Association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women with metastatic breast cancer in Albania

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in post-communist Albania. Methods: A case-series study was carried out during the period January 2010 – September 2017 including 110 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases at the Oncology Service of the University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, the Albanian capital. Of these, 57 (51.8%) patients had evidence of hepatic metastases, whereas the reaming 53 (48.2%) patients had metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs. CEA and CA15-3 were measured at the time of diagnosis for all study participants. In addition, information on socio-demographic factors was collected. General linear model was used to assess the relationship of CEA and CA15-3 with covariates.      Results: There was evidence of a significant correlation between CEA and CA15-3 levels (Spearman’s rho=0.59, P<0.001). Upon simultaneous adjustment for all covariates, mean values of CEA and CA15-3 were significantly higher in patients with metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs compared with their counterparts with metastases in the liver. Also, CA15-3 levels were significantly higher in younger patients compared with their older counterparts. Conclusion: This study provides valuable evidence on selected correlates of CEA and CA15-3 in Albanian female patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Oncologists and other health professionals in Albania, as well as decision-makers and policymakers should be aware of the burden and risk factors of breast cancer among women in this transitional society.            &nbsp

Association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women with metastatic breast cancer in Albania

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in post-communist Albania.Methods: A case-series study was carried out during the period January 2010 – September 2017 including 110 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases at the Oncology Service of the University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, the Albanian capital. Of these, 57 (51.8%) patients had evidence of hepatic metastases, whereas the reaming 53 (48.2%) patients had metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs. CEA and CA15-3 were measured at the time of diagnosis for all study participants. In addition, information on socio-demographic factors was collected. General linear model was used to assess the relationship of CEA and CA15-3 with covariates.     Results: There was evidence of a significant correlation between CEA and CA15-3 levels (Spearman’s rho=0.59, P<0.001). Upon simultaneous adjustment for all covariates, mean values of CEA and CA15-3 were significantly higher in patients with metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs compared with their counterparts with metastases in the liver. Also, CA15-3 levels were significantly higher in younger patients compared with their older counterparts.Conclusion: This study provides valuable evidence on selected correlates of CEA and CA15-3 in Albanian female patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Oncologists and other health professionals in Albania, as well as decision-makers and policymakers should be aware of the burden and risk factors of breast cancer among women in this transitional society.          

Music and imperfect information influence player behavior

The video game industry grows bigger and bigger with each year and this growth does not seem to slow down anytime soon. With that, it's important for society and video game developers to know how this media affects the players playing the game as it's already a very big industry, with large numbers of players playing video games every day. Game designers have, and are using information horizons to influence the players in different ways, an example of this is making the player play more cautiously. There have also been previous studies that have shown that music has an impact on a player's behavior and performance while playing a video game, making players more stressed and aggressive being a conclusion for some studies. With this in mind, this study delves deeper into how music in conjunction with information horizons affects a player, playing a video game. This was done by using a controlled experiment in conjunction with a first-person shooter game, the goal of the game being clearing out a linear level of turrets using an automatic rifle. One group of test subjects played a version of the game consisting of high-tension music and information horizon in play, with another group of test subjects playing the same game without these effects in play. Data was collected in the background from each test subject's playthrough and this data was then analyzed and compared between both groups. From the data gathered it seems that music made the players play faster and more aggressively, with the information horizons effect being diminished by the music's overpowering effect. This is in line with numerous previous studies that have gotten similar end results from the effects of music in video games, with an existing research gap with regards to information horizon making the effects of the information horizon unclear.  The end results showed that group 1, playing the version of the game with high tension music and information horizon in play, had fired their weapons more, been less accurate with their shots, destroyed turrets slower, had more deaths, and played faster. These results indicate increased stress levels and aggressiveness with group 1’s test subjects

Association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA 15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women with metastatic breast cancer in Albania

Aim: The aim of our study was to assess the association of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cancer antigen 15-3 (CA15-3) with socio-demographic factors and metastases site in women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in post-communist Albania. Methods: A case-series study was carried out during the period January 2010 – September 2017 including 110 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases at the Oncology Service of the University Hospital Centre “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, the Albanian capital. Of these, 57 (51.8%) patients had evidence of hepatic metastases, whereas the reaming 53 (48.2%) patients had metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs. CEA and CA15-3 were measured at the time of diagnosis for all study participants. In addition, information on socio-demographic factors was collected. General linear model was used to assess the relationship of CEA and CA15-3 with covariates.      Results: There was evidence of a significant correlation between CEA and CA15-3 levels (Spearman’s rho=0.59, P<0.001). Upon simultaneous adjustment for all covariates, mean values of CEA and CA15-3 were significantly higher in patients with metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs compared with their counterparts with metastases in the liver. Also, CA15-3 levels were significantly higher in younger patients compared with their older counterparts. Conclusion: This study provides valuable evidence on selected correlates of CEA and CA15-3 in Albanian female patients diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer. Oncologists and other health professionals in Albania, as well as decision-makers and policymakers should be aware of the burden and risk factors of breast cancer among women in this transitional society

