Radiotherapy and Erlotinib Combined: Review of the Preclinical and Clinical Evidence

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is often overexpressed in tumors and has been associated with poor prognosis in some cancer types. The introduction of inhibitors of EGFR, such as erlotinib, represents an important recent advance in the targeted treatment of cancer. Several studies have evaluated inhibitors of EGFR in combination with radiotherapy, and a strong biologic rationale exists for the use of this combination in certain cancer types, including head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, non-small cell lung cancer, glioblastoma, esophageal cancer, and pancreatic cancer. Preclinical and clinical studies are underway to evaluate the combination of erlotinib with radiotherapy. To date, the results suggest that this approach is at least feasible and may result in modest improvement in outcomes compared with either modality alone

Neurodegeneration with Brain Iron Accumulation: Two Additional Cases with Dystonic Opisthotonus

Background: Specific phenomenology and pattern of involvement in movement disorders point toward a probable clinical diagnosis. For example, forehead chorea usually suggests Huntington’s disease; feeding dystonia suggests neuroacanthocytosis and risus sardonicus is commonly seen in Wilson’s disease. Dystonic opisthotonus has been described as a characteristic feature of neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) related to PANK2 and PLA2G6 mutations. Case report: We describe two additional patients in their 30s with severe extensor truncal dystonia causing opisthotonic posturing in whom evaluation revealed the diagnosis of NBIA confirmed by genetic testing. Discussion: Dystonic opisthotonus may be more common in NBIA than it is reported and its presence especially in a young patient should alert the neurologists to a possibility of probable NBIA

Enterprise resource planning growth in India: A global competitive advantage (part II)

The increasingly sophisticated and competitive Indian economy is faced with life in the global fast lane. The transition to an open economy has thrust India into the information age, an age that is forcing Indian firms to cope with a deluge of new information relationships. In order to keep up with the global advances, numerous Indian industries are implementing or considering ERP to compete in the global business environment. Several examples of successful implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning in India are discussed

Information revolution: Impact of technology on global workforce

This paper explores the promises and perils of the Information Revolution and addresses the complex issues such as global labor force, impact of technology on both industrialized and third-world countries. The paper discusses the beneficiaries and losers of the information revolution and an outlook for global employment in the 21st century

An Unusual Cause of Camptocormia

Background: Camptocormia is defined as forward flexion of the spine that manifests during walking and standing and disappears in recumbent position. The various etiologies include idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, multiple system atrophy, myopathies, degenerative joint disease, and drugs. Case Report: A 67-year-old diabetic female presented with bradykinesia and camptocormia that started 1 year prior to presentation. Evaluation revealed levosulpiride, a dopamine receptor blocker commonly used for dyspepsia, to be the culprit. Discussion: It is well known that dopamine receptor blockers cause parkinsonism and tardive syndromes. We report a rare and unusual presentation of camptocormia attributed to this commonly used gastrointestinal drug in the Asian population

Real-world observational study to capture practice pattern of controlled ovarian stimulation in the in vitro-fertilization and embryo transfer or intracytoplasmic sperm injection-2

Background: The objective of the study was to evaluate the practice patterns of controlled ovarian stimulation (COS) in patients who underwent in vitro-fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).Methods: In REAL-COS (REAL-world observational study to capture practice pattern of COS in IVF-ET/ ICSI cycle) study, data was collected by 138 clinicians across India between April 2021 and March 2022 in a retrospective manner.Results: Data of 1651 subfertility female patients were evaluated. The mean (SD) age was 31.8 (3.9) years and majority (77.8%) of the patients were aged <35 years. Obese patients constituted 28.1% of the total population. The majority (79.5%) of the patients had primary subfertility and the polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) was the most (27.8%) common cause of subfertility. Nearly equal percent of patients were treated with frozen or fresh embryo transfer. Most (~96%) of the patients received GnRH antagonist protocol wherein cetrorelix acetate was the most common drug (98.7%) while ~4% patients received GnRH agonist protocol wherein luprorelin was the most common one (83%). The most commonly used gonadotropin was recombinant follicle stimulating hormone alone therapy (rFSH, 49.2%). Majority (51.8%) of the patients were initiated at 225 IU dose of gonadotropin for COS. For ovulation trigger, human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) was used in majority (59%) of the cases. Treatment with rFSH alone therapy resulted in max mean no. of oocytes and mean metaphase-II oocytes as compared with other treatments.Conclusions: This real-world observational study reports primary subfertility as the major reason for IVF-ET/ICSI in the study population. The GnRH antagonist protocol was followed by most of the clinicians participating in this study. rFSH was the most commonly used gonadotropin. rFSH alone therapy yielded the greatest number of oocytes and metaphase II oocytes versus other treatments

The role of vortices in the formation of the solar system

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Physics, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 117-119).An important part of explaining planet formation is understanding how small particles accumulate into larger bodies. Gas vortices are suggested as a mechanism to enhance the coagulation of dust particles in the solar nebula. An inviscid, barotropic, two-dimensional form of the vorticity equation is derived to study the gas flow. A pseudospectral numerical model uses this equation to calculate the evolution of the vorticity field. The calculations show that locally prograde elliptical vortices with the major axis parallel to the angular axis can persist for at least 103 years with less than 1% change in peak vorticity. The shape of the vortex depends on the strength, similar to analytical expressions for elliptical vortices in a linear shear. Stronger vortices are rounder while weaker vortices are elongated; With ratios of the peak vorticity to the background vorticity of 1.0 and 0.2, the aspect ratios are approximately 0.5 and 0.25. The vortex area is mostly constant, and the linear dimensions change as the shape changes. Two negative vortices within the same radial band tend to merge, forming a larger, stronger vortex in a few orbit periods. A random viscosity field tends to have a few strong vortices form, although not as efficiently as with merging vortices. Dust particles interact with the gas through the Stokes drag force, with the relaxation time specifying how quickly the particle velocity approaches the gas velocity. The particles tend to converge in high pressure vortices and drift out of low pressure systems. The convergence time is dependent on the vortex strength and the particle relaxation time. If the relaxation time is short compared to the period, the particles do not have an appreciable differential velocity compared to the gas, and the Stokes drag force is small. If the relaxation time is long, then the Stokes drag force is not large enough to have a significant effect. If, however, the relaxation time is of the same order as the period, so the dynamical and frictional timescales are similar, then the particles will have the shortest convergence times. This result can be seen analytically in the simple case of an axisymmetric pressure band and numerically in calculations involving the robust vortex. With a robust vortex, the convergence times are approximately 3-4 yr for relaxation times of 0.1-0.2 yr. For typical values of properties of the solar nebula, this relaxation time applies for particles with diameters of around 20 cm. Other particles, both smaller and larger, converge more slowly, but the different times result in more collisions, enhancing the coagulation of larger bodies.by Anand Vivek Mehta.Ph.D