Early Urinary Potassium Level Predicts High-dose Methotrexate Elimination Delay in Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma.

Background/aim: Treatment of primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) includes high dose methotrexate-based polychemotherapy (HD-MTX). This study aimed to identify early predictive factors of methotrexate (MTX) delayed elimination.

Patients And Methods: We prospectively included all patients with newly-diagnosed PCNSL.

Radio-chemotherapy feasibility for biopsy-only unresectable wild-type glioblastomas (BO-GBM).

Background: "Biopsy-only" glioblastoma (BO-GBM) is a heterogeneous, understudied group of patients associated with a poor outcome. Our objective was to explore the pattern of care and prognosis associated with BO-GBM in our center.

Methods: Patients with wild-type BO-GBM included in a prospective regional cohort initiated in 2014 and closed in 2017 were retrospectively reviewed for patient characteristics, MRI findings, treatment allocation, and delivery.

3D cellular morphometrics of ovule primordium development in reveal differential division and growth dynamics specifying megaspore mother cell singleness.

Introduction: Differentiation of spore mother cells marks the somatic-to-reproductive transition in higher plants. Spore mother cells are critical for fitness because they differentiate into gametes, leading to fertilization and seed formation. The female spore mother cell is called the megaspore mother cell (MMC) and is specified in the ovule primordium.

High-frequency synthetic apomixis in hybrid rice.

Introducing asexual reproduction through seeds - apomixis - into crop species could revolutionize agriculture by allowing F1 hybrids with enhanced yield and stability to be clonally propagated. Engineering synthetic apomixis has proven feasible in inbred rice through the inactivation of three genes (MiMe), which results in the conversion of meiosis into mitosis in a line ectopically expressing the BABYBOOM1 (BBM1) parthenogenetic trigger in egg cells. However, only 10-30% of the seeds are clonal.

Phase III study of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life cancer survivorship core questionnaire.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to develop a European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group (EORTC QLG) questionnaire that captures the full range of physical, mental, and social health-related quality of life (HRQOL) issues relevant to disease-free cancer survivors. In this phase III study, we pretested the provisional core questionnaire (QLQ-SURV111) and aimed to identify essential and optional scales.

Methods: We pretested the QLQ-SURV111 in 492 cancer survivors from 17 countries with one of 11 cancer diagnoses.

What is quantitative plant biology?

Quantitative plant biology is an interdisciplinary field that builds on a long history of biomathematics and biophysics. Today, thanks to high spatiotemporal resolution tools and computational modelling, it sets a new standard in plant science. Acquired data, whether molecular, geometric or mechanical, are quantified, statistically assessed and integrated at multiple scales and across fields.

Organ geometry channels reproductive cell fate in the Arabidopsis ovule primordium.

In multicellular organisms, sexual reproduction requires the separation of the germline from the soma. In flowering plants, the female germline precursor differentiates as a single spore mother cell (SMC) as the ovule primordium forms. Here, we explored how organ growth contributes to SMC differentiation.

Proceedings of the 7th Series of Seminars on Advances in Apomixis Research.

These proceedings contain the abstracts for the presentations given at the 7th biennial Seminars on Advances in Apomixis Research, held virtually on 2-3 and 9 December 2020. The first day hosted the kick-off meeting of the EU-funded Mechanisms of Apomictic Development (MAD) project, while the remaining days were dedicated to oral presentations and in-depth exchanges on the latest progress in the field of apomixis and plant reproductive biology research.

TEMOBIC: Phase II Trial of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Unresectable Anaplastic Gliomas: An ANOCEF Study.

Lessons Learned: Treatment with temozolomide and BCNU was associated with substantial response and survival rates for patients with unresectable anaplastic glioma, suggesting potential therapeutic alternative for these patients. The optimal treatment for unresectable large anaplastic gliomas remains debated.

Background: The optimal treatment for unresectable large anaplastic gliomas remains debated.

Role of 3D volume growth rate for drug activity evaluation in meningioma clinical trials: the example of the CEVOREM study.

Background: We aimed to improve the assessment of the drug activity in meningioma clinical trials based on the study of the 3D volume growth rate (3DVGR) in a series of aggressive meningiomas. We secondarily aimed to correlate 3DVGR study with patient outcome.

Methods: We performed a post hoc analysis based on volume data and 3DVGR extracted from CEVOREM study including 18 patients with 32 recurrent high-grade meningiomas and treated with everolimus and octreotide.

H3.1 Eviction Marks Female Germline Precursors in Arabidopsis.

In flowering plants, germline precursors are differentiated from somatic cells. The female germline precursor of is located in the internal (nucellar) tissue of the ovule, and is known as the Megaspore Mother Cell (MMC). MMC differentiation in occurs when a cell in the subepidermal layer of the nucellar apex enters the meiotic program.

Everolimus and Octreotide for Patients with Recurrent Meningioma: Results from the Phase II CEVOREM Trial.

Purpose: Aggressive meningiomas that progress after surgery/radiotherapy represent an unmet medical need. Strong and constant expression of SSTR2A receptors and activation of the Pi3K/Akt/mTOR pathway have been demonstrated in meningiomas. The combination of everolimus, an mTOR inhibitor, and octreotide, a somatostatin agonist, has shown additive antitumor effect .

Leptomeningeal Gliomatosis: A Single Institution Study of 31 Patients.

Background/aim: Secondary leptomeningeal gliomatosis (LG) is a rare and severe progression pattern of glioma. Our objective was to evaluate the characteristics and outcome of patients with LG.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 31 patients diagnosed with secondary LG.

