Perioperative intravenous lidocaine in thoracoscopic surgery for improved postoperative pain control: a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, superiority trial.

Background: Pain, including associated pain management, remains a burden on patients after thoracic surgery. Our objective was to investigate whether perioperative intravenous administration of lidocaine reduces postoperative morphine consumption and pain intensity after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS).

Methods: In this double-blind, placebo-controlled superiority trial, patients undergoing VATS with a planned duration of ≤90 minutes were randomized within an intention-to-treat setting.

Deletion of SNX9 alleviates CD8 T cell exhaustion for effective cellular cancer immunotherapy.

Tumor-specific T cells are frequently exhausted by chronic antigenic stimulation. We here report on a human antigen-specific ex vivo model to explore new therapeutic options for T cell immunotherapies. T cells generated with this model resemble tumor-infiltrating exhausted T cells on a phenotypic and transcriptional level.

Neoveil versus TachoSil in the treatment of pulmonary air leak following open lung surgery: a prospective randomized trial.

Objectives: Prolonged air leak (PAL) is often associated with pain and immobilization and is a major limiting factor for discharge from the hospital. The efficacy of 2 surgical patches was investigated in the treatment of air leak following open surgery.

Methods: Forty-five patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio either to treatment with Neoveil (polyglycolic acid) (n = 22) or TachoSil (collagen sponge) (n = 23).

Deciphering molecular and cellular ex vivo responses to bispecific antibodies PD1-TIM3 and PD1-LAG3 in human tumors.

Background: Next-generation cancer immunotherapies are designed to broaden the therapeutic repertoire by targeting new immune checkpoints including lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) and T cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3). Yet, the molecular and cellular mechanisms by which either receptor functions to mediate its inhibitory effects are still poorly understood. Similarly, little is known on the differential effects of dual, compared with single, checkpoint inhibition.

Role of 18F-FDG PET/CT in the postoperative follow-up in patients with stage I-III NSCLC: A retrospective single-institution study.

Background: The optimal surveillance strategy in patients with resected non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is unknown. Early detection of recurrences by follow-up imaging might improve survival and whole-body 18F-FDG-PET/CT might be the optimal imaging modality given its high accuracy in preoperative staging.

Material And Methods: Data from a single-center cohort of 205 patients with resected stage I-III NSCLC and FDG-PET/CT surveillance was retrospectively collected.

Chest wall stabilization and rib fixation using a nitinol screwless system in selected patients after blunt trauma: long-term results in a single-centre experience.

Objectives: First experiences with rib fixation using nitinol, in terms of reliability and morbidity, influence on pain control and quality of life (QOL), in a large series of selected patients after blunt chest trauma.

Methods: Data of all patients who had undergone rib fixation by the use of nitinol were retrospectively analysed in terms of indications, morbidity and in-hospital mortality. Pain status and health-related QOL were assessed preoperatively, when possible, at discharge and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months post-surgery using visual analogous scale and short form 12 questionnaires.

Reconstruction of the chest wall with a latissimus dorsi muscle flap after an infection of alloplastic material: a case report.

Alloplastic material is often used for thoracic wall reconstruction following extended resection bringing the risk of infection, especially after chemotherapy and/or radiation. We present the case of a 66-year-old male with lung adenocarcinoma of the right lower lobe. After extended lobectomy, a partial resection of the sixth to eighth ribs followed by chest wall reconstruction with Mersilene mesh and osteosynthesis for sixth and seventh rib was performed.

Fibroblast activation protein-targeted-4-1BB ligand agonist amplifies effector functions of intratumoral T cells in human cancer.

Background: The costimulatory receptor 4-1BB (CD137, TNFRSF9) plays an important role in sustaining effective T cell immune responses and is investigated as target for cancer therapy. Systemic 4-1BB directed therapies elicit toxicity or low efficacy, which significantly hampered advancement of 4-1BB-based immunotherapy. Therefore, targeted delivery of 4-1BB agonist to the tumor side is needed for eliciting antitumor efficacy while avoiding systemic toxicity.

PD-1 natural killer cells in human non-small cell lung cancer can be activated by PD-1/PD-L1 blockade.

Natural killer (NK) cells are critically involved in anti-tumor immunity by targeting tumor cells. In this study, we show that intratumoral NK cells from NSCLC patients expressed elevated levels of the immune checkpoint receptor PD-1 on their cell surface. In contrast to the expression of activating receptors, PD-1 NK cells co-expressed more inhibitory receptors compared to PD-1 NK cells.

Surgical Repair of the Postoperative Lung Hernia by Combining Mesh Interposition and Chest Wall Stabilization by Using Synthes Plates: A Novel Technique.

Several technical points for postoperative lung hernia repair are still not fully elucidated. We present an original technical solution to deal with this complication. In a 68-year-old female, the lung hernia was confirmed 5 months after the partial left-sided chest wall and scapula angle resection with primary Mersilene mesh reconstruction for elastofibroma.

A transcriptionally and functionally distinct PD-1 CD8 T cell pool with predictive potential in non-small-cell lung cancer treated with PD-1 blockade.

Evidence from mouse chronic viral infection models suggests that CD8 T cell subsets characterized by distinct expression levels of the receptor PD-1 diverge in their state of exhaustion and potential for reinvigoration by PD-1 blockade. However, it remains unknown whether T cells in human cancer adopt a similar spectrum of exhausted states based on PD-1 expression levels. We compared transcriptional, metabolic and functional signatures of intratumoral CD8 T lymphocyte populations with high (PD-1), intermediate (PD-1) and no PD-1 expression (PD-1) from non-small-cell lung cancer patients.

The Spatial Relationship between Apparent Diffusion Coefficient and Standardized Uptake Value of F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Has a Crucial Influence on the Numeric Correlation of Both Parameters in PET/MRI of Lung Tumors.

The minimum apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) derived from diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI) and the maximum standardized uptake value (SUV) of FDG-PET are markers of aggressiveness in lung cancer. The numeric correlation of the two parameters has been extensively studied, but their spatial interplay is not well understood. After FDG-PET and DW-MRI coregistration, values and location of ADC- and SUV-voxels were analyzed.

The T cell repertoire in tumors overlaps with pulmonary inflammatory lesions in patients treated with checkpoint inhibitors.

Cancer immunotherapy with antibodies targeting immune checkpoints such as the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway have emerged as breakthrough treatment for multiple solid tumors with high response rates and durable remissions. Despite the benefit for patients and encouraging safety profile, severe inflammatory reactions are observed in some patients. Such immune-related adverse events (irAEs) frequently lead to temporary or permanent cessation of the treatment and require systemic immunosuppression yet underlying mechanisms of irAEs are not known in detail.

Signal enhancement ratio imaging of the lung parenchyma with ultra-fast steady-state free precession MRI at 1.5T.

Background: Lung perfusion MRI after i.v. gadolinium (Gd) contrast administration is commonly based on spoiled gradient-echo acquisitions, such as volume-interpolated breath-hold examinations (VIBE), suffering from low signal-to-noise in the parenchyma.

Unexpected collateral impact after out of hospital resuscitation using LUCAS system.

Background: Mechanical chest compression using a piston device during reanimation is often the only way to ensure stable chest compression at a constant rate and force. However, its use can be associated with severe fractures of the thoracic rib cage and endanger the clinical course of the patient. Thus, the usage of such a piston device during the reanimation has currently been classified as a mere Class IIB indication.

An unexpected cause for cavitary pneumonia and empyema.

Tularemia is an emerging zoonotic disease mainly of the Northern Hemisphere caused by the Gram-negative coccobacillus Francisella tularensis. It is affecting a wide range of animals and causes human disease after insect and tick bites, skin contact, ingestion and inhalation. A 66-year-old man presented to our clinic with cavitary pneumonia and distinct pleural effusion.

Functional results after chest wall stabilization with a new screwless fixation device.

Objectives: This is the experience with the Stratos system in two surgical centres for the management of two types of rib fractures: flail chest and multiple dislocated rib fractures with significant chest wall deformity.

Methods: From January 2009 to May 2012, 94 consecutive patients were included. Selected indications were extended anterolateral flail chest (n = 68) and dislocated painful rib fractures (n = 26).

An unexpected cause of diffuse alveolar hemorrhage in a kidney transplant patient.

Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is a life-threatening condition requiring urgent treatment. There are many different treatment-relevant causes of DAH, making the diagnostic approach to these patients complex and necessitating a multidisciplinary team. We report the case of a kidney transplant recipient in whom all diagnostic efforts did not reveal the cause of DAH, and only autopsy was able to establish an unexpected diagnosis.

Studies of the angular function of a Duncker-type induced motion illusion.

Duncker (1929/1955, Source Book of Gestalt Psychology, pp 161-172) demonstrated a laboratory version of induced motion. He showed that, when a stationary spot of light in a dark laboratory is enclosed in an oscillating rectangular frame, the frame is perceived as stationary and the dot appears to move in the direction opposite the true motion of the frame. Zivotofsky (2004, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science 45 2867-2872) studied a more complex variant of the Duncker illusion, in which both the inducing and the test stimuli moved: a single red test dot moved horizontally left or right while a dense background set of black dots on a white background moved vertically up or down.

Preoperative staging of non-small-cell lung cancer: comparison of whole-body diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography.

Objective: To investigate the diagnostic value of whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) including diffusion-weighted imaging with background signal suppression (DWIBS) for preoperative assessment of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in comparison to (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18)FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT).

Methods: Thirty-three patients with suspected NSCLC were enrolled. Patients were examined before surgery with PET/CT and whole-body MRI including T1-weighted turbo spin echo (TSE), T2-weighted short tau inversion recovery (STIR) and DWIBS sequences (b = 0/800).

Dichoptic reduction of the direction illusion is not due to binocular rivalry.

Simultaneous direction repulsion (the direction illusion) occurs in bidirectional motion displays, typically transparent motion random dot kinematograms. Several laboratories have reported a greatly reduced illusion with dichoptic presentation of the two coherently translating stimuli as compared to monocular or binocular presentation. Some researchers have argued that those results might be due to a confounding factor, namely binocular rivalry occurring between test and inducing stimuli in the dichoptic condition, and so have attributed decisive weight to the results reported by Kim and Wilson (1997, Vision Research, 37, 991-1005) who used centre-surround grating stimuli and found large monocular as well as large dichoptic effects.

What is the reference in reference repulsion?

Reference repulsion is a mechanism posited to explain systematic biases of direction judgment of single drifting dot displays (Rauber and Treue, 1998 Perception 27 393-402). Rauber and Treue obtained systematic but, surprisingly, very different effects depending upon whether standard and comparison stimuli were presented simultaneously or successively. Successive effects were described as exhibiting repulsion from both vertical and horizontal cardinal axes, whereas simultaneous effects showed repulsion from horizontal only.

Retinotopic encoding of the direction aftereffect.

Kohn and Movshon [Kohn, A., & Movshon, J. (2003).