Reinduction of Bevacizumab in Combination with Pegylated Liposomal Doxorubicin in a Patient with Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme Who Progressed on Bevacizumab/Irinotecan

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) carries a dismal prognosis despite the current standard of multimodality treatments. Recent studies showed promising results to a regimen consisting of a VEGF inhibitor, (bevacizumab) and a topoisomerase I inhibitor (irinotecan) [BI] in recurrent GBM. However, those patients with GBM who progress on BI will succumb to their disease generally in a very short period of time. We report a case of a 56-year-old male patient with GBM who declined surgical resection and received chemoradiation with temozolomide. This treatment was withheld secondary to significant thrombocytopenia. Subsequently, he achieved stable disease for 10 months with a regimen consisting of thalidomide and tamoxifen before progressing. This was followed by bevacizumab with irinotecan [BI], for which he had a significant partial response for 8 months with subsequent progression. Reinducing the patient with bevacizumab in combination with a pegylated liposomal doxorubicin [PLD] (a topoisomerase II inhibitor) demonstrated antitumor activity with significant shrinkage of contrast enhancing mass and peritumoral edema

Best strategy to control data on internet-of-robotic-things in heterogeneous networks

The control and transmission of huge data constitute an immense challenge in various types of networks (wired and wireless). Congestion caused by the high traffic and low throughput of huge data continues to be major problems in a heterogeneous platforms such as internet of things (IoT) technology and internet-of-robotic-things (IoRT). The heterogeneous network requires new models and mechanisms to deal with the increased challenges posed by IoT and IoRT. Accordingly, eliminating the issues that emerge has compelled finding improved solutions as a new strategy. This study proposed a new strategy called routing information and distance vector (RIDV) to create the best improvement of a heterogeneous network. The RIDV strategy activates the routing information protocol (RIPv2) on a router in wire network parallel with the ad-hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) protocol on the wireless network. The RIDV strategy is used to solve the problems of the diversity of heterogeneous networks as the basis of the infrastructure IoRT technology. Hence, this strategy can reduce or avoid congestion through the use of enhanced and effective best routing protocols. Simulation results using OPNET show that the proposed method improved the quality of service (QoS) compared with other related strategies and AODV and RIPv1 protocols in terms of data drop, traffic drop, queue delay, and throughput

knowledge and attitude of Iraqi women in reproductive age group about risk factors in pregnancy

Improved knowledge among women about maternal risk factors significantly reduced the likelihood of adverse events in pregnancy and childbirth. This study aimed to explore Iraqi women's knowledge and attitudes about maternal risk factors in pregnancy. A multicenter cross-sectional survey was conducted from 01 January to 31 March 2019 among women of the reproductive age (15-49 years). A convenient sampling technique using a semi-structured questionnaire was recruited to interview the sample. SPSS version 16.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics (Chi-square test) were used to present data with the significance level considered at <0.05. Data of 250 women underwent final analysis. The mean age of respondents was 27.76 (±6.3 years). Most of the respondents (79.9%) correctly knew the maternal risk factors in pregnancy. A large percentage of women knew that poor nutrition, anemia (95.6%), smoking and passive smoke (95.6%), and obesity (85.2%) during pregnancy are risk factors affecting the fetus’ health. However, about 40.0% of women thought there was no harm during pregnancy, and therefore there was no need for medical check-ups regularly. In bivariate analysis, there was a significant association between knowledge and level of education. The higher the level of education, the greater the women's knowledge about risk factors such as malnutrition and anemia (P=<0.001), obesity (P=0.04), diabetes (P=0.002), repeated urinary tract infection (P=0.017), Rh incompatibility (<0.001), history of previous cesarean section (P=0.010), smoking and passive smoking (P=0.014) and evidence of bleeding (P=0.001). In conclusion, Iraqi pregnant women demonstrated a good level of knowledge about the risk factors during the pregnancy

Enhancing higher education teaching and learning in northern Syria: Academic development needs of teaching staff at Free Aleppo and Sham universities

Free Aleppo University (FAU) and Sham University are higher education institutions established in 2015 in the non-Assad regime-controlled areas of Northern Syria. Despite ongoing conflict, the displacement of academic staff, damage to infrastructure and severe resource constraints, these universities continue to provide access to higher education to learners in the region, including thousands of internally displaced persons. ‘Modernisation and capacity building for academics in research, teaching and curriculum development’ was identified as a shared priority for both institutions at a round table in February 2020. This study, conducted by representatives from each university together with Syrian and UK-based academics collaborating on the Council for At Risk Academics (Cara) Syria Programme, responds to this priority by exploring the professional development needs and priorities of academic staffat Free Aleppo University (FAU) and Sham University. Semi-structured interviews with teaching staffat each institution (n = 20) were analysed to elicit insight into the teaching experiences and development needs of teaching academics. Findings revealed academic development priorities that are consistent with areas of emphasis in the field of academic development internationally, but also highlighted the need for specialist professional development provision to support staffin responding to the unique challenges of the resource-poor and precarious Northern Syrian HE context

ERCC1 expression and RAD51B activity correlate with cell cycle response to platinum drug treatment not DNA repair

Background: The H69CIS200 and H69OX400 cell lines are novel models of low-level platinum-drug resistance. Resistance was not associated with increased cellular glutathione or decreased accumulation of platinum, rather the resistant cell lines have a cell cycle alteration allowing them to rapidly proliferate post drug treatment. Results: A decrease in ERCC1 protein expression and an increase in RAD51B foci activity was observed in association with the platinum induced cell cycle arrest but these changes did not correlate with resistance or altered DNA repair capacity. The H69 cells and resistant cell lines have a p53 mutation and consequently decrease expression of p21 in response to platinum drug treatment, promoting progression of the cell cycle instead of increasing p21 to maintain the arrest. Conclusion: Decreased ERCC1 protein and increased RAD51B foci may in part be mediating the maintenance of the cell cycle arrest in the sensitive cells. Resistance in the H69CIS200 and H69OX400 cells may therefore involve the regulation of ERCC1 and RAD51B independent of their roles in DNA repair. The novel mechanism of platinum resistance in the H69CIS200 and H69OX400 cells demonstrates the multifactorial nature of platinum resistance which can occur independently of alterations in DNA repair capacity and changes in ERCC1

Hope in dirt: report of the Fort Apache Workshop on Forensic Sedimentology Applications to Cultural Property Crime, 15—19 October 2018

A 2018 workshop on the White Mountain Apache Tribe lands in Arizona examined ways to enhance investigations into cultural property crime (CPC) through applications of rapidly evolving methods from archaeological science. CPC (also looting, graverobbing) refers to unauthorized damage, removal, or trafficking in materials possessing blends of communal, aesthetic, and scientific values. The Fort Apache workshop integrated four generally partitioned domains of CPC expertise: (1) theories of perpetrators’ motivations and methods; (2) recommended practice in sustaining public and community opposition to CPC; (3) tactics and strategies for documenting, investigating, and prosecuting CPC; and (4) forensic sedimentology—uses of biophysical sciences to link sediments from implicated persons and objects to crime scenes. Forensic sedimentology served as the touchstone for dialogues among experts in criminology, archaeological sciences, law enforcement, and heritage stewardship. Field visits to CPC crime scenes and workshop deliberations identified pathways toward integrating CPC theory and practice with forensic sedimentology’s potent battery of analytic methods