Controlled Synthesis of Up-Conversion NaYF:Yb,Tm Nanoparticles for Drug Release under Near IR-Light Therapy.

Up-Conversion materials have received great attention in drug delivery applications in recent years. A specifically emerging field includes the development of strategies focusing on photon processes that promote the development of novel platforms for the efficient transport and the controlled release of drug molecules in the harsh microenvironment. Here, modified reaction time, thermal treatment, and pH conditions were controlled in the synthesis of NaYF:Yb,Tm up-converted (UC) material to improve its photoluminescence properties.

Postoperative radiotherapy in resected non-small cell lung cancer: The never-ending story.

This manuscript collects in a joint and orderly manner the existing evidence at the present time about postoperative treatment with radiotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. It also systematically reviews the current evidence, the international recommendations in the most relevant guidelines, the most controversial aspects in clinical and pathological staging, the specific technical aspects of radiotherapy treatment, and also collects all the potential risk factors that have been postulated as significant in the prognosis of these patients, evaluating the possibility of segmenting a particularly sensitive subpopulation with a high risk of relapse on which an adjuvant treatment with radiotherapy could have an impact on their clinical evolution. Finally, currently active trials that aspire to provide more evidence on this topic are reviewed.

Adjuvant treatment in lung cancer.

Background: Adjuvant treatment for both small-cell and non-small-cell lung cancer is a controversial topic. There are no published results from prospective studies that either confirm or reject the benefit of adjuvant radiotherapy, although the presentation of recent studies at a number of conferences questions whether there should be a change in the paradigm of adjuvant RT for lung cancer.

Aim: The main goal of this study is to review the most relevant publications on the topic, updating the state of the matter regarding adjuvant radiotherapy following lung surgery, and analyzing the role of chemotherapy in the process.

EST64454: a Highly Soluble σ Receptor Antagonist Clinical Candidate for Pain Management.

The synthesis and pharmacological activity of a new series of pyrazoles that led to the identification of 1-(4-(2-((1-(3,4-difluorophenyl)-1-pyrazol-3-yl)methoxy)ethyl)piperazin-1-yl)ethanone (, EST64454) as a σ receptor (σR) antagonist clinical candidate for the treatment of pain are reported. The compound is easily obtained through a five-step synthesis suitable for the production scale and shows an outstanding aqueous solubility, which together with its high permeability in Caco-2 cells will allow its classification as a BCS class I compound. It also shows high metabolic stability in all species, linked to an adequate pharmacokinetic profile in rodents, and antinociceptive properties in the capsaicin and partial sciatic nerve ligation models in mice.

Full Band Spectra Analysis of Gait Acceleration Signals for Peripheral Arterial Disease Patients.

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is an artherosclerotic occlusive disorder of distal arteries, which can give rise to the intermittent claudication (IC) phenomenon, i.e., limb pain and necessity to stop.

Management of delayed stenosis of pancreatico-enteric anastomosis following pancreatoduodenectomy.

Stenosis of the pancreatico-enteric anastomosis following pancreatoduodenectomy (PD), a late post-operative complication that is seen mainly after PD for diseases with good prognosis, has been reported in less than 3% of cases in the literature. Most often asymptomatic, pancreatic-enteric anastomotic stenosis can lead to pancreatitis, pain or pancreatic insufficiency. Symptomatic stenosis is difficult to treat and its management is not standardized.

Arrhythmia Mechanism and Scaling Effect on the Spectral Properties of Electroanatomical Maps With Manifold Harmonics.

Introduction: Spatial and temporal processing of intracardiac electrograms provides relevant information to support the arrhythmia ablation during electrophysiological studies. Current cardiac navigation systems (CNS) and electrocardiographic imaging (ECGI) build detailed 3-D electroanatomical maps (EAM), which represent the spatial anatomical distribution of bioelectrical features, such as activation time or voltage.

Objective: We present a principled methodology for spectral analysis of both EAM geometry and bioelectrical feature in CNS or ECGI, including their spectral representation, cutoff frequency, or spatial sampling rate (SSR).

Fetal Heart Rate Analysis for Automatic Detection of Perinatal Hypoxia Using Normalized Compression Distance and Machine Learning.

Accurate identification of Perinatal Hypoxia from visual inspection of Fetal Heart Rate (FHR) has been shown to have limitations. An automated signal processing method for this purpose needs to deal with time series of different lengths, recording interruptions, and poor quality signal conditions. We propose a new method, robust to those issues, for automated detection of perinatal hypoxia by analyzing the FHR during labor.

The number of risk factors is the strongest predictor of prostate cancer mortality: multi-institutional outcomes of an extreme-risk prostate cancer cohort.

Purpose: To report treatment outcomes in a cohort of extreme-risk prostate cancer patients and identify a subgroup of patients with worse prognosis.