Localization of Chromatin Marks in Arabidopsis Early Embryos.

During early embryo development, profound changes in chromatin structure and regulation take place. It is difficult to study these changes in plant embryos however, largely because of their relative inaccessibility, which impedes the application of current epigenomic and biochemistry protocols. To circumvent this issue and to analyze the epigenetic status of the embryo at both the cellular and subcellular level, we describe here a simple method to immunolocalize chromatin marks in whole mount early Arabidopsis embryos, either within maternal tissues or isolated from seeds.

Live-cell analysis of DNA methylation during sexual reproduction in Arabidopsis reveals context and sex-specific dynamics controlled by noncanonical RdDM.

Cytosine methylation is a key epigenetic mark in many organisms, important for both transcriptional control and genome integrity. While relatively stable during somatic growth, DNA methylation is reprogrammed genome-wide during mammalian reproduction. Reprogramming is essential for zygotic totipotency and to prevent transgenerational inheritance of epimutations.

Neuro-oncological patients admitted in intensive-care unit: predictive factors and functional outcome.

The prognosis of oncology patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) is considered poor. Our objective was to analyze the characteristics and predictive factors of death in the ICU and functional outcome following ICU treatment for neuro-oncology patients. A retrospective study was conducted on all patients with primary brain tumor admitted to our institutional ICU for medical indications.

Chromatin dynamics during cellular differentiation in the female reproductive lineage of flowering plants.

Sexual reproduction in flowering plants offers a number of remarkable aspects to developmental biologists. First, the spore mother cells - precursors of the plant reproductive lineage - are specified late in development, as opposed to precocious germline isolation during embryogenesis in most animals. Second, unlike in most animals where meiosis directly produces gametes, plant meiosis entails the differentiation of a multicellular, haploid gametophyte, within which gametic as well as non-gametic accessory cells are formed.

Relationships Between Dose Intensity, Toxicity, and Outcome in Patients with Oligodendroglial Tumors Treated with the PCV Regimen.

Background/aim: The drug combination of procarbazine, lomustine (CCNU) and vincristine (PCV) has been associated with efficacy in oligodendroglial gliomas (OG) when added to radiotherapy as the first line of treatment, despite the important toxicity of this treatment schedule. The aim of the present study was to analyze the tolerance, feasibility and impact of the dose intensity of the PCV regimen on outcome for patients with OG.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed all patients with OG receiving PCV (CCNU=110 mg/m(2)) who were referred to our two Institutions.

Limited impact of prognostic factors in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme treated with a bevacizumab-based regimen.

Bevacizumab has demonstrated activity in patients with recurrent glioblastoma. However, the impact of prognostic factors associated with recurrent glioblastoma treated with cytotoxic agents has not been determined in patients treated with bevacizumab. To analyze the prognostic factors and clinical benefits of bevacizumab and irinotecan treatment in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

Parental contributions to the transcriptome of early plant embryos.

In plants and animals, embryo development becomes ultimately controlled by zygotic genes, but the timing of zygotic genome activation (ZGA) varies greatly between organisms. We recently showed that the transcriptome of young Arabidopsis embryos is dominated by maternal transcripts with a progressive ZGA under the maternal control of epigenetic pathways. In contrast, another study reported that both parental genomes contribute equally to the transcriptome of young embryos, suggesting that ZGA occurs immediately after fertilization.

Maternal epigenetic pathways control parental contributions to Arabidopsis early embryogenesis.

Defining the contributions and interactions of paternal and maternal genomes during embryo development is critical to understand the fundamental processes involved in hybrid vigor, hybrid sterility, and reproductive isolation. To determine the parental contributions and their regulation during Arabidopsis embryogenesis, we combined deep-sequencing-based RNA profiling and genetic analyses. At the 2-4 cell stage there is a strong, genome-wide dominance of maternal transcripts, although transcripts are contributed by both parental genomes.

A role for CHROMOMETHYLASE3 in mediating transposon and euchromatin silencing during egg cell reprogramming in Arabidopsis.

During embryogenesis there is a major switch from dependence upon maternally-deposited products to reliance on products of the zygotic genome. In animals, this so-called maternal-to-zygotic transition occurs following a period of transcriptional quiescence. Recently, we have shown that the early embryo in Arabidopsis is also quiescent, a state inherited from the female gamete and linked to specific patterns of H3K9 dimethylation and TERMINAL FLOWER2 (TFL2) localization.

Control of female gamete formation by a small RNA pathway in Arabidopsis.

In the ovules of most sexual flowering plants female gametogenesis is initiated from a single surviving gametic cell, the functional megaspore, formed after meiosis of the somatically derived megaspore mother cell (MMC). Because some mutants and certain sexual species exhibit more than one MMC, and many others are able to form gametes without meiosis (by apomixis), it has been suggested that somatic cells in the ovule are competent to respond to a local signal likely to have an important function in determination. Here we show that the Arabidopsis protein ARGONAUTE 9 (AGO9) controls female gamete formation by restricting the specification of gametophyte precursors in a dosage-dependent, non-cell-autonomous manner.

Embryo and endosperm inherit distinct chromatin and transcriptional states from the female gametes in Arabidopsis.

Whether deposited maternal products are important during early seed development in flowering plants remains controversial. Here, we show that RNA interference-mediated downregulation of transcription is deleterious to endosperm development but does not block zygotic divisions. Furthermore, we show that RNA POLYMERASE II is less active in the embryo than in the endosperm.