Relationship between velocity and muscular endurance of the upper body

Strength, power and muscular endurance tests have been developed as means of assessing people's physical abilities. However, testing may be expensive or time consuming. A method to reduce the time of physical assessment could be to use predictive algorithms for indirect assessment. The aim of this study will be to determine a relationship between strength, power and muscular endurance in order to identify predictors for an easier and faster assessment. 33 male strength-trained participants (22.8 ± 4.6 years, 172.5 ± 6.7 cm, 68.0 ± 10.6 kg) performed a single pull-up (SPU) and a single push-up (SPH) and a set of pull-ups (EPU) and push-ups (EPH) to exhaustion. The participants were divided into three sub-groups according to their training experience. Force(F), Power(P), Velocity(V) and relative power(R-P), extracted from an accelerometer (500 Hz), were compared between groups (ANOVA) and a subsequent linear regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of the performance measures. The regression models were able to explain 61% of the variance with the EPU as dependent variable and the V of the SPU as independent variable and 68% of the variance with the EPH as dependent variable and EPU as independent variable. In addition, increased performance measures were found according to training experience, in particular regarding muscular endurance of both the EPU and EPH (p < 0.001 and p < 0.01, respectively). A significant effect of training experience was also present for the V of the SPU (p < 0.001). The results indicate that a relation between muscular endurance and velocity is present. The generated equations allow to estimate both the number of EPH and EPU from a SPU. The equations may be helpful to reduce the time of assessment for upper body physical evaluation.

Secondary Leukemia following Treatment for Hodgkin's Disease

Aims and Background

Patients treated for Hodgkin's disease with chemotherapy or with the association of chemotherapy and radiotherapy have an increased risk of secondary leukemia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the leukemogenic risk due to these treatment modalities.

Methods

We performed a case-control study on a population of 1410 patients treated for Hodgkin's disease from 1970 to 1990 in our Institute. Among these patients, we identified 25 cases of secondary leukemia and 3 cases of myelodysplasia, all occurring more than one year after the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. Three cases occurred among the patients treated with radiotherapy alone. When we analyzed the risk in relation to the type of treatment (radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both), the comparisons were relative to patients treated with radiotherapy alone.

Results

We found that chemotherapy alone is associated with a fivefold increased risk (odds ratio = 5.4) compared with radiotherapy alone. When both treatments are used, the risk is not further increased (odds ratio = 4.4). Patients receiving more than 6 courses of chemotherapy have an excess risk (relative risk = 2.5) compared with those treated with 6 courses or less. No increased risk was observed after splenectomy.

Conclusions

This study confirms an increased incidence of secondary leukemia occurring in patients treated for Hodgkin's disease. The increased risk seems to be correlated with the number of courses of alkylating agent therapy, whereas it is unaffected by the addition of radiotherapy.

Role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound to define prognosis and predict response to biotherapy in pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors

PURPOSE

The incidence of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) is progressively increasing. Most cases arise from the digestive system, where ileum, rectum and pancreas represent the commonest site of origin. Liver metastases are frequently detected at diagnosis or during the follow-up. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is used in patients with pancreatic NETs (P-NETs) and liver metastases from P-NET but its role has not been standardized. The aim of this retrospective study was to investigate CEUS in patients with P-NETs and liver metastases from P-NET both as prognostic factor and predictor of response to therapy with somatostatin analogues (SSAs).

METHODS

CEUS was performed at the diagnosis of NET and 3, 6 and 12 months after the beginning of SSAs. CEUS pattern was compared with contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) pattern.

RESULTS

There was a significant association between CEUS and CT pattern (X ² = 79.0; p < 0.0001). A significant association was found between CEUS pattern and Ki-67 index (X ² = 24.6; p < 0.0001). The hypervascular homogeneous CEUS typical pattern was associated with low tumor grading (G1 or G2) (X ² = 24.0; p < 0.0001). CEUS pattern changed from hypervascular homogeneous in baseline to hypovascular/hypervascular inhomogeneous after SSA therapy, with a significant association between tumor response at CT scan and appearance of hypervascular inhomogeneous pattern at CEUS evaluation (6 months: X ² = 57.0; p < 0.0001; 12 months: X ² = 49.8; p < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with P-NET, CEUS pattern correlates with tumor grading, being homogeneous in G1-G2 but not in G3 tumors. After therapy with SSAs, CEUS is predictive of response to SSAs. These findings seem to support a role of CEUS as prognostic and predictive factor of response.

