Comparative study of quality of life in breast cancer patients receiving two different chemotherapy regimens using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Questionnaire-Core 30 questionnaire module; for tolerability and safety

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most frequent occurring cancers in women and burgeoning worldwide. It is the second most common malignancy in India after carcinoma of the uterine cervix. In clinical trials, quality of life (QOL) outcome measurements is an important as endpoints with improving subjects physical, emotional, and social well-being.Methods: In this study, we were evaluated the comparison of the QOL in breast cancer patients on anthracycline-based regimen (six cycles of 5-fluorouracil, adriamycin, and cyclophosphamide [FAC] for a period of 18 weeks) and taxane-containing regimen (four cycles of adriamycin and cyclophosphamide [AC] followed by four cycles of paclitaxel [PTX] for a period of 24 weeks) using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Questionnaire-Core 30.Results: During first 3 months of therapy, both treatment groups exhibited a reduction in health-related QOL (HRQOL) with no clinically significant difference between them. The effect on HRQOL was less evident 3 weeks after completing chemotherapy with HRQOL of both groups returning to near baseline scores.Conclusions: Both treatment regimens (FAC and AC → PTX [AC followed by PTX]) were equally tolerated in patients

Identification of the Moving Junction Complex of Toxoplasma gondii: A Collaboration between Distinct Secretory Organelles

Apicomplexan parasites, including Toxoplasma gondii and Plasmodium sp., are obligate intracellular protozoa. They enter into a host cell by attaching to and then creating an invagination in the host cell plasma membrane. Contact between parasite and host plasma membranes occurs in the form of a ring-shaped moving junction that begins at the anterior end of the parasite and then migrates posteriorly. The resulting invagination of host plasma membrane creates a parasitophorous vacuole that completely envelops the now intracellular parasite. At the start of this process, apical membrane antigen 1 (AMA1) is released onto the parasite surface from specialized secretory organelles called micronemes. The T. gondii version of this protein, TgAMA1, has been shown to be essential for invasion but its exact role has not previously been determined. We identify here a trio of proteins that associate with TgAMA1, at least one of which associates with TgAMA1 at the moving junction. Surprisingly, these new proteins derive not from micronemes, but from the anterior secretory organelles known as rhoptries and specifically, for at least two, from the neck portion of these club-shaped structures. Homologues for these AMA1-associated proteins are found throughout the Apicomplexa strongly suggesting that this moving junction apparatus is a conserved feature of this important class of parasites. Differences between the contributing proteins in different species may, in part, be the result of selective pressure from the different niches occupied by these parasites

Avelumab in European patients (pts) with metastatic Merkel cell carcinoma (mMCC): Experience from an ad-hoc expanded access program (EAP)

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An A3P approach towards Image Privacy on Social Sites

Usage of social media’s has been considerably increasing in today’s world which enables the user to share their personal information like images with other users. This improved technology leads to privacy desecration where the users can share large number of images across the network. To provide security for the information, we put forward this paper consisting Adaptive Privacy Policy Prediction (A3P) framework to help users create security measures for their images. The role of images and its metadata are studied as a measure of user’s privacy preferences. The Framework defines the best privacy policy for the uploaded images. It includes an Image classification framework for association of images with similar policies and a policy prediction technique to automatically generate a privacy policy for user-uploaded images

Effect of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum) seed powder on lipid profile: A single blind placebo controlled study

Background: Dyslipidemia is one of the most prevalent risk factors contributing to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Clinical trials have demonstrated that treatment of dyslipidemia reduces cardiovascular events. Fenugreek seed powder supplementation has lipid-lowering activity, but has not been studied extensively. In light of this, we undertook the present study at tertiary care hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, with the aim of studying the effect of fenugreek seed powder on serum lipid profile in patients with dyslipidemia & to determine the adverse effects of it. Methods: The study was a single blind placebo controlled study conducted on 60 patients with dyslipidemia from June 2022 to November 2022, after meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: It was found significant decrease in serum total cholesterol (237.32 to 204.51mg/dl) p value 0.05, without any major side effects. Conclusion: Fenugreek seed powder significantly lowers serum total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels in dyslipidemia patients, with no effect on serum HDL cholesterol levels. fenugreek seed powder supplementation considerably improves lipid Profile. Hence it could be well-thought-out as an effective lipid lowering nutritional supplement. Further high quality & large scale studies are needed to decisively establish the clinical efficacy of fenugreek seed powder

