Effective Treatment of Cervical Lymph Node Metastasis of Breast Cancer by Low Voltage High-Frequency Electrochemotherapy

Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new local treatment method for solid and superficial tumors. During this new technique, patients experience an unpleasant sensation and slight edema. Most unpleasant and painful is mainly attributed to muscle contractions provoked by high amplitude and low repetition frequency pulses. Recently, we showed that electrochemotherapy using low voltage and higher repetition frequency (LVHF ECT) is an effective tool for inhibiting tumor growth and inducing cell permeabilization. Low voltage high-frequency electrochemotherapy was developed and optimized in vitro and in vivo which and can be used in the clinic. In the present study, we report a case of cervical lymph node metastasis of breast cancer treated by the technique. In our case, LVHF ECT was successful in reducing the size and palliating the symptoms of cervical lymph node metastasis in clinical conditions, whereas other approaches were inefficient. Our electrochemotherapy technique shows good clinical results. However, more studies on this new method are necessary to prove that LVHF ECT can be considered as a standard treatment modality

User preferences for adaptive user interfaces in health information systems

An adaptive user interface requires identification of user requirements. Interface designers and engineers must understand end-user interaction with the system to improve user interface design. A combination of interviews and observations is applied for user requirement analysis in health information systems (HIS). Then, user preferences are categorized in this paper as either data entry, language and vocabulary, information presentation, or help, warning and feedback. The user preferences in these categories were evaluated using the focus group method. Focus group sessions with different types of HIS users comprising medical staff (with and without computer skills) and system administrators identified each user group’s preference for the initial adaptation of the HIS user interface. User needs and requirements must be identified to adapt the interface to users during data entry into the system. System designers must understand user interactions with the system to identify their needs and preferences. Without this, interface design cannot be adapted to users and users will not be comfortable using the system and eventually abandon its use

Co-Adaptive and Affective Human-Machine Interface for Improving Training Performances of Virtual Myoelectric Forearm Prosthesis

The real-time adaptation between human and assistive devices can improve the quality of life for amputees, which, however, may be difficult to achieve since physical and mental states vary over time. This paper presents a co-adaptive human-machine interface (HMI) that is developed to control virtual forearm prosthesis over a long period of operation. Direct physical performance measures for the requested tasks are calculated. Bioelectric signals are recorded using one pair of electrodes placed on the frontal face region of a user to extract the mental (affective) measures (the entropy of the alpha band of the forehead electroencephalography signals) while performing the tasks. By developing an effective algorithm, the proposed HMI can adapt itself to the mental states of a user, thus improving its usability. The quantitative results from 16 users (including an amputee) show that the proposed HMI achieved better physical performance measures in comparison with the traditional (nonadaptive) interface (p value < 0.001). Furthermore, there is a high correlation (correlation coefficient < 0.9, p value <.01) between the physical performance measures and self-report feedbacks based on the NASA TLX questionnaire. As a result, the proposed adaptive HMI outperformed a traditional HMI. © 2012 IEEE

Psychometric properties and psychological correlates of the COVID‐19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale: A comprehensive systematic review and meta‐analysis

COVID-19 has led to the demise of millions of people worldwide; additionally, it has resulted in a significant economic and mental health burden. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, various measures have been constructed to evaluate pandemic-related fear and anxiety. The COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome Scale (C-19ASS) is a promising measure which assesses coping strategies (e.g., avoidance, checking, worrying, and threat monitoring), termed ‘COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome’, in response to COVID-19 fear and anxiety. The measure has been broadly welcomed, leading to its use in Brazil (Portuguese), China, Greece, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran (Farsi), Italy, Saudi Arabia (Arabic), Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States. To gain a better understanding of the relevance of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the psychological correlates and psychometric properties of the C-19ASS. Through the analysis of a total of 17,789 individuals (age range 19 to 70; female = 33% to 85%), the C-19ASS demonstrated a consistent factor structure, measurement invariance across gender, and acceptable reliabilities. Furthermore, a significant association with COVID-19 anxiety, depressive symptoms, generalized anxiety, health anxiety, psychological distress, and functional impairment (work and social adjustment) during the COVID-pandemic was observed. When considering the Big Five personality traits, the C-19ASS and its subscales were only significantly and negatively associated with extraversion; only the total score on the measure was associated with neuroticism. The observed effect sizes ranged from very small to medium. Given that all included studies (K = 24) were cross-sectional, and due to the nature of the COVID-19 Anxiety Syndrome which may well persist after the pandemic ends, it is recommended to continue screening society for the persistence of this syndrome

Black discoloration of the knee articular cartilage in a patient with pigmented villonodular synovitis: A case report

Key Clinical Message In this case report, total knee arthroplasty was performed in a patient with pigmented villonodular synovitis. During surgery, severe black discoloration of the articular cartilage and menisci was observed in the patient. According to literatures, this is the first case report of severe articular cartilage pigmentation in a patient with pigmented villonodular synovitis

Forage yield and quality as affected by salt stress in different ratios of Sorghum bicolor-Bassia indica intercropping

Salinity tolerance is presumed to be improved in the intercropping system, however, there has been inadequate evidence to scientifically prove this. In the current study, the effect of salinity was examined on forage yield and quality of sorghum and kochia in an intercropping system with different planting ratios in a two-year field trial at Shiraz University. The treatments included three salinity levels of irrigation water; 2 (non-saline as a control), 7 and 14 dS m(-1)in main plots and planting ratios; sole sorghum (SS), sorghum-1/3 kochia (S2K1), 1/2 sorghum-1/2 kochia (SK), 1/3 sorghum- kochia (S1K2) and sole kochia in subplots. The results showed that salt stress decreased forage yield of both plants, especially of sorghum. Salt stress at 14 dS m(-1)reduced fresh and dry weights by 44.9% and 62.4% in sorghum, and 38.7% and 23.3% in kochia, respectively. Salinity also reduced forage quality assessed in terms of crude protein, ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and total digestible nutrients (TDN). The optimum intercropping systems did not change forage yield, but it increased forage quality via reducing ash, ADF and NDF. The optimum planting ratio was S(2)K(1)for both sorghum and kochia, while the SK ratio was suitable for kochia only. Under non-saline conditions, the sole crop cultivation was a better system, while under saline conditions intercropping with a low density of another plant led to higher dry and fresh weights, as well as lower ash, ADF and NDF for each plant. Since kochia performed as a dominant plant, sorghum growth was considerably suppressed under the high density of kochia (i.e., S1K2), especially at 14 dS m(-1)salinity level, which might have been due to high salt tolerance of kochia. Based on the findings of the current study, it could be inferred that in regions with limited freshwater, optimum planting ratio (SK in general for both plants) in an intercropping system could improve the quality of forage with no significant reduction in forage quantity.12 month embargo; published online: 24 June 2020This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]