Bi-specific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) in prostate cancer and strategies to enhance development: hope for a BiTE-r future.

Metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) continues to have poor survival rates due to limited treatment options. Bi-specific T cell engagers (BiTEs) are a promising class of novel immunotherapies with demonstrated success in haematological malignancies and melanoma. BiTEs developed for tumour associated antigens in prostate cancer have entered clinical testing.

Nest building in titmice Paridae: Selectivity in bryophyte use.

In many bird species, reproductive success is dependent on nest quality. However, detailed data on nest composition are scarce, and quantitative analyses have generally used only rough categories, without species identification. Bryophytes dominate the nests of many passerine bird species, but little is known about whether birds have preferences for certain species.

Motivation and preferences of cancer patients to perform physical training.

Objective: The aims of this cross-sectional study were to investigate the knowledge about and experience with exercise as well as the motivation and preferences (e.g. availability) of cancer patients to participate in training groups.

The songs of male pied flycatchers: exploring the legacy of the fathers.

Singing is a key element of songbirds' behavioral repertoire, particularly for males, which sing during the breeding season to defend resources against other males and to attract females. Different song traits may convey honest information about males' qualities or conditions, which may be used by females to select their mates. Traits under strong sexual selection have an important component of additive genetic variation (i.

Advancement of spring arrival in a long-term study of a passerine bird: sex, age and environmental effects.

In migratory birds, mistimed arrival might have negative consequences for individual fitness, causing population declines. This may happen if arrival time is not synchronized with breeding time, especially when earlier springs favour earlier reproduction. We studied spring arrival time to the breeding areas in a pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca population in southern Norway during a 30-year period (1985-2014).

Sympatric divergence and clinal variation in multiple coloration traits of Ficedula flycatchers.

Geographic variation in phenotypes plays a key role in fundamental evolutionary processes such as local adaptation, population differentiation and speciation, but the selective forces behind it are rarely known. We found support for the hypothesis that geographic variation in plumage traits of the pied flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca is explained by character displacement with the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis in the contact zone. The plumage traits of the pied flycatcher differed strongly from the more conspicuous collared flycatcher in a sympatric area but increased in conspicuousness with increasing distance to there.

Natal dispersal based on past and present environmental phenology in the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca).

Natal dispersal allows individuals to reach suitable breeding sites. The effect of present plant phenology as a cue for dispersal into areas with favourable stages of development has been well established across avian and mammalian taxa. However, the effect of past experience is less understood.

No evidence for pre-copulatory sexual selection on sperm length in a passerine bird.

There is growing evidence that post-copulatory sexual selection, mediated by sperm competition, influences the evolution of sperm phenotypes. Evidence for pre-copulatory sexual selection effects on sperm traits, on the other hand, is rather scarce. A recent paper on the pied flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, reported phenotypic associations between sperm length and two sexually selected male traits, i.

Western and Chinese medicine in oncology and hematology.

Based on a conclusive theoretical background, both Western and Chinese Medicine have developed diagnostic and therapeutic procedures which lead to reproducible treatment results. Whilst Western Medicine focuses on a most precise diagnosis of tumor histology and the extend of dissemination, Chinese Medicine has developed tools for a functional diagnoses of disturbed body functions. And as Western Medicine aims at producing most specific targeted drugs, Chinese Medicine intends to stabilize disturbed body functions mostly with decoctions.

Prospective multicenter study for evaluation of safety, efficacy, and esthetic results of cross-linked polyacrylamide hydrogel in 81 patients.

Background: Cross-linked polyacrylamide hydrogel, a nonabsorbable soft-tissue filler, has given promising results regarding efficacy and safety at 24 months of follow-up, but because adverse reactions have been described years after injection of some other fillers, a prolonged follow-up was required.

Objective: To examine the safety and efficacy of the hydrogel in facial contouring after 36 to 48 months (mean 40 months).

Methods: In this prospective multicenter trial, the esthetic results and safety of the treatments were assessed at 36 to 48 months, and the results were compared with those seen previously.

Selection on sperm morphology under relaxed sperm competition in a wild passerine bird.

Theories regarding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of sperm traits are based on an association between pre-copulatory (e.g. female preference) and post-copulatory (e.

Evaluation of postoperative drainage with application of platelet-rich and platelet-poor plasma following hemithyroidectomy: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

Background: Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-poor plasma (PPP) have been used to improve hemostasis and wound healing after surgery; however, randomized controlled trials proving their efficacy are lacking.

Methods: Hemithyroidectomy was performed on 52 patients. Autologous PRP and PPP were applied during wound closure in the treatment group, while saline was applied in the controls.

Pitanguy's otoplasty: report of 551 operations.

Protruding ears is a common condition and in plastic surgery there are many techniques for correcting them such as suture, transection, and scoring. Over a period of 15 years, we have used Pitanguy's otoplasty. The advantages of the Pitanguy technique have been verified in a retrospective study of 278 patients followed up for up to 15 years.

A triple-blinded randomized trial comparing the hemostatic effects of large-dose 10% hydroxyethyl starch 264/0.45 versus 5% albumin during major reconstructive surgery.

In Canada, hydroxyethyl starch 264/0.45 (HES 264/0.45; molar weight 264 kDa, molar substitution 0.

Degradation of song in a species using nesting holes: the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca.

The habitat, but also the nest hole of a hole-nesting species, will degrade the song during transmission. We investigated how the sounds degrade in a sound transmission experiment with the song of the Pied Flycatcher Ficedula hypoleuca (Muscicapidae). Ten different song elements were transmitted to microphones placed inside and outside a nest box.

Flycatcher song in allopatry and sympatry--convergence, divergence and reinforcement.

The theory of reinforcement predicts that natural selection against the production of unfit hybrids favours traits that increase assortative mating. Whether culturally inherited traits, such as bird song, can increase assortative mating by reinforcement is largely unknown. We compared songs of pied (Ficedula hypoleuca) and collared flycatchers (F.

Accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy for Warthin's tumours.

Background: Although the overall accuracy of fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) for salivary gland neoplasms has been well established, definitive results for Warthin's tumour (WT) are lacking. For most salivary gland tumours, surgery is recommended because of progressive enlargement and the risk of malignant transformation. This behaviour is unusual with WT, and surgery is usually advocated for pathologic confirmation.

[Possibilities and limits of ambulatory surgery: demands and reality in plastic surgery].

With the development of office-based operating rooms and improved office anesthesia, the ability to perform more extensive surgery outside the hospital is now given. Experience with the tumescent technique for liposuction and abdominoplasty has demonstrated that extensive plastic surgery can performed with minimal postoperative discomfort. An emergency phone after surgery is necessary, and a call on the operating day evening and the initial postoperative day is a safe strategy with high patient acceptance for most types of plastic surgery.

Predictability of hypocalcemia using early postoperative serum calcium levels.

Objective: In operations involving the thyroid or parathyroid glands, postoperative serum calcium levels are one contributing factor to patients' length of hospital stay. In this study, we wanted to determine whether early postoperative serum calcium levels could be used to predict hypocalcemia following operations of the thyroid or parathyroid glands.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was performed on 203 patients who had undergone operations involving risk to the parathyroid glands.

Laryngectomy clinical pathway: development and review.

Objective: The goal of the study is to determine if the implementation of a protocol for the preoperative and postoperative care of patients receiving a laryngectomy for cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx (i.e., laryngectomy clinical pathway) reduced length and cost of hospital stay without increasing complication rates.