Baseline MRI predictors of successful organ preservation in the Organ Preservation in Rectal Adenocarcinoma (OPRA) trial.

Background: Prospective randomized trials have not yet identified baseline features predictive of organ preservation in locally advanced rectal cancers treated with total neoadjuvant therapy and a selective watch-and-wait strategy.

Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the OPRA trial, which randomized patients with stage II-III rectal adenocarcinoma to receive either induction or consolidation total neoadjuvant therapy. Patients were recommended for total mesorectal excision, or watch and wait based on clinical response at 8 ± 4 weeks after completing treatment.

MRI Predicts Residual Disease and Outcomes in Watch-and-Wait Patients with Rectal Cancer.

Background MRI plays a crucial role in restaging locally advanced rectal cancer treated with total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT); however, prospective studies have not evaluated its ability to accurately select patients for nonoperative management. Purpose To evaluate the ability of restaging MRI to predict oncologic outcomes and identify imaging features associated with residual disease (RD) after TNT. Materials and Methods This was a secondary analysis of the Organ Preservation in Rectal Adenocarcinoma (OPRA) trial, which randomized participants from April 2014 to March 2020 with stages II or III rectal adenocarcinoma to undergo either induction or consolidation TNT.

Chemoradiotherapy plus induction or consolidation chemotherapy as total neoadjuvant therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: Pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and the OPRA randomized phase 2 trials.

Background: Total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) has been used for patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. The optimal sequence of chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and chemotherapy (CT) is a matter of debate.

Methods: We performed a pooled analysis of the CAO/ARO/AIO-12 and OPRA multicenter, randomized phase 2 trials to identify patient subsets that could benefit from one TNT sequence over the other regarding disease-free survival (DFS).

Association of Lateral Pelvic Lymph Nodes with Disease Recurrence and Organ Preservation in Patients with Distal Rectal Adenocarcinoma Treated with Total Neoadjuvant Therapy.

Objective: Assess the significance of enlarged lateral lymph nodes (LLN) for disease recurrence, metastasis, and organ preservation in patients with rectal cancer.

Background: Optimal treatment of rectal adenocarcinoma involving LLN is subject to debate.

Methods: A post hoc analysis of the OPRA trial, a multicenter study of patients with rectal cancer treated with total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) followed by total mesorectal excision or watch-and-wait management.

Endoscopic Predictors of Residual Tumor After Total Neoadjuvant Therapy: A Post Hoc Analysis From the Organ Preservation in Rectal Adenocarcinoma Trial.

Background: Restaging endoscopy plays a critical role in selecting patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who respond to neoadjuvant therapy for nonoperative management.

Objective: This study evaluated the restaging endoscopic features that best predict the presence of residual tumor in the bowel wall.

Design: This was a post hoc analysis of a prospective randomized trial.

Morbidity and Outcomes of Primary Tumor Management in Patients with Widely Metastatic Well-Differentiated Small Bowel Neuroendocrine Tumors.

Background: The benefit of primary tumor resection in distant metastatic small bowel neuroendocrine tumors (SBNETs) is controversial, with treatment-based morbidity not well-defined. We aimed to determine the impact of primary tumor resection on development of disease-specific complications in patients with metastatic well-differentiated SBNETs.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of patients diagnosed with metastatic well-differentiated jejunal/ileal SBNETs at a single tertiary care cancer center from 1980 to 2016.

Compliance and Toxicity of Total Neoadjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer: A Secondary Analysis of the OPRA Trial.

Purpose: Patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated with total neoadjuvant therapy (TNT) may achieve organ preservation without a compromise to oncologic outcomes. However, reports on patient compliance with TNT and with treatment-related toxicities are limited.

Methods And Materials: The OPRA trial assessed organ preservation rates and oncologic outcomes in patients with clinical stage II/III rectal adenocarcinoma randomized to induction chemotherapy followed by chemoradiation (INCT-CRT) or chemoradiation followed by consolidation chemotherapy (CRT-CNCT).

Central Nervous System Disease in Patients With RET Fusion-Positive NSCLC Treated With Selpercatinib.

Introduction: Central nervous system (CNS) metastases develop in nearly half of patients with RET fusion-positive NSCLCs and cause morbidity and mortality. The selective RET inhibitor selpercatinib treats existing intracranial disease, but no studies have investigated whether early initiation of selpercatinib is associated with decreased development of CNS metastases.

Methods: A total of 61 patients with RET fusion-positive advanced NSCLC with and without CNS metastases treated with selpercatinib on the LIBRETTO-001 trial (NCT03157128) or the LIBRETTO-201 expanded access program (NCT03906331) were identified.

Analysis of meiosis in reveals plasticity in homolog pairing and synapsis in the nematode lineage.

Meiosis is conserved across eukaryotes yet varies in the details of its execution. Here we describe a new comparative model system for molecular analysis of meiosis, the nematode , a distant relative of the widely studied model organism shares many anatomical and other features that facilitate analysis of meiosis in . However, while has lost the meiosis-specific recombinase Dmc1 and evolved a recombination-independent mechanism to synapse its chromosomes, expresses both DMC-1 and RAD-51.

Video bioinformatics analysis of human pluripotent stem cell morphology, quality, and cellular dynamics.

StemCellQC is a video bioinformatics software tool for the quantitative analysis of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) colonies. Our objective was to use StemCellQC to evaluate and compare various experimental culture conditions, cell lines, and treatments and to demonstrate its applicability to PSC problems. Seven key features were identified that provided useful information on PSC morphology, dynamic behavior, and viability.

Systematic Review of Hypertension and Diabetes Burden, Risk Factors, and Interventions for Prevention and Control in Malawi: The NCD BRITE Consortium.

Recent studies have found an increasing burden of noncommunicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa. A compressive search of PubMed, Medline, EMBASE, and the World Health Organization Global Health Library databases was undertaken to identify studies reporting on the prevalence, risk factors, and interventions for hypertension and diabetes in Malawi. The findings from 23 included studies revealed a high burden of hypertension and diabetes in Malawi, with estimates ranging from 15.

Distribution, quantification and toxicity of cinnamaldehyde in electronic cigarette refill fluids and aerosols.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the distribution, concentration and toxicity of cinnamaldehyde in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) refill fluids and aerosols.

Methods: The distribution and concentration of cinnamaldehyde were determined in 39 e-cigarette refill fluids plus 6 duplicates using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A cinnamaldehyde toxicity profile was established for embryonic and adult cells using a live cell imaging assay, immunocytochemistry, the comet assay and a recovery assay.

Evaluating Cell Processes, Quality, and Biomarkers in Pluripotent Stem Cells Using Video Bioinformatics.

There is a foundational need for quality control tools in stem cell laboratories engaged in basic research, regenerative therapies, and toxicological studies. These tools require automated methods for evaluating cell processes and quality during in vitro passaging, expansion, maintenance, and differentiation. In this paper, an unbiased, automated high-content profiling toolkit, StemCellQC, is presented that non-invasively extracts information on cell quality and cellular processes from time-lapse phase-contrast videos.

TargetVue: Visual Analysis of Anomalous User Behaviors in Online Communication Systems.

Users with anomalous behaviors in online communication systems (e.g. email and social medial platforms) are potential threats to society.

Bio-Driven Cell Region Detection in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Assay.

This paper proposes a bio-driven algorithm that detects cell regions automatically in the human embryonic stem cell (hESC) images obtained using a phase contrast microscope. The algorithm uses both statistical intensity distributions of foreground/hESCs and background/substrate as well as cell property for cell region detection. The intensity distributions of foreground/hESCs and background/substrate are modeled as a mixture of two Gaussians.