Protocol of DREAM3R: DuRvalumab with chEmotherapy as first-line treAtment in advanced pleural Mesothelioma-a phase 3 randomised trial.

Introduction: There is a strong theoretical rationale for combining checkpoint blockade with cytotoxic chemotherapy in pleural mesothelioma and other cancers. Two recent single-arm, phase 2 trials [DuRvalumab with chEmotherapy as first-line treAtment in advanced pleural Mesothelioma (DREAM) and Phase II multicenter study of anti-PD-L1, durvalumab, in combination with cisplatin and pemetrexed for the first-line treatment of unresectable malignant pleural mesothelioma (PrE0505)] combining the programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitor durvalumab with standard first-line chemotherapy exceeded prespecified safety and activity criteria to proceed to a phase 3 confirmatory trial to assess this combination. We present the protocol of the DREAM3R trial.

Knowledge and the brain: Why the knowledge-centric theory of mind program needs neuroscience.

The knowledge-centric theory of mind research program suggested by Phillips et al. stands to gain significant value by embracing a neurocognitive approach that takes full advantage of techniques such as fMRI and EEG. This neurocognitive approach has already begun providing important insights into the mechanisms of knowledge attribution, insights which support the claim that it is more basic than belief attribution.

The neural and cognitive mechanisms of knowledge attribution: An EEG study.

Despite the ubiquity of knowledge attribution in human social cognition, its associated neural and cognitive mechanisms are poorly documented. A wealth of converging evidence in cognitive neuroscience has identified independent perspective-taking and inhibitory processes for belief attribution, but the extent to which these processes are shared by knowledge attribution isn't presently understood. Here, we present the findings of an EEG study designed to directly address this shortcoming.

Reading fiction and reading minds: the role of simulation in the default network.

Research in psychology has suggested that reading fiction can improve individuals' social-cognitive abilities. Findings from neuroscience show that reading and social cognition both recruit the default network, a network which is known to support our capacity to simulate hypothetical scenes, spaces and mental states. The current research tests the hypothesis that fiction reading enhances social cognition because it serves to exercise the default subnetwork involved in theory of mind.

Carotid blowout in a patient with nasopharyngeal carcinoma treated with SBRT re-irradiation for local recurrence using twice weekly treatment.

We present the case of a patient undergoing reirradiation for a T4 nasopharyngeal tumor 1 year after his initial radiation, treated with SBRT to a moderate dose with twice weekly fractionation. Despite the measures of caution employed, the patient had a fatal carotid blowout at 7 months following SBRT. This suggests that spacing apart fractions of SBRT alone may not be sufficient to obviate the risk of carotid blowout syndrome and other risk factors and interventions should be considered.

Stereotactic body radiotherapy for a large arteriovenous malformation of the head and neck.

Large arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the head and neck present a treatment challenge. A 38-year-old woman presented with a large intraoral bleed from longstanding AVMs of the left infratemporal fossa and the right tongue, despite 10 prior surgeries and embolizations. She was treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy with a dose of 24 Gy in three weekly fractions.

Imaging for headache: what the neuroradiologist looks for.

In this article, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging anatomy and pathology of sinus disease is discussed, specifically relating to facial pain, rhinogenic headache, and sinus outflow obstruction. Findings commonly seen in acute, chronic, infectious, and inflammatory sinusitis are illustrated, with additional examples of secondary intracranial and orbital involvement, and more aggressive infectious and neoplastic processes.

Impact of surgical resection on survival in patients with advanced head and neck cancer involving the carotid artery.

Importance: The present study addresses the survival benefit of aggressive surgical treatment of head and neck cancer involving the carotid artery.

Objective: To assess survival outcomes in patients treated for advanced squamous cell carcinoma involving the carotid artery using different treatment strategies.

Design, Setting, And Participants: Retrospective study at a tertiary care center of 44 consecutive patients with squamous cell carcinoma involving the carotid artery from 2005 to 2012 with a median follow-up of 12 months.

Taming mental-health-focused popular literature: a crazy idea?

Providing tailored and easily accessible health information for mental health clinicians and patients can be enabled through Information Technology and Communications (ITC). The literature is mixed regarding the quality, utility and accessibility of health information in the popular press for this purpose. However, there is consensus that mental health information in the popular press is readily available, easily comprehended by patients, and is continually updated.

Valsalva sinus aneurysms: findings at CT and MR imaging.

Aneurysms of the Valsalva sinus (aortic sinus) can be congenital or acquired and are rare. They are more common among men than women and among Asians than other ethnic groups. Nonruptured aneurysms may be asymptomatic and incidentally discovered, or they may be symptomatic and manifest acutely with mass effect on adjacent cardiac structures.

