Second Primary Glioblastoma Multiforme Following Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in a Patient with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Glioblastoma multiforme (GM) is one of the most aggressive primary brain tumors, and has a poor prognosis despite intensive treatment. GM is also the most malignant astrocytoma, with histopathological features that include cellular polymorphism, rapid mitotic activity, microvascular proliferation, and necrosis. The causes of GM remain obscure, but several reports have shown associations between GM and genetic alterations and radiation exposure. Furthermore, high-dose chemotherapy/radiotherapy with autologous stem cell transplantation is increasingly being used to treat patients with leukemia, and patients who undergo stem cell transplantation have a higher risk of solid tumor cancer development later in life. Based on these associations, we discuss GM development in a patient who underwent chemoradiotherapy conditioning prior to stem cell transplantation

Development of a questionnaire to assess sedentary time in older persons -- a comparative study using accelerometry

Background: There is currently no validated questionnaire available to assess total sedentary time in older adults. Most studies only used TV viewing time as an indicator of sedentary time. The first aim of our study was to investigate the self-reported time spent by older persons on a set of sedentary activities, and to compare this with objective sedentary time measured by accelerometry. The second aim was to determine what set of self-reported sedentary activities should be used to validly rank people's total sedentary time. Finally we tested the reliability of our newly developed questionnaire using the best performing set of sedentary activities. Methods. The study sample included 83 men and women aged 65-92 y, a random sample of Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam participants, who completed a questionnaire including ten sedentary activities and wore an Actigraph GT3X accelerometer for 8 days. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to examine the association between self-reported time and objective sedentary time. The test-retest reliability was calculated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Results: Mean total self-reported sedentary time was 10.4 (SD 3.5) h/d and was not significantly different from mean total objective sedentary time (10.2 (1.2) h/d, p = 0.63). Total self-reported sedentary time on an average day (sum of ten activities) correlated moderately (Spearman's r = 0.35, p < 0.01) with total objective sedentary time. The correlation improved when using the sum of six activities (r = 0.46, p < 0.01), and was much higher than when using TV watching only (r = 0.22, p = 0.05). The test-retest reliability of the sum of six sedentary activities was 0.71 (95% CI 0.57-0.81). Conclusions: A questionnaire including six sedentary activities was moderately associated with accelerometry-derived sedentary time and can be used to reliably rank sedentary time in older persons. © 2013 Visser and Koster; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Relative contribution of various chronic diseases and multi-morbidity to potential disability among Dutch elderly

BACKGROUND: The amount of time spent living with disease greatly influences elderly people’s wellbeing, disability and healthcare costs, but differs by disease, age and sex. METHODS: We assessed how various single and combined diseases differentially affect life years spent living with disease in Dutch elderly men and women (65+) over their remaining life course. Multistate life table calculations were applied to age and sex-specific disease prevalence, incidence and death rates for the Netherlands in 2007. We distinguished congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease (CHD), breast and prostate cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, diabetes, COPD, stroke, dementia and osteoarthritis. RESULTS: Across ages 65, 70, 75, 80 and 85, CHD caused the most time spent living with disease for Dutch men (from 7.6 years at age 65 to 3.7 years at age 85) and osteoarthritis for Dutch women (from 11.7 years at age 65 to 4. 8 years at age 85). Of the various co-occurrences of disease, the combination of diabetes and osteoarthritis led to the most time spent living with disease, for both men (from 11.2 years at age 65 to 4.9 -years at age 85) and women (from 14.2 years at age 65 to 6.0 years at age 85). CONCLUSIONS: Specific single and multi-morbid diseases affect men and women differently at different phases in the life course in terms of the time spent living with disease, and consequently, their potential disability. Timely sex and age-specific interventions targeting prevention of the single and combined diseases identified could reduce healthcare costs and increase wellbeing in elderly people

