МУЛЬТИДИСЦИПЛИНАРНЫЙ ПОДХОД К ЛЕЧЕНИЮ БОЛЬНЫХ РАКОМ ПРЯМОЙ КИШКИ: ОЦЕНКА КЛИНИЧЕСКОГО И ПАТОЛОГИЧЕСКОГО ОТВЕТА У БОЛЬНЫХ, ПОЛУЧАВШИХ ПРЕДОПЕРАЦИОННУЮ ХИМИОЛУЧЕВУЮ ТЕРАПИЮ

Preoperative staging by digital examination, endorectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows an assessment of the risk of local recurrence after surgery alone. The successful management of rectal cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach, with treatment decisions based on precise patient evaluations. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is associated with reduction of tumor size and downstaging.The aim of this study is to assess how often complete clinical response is achieved after eoadjuvant CRT and its concordance with pathologic complete response.Results. Patients with biopsy-proven, locally advanced rectal cancer (T3, T4) were treated by CRT followed by radical surgery. Tumors were re-assessed after 8 weeks from CRT completion using MRI and endoscopic examination. The results of examination were comparedwith the final histopathologic status.Conclusions. Neoadjuvant CRT leads to significant tumor regression and in some patients there is complete disappearance of neoplasm. MRI combining with colonoscopic findings is a useful tool to evaluate these features.Предоперационное стадирование с использованием инструментальных методов диагностики: эндоректальной ультрасонографии и магнитно-резонансной томографии (МРТ) позволяет оценить риск развития местного рецидива после хирургического лечения рака прямой кишки (РПК).Успешное лечение РПК требует мультидисциплинарного подхода, использования химиолучевой терапии (ХЛТ).Цель исследования: оценить, как часто достигается полный клинический ответ после неоадъювантной ХЛТ и каково его соотношение с полным патологическим регрессом.Результаты. Пациенты с местно-распространенным РПК (T3, T4), морфологически подтвержденным, подвергались ХЛТ с последующей радикальной операцией. Оценка эффекта производилась через 8 нед после завершения ХЛТ с помощью МРТ и эндоскопического исследования. Результаты сравнивались с окончательным гистологическим заключением.Выводы. Неоадъювантная ХЛТ приводит к существенному регрессу опухоли, а у некоторых пациентов к ее полному исчезновению. МРТ вместе с фиброколоноскопией позволяют оценить эффект лечения

Corvid Re-Caching without ‘Theory of Mind’: A Model

Scrub jays are thought to use many tactics to protect their caches. For instance, they predominantly bury food far away from conspecifics, and if they must cache while being watched, they often re-cache their worms later, once they are in private. Two explanations have been offered for such observations, and they are intensely debated. First, the birds may reason about their competitors' mental states, with a ‘theory of mind’; alternatively, they may apply behavioral rules learned in daily life. Although this second hypothesis is cognitively simpler, it does seem to require a different, ad-hoc behavioral rule for every caching and re-caching pattern exhibited by the birds. Our new theory avoids this drawback by explaining a large variety of patterns as side-effects of stress and the resulting memory errors. Inspired by experimental data, we assume that re-caching is not motivated by a deliberate effort to safeguard specific caches from theft, but by a general desire to cache more. This desire is brought on by stress, which is determined by the presence and dominance of onlookers, and by unsuccessful recovery attempts. We study this theory in two experiments similar to those done with real birds with a kind of ‘virtual bird’, whose behavior depends on a set of basic assumptions about corvid cognition, and a well-established model of human memory. Our results show that the ‘virtual bird’ acts as the real birds did; its re-caching reflects whether it has been watched, how dominant its onlooker was, and how close to that onlooker it has cached. This happens even though it cannot attribute mental states, and it has only a single behavioral rule assumed to be previously learned. Thus, our simulations indicate that corvid re-caching can be explained without sophisticated social cognition. Given our specific predictions, our theory can easily be tested empirically

