The goal of our research is to create a predictive model of Web content credibility evaluations, based on human evaluations. The model has to be based on a comprehensive set of independent factors ...that can be used to guide user’s credibility evaluations in crowdsourced systems like WOT, but also to design machine classifiers of Web content credibility. The factors described in this article are based on empirical data. We have created a dataset obtained from an extensive crowdsourced Web credibility assessment study (over 15 thousand evaluations of over 5000 Web pages from over 2000 participants). First, online participants evaluated a multi-domain corpus of selected Web pages. Using the acquired data and text mining techniques we have prepared a code book and conducted another crowdsourcing round to label textual justifications of the former responses. We have extended the list of significant credibility assessment factors described in previous research and analyzed their relationships to credibility evaluation scores. Discovered factors that affect Web content credibility evaluations are also weakly correlated, which makes them more useful for modeling and predicting credibility evaluations. Based on the newly identified factors, we propose a predictive model for Web content credibility. The model can be used to determine the significance and impact of discovered factors on credibility evaluations. These findings can guide future research on the design of automatic or semi-automatic systems for Web content credibility evaluation support. This study also contributes the largest credibility dataset currently publicly available for research: the Content Credibility Corpus (C3).
The introduction of adjuvant imatinib in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) raised debate over the accuracy of National Institutes of Health risk criteria and the significance of other ...prognostic factors in GIST.
Tumor aggressiveness and other clinicopathological factors influencing disease-free survival (DFS) were assessed in 335 patients with primary resectable CD117-immunopositive GISTs (median follow-up, 31 months after primary tumor resection) from a prospectively collected tumor registry.
Overall median DFS was 37 months, and estimated 5-year DFS was 37.8 %. In univariate analysis, high or intermediate risk group (P < .000001), mitotic index >5/50 high-power field (P < .00001), primary tumor size >5 cm (P < .00001), nongastric primary location (P = .0001), male sex (P = .01), R1 resection/tumor rupture (P = .0003), and epithelioid cell or mixed cell pathological subtype (P = .05) negatively affected DFS. In multivariate analysis, statistically significant factors negatively influencing DFS for model 1 were mitotic index >5/50 high-power field (P = .004), primary tumor size >5 cm (P = .001), male sex (P = .003), R1 resection/tumor rupture (P = .04), and nongastric primary tumor location (P = .02), and for model 2 were high/intermediate risk primary tumor (P < .0001 and P = .008, respectively), male sex (P = .007), resection R1/tumor rupture (P = .01), and nongastric primary tumor location (P = .02). Five-year DFS for high, intermediate, and low/very low risk group was 20%, 54%, and 96%, respectively.
The risk criteria for assessing the natural course of primary GISTs were validated, but additional independent prognostic factors-primary tumor location and sex--were also identified.
The objectives of the current study were to assess the reliability of the new revision of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system for gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) ...based on the National Comprehensive Cancer Network-Armed Forces Institute of Pathology risk classification and to analyze the factors that influence after resection for primary GISTs in 2 AJCC groups: patients with GISTs originating from the stomach and omentum (G-GISTs) and patients with other primary GISTs located mainly in the small bowel (nongastric GISTs NG-GISTs).
The authors prospectively analyzed a group of 640 patients with primary, CD117-positive GISTs who underwent surgery with curative intention (R0/R1 resection), including 340 G-GISTs (55.5%) and 300 NG-GISTs (44.5%). Factors were explored that had an effect on disease-free survival time (DFS), which was calculated from the date of radical operation to the date of recurrence or last follow-up. The median follow-up was 39 months.
