Transport, trapping, triplet fusion: thermally retarded exciton migration in tetracene single crystals.

Efficient exciton migration is crucial for optoelectronic organic devices. While the transport of triplet excitons is generally slow compared to singlet excitons, triplet exciton migration in certain molecular semiconductors with endothermic singlet fission appears to be enhanced by a time-delayed regeneration of the more mobile singlet species triplet fusion. This combined transport mechanism could be exploited for devices, but the interplay between singlet fission and triplet fusion, as well as the role of trap states is not yet well understood.

Diuresis Efficacy in Ambulatory Congested Heart Failure Patients: Intrapatient Comparison of 3 Diuretic Regimens (DEA-HF).

Background: Limited evidence exists regarding efficacy and safety of diuretic regimens in ambulatory, congestion-refractory, chronic heart failure (CHF) patients.

Objectives: The authors sought to compare the potency and safety of commonly used diuretic regimens in CHF patients.

Methods: A prospective, randomized, open-label, crossover study conducted in NYHA functional class II to IV CHF patients, treated in an ambulatory day-care unit.

Magnetic tweezers with magnetic flux density feedback control.

In this work, we present a single-pole magnetic tweezers (MT) device designed for integration with substrate deformation tracking microscopy and/or traction force microscopy experiments intended to explore extracellular matrix rheology and human epidermal keratinocyte mechanobiology. Assembled from commercially available off-the-shelf electronics hardware and software, the MT device is amenable to replication in the basic biology laboratory. In contrast to conventional solenoid current-controlled MT devices, operation of this instrument is based on real-time feedback control of the magnetic flux density emanating from the blunt end of the needle core using a cascade control scheme and a digital proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller.

Prognostic indices in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the rituximab era: an analysis of the UK National Cancer Research Institute R-CHOP 14 versus 21 phase 3 trial.

We compared the International Prognostic Index (IPI), Revised (R)-IPI and age-adjusted (aa)-IPI as prognostic indices for patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in the UK National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) R-CHOP 14 versus 21 trial (N = 1080). The R-IPI and aa-IPI showed no marked improvement compared to the IPI for overall and progression-free survival, in terms of model fit or discrimination. Similar results were observed in exploratory analyses incorporating the Grupo Español de Linfomas/Transplante de Médula Ósea (GELTAMO)-IPI, where baseline β2-microglobulin data were available (N = 655).

Cytomorphology review of 100 newly diagnosed lower-risk MDS patients in the European LeukemiaNet MDS (EUMDS) registry reveals a high inter-observer concordance.

The European LeukemiaNet MDS (EUMDS) registry is collecting data of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients belonging to the IPSS low or intermediate-1 category, newly diagnosed by local cytologists. The diagnosis of MDS can be challenging, and some data report inter-observer variability with regard to the assessment of the MDS subtype. In order to ensure that correct diagnoses were made by the participating centres, blood and bone marrow slides of 10% of the first 1000 patients were reviewed by an 11-person panel of cytomorphologists.

Mapping effective connectivity in the human brain with concurrent intracranial electrical stimulation and BOLD-fMRI.

Background: Understanding brain function requires knowledge of how one brain region causally influences another. This information is difficult to obtain directly in the human brain, and is instead typically inferred from resting-state fMRI.

New Method: Here, we demonstrate the safety and scientific promise of a novel and complementary approach: concurrent electrical stimulation and fMRI (es-fMRI) at 3T in awake neurosurgical patients with implanted depth electrodes.

Rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone (R-CHOP) in the management of primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma: a subgroup analysis of the UK NCRI R-CHOP 14 versus 21 trial.

We performed a subgroup analysis of the phase III UK National Cancer Research Institute R-CHOP-14 versus R-CHOP-21 (two- versus three-weekly rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone) trial to evaluate the outcomes for 50 patients with World Health Organization 2008 classified primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma identified from the trial database. At a median follow-up of 7·2 years the 5-year progression-free survival and overall survival was 79·8% and 83·8%, respectively. An exploratory analysis raised the possibility of a better outcome in those who received R-CHOP-14 and time intensification may still, in the rituximab era, merit testing in a randomised trial in this subgroup of patients.

Unusual Presentation of Epstein-Barr Virus-Positive Diffuse Large B-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma of the Elderly.

This report describes the case of a 76-year-old woman diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus-positive diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the elderly. She had an unusual presentation of the disease with widespread skeletal muscle, masticatory muscle, and parotid gland involvement and the development of interesting erythematous lesions in the neck during chemotherapy. One month after completion of chemotherapy, positron-emission tomography (PET) showed features of persistent lymphoma, but a repeat PET scan a month later showed no active disease.

