Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma: A Real-World Comparison of Therapy Access and Outcomes by Hospital Setting

Background This study analyzes sociodemographic barriers for primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) treatment and outcomes at a public safety-net hospital versus a private tertiary academic institution. We hypothesized that these barriers would lead to access disparities and poorer outcomes in the safety-net population. Methods We reviewed records of PCNSL patients from 2007-2020 (n = 95) at a public safety-net hospital (n = 33) and a private academic center (n = 62) staffed by the same university. Demographics, treatment patterns, and outcomes were analyzed. Results Patients at the safety-net hospital were significantly younger, more commonly Black or Hispanic, and had a higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS. They were significantly less likely to receive induction chemotherapy (67% vs 86%, p = 0.003) or consolidation autologous stem cell transplantation (0% vs. 44%, p = 0.001), but received more whole-brain radiation therapy (35% vs 15%, p = 0.001). Younger age and receiving any consolidation therapy were associated with improved progression-free (PFS, p = 0.001) and overall survival (OS, p = 0.001). Hospital location had no statistical impact on PFS (p = 0.725) or OS (p = 0.226) on an age-adjusted analysis. Conclusions Our study shows significant differences in treatment patterns for PCNSL between a public safety-net hospital and an academic cancer center. A significant survival difference was not demonstrated, which is likely multifactorial, but likely was positively impacted by the shared multidisciplinary care delivery between the institutions. As personalized therapies for PCNSL are being developed, equitable access including clinical trials should be advocated for resource-limited settings.

Glare at Outdoor Workplaces—An Underestimated Factor of Occupational Risk

Lighting is an integral aspect of electrical engineering and public safety, as buildings, public areas—both indoors and outdoors—or any type of workplace must be illuminated in a way to prevent accidents. The sensation of glare, in particular, plays an important role in visual comfort and consequently influences occupational risk. The aim of this article is to draw attention to the problem of glare at outdoor workplaces. We have carried out an assessment of glare at outdoor workplaces in 19 different industrial plants. At 20 task areas (21.5% of the 93 examined) the determined degree of glare exceeded the limits specified in the standard. In eight categories of industrial plants (66.7% of 12 examined) defined in the standard, there was at least one task area where the requirements of the standard in terms of glare limitation were not met. The presented analysis leaves no doubt about drawing the conclusion that glare at outdoor workplaces is mostly underestimated or simply neglected, although it could cause high risk in workplaces.

S4 Features and Artificial Intelligence for Designing a Robot against COVID-19—Robocov

Since the COVID-19 Pandemic began, there have been several efforts to create new technology to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic around the world. One of those efforts is to design a new task force, robots, to deal with fundamental goals such as public safety, clinical care, and continuity of work. However, those characteristics need new products based on features that create them more innovatively and creatively. Those products could be designed using the S4 concept (sensing, smart, sustainable, and social features) presented as a concept able to create a new generation of products. This paper presents a low-cost robot, Robocov, designed as a rapid response against the COVID-19 Pandemic at Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico, with implementations of artificial intelligence and the S4 concept for the design. Robocov can achieve numerous tasks using the S4 concept that provides flexibility in hardware and software. Thus, Robocov can impact positivity public safety, clinical care, continuity of work, quality of life, laboratory and supply chain automation, and non-hospital care. The mechanical structure and software development allow Robocov to complete support tasks effectively so Robocov can be integrated as a technological tool for achieving the new normality’s required conditions according to government regulations. Besides, the reconfiguration of the robot for moving from one task (robot for disinfecting) to another one (robot for detecting face masks) is an easy endeavor that only one operator could do. Robocov is a teleoperated system that transmits information by cameras and an ultrasonic sensor to the operator. In addition, pre-recorded paths can be executed autonomously. In terms of communication channels, Robocov includes a speaker and microphone. Moreover, a machine learning algorithm for detecting face masks and social distance is incorporated using a pre-trained model for the classification process. One of the most important contributions of this paper is to show how a reconfigurable robot can be designed under the S3 concept and integrate AI methodologies. Besides, it is important that this paper does not show specific details about each subsystem in the robot.

Highly improved the performance of film-based fluorescent sensor via nanomesh scaffold strategy

Public safety and environmental monitoring is of great significance to maintain human health. Therefore, a simple and effective strategy for preparing the substrate layer of film-based fluorescent sensor is developed...