Electronic control/display interface technology

An effort to produce a representative workstation for the Space Station Data Management Test Bed that provides man/machine interface design options for consolidating, automating, and integrating the space station work station, and hardware/software technology demonstrations of space station applications is discussed. The workstation will emphasize the technologies of advanced graphics engines, advanced display/control medias, image management techniques, multifunction controls, and video disk utilizations

Using network science to analyze football passing networks: dynamics, space, time and the multilayer nature of the game

From the diversity of applications of Network Science, in this Opinion Paper we are concerned about its potential to analyze one of the most extended group sports: Football (soccer in U.S. terminology). As we will see, Network Science allows addressing different aspects of the team organization and performance not captured by classical analyses based on the performance of individual players. The reason behind relies on the complex nature of the game, which, paraphrasing the foundational paradigm of complexity sciences "can not be analyzed by looking at its components (i.e., players) individually but, on the contrary, considering the system as a whole" or, in the classical words of after-match interviews "it's not just me, it's the team".Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur

Validation of the CAchexia SCOre (CASCO). Staging cancer patients: The use of miniCASCO as a simplified tool

The CAchexia SCOre (CASCO) was described as a tool for the staging of cachectic cancer patients. The aim of this study is to show the metric properties of CASCO in order to classify cachectic cancer patients into three different groups, which are associated with a numerical scoring. The final aim was to clinically validate CASCO for its use in the classification of cachectic cancer patients in clinical practice. We carried out a case -control study that enrolled prospectively 186 cancer patients and 95 age-matched controls. The score includes five components: (1) body weight loss and composition, (2) inflammation/metabolic disturbances/immunosuppression, (3) physical performance, (4) anorexia, and (5) quality of life. The present study provides clinical validation for the use of the score. In order to show the metric properties of CASCO, three different groups of cachectic cancer patients were established according to the results obtained with the statistical approach used: mild cachexia (15 â\u89¤ Ã\u97 â\u89¤ 28), moderate cachexia (29 â\u89¤ Ã\u97 â\u89¤ 46), and severe cachexia (47 â\u89¤ Ã\u97 â\u89¤ 100). In addition, a simplified version of CASCO, MiniCASCO (MCASCO), was also presented and it contributes as a valid and easy-to-use tool for cachexia staging. Significant statistically correlations were found between CASCO and other validated indexes such as Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) and the subjective diagnosis of cachexia by specialized oncologists. A very significant estimated correlation between CASCO and MCASCO was found that suggests that MCASCO might constitute an easy and valid tool for the staging of the cachectic cancer patients. CASCO and MCASCO provide a new tool for the quantitative staging of cachectic cancer patients with a clear advantage over previous classifications

Dominance of unicellular cyanobacteria in the diazotrophic community in the Atlantic Ocean

ABSTRACT: The horizontal and vertical distribution of representatives of diazotrophic unicellular cyanobacteria was investigated in the subtropical northeast Atlantic Ocean (28.87 to 42.00°N; 9.01 to 20.02°W). Samples from stations encompassing different water conditions (from oceanic oligotrophic waters to upwelling areas and a temperature range of 13.1°C to 24.2°C) were size fractionated and analyzed for nifH by a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by tyramide signal amplification–fluorescence in situ hybridization (TSA-FISH) using probe Nitro821. In samples from the surface, mixed-layer depth, and deep chlorophyll maximum waters, most (> 50%) of the nifH recovered was from the 0.2–3 µm fraction and was consistent with TSA-FISH counts. The < 3 µm Nitro821-positive cells were more abundant than the larger cells, and the proportion of single cells was larger than that associated with particulate matter or with larger cells. Phylogenetic analysis of representative samples revealed that most of the sequences belong to diazotrophic unicellular cyanobacteria Group A (UCYN-A or Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa). N2 fixation in the 0.2–3 µm fraction, putatively representing the activity of UCYN-A, contributed more than 50% of the total N2 fixation. There was a positive relationship of this putative UCYN-A abundance and activity with temperature, and a negative relationship with dissolved O2. The dominance of these putative UCYN-A organisms in nitrate-rich upwelling filament regions suggests that the activity of this group of organisms may not be strongly controlled by the availability of fixed N

Are there any benefits of exercise training in cancer cachexia?

