Impact of Autonomic Nerve Invasion on Biochemical Recurrence for Intermediate Risk T3a Prostate Cancer With Negative Surgical Margins After Radical Prostatectomy.

Objective: To assess the impact of autonomic nerve invasion (ANI) on subsequent biochemical recurrence (BCR) or early adjuvant therapy in the patients with extraprostatic spread (EPS) and negative margins after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Methods: A total of 218 men with EPS (T3a) and negative margins were identified who underwent RP in Western Australia from January 2014 to December 2016. The t-test, Pearson chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test were used to evaluate differences between the ANI and non-ANI.

Barriers to Healthcare for Latinx Autistic Children and Adolescents.

Purpose: To understand the ways in which autistic Latinx children experience disparities in diagnosis, healthcare, and receipt of specialty services.

Methods: 417 individuals who identified as Latinx caregivers of autistic children who were members of the same integrated healthcare system in Northern California were surveyed. Responses were analyzed using the child's insurance coverage (Government or Commercial) and caregiver's primary language (Spanish or English).

Zonal origin of prostate cancer: comparison of long-term outcomes after radical prostatectomy.

Purpose: To assess the impact of zonal origin on positive bladder neck (BN) margins and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) failure or early adjuvant therapy in the patients with complete long-term follow-up after radical prostatectomy (RP).

Methods: A set of 4512 men were identified who underwent RP in Western Australia (WA) from March 2000 to December 2016 and had complete long-term follow-up. The t-test, Pearson chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier method with the log-rank test were used to evaluate differences between the transition zone (TZ) and peripheral/central zone (PZ/CZ) cancer.

Exploring Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccine Hesitancy on Twitter Using Sentiment Analysis and Natural Language Processing Algorithms.

Background: Vaccination can help control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic but is undermined by vaccine hesitancy. Social media disseminates information and misinformation regarding vaccination. Tracking and analyzing social media vaccine sentiment could better prepare health professionals for vaccination conversations and campaigns.

Laser linewidth characterization via self-homodyne measurement under nearly-coherent conditions.

In this work we propose a novel and efficient characterization scheme for a narrow linewidth laser using a nearly-coherent delayed self-homodyne (NC-DSH) technique. The modulated signal of an analog coherent optics (ACO) transceiver, configured in optical loop-back, and the local oscillator (LO) are mixed after a very short optical path difference (OPD), corresponding to an interferometer operating in its nearly-coherent regime. The phase noise is extracted from a digital signal processing algorithm of carrier phase estimation (CPE), while data is transmitted.

Use of the inverse solution guidance algorithm method for RF ablation catheter guidance.

Introduction: We previously introduced the inverse solution guidance algorithm (ISGA) methodology using a Single Equivalent Moving Dipole model of cardiac electrical activity to localize both the exit site of a re-entrant circuit and the tip of a radiofrequency (RF) ablation catheter. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of ISGA for ablation catheter guidance in an animal model.

Methods: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) was simulated by rapid ventricular pacing at a target site in eleven Yorkshire swine.

Fifteen-year analysis of prostate biopsies in Western Australia including recent impact of multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: The number of men undergoing prostate biopsy and subsequent cancer detection rates has changed significantly over the past 15 years. We aim to evaluate changes in the diagnostic pathway of prostate cancer between 2003 and 2018.

Methods: A total of 13 844 Western Australian biopsy-naive men were assessed to determine trends in age, prostate-specific antigen levels, number of core samples, positive cores and tumour grade (Gleason) between 2003 and 2018.

Redefining the Concept of Clinically Insignificant Prostate Cancer.

Objective: To assess the risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) in small low-grade prostate tumors following radical prostatectomy (RP), which are defined as clinically insignificant based on the existing criteria developed by Stamey and Epstein.

Materials And Methods: We identified 3784 men who underwent RP in Western Australia from September 1998 to March 2019. These patients had a Gleason sum (GS) of ≤6 or 3+4, prostate confined and negative margins.

