Optimal NOR Networks for Self-Dual Functions

Coordinated Science Laboratory was formerly known as Control Systems LaboratoryJoint Services Electronics Program / DAAB-07-72-C-025

Concomitant essential thrombocythemia with jak2 v617f mutation in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia with major molecular response with imatinib and long-term follow-up

The association of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), in particular with the V617F mutation in the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) gene, is very uncommon, and there are only a few cases reported in the literature. In the present study, the case of a 73-year-old man with CML and persistent thrombocytosis, is reported. The patient achieved a complete cytogenetic response and major molecular response (MR) with imatinib. The patient presented JAK2 V617F mutation, and bone marrow morphology was consistent with essential thrombocythemia. The patient was treated with imatinib and hydroxyurea to control the platelet count, and maintains complete MR with imatinib upon 10 years of follow-up. Although rare, the association of breakpoint cluster region-Abelson rearrangement and JAK2 V617F mutation should be investigated in patients with MPN, since both genetic anomalies may be present at diagnosis or may emerge during treatment, and require different therapeutic approaches.The association of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with other myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), in particular with the V617F mutation in the Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) gene, is very uncommon, and there are only a few cases reported in the literature. In the121485487sem informaçãosem informaçã

Fractal dimension of chromatin is an independent prognostic factor for survival in melanoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Prognostic factors in malignant melanoma are currently based on clinical data and morphologic examination. Other prognostic features, however, which are not yet used in daily practice, might add important information and thus improve prognosis, treatment, and survival. Therefore a search for new markers is desirable. Previous studies have demonstrated that fractal characteristics of nuclear chromatin are of prognostic importance in neoplasias. We have therefore investigated whether the fractal dimension of nuclear chromatin measured in routine histological preparations of malignant melanomas could be a prognostic factor for survival.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined 71 primary superficial spreading cutaneous melanoma specimens (thickness ≥ 1 mm) from patients with a minimum follow up of 5 years. Nuclear area, form factor and fractal dimension of chromatin texture were obtained from digitalized images of hematoxylin-eosin stained tissue micro array sections. Clark's level, tumor thickness and mitotic rate were also determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The median follow-up was 104 months. Tumor thickness, Clark's level, mitotic rate, nuclear area and fractal dimension were significant risk factors in univariate Cox regressions. In the multivariate Cox regression, stratified for the presence or absence of metastases at diagnosis, only the Clark level and fractal dimension of the nuclear chromatin were included as independent prognostic factors in the final regression model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In general, a more aggressive behaviour is usually found in genetically unstable neoplasias with a higher number of genetic or epigenetic changes, which on the other hand, provoke a more complex chromatin rearrangement. The increased nuclear fractal dimension found in the more aggressive melanomas is the mathematical equivalent of a higher complexity of the chromatin architecture. So, there is strong evidence that the fractal dimension of the nuclear chromatin texture is a new and promising variable in prognostic models of malignant melanomas.</p

Иммуногистохимическая детекция каппа-опиоидных рецепторов в коже человека

The imbalance of p- and kappa-opioid receptors in the skin or central nervous system is currently deemed to be one of the reasons of chronic pruritus. A number of studies demonstrated a positive effect of system agonists of kappa-opioid receptors in the treatment of uremic pruritus, nodular pruritus, paraneoplastic and cholestatic pruritus. This research demonstrates an expression of kappa-opioid receptors in human skin (basal keratinocytes, dendritic cells, epidermal melanocytes and fibroblasts of the upper dermis) detected with the use of different immunochemistry methods.В качестве одной из причин хронического зуда в настоящее время предполагается дисбаланс системы мю- и каппа-опиоидных рецепторов в коже или в центральной нервной системе. В нескольких исследованиях продемонстрирован положительный эффект системных агонистов каппа-опиоидных рецепторов в лечении уремического зуда, узловатой почесухи, паранеопластического и холестатического зуда. В настоящей работе демонстрируется экспрессия каппа-опиоидных рецепторов в коже человека (базальных кератиноцитах, дендритных клетках, меланоцитах эпидермиса и фибробластах сосочкового слоя дермы), определенная с помощью различных иммуногистохимических методик

