Palliative radiotherapy: survival prognostic factors - single-centre retrospective cohort study.

Objective: Patients with non-curative malignancy can receive palliative radiotherapy (PR) to alleviate symptoms. However, choosing the right patient to receive PR can be challenging, as some patients may not survive long enough to gain benefit. This study aims to identify prognostic factors for overall survival (OS) and 30-day mortality (30DM) following PR and to test these in a real-world cohort.

Constraining the Nuclear Symmetry Energy with Multimessenger Resonant Shattering Flares.

Much effort is devoted to measuring the nuclear symmetry energy through neutron star (NS) and nuclear observables. Since matter in the NS core may be nonhadronic, observables like radii and tidal deformability may not provide reliable constraints on properties of nucleonic matter. By performing the first consistent inference using ensembles of core and crust equations of state from astrophysical and nuclear data, we demonstrate that coincident timing of a resonant shattering flare (RSF) and gravitational wave signal during binary NS inspiral probes the crust-core transition region and provides constraints on the symmetry energy comparable to terrestrial nuclear experiments.

Airway management in the adult patient with COVID-19: High flow nasal oxygen or not? A summary of evidence and local expert opinion.

The use of high flow nasal oxygen in the care of COVID-19-positive adult patients remains an area of contention. Early guidelines have discouraged the use of high flow nasal oxygen therapy in this setting due to the risk of viral spread to healthcare workers. However, there is the need to balance the relative risks of increased aerosol generation and virus transmission to healthcare workers against the role high flow nasal oxygen has in reducing hypoxaemia when managing the airway in high-risk patients during intubation or sedation procedures.

SMARTphone-based, early cardiac REHABilitation in patients with acute coronary syndromes: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: There are well-documented treatment gaps in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease with a lack of clearly defined strategies to assist early physical activity after acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Smartphone technology may provide an innovative platform to close these gaps.

Objectives: The primary goal of this study was to assess whether a smartphone-based, early cardiac rehabilitation program improved exercise capacity in patients with ACS.

Addition of Docetaxel to First-line Long-term Hormone Therapy in Prostate Cancer (STAMPEDE): Modelling to Estimate Long-term Survival, Quality-adjusted Survival, and Cost-effectiveness.

Background: Results from large randomised controlled trials have shown that adding docetaxel to the standard of care (SOC) for men initiating hormone therapy for prostate cancer (PC) prolongs survival for those with metastatic disease and prolongs failure-free survival for those without. To date there has been no formal assessment of whether funding docetaxel in this setting represents an appropriate use of UK National Health Service (NHS) resources.

Objective: To assess whether administering docetaxel to men with PC starting long-term hormone therapy is cost-effective in a UK setting.

Electromagnetic Chirps from Neutron Star-Black Hole Mergers.

We calculate the electromagnetic signal of a gamma-ray flare coming from the surface of a neutron star shortly before merger with a black hole companion. Using a new version of the Monte Carlo radiation transport code Pandurata that incorporates dynamic spacetimes, we integrate photon geodesics from the neutron star surface until they reach a distant observer or are captured by the black hole. The gamma-ray light curve is modulated by a number of relativistic effects, including Doppler beaming and gravitational lensing.

Adding Celecoxib With or Without Zoledronic Acid for Hormone-Naïve Prostate Cancer: Long-Term Survival Results From an Adaptive, Multiarm, Multistage, Platform, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Purpose Systemic Therapy for Advanced or Metastatic Prostate Cancer: Evaluation of Drug Efficacy is a randomized controlled trial using a multiarm, multistage, platform design. It recruits men with high-risk, locally advanced or metastatic prostate cancer who were initiating long-term hormone therapy. We report survival data for two celecoxib (Cel)-containing comparisons, which stopped accrual early at interim analysis on the basis of failure-free survival.

SMARTphone-based, early cardiac REHABilitation in patients with acute coronary syndromes [SMART-REHAB Trial]: a randomized controlled trial protocol.

Background: There are well-documented treatment gaps in secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and no clear guidelines to assist early physical activity after acute coronary syndromes (ACS). Smartphone technology may provide an innovative platform to close these gaps. This paper describes the study design of a randomized controlled trial assessing whether a smartphone-based secondary prevention program can facilitate early physical activity and improve cardiovascular health in patients with ACS.

Addition of docetaxel, zoledronic acid, or both to first-line long-term hormone therapy in prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): survival results from an adaptive, multiarm, multistage, platform randomised controlled trial.

Background: Long-term hormone therapy has been the standard of care for advanced prostate cancer since the 1940s. STAMPEDE is a randomised controlled trial using a multiarm, multistage platform design. It recruits men with high-risk, locally advanced, metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer who are starting first-line long-term hormone therapy.

ERBB2 deficiency alters an E2F-1-dependent adaptive stress response and leads to cardiac dysfunction.

The tyrosine kinase receptor ERBB2 is required for normal development of the heart and is a potent oncogene in breast epithelium. Trastuzumab, a monoclonal antibody targeting ERBB2, improves the survival of breast cancer patients, but cardiac dysfunction is a major side effect of the drug. The molecular mechanisms underlying how ERBB2 regulates cardiac function and why trastuzumab is cardiotoxic remain poorly understood.

