Treatment updates regarding anaplastic oligodendroglioma and anaplastic oligoastrocytoma

Anaplastic Oligodendroglioma / Anaplastic Oligoastrocytoma (AO/AOA) is a WHO Grade-III primary brain tumor. These tumors comprise about 5 - 10% of all gliomas, which make them the third most common primary brain tumors after glioblastoma multiforme and astrocytomas. For many years standard of treatment remained Maximum Safe Resection (MSR) followed by Radiotherapy (RT). These tumors have also been known to be sensitive to alkylator-based chemotherapy particularly the subset having 1p/19q co-deletion signature. There is robust data showing that these tumors are responsive to chemotherapy in recurrent or progressive setting. Recently, up front chemotherapy has been added to standard post-surgery RT. It has been found that subset of AO/AOA having 1p/19q co-deletion responded very well to the addition of chemotherapy. This substantial benefit in terms of median Overall Survival (OS) and median Progression Free Survival (PFS) have intrigued the personalized treatment of AO/AOA on the basis of molecular signature markers

Plan dose evaluation of three dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning (3D-CRT) of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC): experience of a tertiary care University Hospital in Pakistan

Background: Radiation therapy is the mainstay of treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Importance of tumor coverage and challenges posed by its unique and critical location are well evident. Therefore we aimed to evaluate our radiation treatment plan through dose volume histograms (DVHs) to find planning target volume (PTV) dose coverage and factors affecting it.MATERIALS AND Methods: This retrospective study covered 45 histologically proven nasopharyngeal cancer patients who were treated with definitive 3D-CRT and chemotherapy between Feb 2006 to March 2013 at the Department of Oncology, Section Radiation Oncology ,Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan. DVH was evaluated to find numbers of shrinking field (phases), PTV volume in different phases and its coverage by the 95% isodose lines, along with influencing factors.Results: There were 36 males (80%) and 9 females (20%) in the age range of 12-84 years. Stage IVA (46.7%) was the most common stage followed by stage III (31.1). Eighty six point six-percent received induction, 95.5% received concurrent and 22.2% received adjuvant chemotherapy. The prescribed median radiation dose was 70Gy to primary, 60Gy to clinically positive neck nodes and 50Gy to clinically negative neck regions. Mean dose to spinal cord was 44.2Gy and to optic chiasma was 52Gy. Thirty seven point eight-percent patients completed their treatment in three phases while 62.2% required four to five phases. Mean volume for PTV3 was 247.8 cm3 (50-644.3), PTV4 173.8 cm3 (26.5-345.1) and PTV5 119.6 cm3 (18.9-246.1) and PTV volume coverage by 95% isodose lines were 74.4%, 85.7% and 100% respectively. Advanced T stage, intracranial extension and tumor volume \u3e200 cm3 were found to be important factors associated with decreased PTV coverage by 95% isodose line.CONCLUSIONS: 3D CRT results in adequate PTV dose coverage by 95% isodose line. However advanced T stage, intracranial extension and large target volume require more advanced techniques like IMRT for appropriate PTV coverage

Statistical analysis of the effect of machining parameters on fatigue life of aerospace grade aluminum alloy (AL 6082T6)

In this research work, aerospace grade aluminium alloy (Al 6082-T6) was analysed for the effect of cutting parameters on the fatigue life of the machined samples and optimization of cutting parameters for response factor. Different combinations of machining parameters were selected according to the ISO 3685 for sample preparation. Fatigue life of the samples was the response variable under investigation. Specimens for the rotating bending fatigue test were prepared according to the BS ISO 1143:2010 standards. The cutting inserts were selected from Sandvik Coromant catalogue recommended for machining of Al 6082-T6 alloy. A Designed of Experiment (DoE) with full factorial design was employed and a total of 81 experiments were performed for combination of cutting parameters. Fatigue life of the samples was observed to decreases with increasing feed rate, which is attributed to the compressive residual stresses at the surface of the samples. However, fatigue life increased with higher cutting speed and Depth of Cut (DoC)

Frequency and severity of acute toxicity of pelvic radiotherapy for gynecological cancer

