Born to run? Vegetative spread of the invasive plant Phragmites australis via stolons (runners)

Phragmites australis is a highly invasive wetland grass species that dominates nearly any ecosystem that it invades, this is due to its incredibly dense foliage which makes it hard for plants and animals to live in the vicinity of phragmites. Phragmites can grow in versatile environments and are extremely durable. Therefore, once phragmites establish itself, it is very difficult to remove it. On top of that, Phragmites spreads very quickly by utilizing both sexual and asexual reproduction

Life on the rocks: Small-scale primary succession in an abandoned limestone quarry

Abandoned quarries, from which all soil and plant life have been removed, represent an opportunity to study primary succession at a small scale. Using a framework suggested by Gilardelli et al. (2016), we assessed the stage of primary succession in an abandoned limestone quarry in Greencastle, Indiana, where gravel extraction ceased in 1977. From 2018-2021 we surveyed the quarry floor to describe the species composition and distribution of flowering plant species that have established at the site, then described each species in terms of its plant form, life history, native and wetland status, and invasive rank using the USDA website. In 2021, we made a grid across the quarry bottom and randomly selected 50 two-meter plots of which we characterized the substrate and identified flowering plant species found within each plot. We identified 106 species in the quarry, 72% are native to Indiana. From the quarry survey, we found that most of the species currently growing in the Nature Park quarry are native, herbaceous perennials. From the sample plots, we found that the quarry bottom does not follow the pattern of late-phase succession as laid out by Gilardelli et al. (2016) with only 28% of species identified being woody perennials that are sparsely distributed. Shrubland communities are not replacing herbaceous pioneer species as quickly as expected

Эффективность капецитабина по сравнению с 5-фторурацилом при раке толстой кишки и желудка: обновленный метаанализ выживаемости в шести клинических исследованиях

Оральный фторпиримидин — капецитабин — широко изучен в сравнительных исследованиях с вводимым внутривенно 5-фторурацилом как монотерапевтическое средство или в комплексном приме- нении при метастатическом колоректальном раке (МКРР) и метастатическом раке желудка (МРЖ). По рекомендации Европейских органов здравоохранения выполнен метаанализ эффективности применения капецитабина по сравнению с 5-фторурацилом при МКРР и МРЖ

GridIMAGE: A Novel Use of Grid Computing to Support Interactive Human and Computer-Assisted Detection Decision Support

This paper describes a Grid-aware image reviewing system (GridIMAGE) that allows practitioners to (a) select images from multiple geographically distributed digital imaging and communication in medicine (DICOM) servers, (b) send those images to a specified group of human readers and computer-assisted detection (CAD) algorithms, and (c) obtain and compare interpretations from human readers and CAD algorithms. The currently implemented system was developed using the National Cancer Institute caGrid infrastructure and is designed to support the identification of lung nodules on thoracic computed tomography. However, the infrastructure is general and can support any type of distributed review. caGrid data and analytical services are used to link DICOM image databases and CAD systems and to interact with human readers. Moreover, the service-oriented and distributed structure of the GridIMAGE framework enables a flexible system, which can be deployed in an institution (linking multiple DICOM servers and CAD algorithms) and in a Grid environment (linking the resources of collaborating research groups). GridIMAGE provides a framework that allows practitioners to obtain interpretations from one or more human readers or CAD algorithms. It also provides a mechanism to allow cooperative imaging groups to systematically perform image interpretation tasks associated with research protocols

XELOX vs FOLFOX-4 as first-line therapy for metastatic colorectal cancer: NO16966 updated results

BACKGROUND: We report updated overall survival (OS) data from study NO16966, which compared capecitabine plus oxaliplatin (XELOX) vs 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid plus oxaliplatin (FOLFOX4) as first-line therapy in metastatic colorectal cancer. METHODS: NO16966 was a randomised, two-arm, non-inferiority, phase III comparison of XELOX vs FOLFOX4, which was subsequently amended to a 2 x 2 factorial design with further randomisation to bevacizumab or placebo. A planned follow-up exploratory analysis of OS was performed. RESULTS: The intent-to-treat (ITT) population comprised 2034 patients (two-arm portion, n = 634; 2 x 2 factorial portion, n 1400). For the whole NO16966 study population, median OS was 19.8 months in the pooled XELOX/XELOX-placebo/XELOX-bevacizumab arms vs 19.5 months in the pooled FOLFOX4/FOLFOX4-placebo/FOLFOX4-bevacizumab arms (hazard ratio 0.95 (97.5% CI 0.85-1.06)). In the pooled XELOX/XELOX-placebo arms, median OS was 19.0 vs 18.9 months in the pooled FOLFOX4/FOLFOX4-placebo arms (hazard ratio 0.95 (97.5% CI 0.83-1.09)). FOLFOX4 was associated with more grade 3/4 neutropenia/granulocytopenia and febrile neutropenia than XELOX, and XELOX with more grade 3 diarrhoea and grade 3 hand-foot syndrome than FOLFOX4. CONCLUSION: Updated survival data from study NO16966 show that XELOX is similar to FOLFOX4, confirming the primary analysis of progression-free survival. XELOX can be considered as a routine first-line treatment option for patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Is EGFR expression altered following postoperative chemotherapy for colorectal adenocarcinoma?

