LigaSure Impact™ versus conventional dissection technique in pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy in clinical suspicion of cancerous tumours on the head of the pancreas: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The pp-Whipple procedure requires extensive preparation. The conventional preparation technique is done with scissors for dissection and ligatures, and with clips and sutures for hemostasis. This procedure is very time-consuming and requires numerous changes of instruments. The LigaSure™ device allows dissection and hemostasis for preparation with one instrument. Up to now there has been no comparison of the two techniques with regard to operating time and the patients' outcome. It is still unclear which technique has the optimal benefit/risk ratio for the patient.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>A single-center, randomized, single-blinded, controlled superiority trial to compare two different techniques for dissection in a pp-Whipple procedure. 102 patients will be included and randomized pre-operatively. All patients aged 18 years or older scheduled for primary elective pp-Whipple procedure who signed the informed consent will be included. The primary endpoint is the operating time of the randomized technique. Control Intervention: Conventional dissection technique; experimental intervention: LigaSureTM dissection technique. Duration of study: Approximately 15 months; follow up time: 3 years. The trial is registered at German ClinicalTrials Register (DRKS00000166).</p

Information sharing and credit : firm-level evidence from transition countries

We investigate whether information sharing among banks has affected credit market performance in the transition countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, using a large sample of firm-level data. Our estimates show that information sharing is associated with improved availability and lower cost of credit to firms. This correlation is stronger for opaque firms than transparent ones and stronger in countries with weak legal environments than in those with strong legal environments. In cross-sectional estimates, we control for variation in country-level aggregate variables that may affect credit, by examining the differential impact of information sharing across firm types. In panel estimates, we also control for the presence of unobserved heterogeneity at the firm level, as well as for changes in macroeconomic variables and the legal environment

Recommended Terminology for Aerobiological Studies

Aerobiology is an interdisciplinary science where researchers with different backgrounds are involved in different topics related to microorganism, airborne biological particles, e.g. pollen and spores, and phenology. Some concepts, words or expressions used in aerobiology have a clear definition, but are however frequently misused. Therefore, the working group “Quality Control” of the European Aerobiology Society (EAS) and the International Association of Aerobiology (IAA) would like to clarify some of them, their use and presentation

Pollen exposure is associated with risk of respiratory symptoms during the first year of life.

BACKGROUND Pollen exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms in children and adults. However, the association of pollen exposure with respiratory symptoms during infancy, a particularly vulnerable period, remains unclear. We examined whether pollen exposure is associated with respiratory symptoms in infants and if maternal atopy, infant's sex or air pollution modify this association. METHODS We investigated 14,874 observations from 401 healthy infants of a prospective birth cohort. The association between pollen exposure and respiratory symptoms, assessed in weekly telephone interviews, was evaluated using generalized additive mixed models (GAMM). Effect modification by maternal atopy, infant's sex and air pollution (NO2 , PM2.5 ) was assessed with interaction terms. RESULTS Per infant 37±2 (mean±SD) respiratory symptom scores were assessed during the analysis period (January through September). Pollen exposure was associated with increased respiratory symptoms during the daytime (RR [95% CI] per 10% pollen/m3 : combined 1.006 [1.002, 1.009]; tree 1.005 [1.002, 1.008]; grass 1.009 [1.000, 1.23]) and nighttime (combined 1.003 [0.999, 1.007]; tree 1.003 [0.999, 1.007]; grass 1.014 [1.004, 1.024]). While there was no effect modification by maternal atopy and infant's sex, a complex crossover interaction between combined pollen and PM2.5 was found (p-Value 0.002). CONCLUSION Even as early as during the first year of life, pollen exposure was associated with an increased risk of respiratory symptoms, independent of maternal atopy and infant's sex. Because infancy is a particularly vulnerable period for lung development, the identified adverse effect of pollen exposure may be relevant for the evolvement of chronic childhood asthma

Revealing natural relationships among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi: culture line BEG47 represents Diversispora epigaea, not Glomus versiforme

