The FoodCast research image database (FRIDa)

In recent years we have witnessed an increasing interest in food processing and eating behaviors. This is probably due to several reasons. The biological relevance of food choices, the complexity of the food-rich environment in which we presently live (making food-intake regulation difficult), and the increasing health care cost due to illness associated with food (food hazards, food contamination, and aberrant food-intake). Despite the importance of the issues and the relevance of this research, comprehensive and validated databases of stimuli are rather limited, outdated, or not available for non-commercial purposes to independent researchers who aim at developing their own research program. The FoodCast Research Image Database (FRIDa) we present here includes 877 images belonging to eight different categories: natural-food (e.g., strawberry), transformed-food (e.g., french fries), rotten-food (e.g., moldy banana), natural-non-food items (e.g., pinecone), artificial food-related objects (e.g., teacup), artificial objects (e.g., guitar), animals (e.g., camel), and scenes (e.g., airport). FRIDa has been validated on a sample of healthy participants (N = 73) on standard variables (e.g., valence, familiarity, etc.) as well as on other variables specifically related to food items (e.g., perceived calorie content); it also includes data on the visual features of the stimuli (e.g., brightness, high frequency power, etc.). FRIDa is a well-controlled, flexible, validated, and freely available (http://foodcast.sissa.it/neuroscience/) tool for researchers in a wide range of academic fields and industry. \ua9 2013 Foroni, Pergola, Argiris and Rumiati

No fruits without color: Cross-modal priming and EEG reveal different roles for different features across semantic categories

Category-specific impairments witnessed in patients with semantic deficits have broadly dissociated into natural and artificial kinds. However, how the category of food (more specifically, fruits and vegetables) fits into this distinction has been difficult to interpret, given a pattern of deficit that has inconsistently mapped onto either kind, despite its intuitive membership to the natural domain. The present study explores the effects of a manipulation of a visual sensory (i.e., color) or functional (i.e., orientation) feature on the consequential semantic processing of fruits and vegetables (and tools, by comparison), first at the behavioral and then at the neural level. The categorization of natural (i.e., fruits/vegetables) and artificial (i.e., utensils) entities was investigated via cross-modal priming. Reaction time analysis indicated a reduction in priming for color-modified natural entities and orientationmodified artificial entities. Standard event-related potentials (ERP) analysis was performed, in addition to linear classification. For natural entities, a N400 effect at central channel sites was observed for the color-modified condition compared relative to normal and orientation conditions, with this difference confirmed by classification analysis. Conversely, there was no significant difference between conditions for the artificial category in either analysis. These findings provide strong evidence that color is an integral property to the categorization of fruits/vegetables, thus substantiating the claim that feature-based processing guides as a function of semantic category

Reference Ability Neural Network‐selective functional connectivity across the lifespan

Previous studies have demonstrated that four latent variables, or reference abilities (RAs), can account for the majority of age‐related changes in cognition: these being episodic memory, fluid reasoning, speed of processing, and vocabulary. In the current study, we focused on RA‐selective functional connectivity patterns that vary with both age and behavior. We analyzed fMRI data from 287 community‐dwelling adults (20–80 years) on a battery of tests relating to the four RAs (three tests per RA = 12 tests). Functional connectivity values were calculated between a pre‐defined set of 264 ROIs (nodes). Across all participants, we (a) identified connections (edges) that correlated with an RA‐specific indicator variable and, indexing only these edges; (b) performed linear regression analysis per edge, regressing indicator correlations (Model 1) and connectivity values (Model 2) on Age, Behavioral Performance, and the Interaction term; and (c) took the conjunction of significant edges between models. Results revealed a different subset of edges for each RA whose connectivity strength and domain‐selectivity varied with age and behavior. Strikingly, the fluid reasoning RA was particularly vulnerable to the effects of age and displayed the most extensive connectivity and selectivity “footprint” for behavior. These findings indicate that different functional networks are recruited across RA, with fluid reasoning displaying a special status among them

SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to an increase in tacrolimus levels in renal transplant patients: a cohort study

