63 research outputs found
Short-course radiotherapy for rectal cancer: real-world evidence in Argentina
Get PDFLatin America; Rectal cancer; Short-course radiotherapyAmérica Latina; Cáncer de recto; Radioterapia de corta duraciónAmèrica Llatina; Càncer de recte; Radioteràpia de curta duradaBackground: Short-course radiotherapy (SCRT) of 25 Gy in five daily fractions is a recommended strategy in the neoadjuvant setting for resectable locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC), as well as in cases of metastatic disease for local control. There is scarce information regarding the use of SCRT for patients who have received nonoperative management.
Objectives: To describe the characteristics of patients who received treatment with SCRT for LARC and metastatic rectal cancer, toxicity, and the approach after radiation treatment.
Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent SCRT for rectal cancer at the Alexander Fleming Institute from March 2014 to June 2022.
Results: In total, 44 patients were treated with SCRT. The majority were male (29, 66%), with a median age of 59 years (interquartile range 46–73). Most patients had stage IV disease (26, 59.1%), followed by LARC (18, 40.9%). Most lesions were located in the middle rectum (30, 68%). The majority of LARC patients underwent SCRT followed by consolidation chemotherapy (ChT) (16/18, 89%), while most patients with metastatic disease underwent SCRT followed by consolidation ChT (14/26, 53.8%). A clinical complete response (cCR) was documented in 8/44, 18.2% of patients. Most patients with LARC and cCR were managed by a watch and wait approach (5/18, 27.7%). Local recurrence was observed in LARC cases (2/18, 11.1%). Patients who underwent SCRT following consolidation ChT were more likely to have adverse events (AEs) than those undergoing induction ChT following SCRT (11/30, 36.7% versus 3/12, 25%, p = 0.02)
Conclusion: In a subgroup of patients diagnosed with LARC and treated with SCRT followed by ChT, surgical treatment could be omitted after they achieved a cCR. Local recurrence was similar to that reported in a previous study. SCRT is a reasonable option for local disease control in stage IV disease, yielding low toxicity rates. Therefore, decisions must be made by a multidisciplinary team. Prospective studies are necessary to reach further conclusions
Mexican Serials: Titles, Contents and Readers of Treasures to Tap
Get PDFMexican journals are usually ignored at local and foreign universities despite the fact that they convey the most updated academic and scientific information generated by national researchers and writers. Libraries and readers have difficulty in accessing Mexican journals, because local serials are normally out of the mainstream of journal indexing and full-text databases from the industrialized world. The barriers for local journals are many, among them the language, limited marketing, and the less relevant universal article content. Mexican serial titles, their contents and their potential readers will be the subject of this presentation that aims to provide guidance on how to acquire the best journals, and overcome the lack of international indexing services’ coverage
Cardiovascular fitness and energy expenditure response during a combined aerobic and circuit weight training protocol
No full textObjectives: The present study describes the oxygen uptake and total energy expenditure (including both aerobic and anaerobic contribution) response during three different circuit weight training (CWT) protocols of equivalent duration composed of free weight exercises, machine exercises, and a combination of free weight exercises intercalating aerobic exercise. Design: Controlled, randomized crossover designs. Methods: Subjects completed in a randomized order three circuit weight training protocols of the same duration (3 sets of 8 exercises, 45min 15s) and intensity (70% of 15 repetitions maximum). The circuit protocols were composed of free weight exercises, machine exercises, or a combination of free weight exercises with aerobic exercise. Oxygen consumption and lactate concentration were measured throughout the circuit to estimate aerobic and anaerobic energy expenditure respectively. Results: Energy expenditure is higher in the combined exercise protocol (29.9±3.6 ml/kg/min), compared with Freeweight (24.2±2.8ml/kg/min) and Machine (20.4±2.9ml/kg/min). The combined exercise protocol produced the highest total energy expenditure but the lowest lactate concentration and perceived exertion. The anaerobic contribution to total energy expenditure was higher in the machine and free weight protocols compared with the combined exercise protocol (6.2%, 4.6% and 2.3% respectively). Conclusions: In the proposed protocols, the combined exercise protocol results in the highest oxygen consumption. Total energy expenditure is related to the type of exercise included in the circuit. Anaerobic contributions to total energy expenditure during circuit weight training may be modest, but lack of their estimation may underestimate total energy expenditure
Meta-analysis of KRAS mutation as prognostic factor in patients (pts) with resection of colorectal (CRC) liver metastases: Tumour burden and Sidedness analysis
No full textPrognostic impact of K-RAS mutational status and primary tumour location in patients undergoing resection for colorectal cancer liver metastases: A METHEPAR analysis (multicentre study in Argentina)
No full textOperator Calculus Approach to Minimal Paths: Precomputed routing in a Store and Forward Satellite Constellation
No full textTo appearInternational audienceAn innovative minimal paths algorithm based on operator calculus in graded semigroup algebras is described. Classical approaches to routing problems invariably require construction of trees and the use of heuristics to prevent com- binatorial explosion. The operator calculus approach presented herein, however, allows such explicit tree constructions to be avoided. Moreover, the implicit tree structures underlying the problem are pruned automatically by the inherent properties of the semigroup algebras used in this approach. The operator calculus algorithm proposed here is applied to the problem of precomputed routing in a store-and-forward (S&F) satellite constellation, which provides message communication services by relaying messages between satellites through gateways on the ground. The minimum end-to-end delay paths obtained are compared with the best existing heuristics-based results. The best existing results were obtained from a greedy algorithm designed to explore only a portion of the solution space in order to avoid combinatorial explosion and memory overload. In all test cases, the operator calculus is shown to return paths whose minimum end-to-end delay is either equal to or less than that of the best existing result. In some cases, in which the tree pruning algorithm did not find a solution, the operator calculus does. These results correspond to a one-single constraint case considering the end-to- end delay as the cost of the links, if the case of multi constraints is considered (e.g. bandwidth, rapidity,. . . ) the operator calculus approach can be similarly used
