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Background/Objectives: In the current era, abiraterone acetate is mainstay of the treatment strategies of castration-resistant prostate cancer and proven to prolong overall survival. We aimed to prospectively identify factors associated with duration of response to abiraterone. Patients and methods: All metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer patients eligible for abiraterone were included in the study from February 2019 till March 2020. All baseline data and potential factors associated recorded and follow-up with prostate-specific antigen (PSA), and required investigations were done at 1 month interval. Duration of PSA response was recorded, and patients were divided in five groups on the basis of duration of response. Univariate and multivariate analyses of potential factors were done, and data analysis was done with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 21.0. Results: In this study, after univariate analysis, seven factors were associated with longer duration of response to abiraterone. These were PSA at diagnosis (hazard ratio (HR) = −1.011 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.003–1.020), p -value = 0.008), PSA at start of abiraterone (HR = −1.018 (95% CI = 1.011–1.025), p -value = 0.0001), nadir PSA (HR = −1.063 (95% CI = 1.024–1.104), p -value = 0.001), prostate-specific antigen doubling (PSAD) time (HR = −0.745 (95% CI = 0.672–0.827), p -value = 0.001), raised alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (HR = −1.002 (95% CI = 1.001–1.003), p -value = 0.001), neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (HR = −2.16 (95% CI = 1.672–2.81), p -value = 0.001) and <5 bone metastasis (HR = −0.235 (95% CI = 0.130–0.422), p -value = 0.01). But after multivariate analysis, nadir PSA achieved, PSAD, NLR and ⩽5 bone metastasis were predictors of better response to abiraterone. Conclusion: This study had identified that less nadir PSA achieved, long PSAD time, low NLR and limited number of skeletal metastases were potential factors for better PSA response to abiraterone. Level of evidence: 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Imaging is essential for managing COVID-19 pneumonia. In resource-limited settings, chest radiography is the only practicable imaging modality. The Brixia radiographic scoring system, an objective method of assessing pulmonary involvement, is yet to be studied in India. (a) To study the association between the clinical severity of COVID-19 patients with their Brixia scores and, (b) to evaluate the utility of the score as a predictor for invasive ventilation. Peripheral rural hospital by Indian Armed Forces; Cross-sectional study. A thousand patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and hospitalized were classified as having a mild, moderate, and severe disease based on their least oxygen saturation (SpO2 >94: mild, between 90-94: moderate, and <90: severe) recorded. The highest Brixia score was calculated for each patient. The mean Brixia scores of the three groups were compared. The Brixia score of each intubated patient was calculated as was the mean score of all intubated patients. Statistical analysis was performed on SPSS software. Seven hundred fifty-six (756) patients were classified as mild, 104 as moderate, and 140 as severe with a mean Brixia score of 0.12, 2.35, and 10.9, with a standard deviation of 0.66, 2.98, and 2.66, respectively. The difference in means between these groups was statistically significant (p < 0.0001). The median Brixia score of 13 for the intubated patients was significantly higher than for the non-intubated. The clinical severity of the patients and their requirement for invasive ventilation correlated well with their Brixia scores. The Brixia system may be usefully incorporated into our Medicare systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic significance of Internet of Things (IoT) platforms is evident from the proliferation of smart home assistant platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Home that center themselves around providing unique and connected experiences to users. Customers do not perceive these platforms valuable if they do not experience adequate levels of quality and security from both the platform and applications (apps) they use. Therefore, the IoT platform provider as well as app developers need to go beyond collaboration and cocreate quality and security for each app on the platform. In this setting, we study the dynamics of the financial sustainability of the platform provider and app developers and find that the collaborative nature of the IoT platform has a significant role in the behavior and profitability of all parties. Specifically, a neutral entrant to the platform not only increases the effort levels of all existing parties, but also increases the profits due to network effects that are intertwined with economies of scale. We further find that a substantial number of apps are needed in the platform for an economically viable platform and that a less efficient platform leader needs even a larger application base. However, based on the number of apps on the platform and which party is more effective in the collaboration, the platform provider might need to provide additional incentives, or sometimes, extract additional rent from the app developers to financially sustain the platform. Furthermore, we verify our results in the presence of competition or complementarity among apps and further derive additional interesting results and managerial insights. For example, we find that the entry of a competing app may be beneficial for existing apps under some conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]