Purpose
We performed a prospective comparison of the diagnostic capability of integrated fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) (PET/CT), 3-T whole-body ...magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) and their combination in detecting malignancy in treated oropharyngeal or hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OHSCC).
Methods
Seventy-nine OHSCC patients at a high risk of residual disease or suspected to have recurrence after the completion of chemoradiation were included in the study. All patients underwent PET/CT and WB-MRI within 10 days of each other. Histology and follow-up data were used as the reference standard. The McNemar test was used to compare sensitivity and specificity, while the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used for comparison of diagnostic capabilities.
Results
Twenty-nine patients (36.7%) had residual/recurrent tumours or second primary tumours. Overall, there was a trend towards increased sensitivity and diagnostic capability for PET/CT compared with WB-MRI (72.4 vs 55.2%,
p
= 0.13; 0.826 vs 0.753,
p
= 0.24, respectively). The diagnostic capability of combined interpretation of PET/CT and WB-MRI was similar to PET/CT alone (0.827 vs 0.826,
p
= 0.97) but was significantly higher than WB-MRI alone (0.827 vs 0.753,
p
= 0.04).
Conclusion
PET/CT showed a trend towards higher diagnostic capability than 3-T WB-MRI in detecting residual/recurrent tumours or second primary tumours in OHSCC. The combined use of PET/CT and WB-MRI provided more added value to WB-MRI alone than to PET/CT alone. Additional PET/CT can be useful in patients with questionable MRI findings of malignancy.
We investigated whether genetic susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) influences lung adenocarcinoma development among never-smokers using TB genome-wide association study (GWAS) results within the ...Female Lung Cancer Consortium in Asia. Pathway analysis with the adaptive rank truncated product method was used to assess the association between a TB-related gene-set and lung adenocarcinoma using GWAS data from 5512 lung adenocarcinoma cases and 6277 controls. The gene-set consisted of 31 genes containing known/suggestive associations with genetic variants from previous TB-GWAS. Subsequently, we followed-up with Mendelian Randomization to evaluate the association between TB and lung adenocarcinoma using three genome-wide significant variants from previous TB-GWAS in East Asians. The TB-related gene-set was associated with lung adenocarcinoma (p = 0.016). Additionally, the Mendelian Randomization showed an association between TB and lung adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.31, 95% CI: 1.03, 1.66, p = 0.027). Our findings support TB as a causal risk factor for lung cancer development among never-smoking Asian women.
Acquisition of temozolomide (TMZ) resistance is a major factor leading to the failure of glioblastoma (GBM) treatment. The exact mechanism by which GBM evades TMZ toxicity is not always related to ...the expression of the DNA repair enzyme O
-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), and so remains unclear. In this study, TMZ-resistant variants derived from MGMT-negative GBM clinical samples and cell lines were studied, revealing there to be increased specificity protein 1 (Sp1) expression associated with reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation following TMZ treatment. Analysis of gene expression databases along with cell studies identified the ROS scavenger superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2) as being disease-related. SOD2 expression was also increased, and it was found to be co-expressed with Sp1 in TMZ-resistant cells. Investigation of the SOD2 promoter revealed Sp1 as a critical transcriptional activator that enhances SOD2 gene expression. Co-treatment with an Sp1 inhibitor restored the inhibitory effects of TMZ, and decreased SOD2 levels in TMZ-resistant cells. This treatment strategy restored susceptibility to TMZ in xenograft animals, leading to prolonged survival in an orthotopic model. Thus, our results suggest that Sp1 modulates ROS scavengers as a novel mechanism to increase cancer malignancy and resistance to chemotherapy. Inhibition of this pathway may represent a potential therapeutic target for restoring treatment susceptibility in GBM.
