Valuing Diversity and Spatial Pattern of Open Space Plots in Urban Neighborhoods

Abstract This study evaluates the diversity, spatial configuration, and pattern of open spaces in urban neighborhoods. Empirical evidence from hedonic modeling reveals that urban residents positively value the varieties of open space but negatively value the diversity within developed land uses. Square shaped plots of open spaces with smooth, as well straight edge are preferred to those of complex and convoluted shapes with irregular edges

Cervicothoracic Intradural Arachnoid Cyst Misdiagnosed as Motor Neuron Disease

Recognizing syndromes which mimic ALS is crucial both to avoid giving this diagnosis erroneously and since there may be appropriate treatments. We report a 63-year-old woman diagnosed with possible ALS five years ago based on upper and lower motor neuron signs with typical electrophysiology and normal cranial MRI. At reassessment, spinal MRI revealed a cervicothoracic cyst with cord compression that was successfully treated neurosurgically. Histopathology confirmed an arachnoid origin as suspected from MRI. Spinal cysts may mimic ALS and need to be thoroughly excluded by appropriate imaging

Gross total but not incomplete resection of glioblastoma prolongs survival in the era of radiochemotherapy†

Background This prospective multicenter study assessed the prognostic influence of the extent of resection when compared with biopsy only in a contemporary patient population with newly diagnosed glioblastoma. Patients and methods Histology, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation status, and clinical data were centrally analyzed. Survival analyses were carried out with the Kaplan-Meier method. Prognostic factors were assessed with proportional hazard models. Results Of 345 patients, 273 underwent open tumor resection and 72 biopsies; 125 patients had gross total resections (GTRs) and 148, incomplete resections. Surgery-related morbidity was lower after biopsy (1.4% versus 12.1%, P = 0.007). 64.3% of patients received radiotherapy and chemotherapy (RT plus CT), 20.0% RT alone, 4.3% CT alone, and 11.3% best supportive care as an initial treatment. Patients ≤60 years with a Karnofsky performance score (KPS) of ≥90 were more likely to receive RT plus CT (P < 0.01). Median overall survival (OS) (progression free survival; PFS) ranged from 33.2 months (15 months) for patients with MGMT-methylated tumors after GTR and RT plus CT to 3.0 months (2.4 months) for biopsied patients receiving supportive care only. Favorable prognostic factors in multivariate analyses for OS were age ≤60 years [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.52; P < 0.001], preoperative KPS of ≥80 (HR = 0.55; P < 0.001), GTR (HR = 0.60; P = 0.003), MGMT promoter methylation (HR = 0.44; P < 0.001), and RT plus CT (HR = 0.18, P < 0.001); patients undergoing incomplete resection did not better than those receiving biopsy only (HR = 0.85; P = 0.31). Conclusions The value of incomplete resection remains questionable. If GTR cannot be safely achieved, biopsy only might be used as an alternative surgical strateg

Derivatives of grindelic acid: from a non-active natural diterpene to synthetic antitumor derivatives

Using several reactions that include homologations and asymmetric epoxidations as well as Ugi and Huisgen couplings, we generated a small focused library of new derivatives from the labdane-type diterpene grindelic acid. These compounds were evaluated as cytotoxic agents against a panel of five human solid tumor cell lines (HBL-100, HeLa, SW1573, T-47D, and WiDr). The presence of the diamide functionalizations enhanced the cytotoxic effect. N-benzyl-N-(1-(benzylamino)-2-methyl-1-oxopropan-2-yl)grindelicamide, proved to be the most active product in all cell lines tested, with values of 0.95 (± 0.38) μM against HBL-100 cells.Fil: Reta, Guillermo Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones En Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Chiaramello, Alejandra Ilda. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: García, Celina. Universidad de la Laguna. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto Universitario de Bio-orgánica "Antonio Gonzalez"; EspañaFil: León, Leticia G.. Universidad de la Laguna. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto Universitario de Bio-orgánica "Antonio Gonzalez"; EspañaFil: Martín, Victor S.. Universidad de la Laguna. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto Universitario de Bio-orgánica "Antonio Gonzalez"; EspañaFil: Padrón, José M.. Universidad de la Laguna. Departamento de Química Orgánica. Instituto Universitario de Bio-orgánica "Antonio Gonzalez"; EspañaFil: Tonn, Carlos Eugenio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones En Tecnología Química; ArgentinaFil: Donadel, Osvaldo Juan. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones En Tecnología Química; Argentin

Heat flow and calculus on metric measure spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below - the compact case

We provide a quick overview of various calculus tools and of the main results concerning the heat flow on compact metric measure spaces, with applications to spaces with lower Ricci curvature bounds. Topics include the Hopf-Lax semigroup and the Hamilton-Jacobi equation in metric spaces, a new approach to differentiation and to the theory of Sobolev spaces over metric measure spaces, the equivalence of the L^2-gradient flow of a suitably defined "Dirichlet energy" and the Wasserstein gradient flow of the relative entropy functional, a metric version of Brenier's Theorem, and a new (stronger) definition of Ricci curvature bound from below for metric measure spaces. This new notion is stable w.r.t. measured Gromov-Hausdorff convergence and it is strictly connected with the linearity of the heat flow.Comment: To the memory of Enrico Magenes, whose exemplar life, research and teaching shaped generations of mathematician

Blood platelet enrichment in mass-producible surface acoustic wave (SAW) driven microfluidic chips

The ability to separate specific biological components from cell suspensions is indispensable for liquid biopsies, and for personalized diagnostics and therapy. This paper describes an advanced surface acoustic wave (SAW) based device designed for the enrichment of platelets (PLTs) from a dispersion of PLTs and red blood cells (RBCs) at whole blood concentrations, opening new possibilities for diverse applications involving cell manipulation with high throughput. The device is made of patterned SU-8 photoresist that is lithographically defined on the wafer scale with a new proposed methodology. The blood cells are initially focused and subsequently separated by an acoustic radiation force (ARF) applied through standing SAWs (SSAWs). By means of flow cytometric analysis, the PLT concentration factor was found to be 7.7, and it was proven that the PLTs maintain their initial state. A substantially higher cell throughput and considerably lower applied powers than comparable devices from literature were achieved. In addition, fully coupled 3D numerical simulations based on SAW wave field measurements were carried out to anticipate the coupling of the wave field into the fluid, and to obtain the resulting pressure field. A comparison to the acoustically simpler case of PDMS channel walls is given. The simulated results show an ideal match to the experimental observations and offer the first insights into the acoustic behavior of SU-8 as channel wall material. The proposed device is compatible with current (Lab-on-a-Chip) microfabrication techniques allowing for mass-scale, reproducible chip manufacturing which is crucial to push the technology from lab-based to real-world applications. © The Royal Society of Chemistry

Leptomeningeal metastasis from solid tumours: EANO-ESMO Clinical Practice Guideline for diagnosis, treatment and follow-up

• This Clinical Practice Guideline provides recommendations for managing leptomeningeal metastases from solid tumours. • The guideline covers clinical, imaging and cytological diagnosis, staging and risk assessment, treatment and follow-up. • A treatment and management algorithm is provided. • The author panel encompasses a multidisciplinary group of experts from different institutions and countries in Europe. • Recommendations are based on available scientific data and the authors’ collective expert opinion