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revisions to the original survey, including simplified response sets, the introduction of a one-week recall form, and norm-based scoring that enhances interpretability of scores. Both the one-week and four-week recall period forms of the MOS Sleep-R demonstrated good internal consistency reliability and construct validity in a U.S. general population sample.

The MOS Sleep-R introduces a number of revisions to the original survey, including simplified response sets, the introduction of a one-week recall form, and norm-based scoring that enhances interpretability of scores. Both the one-week and four-week recall period forms of the MOS Sleep-R demonstrated good internal consistency reliability and construct validity in a U.S. general population sample.This work demonstrates the fabrication and characterization of ZnO nanowire-based devices in a metal-nanowire-metal configuration using the direct current dielectrophoresis alignment across Au electrodes. ALC-0159 supplier The current-voltage characteristics of the devices revealed that they were rectifying, and the direction of rectification was determined by the direction of current due to the asymmetric Joule heating in the dielectrophoresis alignment process. Joule heating caused the Au atoms to diffuse from the Au electrodes to the inner ZnO NWs and the formation of Schottky contact at the Au/ZnO interface. A fast and sensitive photoresponse was achieved for the rectifying devices in reverse-biased mode due to the carrier injection and photocurrent gain under UV illumination. Such direct current dielectrophoresis alignment of ZnO nanowires is a facile method for fabricating rectification devices with application in sensitive and fast UV detecting sensors.This article revisits 20 years of our work in developing evaluation tools adapted to non-linear mixed effect models. These hierarchical models involve a large number of assumptions concerning the structural evolution of the outcomes, the link between different outcomes, the variabilities in the parameters and model evaluation aims at assessing these various components, both to help guide the model building and to communicate on model adequacy for a given purpose. During our career, we have developed and extended simulation-based evaluation tools called normalised prediction discrepancies (npd) and normalised prediction distribution errors (npde), providing informative diagnostics through graphs and tests.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma patients have limited treatment options. TGF-β can be upregulated in esophageal adenocarcinoma, and blocking this pathway may enhance clinical response to PD-(L)1 inhibitors. Bintrafusp alfa is a first-in-class bifunctional fusion protein composed of the extracellular domain of the TGF-βRII receptor (a TGF-β “trap”) fused to a human IgG1 mAb blocking PD-L1.

The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of bintrafusp alfa in patients with advanced, post-platinum esophageal adenocarcinoma, unselected for PD-L1 expression.

In this phase 1 study, patients with post-platinum, PD-L1-unselected esophageal adenocarcinoma received bintrafusp alfa 1200 mg every 2 weeks until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity, or withdrawal. The primary endpoint was confirmed best overall response per RECIST 1.1 by independent review committee (IRC).

By the database cutoff of 24 August 2018, 30 patients (80.0% had two or more prior anticancer regimens) received bintrafusp alfa for a median of 6.1 weeks. The confirmed objective response rate (ORR) per IRC was 20.0% (95% CI 7.7-38.6); responses lasted 1.3-8.3 months. Most responses (83.3%) occurred in tumors with an immune-excluded phenotype. Investigator-assessed confirmed ORR was 13.3% (95% CI 3.8-30.7). Nineteen patients (63.3%) had treatment-related adverse events seven patients (23.3%) had grade 3 events; no grade 4 events or treatment-related deaths occurred.

Bintrafusp alfa showed signs of clinical efficacy with a manageable safety profile in patients with heavily pretreated, advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma.

NCT02517398.

NCT02517398.Phytoplasmas are obligate phytopathogenic bacteria associated with devastating diseases in hundreds of crops across the world. They have been responsible for huge economic losses in many crop plants for decades now. Isolation and establishment of axenic culture of phytoplasma in complex media is a recent progress in phytoplasma research. Earlier methods for phytoplasma disease detection included symptom profiling, microscopy, serology and dodder transmission studies. With advancement in the field of molecular biology, phytoplasma diagnostics and characterisation witnessed radical improvement. Starting from PCR amplification which often necessities a nested PCR on account of low titre of phytoplasmas, to the closed tube quantitative PCR assays and then the ddPCR, an array of diagnostics have been developed for phytoplasma. The isothermal diagnostic platforms are the latest addition to this and the Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay has been applied for the detection of phytoplasma from several hosts. The futuristic approach in phytoplasma detection will be very likely provided by an integration of nanotechnology and molecular diagnostics. Phytoplasma disease management majorly relies on early detection, vector control, use of disease free planting materials and cultivation of resistant varieties. Hence understanding the molecular mechanism of phytoplasma-host interaction is as important as timely and accurate detection, in the management of phytoplasma diseases. Further, the changing climatic scenario and global warming may lead to an upsurge in the phytoplasma diseases spread and severity across the world, making disease management even more challenging.

Thyrotropin-secreting pituitary adenoma (TSHoma) is rare but occasionally causes cardiovascular complications such as atrial fibrillation (AF) due to hyperthyroidism. Graves’ disease (GD) is a common hyperthyroid condition often associated with subclinical AF. Some reports have shown echocardiographic changes in patients with GD. We aimed to evaluate the preoperative cardiac function in patients with TSHomas and compared the results among patients with TSHomas and GD and control subjects.

Patients with TSHomas (n = 6) and GD (n = 20) were compared with control subjects with normal cardiac function (n = 20) based on echocardiographic findings. The average age, sex, and proportions of patients with a history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension were equal in each group, and the AF prevalence was matched in patients with TSHomas and GD. The values of left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDd), left ventricular end-systolic diameter (LVEDs), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), and left atrial diameter (LAD) were used to assess cardiac function.