Tagging and Enriching Proteins Enables Cell-Specific Proteomics

Cell-specific proteomics in multicellular systems and whole animals is a promising approach to understand the differentiated functions of cells and tissues. Here, we extend our stochastic orthogonal recoding of translation (SORT) approach for the co-translational tagging of proteomes with a cyclopropene-containing amino acid in response to diverse codons in genetically targeted cells, and create a tetrazine-biotin probe containing a cleavable linker that offers a way to enrich and identify tagged proteins. We demonstrate that SORT with enrichment, SORT-E, efficiently recovers and enriches SORT tagged proteins and enables specific identification of enriched proteins via mass spectrometry, including low-abundance proteins. We show that tagging at distinct codons enriches overlapping, but distinct sets of proteins, suggesting that tagging at more than one codon enhances proteome coverage. Using SORT-E, we accomplish cell-specific proteomics in the fly. These results suggest that SORT-E will enable the definition of cell-specific proteomes in animals during development, disease progression, and learning and memory.

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A tetrazine-biotin probe containing a cleavable linker was created

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Proteomes labeled with cyclopropene amino acids were enriched and identified

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Proteome coverage is increased by targeting the amino acids to multiple codons

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Cell-specific proteomics was accomplished in the fly

Abstract 2079: Osimertinib, an irreversible mutant selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, exerts anti tumor activity in NSCLC harbouring exon 20 insertion mutant-EGFR

EGFR exon 20 insertion (Ex20Ins) mutations represent a combination of in-frame insertions and/or duplications that account for 4-10% of all EGFR mutants in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). To date, more than one hundred different Ex20Ins mutations have been identified. With the notable exception of the rare A763_Y764insFQEA insertion (&lt;1%), EGFR Ex20Ins mutations are clinically unresponsive to early generation EGFR inhibitors, the standard of care for NSCLC patients with EGFR Ex20Ins mutations is chemotherapy. Therefore, a significant unmet need remains requiring the development of an EGFR TKI agent that can more effectively target NSCLC with EGFR Ex20Ins mutations. Osimertinib is a newly developed EGFR TKI approved for the treatment of advanced NSCLC with EGFR T790M tumors. This work describes the potential of osimertinib and AZ5104, a circulating metabolite of osimertinib, in Ex20Ins tumours.

Using CRISPR-Cas 9 genome editing technology, we engineered cellular disease relevant models carrying the most prevalent Ex20Ins mutations, namely Ex20Ins D770_N771InsSVD (22%) or Ex20Ins V769_D770InsASV (17%).

Using these models, we show that osimertinib and AZ5104 inhibit signalling pathways and cellular growth of Ex20Ins CRISPR-Cas9 engineered cell lines in vitro. This translates into sustained tumor growth inhibition in vivo in both the Ex20Ins SVD (65%, p&lt;0.001 & 95%, p&lt;0.001 respectively at day 14) and Ex20Ins ASV (82%, p&lt;0.001 & 95%, p&lt;0.001 respectively at day 14) xenograft models when compared to the control group. Importantly in vivo osimertinib was dosed at exposures consistent with the 80 mg osimertinib clinical dose. Moreover, a dual EGFR blockade strategy combining osimertinib or AZ5104 with cetuximab (an EGFR antibody) improved the anti tumor effect further. We also describe the anti-tumor activity of osimertinib and AZ5104 using a series of patient derived xenograft models harbouring the rarer Ex20Ins H773-V774insNPH and M766-A767insASV mutations. In addition, we performed pharmacodynamic studies to explore the relationship between efficacy and target/pathway modulation. These studies establish a clear relationship between depth and duration of phospho-EGFR inhibition and anti tumor efficacy. Interestingly, we observed that downstream signalling molecules displayed a more transient inhibition than the phospho

EGFR signal. Two patients from the AURA Phase 2 osimertinib trials with plasma positive Ex20Ins (concurrent with Ex19del and T790M) had durable PFS responses of 6.4 and 13.9 months, supporting the premise that osimertinib has the potential to be clinically beneficial in tumors harboring Ex20Ins.

The work presented herein demonstrates that osimertinib has the potential to improve upon the current treatment options for NSCLC patients whose tumors harbour an Ex20Ins mutation, and warrants its further clinical investigation.

