1,721,070 research outputs found
Clinical Scores, Biomarkers and IT Tools in Lung Cancer Screening—Can an Integrated Approach Overcome Current Challenges?
No full textAs most lung cancer (LC) cases are still detected at advanced and incurable stages, there are increasing efforts to foster detection at earlier stages by low dose computed tomography (LDCT) based LC screening. In this scoping review, we describe current advances in candidate selection for screening (selection phase), technical aspects (screening), and probability evaluation of malignancy of CT-detected pulmonary nodules (PN management). Literature was non-systematically assessed and reviewed for suitability by the authors. For the selection phase, we describe current eligibility criteria for screening, along with their limitations and potential refinements through advanced clinical scores and biomarker assessments. For LC screening, we discuss how the accuracy of computerized tomography (CT) scan reading might be augmented by IT tools, helping radiologists to cope with increasing workloads. For PN management, we evaluate the precision of follow-up scans by semi-automatic volume measurements of CT-detected PN. Moreover, we present an integrative approach to evaluate the probability of PN malignancy to enable safe decisions on further management. As a clear limitation, additional validation studies are required for most innovative diagnostic approaches presented in this article, but the integration of clinical risk models, current imaging techniques, and advancing biomarker research has the potential to improve the LC screening performance generally
Thyroid atrophy and pancreatic involution after cancer Immunotherapy.
No full textDuring the past decade, immunotherapy gained significant importance in the therapy of metastatic cancer. Immunotherapy has been first established in metastatic melanoma, a disease where no promising therapeutic option was previously available. Following the positive trial results, T-cell targeted immunotherapies have been established as a main foundation in therapy of systemic metastatic melanoma in clinical guidelines.
State-of-the-art immunotherapies comprise monoclonal antibodies, acting as checkpoint inhibitors blocking T-cell surface receptors, acting as negative regulators for T-cell activity. This maintains and/or reactivates cytotoxic T-cell activity.
Initial trials with Ipilimumab, targeting Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte–associated antigen 4 (CTLA-4) have shown an increased overall survival (OS) in patients with metastatic melanoma, but also drug related adverse events, potentially leading to the death of patients (14 of 643 patients, 2.2 %); approximately half (n = 7) of those incidents are immunotherapy-related (predominantly colitis with sepsis and/or perforation, apart from hepatic or neurological complications) (Hodi, F. S. et al. Improved survival with ipilimumab in patients with metastatic melanoma. The New England journal of medicine 363, 711–723, doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1003466 (2010).
Nivolumab, targeting the programmed death 1 (PD-1) surface protein is another promising check point inhibitor, with a remarkable impact on OS and progression free survival (PFS). A larger phase 3 trial has shown, has shown a better recurrence-free survival and far less adverse events (14.4 vs. 45.9 %) for Nivolumab, compared to CTLA-4 inhibitor Ipilimumab (Weber J. et al. Adjuvant Nivolumab versus Ipilimumab in Resected Stage III or IV Melanoma. N Engl J Med 2017; 377: 1824–1835).
We report a case of a 72 year old male patient with metastatic melanoma, who underwent a combined immunotherapy with Ipilimumab and Nivolumab, as well as a maintenance therapy with Nivolumab alone – leading to a stable remission of the metastatic disease – who developed thyroid atrophy with confirmed hypothyreosis, pancreatic atrophy with aggravation of a pre-existing diabetes and an immobilizing polyarthritis
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
The role of radiological Imaging for masses in the prevascular Mediastinum in clinical practice
Full text linkTumors in the prevascular compartment of the mediastinum are rare and imaging plays a major role in their detection, (differential) diagnosis, staging, and follow-up. The prevascular compartment is bordered anteriorly by the posterior aspect of the sternum, posteriorly by the ventral aspect of the
pericardium, cranially by the thoracic outlet, and caudally by the diaphragm. In many cases, the diagnosis of a lesion in the prevascular compartment is an incidental finding either on chest radiograph (CR) or on computed tomography (CT) scans. The differential diagnosis of masses in the pre-vascular mediastinum include primarily tumors arising from the thymus or the thyroid gland, lymphomas and germ cell tumors.
The differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses is primarily based on the location of the mass, its tissue composition (i.e., fat content, calcifications) and the age of the patient. The imaging method of choice is CT, as it combines a high spatial and temporal resolution with the ability to determine tissue composition and detect fluid components, as well as areas of fat and calcifications. MRI is used as a more specific problemsolving tool to discriminate solid lesions from cystic lesions or to provide evidence of minimal fat content in teratoma and thymic rebound. The role of PET/CT in the evaluation of tumors other than lymphomas in the prevascular compartment is still under discussion
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist
No full textWe have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used
- …
