Systematic review of the effects of bisphosphonates on bone density and fracture incidence in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Skeletal fragility is a common complication of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) but the impact of bisphosphonate therapy on bone mass and fracture is unclear. We aim to conduct a systematic review to evaluate the effects of bisphosphonates on bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture incidence in children with ALL. EMBASE, Medline and the Cochrane Library were thoroughly searched by two researchers. Inclusion criteria was any child under the age of 18 years with a diagnosis of ALL, who had received any bisphosphonate treatment and had serial measurements of bone density performed thereafter. All primary research studies of any study design, excluding case reports, were included. Ten full text papers were identified with two exclusively meeting the inclusion criteria. Both studies administered bisphosphonates to children receiving maintenance chemotherapy for varying durations. Bone density was assessed at regular intervals by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The majority of participants had an improvement in bone density at the end of each study. However, no size adjustment of DXA data was performed. Limited information on fracture occurrence was provided by one study but did not include routine screening for vertebral fractures. This systematic review identified that there is insufficient evidence to support routine use of prophylactic bisphosphonate therapy in childhood ALL for prevention of fracture and improvement of bone mass. Future well-designed clinical trials in those at highest risk of fractures in ALL are now needed

Complexes of transition and nontransition metals of dithiocarbazate ion and their biological activities.

The complexation of the dithiocarbazate ion (DTCA−) with various metal ions, viz., Sn(II)/(IV), Bi(III), Sb(III), U(VI), Zr(IV), Th(IV), Al(III), Ni(II), Zn(II), and Cu(II) was investigated. Most of the complexes were hexa-coordinated with the exception of Cu(II), Ni(II), and Zn(II) complexes that were four-coordinated. The biological properties of the metal complexes revealed that in general the complexes of nontransition metals were more effective against microorganisms than those of transition metals. In particular, [Sb(DTCA)Cl2·2H2O] and [Al(DTCA)Cl2·2H2O] were found to have strong antimicrobial activities. A minimum inhibitory concentration of 300 μg/mL was recorded for the above two complexes against Pseudomonas aeruginosa while that against Bacillus cereus was found to be 700 μg/mL. None of the complexes were cytotoxic

Electroproduction of the d* dibaryon

The unpolarized cross section for the electroproduction of the isoscalar $J^\pi = 3^+$ di-delta dibaryon $d^*$ is calculated for deuteron target using a simple picture of elastic electron-baryon scattering from the $\Delta \Delta (^7D_1)$ and the $NN (^3S_1)$ components of the deuteron. The calculated differential cross section at the electron lab energy of 1 GeV has the value of about 0.24 (0.05) nb/sr at the lab angle of 10$^\circ$ (30$^\circ$) for the Bonn B potential when the dibaryon mass is taken to be 2.1 GeV. The cross section decreases rapidly with increasing dibaryon mass. A large calculated width of 40 MeV for $d^*(\Delta\Delta ^7S_3)$ combined with a small experimental upper bound of 0.08 MeV for the $d^*$ decay width appears to have excluded any low-mass $d^*$ model containing a significant admixture of the $\Delta\Delta (^7S_3)$ configuration.Comment: 11 journal-style pages, 8 figure

CFD SIMULATION FOR TRAY DRYER OPTIMIZATION

The paper presents the design and analysis of tray dryer system. The design was done in Solidwork while the analysis and simulation performed using ANSYS FLUENT. ANSYS FLUENT is a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software in which flow fields and other physics are calculated in detail for various engineering applications. The analysis was done to analyze heat transfer and temperature distribution, ressure, air flow and turbulence. Before generating the product in 3D modeling, the basic data or information of tray dryer system is required such as dimension of dryer equipment, air and heat source supply range, sizing method and etc. Through his step, the dryer system development and function ability can be clearly understood by the end of analyzing process is accomplished

Wear Minimization for Cuckoo Hashing: How Not to Throw a Lot of Eggs into One Basket

We study wear-leveling techniques for cuckoo hashing, showing that it is possible to achieve a memory wear bound of $\log\log n+O(1)$ after the insertion of $n$ items into a table of size $Cn$ for a suitable constant $C$ using cuckoo hashing. Moreover, we study our cuckoo hashing method empirically, showing that it significantly improves on the memory wear performance for classic cuckoo hashing and linear probing in practice.Comment: 13 pages, 1 table, 7 figures; to appear at the 13th Symposium on Experimental Algorithms (SEA 2014