Operator Calculus Approach to Minimal Paths: Precomputed routing in a Store and Forward Satellite Constellation
Get PDFTo appearInternational audienceAn innovative minimal paths algorithm based on operator calculus in graded semigroup algebras is described. Classical approaches to routing problems invariably require construction of trees and the use of heuristics to prevent com- binatorial explosion. The operator calculus approach presented herein, however, allows such explicit tree constructions to be avoided. Moreover, the implicit tree structures underlying the problem are pruned automatically by the inherent properties of the semigroup algebras used in this approach. The operator calculus algorithm proposed here is applied to the problem of precomputed routing in a store-and-forward (S&F) satellite constellation, which provides message communication services by relaying messages between satellites through gateways on the ground. The minimum end-to-end delay paths obtained are compared with the best existing heuristics-based results. The best existing results were obtained from a greedy algorithm designed to explore only a portion of the solution space in order to avoid combinatorial explosion and memory overload. In all test cases, the operator calculus is shown to return paths whose minimum end-to-end delay is either equal to or less than that of the best existing result. In some cases, in which the tree pruning algorithm did not find a solution, the operator calculus does. These results correspond to a one-single constraint case considering the end-to- end delay as the cost of the links, if the case of multi constraints is considered (e.g. bandwidth, rapidity,. . . ) the operator calculus approach can be similarly used
Mapping the detector response of the FARCOS Double – Sided Silicon Strip Detectors with monochromatic single protons
No full textA tool box for operational mosquito larval control: preliminary results and early lessons from the Urban Malaria Control Programme in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Get PDFBACKGROUND\ud
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As the population of Africa rapidly urbanizes, large populations could be protected from malaria by controlling aquatic stages of mosquitoes if cost-effective and scalable implementation systems can be designed.\ud
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METHODS\ud
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A recently initiated Urban Malaria Control Programme in Dar es Salaam delegates responsibility for routine mosquito control and surveillance to modestly-paid community members, known as Community-Owned Resource Persons (CORPs). New vector surveillance, larviciding and management systems were designed and evaluated in 15 city wards to allow timely collection, interpretation and reaction to entomologic monitoring data using practical procedures that rely on minimal technology. After one year of baseline data collection, operational larviciding with Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis commenced in March 2006 in three selected wards.\ud
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RESULTS\ud
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The procedures and staff management systems described greatly improved standards of larval surveillance relative to that reported at the outset of this programme. In the first year of the programme, over 65,000 potential Anopheles habitats were surveyed by 90 CORPs on a weekly basis. Reaction times to vector surveillance at observations were one day, week and month at ward, municipal and city levels, respectively. One year of community-based larviciding reduced transmission by the primary malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae s.l., by 31% (95% C.I. = 21.6-37.6%; p = 0.04).\ud
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CONCLUSION\ud
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This novel management, monitoring and evaluation system for implementing routine larviciding of malaria vectors in African cities has shown considerable potential for sustained, rapidly responsive, data-driven and affordable application. Nevertheless, the true programmatic value of larviciding in urban Africa can only be established through longer-term programmes which are stably financed and allow the operational teams and management infrastructures to mature by learning from experience
Do non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors contribute to lipodystrophy?
Get PDFLipodystrophy complications, including lipoatrophy (pathological fat loss) and metabolic complications, have emerged as important long-term toxicities associated with antiretroviral therapy in the current era. The wealth of data that has accumulated over the past 6 years has now clarified the contribution of specific antiretroviral drugs to the risk of these clinical endpoints, with evidence that lipoatrophy is strongly associated with the choice of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor therapy (specifically, stavudine and to a lesser extent zidovudine). The aetiological basis of metabolic complications of antiretroviral therapy has proven to be complex, in that the risk appears to be modulated by a number of lifestyle factors that have made the metabolic syndrome highly prevalent in the general population, with additional contributions from HIV disease status itself, as well as from individual drugs within the HIV protease inhibitor class. The currently licensed non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) drugs, efavirenz and nevirapine, have been proven to have a favourable safety profile in terms of lipodystrophy complications. However, it must be noted that NNRTI drugs also have individual toxicity profiles that must be accounted for when considering and/or monitoring their use in the treatment of HIV infection
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