Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Elderly Patients with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women and approximately 219,440 new cases of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were estimated to occur in the USA in 2009, which caused 159,390 NSCLC-related deaths. More than 50% of cases of advanced NSCLC are diagnosed in patients older than age 65, and recent Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEERs) data suggest that the median age at diagnosis is 70 years. Until recently, the disease has been undertreated in this patient population, with a perception among many clinicians that elderly patients do not tolerate chemotherapy or radiotherapy. So, single agent chemotherapy is the recommended approach by the ASCO and International Expert Panels in unselected patients. The introduction of novel targeted therapies, such as Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) which improved survival versus placebo in patients who had previously failed on chemotherapy, gives clinicians new, effective, and better tolerated options to consider when treating NSCLC in elderly patients. This paper describes the advances of EGFR TKIs for elderly patients with advanced NSCLC

Mediation and Conciliation in Collective Labor Conflicts in Italy.

With the support of the EC (DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion) a project was conducted to examine and promote third party intervention in collective labor conflicts in 12 European countries. Three studies were conducted. Study 1 was mainly a documental study offering a socio-political, institutional and legal analysis of each mediation system, including interviews with experts on the current status. Study 2 was a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of mediation systems from the users’ perspective. Interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to assess employers’ and employees’ motives to use or not use third party services for conciliation or mediation, and the satisfaction with and expectations towards these services. Study 3 was also a comparative analysis, this time from the providers perspective. Exploring their perception of the system in their home country, experiences, ideas for improving the use and quality of the mediation process. The studies have been discussed at symposia in each country and an international conference in Brussels

Demographic parameters of reintroduced grey partridges in central Italy and the effect of weather

International audienceGrey partridge populations declined in Europe from mid-1950s onwards mostly due to modifications of agricultural cropping. In Italy, the decline was even more dramatic because of over-hunting and restocking with allochthonous birds. We carried out a research on a re-introduced population in Central Italy from 1995 to 2005, with the aim of evaluating the reintroduction success and separating the intrinsic and external factors influencing year-to-year changes in partridge density with particular respect to the weather. Average spring density was 4.5 pairs per square kilometre (SD = 1.52); our population reached a peak few years after the reintroduction and then declined. Brood production rate was close to that of declining European populations (average 33.9%; SD = 10.21), and chick survival rate (average 40%; = 17.61) determined the change of breeding abundance from year to year + 1. Our population seemed to be mainly affected by brood production and chick survival rates and by the weather; in particular, higher early winter and spring temperatures increased breeding density whilst higher early summer temperatures decreased brood production rate

Indicators of biodiversity in an intensively cultivated and heavily human modified landscape

Nowadays, the loss of biodiversity in agroecosystems due to the intensification of farming practices is happening very fast, and therefore, stopping or slowing it down should be a priority for conservation. To detect changes in these environmental contexts, one approach contemplates focusing on a limited set of indicator species that can alert us to ongoing changes in progress. In this research, we aimed to measure the biodiversity of vertebrates using a multi-taxa approach in an intensively cultivated and highly inhabited area located in northern Italy. We investigated the relationships between biodiversity and environmental characteristics and we identified the taxonomic groups that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Data collection was carried out in 2016 with different methods depending on the taxonomic group, in 131 sampling units chosen using a Tessellation Stratified Sampling. Then we calculated for each sampling unit a standardized Biodiversity Index, which was related to environmental variables concerning the land use and the landscape configuration using Multiple Linear Regression Analysis and Information-Theoretic approach. We used correlation analyses and the Indicator Species Analysis (IndVal) to identify the taxonomic groups and species that can be used as indicators of biodiversity. Biodiversity was positively related to the number of patches of natural vegetation, whereas it was negatively affected by the number of patches of artificial surfaces and by habitat diversity. Our findings agree with those obtained by many other researchers, which pointed out that agroecosystems provide adequate shelters, suitable foraging habitats and nesting sites. The negative effect of habitat diversity was explained by the area-heterogeneity trade-off. Therefore, sites with high heterogeneity will not contain enough cover of residual natural vegetation, essential to maintain high biodiversity, because increasing compositional heterogeneity within a fixed area simultaneously reduces the surface of each cover type. The analyses showed that birds and reptiles might be used as biodiversity indicators of vertebrates. Eurasian Magpie and Green Whip Snake, both generalist species, were associated with sites of low biodiversity, whereas seven birds, both generalists and farmland specialists, were associated with sites of medium biodiversity. In high biodiversity sites there were not indicator species. To conclude, in less natural environments, such as urban and agricultural landscapes, a combination of specialist and generalist indicator species seems adequate to monitor biodiversity changes. Our findings increase the knowledge of these very dynamic ecosystems, being important both to plan strategies for biodiversity conservation and to guarantee ecosystems services useful for humans