Accuracy of cardiac ablation catheter guidance by means of a single equivalent moving dipole inverse algorithm to identify sites of origin of cardiac electrical activation.

We have developed a system that could potentially be used to identify the site of origin of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and to guide a catheter to that site to deliver radio-frequency ablation therapy. This system employs the Inverse Solution Guidance Algorithm based upon Single Equivalent Moving Dipole (SEMD) localization method. The system was evaluated in in vivo swine experiments.

Comparison of cardiovascular parameter estimation methods using swine data.

In this study, new and existing methods of estimating stroke volume, cardiac output and total peripheral resistance from analysis of the arterial blood pressure waveform were tested over a wide range of conditions. These pulse contour analysis methods (PCMs) were applied to data obtained in six swine during infusion of volume, phenylephrine, dobutamine, isoproterenol, esmolol and nitroglycerine as well as during progressive hemorrhage. Performance of PCMs was compared using true end-ejection pressures as well as estimated end-ejection pressures.

ETS1 induces transforming growth factor β signaling and promotes epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition in prostate cancer cells.

Expression of the transcriptional regulator, E26 transformation-specific 1 (ETS1), is elevated in human prostate cancers, and this is associated with more aggressive tumor behavior and a rapid progression to castrate-resistant disease. Multiple ETS1 isoforms with distinct biological activities have been characterized and in 44 matched nonmalignant and malignant human prostate specimens, messenger RNAs for two ETS1 isoforms, ETS1p51 and ETS1p42, were detected, with ETS1p51 levels significantly lower in prostate tumor compared to matched nonmalignant prostate tissues. In contrast, ETS1p51 protein, the only ETS1 isoform detected, was expressed at significantly higher levels in malignant prostate.

Role of Radiosensitizers in Radiation Treatment of Gliomas.

Malignant gliomas are the most common primary brain tumors and have devastatingly high mortality rates. Most recurrences are close to the surgical bed, despite adjuvant fractionated radiotherapy (FRT). Localized FRT to total dose of 60 Gy with concurrent and adjuvant temozolomide (TMZ) resulted in a statistically significant survival improvement of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma compared to those treated with FRT alone, and has emerged as the cornerstone of therapy.

Techniques for epicardial mapping and ablation with a miniature robotic walker.

Background: Present treatments for ventricular tachycardia have significant drawbacks. To ameliorate these drawbacks, it may be advantageous to employ an epicardial robotic walker that performs mapping and ablation with precise control of needle insertion depth. This paper examines the feasibility of such a system.

miR-331-3p and Aurora Kinase inhibitor II co-treatment suppresses prostate cancer tumorigenesis and progression.

RNA-based therapeutics could represent a new avenue of cancer treatment. miRNA 331-3p (miR-331-3p) is implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) as a putative tumor suppressor, but its functional activity and synergy with other anti-tumor agents is largely unknown. We found miR-331-3p expression in PCa tumors was significantly decreased compared to non-malignant matched tissue.

NRG Oncology-Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Study 1014: 1-Year Toxicity Report From a Phase 2 Study of Repeat Breast-Preserving Surgery and 3-Dimensional Conformal Partial-Breast Reirradiation for In-Breast Recurrence.

Purpose: To determine the associated toxicity, tolerance, and safety of partial-breast reirradiation.

Methods And Materials: Eligibility criteria included in-breast recurrence occurring >1 year after whole-breast irradiation, <3 cm, unifocal, and resected with negative margins. Partial-breast reirradiation was targeted to the surgical cavity plus 1.

Increasing utilization of regional nodal irradiation in elderly node-positive women and declining emphasis on demographic factors.

Purpose: To evaluate the practice patterns for the use of regional nodal irradiation (RNI) in treatment of elderly women with low volume node-positive breast cancer in the setting of breast conservation surgery (BCS).

