Sarcoma immunotherapy.

Much of our knowledge regarding cancer immunotherapy has been derived from sarcoma models. However, translation of preclinical findings to bedside success has been limited in this disease, though several intriguing clinical studies hint at the potential efficacy of this treatment modality. The rarity and heterogeneity of tumors of mesenchymal origin continues to be a challenge from a therapeutic standpoint. Nonetheless, sarcomas remain attractive targets for immunotherapy, as they can be characterized by specific epitopes, either from their mesenchymal origins or specific alterations in gene products. To date, standard vaccine trials have proven disappointing, likely due to mechanisms by which tumors equilibrate with and ultimately escape immune surveillance. More sophisticated approaches will likely require multimodal techniques, both by enhancing immunity, but also geared towards overcoming innate mechanisms of immunosuppression that favor tumorigenesis

Don't cancel the surgery just yet! A case report of positive preoperative pregnancy test due to a soft tissue sarcoma production of ectopic beta human chorionic gonadotropin.

Soft tissue sarcomas are a rare group of mesenchymal malignancies which can range from low to high grade. These tumors have different clinical, radiographic, and histopathological characteristics. Beta human chorionic gonadotropin is a naturally secreted hormone by placental syncytiotrophoblast cells during pregnancy. On very rare occasions, sarcomas can develop the ability to ectopically produce human chorionic gonadotropin. Very few cases exist in the literature of soft tissue sarcomas expressing this hormone. We report the case of a 55-year-old female who presented with a posterior thigh soft tissue sarcoma who on the day of surgical resection was found to have an unusually elevated serum human chorionic gonadotropin. Positive immunohistochemical staining of the resected mass confirmed the sarcoma as the source of the beta human chorionic gonadotropin

INFLUENCE OF LAND TENURE ARRANGEMENTS ON GRAZING MANAGEMENT INCENTIVES

Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries,

FACTORS INFLUENCING OPTIMAL STOCKING RATES FROM A TENANT PERSPECTIVE

The terms of grazing lease contracts potentially influence the tenants incentive to preserve the vegetation resource. Annual stocking rate decisions dictate the degree of overgrazing, which can be cumulative over long periods of time. The objective of this study is to identify the impact the tenants planning horizon and cost structure specified in the lease contract has on his/her profit-maximizing stocking rate. A multi-period nonlinear programming model was developed to identify economically optimal stocking rates each year over a 24-year period. The model was solved under 1-, 4-, 8-, and 12-year leases on a per acre and per head basis. The relative importance of each lease alternative and input variable on the tenants optimal stocking rate was ranked based on standardized ordinary least squares coefficient estimates between input values and optimal stocking rates. Planning horizon and cost structure had a minor impact on optimal stocking rates relative to non-lease factors such as livestock prices and production costs. Holding other factors constant, per acre leases generated a 2% higher average stocking rate than per head leases. Optimal stocking rates were inversely related to the length of the lease. Twelve-year lease agreements generated 18 and 13% lower optimal stocking rater than the 1-year per acre and per head lease agreements, respectively. The optimal stocking rate difference between an 8-year and a 12-year lease was negligible, suggesting the 8-year lease would provide a similar incentive to protect vegetation as a lease with a longer planning horizon.Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use,

Improved hydrogen gas production in microbial electrolysis cells using inexpensive recycled carbon fibre fabrics

Growing energy demands of wastewater treatment have made it vital for water companies to develop less energy intensive processes for treating wastewater if net zero emissions are to be achieved by 2050. Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) have the potential to do this by treating water and producing renewable hydrogen gas as a product, but capital and operational costs have slowed their deployment. By using recycled carbon fibre mats, commercially viable MECs can brought closer to reality, where recycled carbon fibre anode MECs treating real wastewater (normalised ~3100 L d−1) were producing 66.77 L H2 d−1 while graphite felt anode MECs produced 3.65 L H2 d−1 per 1 m3 reactor, anodes costing £5.53 m−2 and £88.36 m−2 respectively, resulting in a total anode cost saving of 93%. This could incentivise the development of larger pilot systems, opening the door for generating greater value and a more sustainable wastewater treatment industry

A COMPARISON OF CORE COMPETENCIES OF WOMEN AND MEN LEADERS IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY

This study compared the rankings of fourteen leadership core competencies for women and men managers in middle management and women and men in first-line supervisory positions in five manufacturing companies in the Midwest. Surveys were completed by the respondents and follow-up interviews were conducted. Results indicated that there were no significant differences in the rankings of core competencies between women and men supervisors or women and men managers. However, all supervisors (women and men combined) ranked mentoring and coaching employees higher than all managers (p\u3c.05), and all managers ranked managing finances and employing strategic leadership higher than the supervisors (p\u3c.05). It appears that the role of the leader position may be a more determinant factor in selecting core competencies than the gender of the leader. Including these core competencies in leadership professional development is recommended

Promoting Clean Reliable Energy Through Smart Technologies and Policies: Lessons from Three Distributed Energy Case Studies

