A Monocentric Analysis of Implantable Ports in Cancer Treatment: Five-Year Efficacy and Safety Evaluation

Background: Daily clinical practice requires repeated and prolonged venous access for delivering chemotherapy, antibiotics, antivirals, parenteral nutrition, or blood transfusions. This study aimed to investigate the performance and the safety of totally implantable vascular access devices (TIVADs) over a 5-year follow-up period through a standardized well-trained surgical technique and patient management under local anesthesia. Methods: In a retrospective, observational, and monocentric study, 70 patients receiving POLYSITE® TIVADs for chemotherapy were included. The safety endpoints focused on the rate of perioperative, short-term, and long-term complications. The performance endpoints included vein identification for device insertion and procedural success rate. Results: The study demonstrated no perioperative or short-term complications related to the TIVADs. One (1.4%) complication related to device manipulation was identified as catheter flipping, which led to catheter adjustment 56 days post-placement. Moreover, one (1.4%) infection due to usage conditions was observed, leading to TIVAD removal 3 years and 4 months post-surgery. Catheter placement occurred in cephalic veins (71.4%), subclavian veins (20%), and internal jugular veins (8.6%). The procedural success rate was 100%. Overall, the implantable ports typically remained in place for an average of 22.4 months. Conclusions: This study confirmed the TIVADs’ performance and safety, underscored by low complication rates compared to published data, thereby emphasizing its potential and compelling significance for enhancing routine clinical practice using a standardized well-trained surgical technique and patient management

Trace checking of Metric Temporal Logic with Aggregating Modalities using MapReduce

Modern complex software systems produce a large amount of execution data, often stored in logs. These logs can be analyzed using trace checking techniques to check whether the system complies with its requirements specifications. Often these specifications express quantitative properties of the system, which include timing constraints as well as higher-level constraints on the occurrences of significant events, expressed using aggregate operators. In this paper we present an algorithm that exploits the MapReduce programming model to check specifications expressed in a metric temporal logic with aggregating modalities, over large execution traces. The algorithm exploits the structure of the formula to parallelize the evaluation, with a significant gain in time. We report on the assessment of the implementation - based on the Hadoop framework - of the proposed algorithm and comment on its scalability.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures, Extended version of the SEFM 2014 pape

Fibrosarcome du larynx - A propos d'un cas

Le fibrosarcome du larynx est une entité histologique rare, qui représente moins de 10% de tous les sarcomes des tissus mous, moins de 2 % des cancers laryngés. Cette localisation pose des problèmes diagnostique, thérapeutique et pronostique. Nous présentons un cas de fibrosarcome laryngé chez un patient de 54 ans. La confirmation histologique etimmunohistologique a été faite sur la pièce d’exérèse chirurgicale et surtout sur une confrontation anatomoclinique. La prise en charge thérapeutique est multidisciplinaire, associant la chirurgie qui doit être la plus complète sans curage ganglionnaire et la radiothérapie. Le pronostic est généralement sévère, dépend essentiellement de degré de différenciation histologique.Mots clés : fibrosarcome ; larynx ; chirurgie ; radiothérapie

Perinatal-lethal Gaucher disease presenting as hydrops fetalis

Perinatal-lethal Gaucher disease is very rare and is considered a variant of type 2 Gaucher disease that occurs in the neonatal period. The most distinct features of perinatal-lethal Gaucher disease are non-immune hydrops fetalis. Less common signs of the disease are hepatosplenomegaly, ichthyosis and arthrogryposis. We report a case of Gaucher's disease (type 2) diagnosed in a newborn who presented with Hydrops Fetalis

Impact of biodiesel fuel on cold starting of automotive direct injection diesel engines

The use of biodiesel fuels in diesel engines is gaining attention as a promising solution to control CO2 emissions. Great research efforts have been carried out to identify the impact of biodiesel physical and chemical properties on engine systems and processes. Most of these investigations were performed in warm conditions, but the suitability of biodiesel for starting the engine at under-zero ambient temperatures has not widely evaluated. The surface tension and the viscosity of biodiesel fuels are higher compared to those of standard diesel and, in cold conditions, these differences become critical since the injection fuel rate is largely affected and consequently the combustion process can be deteriorated. In order to improve its flow characteristics at cold temperatures and make them more suitable for low temperatures operation, additives are used in biodiesel fuels. In this paper the suitability of different biodiesel fuels, with and without additives, for cold starting of DI (direct injection) diesel engines has been evaluated. The results have shown that the engine start-ability with pure biodiesel fuels can be largely deteriorated. However, using diesel/biodiesel blends the start-ability of the engine can be recovered with the additional benefit of reducing the opacity peak of the exhaust gasesBroatch Jacobi, JA.; Tormos Martínez, BV.; Olmeda González, PC.; Novella Rosa, R. (2014). Impact of biodiesel fuel on cold starting of automotive direct injection diesel engines. Energy. 73:653-660. doi:10.1016/j.energy.2014.06.062S6536607

The Role of Artificial Intelligence on Tumor Boards: Perspectives from Surgeons, Medical Oncologists and Radiation Oncologists

The integration of multidisciplinary tumor boards (MTBs) is fundamental in delivering state-of-the-art cancer treatment, facilitating collaborative diagnosis and management by a diverse team of specialists. Despite the clear benefits in personalized patient care and improved outcomes, the increasing burden on MTBs due to rising cancer incidence and financial constraints necessitates innovative solutions. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in the medical field offers a promising avenue to support clinical decision-making. This review explores the perspectives of clinicians dedicated to the care of cancer patients—surgeons, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists—on the application of AI within MTBs. Additionally, it examines the role of AI across various clinical specialties involved in cancer diagnosis and treatment. By analyzing both the potential and the challenges, this study underscores how AI can enhance multidisciplinary discussions and optimize treatment plans. The findings highlight the transformative role that AI may play in refining oncology care and sustaining the efficacy of MTBs amidst growing clinical demands

Peak grain forecasts for the US High Plains amid withering waters

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. This paper stems from discussions during the Ettersburg Ecohydrology Workshop in Germany (October 2018), with the corresponding manuscript preparation ensuing in subsequent months. The workshop was funded by the UNIDEL Foundation, Inc. and the University of Delaware. Accordingly, partial support for this paper derived from funding for the workshop. A.M. was supported by the US NSF (Grants NSF-AGS-1644382 and NSF-IOS-175489).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Ideas del alumnado de primaria y secundaria sobre aleatoriedad

En este trabajo comparamos las características de las secuencias de resultados aleatorios y distribuciones aleatorias de puntos generadas por tres grupos de alumnos de Educación Primaria y Secundaria con las propiedades matemáticas de las mismas. La finalidad es describir el significado personal que dichos estudiantes asignan a la aleatoriedad.In this paper we compare the features in random sequences and random distribution of points produced by three groups of students in Primary and Secondary Education with the mathematical properties of the same. The aim is to describe the meaning of randomness for these students.Facultad de Educación y Humanidades - Campus de Melilla (Universidad de Granada)Este trabajo es parte de los proyectos SEJ2004-00789, Madrid, MCYT y FQM-126, Junta de Andalucí