Methods: Women aged 70-89 diagnosed with unilateral, pathologic T1-2N1M0 breast cancer from 2004 to 2013, who underwent BCS and received radiotherapy were identified from the National Cancer Database. In 2011, two major trials were presented that helped define indications for RNI.

Utilization of hypofractionated whole-breast radiation therapy in patients receiving chemotherapy: a National Cancer Database analysis.

Purpose: Results from four major hypofractionated whole-breast radiotherapy (HF-WBRT) trials have demonstrated equivalence in select patients with early-stage breast cancer when compared with conventionally fractionated WBRT (CF-WBRT). Because relatively little data were available on patients receiving neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy, consensus guidelines published in 2011 did not endorse the use of HF-WBRT in this population. Our goal is to evaluate trends in utilization of HF-WBRT in patients receiving chemotherapy.

The Impact of Prostate Cancer Zonal Origin on Pathological Parameters at Radical Prostatectomy and Subsequent Biochemical Failure.

Purpose: We assessed the impact of prostatic zone tumor origin on pathological prognostic features and subsequent biochemical outcomes after radical prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: A total of 7,051 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy between September 1998 and December 2016 in Western Australia were divided into a high grade group, defined as Gleason sum 4 + 3, 8 and 9 or greater and ISUP (International Society of Urological Pathology) groups 3, 4 and 5, and a low grade group, defined as Gleason sum 6 or less and 3 + 4, and ISUP groups 1 and 2. The t-test and the Pearson chi-square test were used to evaluate differences between transition zone and peripheral/central zone cancer.

Preoperative Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation for Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Preliminary Results of a Prospective, Phase 2 Trial.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of utilizing 3-dimensional conformal accelerated partial-breast irradiation (APBI) in the preoperative setting followed by standard breast-conserving therapy.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective trial testing the feasibility of preoperative APBI followed by lumpectomy for patients with early-stage invasive ductal breast cancer. Eligible patients had T1-T2 (<3 cm), N0 tumors.

Effect of reduction mammoplasty on acute radiation side effects and use of lumpectomy cavity boosts.

Purpose: Reduction mammoplasty (RM) during breast-conserving surgery is popular among women with large-volume breasts because it reduces redundant breast folds and may decrease skin-related morbidity from radiation therapy. However, RM may obscure the lumpectomy cavity (LC) and pose challenges to administering an LC boost, potentially affecting local control. We investigated the impact of RM on acute side effects and use of LC boosts.

Sensitivity of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (64-Card Version) versus the Tower of London (Drexel Version) for detecting executive dysfunction in children with epilepsy.

Executive function deficits are common in children and adolescents with epilepsy. Though the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST) is often considered the "gold standard" for executive function assessment, its sensitivity-particularly in the case of the 64-card version (WCST-64)-is insufficiently established in pediatric samples, including children and adolescents with epilepsy. The present investigation assesses the sensitivity of the WCST-64 in children and adolescents with epilepsy in comparison to another measure: the Tower of London - Drexel Version (TOL-DX).

The Australian laparoscopic non robotic radical prostatectomy experience - analysis of 2943 cases (USANZ supplement).

Objectives: To analyse the Australian experience of high-volume Fellowship-trained Laparoscopic Radical Prostatectomy (LRP) surgeons.

Materials And Methods: 2943 LRP cases were performed by nine Australian surgeons. The inclusion criteria were a prospectively collected database with a minimum of 100 consecutive LRP cases.

Prediction of bladder neck invasion and tumor extension to bladder neck margin by prostatic adenocarcinoma: a nomogram using biopsy data including transition zone tumor morphology.

Transition zone (TZ) prostatic adenocarcinoma can be identified on needle core biopsy based on tumor morphology, provided that the sample is preserved in a glutaraldehyde-based tissue fixative. TZ tumors have a propensity to grow larger than their peripheral counterparts without extraprostatic extension and finally to escape the gland by invading the bladder neck. We investigated the value of biopsy-determined parameters including TZ origin to predict the risk of isolated bladder neck invasion at radical prostatectomy.