Role of taxanes in advanced prostate cancer

[Abstract] Advanced prostate cancer is an androgen-dependent disease for which the initial treatment is an androgen deprivation maneuver. However, some primary resistances to hormonal treatment occur with increasing incidence throughout the evolution of the disease. The taxanes, docetaxel and cabazitaxel, exert their action at multiple levels at the tumor cell: besides inhibiting the mitosis and inducing the cell death, they induce the nuclear accumulation of FOXO1, a potent nuclear factor that acts against the activation of androgen receptor inhibiting the transcription of AR-V7 variant associated with the development of resistances to abiraterone and enzalutamide. Docetaxel, as first-line therapy, and cabazitaxel, as second-line therapy, have demonstrated to increase the survival in castration-resistant prostate cancer. The results from last studies either on high-risk localized disease or on androgen-sensitive tumors demonstrate the increasing role of taxanes at earlier states of prostate cancer

Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics: Renormalized eigenvectors and full wave decomposition Riemann solver

We obtain renormalized sets of right and left eigenvectors of the flux vector Jacobians of the relativistic MHD equations, which are regular and span a complete basis in any physical state including degenerate ones. The renormalization procedure relies on the characterization of the degeneracy types in terms of the normal and tangential components of the magnetic field to the wavefront in the fluid rest frame. Proper expressions of the renormalized eigenvectors in conserved variables are obtained through the corresponding matrix transformations. Our work completes previous analysis that present different sets of right eigenvectors for non-degenerate and degenerate states, and can be seen as a relativistic generalization of earlier work performed in classical MHD. Based on the full wave decomposition (FWD) provided by the the renormalized set of eigenvectors in conserved variables, we have also developed a linearized (Roe-type) Riemann solver. Extensive testing against one- and two-dimensional standard numerical problems allows us to conclude that our solver is very robust. When compared with a family of simpler solvers that avoid the knowledge of the full characteristic structure of the equations in the computation of the numerical fluxes, our solver turns out to be less diffusive than HLL and HLLC, and comparable in accuracy to the HLLD solver. The amount of operations needed by the FWD solver makes it less efficient computationally than those of the HLL family in one-dimensional problems. However its relative efficiency increases in multidimensional simulations.Comment: 50 pages, 17 figures (2 in color). Submitted to ApJ Suppl. Se

Two-Stage Nonparametric Regression for Longitudinal Data

In the analysis of longitudinal data it is of main interest to investigate the existence of group and individual effects under correlated observations across time. In this paper, we develop a nonparametric two-step procedure that enables us to estimate group effects under a very general form of correlation across time. Moreover, we propose several methods to estimate the bandwidth and show their asymptotyc optimality. Since the asymptotic distribution is untractable, we develop a randomization test that is suitable for testing the group effects. Finally, we apply the estimation procedure, the bandwidth selection criteria and the randomization test to the data from the Iowa Cochlear Implant Project.This work was supported by Dirección General de Enseñanza Superior del Ministerio Español de Educación y Cultura and Universidad del País Vasco (UPV/EHU) under research grant PB95-0346

Productive structure of caprine farms in pampean west (Argentina)

In La Pampa, the average caprine farm land is 5700 ha, without fences and poor infra-estructure for animal management, there are two farmyards with an area of 5-8 m2/goat and a shed for kids housing with an area of 0.15 m2/kid. The average flock size is 164 goats, with horses and catle, extensively grazed daily and penned at nigth, without planning or suplementation. Reproducers usually began with the sexual activity before to have an apropiate weight. Kidding peaks occurs between end of september and middle of november. The number of bocks is 1-3/100 female. Reproductive parameters are: fertility 97,3 percent; fecundity 89,4 percent; real prolificity 177,2 percent and comercial prolificity 160,6 percent. Major health problems were contagious ectima, diarrhoea in kids, mastits and pediculosis.Las explotaciones caprinas pampeanas, son de 5700 ha, sin delimitación perimetral e infraestructura muy deficiente, con un par de corrales sin techar de 5-8 m2/cabra y uno techado para cabritos (0,15 m2 por cabrito). En promedio 164 cabras, con equino y vacuno, pastorean extensivamente, con encierro nocturno, casi sin planificación y sin suplementación alimenticia. Los reproductores entran en servicio sin suficiente peso y la paridera va de fin de septiembre a mediados de noviembre. Con 1-3 machos/100 hembras, los índices reproductivos son: fertilidad 97,3 p.100; fecundidad 89,4 p.100; prolificidad real 177,2 p.100 y prolificidad comercial 160,6 p.100. Los problemas sanitarios son ectima contagioso, diarrea de los cabritos, mastitis y pediculosis