Widespread Proteome Remodeling and Aggregation in Aging C-elegans

Aging has been associated with a progressive decline of proteostasis, but how this process affects proteome composition remains largely unexplored. Here, we profiled more than 5,000 proteins along the lifespan of the nematode C. elegans. We find that one-third of proteins change in abundance at least 2-fold during aging, resulting in a severe proteome imbalance. These changes are reduced in the long-lived daf-2 mutant but are enhanced in the short-lived daf-16 mutant. While ribosomal proteins decline and lose normal stoichiometry, proteasome complexes increase. Proteome imbalance is accompanied by widespread protein aggregation, with abundant proteins that exceed solubility contributing most to aggregate load. Notably, the properties by which proteins are selected for aggregation differ in the daf-2 mutant, and an increased formation of aggregates associated with small heat-shock proteins is observed. We suggest that sequestering proteins into chaperone-enriched aggregates is a protective strategy to slow proteostasis decline during nematode aging

PROMIS CAT in SLE Personal non-commercial use only

ABSTRACT. Objective. The aims of this study were to assess the construct validity and the test-retest reliability of Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) computerized adaptive tests (CAT) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SL

Spectral variability analysis of in-situ hyperspectral remote sensing at leaf and branch scales for tree species at tropical urban forest

Spectral variability analysis has been carried out on in-situ hyperspectral remote sensing data for 20 tree species available in tropical forest in Malaysia. Five different spectral ranges have been tested to evaluate the influence of intra-species spectral variability at specific spectral range given by different spatial scales (i.e. leaf to branch scales). The degree of intra-species spectral variability was not constant among different spectral ranges where the influence of spatial scale towards intra-species spectral variability at these spectral ranges was found increasing from leaf to branch scale. The ratio of leaves to non-photosynthetic tissues has made branch scale significantly influent the intra-species spectral variability. Results have shown that a specific spectral range was species sensitive on the intra-species and inter-species spectral variability in this study. This study also suggested the use of species sensitive wavelengths extracted from specific spectral range in hyperspectral remote sensing data in order to achieve good accuracy in tree species classification

17β-estradiol protects male mice from cuprizone-induced demyelination and oligodendrocyte loss

In addition to regulating reproductive functions in the brain and periphery, estrogen has trophic and neuroprotective functions in the central nervous system (CNS). Estrogen administration has been demonstrated to provide protection in several animal models of CNS disorders, including stroke, brain injury, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, age-related cognitive decline and multiple sclerosis. Here, we use a model of toxin-induced oligodendrocyte death which results in demyelination, reactive gliosis, recruitment of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and subsequent remyelination to study the potential benefit of 17β-estradiol (E2) administration in male mice. The results indicate that E2 partially ameliorates loss of oligodendrocytes and demyelination in the corpus callosum. This protection is accompanied by a delay in microglia accumulation as well as reduced mRNA expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα), and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). E2 did not significantly alter the accumulation of astrocytes or oligodendrocyte precursor cells, or remyelination. These data obtained from a toxin-induced, T cell-independent model using male mice provide an expanded view of the beneficial effects of estrogen on oligodendrocyte and myelin preservation

Diagnostic dilemmas of squamous differentiation in prostate carcinoma case report and review of the literature

We report a case of pure squamous cell carcinoma involving the prostate and urinary bladder and describe the diagnostic dilemmas that we faced in trying to determine its origin. The patient was diagnosed ten years ago with prostatic adenocarcinoma treated with radioactive seed implantation. During the last year he also underwent a TURP procedure for urinary obstruction complicated by multiple infections. Postsurgery, the patient developed colo-urethral fistula and decision to perform cystprostatectomy was taken. Excision illustrated a tumor mass replacing the entire prostate that microscopically proved to be squamous cell carcinoma. The challenge that we encountered was to determine its origin, the possibilities being divergent differentiation from adenocarcinoma post radiation therapy, de novo neoplasm or urothelial carcinoma with extensive squamous differentiation. Our literature review showed also that the etiology of prostatic squamous carcinoma is still unclear. We present our approach in an attempt to solve this dilemma