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of SARS-CoV-2 infection on serum tacrolimus levels. Tacrolimus levels of 34 transplant patients diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 were compared with their pre-infection values and those of a control group with alternative infections. 20 out of 34 (59%) had high levels. At diagnosis, median tacrolimus level in the SARS-CoV-2 cohort was 9.6 μg/L (2.7–23) compared to 7.9 μg/L in the control group (p = 0.07, 95% CI for difference −0.3–5.8). The ratio of post-infection to pre-infection tacrolimus values was higher in the SARS-CoV-2 group (1.7) compared to the control group (1.25, p = 0.018, 95% CI for difference 0.08–0.89). The acute kidney injury rate was 65% (13 of 20) in SARS-CoV-2 patients with a level >8 μg/dl, compared to 29% (4 of 14) in those with lower levels (p = 0.037). Median length of stay was 10 days among SARS-CoV-2 infected patients with high tacrolimus levels compared to 0 days in the rest (p = 0.04). Four patients with high levels died compared to 2 in the control group. Clinicians should be aware of this potential effect on tacrolimus levels and take appropriate measures

A randomised phase II trial of docetaxel vs docetaxel and irinotecan in patients with stage IIIb–IV non-small-cell lung cancer who failed first-line treatment

Response rate and toxicity of second-line therapy with docetaxel (75 mg m−2) or docetaxel, irinotecan, and lenogastrim (60 mg m−2, 200 mg m−2, and 150 μg m−2 day−1, respectively) were compared in 108 patients with stage IIIb–IV non-small-cell lung cancer. Addition of irinotecan to docetaxel does not improve response rate, and increases gastrointestinal toxicity

Adjunctive Volasertib in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia not Eligible for Standard Induction Therapy : A Randomized, Phase 3 Trial

In this phase 3 trial, older patients with acute myeloid leukemia ineligible for intensive chemotherapy were randomized 2:1 to receive the polo-like kinase inhibitor, volasertib (V; 350 mg intravenous on days 1 and 15 in 4-wk cycles), combined with low-dose cytarabine (LDAC; 20 mg subcutaneous, twice daily, days 1-10; n = 444), or LDAC plus placebo (P; n = 222). Primary endpoint was objective response rate (ORR); key secondary endpoint was overall survival (OS). Primary ORR analysis at recruitment completion included patients randomized >= 5 months beforehand; ORR was 25.2% for V+LDAC and 16.8% for P+LDAC (n = 371; odds ratio 1.66 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.95-2.89]; P = 0.071). At final analysis (>= 574 OS events), median OS was 5.6 months for V+LDAC and 6.5 months for P+LDAC (n = 666; hazard ratio 0.97 [95% CI, 0.8-1.2]; P = 0.757). The most common adverse events (AEs) were infections/infestations (grouped term; V+LDAC, 81.3%; P+LDAC, 63.5%) and febrile neutropenia (V+LDAC, 60.4%; P+LDAC, 29.3%). Fatal AEs occurred in 31.2% with V+LDAC versus 18.0% with P+LDAC, most commonly infections/infestations (V+LDAC, 17.1%; P+LDAC, 6.3%). Lack of OS benefit with V+LDAC versus P+LDAC may reflect increased early mortality with V+LDAC from myelosuppression and infections.Peer reviewe

Associations between XPD Asp312Asn Polymorphism and Risk of Head and Neck Cancer: A Meta-Analysis Based on 7,122 Subjects

Background: To investigate the association between XPD Asp312Asn polymorphism and head and neck cancer risk through this meta-analysis. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of 9 published case-control studies including 2,670 patients with head and neck cancer and 4,452 controls. An odds ratio (OR) with a 95 % confidence interval (CI) was applied to assess the association between XPD Asp312Asn polymorphism and head and neck cancer risk. Results: Overall, no significant association between XPD Asp312Asn polymorphism and head and neck cancer risk was found in this meta-analysis (Asn/Asn vs. Asp/Asp: OR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.80–1.13, P = 0.550, Pheterogeneity = 0.126; Asp/Asn vs. Asp/Asp: OR = 1.11, 95%CI = 0.99–1.24, P = 0.065, P heterogeneity = 0.663; Asn/Asn+Asp/Asn vs. Asp/Asp: OR = 1.07, 95%CI = 0.97–1.19, P = 0.189, P heterogeneity = 0.627; Asn/Asn vs. Asp/Asp+Asp/Asn: OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.68–1.10, P = 0.243, Pheterogeneity = 0.089). In the subgroup analysis by HWE, ethnicity, and study design, there was still no significant association detected in all genetic models. Conclusions: This meta-analysis demonstrates that XPD Asp312Asn polymorphism may not be a risk factor for developing head and neck cancer

Meta-analysis of chemotherapy in head and neck cancer (MACH-NC): An update on 107 randomized trials and 19,805 patients, on behalf of MACH-NC Group