Compared with NG-GISTs, G-GISTs were characterized by a significantly lower median size (5.3 cm and 8.5 cm, respectively; P < .0001) and lower mitotic activity (median, 3 in 50 high-power fields HPF vs 5 in 50 HPF; P < .0001), and they were diagnosed in older patients (median age, 62 years vs 57 years; P = .002). The most commonly detected mutations in G-GIST were those located in KIT exon 11 (60.5%) and platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha (PDGFRA) exon 18 (19%) versus KIT exons 11 and 9 in NG-GISTs (72% and 17.4%, respectively). The prognosis of patients who had G-GISTs was significantly better compared that of patients who had NG-GISTs, with 5-year DFS rates of 69% (median, 83 months) versus 43% (median, 33 months), respectively (P < .00001). The most significant prognostic factors that correlated with shorter DFS in both G-GISTs and NG-GISTs were primary tumor size >5 cm and >10 cm (P < .0001) and mitotic index >5 in 50 HPF and >10 in 50 HPF (P < .0001). The 5-year DFS rates in G-GISTs according to AJCC stage categories were as follows: 96% for stage IA tumors, 92% for stage IB tumors, 51% for II tumors, 22% for stage IIIA tumors, and 22% for stage IIIB tumors (P < .0001). The 5-year DFS rates in NG-GISTs according to AJCC categories were as follows: 92% for stage I tumors, 66% for stage II tumors, 28% for IIIA tumors, and 16% for IIIB tumors (P < .0001). The high prognostic significance of the AJCC classification also was confirmed for overall survival data, including the impact of therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
The reliability of AJCC risk classification after resection of primary GIST was confirmed for DFS and overall survival. Patients with primary G-GISTs had a better prognosis than patients with NG-GISTs. In both groups, primary tumor size and mitotic activity were the most important prognostic factors in terms of DFS.
Purpose
Preoperative nutrition is beneficial for malnourished cancer patients. Yet, there is little evidence whether or not it should be given to nonmalnourished patients. The aim of this study was ...to assess the need to introduce preoperative nutritional support in patients without malnutrition at qualification for surgery.
Methods
This was a prospective, two-arm, randomized, controlled, open-label study. Patients in interventional group received nutritional supplementation for 14 days before surgery, while control group kept on to their everyday diet. Each patient’s nutritional status was assessed twice—at qualification (weight loss in 6 months, laboratory parameters: albumin, total protein, transferrin, and total lymphocyte count) and 1 day before surgery (change in body weight and laboratory parameters). After surgery, all patients were followed up for 30 days for postoperative complications.
Results
Fifty-four patients in interventional and 48 in control group were analyzed. In postoperative period, patients in control group suffered from significantly higher (
p
< 0.001) number of serious complications compared with patients receiving nutritional supplementation. Moreover, levels of all laboratory parameters declined significantly (
p
< 0.001) in these patients, while in interventional arm were stable (albumin and total protein) or raised (transferrin and total lymphocyte count).
Conclusions
Preoperative nutritional support should be introduced for nonmalnourished patients as it helps to maintain proper nutritional status and reduce number and severity of postoperative complications compared with patients without such support.
Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a rare, progressive disease of unknown origin. The incidence is estimated at about 1-2/100,000,000 per year. The primary tumor site is usually discovered in the ...appendix or- in case of women--in ovaries, appearing as tumors of low malignancy. Making an accurate diagnosis causes difficulties--symptoms tend to be misleading, suggesting more frequent pathologies of the abdominal cavity. It is also not rare that the patient is for a long time asymptomatic. We present a case of a 68-year-old patient of the Surgical Oncology Department treated for pseudomyxoma peritonei, diagnosed incidentally at the time of clinical examination for the reasons of chronic hypertension. The symptoms reported by the patient did not suggest any neoplastic process of the peritoneal cavity. Systemic chemotherapy of two paths (a total number of 10 cycles) did not result and at the time of post-treatment control, due to no response to standard chemotherapy, it was decided to administer chemotherapy intraperitoneally in hyperthermia (HIPEC). During the operation, peritoneal cytoreduction prior to the scheduled HIPEC was performed; the right-sided inguinal hernia was repaired. Within the hernia sac the implanted myxoid cells were found, their presence inside was probably the main reason of clinical manifestation of the disease.