Two-Stage Nonparametric Regression for Longitudinal Data

In the analysis of longitudinal data it is of main interest to investigate the existence of group and individual effects under correlated observations across time. In this paper, we develop a nonparametric two-step procedure that enables us to estimate group effects under a very general form of correlation across time. Moreover, we propose several methods to estimate the bandwidth and show their asymptotyc optimality. Since the asymptotic distribution is untractable, we develop a randomization test that is suitable for testing the group effects. Finally, we apply the estimation procedure, the bandwidth selection criteria and the randomization test to the data from the Iowa Cochlear Implant Project.Kernel estimation, bandwidth selection, nonstationary errors, group effects, randomization test

Application of Robot Programming to the Teaching of Object-Oriented Computer Languages

Object-oriented programming (OOP) abstract concepts are often difficult to understand for students, since it is not easy to find the equivalence of such concepts in daily life. In this paper we will study if an interdisciplinary approach based on an introduction to robotics and robot programming helps the student in acquiring theOOPconcepts. For our experiments, we selected a sample of thirty individuals among students with an adequate knowledge of procedural programming. This sample was divided into two groups of fifteen students each: for the first one we used a standard introductory approach to C#, whereas for the second one we developed an experimental course that included a demonstration program that illustrated OOP basic concepts using the features of a specific type of commercial ball-shaped robot with sensing, wireless communication and output capabilities. After the courses, both groups were evaluated by completing a multiple-choice exam and aC#programming exercise. Our results show that the student group that attended the course including the robot demo showed a higher interest level (i.e. they felt more motivated) than those students that attended the standard introductory C# course. Furthermore, the students from the experimental group also achieved an overall better mark

Sociology of caprine production systems in western Pampa

Goat ranches in the west area of La Pampa Province (Argentina) are analyzed by mean of surveys. These are long tradition family enterprises (2.5 man equivalent) with owners (average 53.3 years old) that believe in the continuity of their farms. The educational level is very low (about 80 percent are real or functional illiterates), although 46 percent of their inheritors had completed the primary school and 15 percent had completed the high school. Technical assistance is received mainly from governmental programs. Kids are the main sale product and about 18 percent of them are used for family feeding. Other source of income would be increased adding value by mean of handmade manufacture (cheese, hair, spinning, tan leather, etc.)Mediante encuesta se estudian las explotaciones caprinas del oeste pampeano (Argentina). Son empresas familiares (2,5 equivalentes hombre), de larga tradición cuyos responsables, de bastante edad (53,3 años), confían en la continuidad de las explotaciones. El nivel educativo es muy bajo (alrededor del 80 p.100 son analfabetos reales o funcionales), aunque entre los posibles herederos el 46 p.100 ha completado la escuela primaria y el 15 p.100 la secundaria. El apoyo técnico que reciben corresponde casi exclusivamente a programas estatales. El cabrito para venta es el principal producto registrándose un 18 p.100 de autoconsumo. Otras fuentes de ingreso podrían potenciarse agregándoles valor por medio de procesos artesanales de elaboración (quesos, hilado de pelo, curtidos de cueros, etc.)

Effect of a microtubule-targeting drug on cell–cell contacts in bladder epithelial tumour cells

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