Single instillation of mitomycin C reduces 1st year recurrence following transurethral resection of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer

Objective: To study the impact of single instillation of 40 mg Mitomycin C (MMC-40) within first hour of transurethral resection (TUR), on first year recurrence of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Methods: In this study of two groups of patients with similar demographics and tumour profile were compared to assess first year tumour recurrence pattern. Group A received MMC-40 within 30 minutes of TUR. Group B patients only had TUR of bladder tumour. Patients\u27 charts were reviewed for demographic profile, preoperative diagnosis and imaging used, cytological work up, tumour profile both during cystoscopy and imaging used, patients records were also reviewed for all subsequent check cystoscopies for recurrence. Any adjuvant treatments like intravesical chemo/immunotherapy etc. were also noted. The results were analysed using a commercially available statistical package, SPSS. The level of significance was \u3c or = 0.05.Results: There were 29 and 46 patients in group A and B respectively. The demographic profile in terms of age, gender distribution, tumour characteristics (size, site, multiplicity) and pathological evaluation including, tumour grade and presence of carcinoma in situ were similar (p \u3c 0.4 and p \u3c 0.5) respectively. The first year recurrence rate in group A was 15% whereas it was 37.4% in group B (p \u3c 0.04).Conclusions: The first year recurrence rate is significantly decreased if MMC-40 is instilled following TUR. MMC-40 is safe and cost effective. Most low grade, low volume tumours would not require any further treatment if MMC-40 is given immediately following TUR

Separate Submission of Standard Lymphadenectomy in 6 Packets Versus En Bloc Lymphadenectomy in Bladder Cancer

Introduction:Our aim was to evaluate detection of nodal metastasis during radical cystectomy with standard pelvic lymph node dissection versus en bloc lymphadenectomy for the treatment of bladder cancer. Materials And Methods: Hospital records of a total of 77 Patients with radical cystectomy and either standard pelvic lymph node dissection or en bloc lymphadenectomy were reviewed. Nodal dissection specimens during standard lymphadenectomy were sent for pathology examination in 6 separate containers marked as external iliac, internal iliac, and obturator groups from both sides. En bloc dissection specimens were sent in 2 containers marked as the right and the left pelvic nodes. Clinical and pathological findings of these two groups were compared in terms of the number of dissected lymph nodes, number of nodes with metastasis, lymph node density, and clinical outcomes. Results: There were 34 Patients with standard lymph node dissection and 43 with en bloc lymphadenectomy (anterior pelvic exenteration). Age, sex, duration of the disease, number of transurethral resections prior to cystectomy, pathological grade at cystectomy, and stage of the primary tumor were comparable in the two groups of Patients. The median numbers of nodes removed per Patient were 15.5 (range, 4 to 48) and 7.0 (range, 1 to 24) in those with standard and en bloc lymphadenectomy, respectively (P \u3c .001). Nodal involvement was detected in 10 (29.4%) and 9 (20.9%) Patients, respectively (P = .43). Conclusions: Although nodal involvement was not significantly different between the two groups, standard lymphadenectomy submitted in 6 different containers significantly improved the nodal yield over en bloc resection. Obturator nodes were the most commonly involved nodes in our study

Cartographie des linéaments géologiques en domaine aride par extraction semi-automatique à partir d’images satellitaires: Exemple à la région d’El Kseïbat (Sahara algérien)