Breast cancer has high metastatic potential with distant metastases involving mainly lungs, liver and bones. Less frequently it gives distant spread to other organs. Herein we would like to present a ...very rare case of an acute cholecystitis which turned out to be a metastatic breast cancer in previously healthy woman. A female patient, 64-years old, presented to the emergency department with symptoms of biliary colic and acute abdomen. During the emergency cholecystectomy, we diagnosed the gallbladder empyema with thickened wall. There were also multiple metastatic nodules in the peritoneal cavity and an excessive amount of free fluid. The emergency physicians diagnosing female patient with the acute abdominal symptoms and a breast cancer history might suspect malignant spread into abdominal organs including gallbladder. On the other hand, acute cholecystitis symptoms might be the first symptoms of metastatic process in the gallbladder from the unknown primary source, which may be breast.
More than 1 million inguinal hernia repairs are performed in Europe and the US annually. Although antibiotic prophylaxis is not required in clean, elective procedures, the routine use of implants ...(90% of inguinal hernia repairs are performed with mesh) makes the topic controversial. The European Hernia Society does not recommend routine antibiotic prophylaxis for elective inguinal hernia repairs. However, the latest randomized controlled trial, published by Mazaki et al., indicates that the use of prophylaxis is effective for the prevention of surgical site infection. Unnecessary prophylaxis contributes to the development of bacterial resistance and significantly increases healthcare costs. This review documents clinical trials on inguinal hernia repairs with mesh and summarizes the current knowledge. It also tries to solve certain problems, namely: what constitutes a real risk factor, late-onset infection, and how the "surgical environment" impacts on the need to use antibiotic prophylaxis.
To analyze the outcomes of treatment and factors predicting effects of imatinib (IM) therapy in inoperable/metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) CD117(+) patients.
We identified 232 ...patients in a prospectively collected Clinical GIST Registry with advanced inoperable/metastatic GIST treated with IM 400-800 mg daily (129 males and 103 females and median age 56 years). Median follow-up time was 26 months.
The estimated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS; calculated from the date of the start of IM) was 54% and median PFS was 40.5 months. The following factors significantly and negatively influenced PFS in univariate analysis: poor baseline World Health Organization (WHO) performance status > or = 2 (P < 0.00001), tumor genotype indicating other than KIT exon 11 isoform (P = 0.005), baseline high neutrophils count (P < 0.00001), age <45 years at the diagnosis (P = 0.04), mitotic index >10/50 high-power fields (HPF) (P = 0.001), GIST histological type other than spindle-cell (P = 0.03), baseline low albumin level (P = 0.0005), low baseline hemoglobin level (P < 0.00001), and primary overtly malignant tumors (unresectable and/or metastatic lesions at presentation) (P = 0.05). We identified four factors negatively affecting PFS, statistically significant (P < 0.05) in multivariate analysis: baseline poor WHO performance status > or = 2, high baseline neutrophils count (>5 x 10(9)/l), tumor genotype indicating the presence of non-exon 11 KIT mutant and mitotic index >10/50 HPF.
We confirmed that many advanced GIST patients benefit from IM therapy for a prolonged time, although resistance to therapy is observed. We identified four independent biological factors influencing the PFS during long-term IM therapy.
The efficient use of available resources is a key factor in achieving success on both personal and organizational levels. One of the crucial resources in knowledge economy is time. The ability to ...force others to adapt to our schedule even if it harms their efficiency can be seen as an outcome of social stratification. The principal objective of this paper is to use time allocation to model and study the global efficiency of social stratification, and to reveal whether hierarchy is an emergent property. A multi-agent model with an evolving social network is used to verify our hypotheses. The network's evolution is driven by the intensity of inter-agent communications, and the communications as such depend on the preferences and time resources of the communicating agents. The entire system is to be perceived as a metaphor of a social network of people regularly filling out agenda for their meetings for a period of time. The overall efficiency of the network of those scheduling agents is measured by the average utilization of the agent's preferences to speak on specific subjects. The simulation results shed light on the effects of different scheduling methods, resource availabilities, and network evolution mechanisms on communication system efficiency. The non-stratified systems show better long-term efficiency. Moreover, in the long term hierarchy disappears in overwhelming majority of cases. Some exceptions are observed for cases where privileges are granted on the basis of node degree weighted by relationship intensities but only in the short term.
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