A literature review on surgery for cervical vagal schwannomas

Cervical vagal schwannoma is a benign, slow-growing mass, often asymptomatic, with a very low lifetime risk of malignant transformation in general population, but diagnosis is still a challenge. Surgical resection is the treatment of choice even if its close relationship with nerve fibres, from which it arises, threats vagal nerve preservation. We present a case report and a systematic review of literature. All studies on surgical resection of cervical vagal schwannoma have been reviewed. Papers matching the inclusion criteria (topic on surgical removal of cervical vagal schwannoma, English language, full text available) were selected. Fifty-three patients with vagal neck schwannoma submitted to surgery were identified among 22 studies selected. Female/male ratio was 1.5 and median age 44 years. Median diameter was 5 cm (range 2 to 10). Most schwannoma were asymptomatic (68.2%) and received an intracapsular excision (64.9%). Postoperative symptoms were reported in 22.6% of patients. Cervical vagal schwannoma is a benign pathology requiring surgical excision, but frequently postoperative complications can affect patients lifelong, so, surgical indications should be based carefully on the balance between risks and benefits

Design and implementation of an active load test rig for high-precision evaluation of servomechanisms in industrial applications

Position-controlled servomechanisms are the core elements of flexible manufacturing plants, primarily utilized to actuate robotic systems and automated machines. To match specific torque and costs requirements, typical servomechanism arrangements comprise precision reducers, which introduce motion errors that heavily limit the final performance achievable. Such errors are complex to model and depend from speed, dynamic loading conditions and temperature. Accurate characterization is fundamental to develop digital twins and advanced control strategies aimed at their active prediction and compensation. To properly assess the servomechanisms behavior and elaborate high-fidelity virtual models, instrumented test rigs have been proposed which can replicate the time-varying working conditions encountered in real industrial environments. In this context, the present paper reports about a novel engineering method for developing an active loading apparatus, namely a programmable mechatronic device that can deliver custom loads in a highly dynamic manner. The proposed system, consisting of a secondary servomotor and related rotating vector reducer, is integrated and synchronized within an existing instrumented test rig and is controlled in torque mode via a programmable logic controller. The paper mainly focuses on the description of the implemented closed-loop control and on the related tuning and calibration processes, demonstrating that the proposed solutions avoid important measurement errors that could compromise the final effectiveness of the system. The study finally explores the potential benefits of introducing a filter to further enhance system performance. At last, to prove the importance of stabilizing the rig and demonstrate the influence of the control parameters on its measurements, a standard test aimed at assessing the reducer transmission error is conducted adopting different parameter settings

Weekly paclitaxel plus capecitabine in advanced breast cancer patients: dose-finding trial of GOIRC and GOL

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Developmental differences in children’s interpersonal emotion regulation

Previous research on interpersonal emotion regulation (ER) in childhood has been rather unsystematic, focusing mainly on children’s prosocial behaviour, and has been conducted in the absence of an integrative emotion theoretical framework. The present research relied on the interpersonal affect classification proposed by Niven, Totterdell, and Holman (2009) to investigate children’s use of different interpersonal ER strategies. The study drew on two samples: 180 parents of children aged between 3 and 8 years reported about a situation where their child was able to change what another person was feeling in order to make them feel better. In addition, 126 children between 3- and 8-years old answered two questions about how they could improve others’ mood. Results from both samples showed age differences in children’s use of interpersonal ER strategies. As expected, ‘affective engagement’ (i.e., focusing on the person or the problem) and ‘cognitive engagement’ (i.e., appraising the situation from a different perspective) were mainly used by 7-8 years-old, whereas ‘attention’ (i.e., distracting and valuing) was most used by 3-4 and 5-6 years-old. ‘Humor’ (i.e., laughing with the target) remained stable across the different age groups. The present research provides more information about the developmental patterns for each specific interpersonal emotion regulation strategy

Ena/VASP Enabled is a highly processive actin polymerase tailored to self-assemble parallel-bundled F-actin networks with Fascin

Enabled/vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (Ena/VASP) proteins are required for the formation and maintenance of filopodia, finger-like projections at the leading edge of migrating cells that are composed of parallel actin filaments bundled by Fascin. We imaged individual fluorescently labeled Drosophila Ena molecules on both single and Fascin-bundled actin filaments in vitro. Ena stimulates actin assembly by remaining continuously associated with the barbed end and increasing the elongation rate by approximately two- to threefold. Remarkably, the frequency and length of Ena’s processive runs are enhanced on filaments within a Fascin bundle, which drives a positive feedback cycle that allows the assembly of uniformly thick filopodia-like F-actin bundles composed of multiple filaments with aligned ends

Studying Children's Intrapersonal Emotion Regulation Strategies from the Process Model of Emotion Regulation

peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=vgnt2

Abelson kinase acts as a robust, multifunctional scaffold in regulating embryonic morphogenesis

Abelson family kinases (Abl) are key regulators of cell behavior and the cytoskeleton during development and in leukemia. Abl's SH3, SH2, and tyrosine kinase domains are joined via a linker to an F-actin-binding domain (FABD). Research on Abl's roles in cell culture led to several hypotheses for its mechanism of action: 1) Abl phosphorylates other proteins, modulating their activity. 2) Abl directly regulates the cytoskeleton via its cytoskeletal interaction domains, and/or 3) Abl is a scaffold for a signaling complex. The importance of these roles during normal development remains untested. We tested these mechanistic hypotheses during Drosophila morphogenesis using a series of mutants to examine Abl's many cell biological roles. Strikingly, Abl lacking the FABD fully rescued morphogenesis, cell shape change, actin regulation, and viability, while kinase dead Abl, though reduced in function, retained substantial rescuing ability in some but not all Abl functions. We also tested the function of four conserved motifs in the linker region, revealing a key role for a conserved PXXP motif known to bind Crk and Abi. We propose Abl acts as a robust multi-domain scaffold with different protein motifs and activities contributing differentially to diverse cellular behaviors

Carboplatin plus paclitaxel in extensive small cell lung cancer: a multicentre phase 2 study

A multicentre phase 2 trial (single-stage design) was undertaken to test the efficacy and toxicity of carboplatin (AUC 6 according to Calvert) plus paclitaxel (175 mg/m23-h infusion) every 4 weeks in the first line treatment of patients affected by extensive small cell lung cancer. The primary end-point of the trial was the objective response rate. 31 objective responses among 50 patients were considered necessary to proceed to a phase 3 trial. 48 patients were enrolled (median age 59 years). Treatment was very well tolerated. 3 patients (6.2%) had a complete response and 23 (47.9%) a partial response, for an overall response rate of 54.2% (95% CI: 39.2–68.6) Median time to progression was 5.7 months (95% CI: 5.2–6.2). Median survival was 9.6 months (95% CI: 7.2–14.6), with a median follow-up time of alive patients of 12 months. At 1 year, the probability of being progression-free or alive was 0.16 and 0.43, respectively. In conclusion, carboplatin plus paclitaxel as given in the present study is very well tolerated but not sufficiently active to warrant phase 3 comparison with standard chemotherapy regimens. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co