TOI-733 b: A planet in the small-planet radius valley orbiting a Sun-like star

We report the discovery of a hot (Teq ≈ 1055 K) planet in the small-planet radius valley that transits the Sun-like star TOI-733. It was discovered as part of the KESPRINT follow-up program of TESS planets carried out with the HARPS spectrograph. TESS photometry from sectors 9 and 36 yields an orbital period of {equation presented} days and a radius of {equation presented}. Multi-dimensional Gaussian process modelling of the radial velocity measurements from HARPS and activity indicators gives a semi-amplitude of K = 2.23 ± 0.26 m s-1, translating into a planet mass of {equation presented}. These parameters imply that the planet is of moderate density ({equation presented}) and place it in the transition region between rocky and volatile-rich planets with H/He-dominated envelopes on the mass-radius diagram. Combining these with stellar parameters and abundances, we calculated planet interior and atmosphere models, which in turn suggest that TOI-733 b has a volatile-enriched, most likely secondary outer envelope, and may represent a highly irradiated ocean world. This is one of only a few such planets around G-type stars that are well characterised

TOI-1130: A photodynamical analysis of a hot Jupiter in resonance with an inner low-mass planet

The TOI-1130 is a known planetary system around a K-dwarf consisting of a gas giant planet, TOI-1130 c on an 8.4-day orbit that is accompanied by an inner Neptune-sized planet, TOI-1130 b, with an orbital period of 4.1 days. We collected precise radial velocity (RV) measurements of TOI-1130 with the HARPS and PFS spectrographs as part of our ongoing RV follow-up program. We performed a photodynamical modeling of the HARPS and PFS RVs, along with transit photometry from the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the TESS Follow-up Observing Program (TFOP). We determined the planet masses and radii of TOI-1130 b and TOI-1130 c to be Mb = 19.28 ± 0.97M⊕ and Rb = 3.56 ± 0.13 R⊕, and Mc = 325.59 ± 5.59M⊕ and Rc = 13.32-1.41+1.55 R⊕, respectively. We have spectroscopically confirmed the existence of TOI-1130 b, which had previously only been validated. We find that the two planets have orbits with small eccentricities in a 2:1 resonant configuration. This is the first known system with a hot Jupiter and an inner lower mass planet locked in a mean-motion resonance. TOI-1130 belongs to the small, yet growing population of hot Jupiters with an inner low-mass planet that poses a challenge to the pathway scenario for hot Jupiter formation. We also detected a linear RV trend that is possibly due to the presence of an outer massive companion

Eenzaamheid en zelfmanagementvaardigheden bij visueel beperkte ouderen

 0,001). De multivariate hiërarchische regressieanalyse toont aan dat de zelfmanagementvaardigheid self-efficacy, partner status en zelfwaardering samenhangen met eenzaamheid. Visus-gerelateerde variabelen, zoals de ernst en de duur van de visuele beperking, zijn niet geassocieerd met eenzaamheid. Discussie. Visueel beperkte ouderen zijn een risicogroep als het gaat om eenzaamheid. De samenhang met zelfmanagementvaardigheden biedt mogelijkheden aangezien deze vaardigheden aangeleerd kunnen worden en daarmee eenzaamheidsgevoelens bij visueel beperkte ouderen kunnen verminderen. Een aangepaste versie van dit paper is verschenen in Journal of Aging and Health, doi:10.1177/0898264311399758

In Support of a Patient-Driven Initiative and Petition to Lower the High Price of Cancer Drugs

Comment in Lowering the High Cost of Cancer Drugs--III. [Mayo Clin Proc. 2016] Lowering the High Cost of Cancer Drugs--I. [Mayo Clin Proc. 2016] Lowering the High Cost of Cancer Drugs--IV. [Mayo Clin Proc. 2016] In Reply--Lowering the High Cost of Cancer Drugs. [Mayo Clin Proc. 2016] US oncologists call for government regulation to curb drug price rises. [BMJ. 2015

