Intraoral ultrasonographic features of tongue cancer and the incidence of cervical lymph node metastasis

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the visual characteristics of tongue lesion images obtained through intraoral ultrasonographic examination and the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis in patients with tongue cancer. Patients and Methods: This study investigated patients with primary tongue cancer who were examined using intraoral ultrasonography at Hiroshima University Hospital between January 2014 and December 2017. The inclusion criteria were squamous cell carcinoma, curative treatment administration, lateral side of tongue, surgery or brachytherapy alone, no cervical lymph node or distant metastasis as primary treatment, and treatment in our hospital. The exclusion criteria were carcinoma in situ, palliative treatment, dorsum of tongue, and multiple primary cancers. The follow-up period was more than 1 year. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis, and the primary predictor variables were age, gender, longest diameter, thickness, margin or border shapes of the lesion, and treatment methods. The relationship between the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis and the longest diameter, thickness, margin types, and border types as evaluated through intraoral ultrasonography were assessed. The data were collected through a retrospective chart review. Results: Fifty-four patients were included in this study. The analysis indicated that irregular lesion margins were significantly associated with the occurrence of late cervical lymph node metastasis (P < .0001). The cutoff value for late cervical lymph node metastasis was 21.2 mm for the longest diameter and 3.9 mm for the thickness. Conclusions: The results of this study indicates that the irregular lesion margin assessed using intraoral ultrasonography may serve as an effective predictor of late cervical lymph node metastasis in N0 cases. (C) 2020 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon

The effectiveness of mouthwashes in alleviating radiation-induced oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients: A systematic review

Objective The aim of the study was to perform a systematic literature search and meta-analysis to reveal the most effective mouthwash for head and neck cancer patients who are experiencing radiation therapy-induced mucositis. Methods Using two electronic databases, a literature search and data interpretation were systematically performed as follows: (i) problem specification, (ii) devising of a literature search plan, (iii) literature search and retrieval of publications, and (iv) meta-analysis and data interpretation. The main problem was specified as follows: what mouthwash is effective in alleviating oral mucositis for head and neck cancer patients who are undergoing radiotherapy? Results The literature search yielded 354 titles and abstracts. After reviewing the extracted literature, 25 publications met the inclusion criteria for this study and 17 of 25 were eventually evaluated in the meta-analysis. Conclusion The results of the meta-analysis indicated that the use of a mouthwash that includes anti-inflammatory properties contributes the most to alleviating oral mucositis in patients who are undergoing radiotherapy to treat head and neck cancer

Potencial das áreas disponíveis ao cultivo de biomassa para produção de energia, nas Microrregiões Sulriograndenses de Cerro Largo, Santa Rosa e Santo Ângelo.

Despite a kind of euphoria represented by the biomass farming to energy and its transformation into biofuels, it must weigh up the suitability and the convenience of the conversion of arable land and the new agricultural frontiers in areas intended for agroenergy, not only in economic and agronomic terms, but also considering the commitments of environmental and social sustainability. In this scenario, the agroenergy planning has a great importance for the tropical developing countries, like Brazil. Thus, this article aims to present an objective and semiautomatic method, based on geotechnologies, which could be applied to a given region of interest to return the available areas with potential to energy crops. As a result, is presented a map of three micro regions of Rio Grande do Sul state (Brazil), where this approach was tested, for identifying and quantifying the territories at different levels of agroenergetic potential

Amazon rainforests green-up with sunlight in dry season

Metabolism and phenology of Amazon rainforests significantly influence global dynamics of climate, carbon and water, but remain poorly understood. We analyzed Amazon vegetation phenology at multiple scales with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite measurements from 2000 to 2005. MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI, an index of canopy photosynthetic capacity) increased by 25% with sunlight during the dry season across Amazon forests, opposite to ecosystem model predictions that water limitation should cause dry season declines in forest canopy photosynthesis. In contrast to intact forests, areas converted to pasture showed dry-season declines in EVI-derived photosynthetic capacity, presumably because removal of deep-rooted forest trees reduced access to deep soil water. Local canopy photosynthesis measured from eddy flux towers in both a rainforest and forest conversion site confirm our interpretation of satellite data, and suggest that basin-wide carbon fluxes can be constrained by integrating remote sensing and local flux measurements