Objective: To determine the frequency and severity of acute toxicity of pelvic radiotherapy for gynecological cancer.STUDY Design: A case series.PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Oncology, The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from March 2011 to June 2012.METHODOLOGY: A total of 99 patients with histologically proven uterine and cervical cancer, receiving radiation therapy, were enrolled into the study after informed consent on justification of inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were evaluated for the frequency and severity of pelvic radiotherapys side effects according to toxicity criteria based on RTOG/EORTC and CTC version 2 criteria at the start, during and at the end of treatment. The data was analyzed by using SPSS version 16.Results: Out of the 99 enrolled patients, 58 (58.6%) had uterine and 41 (41.4%) had cervical cancer. Mean age was 54.54 ± 10.29 years. Thirty-five (35.4%) patients received chemotherapy with RT. Mean RT dose was 60.72 ± 7.15 Gy. The most common gastrointestinal adverse effect was diarrhea in 64 (64.6%) followed by proctitis in 55 (55.5%), nausea in 33 (33.3%) and vomiting in 16 (16.2%) patients. Grade (G) 1 was the most frequently observed severity. The most common hematological toxicity was anemia in 37.8% (n=31/82) {(G1=18 (21.9%), G2=11 (13.4%), G3=2 (2.4%)} followed by thrombocytopenia in 22.8% (21/92) {(G1=16 (17.3%), G2=2 (2.1%), G3=3 (3.2%)} and neutropenia in 21 (21.2%) {(G1=12 (12.1%), G2=5 (5%), G3=3 (3%), G4=1 (1%)}. Urinary toxicity was observed in 49 (49.5%) patients. On stratification, chemotherapy and higher RT dose were strong predictor of increased hematological and upper gastrointestinal toxicity (p \u3c 0.05) and age \u3e 60 years for diarrhea (p \u3c 0.05).CONCLUSION: The frequency and severity of acute toxicity of pelvic radiotherapy in women with gynecologic cancers was found intermediate to high

Risk Factors and the Incidence of Diabetes Insipidus after Pituitary Surgery

Background:  To improve patient care, determining the post-surgery risk factors for diabetes insipidus are extremely significant. We demonstrated the pre-operative factors and postoperative incidence of diabetes insipidus in pituitary surgery. Materials and Methods:  Patients of both genders with ages between 18-65 years having pituitary adenoma amenable to surgery were included. The sample size mainly constitutes macroadenomas and giant adenomas i.e., greater than 1 cm and equal to or greater than 4 cm, respectively. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test was used to measure model fit. The receiver operator characteristic curve was used to evaluate the model and variables such as preoperative serum sodium and urine specific gravity. Results:  Only 210 of 279 patients met the selection criteria. Most of the patients have lesions greater than 1cm, as a result of which a greater number of patients had undergone transcranial approach. Out of these patients, 27% have developed diabetes insipidus. The mean age was 53 years in the non-DI group, whereas, 47 years was the mean age in the patients with DI. 25% of females and 31% of males developed diabetes insipidus. 75% of females and 64% of males did not develop DI. The highest percentage (61%) of patients who developed DI came from giant adenomas.  Conclusion:  Giant adenomas, aggressively primarily treated adenomas, and those lesions that were approached transcranially, showed an increased risk of diabetes insipidus and those who have undergone redo surgery have reduced incidence of diabetes insipidus

Big data assisted CRAN enabled 5G SON architecture

The recent development of Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G network technology offers a plethora of opportunities to the IT industry and mobile network operators. 5G cellular technology promises to offer connectivity to massive numbers of IoT devices while meeting low-latency data transmission requirements. A deficiency of the current 4G networks is that the data from IoT devices and mobile nodes are merely passed on to the cloud and the communication infrastructure does not play a part in data analysis. Instead of only passing data on to the cloud, the system could also contribute to data analysis and decision-making. In this work, a Big Data driven self-optimized 5G network design is proposed using the knowledge of emerging technologies CRAN, NVF and SDN. Also, some technical impediments in 5G network optimization are discussed. A case study is presented to demonstrate the assistance of Big Data in solving the resource allocation problem

