Effectiveness of a Computerized Home-Based Cognitive Stimulation Program for Treating Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment

Cancer patients assert that after chemotherapy their cognitive abilities have deteriorated. Cognitive stimulation is the clinical treatment of choice for reversing cognitive decline. The current study describes a computerized home-based cognitive stimulation program in patients who survived breast cancer. It aims to assess safety and effectiveness of cognitive stimulation in the oncology population. A series of 45-min training sessions was completed by the participants. A thorough assessment was performed both before and after the intervention. The mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, the Cognitive Assessment for Chemo Fog Research, and the Functionality Assessment Instrument in Cancer Treatment–Cognitive Function served as the main assessment tools. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, Brief Fatigue Inventory, and Measuring Quality of Life–The World Health Organization data were gathered as secondary outcomes. Homebased cognitive stimulation demonstrated beneficial effects in the oncology population, with no side effects being reported. Cognitive, physical, and emotional improvements were observed, along with decreased interference in daily life activities and a better overall quality of life

Triple-Negative Breast Cancer: A Review of Conventional and Advanced Therapeutic Strategies

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) cells are deficient in estrogen, progesterone and ERBB2 receptor expression, presenting a particularly challenging therapeutic target due to their highly invasive nature and relatively low response to therapeutics. There is an absence of specific treatment strategies for this tumor subgroup, and hence TNBC is managed with conventional therapeutics, often leading to systemic relapse. In terms of histology and transcription profile these cancers have similarities to BRCA-1-linked breast cancers, and it is hypothesized that BRCA1 pathway is non-functional in this type of breast cancer. In this review article, we discuss the different receptors expressed by TNBC as well as the diversity of different signaling pathways targeted by TNBC therapeutics, for example, Notch, Hedgehog, Wnt/b-Catenin as well as TGF-beta signaling pathways. Additionally, many epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors effectively inhibit the TNBCs, but they face challenges of either resistance to drugs or relapse. The resistance of TNBC to conventional therapeutic agents has helped in the advancement of advanced TNBC therapeutic approaches including hyperthermia, photodynamic therapy, as well as nanomedicine-based targeted therapeutics of drugs, miRNA, siRNA, and aptamers, which will also be discussed. Artificial intelligence is another tool that is presented to enhance the diagnosis of TNBC

Plasmonic/Magnetic Multifunctional nanoplatform for Cancer Theranostics

Cancer is the second leading disease which causes major mortality and morbidity worldwide1 . In cancer therapy, it is crucial to increase the drug specificity and drug efficacy to minimise or completely eradicate significant side-effects on patients2 . Cancer nanotherapeutics overcome many serious drawbacks of chemotherapy such as non-specific targeting, lower efficacy, insolubility of drug moieties in water and oral bioavailability3 . Accordingly, Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) are exploited as an important nanomaterial for cancer detection as well as therapeutics4 . Such magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) gained its momentum because of their single-domain ordering along with their large surface to volume ratio (providing large surface area for attachment of biological entities). Hence, this property makes them a suitable candidate as a contrast agent, drug-carrying cargo and hyperthermal agent5

Laparoscopic versus open colectomy for acute complicated diverticulitis: a comparative study of outcomes - a systematic review

Acute complicated diverticulitis presents a more severe form of diverticular illness frequently needing urgent medical intervention and possibly surgical therapy. The aim of this review is to gather conclusive evidence from the literature comparing laparoscopic techniques to open and conservative ones in order to determine the most effective treatment plan for complicated diverticulitis. Online databases like PubMed, Google Scholar, Cochrane, Elsevier and many others were systematically searched according to an inclusion criterion to obtain a total of 13 studies to be included in the review. 8/13 studies presented short term outcomes while 5/13 studies concluded with long term outcomes following index surgeries. Based on the end results, it can be concluded that laparoscopic surgery, in particular laparoscopic colon resection is superior to other techniques in treating complicated diverticulitis in terms of fewer short-term complications, low mortality rate better quality of life with few recurrence rates. However, other approaches have their own advantages and can be given priority based on the unique presentation of each case. The clinicians are advised to make informed decisions keeping in view all the patient and disease associated aspects

Systems biology markup language (SBML) level 3 package: multistate, multicomponent and multicompartment species, version 1, release 2

Rule-based modeling is an approach that permits constructing reaction networks based on the specification of rules for molecular interactions and transformations. These rules can encompass details such as the interacting sub-molecular domains and the states and binding status of the involved components. Conceptually, fine-grained spatial information such as locations can also be provided. Through “wildcards” representing component states, entire families of molecule complexes sharing certain properties can be specified as patterns. This can significantly simplify the definition of models involving species with multiple components, multiple states, and multiple compartments. The systems biology markup language (SBML) Level 3 Multi Package Version 1 extends the SBML Level 3 Version 1 core with the “type” concept in the Species and Compartment classes. Therefore, reaction rules may contain species that can be patterns and exist in multiple locations. Multiple software tools such as Simmune and BioNetGen support this standard that thus also becomes amedium for exchanging rule-based models. This document provides the specification for Release 2 of Version 1 of the SBML Level 3 Multi package. No design changes have been made to the description of models between Release 1 and Release 2; changes are restricted to the correction of errata and the addition of clarifications

Systems biology markup language (SBML) level 3 package: multistate, multicomponent and multicompartment species, version 1, release 2

