Search

This paper presents the results of the survey that was conducted during 2018 in four countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. The survey is a part of activities within the project "Increasing the well being of the population by RObotic and ICT based iNNovative education" (RONNI), funded by the Danube Strategic Project Fund (DSPF). The survey included two target groups: the teachers/experts and the parents; and the corresponding questionnaires (QR) were delivered to schools in each of the participating countries. A total of 428 subjects participated in the survey (231 parents and 197 teachers/experts). Seven hypotheses related to stakeholders attitudes and opinions were formed and tested in the work, showing highly favorable sentiment toward inclusion of robotics and information technology (IT) in the classroom but with some exceptions. The conclusions drawn, based on the analysis of the results, can be used for proposing strategies and methodologies aimed at boosting inclusion of IT in the teaching process, transferable across the regions to support effective learning as well as to identify possible problems with their implementation in relation to attitudes of stakeholders: teachers and parents.

The application of various chemical products for plant protection and plant biostimulans increases financial costs, which is a prerequisite for their combined application in tank mixtures. During 2021 and 2022 on the experimental field of the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria, a field experiment with the rye variety “Milenium” was performed. The aim of the trial was to study the application of plant protection products in tank mixture with biostimluant and its influence to the rye grain yield and quality. The trial included the following treatments: 1. Untreated control; 2. Granstar 75 DF - 15 g ha-1 (herbicide); 3. Granstar 75 DF - 15 g ha-1 + Zantara 216 EC - 1.25 l ha-1 (fungicide); 4. Granstar 75 DF - 15 g ha-1 + Amino Expert Impuls - 3.00 l ha-1 (biostimulant); 5. Granstar 75 DF - 15 g ha-1 + Zantara 216 EC - 1.25 l ha-1 + Amino Expert Impuls - 3.00 l ha-1. The highest rye grain yield, absolute and hectoliter seed mass, grain wet gluten and crude protein for treatment 5 were recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Management of immune-related adverse events (irAEs) is important as they cause treatment interruption or discontinuation, more often seen with combination immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. Here, we retrospectively evaluated the safety and effectiveness of anti-interleukin-6 receptor (anti-IL-6R) as therapy for irAEs., Methods: We performed a retrospective multicenter study evaluating patients diagnosed with de novo irAEs or flare of pre-existing autoimmune disease following ICI and were treated with anti-IL-6R. Our objectives were to assess the improvement of irAEs as well as the overall tumor response rate (ORR) before and after anti-IL-6R treatment., Results: We identified a total of 92 patients who received therapeutic anti-IL-6R antibodies (tocilizumab or sarilumab). Median age was 61 years, 63% were men, 69% received anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) antibodies alone, and 26% patients were treated with the combination of anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies. Cancer types were primarily melanoma (46%), genitourinary cancer (35%), and lung cancer (8%). Indications for using anti-IL-6R antibodies included inflammatory arthritis (73%), hepatitis/cholangitis (7%), myositis/myocarditis/myasthenia gravis (5%), polymyalgia rheumatica (4%), and one patient each with autoimmune scleroderma, nephritis, colitis, pneumonitis and central nervous system vasculitis. Notably, 88% of patients had received corticosteroids, and 36% received other disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) as first-line therapies, but without adequate improvement. After initiation of anti-IL-6R (as first-line or post-corticosteroids and DMARDs), 73% of patients showed resolution or change to ≤grade 1 of irAEs after a median of 2.0 months from initiation of anti-IL-6R therapy. Six patients (7%) stopped anti-IL-6R due to adverse events. Of 70 evaluable patients by RECIST (Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors) V.1.1 criteria; the ORR was 66% prior versus 66% after anti-IL-6R (95% CI, 54% to 77%), with 8% higher complete response rate. Of 34 evaluable patients with melanoma, the ORR was 56% prior and increased to 68% after anti-IL-6R (p=0.04)., Conclusion: Targeting IL-6R could be an effective approach to treat several irAE types without hindering antitumor immunity. This study supports ongoing clinical trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of tocilizumab (anti-IL-6R antibody) in combination with ICIs (NCT04940299, NCT03999749)., Competing Interests: Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. MES-A has received consulting fees in the past 12 months from Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Bristol Myers Squibb, all unrelated to this study. IO funded by NYU SPORE P50CA225450. JAS is supported by the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (grant numbers R01 AR077607, P30 AR070253, and P30 AR072577), the R. Bruce and Joan M. Mickey Research Scholar Fund, and the Llura Gund Award for Rheumatoid Arthritis Research and Care. JAS has received research support from Bristol Myers Squibb and performed consultancy for AbbVie, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead, Inova Diagnostics, Janssen, Optum, and Pfizer unrelated to this work. The funders had no role in the decision to publish or preparation of this manuscript. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of Harvard University, its affiliated academic health care centers, or the National Institutes of Health. PG consulting for 4D Pharma, Aadi Bioscience, Astellas, Asieris Pharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, BostonGene, Bristol Myers Squibb, CG Oncology, Dyania Health, Exelixis, Fresenius Kabi, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, Guardant Health, ImmunityBio, Infinity Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, Lucence, Merck KGaA, Mirati Therapeutics, MSD, Pfizer, PureTech, QED Therapeutics, Regeneron, Roche, Seattle Genetics, Silverback Therapeutics, Strata Oncology, UroGen Pharma; and has received institutional research funding from Bavarian Nordic, Bristol Myers Squibb, Clovis Oncology, Debiopharm Group, G1 Therapeutics, Gilead Sciences, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck KGaA, Mirati Therapeutics, MSD, Pfizer, QED Therapeutics., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)