Geologists in charge of a detailed lineament mapping in arid and desert area, face the extent of the land and the abundance of eolian deposits. This study presents a semi-automatic approach of extraction of lineament, different from other methods, such as the automatic extraction and manual extraction, by being both fast and objective. It consists of a series of digital processing (textural and spatial filtering, binarization by thresholding and mathematic morphology ... etc.) applied to a Landsat 7 ETM+scene. This semi-automatic approach has produced a detailed map of lineaments, while taking account of tectonic directions recognized in the region. It helps mitigate the effect of dune deposits meet the specifications of arid environment. The visual validation of these linear structures, by geoscientists and field data, allowed the identification of the majority of structural lineaments or at least those tried geological.[fr] Les géologues en charge d’une cartographie des linéaments détaillée en domaine aride et désertique, font face à l’étendue des terrains et la présence abondante de dépôts éoliens. La présente étude présente une approche semi-automatique différente des autres méthodes d’extraction des linéaments, à savoir l’extraction automatique et l’extraction manuelle par le fait d’être à la fois rapide et objective. Elle consiste en une succession de traitements numériques (filtrage textural et spatial, binarisation par seuillage et morphologie mathématique…etc.) appliqués sur une scène LANDSAT-7 ETM+. Cette approche semi-automatique a permis d’obtenir une carte détaillée des linéaments, tout en tenant compte des directions tectoniques reconnues dans la région. Elle permet d’atténuer l’effet des dépôts dunaires répondant aux spécifications du contexte aride. La validation visuelle de ces structures linéaires, effectuée sur terrain et sur la base de la carte géologique et des données géoscientifiques existantes, a permis l’identification de la majorité des linéaments jugés structuraux ou du moins géologiques

Fluctuation spectroscopy of giant unilamellar vesicles using confocal and phase contrast microscopy

A widely used method to measure the bending rigidity of bilayer membranes is fluctuation spectroscopy, which analyses the thermally-driven membrane undulations of giant unilamellar vesicles recorded with either phase-contrast or confocal microscopy. Here, we analyze the fluctuations of the same vesicle using both techniques and obtain consistent values for the bending modulus. We discuss the factors that may lead to discrepancies

Effect of taurine supplementation on hyperhomocysteinemia and markers of oxidative stress in high fructose diet induced insulin resistance

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>High intake of dietary fructose is accused of being responsible for the development of the insulin resistance (IR) syndrome. Concern has arisen because of the realization that fructose, at elevated concentrations, can promote metabolic changes that are potentially deleterious. Among these changes is IR which manifests as a decreased biological response to normal levels of plasma insulin.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Oral glucose tolerance tests (OGTT) were carried out, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA) was calculated, homocysteine (Hcy), lipid concentrations and markers of oxidative stress were measured in male <it>Wistar </it>rats weighing 170-190 g. The rats were divided into four groups, kept on either control diet or high fructose diet (HFD), and simultaneously supplemented with 300 mg/kg/day taurine via intra-peritoneal (i.p.) route for 35 days.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fructose-fed rats showed significantly impaired glucose tolerance, impaired insulin sensitivity, hypertriglyceridemia, hypercholesterolemia, hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), lower total antioxidant capacity (TAC), lower paraoxonase (PON) activity, and higher nitric oxide metabolites (NOx) concentration, when compared to rats fed on control diet. Supplementing the fructose-fed rats with taurine has ameliorated the rise in HOMA by 56%, triglycerides (TGs) by 22.5%, total cholesterol (T-Chol) by 11%, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) by 21.4%. Taurine also abolished any significant difference of TAC, PON activity and NOx concentration among treated and control groups. TAC positively correlated with PON in both rats fed on the HFD and those received taurine in addition to the HFD. Fructose-fed rats showed 34.7% increase in Hcy level. Taurine administration failed to prevent the observed HHcy in the current dosage and duration.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results indicate that HFD could induce IR which could further result in metabolic syndrome (MS), and that taurine has a protective role against the metabolic abnormalities induced by this diet model except for HHcy.</p

Entropy, time irreversibility and Schroedinger equation in a primarily discrete space-time

In this paper we show that the existence of a primarily discrete space-time may be a fruitful assumption from which we may develop a new approach of statistical thermodynamics in pre-relativistic conditions. The discreetness of space-time structure is determined by a condition that mimics the Heisenberg uncertainty relations and the motion in this space-time model is chosen as simple as possible. From these two assumptions we define a path-entropy that measures the number of closed paths associated with a given energy of the system preparation. This entropy has a dynamical character and depends on the time interval on which we count the paths. We show that it exists an like-equilibrium condition for which the path-entropy corresponds exactly to the usual thermodynamic entropy and, more generally, the usual statistical thermodynamics is reobtained. This result derived without using the Gibbs ensemble method shows that the standard thermodynamics is consistent with a motion that is time-irreversible at a microscopic level. From this change of paradigm it becomes easy to derive a $H-theorem$. A comparison with the traditional Boltzmann approach is presented. We also show how our approach can be implemented in order to describe reversible processes. By considering a process defined simultaneously by initial and final conditions a well defined stochastic process is introduced and we are able to derive a Schroedinger equation, an example of time reversible equation.Comment: latex versio

