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Community detection in large-scale complex networks has recently received significant attention as the volume of available data is becoming larger. The use of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) for community detection in large-scale networks has gained considerable popularity because these algorithms are fairly effective in networks with a relatively small number of nodes. In this paper, we propose a parallel multi-objective EA, called PMOEA, for community detection in large-scale networks, where the communities associated with key network nodes are detected in parallel. Specifically, we develop a multi-objective and a single-objective EA. The former is used to detect the communities of a key node instead of all communities in the network. The latter obtains the communities in the entire network using the previously detected communities of each key node. The performance of the proposed method was verified on both large-scale synthetic benchmark networks and real-world networks. The results demonstrated the superiority of PMOEA over six EA-based and two non-EA-based community-detection algorithms for large-scale networks.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of solriamfetol, a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, on on-the-road driving in participants with excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) associated with obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA).METHODS: Eligible participants were aged 21-75 years with OSA and EDS (Maintenance of Wakefulness Test mean sleep latency RESULTS: Solriamfetol significantly reduced SDLP at 2 (n = 34; least squares mean difference, -1.1 cm; 95% CI, -1.85, -0.32; p = 0.006) and 6 hours postdose (n = 32; least squares mean difference, -0.8 cm; 95% CI, -1.58, -0.03; p = 0.043). Two hours postdose, 4 placebo-treated and 1 solriamfetol-treated participants had incomplete driving tests; 6 hours postdose, 7 and 3 participants, respectively, had incomplete tests. Common treatment-emergent adverse events included headache, nausea, and insomnia.CONCLUSIONS: Solriamfetol 300 mg/day significantly improved on-the-road driving performance in participants with EDS associated with OSA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the impact of solriamfetol, a dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, on on-the-road driving performance in participants with narcolepsy.METHODS: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study, driving performance during a 1 h on-road driving test was assessed at 2 and 6 h post-dose following 7 days of treatment with solriamfetol (150 mg/day for 3 days, followed by 300 mg/day for 4 days) or placebo. The primary endpoint was standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) at 2 h post-dose.RESULTS: The study included 24 participants (54% male; mean age, 40 years); 22 had evaluable SDLP data. At 2 h post-dose, median SDLP was significantly lower (improved) with solriamfetol compared with placebo (19.08 vs. 20.46 cm [median difference, -1.9 cm], p = 0.002). Four participants on solriamfetol and 7 on placebo had incomplete driving tests. At 6 h post-dose, median SDLP was not statistically significantly different with solriamfetol compared with placebo (19.59 vs. 19.78 cm [median difference, -1.1 cm], p = 0.125). Three participants on solriamfetol and 10 on placebo had incomplete driving tests. Common adverse events (≥5%) included headache, decreased appetite, and somnolence.CONCLUSIONS: Solriamfetol 300 mg/day improved on-the-road driving performance, at 2 h post-administration in participants with narcolepsy.

Background Therapeutic advances have greatly extended survival times in patients with multiple myeloma, necessitating increasingly lengthy trials when using survival outcomes as primary endpoints. A surrogate endpoint that can more rapidly predict survival could accelerate drug development. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate minimal residual disease (MRD) status as a valid progression-free survival (PFS) surrogate in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM). Materials and Methods We searched abstracts in PubMed, The American Society of Hematology, and the European Hematology Association for “myeloma,” “minimal residual disease,” and “clinical trial.” Because of the need to evaluate the treatment effect on MRD response, only randomized studies for subjects with NDMM were included. Details on the MRD-tested populations were required. The meta-analysis was performed by principles outlined at the 2013 United States Food and Drug Administration workshop on MRD in acute myeloid leukemia. 42 For samples that were not measured for MRD and within the subset specified for MRD assessment, their MRD status was imputed from the samples that had known MRD status. Patients that were excluded from planned MRD assessment were considered MRD-positive. Results Six randomized studies, representing 3283 patients and 2208 MRD samples, met analysis inclusion criteria. MRD negativity rates ranged from 0.06 to 0.70. The treatment effect on the odds ratio for MRD-negative response strongly correlated with the hazard ratio for PFS with a coefficient of determination for the weighted regression line of 0.97. Our meta-analysis suggested that MRD status met both the Prentice criteria for PFS surrogacy. Conclusions These results support the claim that MRD status can be used as a surrogate for PFS in NDMM.

