Better together: A systematic review of studies combining magnetic resonance imaging with ecological momentary assessment.

Social neuroscientists often use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to understand the relationship between social experiences and their neural substrates. Although MRI is a powerful method, it has several limitations in the study of social experiences, first and foremost its low ecological validity. To address this limitation, researchers have conducted multimethod studies combining MRI with Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA).

It's a balancing act: The ratio of maladaptive (vs. All) emotion regulation strategies is associated with depression.

Research on emotion regulation (ER) has increasingly recognized that people use multiple strategies simultaneously, often referred to as ER repertoire. Prior research found that ER repertoire is associated with psychopathology, but results have been mixed. Indeed, research from recent years suggests that it is the quality of ERs, more than their quantity, that needs to be considered.

Women exaggerate, men downplay: Gendered endorsement of emotional dramatization stereotypes contributes to gender bias in pain expectations.

The current work tested whether perceivers believe that women, relative to men, are likely to exaggerate versus downplay pain, an effect we refer to as the gender-pain exaggeration bias. The gender-pain exaggeration bias was operationalized as the extent to which perceivers believe women, relative to men, claim more pain than they feel. Across four experiments, we found that women were expected to exaggerate pain more than men and men were expected to downplay pain more than women (Studies 1-4).

Single-Shot Regional Anesthesia for Bariatric Surgery: a Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Purpose: Laparoscopic bariatric surgeries can cause intense postoperative pain. Opioid medication can alleviate the pain but can have harmful side effects especially in patients with obstructive sleep apnea. To promote early recovery, enhanced recovery after surgery guideline advises minimizing opioid use and opting for alternative analgesics.

Waist-to-Hip Ratio Predicts Sexual Perception and Responses to Sexual Assault Disclosures.

The current work investigates the effects of target of perception's waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) on perceivers' judgments of sexual unrestrictedness and sexual victimization prototypicality. Studies 1a and 1b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more sexually unrestricted. Studies 2a and 2b found that women with lower WHRs were perceived as relatively more prototypic of sexual victimization.

Single-shot regional anesthesia for laparoscopic cholecystectomies: a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Different regional anesthesia (RA) techniques have been used for laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), but there is no consensus on their comparative effectiveness. Our objective was to evaluate the effect of RA techniques on patients undergoing LC using a network meta-analysis approach.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Protective continuous ventilation strategy during cardiopulmonary bypass in children undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease: a prospective study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate if a 'protective' (low-tidal/low-frequency) ventilation strategy can shorten the postoperative ventilation time and minimize acute lung injury in children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing repair with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB).

Methods: This is a single-centre prospective, interventional study, including children with CHD under the age of 5 years, undergoing open-heart surgery with a CPB >60 min, in hypothermia, haemodynamically stable, and without evident genetic abnormalities. Assist-control ventilation (tidal volume of 4 ml/kg, 10 breaths/min, positive end-expiratory pressure 5 cmH2O and FiO2 0.

β-Galactosylceramidase Promotes Melanoma Growth via Modulation of Ceramide Metabolism.

Disturbance of sphingolipid metabolism may represent a novel therapeutic target in metastatic melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer. β-Galactosylceramidase (GALC) removes β-galactose from galactosylceramide and other sphingolipids. In this study, we show that downregulation of , a zebrafish ortholog of human , affects melanoblast and melanocyte differentiation in zebrafish embryos, suggesting a possible role for GALC in melanoma.

FGF Trapping Inhibits Multiple Myeloma Growth through c-Myc Degradation-Induced Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress.

Multiple myeloma, the second most common hematologic malignancy, frequently relapses because of chemotherapeutic resistance. Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) act as proangiogenic and mitogenic cytokines in multiple myeloma. Here, we demonstrate that the autocrine FGF/FGFR axis is essential for multiple myeloma cell survival and progression by protecting multiple myeloma cells from oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

Association between neutropenia and response to ramucirumab and paclitaxel in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate if the occurrence of neutropenia is correlated with response to ramucirumab plus paclitaxel for metastatic gastric cancer. This is a retrospective study of patients treated with ramucirumab plus paclitaxel. Fifty-three patients were evaluated.

The Autocrine FGF/FGFR System in both Skin and Uveal Melanoma: FGF Trapping as a Possible Therapeutic Approach.

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play non-redundant autocrine/paracrine functions in various human cancers. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data mining indicates that high levels of FGF and/or FGF receptor (FGFR) expression are associated with reduced overall survival, chromosome 3 monosomy and mutation in human uveal melanoma (UM), pointing to the FGF/FGFR system as a target for UM treatment. Here, we investigated the impact of different FGF trapping approaches on the tumorigenic and liver metastatic activity of liver metastasis-derived murine melanoma B16-LS9 cells that, similar to human UM, are characterized by a distinctive hepatic tropism.

Gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel followed by maintenance treatment with gemcitabine alone as first-line treatment for older adults with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the combination Gemcitabine (Gem) plus nab-Paclitaxel (NabP) (Gem/NabP), followed by maintenance Gem in older adults with locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer (PC).

Materials And Methods: In this prospective observational study, the induction chemotherapy consisted of NabP 125 mg/m followed by Gem 1000 mg/m on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 4-week cycle. After a maximum of 3 cycles, patients without evidence of progressive disease (PD) were administered Gem 1000 mg/m2 weekly for 3 of 4 weeks as maintenance therapy until documentation of PD or unacceptable toxicity.

The influence of prior ramucirumab treatment on the clinical activity of FOLFIRI as third-line therapy in patients with metastatic gastric Cancer.

