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Elizabeth J Davis,1 Rashmi Chugh2 1Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, 2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Abstract: Soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) is a heterogeneous group of tumors that arise from mesenchymal tissue. The prognosis of metastatic STS is poor with a life expectancy of 12–18 months. The mainstay of treatment is chemotherapy with an anthracycline. The addition of other chemotherapeutic agents to an anthracycline has been studied with limited success in improving outcomes for STS patients. Olaratumab is a fully human IgG1 monoclonal antibody that binds to platelet-derived growth factor receptor α (PDGFR-α) preventing binding of its ligands and receptor activation. This drug recently received the US Food and Drug ­Administration’s accelerated approval for the treatment of advanced STS when combined with doxorubicin. This approval was based upon an improvement in overall survival of patients receiving the combination of doxorubicin and olaratumab compared to those receiving doxorubicin alone. In this review, we have analyzed the available literature on the development of olaratumab, its clinical utility, and its place in therapy. Based on early-phase clinical trials, olaratumab appears to be a promising agent for the treatment of STS. Keywords: olaratumab, doxorubicin, PDGFR-α, soft-tissue sarcoma

Geoffrey W Siegel,1 J Sybil Biermann,1 Rashmi Chugh,2 Jon A Jacobson,3 David Lucas,4 Mary Feng,5 Andrew C Chang,6 Sean R Smith,7 Sandra Wong,6 Jill L Hasen1 1Department of Orthopedics, 2Department of Medical Oncology, 3Department of Radiology, 4Department of Pathology, 5Department of Radiation, 6Department of Surgery, 7Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA Abstract: The rarity of bone and soft tissue sarcoma, the difficulty in interpretation of imaging and histology, the plethora of treatment modalities, and the complexity and intensity of the treatment contribute to the need for systematic multidisciplinary team management of patients with these diseases. An integrated multidisciplinary clinic and team with a structured sarcoma tumor board facilitate team coordination and communication. This paper reviews the rationale for multidisciplinary management of sarcoma and details the operational structure of the Multidisciplinary Sarcoma Clinic and Sarcoma Tumor Board. The structured Multidisciplinary Sarcoma Tumor Board provides opportunity for improvement in logistics, teaching, quality, and enrollment in clinical trials. Keywords: sarcoma, sarcoma care, sarcoma tumor board, collaborative approach

The present study was conducted during October, 2020-March, 2021 at Mushroom Technology Laboratory, Department of Plant Pathology, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana, India to find out the effects of solar heat and hot-water on pasteurization of substrates. A significant maximum temperature of 59.9°C was recorded in wheat substrate of 2.0' heap height covered with black polythene sheet for 6 h. A maximum temperature of 48.0°C was recorded in solar heat treatment of substrates for 6 h. The main aim of pasteurization is to reduce harmful microflora on substrates. The least bacterial colonies at 6.7×109 cfu g-1 substrate were recorded in wheat substrate of 2.0' heap height covered with black polythene sheet for 6 h and the highest at 9.4×109 cfu g-1 in paddy straw of 1.0' heap height uncovered for 2 h. The minimum fungal colonies at 4.7×104 cfu g-1 were recorded in wheat substrate of 2.0' heap height covered with black polythene sheet for 6 h followed by 4.9×104 cfu g-1 in paddy straw. A maximum number of fungal colonies at 6.9×104 cfu g-1 were seen in wheat straw of 1.0' heap height uncovered for 2 h. In hot-water treatment, the minimum bacterial colonies at 3.7×109 cfu g-1 substrate and fungal colonies at 1.9×104 cfu g-1 substrate were observed in wheat substrate treated at 70°C for 20 m followed by bacterial colonies at 4.3×109 and fungal colonies at 2.1×104 cfu g-1 in hot-water treated paddy substrate at 70°C for 20 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a new four-step feedback procedure to study the full dynamics of a nonlinear dynamical system, namely, the logistic map. We show that by using this procedure, the chaotic behavior of the logistic map can be controlled easily and rapidly or the system can be made stable for higher values of the population growth parameter. We utilize various dynamical techniques (orbit evolution, time series analysis, bifurcation diagrams, and Lyapunov exponents) to analyze the dynamics of the logistic map. Additionally, we adopt the switching strategy to control chaos or to increase the stability performance of the logistic map. Finally, we propose a modified traffic control model to enable rapid control of unexpected traffic on the road. The results of this model are supported by a physical interpretation. The model is found to be more efficient than existing models of Lo and Cho [J. Franklin Inst. 342, 839–851 (2005)] and Ashish et al. [Nonlinear Dyn. 94, 959–975 (2018)]. This work provides a novel feedback procedure that facilitates rapid control of chaotic behavior and increases the range of stability of dynamical systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spread all over the world. There are more than 43.14 million COVID-19 confirmed cases and over 1.15 million deaths reported worldwide till October 26, 2020. As the proper treatment/vaccine is not available, most of the countries are relying on various preventive measures to check the spread of epidemic. The aim of this article is to analyze the impact of corona preventive measures on the spread of COVID-19 by employing a novel epidemic model. Moreover, time series and bifurcation analysis techniques have been used to estimate this impact. To prove the validity of our model, we apply our model on highly affected countries such as China, Italy, USA, UK and India. Our findings might be very useful tool for decision holders and policy makers to take the right decisions in a timely way to control the outbreak of COVID-19, knowing the uncertainties about the coronovirus disease. We show a good agreement between the reported data and the estimations given by our model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we set up a new nonlinear dynamical system which is derived by combining logistic map and sine square map in Mann orbit (a two step feedback process) for ameliorating the stability performance of chaotic system and name it Standard Logistic Sine Square Map (SLSSM). The purpose of this paper is to study the whole dynamical behavior of the proposed map (SLSSM) through various introduced aspects consisting fixed point and stability analysis, time series representation, bifurcation diagram and Lyapunov exponent. Moreover, we show that our map is significantly superior than existing other one dimensional maps. We investigate that the chaotic and complex behavior of SLSSM can be controlled by selecting control parameters carefully. Also, the range of convergence and stability can be made to increase drastically. This new system (SLSSM) might be used to achieve better results in cryptography and to study chaos synchronization.