Does Day Length Affect Winter Bird Distribution? Testing the Role of an Elusive Variable

Differences in day length may act as a critical factor in bird biology by introducing time constraints in energy acquisition during winter. Thus, differences in day length might operate as a main determinant of bird abundance along latitudinal gradients. This work examines the influence of day length on the abundance of wintering crested tits (Lophophanes cristatus) in 26 localities of Spanish juniper (Juniperus thurifera) dwarf woodlands (average height of 5 m) located along a latitudinal gradient in the Spanish highlands, while controlling for the influence of food availability, minimum night temperature, habitat structure and landscape characteristics. Top regression models in the AIC framework explained 56% of variance in bird numbers. All models incorporated day length as the variable with the highest magnitude effect. Food availability also played an important role, although only the crop of ripe juniper fruits, but not arthropods, positively affected crested tit abundance. Differences in vegetation structure across localities had also a strong positive effect (average tree height and juniper tree density). Geographical variation in night temperature had no influence on crested tit distribution, despite the low winter temperatures reached in these dwarf forests. This paper demonstrates for the first time that winter bird abundance increases with day length after controlling for the effect of other environmental variables. Winter average difference in day length was only 10.5 minutes per day along the 1°47′ latitudinal interval (190 km) included in this study. This amount of time, which reaches 13.5 h accumulated throughout the winter season, appears to be large enough to affect the long-term energy budget of small passerines during winter and to shape the distribution of winter bird abundance under restrictive environmental conditions

Early Fasting Is Long Lasting: Differences in Early Nutritional Conditions Reappear under Stressful Conditions in Adult Female Zebra Finches

Conditions experienced during early life can have profound effects on individual development and condition in adulthood. Differences in nutritional provisioning in birds during the first month of life can lead to differences in growth, reproductive success and survival. Yet, under natural conditions shorter periods of nutritional stress will be more prevalent. Individuals may respond differently, depending on the period of development during which nutritional stress was experienced. Such differences may surface specifically when poor environmental conditions challenge individuals again as adults. Here, we investigated long term consequences of differences in nutritional conditions experienced during different periods of early development by female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) on measures of management and acquisition of body reserves. As nestlings or fledglings, subjects were raised under different nutritional conditions, a low or high quality diet. After subjects reached sexual maturity, we measured their sensitivity to periods of food restriction, their exploration and foraging behaviour as well as adult resting metabolic rate (RMR). During a short period of food restriction, subjects from the poor nutritional conditions had a higher body mass loss than those raised under qualitatively superior nutritional conditions. Moreover, subjects that were raised under poor nutritional conditions were faster to engage in exploratory and foraging behaviour. But RMR did not differ among treatments. These results reveal that early nutritional conditions affect adult exploratory behaviour, a representative personality trait, foraging and adult's physiological condition. As early nutritional conditions are reflected in adult phenotypic plasticity specifically when stressful situations reappear, the results suggest that costs for poor developmental conditions are paid when environmental conditions deteriorate

COVID-19 and the Global Impact on Colorectal Practice and Surgery

Background: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus that emerged in December 2019 causing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to the sudden national reorganization of health care systems and changes in the delivery of health care globally. The purpose of our study was to use a survey to assess the global effects of COVID-19 on colorectal practice and surgery. Materials and Methods: A panel of International Society of University Colon and Rectal Surgeons (ISUCRS) selected 22 questions, which were included in the questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed electronically to ISUCRS fellows and other surgeons included in the ISUCRS database and was advertised on social media sites. The questionnaire remained open from April 16 to 28, 2020. Results: A total of 287 surgeons completed the survey. Of the 287 respondents, 90% were colorectal specialists or general surgeons with an interest in colorectal disease. COVID-19 had affected the practice of 96% of the surgeons, and 52% were now using telemedicine. Also, 66% reported that elective colorectal cancer surgery could proceed but with perioperative precautions. Of the 287 respondents, 19.5% reported that the use of personal protective equipment was the most important perioperative precaution. However, personal protective equipment was only provided by 9.1% of hospitals. In addition, 64% of surgeons were offering minimally invasive surgery. However, 44% reported that enough information was not available regarding the safety of the loss of intra-abdominal carbon dioxide gas during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, 61% of the surgeons were prepared to defer elective colorectal cancer surgery, with 29% willing to defer for ≤ 8 weeks. Conclusion: The results from our survey have demonstrated that, globally, COVID-19 has affected the ability of colorectal surgeons to offer care to their patients. We have also discussed suggestions for various practical adaptation strategies for use during the recovery period. We have presented the results of a survey used to assess the global impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the delivery of colorectal surgery. Despite accessible guidance information, our results have demonstrated that COVID-19 has significantly affected the ability of colorectal surgeons to offer care to patients. We have also discussed practical adaptation strategies for use during the recovery phase

