Association between energy balance-related factors and clinical outcomes in patients with ovarian cancers:A systematic review and meta analysis

Background: This systematic review and meta-analysis synthesized evidence in patients with ovarian cancer at diagnosis and/or during first-line treatment on; (i) the association of body weight, body composition, diet, exercise, sedentary behavior, or physical fitness with clinical outcomes; and (ii) the effect of exercise and/or dietary interventions. Methods: Risk of bias assessments and best-evidence syntheses were completed. Meta-analyses were performed when ≥3 papers presented point estimates and variability measures of associations or effects. Results: Body mass index (BMI) at diagnosis was not significantly associated with survival. Although the following trends were not supported by the best-evidence syntheses, the meta-analyses revealed that a higher BMI was associated with a higher risk of post-surgical complications (n = 5, HR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.06–2.51, p = 0.030), a higher muscle mass was associated with a better progression-free survival (n = 3, HR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.04–1.91, p = 0.030) and a higher muscle density was associated with a better overall survival (n = 3, HR: 2.12, 95% CI: 1.62–2.79, p < 0.001). Muscle measures were not significantly associated with surgical or chemotherapy-related outcomes. Conclusions: The prognostic value of baseline BMI for clinical outcomes is limited, but muscle mass and density may have more prognostic potential. High-quality studies with comprehensive reporting of results are required to improve our understanding of the prognostic value of body composition measures for clinical outcomes. Systematic review registration number: PROSPERO identifier CRD42020163058

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Protonic Doping Effects On The Electronic Behavior Of Poly(p-phenylene-co-2,5-pyrazine)

We report a theoretical investigation of the effect of random protonation on the electronic behavior of a new conductive polymer (PPPz) using the NFC technique. The obtained results show that in absence of structural disorder protonation cannot by itself lead to a semiconductor-metal transition. A discussion of the protonic acid doping as a mechanism to increase the conductivity of organic polymers is presented. © 1990.744215217MacDiarmid, (1987) Synth. Met., 21, p. 79Han, Elsenbaumer, (1989) Synth. Met., 30, p. 123Epstein, Ginder, Zuo, Woo, Tanner, Richter, Angelopoulos, MacDiarmid, (1987) Synth. Met., 21, p. 63Epstein, Ginder, Zuo, Bigelow, Woo, Tanner, Richter, MacDiarmid, (1987) Synth. Met., 18, p. 303Galvão, dos Santos, Laks, de Melo, Caldas, Role of disorder in the conduction mechanism in polyanilines (1989) Physical Review Letters, 63, p. 786Dezotti, De Paoli, Poly(p-phenylene-CO-2,5-pyrazine), a new electrically conductive polymer (1989) Synthetic Metals, 29, p. E41D.A. dos Santos, D.S. Galvão, B. Laks, M.C.W. Dezotti, and M.-A. De Paoli, to be publishedDean, Vibrational Spectra of Diatomic Chains (1960) Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 254 A, p. 507Ladik, Seel, Otto, Bakhshi, (1986) Chem. Phys., 108, p. 203Stafstrom, Bredás, Conformations of aniline black (polyaniline) molecules (1987) Synthetic Metals, 20, p. 35The parametrization used is fromStreitwieser, Jr., (1961) Molecular Orbital Theory, , J. Wiley & Sons, N. Y, the reference resonance energy β is estimated to be ≈ 2.5 e

Exercise as medicine: Reducing treatment toxicities in prostate cancer patients

Abstract not availabl

Clustering Effects In Polyaniline Chains

Theoretical investigations on the effect of random protonation on the electronic behaviour of long finite chains of polyaniline have shown that the presence of disorder is an essential feature to explain the observed semiconductor-metal transition. In this work we have extended the study of disorder including a pair correlation (short range order) parameter in order to simulate the effects of segregation (clustering) in one-dimensional chains. Our results have shown that the inclusion of these aspects do not affect the general features earlier obtained, disorder is still in the origin of the semiconductor-metal transition. © 1993.5702/03/1545074512Skotheim, (1986) Handbook of Conducting Polymers, 1. , Marcel Dekker, New YorkMacDiarmid, Chiang, Richter, Epstein, (1987) Synth. Met., 18, p. 285Epstein, Ginder, Zuo, Woo, Tanner, Richter, Angelopoulos, MacDiarmid, (1987) Synth. Met., 21, p. 63Sjögren, Stafström, Electronic excitations in polyaniline: An INDO/S-CI study (1988) The Journal of Chemical Physics, 88, p. 3840Stafström, (1986) Chem. Phys. Lett., 131, p. 44Langer, (1987) Synth. Met., 20, p. 35Stafström, Brédas, Evolution of structure and electronic properties in oxidized polyaniline as a function of the torsion angle between adjacent rings (1986) Synthetic Metals, 14, p. 297Boudreaux, Chance, Wolf, Shackette, Brédas, Thémans, André, Silbey, (1986) J. Chem. Phys., 85, p. 4584Tanaka, Schichiri, Kobashi, Yamabe, (1988) Synth. Met., 24, p. 167Stafström, Brédas, Epstein, Woo, Tanner, Huang, MacDiarmid, Polaron lattice in highly conducting polyaniline: Theoretical and optical studies (1987) Physical Review Letters, 59, p. 1464Galvão, dos Santos, Laks, de Melo, Caldas, Role of disorder in the conduction mechanism in polyanilines (1989) Physical Review Letters, 63, p. 786Anderson, (1958) Phys. Rev., 109, p. 1492Wu, Phillips, (1991) Phys. Rev. Lett., 66, p. 1366Dunlap, Wu, Phillips, (1990) Phys. Rev. Lett., 65, p. 88Shulz, Galvão, Caldas, Conductivity of polymer chains: A tunneling approach (1991) Physical Review B, 44, p. 6073Lavarda, Galvão, Laks, (1992) Phys. Rev. B, 45, p. 3107Wang, Scherr, MacDiarmid, Epstein, (1992) Phys. Rev. B, 45, p. 4190Jeon, Kim, Gallagher, Willis, (1992) Science, 256, p. 1662E.M. Conwell and H.A. Mizes, preprintQ. Li, L. Cruz, and P. Phillips, preprintDean, Vibrational Spectra of Diatomic Chains (1960) Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 254, p. 507Seel, (1973) Chem. Phys., 43, p. 10