5G Network Deployment at UBT: Features, capabilities and challenges

In this work, we describe our experience in deploying a 5G network at UBT targeting different 5G use cases through the virtualization of the underlying infrastructure. This paper describes the features and capabilities of the 5G network followed by the description of the challenges we faced while building this network, which could require further study and will open up new research opportunities in this space. The purpose of this deployed network is to allow students, researchers and academics to test and experiment with the features and capabilities of novel designs and solutions with very rigid technical requirements, i.e. very high bandwidth and very low latency by using network slicing and multi-access edge computing (MEC).. It helps to create a platform that would enable the customization and benchmarking of different prototypes for different use cases and scenarios. Furthermore, this paper will highlight the intention to continue to use the network for more bandwidth-hungry applications, such as the integration of immersive technologies with 5G and the enhancement of the user experience through the immersive technologies

CARACTERISTICILE SOCIO-DEMOGRAFICE ALE PACIENTELOR CU CANCER DE SÂN METASTATIC ÎN ALBANIA

Background: The aim of this study was to describe the socio-demographic factors of patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases in different sites among women in Albania, a transitional country in Southeastern Europe. Methods: A case-series study was conducted in Tirana during the period January 2010 – September 2017 including 110 female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases in different sites at the Oncology Service of the University Hospital Center “Mother Teresa” in Tirana, the Albanian capital city. Of these, 57 (51.8%) patients had evidence of hepatic metastases, whereas the reaming 53 (48.2%) patients had metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs. A wide array of socio-demographic information was collected for all study participants.  Results: The overall mean age of women included in this study was 57.1±11.9 years. Upon multivariable adjustment for all socio-demographic characteristics, the odds of being born and/or residing in other districts of Albania rather than in Tirana and the odds of residing in rural areas of Albania were significantly higher in patients with metastases in the bones and/or in the lungs compared with their counterparts with hepatic metastases. Conclusion: This report provides valuable information about the distribution of socio-demographic characteristics in Albanian female patients diagnosed with breast cancer with metastases in different sites. Health professionals and policymakers in Albania should be aware of the increasing trend of different types of tumors including breast cancer among women.           Keywords: Albania, bone metastases, breast cancer, hepatic metastases, lung metastases, oncology, tumors.Context: Scopul studiului a fost de a descrie factorii socio-demografici ai pacientelor diagnosticate cu cancer de s&acirc;n cu metastaze &icirc;n diferite zone din organism, &icirc;n r&acirc;ndul femeilor din Albania, o țară &icirc;n tranziție din sud-estul Europei. &nbsp; Metode: &Icirc;n perioada ianuarie 2010 - septembrie 2017 a fost efectuat un studiu tip serii de caz, care a inclus 110 paciente de sex feminin diagnosticate cu cancer de s&acirc;n cu metastaze &icirc;n diferite zone ale organismului, &icirc;n cadrul Serviciului de Oncologie al Centrului "Maica Teresa" din Spitalul Universitar din Tirana, capitala Albaniei. Un număr de 57 paciente (51,8%) au prezentat metastaze hepatice, &icirc;n timp ce 53 dintre paciente (48,2%) au avut metastaze &icirc;n oase și/sau &icirc;n plăm&acirc;ni. O serie de informații socio-demografice au fost colectate pentru toate participantele la studiu. &nbsp; Rezultate: V&acirc;rsta medie generală a femeilor incluse &icirc;n acest studiu a fost de 57,1 &plusmn; 11,9 ani. După ponderarea multivariabilă a tuturor caracteristicilor socio-demografice, probabilitatea de a fi născute și/sau de a locui &icirc;n alte regiuni ale Albaniei, altele dec&acirc;t Tirana, și probabilitatea de a locui &icirc;n zonele rurale din Albania au fost semnificativ mai mari la pacientele cu metastaze la nivelul oaselor și/sau &icirc;n plăm&acirc;ni, comparativ cu pacientele cu metastaze hepatice. &nbsp; Concluzii: Acest studiu oferă informații valoroase despre distribuția caracteristicilor socio-demografice la pacientele albaneze diagnosticate cu cancer de s&acirc;n cu diferite metastaze. Profesioniștii din domeniul sănătății și factorii de decizie politică din Albania ar trebui să fie conștienți de trend-ul &icirc;n creștere a diferitelor tipuri de tumori, inclusiv a cancerului de s&acirc;n &icirc;n r&acirc;ndul femeilor. &nbsp; Cuvinte cheie: Albania, metastaze osoase, cancer mamar, metastaze hepatice, metastaze pulmonare, oncologie, tumori

The 6th Albanian Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery

After a three-year quarantine from the deadliest global pandemic of the last century, ASTES is organizing to gather all health professionals in Tirana, The 6th Albanian Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery(ACTES 2022) on 11-12 November 2022, with the topic Trauma & Emergency Surgery and not only...with the aim of providing high quality, the best standards, and the best results, for our patients ...ACTES 2022 is the largest event that ASTES (Albanian Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery) has organized so far with 230 presentations, and 67 foreign lecturers with enviable geography, making it the largest national and wider scientific event.The scientific program is as strong as ever, thanks to the inclusiveness, where all the participants with a mix of foreign and local lecturers, select the best of the moment in medical science, innovation, and observation.The scientific committee has selected all the presentations so that the participants of each medical discipline will have something to learn, discuss, debate, and agree with updated methods, techniques, and protocols.I hope you will join us on Friday morning, and continue the journey of our two-day event together