Source apportionment of metallic elements in urban atmospheric particulate matter and assessment of its water-soluble fraction toxicity.

Clean air is essential for the maintenance of human life and environmental balance. The atmospheric particulate matter (PM) is one of the main air pollutants and is characterized by the heterogeneity of its composition, being able to accumulate numerous components, such as metallic elements, which contribute to increasing its toxicity. The objectives of this study were to assess of the air quality in two urban environments, to carry out the source apportionment of the metallic elements Al, Ba, Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in the PM and PM, and evaluate the toxicity of PM and PM water-soluble fractions using Lactuca sativa as bioindicator.

Combination of gemcitabine and cetuximab in patients with advanced cholangiocarcinoma: a phase II study of the Belgian Group of Digestive Oncology.

Background: Cholangiocarcinomas are uncommon tumours with a poor prognosis, that frequently present epidermal growth factor receptor overexpression.

Methods: In a multi-centre phase II trial, patients with unresectable cholangiocarcinoma, naïve to chemotherapy, received Cetuximab (400 mg/m(2) at week 1, then 250 mg/m(2)/week) and Gemcitabine (1 g/m(2) on day 1, 8 and 15 every 4 weeks). Primary end point was progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 6 months, using a Simon 2-stage design.

Prevalence and clinical relevance of pathological hepatic changes occurring after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases.

Background: Hepatotoxicity from neoadjuvant chemotherapy before liver resection for colorectal metastases (CRLM) has been recently reported. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and the clinical relevance of this phenomenon. It was a retrospective study conducted at an academic secondary referral hospital.

Health data quality improvement by comparing administrative medical data and billing data.

Objective: The increasing use of medical administrative databases in hospital financing means more attention is being paid to their quality. The object of this study is to compare diagnoses found in the medical database to treatments mentioned in the billing database and to identify hospital stays with discrepancies.

Method: The analysis is performed for the diagnoses of heart failure, hypertension, and pneumonia.

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia: a deleterious consequence of chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases?

Aims: This report describes three patients suffering from nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH).

Methods: These patients have received six, 16 and 20 cycles of neoadjuvant 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy before planned extended hepatectomy. Two patients underwent uneventful portal vein embolization to hypertrophy the future remnant liver.