Following the blackout of the electric grid in the 1965 it was hypothesized that large central generation would lead to continued reliability problems. More recently, following Hurricane Sandy, there have been additional criticisms of the risks that large centralized electric systems face in terms of system restoration following catastrophic storms. Together these concerns have led some in the electric industry to conclude that bigger is not always better. In 2007, with the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act, Congress initiated policy support for a smarter more distributed grid. Since then, utilities have begun to experiment with more distributed, micro-scale projects that allow sections of the grid to “island” and serve customers locally during catastrophic power outages. This paper examines three very different approaches to explore the benefits of distributed energy technologies as well as the public policies necessary to promote their vibrant future

Treatment for inclusion body myositis

Background Inclusion body myositis (IBM) is a late-onset inflammatory muscle disease (myopathy) associated with progressive proximal and distal limb muscle atrophy and weakness. Treatment options have attempted to target inflammatory and atrophic features of this condition (for example with immunosuppressive and immunomodulating drugs, anabolic steroids, and antioxidant treatments), although as yet there is no known effective treatment for reversing or minimising the progression of inclusion body myositis. In this review we have considered the benefits, adverse effects, and costs of treatment in targeting cardinal effects of the condition, namely muscle atrophy, weakness, and functional impairment. Objectives To assess the effects of treatment for IBM. Search methods On 7 October 2014 we search ed the Cochrane Neuromuscular Disease Group Specialized Register, the Cochrane Central Register for Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE, and EMBASE. Additionally in November 2014 we searched clinical trials registries for ongoing or completed but unpublished trials. Selection criteria We considered randomised or quasi-randomised trials, including cross-over trials, of treatment for IBM in adults compared to placebo or any other treatment for inclusion in the review. We specifically excluded people with familial IBM and hereditary inclusion body myopathy, but we included people who had connective tissue and autoimmune diseases associated with IBM, which may or may not be identified in trials. We did not include studies of exercise therapy or dysphagia management, which are topics of other Cochrane systematic reviews. Data collection and analysis We used standard Cochrane methodological procedures. Main results The review included 10 trials (249 participants) using different treatment regimens. Seven of the 10 trials assessed single agents, and 3 assessed combined agents. Many of the studies did not present adequate data for the reporting of the primary outcome of the review, which was the percentage change in muscle strength score at six months. Pooled data from two trials of interferon beta-1a (n = 58) identified no important difference in normalised manual muscle strength sum scores from baseline to six months (mean difference (MD) -0.06, 95% CI -0.15 to 0.03) between IFN beta-1a and placebo (moderate-quality evidence). A single trial of methotrexate (MTX) (n = 44) provided moderate-quality evidence that MTX did not arrest or slow disease progression, based on reported percentage change in manual muscle strength sum scores at 12 months. None of the fully published trials were adequately powered to detect a treatment effect. We assessed six of the nine fully published trials as providing very low-quality evidence in relation to the primary outcome measure. Three trials (n = 78) compared intravenous immunoglobulin (combined in one trial with prednisone) to a placebo, but we were unable to perform meta-analysis because of variations in study analysis and presentation of trial data, with no access to the primary data for re-analysis. Other comparisons were also reported in single trials. An open trial of anti-T lymphocyte immunoglobulin (ATG) combined with MTX versus MTX provided very low-quality evidence in favour of the combined therapy, based on percentage change in quantitative muscle strength sum scores at 12 months (MD 12.50%, 95% CI 2.43 to 22.57). Data from trials of oxandrolone versus placebo, azathioprine (AZA) combined with MTX versus MTX, and arimoclomol versus placebo did not allow us to report either normalised or percentage change in muscle strength sum scores. A complete analysis of the effects of arimoclomol is pending data publication. Studies of simvastatin and bimagrumab (BYM338) are ongoing. All analysed trials reported adverse events. Only 1 of the 10 trials interpreted these for statistical significance. None of the trials included prespecified criteria for significant adverse events. Authors\u27 conclusions Trials of interferon beta-1a and MTX provided moderate-quality evidence of having no effect on the progression of IBM. Overall trial design limitations including risk of bias, low numbers of participants, and short duration make it difficult to say whether or not any of the drug treatments included in this review were effective. An open trial of ATG combined with MTX versus MTX provided very low-quality evidence in favour of the combined therapy based on the percentage change data given. We were unable to draw conclusions from trials of IVIg, oxandrolone, and AZA plus MTX versus MTX. We need more randomised controlled trials that are larger, of longer duration, and that use fully validated, standardised, and responsive outcome measures

Sodium Bose-Einstein Condensates in an Optical Lattice

The phase transition from a superfluid to a Mott insulator has been observed in a $^{23}$Na Bose-Einstein condensate. A dye laser detuned $\approx 5$nm red of the Na $3^2$S$\to 3^2$P$_{1/2}$ transition was used to form the three dimensional optical lattice. The heating effects of the small detuning as well as the three-body decay processes constrained the timescale of the experiment. Certain lattice detunings were found to induce a large loss of atoms. These loss features were shown to be due to photoassociation of atoms to vibrational levels in the Na$_2$ $(1) ^3\Sigma_g^+$ state.Comment: Figures somewhat compromised due to size reductio