Search

Georges F Hatoum,1,* H Thomas Temple,2,* Silvio A Garcia,1 Yi Zheng,1,3 Fouad Kfoury,4 Jill Kinley,5 Xiaodong Wu1,3 1Department of Radiation Oncology, HCA Florida JFK Medical Center Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Lake Worth, FL, USA; 2Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA; 3Department of Research and Development, Executive Medical Physics Associates, North Miami Beach, FL, USA; 4Pharmacy Department, South Miami Hospital, South Miami, FL, USA; 5Department of Clinical Research, HCA Florida JFK Medical Center, Atlantis, FL, USA*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiaodong Wu, Executive Medical Physics Associates, 19470 NE 22nd Road, North Miami Beach, FL, 33179, USA, Tel +1 305 775 0333, Email drxiaodongwu@yahoo.comPurpose: To report a case of large extremity soft tissue sarcoma (2933 cc), safely treated with a novel approach of interdigitating high-dose LATTICE radiation therapy (LRT) with standard radiation therapy as a neoadjuvant treatment to surgery.Patients and Methods: Four sessions of high-dose LRT were delivered in a weekly interval, interdigitated with standard radiation therapy. The LRT plan consisted of 15 high-dose vertices receiving a dose > 12 Gy per session, with 2– 3 Gy to the peripheral margin of the tumor. The patient underwent surgical excision 2 months after the new regimen of induction radiation therapy.Results and Discussion: The patient tolerated the radiation therapy regimen well. The post-operative assessment revealed a negative surgical margin and over 95% necrosis of the total tumor volume. The post-surgical wound complication was mitigated by outpatient wound care. Interdigitating multiple sessions of high-dose LATTICE radiation treatments with standard neoadjuvant radiation therapy as a neoadjuvant therapy for soft tissue sarcoma was feasible and did not incur additional toxicity in this clinical case. A phase-I/II trial will be conducted to further evaluate the toxicity and efficacy of the new treatment strategy with the intent to increase the rate of pathologic necrosis, which has been shown to positively correlate with the overall survival.Keywords: sarcoma, SFRT, LATTICE radiotherapy, LRT, chemotherapy, surgery, necrosis

Introduction: Certolizumab pegol (CTZ) is a tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitor biological agent that has demonstrated efficacy in controlling rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Identifying predictive factors for treatment success and assessing its effectiveness in a real-world clinical setting are crucial for decision-making. Objective: To evaluate the response to CTZ in patients with RA in a real-world cohort, measuring the reduction in DAS 28, HAQ, frequency of remission, and low disease activity (LDA) at three months, identifying predictive factors, and evaluating the reduction in the use of corticosteroids. Methods: A prospective real-world observational study included patients over 18 years of age with RA (ACR/EULAR 2010 criteria) who initiated CTZ and were followed for three months. Demographic, clinical, comorbidity, treatment, and disease activity data were recorded. Results: Out of 2092 RA patients treated with CTZ between 2016 and 2021, 90% had a poor prognosis, and 60% had high disease activity. Among 1673 patients followed for three months, a reduction in DAS 28 (-1.9) and HAQ (-0.63) was observed. At three months, 10.5% achieved remission, and 40% achieved LDA. Predictive factors for remission included age (OR: 0.97) and DAS 28 (OR: 0.58); for LDA, age (OR: 0.97), DAS 28 (OR: 0.61), first-line CTZ (OR: 1.6), and HAQ (OR: 0.61). Additionally, there was a reduction in the use of glucocorticoids (-3.1 mg prednisone). Conclusions: CTZ is effective in RA, emphasizing patient selection and an early treatment approach. This study supports the efficacy of CTZ

In its archives, the Real Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi (RACBA) preserves the plans for a wooden bridge erected in 1802 for the visit of Carlos IV and Maria Luisa de Parma to Barcelona. It was built for the purpose of bridging the Royal Palace and the Customs Palace, which were the residences that the authorities assigned to the Spanish and the Neapolitan monarchs during their stay in the city, through an elevated structure. In the course of time, it was dismantled and sold piece by piece, but its ephemeral nature did not eliminate its practical utility and its decoration in the neoclassical style, which was a popular style in Catalonia at the time.

