scholarly journals Evaluation of a Telemedicine System for the Transmission of Morpho/Immunological Data Aiming at the Inclusion of Patients in a Therapeutic Trial

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Lesesve ◽  
Richard Garand
Keyword(s):  
Time Delays ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Therapeutic Trial ◽  
First Line ◽  
Telemedicine System ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Digitized Pictures ◽  
Reading System

Due to their high levels of achievement and efficiency, image digitalization and teletransmission tools are more and more frequently used. Applied to cellular haematology, these tools often contribute to diagnosis confrontation, sometimes within the framework of therapeutic trials. We present one of the first approaches of the use of telehaematology for the inclusion of patients in the GOELAMS chronic lymphocytic leukaemia 98 trial. The advantages were (1) the creation of a unique, protected, stable data bank that could be remotely consulted, (2) the use of digitized pictures which made expertise on identical documents possible, (3) the facility of computer exchanges between experts, in terms of reception as well as replying time delays. We were able to set out new standards of image sampling for CLL, solve the semantic divergences, and point out interobserver variability as regards morphology. The limiting factors were the important need for expert investment, but they more importantly concerned the first line morphologists who should benefit from adequate tools, in terms of computer equipment as well as members of staff, so as to apprehend this second reading system as a quality control procedure.

What are the limiting factors related to discontinuance of chemotherapy after failure of first-line S-1 plus CDDP in Japanese patients with advanced gastric cancer?

2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (4_suppl) ◽  
pp. 149-149
Author(s):  
Yoshihito Ohhara ◽  
Keisho Chin ◽  
Mariko Ogura ◽  
Mitsukuni Suenaga ◽  
Eiji Shinozaki ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Multivariate Analyses ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Second Line ◽  
First Line ◽  
Second Line Chemotherapy ◽  
Group A ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Line Chemotherapy

149 Background: Recently, it is suggested that second-line chemotherapy improved survival in advanced gastric cancer (AGC) and it is commonly performed in Japanese daily practice in these several years. We investigated the limiting factor not to be able to receive second-line chemotherapy in Japanese patients with AGC. Methods: Between 2007 and 2009, 155 patients received S-1 plus cisplatin (SP) treatment as first-line chemotherapy in Cancer Institute Hospital of JFCR, Japan. Among them, 148 patients could not continue SP treatment because of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. 109 patients could receive second-line chemotherapy (Group A), while 39 patients could not (Group B). We evaluated the clinicopathologic factors that affected not to receive second-line chemotherapy, retrospectively. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed on the baseline factors before starting first-line chemotherapy. Results: Characteristics of patients were below (Group A vs B): median age, 60 vs 66 (years); gender (male), 71.6 % vs 66.7 %. Median progression-free survival were not different in both Group statistically (6.5 vs 7.2 months; log-rank, p=0.861). Median overall survival were 16.5 vs 10.3 months (log-rank, p<0.001), respectively. Univariate analyses found 4 limiting factors not to initiate second-line chemotherapy: age over 65 years old (p=0.025), performance status>1 (p=0.017), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) >400 IU/l (p<0.001), C-reactive protein (CRP) >1.0 mg/dl (p=0.004). Multivariate analyses showed ALP elevation was a limiting factor (HR 4.122, p=0.003). Conclusions: Alkaline phosphatase can be an uncomplicated and potent limiting factor of discontinuance of chemotherapy after failure of the first line S-1 plus CDDP in Japanese patients with AGC.

Longer term effects of stimulant treatments for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (1_suppl) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Attention Deficit ◽  
Cooperative Group ◽  
First Line ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Hyperactivity Disorder ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Behavioral Treatments ◽  
Stimulant Medications

Of pharmacological options available for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), stimulant medications are the most studied, the most commonly used, the most effective, and the first-line choice for treatment. Evidence of the short-term efficacy of methylphenidate (MPH) and other stimulants as well as behavioral treatments in the management of symptoms of ADHD is abundant. This paper reviews therapeutic trials with a duration or follow-up period of 12 months or more and evaluates the longer term outcomes of available treatments for ADHD. The trials were reported by lalongo et al. (1993), Horn et al. (1991), Schachar, Tannock, Cunningham, and Corkum (1997), Gillberg et al. (1997), Hechtman and Abikoff (1995), and the National Institute of Mental Health (MTA Cooperative Group, 1999a, 1999b).

scholarly journals ETHICAL ISSUES IN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 33-35
Author(s):  
Chirom Ranjeev Kumar ◽  
Thokchom Shantaji ◽  
Abhay Gaidhane
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Therapeutic Trial ◽  
Public Health Programs ◽  
Data Manipulation ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Research Activities ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Selection Of

