Hypersaline lakes are sensitive and increasingly threatened ecological and depositional environme... more Hypersaline lakes are sensitive and increasingly threatened ecological and depositional environments that are host to a diverse spectrum of industrial services, natural resources, and environmental processes. Furthermore, they are also important repositories of high-resolution palaeoenvironmental information and are potentially key archives in the reconstruction of environmental, climatic conditions and past human impacts in areas where other such repositories may not be available. Many saline lakes are threatened by increased farming and irrigation practices and the effects of global warming. Geochemical XRF analyses of a transect of sediment cores from Laguna Salada de Chiprana, a permanent hypersaline lake in the Iberian Peninsula, provide insights into geochemical processes and palaeoenvironmental changes occurring at the site throughout the last 300–400 years. Key changes identified within the sequence are defined both from a spatial and temporal aspect and characterise the pro...
Additional file 3. Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form questionnaire (hyperlink and licensing i... more Additional file 3. Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form questionnaire (hyperlink and licensing information).
Multi-agent systems (MAS) is a field of growing relevance to our modern world with applications e... more Multi-agent systems (MAS) is a field of growing relevance to our modern world with applications everywhere from heterogenous distributed computing and storage to robot swarms. One model of MAS is the Decentralized, Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, or Dec-POMDP, used extensively in current research, and capable of modeling both large multi-agent and smaller single-agent systems, whether stochastic or deterministic. The project to be demonstrated is a framework and an application for specifying DecPOMDP problems and agents. Named EnMAS (Environment for Multi-Agent Simulation), the project is designed to be useful for research and as a teaching tool. To that end, DecPOMDP problems are specified using Scala, an expressive hybrid functional and objectoriented language that targets the Java Virtual Machine. Agents may be written in Java or Scala. While the latter makes code-writing more efficient, backwards compatibility is provided for those who want to write AI agents in Ja...
International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, 2021
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Local therapy for patients with non-spine bone metastases is evolving, with ... more PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Local therapy for patients with non-spine bone metastases is evolving, with recent data suggesting that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may improve pain response in the palliative setting. However, the rate of local salvage therapy (LST) after SBRT compared to conventional RT is unknown. We therefore characterized rates and risk factors for LST in patients with non-spine bone metastases. MATERIALS/METHODS We reviewed records of all courses of RT for non-spine bone metastases at our institution from 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2018. LST was defined as the first occurrence of either RT or surgery for progression to a bone metastasis following initial RT. Functions of the cumulative incidence of re-treatment were generated for each RT technique. We identified associations with various predictors using the Fine and Gray method for competing risk regression. RESULTS Of the 1,754 patients included, 2,648 bone metastases were treated with RT and analyzed with a median follow up of 15 months (IQR = 6.4 - 25.0 months). 51% of episodes were multi-fraction EBRT, 10% were single fraction EBRT, and 39% were SBRT. Of the treated metastases, 120 (4.5%) episodes required LST (median time to LST = 6.2 months, range = 0.3-35.6 months), with a cumulative incidence at 6 and 12 months of 2.4% and 3.9%, respectively. Cumulative incidence of re-treatment at 6 months was 2.6% for SBRT, 3.5% for single-fraction conventional, and 2.1% for multi-fraction conventional regimens (P = 0.76). On multivariable analysis, younger age, higher Karnofsky performance status (KPS), and location of the metastasis in the pelvis had higher hazard of re-treatment (Table 1). There was no significant difference in hazard of LST among RT techniques (P = 0.44), nor was there a significant interaction between RT technique and radioresistant histology (P = 0.33). CONCLUSION In our large institutional cohort, the rate of LST was low, with no difference between RT techniques. Our results suggest that judicious selection of patients at high risk for eventual treatment failure (i.e., those with longer expected survival) for SBRT may reduce the rate of retreatment rate in the population. When patients are appropriately selected for single fraction conventional RT, such as those who are older or have poor KPS, rates of LST remain low. Further studies to validate our findings are warranted to help clinicians to select the appropriate treatment technique for patients with bone metastases.
