Sudden change in fractality of basin boundary in passive dynamic walking

The 11th International Symposium on Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines. Kobe University, Japan. 2023-06-06/09. Adaptive Motion of Animals and Machines Organizing Committee.Poster Session P7

Prevalence of Psychological Distress and Its Risk Factors in Patients with Primary Bone and Soft Tissue Tumors

Psychological distress is common in patients with soft tissue and bone tumors. We first investigated its frequency and the associated risk factors in patients with pre-operative bone and soft tissue tumors. Participants included 298 patients with bone and soft tissue tumors who underwent surgery in our institution between 2015 and 2020. Psychological distress was evaluated by the Distress and Impact Thermometer (DIT) that consists of two types of questions (questions about the severity of the patient's distress (DIT-D) and its impact (DIT-I)). We used a cut-off point of 4 on the DIT-D and 3 on the DIT-I for screening patients with psychological distress. We therefore investigated: (1) the prevalence of psychological distress as assessed with DIT or distress thermometer (DT), which can be decided by DIT-D >= 4, (2) what are the risk factors for the prevalence of psychological distress, and (3) what is the number of patients who consulted a psychiatrist for psychological distress in patients with pre-operative bone and soft tissue tumors. With DIT and DT, we identified 64 patients (21%) and 95 patients (32%), respectively, with psychological distress. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that older age, sex (female), malignancy (malignant or intermediate tumor), a lower Barthel Index, and higher numeric rating scale were risk factors for psychological distress. Two patients (3%) consulted a psychiatrist after surgery. In conclusion, careful attention to psychological distress is needed, especially for female patients, older patients, and those with malignant soft or bone tissue tumors who have more than moderate pain

Florbetaben PET imaging to detect amyloid beta plaques in Alzheimer's disease: Phase 3 study

AbstractBackgroundEvaluation of brain β-amyloid by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging can assist in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD) and other dementias.MethodsOpen-label, nonrandomized, multicenter, phase 3 study to validate the 18F-labeled β-amyloid tracer florbetaben by comparing in vivo PET imaging with post-mortem histopathology.ResultsBrain images and tissue from 74 deceased subjects (of 216 trial participants) were analyzed. Forty-six of 47 neuritic β-amyloid-positive cases were read as PET positive, and 24 of 27 neuritic β-amyloid plaque-negative cases were read as PET negative (sensitivity 97.9% [95% confidence interval or CI 93.8–100%], specificity 88.9% [95% CI 77.0–100%]). In a subgroup, a regional tissue-scan matched analysis was performed. In areas known to strongly accumulate β-amyloid plaques, sensitivity and specificity were 82% to 90%, and 86% to 95%, respectively.ConclusionsFlorbetaben PET shows high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of histopathology-confirmed neuritic β-amyloid plaques and may thus be a valuable adjunct to clinical diagnosis, particularly for the exclusion of AD.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01020838

Durable response to pembrolizumab in microsatellite instability‐high advanced adrenocortical carcinoma

Introduction Advanced adrenocortical carcinoma has a poor prognosis and is treated with chemotherapy that includes mitotane with etoposide, doxorubicin, and cisplatin as first‐line therapy. However, second‐line therapy has not been determined yet. Pembrolizumab has been approved for high microsatellite instability for which standard treatments have failed. Case presentation Here, we present a patient with advanced adrenocortical carcinoma treated with complete surgical resection. 21 months later, he had local and metastatic recurrences. After four cycles of first‐line therapy, we switched to pembrolizumab because microsatellite instability‐high was detected in his tumor. He has received mitotane and pembrolizumab for 15 months, and this has exerted a radiographical response without severe adverse events. Conclusion We presented a patient with microsatellite instability‐high advanced adrenocortical carcinoma treated with pembrolizumab and mitotane

The Neural Correlates of Mindful Awareness: A Possible Buffering Effect on Anxiety-Related Reduction in Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex Activity

<div><p>Background</p><p>Human personality consists of two fundamental elements character and temperament. Character allays automatic and preconceptual emotional responses determined by temperament. However, the neurobiological basis of character and its interplay with temperament remain elusive. Here, we examined character-temperament interplay and explored the neural basis of character, with a particular focus on the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex extending to a ventromedial portion of the prefrontal cortex (sgACC/vmPFC).</p><p>Methods</p><p>Resting brain glucose metabolism (GM) was measured using [¹⁸F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography in 140 healthy adults. Personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Regions of interest (ROI) analysis and whole-brain analysis were performed to examine a combination effect of temperament and character on the sgACC/vmPFC and to explore the neural correlates of character, respectively.</p><p>Results</p><p>Harm avoidance (HA), a temperament trait (i.e., depressive, anxious, vulnerable), showed a significant negative impact on the sgACC/vmPFC GM, whereas self-transcendence (ST), a character trait (i.e., intuitive, judicious, spiritual), exhibited a significant positive effect on GM in the same region (HA <i>β</i> = −0.248, <i>p</i> = 0.003; ST: <i>β</i> = 0.250, <i>p</i> = 0.003). In addition, when coupled with strong ST, individuals with strong HA maintained the sgACC/vmPFC GM level comparable to the level of those with low scores on both HA and ST. Furthermore, exploratory whole-brain analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between ST and sgACC/vmPFC GM (peak voxel at x = −8, y = 32, z = −8, <i>k</i> = 423, <i>Z</i> = 4.41, corrected <i>p</i>^FDR = 0.030).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>The current findings indicate that the sgACC/vmPFC might play a critical role in mindful awareness to something beyond as well as in emotional regulation. Developing a sense of mindfulness may temper exaggerated emotional responses in individuals with a risk for or having anxiety and depressive disorders.</p></div

Stepwise multiple regression analysis for glucose metabolism in the right anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (<i>N</i> = 140).

<p>Controlled for age, sex, and the temperament dimensions. Degrees of freedom (7,132).</p><p>Dependent variable was the average glucose metabolism level of the right subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex.</p><p>ROI definitions: the right anterior cingulate cortex: box center at x = 7, y = 26, z = −6, volume = 10×10×10 mm; right vmPFC: box center at x = 7, y = 40, z = −18, volume = 14×14×14 mm.</p><p>These definitions were based on the previous studies (32, 33).</p