Purpose Few data described the activity of chemotherapy after ramucirumab plus paclitaxel progression in metastatic gastric cancer patients. The aim of this phase II study is to assess the efficacy and safety of the FOLFIRI regimen as a third-line of treatment. Methods The study enrolled patients with histologically proven metastatic gastric cancer or gastroesophageal junction carcinoma whose disease had progressed after ramucirumab-based second line of treatment.

Association between ramucirumab-related hypertension and response to treatment in patients with metastatic gastric cancer.

Purpose: Hypertension (HTN) is frequently associated with the use of angiogenesis inhibitors targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway, such as ramucirumab. The aim of this study was to retrospectively evaluate if occurrence of HTN is correlated with response to second line treatment with ramucirumab+paclitaxel for metastatic gastric cancer.

Methods: Treatment consisted of ramucirumab 8 mg/kg intravenously (iv) on days 1 and 15, plus paclitaxel 80 mg/m iv on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle.

N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Leu-Phe-Leu-Phe (BOC2) inhibits the angiogenic activity of heparin-binding growth factors.

The peptides N-tert-butyloxycarbonyl-Phe-Leu-Phe-Leu-Phe (BOC2) and BOC-Met-Leu-Phe (BOC1) are widely used antagonists of formyl peptide receptors (FPRs), BOC2 acting as an FPR1/FPR2 antagonist whereas BOC1 inhibits FPR1 only. Extensive investigations have been performed by using these FPR antagonists as a tool to assess the role of FPRs in physiological and pathological conditions. Based on previous observations from our laboratory, we assessed the possibility that BOC2 may exert also a direct inhibitory effect on the angiogenic activity of vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A).

Are EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors effective in elderly patients with EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer?

EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as erlotinib, gefitinib, and afatinib changed dramatically the history of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring EGFR mutations. However, not enough data are available on the efficacy of these targeted drugs in elderly patients. The aim of this study is to analyse the available clinical data evaluating the efficacy of anti-EGFR therapies in elderly patients with advanced NSCLC carrying EGFR mutations.

Targeting VEGFR-2 in Metastatic Gastric Cancer: Results From a Literature-Based Meta-Analysis.

Angiogenesis is a key process in cancer development. We performed a meta-analysis to assess the efficacy and safety of the novel VEGFR-2 inhibitors in patients with metastatic gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancer. A literature-based meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was undertaken.

Targeting the androgenic pathway in elderly patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer: A meta-analysis of randomized trials.

Background: The novel hormonal drugs have recently entered in the armamentarium of therapies for treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). First reports are available for their use in elderly men with CRPC.

Method: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has been performed.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo as a platform for the identification of novel angiogenesis inhibitors of retinal vascular diseases.

Pathological angiogenesis of the retina is a main cause of blindness. Therapeutic approaches targeting vascular endothelial growth factor, a main angiogenesis inducer in retinal vascular diseases, show significant limitations. Thus, experimental models of retinal neovascularization remain crucial for investigating novel anti-angiogenic strategies and bringing them to patients.

Monoclonal antibodies-based treatment in gastric cancer: current status and future perspectives.

Gastric cancer (GC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related death, and despite having improved treatment modalities over the last decade, for most patients, only modest improvements have been seen in overall survival. Recent progress in understanding the molecular biology of GC and the related signaling pathways offers, from the clinical point of view, promising advances for selected groups of patients. In the past, targeted therapies have significantly impacted the treatment strategy of several common solid tumors such as breast, colorectal, and lung cancers.

Chemotherapy in the last 30 days of life of advanced cancer patients.

Purpose: Chemotherapy near the end of life is an issue frequently discussed nowadays, but literature is generally poor. We analyzed patients with cancer who received chemotherapy in their last month of life.

Methods: The study involved all patients treated in our oncological department between 2010 and 2012; our attention focused on patients receiving chemotherapy in their last month of life.

Antiangiogenic Effectiveness of the Urokinase Receptor-Derived Peptide UPARANT in a Model of Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy.

Purpose: Pharmacologic control of neovascularization is a promising approach for the treatment of retinal angiogenesis. UPARANT, an inhibitor of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), inhibits VEGF-driven angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. This study investigates for the first time the effectiveness of UPARANT in counteracting pathologic neovascularization in the retina.

Abiraterone in heavily pretreated patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the activity and tolerability of abiraterone acetate in patients with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer treated previously with more than three lines of chemotherapy. Patients received 1 g of abiraterone acetate (administered as four 250 mg tablets) orally once daily with prednisone at a dose of 5 mg orally twice daily. The primary endpoint was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response.

Improving selectivity in gas chromatography by using chemically modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes as stationary phase.

Amino-terminated alkyl MWCNTs (MWCNTs-R-NH(2)), synthesized by chemical modification of the nanotube skeleton by nucleophilic substitution with 2,2'-(ethylenedioxy)diethylamine, were successfully used as stationary phases for gas chromatographic separation of esters and chloroaromatics. The presence of alkyl chains with polar embedded groups made the functionalized MWCNTs (f-MWCNTs) a mixed-mode GC separation material able to interact in different ways with the analytes. Compared with non-functionalized MWCNTs (nf-MWCNTs), MWCNTs-R-NH(2) had higher selectivity, enhanced resolution, and optimum retention behaviour, and they were proved to perform better than the commercial stationary phase Porapak QS (PQS), claimed to be suitable for similar applications.

Cervical cancer screening programs in low-income communities. Experiences from Ecuador. Low cost detection of HPV infection in a developing country.

Objectives: With the support of the independent humanitarian organization "Amici Fundation Terra Nueva" in Quito, Ecuador, we evaluated the feasibility of a cytologic screening program sustained by volunteers on the field and in Italy.

Methods: 250 women underwent a cervical Pap-test. The women with a positive Pap-smear were re-called for visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA), whereas those with a negative smear were invited for a new Pap-test after 3 years.