BackgroundIn patients with metastatic cancer, the bone is the third-most common site of involveme... more BackgroundIn patients with metastatic cancer, the bone is the third-most common site of involvement. Radiation to painful bone metastases results in high rates of pain control and is an integral part of bone metastases management. Up to one-third of inpatient consults are requested for painful bone metastases, and up to 60% of these patients had evidence of these lesions visible on prior imaging. Meanwhile recent advances have reduced potential side effects of radiation. Therefore, there is an opportunity to further improve outcomes for patients using prophylactic palliative radiation to manage asymptomatic bone metastases.Methods/study designIn this trial, 74 patients with metastatic solid tumors and high-risk asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic bone metastases will be enrolled and randomized to early palliative radiation or standard of care. This will be the first trial to assess the efficacy of prophylactic palliative radiation in preventing skeletal related events (SREs), the ...
Introduction Indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma (FL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL... more Introduction Indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma (FL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), are highly radiosensitive and often respond to very low dose radiation therapy (VLDRT). We investigated the outcomes of patients treated with 4 Gy from a large, contemporary, real world cohort, and a subset of potentially curable (PC) patients with early stage (Ann Arbor stage I-II) disease and no prior therapy to the targeted lesion(s) before VLDRT. Methods We analyzed 256 treated sites from 210 consecutive adult patients (Table 1) with FL or MZL who were treated with VLDRT of 2 Gy x 2 fractions between 2006 and 2019 at our comprehensive cancer center. Initial overall response rate (ORR) was defined as complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) using Lugano criteria at first follow-up post-RT (median: 2.1 months; Interquartile range: 1.6-2.5 months). Stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) at 2 months post-RT were considered local failure (LF). Freedom from local failure...
In this project, we are looking at Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) that induces food poisoning... more In this project, we are looking at Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) that induces food poisoning and how it affects cell death in the body and how you can terminate it. The first step of this project was to expose different PBMC samples to the drug SP and SB, thereby decreasig the amount of protein that is expected to cause cell death. Then, reverse transcriptase was done to get cDNA. We then ran the cDNA through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this step, we took the cDNA and ran each through PCR to amplify the DNA. Then, we ran the proteins through gel electrophoresis to separate them based on size and charge. Then, we quantified the information received from the gel. The ELISA kit was used to look at protein changes. We looked specifically at the Caspase protein that caused cell death in the protein
Hypersaline lakes are sensitive and increasingly threatened ecological and depositional environme... more Hypersaline lakes are sensitive and increasingly threatened ecological and depositional environments that are host to a diverse spectrum of industrial services, natural resources, and environmental processes. Furthermore, they are also important repositories of high-resolution palaeoenvironmental information and are potentially key archives in the reconstruction of environmental, climatic conditions and past human impacts in areas where other such repositories may not be available. Many saline lakes are threatened by increased farming and irrigation practices and the effects of global warming. Geochemical XRF analyses of a transect of sediment cores from Laguna Salada de Chiprana, a permanent hypersaline lake in the Iberian Peninsula, provide insights into geochemical processes and palaeoenvironmental changes occurring at the site throughout the last 300–400 years. Key changes identified within the sequence are defined both from a spatial and temporal aspect and characterise the pro...
Additional file 3. Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form questionnaire (hyperlink and licensing i... more Additional file 3. Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) Short Form questionnaire (hyperlink and licensing information).
Multi-agent systems (MAS) is a field of growing relevance to our modern world with applications e... more Multi-agent systems (MAS) is a field of growing relevance to our modern world with applications everywhere from heterogenous distributed computing and storage to robot swarms. One model of MAS is the Decentralized, Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, or Dec-POMDP, used extensively in current research, and capable of modeling both large multi-agent and smaller single-agent systems, whether stochastic or deterministic. The project to be demonstrated is a framework and an application for specifying DecPOMDP problems and agents. Named EnMAS (Environment for Multi-Agent Simulation), the project is designed to be useful for research and as a teaching tool. To that end, DecPOMDP problems are specified using Scala, an expressive hybrid functional and objectoriented language that targets the Java Virtual Machine. Agents may be written in Java or Scala. While the latter makes code-writing more efficient, backwards compatibility is provided for those who want to write AI agents in Ja...
