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Vagal paragangliomas (VPs) are a rare subset of neuroendocrine tumour derived from paraganglia located in the head/neck that are usually indolent in nature. Typical clinical presentations include pulsatile tinnitus or hoarseness associated with a neck mass. Surgery and radiation therapy remain the primary treatment modalities but come with significant morbidity including cranial nerve damage. We describe a unique case of VP in which cough was the only presenting symptom, that was exacerbated by enlargement of the tumour. Symptoms improved following radiation treatment.

PurposeThere is ambiguity regarding whether coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a boon or bane for the IT services industry. On the one hand, it has created opportunities, especially with the growth of collaborative technologies. On the other hand, many firms have reduced their IT budgets owing to the ongoing recession. This study explores how IT firms have assessed the risk of the pandemic in the early days and informed capital market participants. In addition, it examines the impact of such online disclosures on information asymmetry.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analysed annual reports of publicly listed firms in the USA filed on the Securities and Exchange Commission website in 2020 and examined whether the disclosure scenario of technology firms was different from that of the other industries. Moreover, the risk sentiment of COVID-19-related disclosures was assessed by employing text analytics. Information asymmetry was measured using the bid–ask spread.FindingsOverall, it was found that IT services firms were less likely to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic in their annual reports. Interestingly, it was observed that technology firms that chose to communicate about the pandemic had a lower incidence of words related to risks. Furthermore, communicating about COVID-19 in annual reports calms investors and improves the information asymmetry situation about the firm. Variation in the severity of the pandemic and the responses of state governments was controlled for by employing state-fixed effects in the empirical models.Originality/valueThe authors inform the literature on corporate disclosures and technology and highlight the importance of effectively communicating about the pandemic.

Background Early cancer detection could identify tumors at a time when outcomes are superior and treatment is less morbid. This prospective case-control sub-study (from NCT02889978 and NCT03085888) assessed the performance of targeted methylation analysis of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) to detect and localize multiple cancer types across all stages at high specificity. Participants and methods The 6689 participants [2482 cancer (>50 cancer types), 4207 non-cancer] were divided into training and validation sets. Plasma cfDNA underwent bisulfite sequencing targeting a panel of >100 000 informative methylation regions. A classifier was developed and validated for cancer detection and tissue of origin (TOO) localization. Results Performance was consistent in training and validation sets. In validation, specificity was 99.3% [95% confidence interval (CI): 98.3% to 99.8%; 0.7% false-positive rate (FPR)]. Stage I–III sensitivity was 67.3% (CI: 60.7% to 73.3%) in a pre-specified set of 12 cancer types (anus, bladder, colon/rectum, esophagus, head and neck, liver/bile-duct, lung, lymphoma, ovary, pancreas, plasma cell neoplasm, stomach), which account for ∼63% of US cancer deaths annually, and was 43.9% (CI: 39.4% to 48.5%) in all cancer types. Detection increased with increasing stage: in the pre-specified cancer types sensitivity was 39% (CI: 27% to 52%) in stage I, 69% (CI: 56% to 80%) in stage II, 83% (CI: 75% to 90%) in stage III, and 92% (CI: 86% to 96%) in stage IV. In all cancer types sensitivity was 18% (CI: 13% to 25%) in stage I, 43% (CI: 35% to 51%) in stage II, 81% (CI: 73% to 87%) in stage III, and 93% (CI: 87% to 96%) in stage IV. TOO was predicted in 96% of samples with cancer-like signal; of those, the TOO localization was accurate in 93%. Conclusions cfDNA sequencing leveraging informative methylation patterns detected more than 50 cancer types across stages. Considering the potential value of early detection in deadly malignancies, further evaluation of this test is justified in prospective population-level studies.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is an aggressive disease marked by frequent recurrence and metastasis and stagnant survival rates. To enhance molecular knowledge of HNSCC and define a non-coding RNA (ncRNA) landscape of the disease, we profiled the transcriptome-wide dysregulation of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), microRNA (miRNA), and PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) using RNA-sequencing data from 422 HNSCC patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). 307 non-coding transcripts differentially expressed in HNSCC were significantly correlated with patient survival, and associated with mutations in TP53, CDKN2A, CASP8, PRDM9, and FBXW7 and copy number variations in chromosomes 3, 5, 7, and 18. We also observed widespread ncRNA correlation to concurrent TP53 and chromosome 3p loss, a compelling predictor of poor prognosis in HNSCCs. Three selected ncRNAs were additionally associated with tumor stage, HPV status, and other clinical characteristics, and modulation of their expression in vitro reveals differential regulation of genes involved in epithelial-mesenchymal transition and apoptotic response. This comprehensive characterization of the HNSCC non-coding transcriptome introduces new layers of understanding for the disease, and nominates a novel panel of transcripts with potential utility as prognostic markers or therapeutic targets.