The potential role of exercise in neuro-oncology

Patients with brain and other central nervous system cancers experience debilitating physical, cognitive, and emotional effects, which significantly compromise quality of life. Few efficacious pharmacological strategies or supportive care interventions exist to ameliorate these sequelae and patients report high levels of unmet needs in these areas. There is strong theoretical rationale to suggest exercise may be an effective intervention to aid in the management of neuro-oncological disorders. Clinical research has established the efficacy of appropriate exercise in counteracting physical impairments such as fatigue and functional decline, cognitive impairment, as well as psychological effects including depression and anxiety. While there is promise for exercise to enhance physical and psychosocial wellbeing of patients diagnosed with neurologic malignancies, these patients have unique needs and research is urgently required to explore optimal exercise prescription specific to these patients to maximize safety and efficacy. This perspective article is a discussion of potential rehabilitative effects of targeted exercise programs for patients with brain and other central nervous system cancers and highlights future research directions

Poly(alkylthiophenes): Chain Conformation And Thermochromism

The role of conformational disorder in the electronic structure of alkyl-substituted polythiophene is investigated. Thermally-induced twisting of thiophene rings out of the main conjugation plane is assumed. AM1 geometry optimizations were carried out to obtain the molecular torsion potential curves for substituted bithiophenes. Total torsion potentials acting on inter-ring rotations are assumed to come from two contributions, the molecular potential and a phenomenological 'solid state potential' that accounts for inter-chain interactions. It is found that the molecular potential for rotations does not depend on the length of the alkyl group but only on the regiochemistry of substitution. A long, disordered thiophene chain is built to be representative of a classical probability distribution of torsion angles. The electronic structure associated with valence and conduction π bands is calculated within VEH pseudopotential theory and the NFC technique. The dependence of the optical gap on temperature is obtained and is in agreement with experiment. © 1992.511-3203209Agencia Nacional de Investigacion e Innovacion (ANII),Centro Latinoamericano de Estudios en Informatica (CLEI),et al.,Google,Universidad de la Republica, CSIC,Yahoo! LabsSouto Maior, Hinkelmann, Eckert, Wudl, (1990) Macromolecules, 23, p. 1268Inganäs, Gustafsson, Salaneck, Thermochromism in thin films of poly(3-alkylthiophenes) (1989) Synthetic Metals, 28, p. C377Winokur, Spiegel, Kim, Hotta, Heeger, Structural and absorption studies of the thermochromic transition in poly(3-hexylthiophene) (1989) Synthetic Metals, 28, p. C419dos Santos, Galvão, Laks, dos Santos, (1991) Chem. Phys. Lett., 184, p. 579dos Santos, Galvão, Laks, dos Santos, (1991) Synth. Met., 41-43, p. 3521Dewar, Thiel, (1977) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 99, p. 4899Dewar, Thiel, (1977) J. Am. Chem. Soc., 99, p. 4907André, Brédas, Delhalle, Vanderveken, Vercauteren, Fripiat, (1990) Modern Techniques in Computational Chemistry: MOTECC90, p. 745. , VEH, E. Clementi, ECOM, LeidenStafström, Brédas, Epstein, Woo, Tanner, Huang, MacDiarmid, Polaron lattice in highly conducting polyaniline: Theoretical and optical studies (1987) Physical Review Letters, 59, p. 1464Lazzaroni, Sato, Salaneck, dos Santos, Brédas, Tooze, Clark, (1990) Chem. Phys. Lett., 175, p. 175Ladik, Seel, Otto, Bakhshi, (1986) Chem. Phys., 108, p. 203Thémas, André, Brédas, Electronic structure of the alkyl, benzyl and methoxy derivatives of polythiophene (1987) Synthetic Metals, 21, p. 149Salaneck, Inganäs, Thémans, Nilsson, Sjogren, Osterholm, Brédas, Svensson, Thermochromism in poly(3-hexylthiophene) in the solid state: A spectroscopic study of temperature-dependent conformational defects (1989) The Journal of Chemical Physics, 89, p. 4613Cui, Kertesz, (1989) Phys. Rev. B, 40, p. 9661Thémans, Salaneck, Brédas, Theoretical study of the influence of thermochromic effects on the electronic structure of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (1989) Synthetic Metals, 28, p. C359Salaneck, Inganäs, Nilsson, Osterholm, Thémans, Brédas, Thermochromism in the poly(3-alkylthiophene)s: A study of conformational defects by photoelectron spectroscopy (1989) Synthetic Metals, 28, p. C451Tashiro, Ono, Minagawa, Kobayashi, Kawai, Yoshino, (1991) Synth. Met., 41-43, p. 57