Molecular imaging in the development of a novel treatment paradigm for glioblastoma (GBM): an integrated multidisciplinary commentary.

Current therapeutic strategies against glioblastoma (GBM) have failed to prevent disease progression and recurrence effectively. The part played by molecular imaging (MI) in the development of novel therapies has gained increasing traction in recent years. For the first time, using expertise from an integrated multidisciplinary group of authors, herein we present a comprehensive evaluation of state-of-the-art GBM imaging and explore how advances facilitate the emergence of new treatment options. We propose a novel next-generation treatment paradigm based on the targeting of multiple hallmarks of cancer evolution that will heavily rely on MI.

Confirmatory factor analysis of an integrated model of psycopathology assessed with MMPI-2-RF and the MCMI-III

We presented an integrated hierarchical model of psychopathology that more accurately captures empirical patterns of comorbidity between clinical syndromes and personality disorders.In order to verify the structural validity of the model proposed, this study aimed to analyze the convergence between the Restructured Clinical (RC) scales and Personality scales (PSY-5) of the MMPI-2-RF and the Clinical Syndrome and Personality Disorder scales of the MCMI-III.The MMPI-2-RF and MCMI-III were administered to a clinical sample of 377 outpatients (167 men and 210 women).The structural hypothesiswas assessed by using a Confirmatory Factor Analytic design with four common superordinate factors. An independent-cluster-basis solution was proposed based on maximum likelihood estimation and the application of several fit indices.The fit of the proposed model can be considered as good and more so if we take into account its complexity.

Cover plants with potential use for crop-livestock integrated systems in the Cerrado region

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of lignin, hemicellulose, and cellulose concentrations in the decomposition process of cover plant residues with potential use in no-tillage with corn, for crop-livestock integrated system, in the Cerrado region. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Cerrados, in Planaltina, DF, Brazil in a split plot experimental design. The plots were represented by the plant species and the subplots by harvesting times, with three replicates. The cover plants Urochloa ruziziensis, Canavalia brasiliensis, Cajanus cajan, Pennisetum glaucum, Mucuna aterrima, Raphanus sativus, Sorghum bicolor were evaluated together with spontaneous plants in the fallow. Cover plants with lower lignin concentrations and, consequently, higher residue decomposition such as C. brasiliensis and U. ruziziensis promoted higher corn yield. High concentrations of lignin inhibit plant residue decomposition and this is favorable for the soil cover. Lower concentrations of lignin result in accelerated plant decomposition, more efficient nutrient cycling, and higher corn yield.

Soil biological attributes in pastures of different ages in a crop-livestock integrated system

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the pasture (Urochloa brizantha) component age on soil biological properties, in a crop-livestock integrated system. The experiment was carried out in a Brazilian savannah (Cerrado) area with 92 ha, divided into six pens of approximately 15 ha. Each pen represented a different stage of the pasture component: formation, P0; one year, P1; two years, P2; three years, P3; and final with 3.5 years, Pf. Samples were taken in the 0-10 cm soil depth. The soil biological parameters - microbial biomass carbon (MBC), microbial biomass respiration (C-CO2), metabolic quotient (qCO2), microbial quotient (q mic), and total organic carbon (TOC) - were evaluated and compared among different stages of the pasture, and between an adjacent area under native Cerrado and another area under degraded pasture (PCD). The MBC, q mic and TOC increased and qCO2 reduced under the different pasture stages. Compared to PCD, the pasture stages had higher MBC, q mic and TOC, and lower qCO2. The crop-livestock integrated system improved soil microbiological parameters and immobilized carbon in the soil in comparison to the degraded pasture.

On the thermal noise introduced by a resistor in a circuit

Comentari sobre l'article publicat anteriorment pels mateixos autors: Vargas, M; Pallás, R; The seemingly paradoxical noise behaviour some active circuits. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. 1994, vol. 43, núm. 5, p. 764-767

Power supply noise and logic error probability

Voltage fluctuations caused by parasitic impedances in the power supply rails of modern ICs are a major concern in nowadays ICs. The voltage fluctuations are spread out to the diverse nodes of the internal sections causing two effects: a degradation of performances mainly impacting gate delays anda noisy contamination of the quiescent levels of the logic that drives the node. Both effects are presented together, in thispaper, showing than both are a cause of errors in modern and future digital circuits. The paper groups both error mechanismsand shows how the global error rate is related with the voltage deviation and the period of the clock of the digital system.

Voltage fluctuations in IC power supply distribution

The supply voltage decrease and powerconsumption increase of modern ICs made the requirements for low voltage fluctuation caused by packaging and on-chip parasitic impedances more difficult to achieve. Most of the research works on the area assume that all the nodes of the chip are fed at thesame voltage, in such a way that the main cause of disturbance or fluctuation is the parasitic impedance of packaging. In the paper an approach to analyze the effect of high and fast current demands on the on-chip power supply network. First an approach to model the entire network by considering a homogeneous conductive foil is presented. The modification of the timing parameters of flipflops caused by spatial voltage drops through the IC surface are also investigated.