Background: Understanding the mechanisms underlying biological phenomena, such as evolutionarily conservative trait inheritance, is predicated on knowledge of the natural relationships among organisms. However, despite their enormous ecological significance, many of the ubiquitous soil inhabiting and plant symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF, phylum Glomeromycota) are incorrectly classified. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here, we focused on a frequently used model AMF registered as culture BEG47. This fungus is a descendent of the ex-type culture-lineage of Glomus epigaeum, which in 1983 was synonymised with Glomus versiforme. It has since then been used as ‘G. versiforme BEG47’. We show by morphological comparisons, based on type material, collected 1860–61, of G. versiforme and on type material and living ex-type cultures of G. epigaeum, that these two AMF species cannot be conspecific, and by molecular phylogenetics that BEG47 is a member of the genus Diversispora. Conclusions: This study highlights that experimental works published during the last >25 years on an AMF named ‘G. versiforme’ or ‘BEG47’ refer to D. epigaea, a species that is actually evolutionarily separated by hundreds of millions of years from all members of the genera in the Glomerales and thus from most other commonly used AMF ‘laboratory strains’. Detailed redescriptions substantiate the renaming of G. epigaeum (BEG47) as D. epigaea, positioning it systematically in the order Diversisporales, thus enabling an evolutionary understanding of genetical, physiological, and ecological traits, relative to those of other AMF. Diversispora epigaea is widely cultured as a laboratory strain of AMF, whereas G. versiforme appears not to have been cultured nor found in the field since its original description

Ridaforolimus as a single agent in advanced endometrial cancer: results of a single-arm, phase 2 trial

Background:This open-label, multicentre, phase 2 trial evaluated the efficacy and tolerability of the mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor ridaforolimus in women with advanced endometrial cancer.Methods:Women with measurable recurrent or persistent endometrial cancer and documented disease progression were treated with ridaforolimus 12.5 mg intravenously once daily for 5 consecutive days every 2 weeks in a 4-week cycle. The primary end point was clinical benefit response, defined as an objective response or prolonged stable disease of 16 weeks or more.Results:In all, 45 patients were treated with single-agent ridaforolimus. Clinical benefit was achieved by 13 patients (29%), including 5 (11%) with confirmed partial responses and 8 (18%) with prolonged stable disease. All patients with clinical benefit response received ridaforolimus for more than 4 months. In this heavily pretreated population, the 6-month progression-free survival was 18%. Ridaforolimus was generally well tolerated: adverse events were predictable and manageable, consistent with prior studies in other malignancies. Overall, the most common adverse events were diarrhoea (58%) and mouth sores (56%); most common grade 3 or higher adverse events were anaemia (27%) and hyperglycaemia (11%).Conclusion:Single-agent ridaforolimus has antitumor activity and acceptable tolerability in advanced endometrial cancer patients. Further clinical evaluation of ridaforolimus is warranted

Antiproliferative and metabolic effects of metformin in a preoperative window clinical trial for endometrial cancer

We conducted a preoperative window study of metformin in endometrial cancer (EC) patients and evaluated its antiproliferative, molecular and metabolic effects. Twenty obese women with endometrioid EC were treated with metformin (850mg) daily for up to 4weeks prior to surgical staging. Expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and downstream targets of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway were measured by immunohistochemistry. Global, untargeted metabolomics analysis of serum pre- and postmetformin treatment, and matched tumor, was performed. Metformin reduced proliferation by 11.75% (P=0.008) based on the comparison of pre- and posttreatment endometrial tumors. A total of 65% of patients responded to metformin as defined by a decrease in Ki-67 staining in their endometrial tumors post-treatment. Metformin decreased expression of phosphorylated (p)-AMPK (P=0.00001), p-Akt (P=0.0002), p-S6 (51.2%, P=0.0002), p-4E-BP-1 (P=0.001), and ER (P=0.0002) but not PR expression. Metabolomic profiling of serum indicated that responders versus nonresponders to treatment were more sensitive to metformin's effects on induction of lipolysis, which correlated with increased fatty acid oxidation and glycogen metabolism in matched tumors. In conclusion, metformin reduced tumor proliferation in a pre-operative window study in obese EC patients, with dramatic effects on inhibition of the mTOR pathway. Metformin induced a shift in lipid and glycogen metabolism that was more pronounced in the serum and tumors of responders versus nonresponders to treatment.This study provides support for therapeutic clinical trials of metformin in obese patients with EC