Epidemiology is the study of the distribution and determinants of health related states and events in populations, and its application to the control of health problems.  An epidemiological studies involve the population and as such ethical issues are an important aspect of it which need to be properly understood and adhered to. These issues can relate to informed consent, appropriate sample size, selection of participants, confidentiality, conflict of interest etc.  Studies like therapeutic trial have also a lot of ethical issues which differ from issues pertaining to non-therapeutic trials. The source of funding for the study can have implication. Fabrication of data, manipulation during analysis, intentional changes in the result to obtain a pre desired outcome are some grey areas which need to be addressed. Another ethical issue is publication in certain Journals with monetary involvement. Lastly but not the least, authorship also have certain ethical issues. Attention to ethical issues can facilitate the effective planning, implementation, and growth of a variety of public health programs and research activities. Moreover with advancement in Epidemiology like molecular epidemiology, genetic epidemiology etc. the ethical issues become more complicated.Keywords: Ethics; Epidemiology; Epidemiological studies; Ethical Issues.

scholarly journals Prospecting sugarcane genes involved in aluminum tolerance

2001 ◽  
Vol 24 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodrigo D. Drummond ◽  
Claudia T. Guimarães ◽  
Juliana Felix ◽  
Fernando E. Ninamango-Cárdenas ◽  
Newton P. Carneiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Surface ◽  
Expressed Sequence Tag ◽  
Aluminum Toxicity ◽  
Aluminum Tolerance ◽  
Substantial Reduction ◽  
Acid Soils ◽  
Data Bank ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Aluminum Stress ◽  
Major Factors

Aluminum is one of the major factors that affect plant development in acid soils, causing a substantial reduction in yield in many crops. In South America, about 66% of the land surface is made up of acid soils where high aluminum saturation is one of the main limiting factors for agriculture. The biochemical and molecular basis of aluminum tolerance in plants is far from being completely understood despite a growing number of studies, and in the specific case of sugarcane there are virtually no reports on the effects of gene regulation on aluminum stress. The objective of the work presented in this paper was to prospect the sugarcane expressed sequence tag (SUCEST) data bank for sugarcane genes related to several biochemical pathways known to be involved in the responses to aluminum toxicity in other plant species and yeast. Sugarcane genes similar to most of these genes were found, including those coding for enzymes that alleviate oxidative stress or combat infection by pathogens and those which code for proteins responsible for the release of organic acids and signal transducers. The role of these genes in aluminum tolerance mechanisms is reviewed. Due to the high level of genomic conservation in related grasses such as maize, barley, sorghum and sugarcane, these genes may be valuable tools which will help us to better understand and to manipulate aluminum tolerance in these species.

THERAPEUTIC TRIALS IN THE INBORN ERRORS

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 887-888
Author(s):  
Allen C. Crocker
Keyword(s):  
Early Life ◽  
Clinical Evidence ◽  
Therapeutic Trial ◽  
Newborn Period ◽  
Inborn Errors ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Human Experiments ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
Altered Metabolism ◽  
Selection Of

Like the policeman's lot, that of the therapist for syndromes with inborn errors of metabolism is usually not a happy one. In these circumscribed human experiments the pitfalls are manifold.1 This is especially true when the affected biochemical element is involved in the structure of the central nervous system and with the handicap expressed early in development (for example, disturbances of glycolipid, phospholipid, or mucopolysaccharide metabolism). For any theoretically useful therapeutic trial to be launched, four criteria must be met: (1) diagnosis should be established in very early life (? newborn period, or earlier), preferably utilizing both laboratory and clinical evidence; (2) direct scientific pertitience should exist relative to the selection of the agent for the trial; (3) the program of therapy should be technically simple enough, and sufficiently free of noxious side effects, that relatively bugterm employment is possible; and (4) there should be available several discrete markers of the altered metabolism of the syndrome, which can be used in efforts at quantitation of the effects of the plan.

scholarly journals Pharmacologic Treatment of Idiopathic Chilblains (Pernio): A Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 120347542199513
Author(s):  
Michelle Pratt ◽  
Farhan Mahmood ◽  
Mark G. Kirchhof
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Pharmacologic Therapy ◽  
Pharmacologic Treatment ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
First Line ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Preventative Measures ◽  
Topical Minoxidil ◽  
Study Population ◽  
Topical Glyceryl Trinitrate

Idiopathic chilblains is a cold-induced inflammatory condition that causes significant morbidity. When preventative measures alone are inadequate, oral nifedipine is generally recommended as first-line pharmacologic therapy. Given the natural course of this spontaneously remitting/relapsing condition, controls are needed to critically appraise studies and determine the value of treatments. We report a systematic review of placebo-controlled or comparative therapeutic trials for the treatment of idiopathic chilblains. Our search of PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases, identified 11 studies that met our inclusion criteria for a combined study population n = 576. Therapies included nifedipine, pentoxifylline, tadalafil, topical glyceryl trinitrate (GTN), topical minoxidil, diltiazem, corticosteroids, and vitamin D. There was moderate evidence to support the use of nifedipine and pentoxifylline in the treatment of severe or refractory cases of idiopathic chilblains, while other therapies had inadequate evidence or nonsignificant results compared to placebo.

scholarly journals Barriers to Participation in Therapeutic Clinical Trials as Perceived by Community Oncologists

