Activity of eribulin mesylate in brain metastasis from breast cancer. a stone in a pond?

Background: Brain metastases develop in approximately 10-25% of patients with metastatic breast cancer (MBC) and are associated with a very poor prognosis. Case Report: We report the case of a 40-year-old woman with MBC and associated lung, bone, liver, and brain metastases, who experienced a time to progression of several months with eribulin after whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT), 2 lines of chemotherapy, and 1 line of hormonal therapy, maintaining a good toxicity profile. Discussion: Eribulin, in association with local treatment such as WBRT, can be well tolerated and effective in achieving a long progression-free survival and a good control of brain metastases in patients with MBC who have received multiple lines of treatment. The vascular remodeling properties of eribulin, combined with brain radiotherapy, might facilitate the passage of eribulin across the blood brain barrier, improving brain response. Conclusion: Our anecdotal experience suggests that eribulin may have a potentially beneficial effect on brain metastases while maintaining a good systemic control of the disease in patients with MBC

Pneumatic press equipped with the Vortex system for white grapes processing: First results

The interaction between mechanical, computer and electronic technologies offers nowadays highly innovative solutions to be applied to the oenological machinery industry. Grapes pressing for the extraction of must from the grapes has a fundamental role for obtaining wines with high quality. The pneumatic presses commonly used work with a discontinuous cycle, taking on average about 3 hours for the extraction of the juice from the grapes. During this period, the presence of oxygen in contact with grapes can modify the qualitative characteristics of the future wine. The aim of the research was to study the \u201cVortex System\u201d applied to a pneumatic press and to evaluate the quality of wines obtained in reduction. The study was carried out in a modern winery in the province of Palermo (Italy) using cv. Catarratto lucido grapes. The machine used in the tests was a pneumatic press with a capacity of 1,900 / 2,500 kg by Puleo Srl company (Italy), equipped with the patent "Vortex System". It consists in the recovery of the inert gas by means of a passage and recirculation apparatus during grapes pressing allowing the must extraction in inert and controlled atmosphere, the non-oxidation of the product and a re-use of the gaseous component. Two operating modes were applied: AP (Air Pressing) mode, the traditional pressing mode in presence of oxygen, and NP (Nitrogen Pressing) mode with the Vortex System, performed under inert gas with nitrogen recovery. The following analytical determinations were performed on wines in triplicates: alcohol [%/vol], density [g/l], sugar [g/l], pH, total acidity [g/l], volatile acidity [g/l], malic acid [g/l], citric acid [g/l], tartaric acid [g/l], potassium [g/l], glycerin [g/l], ashes [g/l], absorbance at 420, 520 and 620 nm, polyphenols [mg/l], catechins [mg/l], free sulfur dioxide [mg/l], total sulfur dioxide [mg/l]. The use of the pneumatic press equipped with the Vortex System allowed to obtain excellent values of volatile acidity, absorbance at 420 nm, catechins in white wines and a rich aromatic component both in primary and secondary aromas

Thermal Noise-Boosting Effects in Hot-Wire-Based Micro Sensors

This article proposes an original approach aimed at modelling the noise density in sensors based on a single hot wire or pairs of thermally coupled wires. The model consists in an original combination of a previous electrothermal model of the wire with well-established assumptions on the thermal noise in conductors that carry moderate current densities. A simple method for estimating the model parameters with simple impedance spectroscopy is suggested. The predicted power spectral densities of the wire thermal noise differ from the result of previously presented analytical models, stimulating further experimental studies. The effects of the electrothermal feedback of both hot wires and hot-wire pairs on flicker noise is also intrinsically covered by the proposed approach

A Logical Approach to Cooperative Information Systems

``Cooperative information system management'' refers to the capacity of several computing systems to communicate and cooperate in order to acquire, store, manage, query data and knowledge. Current solutions to the problem of cooperative information management are still far from being satisfactory. In particular, they lack the ability to fully model cooperation among heterogeneous systems according to a declarative style. The use of a logical approach to model all aspects of cooperation seems very promising. In this paper, we de®ne a logical language able to support cooperative queries, updates and update propagation. We model the sources of information as deductive databases, sharing the same logical language to ex- press queries and updates, but containing independent, even if possibly related, data. We use the Obj-U-Datalog (E. Bertino, G. Guerrini, D. Montesi, Toward deductive object data- bases, Theory and Practice of Object Systems 1 (1) (1995) 19±39) language to model queries and transactions in each source of data. Such language is then extended to deal with active rules in the style of Active-U-Datalog (E. Bertino, B. Catania, V. Gervasi, A. Ra aet a, Ac- tive-U-Datalog: Integrating active rules in a logical update language, in: B. Freitag, H. Decker, M. Kifer, A. Voronkov (Eds.), LBCS 1472: Transactions and Change in Login Databases, 1998, pp. 106±132), interpreted according to the PARK semantics proposed in G. Gottlob, G. Moerkotte, V.S. Subrahmanian (The PARK semantics for active rules, in: P.M.G. Apers, M. Bouzeghoub, G. Gardarin (Eds.), LNCS 1057: Proceedings of the Fifth International Con- ference on Extending Database Technology, 1996, pp. 35±55). By using active rules, a system can e ciently perform update propagation among di erent databases. The result is a logical environment, integrating active and deductive rules, to perform update propagation in a cooperative framework