Epiphytic effects of Licmophora paradoxa on pigments of Pyropia yezoensis

Epiphytic diatoms usually cause adverse effects on photosynthesis of the host plants due to shading light or by interfering with the biochemical pathways. The present study investigated the epiphytic effects of the diatom Licmophora paradoxa on the pigments of red alga Pyropia yezoensis, such as the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Phycoerythrin (PE), Phycocyanin (PC), Allophycocyanin (APC) and carotenoid contents. The results showed that Chl-a was significantly decreased while other pigments such as PE, PC, APC and carotenoid contents were significantly increased in P. yezoensis due to the attachment of epiphytic diatom L. paradoxa. The present results indicated that epiphytic diatoms produced negative effects on the host PSII reaction center by reducing its main pigment Chl-a. Whereas, antenna pigments of Phycobiliprotein, of P. yezoensis such as PE, PC and APC were increased to capture more light energy supplying photosynthesis. The increase in carotenoid content under this epiphytic situation implied an enhancement of its assisted function in light-harvesting, photoprotection and stress-tolerance mechanism. The present findings contribute to well understanding the response mechanism of host macroalgae to epiphytic microalgae

Epiphytic effects of Licmophora paradoxa on pigments of Pyropia yezoensis

779-786Epiphytic diatoms usually cause adverse effects on photosynthesis of the host plants due to shading light or by interfering with the biochemical pathways. The present study investigated the epiphytic effects of the diatom Licmophora paradoxa on the pigments of red alga Pyropia yezoensis, such as the chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), Phycoerythrin (PE), Phycocyanin (PC), Allophycocyanin (APC) and carotenoid contents. The results showed that Chl-a was significantly decreased while other pigments such as PE, PC, APC and carotenoid contents were significantly increased in P. yezoensis due to the attachment of epiphytic diatom L. paradoxa. The present results indicated that epiphytic diatoms produced negative effects on the host PSII reaction center by reducing its main pigment Chl-a. Whereas, antenna pigments of Phycobiliprotein, of P. yezoensis such as PE, PC and APC were increased to capture more light energy supplying photosynthesis. The increase in carotenoid content under this epiphytic situation implied an enhancement of its assisted function in light-harvesting, photoprotection and stress-tolerance mechanism. The present findings contribute to well understanding the response mechanism of host macroalgae to epiphytic microalgae

Effects of epiphytic diatom Licmophora paradoxa on photosynthesis, malondialdehyde content and antioxidant enzymes activities of Pyropia yezoensis

982-988This study investigated the effects of epiphytic diatom Licmophora paradoxa on the physiological activities of Pyropia yezoensis, including photosynthesis, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and antioxidant enzymes activities. The photosynthetic activity was measured using chlorophyll fluorescence technology. Physiological indexes, such as chlorophyll-a, MDA content, antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) were determined by spectrophotometry. The results showed that photosynthetic parameters, the maximum quantum efficiency of PSII (Fv/Fm), the maximum electron transport rate (rETRmax), the minimum saturating irradiance (Ek) and Chl-a content decreased in P. yezoensis, which had been previously attached by the diatom L. paradoxa. On the other hand, physiological indexes of the resistance mechanism, such as MDA content, SOD and CAT antioxidant enzymes activities were significantly increased in the host P. yezoensis. It is concluded that epiphytic diatoms created adverse effects on the photosynthesis of P. yezoensis, and stimulated the physiological responses of P. yezoensis to epiphytes. This study is beneficial/ helpful to better understand the relationship between epiphytic microalgae and host macroalgae

) in an Emerging Economy

Abstract: This study explores the level of awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among MBA students at a major Saudi university; MBA students were chosen for this research because these students represent future business leaders. All of the attending MBA students were surveyed, and 204 valid responses were used for the analysis. Four CSR dimensions were investigated: economic, legal, ethical, and philanthropic dimensions. Significant differences were found in the respondents' awareness of the CSR dimensions. Significant awareness differences were also found among the respondents based on gender, work experience, and managerial position. Implications, recommendations, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed