The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable strategic plan: Methods for improving turnaround time of comprehensive biomarker testing in non-small cell lung cancer.

Comprehensive biomarker testing for patients with non-small cell lung cancer is critical for selecting appropriate targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Ensuring timely ordering, processing, and reporting is key to optimizing patient outcomes. However, various factors can prevent or delay patients from being offered the option of treatment selection based on comprehensive biomarker testing.

Rituximab-Associated Liver Toxicity Without Known Viral Reactivation.

Rituximab is a targeted immunotherapeutic agent that has demonstrated efficacy in treating CD20+ B-cell neoplasms as well as other lymphoproliferative and autoimmune disorders. A major adverse effect of rituximab is hepatocellular injury attributed to hepatitis B viral reactivation, necessitating viral titers before treatment. In this case report, we illustrate the rare presentation of a patient with marginal zone B-cell lymphoma who experienced symptomatic liver injury with a peak 15-fold aminotransferase elevation following his first dose of rituximab, without evidence of viral reactivation.

C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12-C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 signaling axis in cancer and the development of chemotherapeutic molecules.

Chemokines are small, secreted cytokines crucial in the regulation of a variety of cell functions. The binding of chemokine C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 12 (CXCL12) (stromal cell-derived factor 1) to a G-protein-coupled receptor C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) triggers downstream signaling pathways with effects on cell survival, proliferation, chemotaxis, migration, and gene expression. Intensive and extensive investigations have provided evidence suggesting that the CXCL12-CXCR4 axis plays a pivotal role in tumor development, survival, angiogenesis, metastasis, as well as in creating tumor microenvironment, thus implying that this axis is a potential target for the development of cancer therapies.

A Rare Case of Duodenal Adenocarcinoma With Brain Metastasis.

Small bowel malignancies are relatively rare, accounting for only 3% of all gastrointestinal cancers. Duodenum is the most common location among small bowel cancers, followed by Jejunum and then Ileum. Duodenal adenocarcinoma produces vague symptoms, leading to late presentation and a poor prognosis compared to similarly staged colon cancer.

Thermal-Mechanical and Microstructural Simulation of Rotary Friction Welding Processes by Using Finite Element Method.

Rotary friction welding is one of the most crucial techniques for joining different parts in advanced industries. Experimentally measuring the history of thermomechanical and microstructural parameters of this process can be a significant challenge and incurs high costs. To address these challenges, the finite element method was used to simulate thermomechanical and microstructural aspects of the welding of identical superalloy Inconel 718 tubes.

Further refinement of the differentially methylated distant lung-specific FOXF1 enhancer in a neonate with alveolar capillary dysplasia.

Heterozygous SNVs or CNV deletions involving the FOXF1 gene, or its distant enhancer, are causative for 80-90% of cases of alveolar capillary dysplasia with misalignment of pulmonary veins. Recently, we proposed bimodal structure and parental functional dimorphism of the lung-specific FOXF1 enhancer, with Unit 1 having higher activity on the paternal chr16 and Unit 2 on the maternal chr16. Here, we describe a novel unusually sized pathogenic de novo copy-number variant deletion involving a portion of the FOXF1 enhancer on maternal chr16 that implies narrowing Unit 2 to an essential ~ 9-kb segment.

Mimickers of neuroendocrine tumors on endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirate material: Need for caution.

Cytologic diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumors can be straightforward on cytologic preparations, given the classical neuroendocrine morphology and expression of neuroendocrine markers confirmed by immunohistochemistry. However, overreliance on neuroendocrine markers can lead to misdiagnosis even if individual cell features suggest a neuroendocrine tumor. We present three unusual cases, two of which were initially diagnosed as neuroendocrine tumors and the third one carried preliminary diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumor on endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspirates.

Radiomic biomarkers from chest computed tomography are assistive in immunotherapy response prediction for non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Immunotherapies, such as programmed death 1/programmed death ligand 1 (PD-1/PD-L1) antibodies have been shown to improve overall and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, not all patients derive a meaningful clinical benefit. Additionally, patients receiving anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy can experience immune-related adverse events (irAEs).

Effects of the Loss of Binocular and Motion Parallax on Static Postural Stability.

Depth information is important for postural stability and is generated by two visual systems: binocular and motion parallax. The effect of each type of parallax on postural stability remains unclear. We investigated the effects of binocular and motion parallax loss on static postural stability using a virtual reality (VR) system with a head-mounted display (HMD).

Dynamic stability during level walking and obstacle crossing in children aged 2-5 years estimated by marker-less motion capture.

In the present study, dynamic stability during level walking and obstacle crossing in typically developing children aged 2-5 years ( = 13) and healthy young adults ( = 19) was investigated. The participants were asked to walk along unobstructed and obstructed walkways. The height of the obstacle was set at 10% of the leg length.