Tumors of the supraclavicular fossa (SC) is clinically challenging because of anatomical complexity and tumor pathological diversity. Because of varied diseases entities and treatment choices of SC ...tumors, making the accurate decision among numerous differential diagnoses is imperative. Sampling by open biopsy (OB) remains the standard procedure for pathological confirmation. However, complicated anatomical structures of SC always render surgical intervention difficult to perform. Ultrasound-guided core biopsy (USCB) is a minimally invasive and office-based procedure for tissue sampling widely applied in many diseases of head and neck. This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and utility of using USCB as the sampling method of SC tumors. From 2009 to 2014, consecutive patients who presented clinical symptoms and signs of supraclavicular tumors and were scheduled to receive sampling procedures for diagnostic confirmation were recruited. The patients received USCB or OB respectively in the initial tissue sampling. The accurate diagnostic rate based on pathological results was 90.2% for USCB, and 93.6% for OB. No significant difference was noted between USCB and OB groups in terms of diagnostic accuracy and the percentage of inadequate specimens. All cases in the USCB group had the sampling procedure completed within 10 minutes, but not in the OB group. No scars larger than 1 cm were found in USCB. Only patients in the OB groups had the need to receive general anesthesia and hospitalization and had scars postoperatively. Accordingly, USCB can serve as the first-line sampling tool for SC tumors with high diagnostic accuracy, minimal invasiveness, and low medical cost.
Abstract Benign tumours of the submandibular gland are usually treated surgically. Gland-preserving techniques, which can be used to completely remove the tumour, preserve the function of the gland ...and reduce complications, but conventional open operations result in obvious scars on the neck. We aimed to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of gland-preserving robotic surgery using a hairline approach. We compared robotic with open techniques for gland-preserving operations to remove benign tumours of the submandibular gland. Patients were matched for age and sex (4 in each group). All patients in the robotic surgery group had their tumours removed successfully through hairline approaches. No patient had operative complications or postoperative functional nerve deficit, and an aesthetically pleasing outcome was achieved by concealing the scars within the hairline. Robotic operations took longer than open operations. No recurrence was noted during follow-up. Gland-preserving robotic surgery is a feasible alternative to conventional techniques and has potential advantages for safety and aesthetic outcome.
Summary Vocal process granulomas are benign lesions involved in the healing of posterior glottis injuries. Here, we report the results of our conservative treatment of vocal process granulomas. ...Fifty-three patients with 54 occurrences of granulomas between 1998 and 2007 were enrolled. All patients were observed without surgical excision or specific medications and regularly monitored with telescopic examinations until the granulomas disappeared. Data on age, sex, clinical presentation, prior history of intubation or gastroesophageal reflux, telescopic findings, management and clinical course were reviewed. There were 41 males and 12 females. The mean ages of granuloma occurrence were 48.1 years in men and 41.6 years in women ( p = 0.16). Symptoms included hoarseness in 42 patients, cough in 13 patients, lumping sensation in the throat in 15 patients and sore throat in 14 patients. Ten occurrences were stable during the follow-up period, and the other 44 (81%) achieved complete remission (mean period of 30.6 weeks). The remission patterns included progression and remission in 6 occurrences, slow remission in 22 and rapid remission in 16. The remission rate of granulomas was not significantly related to age ( p = 0.71), sex ( p = 0.43), prior intubation ( p = 0.71), acid reflux ( p = 0.47), unilateral/bilateral lesions ( p = 1.00) or granuloma size ( p = 0.46). The remission time was significantly shorter in patients with prior intubation ( p = 0.04), but not significantly associated with age ( p = 0.89), sex ( p = 0.87), acid reflux ( p = 0.91), unilateral/bilateral lesions ( p = 0.26) or granuloma size ( p = 0.96). Long-term observation has demonstrated that vocal process granulomas can be cured at high remission rates without implementing specific treatments.
Development of effective therapeutics for mitigating the COVID-19 pandemic is a pressing global need. Neutralizing antibodies are known to be effective antivirals, as they can be rapidly deployed to ...prevent disease progression and can accelerate patient recovery without the need for fully developed host immunity. Here, we report the generation and characterization of a series of chimeric antibodies against the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spike protein. Some of these antibodies exhibit exceptionally potent neutralization activities in vitro and in vivo, and the most potent of our antibodies target three distinct non-overlapping epitopes within the RBD. Cryo-electron microscopy analyses of two highly potent antibodies in complex with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein suggested they may be particularly useful when combined in a cocktail therapy. The efficacy of this antibody cocktail was confirmed in SARS-CoV-2-infected mouse and hamster models as prophylactic and post-infection treatments. With the emergence of more contagious variants of SARS-CoV-2, cocktail antibody therapies hold great promise to control disease and prevent drug resistance.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), instead of ventricular assist device (VAD), could work as the first-line treatment of choice for fulminant myocarditis (FM) with profound shock if ...intraaortic balloon pumping was inadequate. We reviewed our experience in treating FM with ECMO and compared it with the literature that described the use of VAD.