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The Meta-Analysis of Chemotherapy in squamous cell Head and Neck Cancer (MACH-NC) demonstrated that concomitant chemotherapy (CT) improved overall survival (OS) in patients without distant metastasis. We report the updated results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Published or unpublished randomized trials including patients with non-metastatic carcinoma randomized between 1965 and 2016 and comparing curative loco-regional treatment (LRT) to LRT + CT or adding another timing of CT to LRT + CT (main question), or comparing induction CT + radiotherapy to radiotherapy + concomitant (or alternating) CT (secondary question) were eligible. Individual patient data were collected and combined using a fixed-effect model. OS was the main endpoint. RESULTS: For the main question, 101 trials (18951 patients, median follow-up of 6.5 years) were analyzed. For both questions, there were 16 new (2767 patients) and 11 updated trials. Around 90% of the patients had stage III or IV disease. Interaction between treatment effect on OS and the timing of CT was significant (p < 0.0001), the benefit being limited to concomitant CT (HR: 0.83, 95%CI [0.79; 0.86]; 5(10)-year absolute benefit of 6.5% (3.6%)). Efficacy decreased as patients age increased (p_trend = 0.03). OS was not increased by the addition of induction (HR = 0.96 [0.90; 1.01]) or adjuvant CT (1.02 [0.92; 1.13]). Efficacy of induction CT decreased with poorer performance status (p_trend = 0.03). For the secondary question, eight trials (1214 patients) confirmed the superiority of concomitant CT on OS (HR = 0.84 [0.74; 0.95], p = 0.005). CONCLUSION: The update of MACH-NC confirms the benefit and superiority of the addition of concomitant CT for non-metastatic head and neck cancer

A review of clinical trials of cetuximab combined with radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer

Treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is challenging in many ways. One of the problems is disappointing local control rates in larger volume disease. Moreover, the likelihood of both nodal and distant spread increases with primary tumour (T-) stage. Many patients are elderly and have considerable comorbidity. Therefore, aggressive combined modality treatment might be contraindicated or poorly tolerated. In many cases with larger tumour volume, sufficiently high radiation doses can not be administered because the tolerance of surrounding normal tissues must be respected. Under such circumstances, simultaneous administration of radiosensitizing agents, which increase tumour cell kill, might improve the therapeutic ratio. If such agents have a favourable toxicity profile, even elderly patients might tolerate concomitant treatment. Based on sound preclinical evidence, several relatively small studies have examined radiotherapy (RT) with cetuximab in stage III NSCLC. Three different strategies were pursued: 1) RT plus cetuximab (2 studies), 2) induction chemotherapy followed by RT plus cetuximab (2 studies) and 3) concomitant RT and chemotherapy plus cetuximab (2 studies). Radiation doses were limited to 60-70 Gy. As a result of study design, in particular lack of randomised comparison between cetuximab and no cetuximab, the efficacy results are difficult to interpret. However, strategy 1) and 3) appear more promising than induction chemotherapy followed by RT and cetuximab. Toxicity and adverse events were more common when concomitant chemotherapy was given. Nevertheless, combined treatment appears feasible. The role of consolidation cetuximab after RT is uncertain. A large randomised phase III study of combined RT, chemotherapy and cetuximab has been initiated

Twist and snai1 expression in pharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma stroma is related to cancer progression

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial process in tumorigenesis since tumor cells attain fibroblast-like features enabling them to invade to surrounding tissue. Two transcription factors, <it>TWIST </it>and <it>SNAI1</it>, are fundamental in regulating EMT.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was used to study the expression of TWIST and SNAI1 in 109 pharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Tumors with intense stromal staining of TWIST relapsed more frequently (p = 0.04). Tumors with both positive TWIST and SNAI1 immunoreactivity in the stroma were at least Stage II (p = 0.05) and located more often in hypopharynx (p = 0.035). Tumors with negative immunostaining of TWIST and SNAI1 in the stromal compartment were smaller (T1-2) (p = 0.008), less advanced (SI-II) (p = 0.031) and located more often in the oropharynx (p = 0.007). Patients with negative SNAI1 and TWIST immunostaining in tumor stroma had a better 5-year disease-specific and overall survival (p = 0.037 and p = 0.014 respectively).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>TWIST and SNAI1 expression in stromal cells is associated with clinical and histopathological characteristics that indicate progressive disease. Negative expression of these EMT-promoting transcription factors predicts a better outcome.</p