Developmental changes in straight gait in childhood.

Background: Understanding typical gait development is critical in developing suitable physical therapy methods for gait disorders. This study investigated the developmental changes and controlling mechanisms of straight gait.

Methods: We conducted an experimental procedure among 90 participants, including 76 typically developing children and 14 healthy adults.

Effects of Calcium Ions on the Antimicrobial Activity of Gramicidin A.

Gramicidin A (gA) is a linear antimicrobial peptide that can form a channel and specifically conduct monovalent cations such as H across the lipid membrane. The antimicrobial activity of gA is associated with the formation of hydroxyl free radicals and the imbalance of NADH metabolism, possibly a consequence caused by the conductance of cations. The ion conductivity of gramicidin A can be blocked by Ca ions.

Practical continuous-variable quantum key distribution with composable security.

A quantum key distribution (QKD) system must fulfill the requirement of universal composability to ensure that any cryptographic application (using the QKD system) is also secure. Furthermore, the theoretical proof responsible for security analysis and key generation should cater to the number N of the distributed quantum states being finite in practice. Continuous-variable (CV) QKD based on coherent states, despite being a suitable candidate for integration in the telecom infrastructure, has so far been unable to demonstrate composability as existing proofs require a rather large N for successful key generation.

Visual feedback in the lower visual field affects postural control during static standing.

Background: The dorsal parietal visual system plays an important role in self-motion perception and spatial cognition. It also strongly responds to visual inputs from the lower visual field. Postural control is modified in a process called sensory reweighting based on the reliability of available sensory sources.

Barriers and facilitators to mobility of patients hospitalised on an acute medical ward: a systematic review.

Background: low patient mobility is common during hospitalisation and is associated with adverse outcomes. To change practice, interventions should address barriers and facilitators to mobility. Our aim was to systematically review the literature to provide a synthesised overview of patient-, health care professional (HCP)- and environment-/system-related barriers and facilitators to mobility of patients hospitalised on an acute care medical ward.

Pharmacological ascorbate improves the response to platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Platinum-based chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy is the mainstay of treatment for advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) lacking a molecular driver alteration. Pre-clinical studies have reported that pharmacological ascorbate (P-AscH-) enhances NSCLC response to platinum-based therapy. We conducted a phase II clinical trial combining P-AscH- with carboplatin-paclitaxel chemotherapy.

Hepatitis C virus core protein: Not just a nucleocapsid building block, but an immunity and inflammation modulator.

Coevolution occurs between viruses and their hosts. The hosts need to evolve means to eliminate pathogenic virus infections, and the viruses, for their own survival and multiplication, have to develop mechanisms to escape clearance by hosts. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) of is a pathogen which infects human liver and causes hepatitis, a condition of liver inflammation.

Response to Mesalamine Therapy in Pediatric Collagenous Gastritis and Colitis: A Case Report and Review.

Collagenous gastritis and collagenous colitis are 2 rare gastrointestinal disorders in pediatric patients. Both of these disease processes exist on a clinical spectrum, and are extremely rare to be present together in the pediatric population. Due to the rarity and unknown etiology of these disease processes, standardized treatment protocols and objective clinical biomarkers of disease progression are missing.

Viral Hepatitis, Cholesterol Metabolism, and Cholesterol-Lowering Natural Compounds.

Hepatitis is defined as inflammation of the liver; it can be acute or chronic. In chronic cases, the prolonged inflammation gradually damages the liver, resulting in liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and sometimes liver failure or cancer. Hepatitis is often caused by viral infections.

Cytological Diagnosis of Pancreatic Solid-Pseudopapillary Neoplasm: A Single-Institution Community Practice Experience.

Introduction: Pancreatic solid-pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) is a rare tumor that typically occurs in young females. Although a cytological diagnosis may be easily made in this age group when there are typical features, atypical clinical presentations and unusual cytological features may make this a challenging diagnosis. We present our single-institution experience in a cohort of these tumors, outlining both typical and atypical features.

Risk stratification of women with gestational diabetes mellitus using mutually exclusive categories based on the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups criteria for the development of postpartum dysglycaemia: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are more predisposed to develop postpartum diabetes mellitus (DM). This study aimed to estimate the relative risk (RR) of postpartum dysglycaemia (prediabetes and DM) using mutually exclusive categories according to the International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) criteria cut-off points in patients with GDM, so as to establish a risk-stratification method for developing GDM management strategies.

Design, Setting And Participants: In this retrospective cohort study, 942 women who had been diagnosed with GDM (IADPSG criteria) at 24-28 weeks of gestation from November 2016 to April 2018 underwent a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) at 6-12 weeks postpartum in a tertiary hospital of Singapore.