Long-term follow-up of intratympanic methylprednisolone versus gentamicin in patients with unilateral Menière’s disease

Objectives: To determine whether long term (>48 months) symptomatic vertigo control is sustained in patients with Menie`re’s disease from a previous comparative trial of intratympanic methylprednisolone versus gentamicin, and if the two treatments remain nonsignificantly different at longterm follow-up. Study Design: Mail survey recording vertigo frequency in the previous one and six months, further intratympanic treatment received, and validated symptom questionnaires. Setting: Outpatient hospital clinic setting. Patients: Adult patients with definite unilateral refractory Menie`re’s disease, who previously received in tratympanic treatment in a comparative trial. Intervention: A survey of trial participants who received intratympanic gentamicin (40 mg/mL) or methylprednisolone (62.5 mg/mL). Outcome measures: Primary: number of vertigo attacks in the 6 months prior to receiving this survey compared with the 6 months before the first trial injection. Secondary: : Number of vertigo attacks over the previous 1 month; validated symptom questionnaire scores of tinnitus, dizziness, vertigo, aural fullness, and functional disability. Results: Average follow-up was 70.8 months (standard deviation 17.0) from the first treatment injection. Vertigo attacks in the 6 months prior to receiving the current survey reduced by 95% compared to baseline in both drug groups (intention-to-treat analysis, both p<0.001). No significant difference between drugs was found for the primary and secondary outcomes. Eight participants (methylprednisolone ¼ 5 and gentamicin ¼ 3) required further injections for relapse after completing the original trial. Conclusion: Intratympanic methylprednisolone treatment provides effective long-lasting relief of vertigo, without the known inner-ear toxicity associated with gentamicin. There are no significant differences between the two treatments at long term follow-up

Melatonin for rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson's disease : a randomised controlled trial

Background Melatonin may reduce REM-sleep behavior disorder (RBD) symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD), though robust clinical trials are lacking. Objective To assess the efficacy of prolonged-release (PR) melatonin for RBD in PD. Methods Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial with an 8-week intervention and 4-week observation pre- and postintervention (ACTRN12613000648729). Thirty PD patients with rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder were randomized to 4 mg of prolonged-release melatonin (Circadin) or matched placebo, ingested orally once-daily before bedtime. Primary outcome was the aggregate of rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder incidents averaged over weeks 5 to 8 of treatment captured by a weekly diary. Data were included in a mixed-model analysis of variance (n = 15 per group). Results No differences between groups at the primary endpoint (3.4 events/week melatonin vs. 3.6 placebo; difference, 0.2; 95% confidence interval = -3.2 to 3.6; P = 0.92). Adverse events included mild headaches, fatigue, and morning sleepiness (n = 4 melatonin; n = 5 placebo). Conclusion Prolonged-release melatonin 4 mg did not reduce rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder in PD. (c) 2019 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society

COVID-19 and liver disease: mechanistic and clinical perspectives

Our understanding of the hepatic consequences of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and its resultant coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has evolved rapidly since the onset of the pandemic. In this Review, we discuss the hepatotropism of SARS-CoV-2, including the differential expression of viral receptors on liver cell types, and we describe the liver histology features present in patients with COVID-19. We also provide an overview of the pattern and relevance of abnormal liver biochemistry during COVID-19 and present the possible underlying direct and indirect mechanisms for liver injury. Furthermore, large international cohorts have been able to characterize the disease course of COVID-19 in patients with pre-existing chronic liver disease. Patients with cirrhosis have particularly high rates of hepatic decompensation and death following SARS-CoV-2 infection and we outline hypotheses to explain these findings, including the possible role of cirrhosis-associated immune dysfunction. This finding contrasts with outcome data in pharmacologically immunosuppressed patients after liver transplantation who seem to have comparatively better outcomes from COVID-19 than those with advanced liver disease. Finally, we discuss the approach to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination in patients with cirrhosis and after liver transplantation and predict how changes in social behaviours and clinical care pathways during the pandemic might lead to increased liver disease incidence and severity. © 2021, Springer Nature Limited