Soins intégrés: comment accompagner un changement de culture [Integrated care: how to support a culture change?].

The primary care center at Lausanne University Hospital trains residents to new models of integrated care. The future GPs discover new forms of collaboration with nurses, pharmacists or social workers. The collaboration model includes seeing patients together or delegating care to other providers, with the aim of improving the efficiency of a patient-centered care approach. The article includes examples of integrated care in consultation for travelers, victims of violence, pharmacist medication adherence counseling, medicosocial team work for alcohol use disorders and nurse practitioners' primary care for asylum seekers.

Implementation of an Integrated Activity-Based Costing in a Holistic Database Management System and its Implications for Operations Management

Diplomityössä on tutkittu reaaliaikaisen toimintolaskennan toteuttamista suomalaisen lasersiruja valmistavan PK-yrityksen tietojärjestelmään. Lisäksi on tarkasteltu toimintolaskennan vaikutuksia operatiiviseen toimintaan sekä toimintojen johtamiseen. Työn kirjallisuusosassa on käsitelty kirjallisuuslähteiden perusteella toimintolaskennan teorioita, laskentamenetelmiä sekä teknisessä toteutuksessa käytettyjä teknologioita. Työn toteutusosassa suunniteltiin ja toteutettiin WWW-pohjainen toimintolaskentajärjestelmä case-yrityksen kustannuslaskennan sekä taloushallinnon avuksi. Työkalu integroitiin osaksi yrityksen toiminnanohjaus- sekä valmistuksenohjausjärjestelmää. Perinteisiin toimintolaskentamallien tiedonkeruujärjestelmiin verrattuna case-yrityksessä syötteet toimintolaskentajärjestelmälle tulevat reaaliaikaisesti osana suurempaa tietojärjestelmäintegraatiota.Diplomityö pyrkii luomaan suhteen toimintolaskennan vaatimusten ja tietokantajärjestelmien välille. Toimintolaskentajärjestelmää yritys voi hyödyntää esimerkiksi tuotteiden hinnoittelussa ja kustannuslaskennassa näkemällä tuotteisiin liittyviä kustannuksia eri näkökulmista. Päätelmiä voidaan tehdä tarkkaan kustannusinformaatioon perustuen sekä määrittää järjestelmän tuottaman datan perusteella, onko tietyn projektin, asiakkuuden tai tuotteen kehittäminen taloudellisesti kannattavaa.

L'hypnose intégrée aux soins de patients brûlés: impact sur le niveau de stress de l'equipe soignante [Hypnosis integrated in burn care: impact on the healthcare team's stress].

Hypnosis for burn care was introduced in 2004 in the CHUV burn center showing great benefit for burned patients. Whereas advantages of hypnosis for the patient are well established, the impact on the medical staff remains poorly assessed. This manuscrit reviews current attested benefits of hypnosis for patients, specially for burned patients. The results of a recent study assessing the impact of hypnosis on the staffs level of stress caused by burn treatment, will also be introduced.

Systems medicine and integrated care to combat chronic noncommunicable diseases

We propose an innovative, integrated, cost-effective health system to combat major non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cardiovascular, chronic respiratory, metabolic, rheumatologic and neurologic disorders and cancers, which together are the predominant health problem of the 21st century. This proposed holistic strategy involves comprehensive patient-centered integrated care and multi-scale, multi-modal and multi-level systems approaches to tackle NCDs as a common group of diseases. Rather than studying each disease individually, it will take into account their intertwined gene-environment, socio-economic interactions and co-morbidities that lead to individual-specific complex phenotypes. It will implement a road map for predictive, preventive, personalized and participatory (P4) medicine based on a robust and extensive knowledge management infrastructure that contains individual patient information. It will be supported by strategic partnerships involving all stakeholders, including general practitioners associated with patient-centered care. This systems medicine strategy, which will take a holistic approach to disease, is designed to allow the results to be used globally, taking into account the needs and specificities of local economies and health systems.

Carbon and nitrogen cycling in an integrated soybean-beef cattle production system under different grazing intensities

Abstract:The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of grazing intensity on the decomposition of cover crop pasture, dung, and soybean residues, as well as the C and N release rates from these residues in a long-term integrated soybean-beef cattle system under no-tillage. The experiment was initiated in 2001, with soybean cultivated in summer and black oat + Italian ryegrass in winter. The treatments consisted of four sward heights (10, 20, 30, and 40 cm), plus an ungrazed area, as the control. In 2009-2011, residues from pasture, dung, and soybean stems and leaves were placed in nylon-mesh litter bags and allowed to decompose for up to 258 days. With increasing grazing intensity, residual dry matter of the pasture decreased and that of dung increased. Pasture and dung lignin concentrations and C release rates were lower with moderate grazing intensity. C and N release rates from soybean residues are not affected by grazing intensity. The moderate grazing intensity produces higher quality residues, both for pasture and dung. Total C and N release is influenced by the greater residual dry matter produced when pastures were either lightly grazed or ungrazed.