International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, 2021
PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Local therapy for patients with non-spine bone metastases is evolving, with ... more PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) Local therapy for patients with non-spine bone metastases is evolving, with recent data suggesting that stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) may improve pain response in the palliative setting. However, the rate of local salvage therapy (LST) after SBRT compared to conventional RT is unknown. We therefore characterized rates and risk factors for LST in patients with non-spine bone metastases. MATERIALS/METHODS We reviewed records of all courses of RT for non-spine bone metastases at our institution from 1/1/2016 to 12/31/2018. LST was defined as the first occurrence of either RT or surgery for progression to a bone metastasis following initial RT. Functions of the cumulative incidence of re-treatment were generated for each RT technique. We identified associations with various predictors using the Fine and Gray method for competing risk regression. RESULTS Of the 1,754 patients included, 2,648 bone metastases were treated with RT and analyzed with a median follow up of 15 months (IQR = 6.4 - 25.0 months). 51% of episodes were multi-fraction EBRT, 10% were single fraction EBRT, and 39% were SBRT. Of the treated metastases, 120 (4.5%) episodes required LST (median time to LST = 6.2 months, range = 0.3-35.6 months), with a cumulative incidence at 6 and 12 months of 2.4% and 3.9%, respectively. Cumulative incidence of re-treatment at 6 months was 2.6% for SBRT, 3.5% for single-fraction conventional, and 2.1% for multi-fraction conventional regimens (P = 0.76). On multivariable analysis, younger age, higher Karnofsky performance status (KPS), and location of the metastasis in the pelvis had higher hazard of re-treatment (Table 1). There was no significant difference in hazard of LST among RT techniques (P = 0.44), nor was there a significant interaction between RT technique and radioresistant histology (P = 0.33). CONCLUSION In our large institutional cohort, the rate of LST was low, with no difference between RT techniques. Our results suggest that judicious selection of patients at high risk for eventual treatment failure (i.e., those with longer expected survival) for SBRT may reduce the rate of retreatment rate in the population. When patients are appropriately selected for single fraction conventional RT, such as those who are older or have poor KPS, rates of LST remain low. Further studies to validate our findings are warranted to help clinicians to select the appropriate treatment technique for patients with bone metastases.
BackgroundIn patients with metastatic cancer, the bone is the third-most common site of involveme... more BackgroundIn patients with metastatic cancer, the bone is the third-most common site of involvement. Radiation to painful bone metastases results in high rates of pain control and is an integral part of bone metastases management. Up to one-third of inpatient consults are requested for painful bone metastases, and up to 60% of these patients had evidence of these lesions visible on prior imaging. Meanwhile recent advances have reduced potential side effects of radiation. Therefore, there is an opportunity to further improve outcomes for patients using prophylactic palliative radiation to manage asymptomatic bone metastases.Methods/study designIn this trial, 74 patients with metastatic solid tumors and high-risk asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic bone metastases will be enrolled and randomized to early palliative radiation or standard of care. This will be the first trial to assess the efficacy of prophylactic palliative radiation in preventing skeletal related events (SREs), the ...
Introduction Indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma (FL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL... more Introduction Indolent lymphomas, such as follicular lymphoma (FL) and marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), are highly radiosensitive and often respond to very low dose radiation therapy (VLDRT). We investigated the outcomes of patients treated with 4 Gy from a large, contemporary, real world cohort, and a subset of potentially curable (PC) patients with early stage (Ann Arbor stage I-II) disease and no prior therapy to the targeted lesion(s) before VLDRT. Methods We analyzed 256 treated sites from 210 consecutive adult patients (Table 1) with FL or MZL who were treated with VLDRT of 2 Gy x 2 fractions between 2006 and 2019 at our comprehensive cancer center. Initial overall response rate (ORR) was defined as complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) using Lugano criteria at first follow-up post-RT (median: 2.1 months; Interquartile range: 1.6-2.5 months). Stable disease (SD) or progressive disease (PD) at 2 months post-RT were considered local failure (LF). Freedom from local failure...
In this project, we are looking at Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) that induces food poisoning... more In this project, we are looking at Staphylococcus enterotoxin B (SEB) that induces food poisoning and how it affects cell death in the body and how you can terminate it. The first step of this project was to expose different PBMC samples to the drug SP and SB, thereby decreasig the amount of protein that is expected to cause cell death. Then, reverse transcriptase was done to get cDNA. We then ran the cDNA through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In this step, we took the cDNA and ran each through PCR to amplify the DNA. Then, we ran the proteins through gel electrophoresis to separate them based on size and charge. Then, we quantified the information received from the gel. The ELISA kit was used to look at protein changes. We looked specifically at the Caspase protein that caused cell death in the protein
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