Treatment outcomes of real-time intraoral sonography-guided implantation technique of 198Au grain brachytherapy for T1 and T2 tongue cancer

It is often challenging to determine the accurate size and shape of oral lesions through computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) when they are very small or obscured by metallic artifacts, such as dental prostheses. Intraoral ultrasonography (IUS) has been shown to be beneficial in obtaining precise information about total tumor extension, as well as the exact location and guiding the insertion of catheters during interstitial brachytherapy. We evaluated the role of IUS in assessing the clinical outcomes of interstitial brachytherapy with 198Au grains in tongue cancer through a retrospective medical chart review. The data from 45 patients with T1 (n = 21) and T2 (n = 24) tongue cancer, who were mainly treated with 198Au grain implants between January 2005 and April 2019, were included in this study. 198Au grain implantations were carried out, and positioning of the implants was confirmed by IUS, to ensure that 198Au grains were appropriately placed for the deep border of the tongue lesion. The five-year local control rates of T1 and T2 tongue cancers were 95.2% and 95.5%, respectively. We propose that the use of IUS to identify the extent of lesions and the position of implanted grains is effective when performing brachytherapy with 198Au grains

Bootstrap não paramétrico para análise de consistência de método para zoneamento agrícola.

Resumo: Entende-se por área potencial para determinada atividade agrícola aquela que, por características naturais, geográficas, sociais, econômicas ou políticas, é vocacionada ou apresenta aptidão para este tipo de atividade, uso ou fim. A avaliação do potencial das terras é um importante instrumento de apoio na elaboração de políticas públicas e instrumentos de gestão, pois auxilia na conciliação das necessidades sociais e econômicas regionais, salvaguardando os recursos naturais para usos futuros (Miura et al., 2011). Estão disponíveis vários métodos capazes de predizer o potencial das terras com base em seus atributos físicos, biológicos e socioeconômicos, cujos resultados são normalmente apresentados na forma de um zoneamento territorial (Andersen et al., 2005). A partir de um estudo de zoneamento pode-se obter um resultado quantitativo que especifique, por exemplo, quantos hectares de um município são considerados aptos para um conjunto específico de culturas agrícolas. A pergunta que se apresenta é: como avaliar a qualidade desse prognóstico? Neste trabalho, propõe-se o uso da técnica bootstrap não paramétrico para obtenção de evidências que permitam responder a esta questão. Também são utilizados diversos recursos de visualização de dados quantitativos no intuito de orientar a discussão dos resultados. Partiu-se de um estudo de caso realizado por Miura et al. (2011) em 40 municípios de três microrregiões (Cerro Largo, Santo Ângelo e Santa Rosa) da Mesorregião Noroeste do Rio Grande do Sul (Figura 1), cujo objetivo foi identificar áreas aptas para o cultivo de espécies vegetais com potencial bioenergético

Catalysis and rotation of F-1 motor: Cleavage of ATP at the catalytic site occurs in 1 ms before 40 degrees substep rotation

F-1, a water-soluble portion of FoF1-ATP synthase, is an ATIP hydrolysis-driven rotary motor. The central gamma-subunit rotates in the alpha(3)beta(3) cylinder by repeating the following four stages of rotation: ATP-binding dwell, rapid 801 substep rotation, interim dwell, and rapid 40degrees substep rotation. At least two 1-ms catalytic events occur in the interim dwell, but it is still unclear which steps in the ATPase cycle, except for ATIP binding, correspond to these events. To discover which steps, we analyzed rotations of F-1 subcomplex (alpha(3)beta(3)gamma) from thermophilic Bacillus PS3 under conditions where cleavage of ATIP at the catalytic site is decelerated: hydrolysis of ATP by the catalytic-site mutant F, and hydrolysis of a slowly hydrolyzable substrate ATPgammaS (adenosine 5'-[gamma-thio]triphosphate) by wild-type F-1. In both cases, interim dwells were extended as expected from bulk phase kinetics, confirming that cleavage of ATP takes place during the interim dwell. Furthermore, the results of ATPgammaS hydrolysis by the mutant F-1 ensure that cleavage of ATIP most likely corresponds to one of the two 1-ms events and not some other faster undetected event. Thus, cleavage of ATP on F-1 occurs in 1 ms during the interim dwell, and we call this interim dwell catalytic dwell