Food restriction reduces neurogenesis in the avian hippocampal formation

The mammalian hippocampus is particularly vulnerable to chronic stress. Adult neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus is suppressed by chronic stress and by administration of glucocorticoid hormones. Post-natal and adult neurogenesis are present in the avian hippocampal formation as well, but much less is known about its sensitivity to chronic stressors. In this study, we investigate this question in a commercial bird model: the broiler breeder chicken. Commercial broiler breeders are food restricted during development to manipulate their growth curve and to avoid negative health outcomes, including obesity and poor reproductive performance. Beyond knowing that these chickens are healthier than fully-fed birds and that they have a high motivation to eat, little is known about how food restriction impacts the animals' physiology. Chickens were kept on a commercial food-restricted diet during the first 12 weeks of life, or released from this restriction by feeding them ad libitum from weeks 7-12 of life. To test the hypothesis that chronic food restriction decreases the production of new neurons (neurogenesis) in the hippocampal formation, the cell proliferation marker bromodeoxyuridine was injected one week prior to tissue collection. Corticosterone levels in blood plasma were elevated during food restriction, even though molecular markers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activation did not differ between the treatments. The density of new hippocampal neurons was significantly reduced in the food-restricted condition, as compared to chickens fed ad libitum, similar to findings in rats at a similar developmental stage. Food restriction did not affect hippocampal volume or the total number of neurons. These findings indicate that in birds, like in mammals, reduction in hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with chronically elevated corticosterone levels, and therefore potentially with chronic stress in general. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that the response to stressors in the avian hippocampal formation is homologous to that of the mammalian hippocampus

MULTIDISCIPLINARY TREATMENT OF RECTAL CANCER: THE ASSESSMENT OF CLINICAL AND PATHOLOGIC RESPONSE FOR LOCALLY ADVANCED RECTAL CANCER TREATED WITH NEOADJUVANT CHEMORADIOTHERAPY

Preoperative staging by digital examination, endorectal ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows an assessment of the risk of local recurrence after surgery alone. The successful management of rectal cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach, with treatment decisions based on precise patient evaluations. Chemoradiotherapy (CRT) is associated with reduction of tumor size and downstaging.The aim of this study is to assess how often complete clinical response is achieved after eoadjuvant CRT and its concordance with pathologic complete response.Results. Patients with biopsy-proven, locally advanced rectal cancer (T3, T4) were treated by CRT followed by radical surgery. Tumors were re-assessed after 8 weeks from CRT completion using MRI and endoscopic examination. The results of examination were comparedwith the final histopathologic status.Conclusions. Neoadjuvant CRT leads to significant tumor regression and in some patients there is complete disappearance of neoplasm. MRI combining with colonoscopic findings is a useful tool to evaluate these features

