Prognostic and predictive factors in Vietnamese breast cancer : a comparison with Swedish patients and effect on survival

Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among women in Western and Asian countries. Previous studies showed that Asian and African-American patients more often had poor tumor prognostic factors than Caucasian patients. There are however only few reports on tumor prognostic factors and survival in Vietnamese breast cancer patients. The aim of this study was to investigate prognostic/predictive factors in Vietnamese operable breast cancer which were compared with those in Swedish breast cancer patients and to estimate survival. Primary breast cancer tissues were collected randomly for analysis of hormone receptors, HER2 status and cell proliferation. Clinical information, pathology report and treatment protocols were obtained from the files in the National Cancer Hospital, Vietnam. The hormone receptor content in tumors from Vietnam was analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC) using an automated slide stainer (Bench MarkXT, Ventana). Tumors with ≥10% stained nuclei were considered as receptor positive. Tumors from Sweden were analysed with an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) with a cut-off point of ≥0.10 fmol/μg DNA as positive. We found that differences of ER/PgR positivity between Vietnamese and Swedish breast cancer patients. The ER(+) rate was higher in premenopausal but lower in postmenopausal Vietnamese patients as compared to Swedish patients (71.1% vs. 58.4%, 44.7% vs. 71.6%, respectively). The PgR(+) tumors were found in 57.8% of pre- and 24.7% of postmenopausal Vietnamese patients. The corresponding figure for Swedish patients was 72.9% and 65.6%, respectively. We used IHC and silver in situ hybridization (SISH) technique to assess the HER2 status for Vietnamese and compared to Swedish series with tumors analyzed by IHC and FISH. It was found that tumors from Vietnamese patients with strong, intermediate and low levels of HER2 protein expression were 39%, 11% and 50%, respectively. The concordance between IHC and SISH was 87%. Postmenopausal women were amplified in 55% as compared to 36% in premenopausal women. HER2 gene amplification occurred more often in ER(-), PgR(-) tumors and in ductal carcinomas. HER2 gene amplified rate was present in 41% of Vietnamese breast cancers and 13% in a series of Swedish breast cancers. We chose the samples from age-matched patients treated in Stockholm, Sweden. Cell proliferation in the two series was stained by anti-Ki67 antigen with an automated procedure. Ki67 index was calculated by counting stained cell nuclei in a total of 400 cells in intermediate area. No difference in distribution and mean of Ki67 indices was seen between the two series, 27.7% (± 17.1%) vs. 26.9% (±23.1%) or with respect to age, tumor size and lymph node status. Swedish patients with poor prognosticators had significantly higher Ki67 indices than Vietnamese patients, 52.8% vs. 31.9% in ER(-), 39.6% vs. 30.7% in PgR(-) and 40.1% vs. 28.3% in HER2-amplified tumors. We estimated survival by using the life-table method. The Cox model was used to determine the relationship between survival and prognostic factors and treatment. The disease-free survival rate, overall survival rate and cancer-specific survival rate in Vietnamese patients was 75.8%, 80.6%, and 86.4%, respectively at 5 years; 62.3%, 68.1%, 78.9%, respectively at 9 years. Women with poor prognostic factors had worse survival. Postmenopausal women had significantly lower survival as compared to premenopausal women as analyzed by univariate analysis (HR=0.6, 95% CI: 0.38-0.95, p=0.029), however, not by multivariate analysis (HR=0.67, 95% CI: 0.41-1.08, p=0.1). Premenopausal women had more benefit than postmenopausal patients from either endocrine treatment or chemotherapy. This thesis suggests that Vietnamese breast cancers have different tumor cell characteristics to those reported for Caucasian patients in general

Systematic risk at the industry level: A case study of Australia

The cornerstone of the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) lies with its beta. The question of whether or not beta is dead has attracted great attention from academics and practitioners in the last 50 years or so, and the debate is still ongoing. Many empirical studies have been conducted to test the validity of beta within the framework of CAPM. However, it is a claim of this paper that beta at the industry level has been largely ignored in the current literature. This study is conducted to examine if beta, proxied for a systematic risk, should be considered valid in the application of the CAPM at the industry level for Australia using daily data on 2200 stocks listed on the Australian Securities Exchange from January 2007 to 31 December 2016. Various portfolio formations are utilized in this paper. General economic conditions such as interest rate, inflation, and GDP are examples of systematic risk. Findings from this study indicate that the selection of portfolio construction, estimation technique, and news about economic conditions significantly affects the view whether or not beta should be considered as a valid measure of systematic risk

