Pathological vertebral fracture after stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung metastases. Case report and literature review.

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a radiation technique used in patients with oligometastatic lung disease. Lung and chest wall toxicities have been described in the patients but pathological vertebral fracture is an adverse effect no reported in patients treated with SBRT for lung metastases.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 68-year-old woman with the diagnosis of a recurrence of a single lung metastatic nodule of urothelial carcinoma after third line of chemotherapy. The patient received a hypo-fractionated course of SBRT.A 3D-conformal multifield technique was used with six coplanar and one non-coplanar statics beams. A total dose of 48 Gy in three fractions over six days was prescribed to the 95% of the CTV. Ten months after the SBRT procedure, a CT scan showed complete response of the metastatic disease without signs of radiation pneumonitis. However, rib and vertebral bone toxicities were observed with the fracture-collapse of the 7^thand 8^thvertebral bodies and a fracture of the 7^thand 8^thleft ribs. We report a unique case of pathological vertebral fracture appearing ten months after SBRT for an asymptomatic growing lung metastases of urothelial carcinoma.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Though SBRT allows for minimization of normal tissue exposure to high radiation doses SBRT tolerance for vertebral bone tissue has been poorly evaluated in patients with lung tumors. Oncologists should be alert to the potential risk of fatal bone toxicity caused by this novel treatment. We recommend BMD testing in all woman over 65 years old with clinical risk factors that could contribute to low BMD. If low BMD is demonstrated, we should carefully restrict the maximum radiation dose in the vertebral body in order to avoid intermediate or low radiation dose to the whole vertebral body.</p

Variation within and between Frankliniella Thrips Species in Host Plant Utilization

Anthophilous flower thrips in the genus Frankliniella (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) exploit ephemeral plant resources and therefore must be capable of successfully locating appropriate hosts on a repeated basis, yet little is known of interspecific and intraspecific variation in responses to host plant type and nutritional quality. Field trials were conducted over two seasons to determine if the abundance of males and females of three common Frankliniella species, F. occidentalis (Pergande), F. tritici (Fitch) and F. bispinosa (Morgan), their larvae, and a key predator, Orius insidiosus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were affected by host plant type and plant nutritional quality. Two host plants, pepper, Capsicum annuum L. (Solanales: Solanaceae) and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum L. that vary in suitability for these species were examined, and their nutritional quality was manipulated by applying three levels of nitrogen fertilization (101 kg/ha, 202 kg/ha, 404 kg/ha). F. occidentalis females were more abundant in pepper than in tomato, but males did not show a differential response. Both sexes of F. tritici and F. bispinosa were more abundant in tomato than in pepper. Larval thrips were more abundant in pepper than in tomato. Likewise, O. insidiosus females and nymphs were more abundant in pepper than in tomato. Only F. occidentalis females showed a distinct response to nitrogen fertilization, with abundance increasing with fertilization. These results show that host plant utilization patterns vary among Frankliniella spp. and should not be generalized from results of the intensively studied F. occidentalis. Given the different pest status of these species and their differential abundance in pepper and tomato, it is critical that scouting programs include species identifications for proper management

A comparison between padding and bath exhaustion to apply microcapsules onto cotton