Resonant shattering of neutron star crusts.

The resonant excitation of neutron star (NS) modes by tides is investigated as a source of short gamma-ray burst (SGRB) precursors. We find that the driving of a crust-core interface mode can lead to shattering of the NS crust, liberating ∼10{46}-10{47}  erg of energy seconds before the merger of a NS-NS or NS-black-hole binary. Such properties are consistent with Swift/BAT detections of SGRB precursors, and we use the timing of the observed precursors to place weak constraints on the crust equation of state.

Audit of safety and quality of the use of enoxaparin for anticoagulation in continuous renal replacement therapy.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of enoxaparin for anticoagulation during continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT).

Design: Six-month prospective audit on filter life, anti-Xa activity and bleeding complications among patients undergoing continuous venovenous haemodiafiltration with 1.5mg/kg enoxaparin per 24 hours.

Aggressive combined-modality therapy for squamous cell carcinoma of the female urethra.

Background: A 48-year old woman presented to an emergency department with acute urinary retention necessitating suprapubic catheterization.

Investigations: Pelvic examination under anesthetic by both a urologist and gynecologist, biopsy of the urethral tumor and of the cervix, pathological analysis, MRI of the pelvis, CT of the chest, abdomen and pelvis.

Diagnosis: Poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma of the urethra, T4N0M0.

Identification and characterization of a novel mouse peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha-regulated and starvation-induced gene, Ppsig.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) has been known to play a pivotal role in maintaining the energy balance during fasting; however, the battery of PPARalpha target genes involved in this metabolic response is still not fully characterized. Here, we report the identification and characterization of Ppsig (for PPARalpha-regulated and starvation-induced gene) with unknown biological function from mouse liver. Multiple Ppsig cDNAs which differed in the 3'-untranslated regions were identified.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha mediates the proliferation of rat C6 glioma cells via beta-adrenergic receptors.

In the present study, we observed that isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) agonist, stimulated rat C6 glioma cell proliferation, while propranolol, a beta-AR blocker, greatly reduced the proliferative effect of TNF-alpha on C6 cells. The gene and protein expressions of both beta1- and beta2-ARs were enhanced in C6 cells after TNF-alpha treatment, and the increase in beta-AR was due to an increased number of binding sites and not due to increase in receptor affinity. We further showed that protein kinase C (PKC) was involved in the TNF-alpha-induced beta-AR expression.

Pitch ranking ability of cochlear implant recipients: a comparison of sound-processing strategies.

Pitch ranking of sung vowel stimuli, separated in fundamental frequency (F0) by half an octave, was measured with a group of eleven Nucleus 24 cochlear implant recipients using different sound coding strategies. In three consecutive studies, either two or three different sound coding strategies were compared to the Advanced Combinational Encoder (ACE) strategy. These strategies included Continuous Interleaved Sampling (CIS), Peak Derived Timing (PDT), Modulation Depth Enhancement (MDE), F0 Synchronized ACE (FOSync), and Multi-channel Envelope Modulation (MEM), the last four being experimental strategies.

Requirement of PPARalpha in maintaining phospholipid and triacylglycerol homeostasis during energy deprivation.

The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARalpha) has been implicated as a key control of fatty acid catabolism during the cellular fasting. However, little is known regarding changes of individual fatty acids in hepatic triacylglycerol (TG) and phospholipid (PL) as a result of starvation. In the present work, the effects of 72 h fasting on hepatic TG and PL fatty acid profiles in PPARalpha-null (KO) mice and their wild-type (WT) counterparts were investigated.

Screening of chemopreventive tea polyphenols against PAH genotoxicity in breast cancer cells by a XRE-luciferase reporter construct.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are established cancer initiators that can be found in our food and environment. Some dietary plant polyphenols are strong inhibitors to PAH-induced mutagenesis, whereas others may not be as effective. To identify the chemopreventive compounds from a huge volume of dietary components, the development of an efficient screening method is required.

Baicalein and genistein display differential actions on estrogen receptor (ER) transactivation and apoptosis in MCF-7 cells.

Genistein is a soy isoflavone that has attracted much attention for its chemopreventive properties. Baicalein is a flavone found in Scutellaria species, and its structure is analogous to that of genistein. We examined the two flavones' antiestrogenicity by using a transient transfection model.

Baicalein inhibits DMBA-DNA adduct formation by modulating CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 activities.

Flavonoids are phenolic compounds isolated from plants, and several of them like genistein and quercetin, have been documented to be effective in preventing cancer. Baicalein, a flavonoid extracted from the root of Scutellaria species, is widely used as a health supplement and herbal medicine in Asian countries. In this study, the chemopreventive effect of baicalein on 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA)-induced DNA damage was evaluated in an established cell culture model.

A novel dominant negative Smad2 mutation in a TGFbeta resistant human carcinoma cell line.

An important biological mechanism contributing to the transformed phenotype of cancer cells is the ability to escape normal growth regulatory signals. In epithelial cells, transforming growth factor beta (TGFbeta) inhibits cell cycle progression in the G1-phase. The abnormal ability of cancer cells to escape TGFbeta-induced cell cycle inhibition may lead to deregulated mitosis, providing a growth advantage to these clones.