A Bibliometric Analysis of Studies Concerning Policy Issues in Covid-19 Pandemic

This research analysed the studies of policy on issues related to COVID-19. The results show the most productive countries, the most frequently cited sources, the most co-occurred topics of studies concerning policy issues since the epidemic was a breakout at the beginning. The data in this research were collected from the Scopus database with two search terms, "COVID-19" and "policy" of the social science domain, and published from the first day of 2020 to the search time (September 10, 2020). The final dataset consists of 384 valid documents analysed by descriptive statistics, and co-occurrence analysis was applied in R. Among 46 countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, India, and Italy are the leading countries that published these studies. Almost all the funded scholars focused on Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The main topics of the articles are "working in COVID-19 period", "community health and social support," "using ICT in teaching and learning," "human rights." Within funded studies, four interesting topics are "social well-being," "ICT infrastructure," "agricultural policy," and "born-digital." This study presents the current situation of how studies concerning policy issues have been issued to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic

Optimizing the ratios of standardized ileal digestible (SID) methionine plus SID cystine and SID threonine to SID lysine in low-protein diets for working boars

This study aimed to optimize the ratios of standardized ileal digestible (SID) methionine (Met) plus cystine (Cys), and threonine (Thr) to SID lysine (Lys) in low-protein diets for working boars. Forty-eight working Duroc boars were randomly allocated to one of 12 dietary treatments in a 3x4 factorial experimental design in which factor 1 was the ratios of SID Met plus Cys to SID Lys (50, 60, 70%), factor 2 was the ratios of SID Thr to SID Lys (40, 50, 60, 70%). Semen was collected at a 4 days interval for 6 weeks for 10 ejaculates. Semen volume (V), percentage of sperm with progressive motility (A), sperm concentration (C), and the total number of motile sperm per ejaculate (VAC) were measured. The results of the study revealed that the ratios of SID Met plus Cys to SID Lys in the diets affected the C and VAC. Values of C and VAC were highest at the ratios of SID Met plus Cys to SID Lys of 70% and lowest at 50% (P<0.05). Similarly, the ratios of SID Thr to SID Lys affected the C and VAC. Further, the values of C and VAC were highest at the ratio of SID Thr to SID Lys of 60% and lowest at 40% (P<0.05). There was no interaction effect between the two factors. In conclusion, the ratios of SID Met plus Cys to SID Lys of 70% and SID Thr to SID Lys of 60% in a 13.5% CP diet are optimal for working boars

The results of deep magnetotelluric sounding for studying the Nha Trang - Tanh Linh fault

The profile of deep magnetotelluric sounding (MT) from Duc Trong - Tuy Phong has been carried out in Lam Dong and Binh Thuan  provinces. The length of the Duc Trong - Tuy Phong profile is about 80 km with 15 stations and the distance between the stations measures about 5 km. Two-dimensional MT inversion was used to find a resistivity model that fits the data. The 2D resistivity model allows determining position and development formation of the Nha Trang - Tanh Linh  fault. This is the deep fault, which is showed by the boundaries of remarkable change of resistivity. In the near surface of the Earth (from ground to the depth of 6 km), the angle of inclination of this fault is about 60o; in the next part, the direction of the Nha Trang - Tanh Linh  faut is vertical. Geoelectrical section of the Nha Trang - Tanh Linh  profile shows that the resistivity of mid-crust is higher than that of lower-crust and of upper-crust

Word segmentation of Vietnamese texts: a comparison of approaches

International audienceWe present in this paper a comparison between three segmentation systems for the Vietnamese language. Indeed, the majority of Vietnamese words is built by semantic composition from about 7,000 syllables, that also have a meaning as isolated words. So the identification of word boundaries in a text is not a simple task, and ambiguities often appear. Beyond the presentation of the tested systems, we also propose a standard definition for word segmentation in Vietnamese, and introduce a reference corpus developed for the purpose of evaluating such a task. The results observed confirm that it can be relatively well treated by automatic means, although a solution needs to be found to take into account out-of-vocabulary words

