Postoperative survival in patients with multiple brain metastases

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Although surgery is traditionally performed for patients with a single brain metastasis, an increasing number of patients with multiple brain metastases may also be treated surgically. The objective of the study was to analyze postoperative survival results and the clinical factors affecting these results. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The records of the patients who underwent surgical resection of 2 or more lesions between January 2005 and January 2010 were retrospectively reviewed. Survival was calculated from the date of surgery to the last follow-up evaluation or death, and different clinical factors were analyzed in regard to patient survival. RESULTS: In total, 36 patients underwent one or more craniotomies. The survival of the total group ranged from 16 days to 37.5 months (mean, 29 months). There were 4 deaths within 30 days. When divided into Radiation Therapy Oncology Group RPA classes, the survival time was 11.75, 8.58, and 5.31 months for classes 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Regarding an impact on the survival, a significant association with a favorable outcome was found for the following factors: the number of brain metastases (2-3 vs. 4-6, P=0.046), RPA classes (1 vs. 2 or 3, P=0.0192), and extent of metastasis resection (all vs. partial, P=0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Well-selected patients with multiple brain metastases appear to benefit from surgery compared with historical controls of patients treated with whole-brain radiotherapy alone.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Feasibility of Using LoRa for Long-Range, Intermediary-Free Microclimate Monitoring

Šis bakalaura darbs izpēta bezvadu sakaru tehnoloģijas LoRa potenciālu datu pārraidē mikroklimata uzraudzības sistēmas kontekstā. Darba mērķis ir radīt interaktīvu, liela attāluma, mazjaudas sakaru sistēmu, kas var nosūtīt dažāda veida informāciju starp iekārtām bez starpniekiem. Sistēma sastāv no divām iekārtu lomām - administratora iekārtas un datu vācēja iekārtas, kuras balstās uz "Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 v3 (ESP32 + LoRa + OLED 0,96")" mikrokontroliera. Pētījuma laikā tika izstrādāta atvērtā pirmkoda programmatūra, kas ļāva analizēt un izvērtēt LoRa tehnoloģijas veiktspēju dažāda veida datu pārsūtīšanā. Pētījums konstatēja, ka datu pārraide ir vāja urbānās vides apstākļos, ja nav tiešas redzamības starp iekārtām. Nākotnē šis risinājums varētu būt pielāgojams dažādiem pielietojumiem un būt pamats turpmākiem uzlabojumiem.This bachelor's thesis investigates the potential of wireless communication technology LoRa in data transmission in the context of a microclimate monitoring system. The goal of the work is to create an interactive, long-distance, low-power communication system that can send various types of information between devices without intermediaries. The system consists of two machine roles - an administrator machine and a data collector machine, which are based on the "Heltec WiFi LoRa 32 v3 (ESP32 + LoRa + OLED 0.96")" microcontroller. During the research, an open source software was developed that allowed analysis and evaluation The performance of LoRa technology in different types of data transmission. The study found that data transmission is poor in urban environments when there is no line of sight between devices. In the future, this solution could be adapted to different applications and be the basis for further improvements