Citation Format: Nicolas Floc'h, Susan Ashton, Ambra Bianco, Nicola Colclough, Darren AE Cross, Maria Emanuela Cuomo, M. Raymond V. Finlay, Matthew J Martin, Ludovic Menard, Darren McKerrecher, Daniel J O'Neill, Jonathan P Orme, Anna D Staniszewska, Richard A Ward, James W T Yates. Osimertinib, an irreversible mutant selective EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor, exerts anti tumor activity in NSCLC harbouring exon 20 insertion mutant-EGFR [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 2079. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-2079

Disinfection of water inoculated with Enterococcus faecalis using solar/Fe(III)EDDS-H2O2 or S2O82- process

In this study, the activation of H₂O₂ and persulfate ions induced by solar photolysis of Fe(III)EDDS complex were investigated in water disinfection, applying solar AOPs processes. The use of Fe(III)EDDS complex maintains iron in soluble form until slightly basic pH and so the photolysis is efficient in a large range of pH compatible with natural waters. Moreover, for the first time, the impact of photogenerated hydroxyl and sulfate radicals on the inactivation of Enterococcus faecalis in water was studied. E. faecalis was proposed as alternative model microorganism given its higher resistance than the commonly used E. coli. The reactivity of hydroxyl radicals seems to be more efficient for the inactivation of such strain than the reactivity of sulfate radicals. Moreover, experimental results show that the concentration of Fe(III)EDDS complex is a key parameter for the inactivation of microrganisms. For the direct application in natural waters, the efficiency of the process in the presence of ubiquitous inorganic compounds, such as carbonate (HCO₃^-/CO₃^2-) and chloride ions (Cl^-), was also investigated. Carbonates showed a strong reduction on the E. faecalis inactivation in all cases; meanwhile chloride ions enhanced the inactivation in the presence of persulfate as also shown by using a complementary kinetic modeling approach. A dual role of Fe(III)EDDS complex was established and discussed; essential for the generation of radical species but a trap for the reactivity of these same radicals.

QuIQ (Quick Instrument for Quality of Life): A New Instrument for a Rapid Assessment of Generic Quality of Life

Introduction

Recently, new patient-oriented outcome measures have emerged in mental health research and practice. Among these, generic quality of life (GQoL) has gained a central place and has come to represent a valid endpoint in most settings, from basic care programs to clinical trials, especially for the field of intellectual disability (ID). However, most studies still refer to health-related QoL, and the tools for the assessment of GQoL present many issues related to the structure complexity and administration time.

Aim

The purposes is to evaluate psychometric properties of a new rapid tool for the GQoL assessment named QuIQ (quick instrument for quality of life), originally constructed for use for people with ID.

Methods

Two hundred and ten persons with ID were consecutively administered with the QuIQ. A part of them were also assessed with the BASIQ, the Italian adaptation of the quality of life instrument package. QuIQ has the same conceptual framework and refers to the same areas of the BASIQ, but include a low number of dimensions (only attribution of importance and perception of satisfaction) and a factor way of score attribution such as visual analogue scale and graphic geometrical mean calculation.

Results

QuIQ showed good internal coherence (Cronbach's α = 0.92), inter-rater reliability (Cohen's K > 0.93), and concurrent validity (> 0.8) with BASIQ.

Conclusion

These findings seem to display for the QuIQ good psychometric characteristics. They also suggest that it could be possible to apply rapid QoL assessment to all the range of people with ID. This could have very important implications for future massive use in different settings.

Programmable CGH on photochromic plates coded with DMD generated masks

Computer Generated Holograms (CGHs) are used for wavefront shaping and complex optics testing. Present technology allows for recording binary CGHs. We propose a Digital Micro-mirror Device (DMD) as a reconfigurable mask, to record rewritable binary and grayscale CGHs on a photochromic plate. Opaque at rest, this plate becomes transparent when it is illuminated with visible light of suitable wavelength. We have successfully recorded the very first amplitude grayscale CGH, with a contrast greater than 50, which was reconstructed with a high fidelity in shape, intensity, size and location. These results reveal the high potential of this method for generating programmable/rewritable grayscale CGHs, which combine DMDs and photochromic substrates.

Abstract P2-09-03: Long-term comparison of anastrozole versus tamoxifen: Results from LATTE/ATAC

Background: Previous reports from the Anastrozole Tamoxifen Alone or in Combination (ATAC) trial have shown significantly prolonged disease-free survival, lower rates of recurrence and distant recurrence, and reduced contralateral breast cancer in patients treated with anastrozole compared to tamoxifen (Cuzick et al., Lancet, 2010). Here, we compare the long-term effects of anastrozole versus tamoxifen in patients randomised to either monotherapy arm in the ATAC trial.

