Hydrocarbon Biogeochemical Setting of the Baffin Island Oil Spill Experimental Sites. III. Biota

A baseline for petroleum residues in the Cape Hatt region of Baffin Island in arctic Canada was obtained in anticipation of controlled oil releases of the Baffin Island Oil Spill (BIOS) Project. Tissue hydrocarbons in a variety of arctic marine species were dominated by biogenic hydrocarbons. UV/F analysis of tissues indicated an upper limit of petroleum residues in the low to sub micro g/g concentration range. PAHs were detected in samples in the low ng/g concentration range and revealed a distribution of the combustion type. The hydrocarbon baseline in the BIOS study area was found to be as low as might be found anywhere on earth and therefore ideally suited to the BIOS study.Key words: BIOS, arctic marine Canada, hydrocarbon baseline, organismsMots clés: BIOS, Arctique marin canadien, niveau de référence d’hydrocarbures, organisme

Generating large labeled data sets for laparoscopic image processing tasks using unpaired image-to-image translation

In the medical domain, the lack of large training data sets and benchmarks is often a limiting factor for training deep neural networks. In contrast to expensive manual labeling, computer simulations can generate large and fully labeled data sets with a minimum of manual effort. However, models that are trained on simulated data usually do not translate well to real scenarios. To bridge the domain gap between simulated and real laparoscopic images, we exploit recent advances in unpaired image-to-image translation. We extent an image-to-image translation method to generate a diverse multitude of realistically looking synthetic images based on images from a simple laparoscopy simulation. By incorporating means to ensure that the image content is preserved during the translation process, we ensure that the labels given for the simulated images remain valid for their realistically looking translations. This way, we are able to generate a large, fully labeled synthetic data set of laparoscopic images with realistic appearance. We show that this data set can be used to train models for the task of liver segmentation of laparoscopic images. We achieve average dice scores of up to 0.89 in some patients without manually labeling a single laparoscopic image and show that using our synthetic data to pre-train models can greatly improve their performance. The synthetic data set will be made publicly available, fully labeled with segmentation maps, depth maps, normal maps, and positions of tools and camera (http://opencas.dkfz.de/image2image).Comment: Accepted at MICCAI 201

Extracorporeal Photopheresis versus Anticytokine Therapy as a Second-Line Treatment for Steroid-Refractory Acute GVHD: A Multicenter Comparative Analysis

AbstractThe optimal therapy for steroid-refractory (SR) acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is undefined. We studied patients with SR aGVHD, comparing extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP; n = 57) and anticytokine therapy (n = 41). In multivariate analyses, ECP, adjusted for steroid dose (odds ratio, 3.42; P = .007), and grade >II aGVHD (odds ratio, 68; P < .001) were independent predictors of response. ECP therapy, adjusted for conditioning regimen intensity and steroid dose, was associated with superior survival (hazard ratio [HR], 4.6; P = .016) in patients with SR grade II aGVHD. Grade >II aGVHD at onset of salvage therapy (HR, 9.4; P < .001) and lack of response to therapy (HR, 3.09; P = .011) were associated with inferior survival. These findings require validation in a prospective randomized study

Apixaban for Primary Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism in Patients With Multiple Myeloma Receiving Immunomodulatory Therapy

Immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), including thalidomide, lenalidomide, and pomalidomide, have improved survival of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). However, these therapies are associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). Apixaban has been approved for treatment of acute VTE and for risk reduction of recurrent VTE following initial therapy. In this phase IV single-arm study (NCT02958969), we aim to prospectively evaluate the safety and efficacy of apixaban for primary prevention of VTE in patients with MM. The primary efficacy objective of this trial is to determine the rate of symptomatic VTE, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), over 6 months. The primary safety objective is to determine the rate of major bleeding in MM patients receiving apixaban prophylaxis. If proven safe and effective, apixaban will emerge as a promising option for oral VTE prophylaxis in MM patients

Primary plasma cell leukemia: consensus definition by the International Myeloma Working Group according to peripheral blood plasma cell percentage

Primary plasma cell leukemia (PCL) has a consistently ominous prognosis, even after progress in the last decades. PCL deserves a prompt identification to start the most effective treatment for this ultra-high-risk disease. The aim of this position paper is to revisit the diagnosis of PCL according to the presence of circulating plasma cells in patients otherwise meeting diagnostic criteria of multiple myeloma. We could identify two retrospective series where the question about what number of circulating plasma cells in peripheral blood should be used for defining PCL. The presence of ?5% circulating plasma cells in patients with MM had a similar adverse prognostic impact as the previously defined PCL. Therefore, PCL should be defined by the presence of 5% or more circulating plasma cells in peripheral blood smears in patients otherwise diagnosed with symptomatic multiple myeloma.Funding: This work has been supported in part by grants from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Health (FIS PI19/00669), Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) and 2017SGR00792 (AGAUR; Generalitat de Catalunya)

Measuring the predictability of life outcomes with a scientific mass collaboration.

How predictable are life trajectories? We investigated this question with a scientific mass collaboration using the common task method; 160 teams built predictive models for six life outcomes using data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a high-quality birth cohort study. Despite using a rich dataset and applying machine-learning methods optimized for prediction, the best predictions were not very accurate and were only slightly better than those from a simple benchmark model. Within each outcome, prediction error was strongly associated with the family being predicted and weakly associated with the technique used to generate the prediction. Overall, these results suggest practical limits to the predictability of life outcomes in some settings and illustrate the value of mass collaborations in the social sciences

Genetic effects on gene expression across human tissues

Characterization of the molecular function of the human genome and its variation across individuals is essential for identifying the cellular mechanisms that underlie human genetic traits and diseases. The Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project aims to characterize variation in gene expression levels across individuals and diverse tissues of the human body, many of which are not easily accessible. Here we describe genetic effects on gene expression levels across 44 human tissues. We find that local genetic variation affects gene expression levels for the majority of genes, and we further identify inter-chromosomal genetic effects for 93 genes and 112 loci. On the basis of the identified genetic effects, we characterize patterns of tissue specificity, compare local and distal effects, and evaluate the functional properties of the genetic effects. We also demonstrate that multi-tissue, multi-individual data can be used to identify genes and pathways affected by human disease-associated variation, enabling a mechanistic interpretation of gene regulation and the genetic basis of diseas