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10570-015-0600-8[EN] The use of Microcapsules has increased in the textile sector. They have been applied as a possible means of introducing new products to textiles, such as insect repellents, antibiotics, skin moisturizers, etc. Microencapsulation technology has improved the fragrance durability on fabrics. Historically, the durability of the fragrance was poor, especially once the fabric had been washed. Microcapsules have been used in textiles for many years, however their previous characterization, adhesion behaviour and permanence on the fabrics are not well known. Nowadays the majority of textile industries are not able to characterize commercial products, or to study the process of adhering the microcapsule to the fibre's surface nor their functionality. Thus, the characterization of microencapsulated fabrics with different active core and the knowledge of the various application processes becomes a major challenge in the field of microcapsules use. There are various industrial processes to apply microcapsules, but determining optimal amounts of products, temperature, conditions and other process variables are an important challenge for the textile sector in order to achieve the highest depositions and retention of microcapsules. This work is focused on determining and quantifying presence fragrance microcapsules when applied onto fabrics by padding and by bath exhaustion and determining which method is the most effective. Consequently, diverse analysis techniques such as microscopy (SEM), spectroscopy FTIR and XPS have been used. We concluded that proposed techniques seem to be useful to compare fabrics treated with microcapsules. Results demonstrate that padding application gives better yields than bath exhaustion.Bonet Aracil, MA.; Monllor Pérez, P.; Capablanca Francés, L.; Gisbert Paya, J.; Díaz-García, P.; Montava Seguí, IJ. (2015). A comparison between padding and bath exhaustion to apply microcapsules onto cotton. Cellulose. 22(3):2117-2127. doi:10.1007/s10570-015-0600-8S21172127223Bonet M, Quijada C, Muñoz S, Cases F (2004) Characterization of ethylcellulose with different degrees of substitution (DS): a diffuse-reflectance infrared study. Can J Anal Sci Spectrosc 49(4):234–239Bonet M, Capablanca L, Monllor P, Díaz P, Montava I (2012) Studying bath exhaust as a method to apply microcapsules on fabrics. J Text Inst 103(6):629–635Buchert J, Pere LS, Johanson JM, Campbell J (2001) Analysis of surface chemistry of linen and cotton fabrics. Text Res J 71:626–629Fras L, Johanson LS, Stenius P, Laine P, Stana-Kleinscheck K, Ribitsch V (2005) Analysis of theoxidation of cellulosefibresbytitration and XPS. Colloids Surf A 260:101–108Gisbert G, Ibañez F, Bonet M, Monllor P, Díaz P, Montava I (2009) Increasing hydration of the epidermis by microcapsules in sterilized products. J Appl Polym Sci 113(4):2282–2286Hong K, Park S (1999) Melamine resin microcapsules containing fragant oil: synthesis and characterization. J Appl Polym Sci 58:128–131Jing HU, Zuobing X, Rujun Z, Shuangshuang M, Mingxi W, Zhen L (2011) Properties of aroma sustained-release cotton fabric with rose fragrance nanocapsule. Chin J Chem Eng 19(3):523–528Kokot S, Czarnik-Matusewicz C, Ozaki Y (2002) Two- dimensional correlation spectroscopy and principal component analysis studies of temperature-dependent IR spectra of cotton-cellulose. Biopolymers 67:456–469Kondo T, Sawatari C, Manley RJ, Gray DG (1994) Characterization of hydrogen bonding in cellulose synthetic polymer blend systems with regioselectively substituted methylcellulose. Macromolecules 27(1):210–215Miró Specos MM, Escobar G, Marino P, Puggia C, Defain Tesoriero MV, Hermida L (2010) Aroma finishing of cotton fabrics by means of microencapsulation techniques. J Ind Text 40(1):13–32Monllor P, Bonet M, Cases F (2007) Characterization of the behaviour of flavour microcapsules in cotton fabrics. Eur Polym J 43:2481–2490Monllor P, Bonet M, Sánchez L, Cases F (2009) Thermal behaviour of microencapsulated flavours when applied to cellulose fabrics. Text Res J 79(4):365–380Monllor P, Capablanca L, Gisbert J, Díaz P, Bonet M (2010) Improvement of microcapsule adhesion to fabrics. Text Res J 80(7):631–635Nelson G (1991) Microencapsulates in textile coloration and finishing. Rev Prog Color Relat Top 21:72–85Nelson G (2001) Microencapsulation in textile finishing. Rev Prog Color Relat Top 321:57–64Nelson G (2002) Application of microencapsulation in textiles. Int J Pharm 242:55–62Rodrigues SN, Fernandes I, Martins IM, Mata VG, Barreiro F, Rodrigues AE (2008) Microencapsulation of limonene for textiles application. Ind Eng Chem Res 47:4142–4147Rodrigues SN, Martins, IM, Fernades IP, Gomes PB, Mata VG, Barreiro MF, Rodrigues AE (2009) Scentfashion®: microencapsulated perfumes for textile application. Chem Eng J 149(1–3):463–472. ISSN:1385-8947Sócrates G (1997) In: Infrared characteristic group frequencies. Tables and charts, 2nd ednTopalovic T, Nierstrasz VA, Bautista L, Jocic D, Navarro A, Warmoeskerken MMCG (2007) XPS and contact angle study of cotton surface oxidation by catalytic bleaching. Colloids Surf A 296:76–85Wilson RC, Pfhol WF (2000) Study of crosslinking reactions of melamine/formaldehyde resin with hydroxyl functional polyester by generalized 2-D infrared spectroscopy. Vib Spectrosc 23:13–22Zhang H, Wang X (2009) Fabrication and performances of microencapsulated phase change materials based on n-octadecane core and resorcinol-modified melamine-formaldehyde shell. Colloids Surf A 332:129–13