Cancer cachexia is a complex syndrome characterized by inflammation, body weight loss, muscle, and adipose tissue wasting that is responsible for the death of a considerable percentage of cancer patients. In addition, during cachexia muscle strength and endurance are dramatically reduced, limiting the ability to perform daily activities and severely affecting the patient’s quality of life. Different studies have emphasized that a single therapy may not be completely successful in the treatment of cachexia. Beyond pharmacological strategies, exercise training has been suggested as a promising countermeasure to prevent cachexia, in order to restore both strength and endurance, depending on the type of exercise. Unfortunately, a small number of studies, in both clinical and experimental settings, have been performed to date. Moreover, when considering exercise in cancer, several factors have to be taken into consideration, in particular those alterations that could limit the capacity to perform exercise and consequently the resulting beneficial or detrimental effects. This editorial is aimed at stimulating the debate on the suitability of including exercise training in a multi-functional approach against cachexia taking into consideration both limitations and advantages

Advance directives and real-world end-of-life clinical practice : a case-control study

Background Advance directives (ADs) have been legally regulated to promote autonomy over health decisions among patients who later lose decision-making capacity. Aims and objectives To analyse the differences in clinical practice at end of life among people who had completed an AD versus those who had not. Methods Retrospective case-control study (1:2), matched by age, sex, year, cause of death and region of residence. The data sources used were the ADs registry, central registry of insured persons, hospital discharge, pharmacy and billing databases, and the mortality registry. Conditional logistic regression models (crude and adjusted by socioeconomic level) were performed. The outcome variable was the frequency of medical procedures performed during the last year of life. Results 1723 people with ADs who died in Catalonia during 2014-2015 were matched with 3446 dead controls (without ADs). Thoracentesis was the procedure with the greatest reduction among women with an AD (adjusted OR (OR adj) 0.54, 95% CI: 0.32 to 0.89) in conjunction with artificial nutrition (OR adj 0.54, 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.95). Intubation was the procedure with the greatest reduction (OR adj 0.56, 95% CI: 0.33 to 0.94) among men. Slight differences could be seen in the case of cancer deaths. There were no relevant differences when adjusting by socioeconomic level. Conclusions ADs are an effective tool to adjust the realisation of some procedures at end of life. These results can help better plan for the treatment of patients with ADs, as well as increase the awareness among clinical personnel, families and the general population

Delayed gastric emptying after classical Whipple or pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy: a randomized clinical trial (QUANUPAD)

Purpose Pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD) has been the gold standard for pancreatic head lesion resection for several years. Some studies have noted that it involves more delayed gastric emptying (DGE) than classical Whipple (i.e., pancreatoduodenectomy with antrectomy). Our working hypothesis was that the classical Whipple has a lower incidence of DGE. We aimed to compare the incidence of DGE among pancreatoduodenectomy techniques. Methods This pragmatic, randomized, open-label, single-center clinical trial involved patients who underwent classical Whipple (study group) or PPPD (control group). Gastric emptying was clinically evaluated using scintigraphy. DGE was defined according to the International Study Group of Pancreatic Surgery (ISGPS) criteria. The secondary endpoints were postoperative morbidity, length of hospital stay, anthropometric measurements, and nutritional status. Results A total of 84 patients were randomized (42 per group). DGE incidence was 50% (20/40, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 35-65%) in the study group and 62% (24/39, 95% CI: 46-75%) in the control group (p = 0.260). No differences were observed between both groups regarding postoperative morbidity or length of hospital stay. Anthropometric measurements at 6 months post-surgery: triceps fold measurements were 12 mm and 16 mm (p = 0.021). At 5 weeks post-surgery, triceps fold measurements were 13 mm and 16 mm (p = 0.020) and upper arm circumferences were 26 cm and 28 cm (p = 0.030). No significant differences were observed in nutritional status. Conclusion DGE incidence and severity did not differ between classical Whipple and PPPD. Some anthropometric measurements may indicate a better recovery with PPPD

On metastable configurations of small-world networks

We calculate the number of metastable configurations of Ising small-world networks which are constructed upon superimposing sparse Poisson random graphs onto a one-dimensional chain. Our solution is based on replicated transfer-matrix techniques. We examine the denegeracy of the ground state and we find a jump in the entropy of metastable configurations exactly at the crossover between the small-world and the Poisson random graph structures. We also examine the difference in entropy between metastable and all possible configurations, for both ferromagnetic and bond-disordered long-range couplings.Comment: 9 pages, 4 eps figure

Autophagy Exacerbates Muscle Wasting in Cancer Cachexia and Impairs Mitochondrial Function

Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial syndrome characterized by anorexia, weight loss and muscle wasting that impairs patients' quality of life and survival. Aim of this work was to evaluate the impact of either autophagy inhibition (knocking-down beclin-1) or promotion (overexpressing TP53INP2/DOR) on cancer-induced muscle wasting. In C26 tumor-bearing mice, stress-induced autophagy inhibition was unable to rescue the loss of muscle mass and worsened muscle morphology. Treating C26-bearing mice with formoterol, a selective β2-agonist, muscle sparing was paralleled by reduced static autophagy markers although the flux was maintained. Conversely, the stimulation of muscle autophagy exacerbated muscle atrophy in tumor-bearing mice. TP53INP2 further promoted atrogene expression and suppressed mitochondrial dynamics-related genes. Excessive autophagy might impair mitochondrial function through mitophagy. Consistently, tumor-induced mitochondrial dysfunction was detected by reduced ex vivo muscle fiber respiration. Overall, the results evoke a central role for muscle autophagy in cancer-induced muscle wasting