.4‰ to +7.5‰ and large volume of dolomite cement indicate that the dolomite concretion formed at shallow depth from methanogenic organic matter decomposition during rapid sedimentation. Heulandite occurred only in the surrounding rock matrix comprising altered volcanic glasses because of high temperature during deep burial up to 2–4 km depth. This gigantic dolomite concretion properly preserves its evolution and changes in the superimposed post-depositional environment. This study shows that gaining a better understanding of spherical dolomite concretions can potentially help reveal the burial process of sediments during early diagenesis.
In the past 10 years, a deeper understanding of the immune landscape of cancers, including immune evasion processes, has allowed the development of a new class of agents. The reactivation of host ...antitumor immune response offers the potential for long-term survival benefit in a portion of patients with thoracic malignancies.
The advent of programmed cell death protein 1/programmed death ligand-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), both as single agents and in combination with chemotherapy, and more recently, the combination of ICI, anti–programmed cell death protein 1, and anticytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen 4 antibody, have led to breakthrough therapeutic advances for patients with advanced NSCLC, and to a lesser extent, patients with SCLC. Encouraging activity has recently emerged in pretreated patients with thymic carcinoma (TC). Conversely, in malignant pleural mesothelioma, pivotal positive signs of activity have not been fully confirmed in randomized trials. The additive effects of chemoradiation and immunotherapy suggested intriguing potential for therapeutic synergy with combination strategies. This has led to the introduction of ICI consolidation therapy in stage III NSCLC, creating a platform for future therapeutic developments in earlier-stage disease. Despite the definitive clinical benefit observed with ICI, primary and acquired resistance represent well-known biological phenomena, which may affect the therapeutic efficacy of these agents.
The development of innovative strategies to overcome ICI resistance, standardization of new patterns of ICI progression, identification of predictive biomarkers of response, optimal treatment duration, and characterization of ICI efficacy in special populations, represent crucial issues to be adequately addressed, with the aim of improving the therapeutic benefit of ICI in patients with thoracic malignancies.
In this article, an international panel of experts in the field of thoracic malignancies discussed these topics, evaluating currently available scientific evidence, with the final aim of providing clinical recommendations, which may guide oncologists in their current practice and elucidate future treatment strategies and research priorities.
We evaluated the efficacy and safety of fosnetupitant (FosNTP) versus fosaprepitant (FosAPR) for preventing highly emetogenic chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. This phase III study was the ...first head-to-head comparison between two different neurokinin-1 receptor antagonists in combination with palonosetron and dexamethasone.
Patients scheduled to receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy were randomly assigned 1:1 to FosNTP 235 mg or FosAPR 150 mg in combination with palonosetron 0.75 mg and dexamethasone. The primary end point was overall (0-120 hours) complete response (CR; no emetic event and no rescue medication) rate, stratified by sex and age category, to show the noninferiority of FosNTP to FosAPR (noninferiority margin, -10% for the difference in the overall CR rate).
Overall, 795 patients were randomly assigned, of whom 785 received the study drug (FosNTP N = 392
FosAPR N = 393) and were evaluated for efficacy and safety. The overall CR rate was 75.2% versus 71.0%, respectively (Mantel-Haenszel common risk difference, 4.1%; 95% CI, -2.1% to 10.3%), demonstrating noninferiority of FosNTP to FosAPR. The CR rates in the acute (0-24 hours), delayed (24-120 hours), and beyond delayed (120-168 hours) phases, and at 0-168 hours were 93.9% versus 92.6%, 76.8% versus 72.8%, 86.5% versus 81.4%, and 73.2% versus 66.9%, respectively. The incidence rates of treatment-related adverse events with FosNTP versus FosAPR were 22.2% versus 25.4%, whereas adverse events or treatment-related adverse events relevant to injection site reactions were 11.0% versus 20.6% (
< .001) and 0.3% versus 3.6% (
< .001), respectively.
FosNTP demonstrated noninferiority to FosAPR, with a favorable safety profile and lower risk for injection site reactions. Thus, FosNTP is valuable in the prophylaxis of acute, delayed, and beyond delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.
Mercenaria stimpsoni (Stimpson's hard clam) is a shallow-water bivalve species distributed along mid- to high-latitude coasts of the Northwest Pacific influenced by the Oyashio cold current. As this ...animal can live for decades, oxygen isotopes of its shell can potentially provide long-term seawater temperature and salinity data. However, little is known about the life history traits of M. stimpsoni, which hampers their use in paleoclimatology. Thus, we investigated the growth patterns of three live-caught M. stimpsoni individuals from Funakoshi Bay, especially focusing on juvenile ontogenetic stages. Sclerochronological and high-resolution oxygen isotope analyses suggest that young (below age 10) specimens of this species grow predominantly between spring and fall, but ceased growing during the cold season when sea surface temperature drops below approximately 10°C. The results also show that ontogenetically older (>10yr) specimens grow shell material almost exclusively during summer. Oxygen isotopes in ontogenetically younger portions of the shells are a good indicator of past summer temperatures.
•Young M. stimpsoni grow shell predominantly between spring and fall.•Annual growth lines of M. stimpsoni form in the cold season below 10°C.•Old specimens (>10yr) grew shell almost exclusively during summer.•Oxygen isotopes from the shell of M. stimpsoni record past summer temperatures.
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