Design and Implementation of a YARP Device Driver Interface: The Depth-Sensor Case

This work illustrates the design phases leading to the development of a new YARP device interface along with its client/server implementation. In order to obtain a smoother integration and a more reliable software usability, while avoiding common errors during the design phases, a new interface is created in the YARP network when a new family of devices is introduced

Observation of Pure Spin Transport in a Diamond Spin Wire

Spin transport electronics - spintronics - focuses on utilizing electron spin as a state variable for quantum and classical information processing and storage. Some insulating materials, such as diamond, offer defect centers whose associated spins are well-isolated from their environment giving them long coherence times; however, spin interactions are important for transport, entanglement, and read-out. Here, we report direct measurement of pure spin transport - free of any charge motion - within a nanoscale quasi 1D 'spin wire', and find a spin diffusion length ~ 700 nm. We exploit the statistical fluctuations of a small number of spins ($\sqrt{N}$ < 100 net spins) which are in thermal equilibrium and have no imposed polarization gradient. The spin transport proceeds by means of magnetic dipole interactions that induce flip-flop transitions, a mechanism that can enable highly efficient, even reversible, pure spin currents. To further study the dynamics within the spin wire, we implement a magnetic resonance protocol that improves spatial resolution and provides nanoscale spectroscopic information which confirms the observed spin transport. This spectroscopic tool opens a potential route for spatially encoding spin information in long-lived nuclear spin states. Our measurements probe intrinsic spin dynamics at the nanometre scale, providing detailed insight needed for practical devices which seek to control spin.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, under consideration at Nature Nanotechnolog

Cancer incidence in pet dogs: findings of the Animal Tumor Registry of Genoa, Italy.

Background: The occurrence of spontaneous tumors in pet animals has been estimated in a few European and North American veterinary cancer registries with dissimilar methodologies and variable reference populations. Objectives: The Animal Tumor Registry (ATR) of Genoa, Italy, was established in 1985 with the aim of estimating the occurrence of spontaneous tumors in dogs. Methods: Six thousand seven hundred and forty-three tumor biopsy specimens were received from local veterinarians in the Municipality of Genoa between 1985 and 2002. Three thousand and three hundred and three (48.9%) biopsy specimen samples were diagnosed as cancer and were coded according to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-9). Results: Mammary cancer was the most frequently diagnosed cancer in female dogs, accounting for 70% of all cancer cases. Incidence of all cancers was 99.3 per 100,000 dog-years (95% CI: 93.6–105.1) in male dogs and 272.1 (95% CI: 260.7–283.6) in female dogs. The highest incidence rates were detected for mammary cancer (IR = 191.8, 95% CI: 182.2–201.4) and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (IR = 22.9, 95% CI: 19.7–26.5) in bitches and for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (IR = 19.9, 95% CI: 17.4–22.7) and skin cancer (IR = 19.1, 95% CI: 16.6–21.8) in male dogs. All cancer IR increased with age ranging between 23.7 (95% CI: 18.4–30.1) and 763.2 (95% CI: 700.4–830.1) in bitches and between 16.5 (95% CI: 12.8–21.1) and 237.6 (95% CI: 209.1–269.0) in male dogs aged ≤3 years and >9–11 years. Conclusion: This study summarizes the work done by the ATR of Genoa, Italy, between 1985 and 2002. All cancer incidence was 3 times higher in female than in male dogs, a difference explained by the high rate of mammary cancer observed in bitches. Because a biopsy specimen was required to make a cancer diagnosis, cancer rates for internal organs cancers, such as respiratory and digestive tract cancers may have been underestimated in the study population

o 007liquid biopsy allows predicting benefit from rechallenge with cetuximab cet irinotecan iri in ras braf wild type mcrc patients pts with resistance to 1st line cet iri final results and translational analyses of the cricket study by gono

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The SAFFO Study: Sex-Related Prognostic Role and Cut-Off Definition of Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio (MLR) in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

Background: Emerging data suggest that gender-related immune system composition affects both immune response and efficacy of immunotherapy in cancer patients (pts). This study aimed to investigate the sex-related prognostic role of MLR in metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) pts. Methods: We analyzed a retrospective consecutive cohort of 490 mCRC patients treated from 2009 to 2018 at the Oncology Departments of Aviano and Pordenone (training set) and Udine (validation set), Italy. The prognostic impact of MLR on overall survival (OS) was evaluated with uni- and multivariable Cox regression models. The best cut-off value to predict survival was defined through ROC analyses. Results: Overall, we identified 288 males (59%) and 202 females (41%); 161 patients (33%) had a right-sided, 202 (42%) a left-sided primary, and 122 (25%) a rectal tumor. Interestingly, gender was associated with MLR (p = 0.004) and sidedness (p = 0.006). The obtained cut-off value for MLR in females and males was 0.27 and 0.49, respectively. According to univariate analysis of the training set, MLR (HR 9.07, p ≤ 0.001), MLR > 0.27 in females (HR 1.95, p = 0.003), and MLR > 0.49 in males (HR 2.65, p = 0.010) were associated with poorer OS, which was also confirmed in the validation set. In multivariate analysis, MLR > 0.27 in females (HR 2.77, p = 0.002), MLR > 0.49 in males (HR 5.39, p ≤ 0.001), BRAF mutation (HR 3.38, p ≤ 0.001), and peritoneal metastases (HR 2.50, p = 0.003) were still independently associated with worse OS. Conclusions: Males and females have a different immune response. Our study showed that high MLR, both in males and females, is an unfavorable Independent prognostic factor. Further prospective studies are needed to confirm these data

Drug holidays and overall survival of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Different de-escalation strategies have been proposed to limit the risk of cumulative toxicity and guarantee quality of life during the treatment trajectory of patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC). Programmed treatment interruptions, defined as drug holidays (DHs), have been implemented in clinical practice. We evaluated the association between DHs and overall survival (OS). This was a retrospective study, conducted at the University Hospital of Udine and the IRCCS CRO of Aviano. We retrieved records of 608 consecutive patients treated for mCRC from 1 January 2005 to 15 March 2017 and evaluated the impact of different de-escalation strategies (maintenance, DHs, or both) on OS through uni-and multivariate Cox regression analyses. We also looked at attrition rates across treatment lines according to the chosen strategy. In our study, 19.24% of patients received maintenance therapy, 16.12% DHs, and 9.87% both, while 32.07% continued full-intensity first-line treatment up to progression or death. In uni-and multivariate analyses first-line continuous treatment and early discontinuation (treatment for less than 3 months) were associated to worse OS compared to non-continuous strategies (HR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.22\u20132.32; p = 0.002 and HR,4.89; 95% CI, 3.33\u20137.19; p < 0.001, respectively). Attrition rates were 22.8%, 20.61%, and 19.64% for maintenance, DHs, or both, respectively. For continuous therapy and for treatment of less than 3 months it was 21.57% and 49%. De-escalation strategies are safe and effective options. DHs after initial induction chemotherapy may be considered in clinically selected patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma icca treated with arterial directed therapies adt outcomes and safety from a multicenter italian experience

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