BACKGROUND: There is immunohistochemical evidence to suggest that expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in primary colorectal adenocarcinoma predicts its expression in recurrent disease. This study investigates whether postoperative chemotherapy affects the degree of concordance between EGFR statuses of the two tumors. METHODS: Thirty-three patients were identified from the files of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center from July 1994 to June 2005. All patients had resection of their primary tumors and their distant recurrences. Eighteen patients received postoperative chemotherapy, 3 of which also received postoperative radiation therapy. Representative primary and recurrent tumor sections were stained using mouse anti-EGFR antibodies and only membranous staining of malignant cells was recorded. Results were reported as negative (no staining), 1+ (positivity in <50% of cells) or 2+ (positivity in >50% of cells). RESULTS: EGFR immunostaining in the 15 patients, who received no postoperative chemotherapy, was decreased in 3 recurrences, remained the same in 10 and increased in 2. In the group of 18 patients who received postoperative chemotherapy, EGFR immunostaining was decreased in 6 recurrences, remained the same in 9 and increased in 3 (p = 0.6598). In patients who received postoperative chemotherapy, the odds ratio for a recurrence to show lower levels of EGFR immunostaining compared to its originally resected primary was 4.75 (CI = 0.94 – 26.73). CONCLUSION: These preliminary data suggest that recurrences following postoperative chemotherapy are likely to have lower levels of EGFR expression compared to cases who receive no chemotherapy. Although the difference of immunostaining profiles between the two groups was not statistically significant, this observation might impact the management of these patients by targeted biologic therapies and its practical implications need further validation in larger series

Epidemiology and natural history of central venous access device use and infusion pump function in the NO16966 trial

Background: Central venous access devices in fluoropyrimidine therapy are associated with complications; however, reliable data are lacking regarding their natural history, associated complications and infusion pump performance in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: We assessed device placement, use during treatment, associated clinical outcomes and infusion pump perfomance in the NO16966 trial.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Device replacement was more common with FOLFOX-4 (5-fluorouracil (5-FU)+oxaliplatin) than XELOX (capecitabine+oxaliplatin) (14.1% vs 5.1%). Baseline device-associated events and post-baseline removal-/placement-related events occurred more frequently with FOLFOX-4 than XELOX (11.5% vs 2.4% and 8.5% vs 2.1%). Pump malfunctions, primarily infusion accelerations in 16% of patients, occurred within 1.6–4.3% of cycles. Fluoropyrimidine-associated grade 3/4 toxicity was increased in FOLFOX-4-treated patients experiencing a malfunction compared with those who did not (97 out of 155 vs 452 out of 825 patients), predominantly with increased grade 3/4 neutropenia (53.5% vs 39.8%). Febrile neutropenia rates were comparable between patient cohorts±malfunction. Efficacy outcomes were similar in patient cohorts±malfunction.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: Central venous access device removal or replacement was common and more frequent in patients receiving FOLFOX-4. Pump malfunctions were also common and were associated with increased rates of grade 3/4 haematological adverse events. Oral fluoropyrimidine-based regimens may be preferable to infusional 5-FU based on these findings

Phase II study of erlotinib (OSI-774) in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer

Erlotinib (Tarceva™, OSI-774), a potent epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR), was evaluated in a phase II study to assess its activity in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer. In all, 38 patients with metastatic colorectal cancer were treated with erlotinib at a continuous daily oral dose of 150 mg. Radiological evaluation was carried out every 8 weeks and tumour biopsies were performed before treatment and on day 8. Of 31 evaluable patients, 19 (61%) had progressive disease and 12 (39%) had stable disease (s.d.). The median time to progression for those patients having s.d. was 123 days (range 108–329 days). The most common adverse events were rash in 34 patients and diarrhoea in 23 patients. Correlative studies were conducted to investigate the effect of erlotinib on downstream signalling. Tumour tissue correlations were based on usable tissue from eight match paired tumour samples pre- and on therapy, and showed a statistically significant decrease in the median intensity of both pEGFR (P=0.008) and phospho-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) (P=0.008) a week after commencement of treatment. No other statistically significant change in tumour markers was observed. Erlotinib was well tolerated with the most common toxicities being rash and diarrhoea. More than one-third of evaluable patients had s.d. for a minimum of 8 weeks. Correlative studies showed a reduction in phosphorylated EGFR and ERK in tumour tissue post-treatment