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e849-e858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew R. Wong ◽  
Virginia Sun ◽  
Kevin George ◽  
Jennifer Liu ◽  
Simran Padam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Medical Center ◽  
System Level ◽  
Therapeutic Trial ◽  
Eligibility Criteria ◽  
National Medical ◽  
Therapeutic Trials ◽  
Negative Beliefs ◽  
Diverse Patient Population ◽  
Barriers To Enrollment

PURPOSE: Despite considerable research on the barriers to enrollment in cancer therapeutic trials, few studies have elicited barriers from the perspective of community physicians, who provide the majority of cancer care. The purpose of this study was to characterize barriers to and facilitators of cancer therapeutic trials as perceived by oncologists in community practices. METHODS: Twenty semistructured interviews were conducted with oncologists at six community sites affiliated with City of Hope National Medical Center from March to June 2018. Responses were recorded digitally and transcribed. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. RESULTS: Of the 20 participants, 4 (20%) were women, 13 (65%) had > 10 years of practice experience, and 16 (80%) reported that < 5% of their patients were enrolled in a therapeutic trial. Participants identified four system-level barriers: lack of appropriate trials for community-based settings, insufficient infrastructure support, restrictive eligibility criteria, and financial limitations; three physician-level barriers: lack of awareness of available trials, lack of knowledge of trial details, and lack of time; and two patient-level barriers: patient burden and negative beliefs/attitudes toward research. Efforts aimed to increase trial availability, clinical trial support personnel, and physician knowledge were identified as major facilitators. CONCLUSION: Community oncologists face numerous complex, multifaceted barriers to cancer therapeutic trial enrollment. Although expanding clinical research beyond the academic setting allows access to a larger and more diverse patient population, increasing generalizability and relevance of trial findings, there remains a substantial need for new strategies to improve cancer research delivery in the community.

scholarly journals Robust fixed-time synchronization of discontinuous Cohen–Grossberg neural networks with mixed time delays

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fanchao Kong ◽  
Quanxin Zhu ◽  
Feng Liang ◽  
Juan J. Nieto
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Time Delays ◽  
Time Synchronization ◽  
Distributed Delay ◽  
Fixed Time ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Mixed Time Delays ◽  
Analysis Theory ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
Functional Differential

This paper aims to investigate the fixed-time synchronization (i.e., synchronization in fixed-time sense) of Cohen–Grossberg drive-response neural networks with discontinuous neuron activations and mixed time delays (both time-varying discrete delay and distributed delay). To accomplish the target of fixed-time synchronization, a novel discontinuous feedback control procedure is firstly designed for the response neural networks. Then, under the framework of Filippov solutions, by means of functional differential inclusions theory, inequality technique and the nonsmooth analysis theory with Lyapunov-like approach, some sufficient criteria are derived to design the control parameters for achieving fixed-time synchronization of the proposed drive-response systems. Finally, two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the proposed methodologies.

Establishing and maintaining property transactions data banks in Ghana through partnerships and participatory means

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Korsi Simpson ◽  
Peter Korsi Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Data Bank ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Property Market ◽  
Market Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cooperative Action ◽  
Data Problem ◽  
Major Factors ◽  
Method Approach ◽  
Data Banks

PurposeThe credibility of valuation is enhanced by the use of quality and reliable property market data. Nonetheless, the availability of quality and reliable market data remains a problem for valuers in Ghana, as current market data sources are tainted with issues of reliability. The purpose of this study is to examine the possibility of establishing property market data banks in Ghana, to help solve the market data problem faced by valuers.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopted a mixed-method approach consisting of the identification and review of literature, interviews with officials from the Lands Valuation Division of the Lands Commission and a questionnaire survey of property valuers.FindingsThe study finds that it is possible for property market data banks to be established, and in the absence of facilitating legislation, partnerships among various stakeholders are the best way of achieving this. The study identifies the lack of initiative and the lack of partnerships among the various stakeholders inter alia as the major factors limiting the establishment of property market data banks. The findings imply a need for stakeholders to take initiative to establish a property market data bank aimed at improving the quality and reliability of market data to enhance the valuation practice.Originality/valueThe study asserts the possibility of creating a property market data bank in Ghana, notwithstanding the limiting factors. The findings will provide a basis for relevant institutions and agencies to take cooperative action for the establishment of property market data banks, towards enhancing the valuation practice in Ghana as well as in other developing countries. The study will also prompt research into various tools and mechanisms to be adopted towards the establishment of property market data banks through participatory means.

An Overview of Digital Image Processing and Recognition (Invited Paper)

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 700-702
Author(s):  
R. C. Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Image Processing ◽  
New York ◽  
Digital Image Processing ◽  
Digital Image ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Submarine Cable ◽  
Vigorous Growth ◽  
Digitized Pictures ◽  
Processing Techniques ◽  
And Storage

Interest in digital image processing techniques dates back to the early 1920's, when digitized pictures of world news events were first transmitted by submarine cable between New York and London. Applications of digital image processing concepts, however, did not become widespread until the middle 1960's, when third-generation digital computers began to offer the speed and storage capabilities required for practical implementation of image processing algorithms. Since then, this area has experienced vigorous growth, having been a subject of interdisciplinary research in fields ranging from engineering and computer science to biology, chemistry, and medicine.

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