NICKEL-BASED MULTIWALLED CARBON NANOTUBE COMPOSITE COATINGS

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely known as nanomaterials with excellent mechanical properties. Previous studies reported that the tensile strength of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was up to 63 GPa and single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) could reach 150 GPa while the highest tensile strength of the steel was found to be about 1.8 GPa. SWCNTs could have Young’s modulus up to 1000 GPa that was much greater than the value of 209 GPa of steel. Therefore, there is a great potential to utilize CNTs as reinforced materials for composites in general and Ni electrodeposition coating in particular to improve hardness, durability, corrosion, and other physical and mechanical properties. This paper presents results of preparing and examining characteristics of the Nickel electrodeposition coatings containing MWCNTs (Ni-MWCNTs). The Ni-MWCNTs composite coatings deposited on a steel plate with the area of 0.4 dm2 using bipolar pulses at 470 Hz and 50oC in a 5-liter bath. Amount of CNTs varying from 1 g/l to 3 g/l was dispersed into the solution by using surfactants and ultrasonic vibration. CNTs used in the study was MWCNTs diameters in the range from 20 to 90 nanometers and few micrometers in length. The SEM, EDS, hardness and adhesion tests were conducted to analyze the properties of the electrodeposition coatings. The obtained results indicated that the hardness and adhesion of the Ni-CNTs coating were 1.5 and 1.46 times, respectively, higher than those of the Ni coating. In addition, adhesion of the Ni-CNTs coating was significantly improved

IL-7 Promotes CD95-Induced Apoptosis in B Cells via the IFN-γ/STAT1 Pathway

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) concentrations are increased in the blood of CD4+ T cell depleted individuals, including HIV-1 infected patients. High IL-7 levels might stimulate T cell activation and, as we have shown earlier, IL-7 can prime resting T cell to CD95 induced apoptosis as well. HIV-1 infection leads to B cell abnormalities including increased apoptosis via the CD95 (Fas) death receptor pathway and loss of memory B cells. Peripheral B cells are not sensitive for IL-7, due to the lack of IL-7Ra expression on their surface; however, here we demonstrate that high IL-7 concentration can prime resting B cells to CD95-mediated apoptosis via an indirect mechanism. T cells cultured with IL-7 induced high CD95 expression on resting B cells together with an increased sensitivity to CD95 mediated apoptosis. As the mediator molecule responsible for B cell priming to CD95 mediated apoptosis we identified the cytokine IFN-γ that T cells secreted in high amounts in response to IL-7. These results suggest that the lymphopenia induced cytokine IL-7 can contribute to the increased B cell apoptosis observed in HIV-1 infected individuals

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

A Displacement Measuring Interferometer Based on a Frequency-Locked Laser Diode with High Modulation Frequency

Laser interferometers can achieve a nanometer-order uncertainty of measurements when their frequencies are locked to the reference frequencies of the atom or molecule transitions. There are three types of displacement-measuring interferometers: homodyne, heterodyne, and frequency modulation (FM) interferometers. Among these types of interferometer, the FM interferometer has many advantageous features. The interference signal is a series of time-dependent harmonics of modulation frequency, so the phase shift can be detected accurately using the synchronous detection method. Moreover, the FM interferometer is the most suitable for combination with a frequency-locked laser because both require frequency modulation. In previous research, low modulation frequencies at some tens of kHz have been used to lock the frequency of laser diodes (LDs). The low modulation frequency for the laser source means that the maximum measurement speed of the FM interferometers is limited. This paper proposes a novel contribution regarding the application of a high-frequency modulation for an LD to improve both the frequency stability of the laser source and the measurement speed of the FM interferometer. The frequency of the LD was locked to an I2 hyperfine component at 1 MHz modulation frequency. A high bandwidth lock-in amplifier was utilized to detect the saturated absorption signals of the I2 hyperfine structure and induce the signal to lock the frequency of the LD. The locked LD was then used for an FM displacement measuring interferometer. Moreover, a suitable modulation amplitude that affected the signal-to-noise ratio of both the I2 absorption signal and the harmonic intensity of the interference signal was determined. In order to verify the measurement resolution of the proposed interferometer, the displacement induced by a piezo electric actuator was concurrently measured by the interferometer and a capacitive sensor. The difference of the displacement results was less than 20 nm. To evaluate the measurement speed, the interferometer was used to measure the axial error of a high-speed spindle at 500 rpm. The main conclusion of this study is that a stable displacement interferometer with high accuracy and a high measurement speed can be achieved using an LD frequency locked to an I2 hyperfine transition at a high modulation frequency