Досвід лікування дітей із магнітами шлунково-кишкового тракту

Introduction. The probability of neodymium magnets ingestion in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) by children is very high, however, there is still no unified treatment algorithm of their removal: some authors recommend to wait, while others insist on immediate endoscopic removal or surgery.Objective: management improvement of treating children with magnets in the gastrointestinal tract.Material and methods. There were 7 children with magnets in their GIT followed-up. All children underwent complete general clinical and instrumental examination (abdominal ultrasound, abdominal X-ray).Results. The examination revealed gastric location of magnets in 3 (42.9%) children: in 1 case, it was passed in the stool, in 1 case – removed using EGDS, and 1 case required a gastrotomy. In the rest 4 (57.1%) children magnets were detected in the intestine, and laparotomy was performed for peritonitis and intestinal obstruction. Six children (85.7%) were recovered. Based on the results of case study, a treatment algorithm is developed for the suspected swallowed magnets of GIT.Conclusions. At suspicion on neodymium magnets ingestion, one must not waiting it to traverse the gastrointestinal tract and pass in the stool spontaneously. An anamnesis should be carefully taking as well as abdominal X-ray and abdominal ultrasound must be conducted. Further medical tactics depends on the number of magnets and time lapse since ingestion: the more magnets are swallowed, the faster laparotomy should be performed.Вероятность попадания неодимовых магнитов в желудочно-кишечный тракт (ЖКТ) детей очень велика. В то же время нет единой тактики по их удалению: одни авторы рекомендуют выжидать, другие настаивают на немедленном эндоскопическом удалении или оперативном вмешательстве.Цель: усовершенствование тактики лечения детей с магнитами ЖКТ.Материалы и методы. Под наблюдением находились 7 детей с магнитами ЖКТ. Всем детям было проведено полное общеклиническое и инструментальное обследование (УЗИ, Rg ОБП).Результаты. Все ситуации являются экстренными. При обследовании локализация магнитов в желудке наблюдалась у 3 (42,9%) детей: 1 – самостоятельное отхождение, 1 – извлечение при помощи ФЭГДС, 1 – гастротомия. У 4 (57,1%) детей магниты были в кишечном тракте: произведены лапаротомии по поводу перитонита и кишечной непроходимости. Выздоровели 6 (85,7%) детей. По результатам анализа клинических случаев разработан алгоритм действий при подозрении на магниты ЖКТ.Выводы. При подозрении на попадание в ЖКТ неодимовых магнитов нельзя ожидать выхода инородного тела естественным путем. Обязательно нужно тщательно собрать анамнез, провести Rg ОБП, УЗИ. Дальнейшая тактика зависит от количества магнитов и времени их нахождения в ЖКТ: чем больше магнитов, тем быстрее надо выполнить лапаротомию.Імовірність потрапляння неодимових магнітів у шлунково-кишковий тракт (ШКТ) дітей дуже висока, однак досі немає єдиної тактики з їх вилучення: одні автори рекомендують вичікувати, інші наполягають на негайному ендоскопічному видаленні або оперативному втручанні.Мета: удосконалення тактики лікування дітей із магнітами ШКТ.Матеріали і методи. Під спостереженням було 7 дітей із магнітами ШКТ. Усім дітям проведено повне загальноклінічне та інструментальне обстеження (УЗД, Rg ОЧП).Результати. Всі випадки є екстреними. При обстеженні локалізація магнітів у шлунку спостерігалась у 3 (42,9%) дітей: 1 – самостійне відходження, 1 – вилучення за допомогою ФЕГДС, 1 – гастротомія. У 4 (57,1%) дітей магніти були у кишковому тракті: проведено лапаротомії з приводу перитоніту та кишкової непрохідності. Одужали 6 (85,7%) дітей. За результатами аналізу клінічних випадків розроблено алгоритм дій за підозри на магніти ШКТ.Висновки. За підозри на потрапляння у ШКТ неодимових магнітів не можна очікувати на вихід стороннього тіла природним шляхом. Обов’язково потрібно ретельно зібрати анамнез, провести Rg ОЧП, УЗД. Подальша тактика залежить від кількості магнітів та терміну їх перебування у ШКТ: чим більше магнітів, тим швидше потрібно виконати лапаротомію