Several research groups have reported that nanocrystalline II-VI semiconductors show enhanced luminescence, increased oscillator strength and shorter response time. Nanocrystalline powder samples of CdS, CdSe, ZnS and ZnSe nanocrystals and their composites with PVA and PVK have been prepared by chemical route. SEM. TEM and AFM images indicate agglomeration of particles. XRD reveal the crystal structure and size in nanometer range and absorption spectra show increased band gap due to quantum confinement.The EL studies on nanocrystalline powder samples and nanocrystal/polymer composites have shown that the light emission starts at certain threshold voltage, different for different specimens and then increases with increasing voltage. It is found that smaller nanocrystals have lower threshold voltage and higher EL brightness. It is observed that nanocomposite give much higher electroluminescence starting at lower voltage and increasing very fast with the voltage as compared to nanocrystalline powder. The emission spectra are found to depend on the material, crystalline size and doping. Electroluminescence in undoped and doped chalcogenide nanocrystals and nanocomposites is reviewed in this paper. In nanosize regime, electroluminescence (EL) is governed by the size quantization effect. Contents of Paper

Malicious modifications of integrated circuits have emerged as a potent threat to circuit and system security and reliability. In this paper, we present theoretical models of different types of commonly investigated malicious hardware logic to estimate their effect on circuit reliability, specifically those malicious circuit modifications that cause functional failure of circuits ("hardware Trojans"). Simulation results show close match to the theoretically predicted trends.

Background: Tobacco use is the cause of immense burden on our nation in terms of mortality and morbidity, being the single leading cause of preventable illnesses and death. Smoking cessation interventions in our country will be the most cost effective of all interventions considering that the cost incurred on the three main tobacco related illnesses (COPD, CAD, and Cancer) being around Rs 27,761 crore in the year 1999. Materials and Methods: A double blind placebo controlled trial was conducted to see the efficacy of Bupropion in smoking cessation. Smokers with current depression were excluded. The subjects (n = 30) were randomly assigned to receive Bupropion SR 300 mg/day or placebo for seven weeks. Target quit date was preferentially 8 th day of starting the treatment. Intensive counseling was provided by the physician at the baseline and brief counseling at every visit weekly during the treatment phase and at weeks 12 and 16. Self reported abstinence was confirmed by a carbon monoxide concentration in expired air of less than 10 ppm. Results: The seven-day point prevalence abstinence rate at the end of week 2 and week 16 in the drug group was 46.67% and 53.33 % respectively and in the placebo group was 13.33% and 20% respectively with the ′P" value of 0.04 and 0.05 respectively. Rates of continuous abstinence at weeks 4, 7 and 16 were 46.67%, 40% and 33.33% in the drug group and 13.33%, 13.33% and 13.33% in the placebo group respectively. The rates were significantly higher in the drug group till week 4 starting from week 2 of the treatment phase. The mean weight gain in drug group was found to be significant less as compared to the placebo at week 16 (P = 0.025) The mean change of depression scores from the baseline was not significantly different between the two groups at any point of time. The withdrawal symptom score increase from the baseline was not significantly higher at any point of time in the drug group but in the placebo group the increase was significantly higher for seven days after target quit date and at weeks 3 and 4 (P < 0.05). The most common adverse events in the drug group were insomnia, which was seen in 6 (40%) patients and dry mouth and/or altered taste in 4 (26.67%) patients, which was significantly higher as compared to placebo. Predictors of Outcome: The univariate predictors of a successful outcome were the point prevalence abstinence at week 16 were older age (>40 years), (P = 0.044) and quitter status at week 2 (P = 0.001). Multivariate predictors in order of importance were Quit status at 2nd week (P = 0.002) and Age> 40 years (P = 0.031). The combined predictive value of these two variables was found to be 86.3%. Conclusions: Bupropion helps in smoking cessation. This has been proved by three large multicenter randomized controlled trials. This study has also reflected the same result in the form of significantly high seven-day point prevalence abstinence at week 16 in the Bupropion group as compared to placebo. Bupropion has a beneficial effect on weight gain and withdrawal symptoms and the benign adverse effects of insomnia and dry mouth or altered taste make it a very effective and cheap treatment for nicotine addiction in smokers.

We live in a digital era where the global community relies on Information Systems to conduct all kinds of operations, including averting or responding to unanticipated risks and disasters. This can only happen when there is a robust information exchange facilitation mechanism in place, which can help in taking quick and legitimate steps in dealing with any kind of emergent situation. Prior literature in the field of information assurance has focused on building defense mechanisms to protect assets and reduce vulnerability to foreign attacks. Nevertheless, information assurance does not simply mean building an impermeable membrane and safeguarding information, but also implies letting information be securely shared, if required, among a set of related groups or organizations that serve a common purpose. This chapter will revolve around the central pivot of Information Sharing. Further, to study the relative significance of various information dimensions in different disaster situations, content analyses are conducted. The results hence obtained can be used to develop a prioritization framework for different disaster response activities, thus to increase the mitigation efficiency. We will also explore roles played by few existing organizations and technologies across the globe that are actively involved in Information Sharing to mitigate the impact of disasters and extreme events.