Gut microbial composition in different castes and developmental stages of the invasive hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax

Social insects are successful animal invaders. Their survival and success, and in some cases also their impact on invaded ecosystem functioning, is often mediated by symbiosis with microorganisms. Here, we report a comprehensive comparative characterization of the gut microbial communities of different castes and developmental stages of the invasive hornet Vespa velutina nigrithorax. The species recently colonized Europe, becoming a high ecological and economic concern, as it threatens pollinator survival and competes with native hornet species. We used targeted meta-genomics to describe the yeasts and bacteria gut communities of individuals of different reproductive phenotypes (workers and future queens), life stages (larvae, newly emerged individuals and adults) and colony non-living samples (nest paper and larval faeces). Bacilli, Gammaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria were the most abundant classes of bacteria, and Saccharomycetes, Dothideomycetes, Tremellomycetes and Eurotiomycetes were the most represented yeast classes. We found that the microbial compositions significantly differ across developmental stages and castes, with yeast and bacterial communities switching in frequency and abundance during ontogeny and according to reproductive phenotype. Moreover, the gut microbial communities poorly mirror those found in the nest, suggesting that hornets possess a specific microbial signature. Our results provide the first metagenomic resource of the microbiome of V. velutina in Europe and suggest the importance of considering life stages, reproductive phenotypes and nest influence in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of social insect microbial communities

Woodpeckers as Focal Species for an Ecological Network Design in the Po Plain (Northern Italy)

Habitat fragmentation is a major threat to biodiversity. Thus the improvement of connectivity in highly fragmented landscape is a crucial issue for animal conservation. In this study we designed an ecological network for woodland birds in the agricultural landscape of the Po Plain (Northern Italy) using woodpeckers (great spotted woodpeckers Dendrocopos major, lesser spotted woodpeckers Dendrocopos minor and green woodpeckers Picus viridis) as focal species. Habitat suitability for woodpeckers was evaluated by generalized linear models and multimodel inference handling data on land use, landscape metrics and surrounding context. Circuit theory was used to define the best corridors network, subsequently compared with the distribution of other woodland birds. Wooded riversides, extended agro-forestry plantations and scattered natural forest stands appeared as the best components of a corridor design for woodland birds. The fact that other species threatened by forest fragmentation (e.g. Eurasian nuthatches Sitta europaea and marsh tits Poecile palustris) mainly occurred in the corridors network defined in the present study emphasized these results

p 53 abnormal expression might influence global outcome through egfr modulation in ras braf wild type metastatic colorectal cancer patients receiving later line irinotecan cetuximab

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Polysomnography in Extreme Environments: the MagIC Wearable System for Monitoring Climbers at Very-High Altitude on Mt. Everest Slopes

Abstract Extreme environments such as high altitude represent a challenging testbed for both people and instruments. During a recent expedition to the slopes of Mt. Everest, (Highcare Expedition), we monitored ECG, respiration, oxygen saturation and posture in five climbers during sleep. Data were collected by using a recently developed textile-based wearable system (the MagIC system). The polysomnographic acquisitions were performed at sea level in indoor environment, and at 6000 and 6800 m asl in tents. The collected data allowed us to investigate performances and usability of MagIC system as a polysomnographic device at very-high altitude. In this paper we report on the results of this evaluation

Brain-Computer Interface for Clinical Purposes : Cognitive Assessment and Rehabilitation

Alongside the best-known applications of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology for restoring communication abilities and controlling external devices, we present the state of the art of BCI use for cognitive assessment and training purposes. We first describe some preliminary attempts to develop verbal-motor free BCI-based tests for evaluating specific or multiple cognitive domains in patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, disorders of consciousness, and other neurological diseases. Then we present the more heterogeneous and advanced field of BCI-based cognitive training, which has its roots in the context of neurofeedback therapy and addresses patients with neurological developmental disorders (autism spectrum disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder), stroke patients, and elderly subjects. We discuss some advantages of BCI for both assessment and training purposes, the former concerning the possibility of longitudinally and reliably evaluating cognitive functions in patients with severe motor disabilities, the latter regarding the possibility of enhancing patients' motivation and engagement for improving neural plasticity. Finally, we discuss some present and future challenges in the BCI use for the described purposes