The focus of this paper is to assess ways to improve plant availability of an organisation in order to reduce its reactive maintenance from its current level of 30%. The pharmaceutical products the organisation (name withheld) produces are in short supply. It is vital the equipment that produces these products are reliable and produce quality products all the time. Loss of one batch due to equipment malfunction not only equates to loss of revenue but also the loss of vital medications which could jeopardise patient safety. This paper solely focuses and reports on the SIRFrt method to assess plant reliability in order to achieve maintenance excellence. There are seven elements that can impact maintenance excellence, however the focus of this paper is on reliability improvement since the audit scores were low in comparison to the other elements considered under the SIRFrt method. As a result of using feedback gained through the SIRFrt method assessment, it is anticipated that reactive maintenance will reduce below 10%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The feeding patterns and third day serum bilirubin levels were evaluated in 30 newborn infants receiving formula feeds in the neonatal special care unit and in 30 breastfed babies. Initiation of milk feeds were delayed in breast-fed babies and the frequency of feeding was significantly lower than in the formula-fed infants. Supplementary water was given only in the breast-fed group. Serum bilirubin levels were significantly higher in breast-fed infants (9·74±3·17 ml/dl) than those on formula (6·59±3·50 mg/dl), t=3·69, p<0·001). There appeared to be no influence of supplementation with water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The records of 274 diabetics attending an outpatient clinic in New Delhi have been reviewed and the patients classified into four main types. The relationship of the disease to nutritional, socio-economic and environmental factors has been discussed. The incidence of complications in the various types is reported and the differences between them analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As organisational knowledge is greatly dependant on the tacit knowledge that its employees possess, it is important to pursue strategies that encourage sharing of employees’ tacit knowledge. However, tacit knowledge sharing can be better promoted by understanding the barriers and enablers of tacit knowledge transfer. As universities are seen as the flag-bearers of knowledge creation and dissemination, this paper focuses on identifying the barriers and enablers of tacit knowledge transfer in universities. A qualitative research method was utilised for this study in which interviews of academics from four Australian universities were carried out. The reporting of data is based on a structured interpretative approach drawing demonstrative examples from the interview transcripts. The findings suggest that human, social and culture factors are addressed to ensure successful transfer of tacit knowledge. For effective transfer of tacit knowledge, universities need to create conditions that strengthen the enablers and suppress the barriers.

The article focuses on a report on the prevalence of measles in the United States from January to July of 2008 that was released by the U.S. centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The reports that sporadic importations of cases of measles in the United States have occurred since the disease was declared eliminated from the U.S. in 2000. The report, which updated an earlier report on measles in the U.S., reported that during January to July of 2008, 131 cases of measles were reported to the CDC, compared with an average of 63 cases per year during 2001-2007.