Materials And Methods: Extreme-risk prostate cancer patients were defined as patients with at least one extreme-risk factor: stage cT3b-cT4, Gleason score 9-10 or PSA > 50 ng/ml; or patients with 2 or more high-risk factors: stage cT2c-cT3a, Gleason 8 and PSA > 20 ng/ml. Overall survival (OS), cause-specific survival (CSS), clinical-free survival (CFS), and biochemical non-evidence of disease (bNED) survival are the four outcomes of interest in a population of 1341 patients.

Prevalence of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome risk factor in overweight and obese children.

Objective: To study the prevalence of dyslipidemia and metabolic syndrome risk factors in overweight/ obese children and adolescents.

Methodology: The study included 139 healthy white Argentinean children/adolescents (aged 8-14 years) who were overweight (n = 30) or obese (n = 109), based on BMI z score according to WHO, 2007. Children were referred to the Nutrition Clinic, San Martin University Hospital, Buenos Aires, Argentina for evaluation and treatment.

Morphological and thermodynamic comparison of the lesions created by 4 open-irrigated catheters in 2 experimental models.

Introduction: New generation open-irrigated catheters aim to improve irrigation efficiency. This may change lesion patterns, challenging operators. Indeed, safety issues have recently arisen.

Heating efficiency of multi-walled carbon nanotubes in the first and second biological windows.

Quantum dot based-thermometry, in combination with double beam confocal microscopy and infrared thermal imaging, has been used to investigate the heating efficiency of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) under optical excitation within the first (808 nm) and second (1090 nm) biological windows as well as in the spectral region separating them (980 nm). It has been found that for the three excitation wavelengths the heating efficiency of MWCNTs (10 nm in diameter and 1.5 μm in length) is close to 50%.

[Quality of life after biochemical recurrence in patients with prostate cancer. How and how long do patients live after biochemical recurrence?].

Routine monitoring of PSA in patients with localized prostate cancer radically treated permits to identify those with biochemical recurrence only. Treatment options for biochemical failure include observation, surgery, radiotherapy alone or combined with hormonal therapy, brachytherapy, cryotherapy and hormone therapy exclusively. These treatments determine a specific pattern of changes (urinary function, bowel, sexual and hormonal) that can negatively impact the quality of life, so that the indication must be made in a judicious way and always in consonance with patient's expectations and preferences.

Novel oncologic drugs: what they do and how they affect images.

Targeted therapies are designed to interfere with specific aberrant biologic pathways involved in tumor development. The main classes of novel oncologic drugs include antiangiogenic drugs, antivascular agents, drugs interfering with EGFR-HER2 or KIT receptors, inhibitors of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, and hormonal therapies. Cancer cells usurp normal signal transduction pathways used by growth factors to stimulate proliferation and sustain viability.

Development of a Low-Cost SIA-Based Analyser for Water Samples.

An automated multiparametric water analyser was developed and evaluated. The system was based on Sequential Injection Analysis and featured a photometric detection system comprising a tricolour RGB LED source and a photodiode. A program compiled in Visual Basic was used to control the SIA flow system, the LEDs, and the data acquisition and processing.

The role of functional imaging in colorectal cancer.

Objective: This article reviews the current and future contributions of functional imaging techniques to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of colorectal cancer. In addition, evolving roles and challenges for their implementation will be covered.

Conclusion: Functional imaging now has a growing role in colorectal cancer.

Fundamental frequency and regularity of cardiac electrograms with Fourier organization analysis.

Dominant frequency analysis (DFA) and organization analysis (OA) of cardiac electrograms (EGMs) aims to establish clinical targets for cardiac arrhythmia ablation. However, these previous spectral descriptions of the EGM have often discarded relevant information in the spectrum, such as the harmonic structure or the spectral envelope. We propose a fully automated algorithm for estimating the spectral features in EGM recordings.

From transcription factors to designed sequence-specific DNA-binding peptides.

Transcription factors are DNA-binding proteins responsible for initiating the transcription of particular genes upon interacting with specific DNA sequences located at their promoter or enhancer regions. The DNA recognition process, which is extremely selective, is mediated by non-covalent interactions between appropriately arranged structural motifs of the protein and exposed surfaces of the DNA bases and backbone. The great variability in DNA recognition by transcription factors has hampered the characterization of an amino acid-base step recognition code, making it very difficult to design non-natural peptides that can mimic the DNA-binding properties of these naturally occurring counterparts.

Colonic perforation due to colonoscopy: a retrospective study of 48 cases.

Background And Study Aims: The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze data on the treatment of 48 cases of colonic perforation, with a view to defining the criteria for choosing between medical and surgical treatment.

Patients And Methods: A questionnaire requesting information about complications of colonoscopy and their treatment was sent out to four hospital gastroenterological and surgical units.

Results: From January 1979 to December 1993, we reviewed the records of 48 cases of colonic perforation following colonoscopy (24 perforations occurred after diagnostic colonoscopy and 24 after therapeutic colonoscopy).

[Treatment of recurrent ulcers after parietal cell vagotomy. Analysis of 18 cases].

One hundred and twenty seven patients had a follow-up of more than 4 years after parietal cell vagotomy for duodenal, pyloric or prepyloric ulcer. The recurrence rate is 15.8% (20 on 127).