Interleukin-33-activated basophils promote asthma by regulating Th2 cell entry into lung tissue

Asthma is characterized by lung eosinophilia, remodeling, and mucus plugging, controlled by adaptive Th2 effector cells secreting IL-4, IL-5, and IL-13. Inhaled house dust mite (HDM) causes the release of barrier epithelial cytokines that activate various innate immune cells like DCs and basophils that can promote Th2 adaptive immunity directly or indirectly. Here, we show that basophils play a crucial role in the development of type 2 immunity and eosinophilic inflammation, mucus production, and bronchial hyperreactivity in response to HDM inhalation in C57Bl/6 mice. Interestingly, conditional depletion of basophils during sensitization did not reduce Th2 priming or asthma inception, whereas depletion during allergen challenge did. During the challenge of sensitized mice, basophil-intrinsic IL-33/ST2 signaling, and not FcεRI engagement, promoted basophil IL-4 production and subsequent Th2 cell recruitment to the lungs via vascular integrin expression. Basophil-intrinsic loss of the ubiquitin modifying molecule Tnfaip3, involved in dampening IL-33 signaling, enhanced key asthma features. Thus, IL-33-activated basophils are gatekeepers that boost allergic airway inflammation by controlling Th2 tissue entry.</p

CMS Monte Carlo production in the WLCG computing Grid

Monte Carlo production in CMS has received a major boost in performance and scale since the past CHEP06 conference. The production system has been re-engineered in order to incorporate the experience gained in running the previous system and to integrate production with the new CMS event data model, data management system and data processing framework. The system is interfaced to the two major computing Grids used by CMS, the LHC Computing Grid (LCG) and the Open Science Grid (OSG). Operational experience and integration aspects of the new CMS Monte Carlo production system is presented together with an analysis of production statistics. The new system automatically handles job submission, resource monitoring, job queuing, job distribution according to the available resources, data merging, registration of data into the data bookkeeping, data location, data transfer and placement systems. Compared to the previous production system automation, reliability and performance have been considerably improved. A more efficient use of computing resources and a better handling of the inherent Grid unreliability have resulted in an increase of production scale by about an order of magnitude, capable of running in parallel at the order of ten thousand jobs and yielding more than two million events per day

Tillage versus no-tillage. soil properties and hydrology in an organic persimmon farm in eastern Iberian Peninsula

There is an urgent need to implement environmentally friendly agriculture management practices to achieve the Sustainable Goals for Development (SDGs) of the United Nations by 2030. Mediterranean agriculture is characterized by intense and millennia-old tillage management and as a consequence degraded soil. No-Tillage has been widely examined as a solution for soil degradation but No-Tillage relies more on the application of herbicides that reduce plant cover, which in turn enhances soil erosion. However, No-Tillage with weed cover should be researched to promote organic farming and sustainable agriculture. Therefore, we compare Tillage against No-Tillage using weed cover as an alternative strategy to reduce soil losses in persimmon plantations, both of them under organic farming management. To achieve these goals, two plots were established at "La Canyadeta" experimental station on 25-years old Persimmon plantations, which are managed with Tillage and No-Tillage for 3 years. A survey of the soil cover, soil properties, runoff generation and initial soil losses using rainfall simulation experiments at 55 mm h-1 in 0.25 m2 plot was carried out. Soils under Tillage are bare (96.7%) in comparison to the No-Tillage (16.17% bare soil), with similar organic matter (1.71 vs. 1.88%) and with lower bulk densities (1.23 vs. 1.37 g cm3). Tillage induces faster ponding (60 vs. 92 s), runoff (90 vs. 320 s) and runoff outlet (200 vs. 70 s). The runoff discharge was 5.57 times higher in the Tillage plots, 8.64 for sediment concentration and 48.4 for soil losses. We conclude that No-tillage shifted the fate of the tilled field after 3 years with the use of weeds as a soil cover conservation strategy. This immediate effect of No-Tillage under organic farming conditions is very promising to achieve the SDGs