The addition of rituximab to fludarabine and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy results in a significant improvement in overall survival in patients with newly diagnosed mantle cell lymphoma: results of a randomized UK National Cancer Research Institute trial.

Mantle cell lymphoma is an incurable and generally aggressive lymphoma that is more common in elderly patients. Whilst a number of different chemotherapeutic regimens are active in this disease, there is no established gold standard therapy. Rituximab has been used widely to good effect in B-cell malignancies but there is no evidence that it improves outcomes when added to chemotherapy in this disease.

Results of a trial of PET-directed therapy for early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Background: It is unclear whether patients with early-stage Hodgkin's lymphoma and negative findings on positron-emission tomography (PET) after three cycles of chemotherapy with doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (ABVD) require radiotherapy.

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed stage IA or stage IIA Hodgkin's lymphoma received three cycles of ABVD and then underwent PET scanning. Patients with negative PET findings were randomly assigned to receive involved-field radiotherapy or no further treatment; patients with positive PET findings received a fourth cycle of ABVD and radiotherapy.

Introducing a sensor to measure budburst and its environmental drivers.

Budburst is a key adaptive trait that can help us understand how plants respond to a changing climate from the molecular to landscape scale. Despite this, acquisition of budburst data is constrained by a lack of information at the plant scale on the environmental stimuli associated with the release of bud dormancy. Additionally, to date, little effort has been devoted to phenotyping plants in natural populations due to the challenge of accounting for the effect of environmental variation.

Addition of bortezomib to standard dose chop chemotherapy improves response and survival in relapsed mantle cell lymphoma.

The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, potentially increases cell sensitivity to chemotherapy. This study was performed to determine the overall response rate (ORR), overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and toxicity of CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone) compared to CHOP + bortezomib chemotherapy in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients at first relapse. Forty-six patients were randomly assigned to standard dose CHOP ± bortezomib 1·6 mg/m(2) given on a 21-d cycle for up to eight cycles of treatment.

Rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone in patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma: a phase 3 comparison of dose intensification with 14-day versus 21-day cycles.

Background: Dose intensification with a combination of cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisolone (CHOP) every 2 weeks improves outcomes in patients older than 60 years with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma compared with CHOP every 3 weeks. We investigated whether this survival benefit from dose intensification persists in the presence of rituximab (R-CHOP) in all age groups.

Methods: Patients (aged ≥18 years) with previously untreated bulky stage IA to stage IV diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in 119 centres in the UK were randomly assigned centrally in a one-to-one ratio, using minimisation, to receive six cycles of R-CHOP every 14 days plus two cycles of rituximab (R-CHOP-14) or eight cycles of R-CHOP every 21 days (R-CHOP-21).

Alemtuzumab in combination with methylprednisolone is a highly effective induction regimen for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and deletion of TP53: final results of the national cancer research institute CLL206 trial.

Purpose: In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), TP53 deletion/mutation is strongly associated with an adverse outcome and resistance to chemotherapy-based treatment. In contrast, TP53 defects are not associated with resistance to the anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody alemtuzumab or methylprednisolone. In an attempt to improve the treatment of TP53-defective CLL, a multicenter phase II study was developed to evaluate alemtuzumab and methylprednisolone in combination.

Monitoring left ventricular function in adults receiving anthracycline-containing chemotherapy.

Aims: To assess prospectively (1) the incidence of early anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity; (2) the best predictor for identifying individuals at risk of developing functional cardiotoxicity; and (3) the most sensitive standard echocardiographic measure for the detection of anthracycline-induced changes in left ventricular (LV) function.

Methods: Sixty-seven consecutive patients (45 male, mean age 50+/-18 years) requiring doxorubicin-containing chemotherapy were enrolled. Clinical and echocardiographic assessments occurred before they received any anthracycline, after low-dose anthracyclines and 1-3 months after completion of their chemotherapy.

The Tei index identifies a differential effect on left and right ventricular function with low-dose anthracycline chemotherapy.

Objective: We sought to study the relative effect on left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) function of low-dose anthracycline-containing chemotherapy regimes.

Methods: A total of 23 patients (mean age 48 +/- 20 years) underwent echocardiographic examinations before any anthracycline had been administered and then after low-dose anthracycline (doxorubicin 50-125 mg/m2). The Tei index was used to compare the relative effects on RV and LV function.