Fifteen consecutive patients (age 27.1 +/- 19.3 years) who had FM with profound shock were rescued with ECMO emergently. Hypotension, depressed left ventricular ejection fraction (19.1% +/- 6.1%), and oliguria occurred in all patients with high-dose catecholamine (inotropic equivalents: 69.0 +/- 37.7 microg/kg/min) and ventilator support. Before ECMO support, 6 patients received intraaortic balloon pumping support, 5 received external cardiac massage, 5 needed a temporary pacemaker, and 4 needed continuous hemofiltration. The pre-ECMO cardiac enzyme and liver enzyme levels were abnormally high.
Fourteen patients (93.3%) could be weaned off mechanical support. Three of 14 successfully weaned patients died later as a result of complications. Survival to discharge was 73.3%, and none of survivors needed heart transplantation. The ECMO duration was 137.7 +/- 74.5 hours. The ECMO-related neurological complication (6.7%) and the reexploration rate for hemostasis (8.9%) were lower than the myocarditis group supported by VAD from the literature review. The 11 survivors exhibited no cardiac dysfunction during the follow-up period.
Owning to advantages of fewer complications, easier application, and biventricular support, ECMO can be considered as the first-line treatment of mechanical support for FM with profound shock when intraaortic balloon pumping is inadequate or infeasible.
App Controllable Intelligent Desk Lamp System Liao, Yu Ping; Lu, Ruei Chang; Liu, Pang Tzu ...
Journal of advanced computational intelligence and intelligent informatics,
03/2015, Letnik:
19, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
In this paper, we propose a FPGA based intelligent desk lamp system with a camera, two servo motors and LEDs. The proposed lamp system can automatically trace a moving book with a red bookmark by pan ...and tilt control to provide sufficient illumination. Thus, the user can read book with enough light for eye caring. The architecture of the system includes a vision system and a servo-motor control system. The image processing module inside the system can obtain the book’s position data. According to the book’s position data, two servo motors automatically adjust the pan and tilt angles of the desk lamp. The adjustable ranges for pan and tilt angles are 40° and 30°, respectively. Additionally, an App is designed and allows the user to remotely control the lamp by using a smartphone. All the processing modules are implemented on Altera DE0-Nano kit with Cyclonetex® IV EP4CE22F17C6N FPGA with Verilog HDL.
In this study, hydrogen sulfide (H
2S) was removed from coal gas by red soil under high temperature in a fixed-bed reactor. Red soil powders were collected from the northern, center and southern of ...Taiwan. They were characterized by XRPD, porosity analysis and DCB chemical analysis. Results show that the greater sulfur content of LP red soils is attributed to the higher free iron oxides and suitable sulfidation temperature is around 773
K. High temperature has a negative effect for use red soil as a desulfurization sorbent due to thermodynamic limitation in a reduction atmosphere. During 10 cycles of regeneration, after the first cycle the red soil remained stable with a breakthrough time between 31 and 36
min. Hydrogen adversely affects sulfidation reaction, whereas CO exhibits a positive effect due to a water-shift reaction. COS was formed during the sulfidation stage and this was attributed to the reaction of H
2S and CO.
Results of XRPD indicated that, hematite is the dominant active species in fresh red soil and iron sulfide (FeS) is a product of the reaction between hematite and hydrogen sulfide in red soils. The spinel phase FeAl
2O
4 was found during regeneration, moreover, the amount of free iron oxides decreased after regeneration indicating the some of the free iron oxide formed a spinel phase, further reducting the overall desulfurization efficiency.
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