Quality of life and clinical characteristics of self-improving congenital ichthyosis within the disease spectrum of autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis

Background Autosomal-recessive congenital ichthyosis (ARCI) is a heterogeneous group of ichthyoses presenting at birth. Self-improving congenital ichthyosis (SICI) is a subtype of ARCI and is diagnosed when skin condition improves remarkably (within years) after birth. So far, there are sparse data on SICI and quality of life (QoL) in this ARCI subtype. This study aims to further delineate the clinical spectrum of SICI as a rather unique subtype of ARCI. Objectives This prospective study included 78 patients (median age: 15 years) with ARCI who were subdivided in SICI (n = 18) and non-SICI patients (nSICI, n = 60) by their ARCI phenotype. Methods Quality of life (QoL) was assessed using the (Children's) Dermatology Life Quality Index. Statistical analysis was performed with chi-squared and t-Tests. Results The genetically confirmed SICI patients presented causative mutations in the following genes: ALOXE3 (8/16; 50.0%), ALOX12B (6/16; 37.5%), PNPLA1 (1/16; 6.3%) and CYP4F22 (1/16; 6.3%). Hypo-/anhidrosis and insufficient vitamin D levels (<30 ng/mL) were often seen in SICI patients. Brachydactyly (a shortening of the 4th and 5th fingers) was statistically more frequent in SICI (P = 0.023) than in nSICI patients. A kink of the ear's helix was seen in half of the SICI patients and tends to occur more frequently in patients with ALOX12B mutations (P = 0.005). QoL was less impaired in patients under the age of 16, regardless of ARCI type. Conclusions SICI is an underestimated, milder clinical variant of ARCI including distinct features such as brachydactyly and kinking of the ears. Clinical experts should be aware of these features when seeing neonates with a collodion membrane. SICI patients should be regularly checked for clinical parameters such as hypo-/anhidrosis or vitamin D levels and monitored for changes in quality of life

A prosody-based vector-space model of dialog activity for information retrieval

Search in audio archives is a challenging problem. Using prosodic information to help find relevant content has been proposed as a complement to word-based retrieval, but its utility has been an open question. We propose a new way to use prosodic information in search, based on a vector-space model, where each point in time maps to a point in a vector space whose dimensions are derived from numerous prosodic features of the local context. Point pairs that are close in this vector space are frequently similar, not only in terms of the dialog activities, but also in topic. Using proximity in this space as an indicator of similarity, we built support for a query-by-example function. Searchers were happy to use this function, and it provided value on a large testset. Prosody-based retrieval did not perform as well as word-based retrieval, but the two sources of information were often non-redundant and in combination they sometimes performed better than either separately.We thank Martha Larson, Alejandro Vega, Steve Renals, Khiet Truong, Olac Fuentes, David Novick, Shreyas Karkhedkar, Luis F. Ramirez, Elizabeth E. Shriberg, Catharine Oertel, Louis-Philippe Morency, Tatsuya Kawahara, Mary Harper, and the anonymous reviewers. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grants IIS-0914868 and IIS-1241434 and by the Spanish MEC under contract TIN2011-28169-C05-01.Ward, NG.; Werner, SD.; García-Granada, F.; Sanchís Arnal, E. (2015). A prosody-based vector-space model of dialog activity for information retrieval. Speech Communication. 68:85-96. doi:10.1016/j.specom.2015.01.004S85966

Alemtuzumab-induced halo nevus-like hypopigmentation – New insights into secondary skin autoimmunity in response to an immune cell-depleting antibody

We describe a 33‐year‐old male patient who developed hypopigmentation around his melanocytic nevi with disappearance of the nevi in August 2018. In June 2016 he had been diagnosed with highly active RRMS and treated with alemtuzumab in September 2016 for the first time. In September 2017 another cycle of alemtuzumab was administered. The patient’s family history for vitiligo was unremarkable and he had no autoimmune thyroid disease