A questionnaire-based comparative study of postoperative quality of life between laryngotracheal separation and tracheoesophageal diversion

Purpose: Whether tracheoesophageal diversion (TED) is preferable to laryngotracheal separation (LTS) is unclear. This study examined the need for tracheoesophageal anastomosis by reviewing complications after TED and LTS and administering a questionnaire on postoperative quality of life.Patients and methods: Medical records of TED/LTS cases performed at a single institution from 2003 to 2015 were retrospectively reviewed and a questionnaire was administered to parents of patients at an outpatient visit.Results: A total of 40 TED and 18 LTS cases were included. Complications occurred in six TED cases and one LTS case, with no significant differences between groups (P=0.42). A total of 22 parents of patients (TED 16 cases; LTS six cases) completed the questionnaire. Voice production was reported in three TED cases and two LTS cases. Patients indicated that suctions were ‘decreased’ in 13 and ‘unchanged’ in two TED cases, but ‘decreased’ in one and ‘unchanged’ in five LTS cases (P=0.0055). Readmissions were ‘increased’ in one and ‘decreased’ in 14 TED cases, but ‘decreased’ in three and ‘unchanged’ in three LTS cases (P=0.015).Conclusion: Postoperative complication rate was equivalent between groups, and the numbers of suctions and readmissions were decreased in the TED group. Therefore, tracheoesophageal anastomosis should be performed more commonly.Keywords: complication, laryngotracheal separation, quality of life questionnaire, tracheoesophageal diversio

Novel quantitative immunohistochemical analysis for evaluating PD-L1 expression with phosphor-integrated dots for predicting the efficacy of patients with cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors

IntroductionProgrammed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in tumor tissues is measured as a predictor of the therapeutic efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in many cancer types. PD-L1 expression is evaluated by immunohistochemical staining using 3,3´-diaminobenzidine (DAB) chronogenesis (IHC-DAB); however, quantitative and reproducibility issues remain. We focused on a highly sensitive quantitative immunohistochemical method using phosphor-integrated dots (PIDs), which are fluorescent nanoparticles, and evaluated PD-L1 expression between the PID method and conventional DAB method.MethodsIn total, 155 patients with metastatic or recurrent cancer treated with ICIs were enrolled from four university hospitals. Tumor tissue specimens collected before treatment were subjected to immunohistochemical staining with both the PID and conventional DAB methods to evaluate PD-L1 protein expression.ResultsPD-L1 expression assessed using the PID and DAB methods was positively correlated. We quantified PD-L1 expression using the PID method and calculated PD-L1 PID scores. The PID score was significantly higher in the responder group than in the non-responder group. Survival analysis demonstrated that PD-L1 expression evaluated using the IHC-DAB method was not associated with progression-free survival (PFS) or overall survival (OS). Yet, PFS and OS were strikingly prolonged in the high PD-L1 PID score group.ConclusionQuantification of PD-L1 expression as a PID score was more effective in predicting the treatment efficacy and prognosis of patients with cancer treated with ICIs. The quantitative evaluation of PD-L1 expression using the PID method is a novel strategy for protein detection. It is highly significant that the PID method was able to identify a group of patients with a favorable prognosis who could not be identified by the conventional DAB method

Increased Plasma Soluble PD-1 Concentration Correlates with Disease Progression in Patients with Cancer Treated with Anti-PD-1 Antibodies

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) confer remarkable therapeutic benefits to patients with various cancers. However, many patients are non-responders or develop resistance following an initial response to ICIs. There are no reliable biomarkers to predict the therapeutic effect of ICIs. Therefore, this study investigated the clinical implications of plasma levels of soluble anti-programmed death-1 (sPD-1) in patients with cancer treated with ICIs. In total, 22 patients (13 with non-small-cell lung carcinoma, 8 with gastric cancer, and 1 with bladder cancer) were evaluated for sPD-1 concentration using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for diagnostic and anti-PD-1 antibody analyses. sPD-1 levels were low before the administration of anti-PD-1 antibodies. After two and four cycles of anti-PD-1 antibody therapy, sPD-1 levels significantly increased compared with pretreatment levels (p = 0.0348 vs. 0.0232). We observed an increased rate of change in plasma sPD-1 concentrations after two and four cycles of anti-PD-1 antibody therapy that significantly correlated with tumor size progression (p = 0.024). sPD-1 may be involved in resistance to anti-PD-1 antibody therapy, suggesting that changes in sPD-1 levels can identify primary ICI non-responders early in treatment. Detailed analysis of each cancer type revealed the potential of sPD-1 as a predictive biomarker of response to ICI treatment in patients with cancer

Taller de aptitud vocacional para arquitectura - AR206 201801

El Taller de Aptitud Vocacional para Arquitectura es un curso de especialidad en la carrera de Arquitectura, de carácter teórico-práctico dirigido a los estudiantes del ciclo 0 que no aprobaron la "Prueba de aptitud Vocacional para Arquitectura"; el curso permite verificar si el perfil de los estudiantes coincide con el necesario para el seguimiento de la Carrera de Arquitectura y busca desarrollar la competencia general de Manejo de la información y la competencia específica de Proyecto Arquitectónico. En este sentido, el curso brinda el primer acercamiento a los conceptos arquitectónicos básicos y a la historia del arte y arquitectura, con el fin de corroborar y/o reforzar las aptitudes vocacionales para la carrera de Arquitectura y así el estudiante, aumente sus probabilidades de un buen desempeño académico y la exitosa culminación de la carrera

Taller de Aptitud Vocacional para Arquitectura - AR206 - 202101

Descripción: El Taller de Aptitud Vocacional para Arquitectura es un curso del ciclo 0 de la carrera de Arquitectura, de carácter teórico-práctico dirigido a los estudiantes que no aprobaron o no rindieron la "Prueba de aptitud 1Vocacional para Arquitectura". En este sentido, el curso brinda el primer acercamiento a los conceptos arquitectónicos básicos y a la historia del arte y arquitectura, a través de ejercicios de diseño (maquetas, exposiciones individuales y grupales, afiches gráficos, entre otros) con los cuales el alumno se entrena (o prepara) para los talleres de diseño y los cursos de historia de la carrera. Propósito: El curso permite verificar si el perfil de los estudiantes coincide con lo necesario para el seguimiento de la Carrera de Arquitectura además de corroborar y/o reforzar las aptitudes vocacionales para la misma y de esta manera el estudiante, aumente sus probabilidades de un buen desempeño académico y la exitosa culminación de la carrera. El curso contribuye directamente al desarrollo de la competencia general de Pensamiento Innovador y la competencia específica de Diseño Fundamentado a un nivel novato (nivel 1). No tiene requisitos previos. Aprobar este curso es requisito para llevar los curso de carrera: Expresión Artística y Espacial y TI - Introducción al Diseño Arquitectónico, ambos del Ciclo 1