Early Minimally Invasive Percutaneous Fixation of Displaced Intra-Articular Calcaneal Fractures With a Percutaneous Angle Stable Device.

The Minimally Invasive Reduction and Osteosynthesis System(®) (MIROS) is a percutaneous angle stable device for the treatment of fractures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of an early minimally invasive osteosynthesis with the MIROS device. A total of 40 consecutive patients were treated for an intra-articular fracture of the calcaneus. We evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes after treatment of intra-articular calcaneal fractures with the MIROS hardware. Soft tissue damage was noted. The patients completed the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society survey at 12 and 24 months and underwent radiologic evaluations. A statistically significant association between the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score and type of soft tissue lesion. A Sanders type II, III, and IV fracture was found in 15, 20, and 15 of 50 fractures, respectively. Postoperatively, restoration of the posterior facet was reached in 13 of 15, 18 of 20, and 11 of 15 with a type II, III, and IV fracture, respectively. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society scale mean score was 85 at the final follow-up visit. No significant association was found between the score and the preoperative variables (p > .09), although patients with bilateral fractures had a significantly lower score. The MIROS device for early treatment of intra-articular calcaneus fractures resulted in excellent clinic and radiologic results. The standardized technique we have reported, with the elastic wires acting as a girder for the fractured and displace subtalar joint and the collapsed lateral calcaneal wall, has permitted early weightbearing with positive stimuli for the bone healing. The drainage effect of the percutaneous wires likely prevented compartment syndrome when applied within the first hours after the trauma.The Minimally Invasive Reduction and Osteosynthesis System® (MIROS) is a percutaneous angle stable device for the treatment of fractures. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic results of an early minimally invasive osteosynthesis with the MIROS device. A total of 40 consecutive patients were treated for an intra-articular fracture of the calcaneus. We evaluated the clinical and radiographic outcomes after treatment of intra-articular calcaneal fractures with the MIROS hardware. Soft tissue damage was noted. The patients completed the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society survey at 12 and 24 months and underwent radiologic evaluations. A statistically significant association between the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society score and type of soft tissue lesion. A Sanders type II, III, and IV fracture was found in 15, 20, and 15 of 50 fractures, respectively. Postoperatively, restoration of the posterior facet was reached in 13 of 15, 18

Application of Precision Agriculture for the Sustainable Management of Fertilization in Olive Groves

Olive tree growing (Olea europaea L.) has considerably increased in the last decades, as has the consumption of extra virgin olive oil in the world. Precision agriculture is increasingly being applied in olive orchards as a new method to manage agronomic variability with the aim of providing individual plants with the right input amount, limiting waste or excess. The objective of this study was to develop a methodology on a GIS platform using GEOBIA algorithms in order to build prescription maps for variable rate (VRT) nitrogen fertilizers application in an olive orchard. The fertilization plan was determined for each tree by applying its own nitrogen balance, taking into account the variability of nitrogen in soil, leaf, production, and actual biometric and spectral conditions. Each olive tree was georeferenced using the S7-G Stonex instrument with real-time kinematic RTK positioning correction and the trunk cross section area (TCSA) was measured. Soil and leaves were sampled to study nutrient variability. Soil and plant samples were analyzed for all major physical and chemical properties. Spectral data were obtained using a multispectral camera (DJI multispectral) carried by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform (DJI Phantom4). The biometric characteristics of the plants were extracted from the achieved normalized vegetation index (NDVI) map. The obtained prescription map can be used for variable rate fertilization with a tractor and fertilizer spreader connected via the ISOBUS system. Using the proposed methodology, the variable rate application of nitrogen fertilizer resulted in a 31% reduction in the amount to be applied in the olive orchard compared to the standard dose