In this study, the effects of different stocking rates were quantified in three study areas in a Mediterranean forest (Cuenca, Spain) by applying a multiparametric soil quality index (SQI) developed from undisturbed forest soils (>40 years). The main objective was to advance the development and application of multiparametric indices that allow for soil condition assessment. To fulfill this objective, the effectiveness of the developed multiparametric soil quality index (SQI) was analyzed as an indicator of livestock impacts on soil in the Mediterranean forest. The control areas without livestock activity were forest stands of different ages (a thicket forest stand of 60 years), which were compared with areas subjected to various grazing intensities (areas with permanent livestock passage: a sheepfold that had been inactive for 2–3 years and an active sheepfold; areas with intermittent livestock passage: a bare-soil area, a pine stand and a scrubland). The applied multiparametric soil quality index (SQI) was sensitive to changes in forest ecosystems depending on the stocking rates. However, to obtain greater precision in the assessment of the effects of stocking rates, the multiparametric index was recalibrated to create a new index, the Soil Status Index by Livestock (SSIL). The correlation between the quality ranges obtained with both indices in different study areas suggests that the SSIL can be considered a livestock impact reference indicator in Mediterranean forest soils.

En Ecuador, en el cultivo de Banano (Musa spp.), la principal enfermedad es la Sigatoka negra, causada por el hongo Mycosphaerella fijiensis Morelet, se caracteriza por tener reproducción sexual y asexual (Paracercospora fijiensis), ocasionando una alta diseminación de esporas dentro de las plantaciones bananeras. La investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar alternativas de fungicidas protectantes azufrados y microbiológicos, dentro de las combinaciones de fungicidas, como estrategias de control de la Sigatoka negra. Se utilizó un Diseño de bloques Completamente al Azar, conformado por 7 tratamientos y 10 repeticiones, el análisis estadístico se realizó mediante el análisis de varianza ANOVA y los promedios fueron comparados mediante la prueba de Tukey. Las variables evaluadas fueron porcentaje de área foliar afectada y el área bajo la curva del progreso de la enfermedad (ABCPE) durante toda la epidemia, evidenciándose el tratamiento T7 como la mejor estrategia de control frente a la enfermedad. Los resultados sugieren que el azufre elemental 800 gr/Kg a una dosis 3Kg/ha, puede integrarse en las combinaciones de fungicidas, como estrategia de control de la sigatoka negra, obteniendo buenos niveles de control.

Gait analysis is a systematic study of human movement. Combining wearable foot pressure sensors and machine learning (ML) solutions for a high-fidelity body pose tracking from RGB video frames could reveal more insights into gait abnormalities. However, accurate detection of heel strike (HS) and toe-off (TO) events is crucial to compute interpretable gait parameters. In this work, we present an experimental platform to study the timing of gait events using a new wearable foot pressure sensor (ActiSense System, IEE S.A., Luxembourg), and Google’s open-source ML solution MediaPipe Pose. For this purpose, two StereoPi systems were built to capture stereoscopic videos and images in real time. MediaPipe Pose was applied to the synchronized StereoPi cameras, and two algorithms (ALs) were developed to detect HS and TO events for gait and analysis. Preliminary results from a healthy subject walking on a treadmill show a mean relative deviation across all time spans of less than 4% for the ActiSense device and less than 16% for AL2 (33% for AL1) employing MediaPipe Pose on StereoPi videos. Finally, this work offers a platform for the development of sensor- and video-based ALs to automatically identify the timing of gait events in healthy individuals and those with gait disorders.

Some clinicians believe that haemophilia B is associated with less bleeding than haemophilia A, yet there appears to be little difference in health-related outcomes. Current clinical practice reduces the risk of bleeds, making differences difficult to measure. We surveyed specialist haemophilia nurses to discern their opinions about the impact of haemophilia B compared to haemophilia A.