Detection of early Alzheimer's disease in MCI patients by the combination of MMSE and an episodic memory test

BACKGROUND: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a heterogeneous clinical entity that comprises the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (Pr-AD). New biomarkers are useful in detecting Pr-AD, but they are not universally available. We aimed to investigate baseline clinical and neuropsychological variables that might predict progression from MCI to AD dementia. METHODS: All patients underwent a complete clinical and neuropsychological evaluation at baseline and every 6 months during a two-year follow-up period, with 54 out of 109 MCI patients progressing to dementia (50 of them progressed to AD dementia), and 55 remaining as stable MCI (S-MCI). RESULTS: A combination of MMSE and California Verbal Learning Test Long Delayed Total Recall (CVLT-LDTR) constituted the best predictive model: subjects scoring above 26/30 on MMSE and 4/16 on CVLT-LDTR had a negative predictive value of 93.93% at 2 years, whereas those subjects scoring below both of these cut-off scores had a positive predictive value of 80.95%. CONCLUSIONS: Pr-AD might be distinguished from S-MCI at baseline using the combination of MMSE and CVLT-LDTR. These two neuropsychological predictors are relatively brief and may be readily completed in non-specialist clinical settings

Music-aided affective interaction between human and service robot

This study proposes a music-aided framework for affective interaction of service robots with humans. The framework consists of three systems, respectively, for perception, memory, and expression on the basis of the human brain mechanism. We propose a novel approach to identify human emotions in the perception system. The conventional approaches use speech and facial expressions as representative bimodal indicators for emotion recognition. But, our approach uses the mood of music as a supplementary indicator to more correctly determine emotions along with speech and facial expressions. For multimodal emotion recognition, we propose an effective decision criterion using records of bimodal recognition results relevant to the musical mood. The memory and expression systems also utilize musical data to provide natural and affective reactions to human emotions. For evaluation of our approach, we simulated the proposed human-robot interaction with a service robot, iRobiQ. Our perception system exhibited superior performance over the conventional approach, and most human participants noted favorable reactions toward the music-aided affective interaction.open0