Methods: Postmenopausal women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer randomised to anastrozole or tamoxifen in the main ATAC trial were eligible for the LATTE observational study. The primary objective was to compare the long-term effects of tamoxifen and anastrozole on time to recurrence and death beyond 10 years after randomisation. Secondary objectives included time to distant recurrence, cancer-specific survival, new breast primaries, other cancers, fractures, and cardiac/cerebrovascular events. Cox proportional hazard methods were used to compute hazard ratios (95% CI) for recurrence from the time of last publication (10 years median follow-up).

Results: 2452 women from 11 countries were entered into the LATTE study. 40 women withdrew consent and 759 women died or had a recurrence within 10 years, which left 1653 women for analysis (838 anastrozole vs. 815 tamoxifen). A total of 118 breast events (69 anastrozole (8.2%) vs. 49 tamoxifen (6.0%)) were reported. No significant difference between the two treatment arms were observed (HR=1.36 (0.94-1.97), P=0.098). 57 women had a distant recurrence (33 (3.9%) vs. 24 (2.9%)), 41 reported a loco-regional recurrence (23 (2.7%) vs. 18 (2.2%)), and 26 contra-lateral breast cancer were recorded (17 (2.0%) vs. 9 (1.1%)). None of the treatment comparisons were statistically significant. 305 deaths were recorded (147 (17.5%) vs. 158 (19.4%)), of which 31 were due to breast cancer. Significantly fewer gynaecological cancers were recorded with anastrozole (7 vs. 16; OR=0.42 (0.15-1.09), P=0.05), but overall the effect on other cancers was not significant (54 (6.4%) vs. 64 (7.9%). Fractures, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular events were evenly distributed between the treatment arms.

Conclusions: Although anastrozole was associated with significant fewer recurrences compared to tamoxifen in the first 10 years of follow-up, in this analysis, with limited number of patients, we could not find a significant difference between the two treatment arms.

Citation Format: Cuzick J, Sestak I, Bianco A, Strobbe L, Bergh J, Hanusch C, Neven P, Dowsett M, Forbes JF, Buzdar A, Smith R, Howell A. Long-term comparison of anastrozole versus tamoxifen: Results from LATTE/ATAC [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P2-09-03.

Imaging of post-surgical treatment and of related complications in spinal trauma

Spinal trauma is a devastating event with a high morbidity and mortality. The rationale of imaging is to diagnose the traumatic abnormalities and characterize the type of injury, to estimate the severity of the lesions, to evaluate the potential spinal instability. In case of spinal instability, the goals of operative treatment are decompression of the spinal cord canal and stabilization of the disrupted vertebral column. Particularly, diagnostic imaging, mainly by CT and MR, has a main role in the post-treatment evaluation. The neuroradiological evaluation of the postoperative spine requires a general knowledge of the surgical approach to each spinal region and of the normal temporal evolution of expected postoperative changes. The neuroradiologist should evaluate the devices implanted, their related complications and promptly alert the surgeon of acute complications, mainly vascular and infective. During the follow-up, it is mandatory to know and search chronic complications as pseudomeningocele, accelerated degenerative disease, arachnoiditis, peridural fibrosis. Knowledge of specific complications relating to each surgical approach will assist the neuroradiologist in interpretation of postoperative images.

ACTN3/ACE genotypes and mitochondrial genome in professional soccer players’ performance

Two nuclear genes, ACTN3, encoding for the α-actinin skeletal muscle isoform 3, and ACE encoding the angiotensin-converting enzyme, have both been associated with quantitative physical performance traits in the general population. The purpose of our study was to assess the association between the two nuclear gene variants, R577X (rs1815739) in ACTN3 and I/D (rs4340) in ACE, with elite athletes’ performance and the effect of training on the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content in peripheral blood. We evaluated the genotypes and frequencies of ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D polymorphisms between soccer players (n = 43) and healthy non-athletic controls (n = 128). Total DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples using the standard procedure. The genotypes were assessed by PCR-RFLP analysis and mtDNA cellular content by RT-PCR. The soccer players showed a tendency to a prevalence of ACTN3RR and ACEDD genotypes both independently and in co-occurrence. The effect of physical training on the mitochondrial DNA content in the athletic population was reflected strikingly in its increase in peripheral blood. Based on our results, we suggest that the analysis of ACTN3 and ACE genotypes could predict talent in the soccer field and that knowledge of the genetic variants could determine types and training times for soccer players. In addition, the novelty of this work, never before described in the sports literature, is that the increase of mitochondrial content can be correlated with the training load, suggesting that the mtDNA copy number may be considered a viable bioenergetics biomarker.