Metformin: a modulator of bevacizumab activity in cancer? A case report.

Recurrent type I endometrial cancer ((EC)) has poor prognosis and demands novel therapeutic approaches. Bevacizumab, a VEGF-A neutralizing monoclonal antibody, has shown clinical activity in this setting. To our knowledge, however, although some diabetic cancer patients treated with bevacizumab may also take metformin, whether metformin modulates response to anti-VEGF therapy has not yet been investigated. Here, we report the case of a patient with advanced (EC) treated, among other drugs, with bevacizumab in combination with metformin. The patient affected by relapsed (EC) G3 type 1, presented in march 2010 with liver, lungs and mediastinic metastases. After six cycles of paclitaxel and cisplatin she underwent partial response. Later on, she had disease progression notwithstanding administration of multiple lines of chemotherapy. In march 2013, due to brain metastases with coma, she began steroid therapy with development of secondary diabetes. At this time, administration of Bevacizumab plus Metformin improved her performance status. CT scans performed in this time window showed reduced radiologic density of the lung and mediastinic lesions and of liver disease, suggestive of increased tumor necrosis. Strong F-18-FDG uptake by PET imaging along with high levels of monocarboxylate transporter 4 and lack of liver kinase B1 expression in liver metastasis, highlighted metabolic features previously associated with response to anti-VEGF therapy and phenformin in preclinical models. However, clinical benefit was transitory and was followed by rapid and fatal disease progression. These findingsalbeit limited to a single casesuggest that tumors lacking LKB1 expression and/or endowed with an highly glycolytic phenotype might develop large necrotic areas following combined treatment with metformin plus bevacizumab. As metformin is widely used among diabetes patients as well as in ongoing clinical trials in cancer patients, these results deserve further clinical investigation

Soliton Instabilities and Vortex Streets Formation in a Polariton Quantum Fluid

Exciton-polaritons have been shown to be an optimal system in order to investigate the properties of bosonic quantum fluids. We report here on the observation of dark solitons in the wake of engineered circular obstacles and their decay into streets of quantized vortices. Our experiments provide a time-resolved access to the polariton phase and density, which allows for a quantitative study of instabilities of freely evolving polaritons. The decay of solitons is quantified and identified as an effect of disorder-induced transverse perturbations in the dissipative polariton gas

Shopping online using the mobile channel: drivers of buying behaviour for Chinese consumers

The emergence of online channels is opening up to new research topics in the retailing literature. Particularly in China, the multifunctional mobile retailing apps, allowing to buy online and socialize the shopping activity with relatives, friends and followers, are supporting the spread of online shopping. A structural equation model combining both traditional antecedents of online shopping - such as ease of use, time convenience, perceived risk - with emerging drivers like perceived price differentiation and shopping socialization is tested to measure the intention to buy using a smartphone by Chinese people. Empirical findings offer new insights for both scholars and practitioners

Dynamic instance generation for few-shot handwritten document layout segmentation (short paper)

Historical handwritten document analysis is an important activity to retrieve information about our past. Given that this type of process is slow and time-consuming, the humanities community is searching for new techniques that could aid them in this activity. Document layout analysis is a branch of machine learning that aims to extract semantic informations from digitised documents. Here we propose a new framework for handwritten document layout analysis that differentiates from the current state-of-the-art by the fact that it features few-shot learning, thus allowing for good results with little manually labelled data and the dynamic instance generation process. Our results were obtained using the DIVA - HisDB dataset

Estudio y simulación hidrogeológica para la implantación de un acueducto Reconquista, Santa Fe, Argentina

Con el fin de diseñar el campo de bombeo a lo largo de 5 kilómetros de longitud para el abatimiento de los niveles estáticos a los efectos de la construcción del Acueducto desde el Río San Javier al Reconquista se ejecutaron perforaciones de estudio y piezómetros, se realizaron ensayos de caudales y de bombeo. Se determinaron los parámetros hidráulicos formacionales a partir de su interpretación mediante el Esquema de Hantush (1965). A partir de las mediciones de campo y las características del acuífero y su acuitardo se han realizado estimaciones de los descensos inducidos por los bombeos. Las estimaciones se han realizado en régimen permanente y transitorio. El diseño seleccionado abatir los niveles estáticos con un abatimiento de 4 metros del terreno natural, implican utilizar un caudal de 75 m3/hora en perforaciones separadas 10 metros. El diseño permitió alcanzar los objetivos planteados.In order to design the pumping field over 5 kilometers in length for the abatement of static levels for the purpose of the construction of the aqueduct from the San Javier River to Reconquista city perforations and piezometers study were executed, tests and pump flow were conducted. Formational hydraulic parameters were determined from its interpretation by Hantush Method (1965). From the field measurements and the characteristics of the aquifer and aquitard, estimates have been made of the pumping-induced declines. The estimates were made in steady and transient state. The selected design to abate 4 meters the static levels from the soils levels, involve using a flow rate of 75 m3/hr at 10 meters apart perforations. The design allowed for achieving the objectives.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Biological-like vesicular structures self-assembled from DNA-block copolymers

The polymer modification of short nucleotide sequences has been achieved for future use as self-assembled biologically active structures with sizes in the nanometre range. Co-assembly of the resulting DNA-based amphiphilic block copolymers with native proteins demonstrates the self-assembly of biological-like vesicular structures