Laparoscopic versus conventional appendectomy - a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although laparoscopic surgery has been available for a long time and laparoscopic cholecystectomy has been performed universally, it is still not clear whether open appendectomy (OA) or laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) is the most appropriate surgical approach to acute appendicitis. The purpose of this work is to compare the therapeutic effects and safety of laparoscopic and conventional "open" appendectomy by means of a meta-analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A meta-analysis was performed of all randomized controlled trials published in English that compared LA and OA in adults and children between 1990 and 2009. Calculations were made of the effect sizes of: operating time, postoperative length of hospital stay, postoperative pain, return to normal activity, resumption of diet, complications rates, and conversion to open surgery. The effect sizes were then pooled by a fixed or random-effects model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Forty-four randomized controlled trials with 5292 patients were included in the meta-analysis. Operating time was 12.35 min longer for LA (95% CI: 7.99 to 16.72, p < 0.00001). Hospital stay after LA was 0.60 days shorter (95% CI: -0.85 to -0.36, p < 0.00001). Patients returned to their normal activity 4.52 days earlier after LA (95% CI: -5.95 to -3.10, p < 0.00001), and resumed their diet 0.34 days earlier(95% CI: -0.46 to -0.21, p < 0.00001). Pain after LA on the first postoperative day was significantly less (p = 0.008). The overall conversion rate from LA to OA was 9.51%. With regard to the rate of complications, wound infection after LA was definitely reduced (OR = 0.45, 95% CI: 0.34 to 0.59, p < 0.00001), while postoperative ileus was not significantly reduced(OR = 0.91, 95% CI: 0.57 to 1.47, p = 0.71). However, intra-abdominal abscess (IAA), intraoperative bleeding and urinary tract infection (UIT) after LA, occurred slightly more frequently(OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 1.01 to 2.43, p = 0.05; OR = 1.56, 95% CI: 0.54 to 4.48, p = 0.41; OR = 1.76, 95% CI: 0.58 to 5.29, p = 0.32).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>LA provides considerable benefits over OA, including a shorter length of hospital stay, less postoperative pain, earlier postoperative recovery, and a lower complication rate. Furthermore, over the study period it was obvious that there had been a trend toward fewer differences in operating time for the two procedures. Although LA was associated with a slight increase in the incidence of IAA, intraoperative bleeding and UIT, it is a safe procedure. It may be that the widespread use of LA is due to its better therapeutic effect.</p

Evaluation of the effects of erythritol on gene expression in Brucella abortus

Bacteria of the genus Brucella have the unusual capability to catabolize erythritol and this property has been associated with their virulence mainly because of the presence of erythritol in bovine foetal tissues and because the attenuated S19 vaccine strain is the only Brucella strain unable to oxydize erythritol. In this work we have analyzed the transcriptional changes produced in Brucella by erythritol by means of two high throughput approaches: RNA hybridization against a microarray containing most of Brucella ORF's constructed from the Brucella ORFeome and next generation sequencing of Brucella mRNA in an Illumina GAIIx platform. The results obtained showed the overexpression of a group of genes, many of them in a single cluster around the ery operon, able to co-ordinately mediate the transport and degradation of erythritol into three carbon atoms intermediates that will be then converted into fructose-6P (F6P) by gluconeogenesis. Other induced genes participating in the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate shunt and the TCA may collaborate with the ery genes to conform an efficient degradation of sugars by this route. On the other hand, several routes of amino acid and nucleotide biosynthesis are up-regulated whilst amino acid transport and catabolism genes are down-regulated. These results corroborate previous descriptions indicating that in the presence of erythritol, this sugar was used preferentially over other compounds and provides a neat explanation of the the reported stimulation of growth induced by erythritol

Plastic accumulation in the Mediterranean Sea

Concentrations of floating plastic were measured throughout the Mediterranean Sea to assess whether this basin can be regarded as a great accumulation region of plastic debris. We found that the average density of plastic (1 item per 4 m2), as well as its frequency of occurrence (100% of the sites sampled), are comparable to the accumulation zones described for the five subtropical ocean gyres. Plastic debris in the Mediterranean surface waters was dominated by millimeter-sized fragments, but showed a higher proportion of large plastic objects than that present in oceanic gyres, reflecting the closer connection with pollution sources. The accumulation of floating plastic in the Mediterranean Sea (between 1,000 and 3,000 tons) is likely related to the high human pressure together with the hydrodynamics of this semi-enclosed basin, with outflow mainly occurring through a deep water layer. Given the biological richness and concentration of economic activities in the Mediterranean Sea, the affects of plastic pollution on marine and human life are expected to be particularly frequent in this plastic accumulation region