Pseudallescheria boydii (Scedosporium species) in 3 lung transplant recipients: computed tomography findings and literature review.

Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate chest computed tomography (CT) findings in 3 lung transplant recipients infected with Pseudallescheria boydii complex or its asexual anamorph, Scedosporium apiospermum, 2 after double-lung transplant and 1 after single-lung transplantation. Awareness and early diagnosis of this rare but potentially lethal infection are important, as it is largely refractory to treatment with the antifungal agents of choice used for the more common Aspergillus species. Computed tomography investigation focused on the location, quality, and appearance of the various pulmonary lesions as well as the presence of cavitation, mediastinal lymphadenopathy, and pleural effusions.

Role of NADase in virulence in experimental invasive group A streptococcal infection.

Group A streptococci (GAS) produce several exoproteins that are thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of human infection. Two such proteins, streptolysin O (SLO) and NAD(+)-glycohydrolase (NADase), have been shown to interact functionally as a compound signaling toxin. When GAS are bound to the surface of epithelial cells in vitro, SLO forms pores in the cell membrane and delivers NADase to the epithelial cell cytoplasm.

NAD+-glycohydrolase acts as an intracellular toxin to enhance the extracellular survival of group A streptococci.

Group A streptococci (GAS) produce several secreted products that are thought to enhance pathogenicity by facilitating spread of the organisms through host tissues. Two such products, streptolysin O (SLO) and NAD+-glycohydrolase, appear to be functionally linked, in that SLO is required for transfer of NAD+-glycohydrolase into epithelial cells. However, the effects of NAD+-glycohydrolase on host cells are largely unexplored.

An evolutionarily conserved RNA stem-loop functions as a sensor that directs feedback regulation of RNase E gene expression.

RNase E is a key regulatory enzyme that controls the principal pathway for mRNA degradation in Escherichia coli. The cellular concentration of this endonuclease is governed by a feedback mechanism in which RNase E tightly regulates its own synthesis. Autoregulation is mediated in cis by the 361-nucleotide 5' untranslated region (UTR) of rne (RNase E) mRNA.

Importance of a 5' stem-loop for longevity of papA mRNA in Escherichia coli.

High-level expression of the major pilus subunit (PapA) of uropathogenic strains of Escherichia coli results in part from the unusually long lifetime of the mRNA that encodes this protein. Here we report that the longevity of papA mRNA derives in large measure from the protection afforded by its 5' untranslated region. This papA RNA segment can prolong the lifetime of an otherwise short-lived mRNA to which it is fused.

Transformation of a type 4 encapsulated strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Streptococcus pneumoniae strain JNR.7/87 is a highly virulent, type 4 encapsulated Gram-positive bacterium whose transformability has not been tested previously, and whose genome is currently being sequenced. The strain was transformed at very low efficiency by addition of exogenous competence-stimulating peptide: However, the efficiency was too low and irreproducible to be useful in many genetic studies.

Home care aides and disenfranchised grief.

Home care aides have been called the core of the home care industry. They spend up to three times more time with clients and their families than other health care professionals, and are often with the patients until death occurs. Results from a survey of aides' feelings about the death of their patient point to the need for timely acknowledgment and affirmation of the aides' grief and feelings of loss.

Structure and function of a bacterial mRNA stabilizer: analysis of the 5' untranslated region of ompA mRNA.

The 5' untranslated region (UTR) of the Escherichia coli ompA transcript functions in vivo as a growth rate-regulated mRNA stabilizer. The secondary structure of this mRNA segment has been determined by a combination of three methods: phylogenetic analysis, in vitro probing with a structure-specific RNase, and methylation by dimethylsulfate in vivo and in vitro. These studies reveal that despite extensive sequence differences, the 5' UTRs of the ompA transcripts of E.

A genetic linkage map of human chromosome 5 with 60 RFLP loci.

A genetic map of human chromosome 5 that contains 60 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) loci in one linkage group has been constructed. Segregation data using these markers and 40 large multigenerational families supplied by the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain have been collected. Linkage analyses were performed with the program package CRI-MAP; using odds greater than 1000:1, 30 RFLP loci could be placed on the map.

Genetic linkage map of 46 DNA markers on human chromosome 16.

We have constructed a genetic linkage map of human chromosome 16 based on 46 DNA markers that detect restriction fragment length polymorphisms. Segregation data were collected on a set of multigenerational families provided by the Centre d'Etude du Polymorphisme Humain, and maps were constructed using recently developed multipoint analysis techniques. The map spans 115 centimorgans (cM) in males and 193 cM in females.