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It is important to protect the soil and groundwater from the pollution originating from leachate. Compacted clay soils is a favorable and economic method to protect groundwater and soil against contamination. In this study, compaction tests of leachate was done by using Modified Proctor method. The effects of microbial activity on the permeability of compacted clay soils were analyzed and the obtained data were applied to k-Nearest Neighbors (k-NN) method to predict the permeability of soils in landfill sites. k-NN method, which is a non-parametric distance-based machine learning method and widely used in classification and regression problems was applied to model the relationship between the microorganisms and the permeability. By using k-NN classification method, total heterotrophic bacteria and fungi microorganisms correctly classified the permeability variance as 78.59% and 77.31% success rate, respectively. Also, k-NN modelling was set on regression mode to predict permeability value and produced similar success rates in regression similarity with the actual value. Although, fecal coliforms and fecal streptococci microorganisms had neutral or negative contribution on analyses. For prediction accuracy and regression analysis, the k-NN method was considered for modeling the data. The results of the k-Nearest Neighbors method proved that it is a promising tool for predicting permeability of compacted clay by using microbial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Metronomic chemotherapy--administration of low-dose chemotherapy--allows for a prolonged treatment duration and minimizes toxicity for unfit patients diagnosed with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC ). Methods Oral metronomic vinorelbine at 30 mg thrice weekly was given to 35 chemotherapy-naïve patients who were elderly and vulnerable to toxicity and who had been diagnosed with advanced NSCLC . Results Median age in this male-predominant cohort (29:6) was 76 years (range: 65-86 years). Histology was squamous cell carcinoma in 21 patients and adenocarcinoma in 14. There were no complete responses and 9 partial responses, for an overall response rate of 26%. Stable disease was seen in 15 patients (43%), and 11 patients (31%) had progressive disease. The 1-year survival rate was 34%, and the 2-year survival rate was 8%. The survival analysis showed a median progression-free survival duration of 4 months (range: 2-15 months) and an overall survival duration of 7 months (range: 3-24 months). Conclusions Metronomic vinorelbine had an acceptable efficacy and safety profile in elderly patients with multiple comorbidities who had been diagnosed with advanced NSCLC . Metronomic vinorelbine could be a treatment option for elderly patients with poor performance status who are unfit for platinum-based chemotherapy and intravenous single-agent chemotherapy, and who are not candidates for combination modalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Abstract Background The DSM-IV-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition Textrevision) highlights the especially poor outcomes of early-onset conduct disorder (CD). The strong link between the patient's age at treatment and its efficacy points the importance of early intervention. Risperidone is one of the most commonly studied medications used to treat CD in children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to obtain preliminary data about the efficacy and tolerability of risperidone treatment in otherwise typically developing preschool children with conduct disorder and severe behavioral problems. Method We recruited 12 otherwise normally developing preschoolers (ten boys and two girls) with CD for this study. We could not follow up with 4 children at control visits properly; thus, 8 children (six girls, two boys; mean age: 42.4 months) completed the study. We treated the patients with risperidone in an open-label fashion for 8 weeks, starting with a daily dosage of 0.125 mg/day or 0.25 mg/day depending on the patient's weight (20 kg children: 0.25 mg/day). Dosage titration and increments were performed at 2-week interval clinical assessments. The Turgay DSM-IV Based Disruptive Behavior Disorders Child and Adolescent Rating & Screening Scale (T-DSM-IV-S) as well as the Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) assessed treatment efficacy; the Extrapyramidal Symptom Rating Scale (ESRS) and laboratory evaluations assessed treatment safety. Results The mean daily dosage of risperidone at the end of 8 weeks was 0.78 mg/day (SD: 0.39) with a maximum dosage of 1.50 mg/day. Based on the CGI global improvement item, we classified all patients as "responders" (very much or much improved). Risperidone was associated with a 78% reduction in the CGI Severity score. We also detected significant improvements on all of the subscales of the T-DSM-IV-S. Tolerability was good, and serious adverse effects were not observed. We detected statistically significant prolactin level increments (p < 0.05), but no clinical symptoms associated with prolactinemia. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that risperidone may be an effective and well-tolerated atypical antipsychotic for the treatment of CD in otherwise normally developing preschool children. The findings of the study should be interpreted as preliminary data considering its small sample size and open-label methodology.