The planetary system around HD 190622 (TOI-1054): Measuring the gas content of low-mass planets orbiting F-stars

Context. Giant planets are known to dominate the long-term stability of planetary systems due to their prevailing gravitational interactions, but they are also thought to play an important role in planet formation. Observational constraints improve our understanding of planetary formation processes such as the delivery of volatile-rich planetesimals from beyond the ice line into the inner planetary system. Additional constraints may come from studies of the atmosphere, but almost all such studies of the atmosphere investigate the detection of certain species, and abundances are not routinely quantitatively measured. Aims. Accurate measurements of planetary bulk parameters-that is, mass and density-provide constraints on the inner structure and chemical composition of transiting planets. This information provides insight into properties such as the amounts of volatile species, which in turn can be related to formation and evolution processes. Methods. The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) reported a planetary candidate around HD 190622 (TOI-1054), which was subsequently validated and found to merit further characterization with photometric and spectroscopic facilities. The KESPRINT collaboration used data from the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS) to independently confirm the planetary candidate, securing its mass, and revealing the presence of an outer giant planet in the system. The CHEOPS consortium invested telescope time in the transiting target in order to reduce the uncertainty on the radius, improving the characterization of the planet. Results. We present the discovery and characterization of the planetary system around HD 190622 (TOI-1054). This system hosts one transiting planet, which is smaller than Neptune (3.087-0.053+0.058REarth, 7.7 ± 1.0 MEarth) but has a similar bulk density (1.43 ± 0.21 g cm-3) and an orbital period of 16 days; and a giant planet, not known to be transiting, with a minimum mass of 227.0 ± 6.7 MEarth in an orbit with a period of 315 days. Conclusions. Our measurements constrain the structure and composition of the transiting planet. HD 190622b has singular properties among the known population of transiting planets, which we discuss in detail. Among the sub-Neptune-sized planets known today, this planet stands out because of its large gas content

The Multiplanet System TOI-421*: A Warm Neptune and a Super Puffy Mini-Neptune Transiting a G9 V Star in a Visual Binary*

We report the discovery of a warm Neptune and a hot sub-Neptune transiting TOI-421 (BD-14 1137, TIC 94986319), a bright (V = 9.9) G9 dwarf star in a visual binary system observed by the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) space mission in Sectors 5 and 6. We performed ground-based follow-up observations—comprised of Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope transit photometry, NIRC2 adaptive optics imaging, and FIbre-fed Echellé Spectrograph, CORALIE, High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher, High Resolution Échelle Spectrometer, and Planet Finder Spectrograph high-precision Doppler measurements—and confirmed the planetary nature of the 16 day transiting candidate announced by the TESS team. We discovered an additional radial velocity signal with a period of five days induced by the presence of a second planet in the system, which we also found to transit its host star. We found that the inner mini-Neptune, TOI-421 b, has an orbital period of Pb = 5.19672 ± 0.00049 days, a mass of Mb = 7.17 ± 0.66 M⊕, and a radius of Rb = ${2.68}_{-0.18}^{+0.19}$ R⊕, whereas the outer warm Neptune, TOI-421 c, has a period of Pc = 16.06819 ± 0.00035 days, a mass of Mc = ${16.42}_{-1.04}^{+1.06}$ M⊕, a radius of Rc = ${5.09}_{-0.15}^{+0.16}$ R⊕, and a density of ρc = ${0.685}_{-0.072}^{+0.080}$ g cm−3. With its characteristics, the outer planet (ρc = ${0.685}_{-0.072}^{+0.080}$ g cm−3) is placed in the intriguing class of the super-puffy mini-Neptunes. TOI-421 b and TOI-421 c are found to be well-suited for atmospheric characterization. Our atmospheric simulations predict significant Lyα transit absorption, due to strong hydrogen escape in both planets, as well as the presence of detectable CH4 in the atmosphere of TOI-421 c if equilibrium chemistry is assumed