Rule-based modeling is an approach that permits constructing reaction networks based on the specification of rules for molecular interactions and transformations. These rules can encompass details such as the interacting sub-molecular domains and the states and binding status of the involved components. Conceptually, fine-grained spatial information such as locations can also be provided. Through “wildcards” representing component states, entire families of molecule complexes sharing certain properties can be specified as patterns. This can significantly simplify the definition of models involving species with multiple components, multiple states, and multiple compartments. The systems biology markup language (SBML) Level 3 Multi Package Version 1 extends the SBML Level 3 Version 1 core with the “type” concept in the Species and Compartment classes. Therefore, reaction rules may contain species that can be patterns and exist in multiple locations. Multiple software tools such as Simmune and BioNetGen support this standard that thus also becomes amedium for exchanging rule-based models. This document provides the specification for Release 2 of Version 1 of the SBML Level 3 Multi package. No design changes have been made to the description of models between Release 1 and Release 2; changes are restricted to the correction of errata and the addition of clarifications

Inference of Convergent Gene Acquisition Among Pseudomonas syringae Strains Isolated From Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Squash

Pseudomonas syringae sensu strict , (phylogroup 2; referred to as P. syringae) consists of an environmentally ubiquitous bacterial population associated with diseases of numerous plant species. Recent studies using multilocus sequence analysis have indicated the clonal expansion of several P. syringae lineages, located in phylogroups 2a and 2b, in association with outbreaks of bacterial spot disease of watermelon, cantaloupe, and squash in the United States. To investigate the evolutionary processes that led to the emergence of these epidemic lineages, we sequenced the genomes of six P. syringae strains that were isolated from cucurbits grown in the United States, Europe, and China over a period of more than a decade, as well as eight strains that were isolated from watermelon and squash grown in six different Florida counties during the 2013 and 2014 seasons. These data were subjected to comparative analyses along with 42 previously sequenced genomes of P. syringae stains collected from diverse plant species and environments available from GenBank. Maximum likelihood reconstruction of the P. syringae core genome revealed the presence of a hybrid phylogenetic group, comprised of cucurbit strains collected in Florida, Italy, Serbia, and France, which emerged through genome-wide homologous recombination between phylogroups 2a and 2b. Functional analysis of the recombinant core genome showed that pathways involved in the ATP-dependent transport and metabolism of amino acids, bacterial motility, and secretion systems were enriched for recombination. A survey of described virulence factors indicated the convergent acquisition of several accessory type 3 secreted effectors (T3SEs) among phylogenetically distinct lineages through integrative and conjugative element and plasmid loci. Finally, pathogenicity assays on watermelon and squash showed qualitative differences in virulence between strains of the same clonal lineage, which correlated with T3SEs acquired through various mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). This study provides novel insights into the interplay of homologous recombination and HGT toward pathogen emergence and highlights the dynamic nature of P. syringae sensu lato genomes

San Adrian: un nuevo yacimiento de la Edad del Bronce en el Norte de la Peninsula Iberica

Bronze Age studies carried out in the Cantabrian Region have traditionally focused on prestige goods and funerary contexts. As a result of this, the lack of information about daily activities, subsistence strategies, and human settlement on a regional scale is evident in the state of art. However, current research has achieved new discoveries in recent years, allowing a reconstruction of some aspects of the economic structure, settlements, material culture and the palaeoenvironment during the Bronze Age. Indeed, besides the funerary practices discovered in 1983 in San Adrian (Parztuergo Nagusia, Gipuzkoa), research has now revealed the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Early Bronze Age occupations. This paper presents a first characterization of the retrieved evidence and a preliminary evaluation of the archaeological site and its environment. San Adrian is a tunnel-shaped cave located at 1,000 meters a.s.l. in the Aizkorri mountain range, opening a passage beneath the Atlantic-Mediterranean watershed in northern Iberia. The strategic character of this mountain site is demonstrated by the presence of Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations, and by the construction of a road passing through it and the fortification of both its entrances in the Middle Ages. The aim of the archaeological survey started in 2008 was to identify, describe and evaluate the heritage potential of the cave, because previous fieldwork had only managed to make surface finds in the side galleries, including a medieval hoard and Bronze Age human remains. The work carried out by our research group at San Adrian includes a series of test pits and the excavation of an area nine square metres in size following stratigraphic criteria. In the current state, we identified at least two contexts corresponding to Late Upper Palaeolithic and Bronze Age occupations in the cave. Fieldwork included the sieving and flotation of sediment and the collection of samples for different types of analysis: palynology, carpology, sedimentology, and radiocarbon dating. The evidence is being studied by a multidisciplinary team according to expertise requirements for each topic: palaeobotany and environment, archaeozoology, sedimentology, geology, physical anthropology, prehistoric industries (lithics, pottery and bone) and archaeological and historical documentation. Because of its recent discovery, Upper Palaeolithic evidence remains still under study, but first results on Bronze Age layers can be presented. The ongoing archaeobotanical and archaeozoological studies reveal the exploitation of domestic plants and fauna complemented by hunting and foraging of wild species. At the same time, the archaeological artefacts and their production sequences show the exploitation of nearby resources on both sides of the mountain range, while prestige goods are absent. This evidence is also used to estimate the regularity of cave occupations and to propose a model of seasonal exploitation of the mountain environment. The results obtained reveal the exploitation of resources from both the Mediterranean and Atlantic basins, and contribute towards an understanding of the daily activities of Bronze Age societies. In addition, the evidence shows the exchange and circulation of quotidian products between the Cantabrian region and inland Iberia in other networks than those of prestige goods