Background: Elevated circulating growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) and increased GDF15 expression in tumor tissues has been observed in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer (APC). These changes were correlated with poor survival. Effects of GDF15 on tumor progression, metastasis and immune escape may play a role. NGM120, a novel antibody to GFRAL that blocks the effects of GDF15, has resulted both in antitumor and anti-cachexia effects in experimental models. Here we report updated findings of the ongoing Phase 1b study with NGM120 in patients with APC. Methods: Metastatic pancreatic cancer patients with elevated serum GDF15 were treated with NGM120 (30 or 100 mg, s.c., q4wks) in a 1st line setting in combination with Gem/nab-paclitaxel. Primary endpoints were safety and tolerability. Secondary endpoints were pharmacokinetics, preliminary evidence of antitumor activity (RECIST) and anti-cachexia effects. Results: Eight patients received NGM120 in combination with Gem/nab-paclitaxel. Median age was 67 years, all patients had advanced disease. NGM120 was well tolerated with no dose-limiting toxicities. Most of the AEs or SAEs observed were Gem/nab-paclitaxel related and none of them attributed to NGM 120 treatment. As of data cut off on March 25, 2022, preliminary results include 3 patients with PR (extending >32 wks), 3 patients SD; 2 patients discontinued early (before first post-dose scan) due to toxicity attributed to Gem/nab-paclitaxel. Among the 6 evaluable patients, the disease control rate (DCR) is 100%, mPFS has not been reached, 12-month survival rate (12-month OS) is 83.3%. Over the course of the study, 5/6 of the patients gained or maintained their body weight (BW) and 5/6 of the patients gained or maintained their lean body mass (LBM) based on maximum change from baseline. Conclusions: NGM120 given in combination with Gem/nab-paclitaxel to patients with APC resulted in a 50% ORR (3 PR in 6 evaluable patients), 100% DCR, 83.3% 12-month OS and a “not reached” mPFS. Compared to historical Gem/nab-paclitaxel data, these findings are encouraging and support the potential role of NGM120 in the treatment of patients with APC. The positive effects on BW and LBM is also encouraging compared to the historical cachexia rate of 30% observed within 12 weeks of starting first-line chemotherapy in APC. A sign of NGM120 engages the GDF15-GFRAL pathway in managing body weight regulation. A Ph2a study is ongoing to further evaluate NGM120 in combination with Gem/nab-paclitaxel in the 1st line setting for the treatment of APC. Citation Format: Andrew Hendifar, Efrat Dotan, Benjamin Weinberg, Edward Kim, Peter Hosein, Jian Luo, Jiping Zha, Alex DePaoli, Vladimir Hanes, Cecilia Tranmuchowski, Kefei Zhou, Carol Tseng, Hsiao Lieu. Initial results of a cohort of advanced pancreatic cancer patients in a phase 1b Study of NGM120, a first-in-class anti-GDNF Family Receptor Alpha Like (GFRAL) antibody [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Pancreatic Cancer; 2022 Sep 13-16; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(22 Suppl):Abstract nr PR006.

TD-0714 is an orally active, potent, and selective inhibitor of human neprilysin (NEP) in development for the treatment of chronic heart failure. Oral administration of TD-0714 in rats resulted in dose-dependent and sustained increases in plasma cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) over 24 hours consistent with NEP target engagement. Randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled, single ascending dose (50-600 mg TD-0714) and multiple ascending dose (10-200 mg TD-0714 q.d. for 14 days) studies were conducted in healthy volunteers. TD-0714 was generally well-tolerated and no serious adverse events or clinically significant effects on vital signs or electrocardiogram parameters were observed. TD-0714 exhibited dose-proportional pharmacokinetics (PKs) with high oral bioavailability, minimal accumulation after once daily dosing, and negligible renal elimination. Pharmacodynamic (PD) responses were observed at all dose levels studied, as reflected by statistically significant increases in plasma cGMP concentrations. The increases in cGMP were significantly above the baseline (~ 50-100%) on day 14 for the entire 24-hour interval indicating that sustained cGMP elevations are achieved at steady-state. Maximal steady-state cGMP response was observed in plasma and urine at doses ≥ 50 mg. The TD-0714 PK-PD relationship and safety profile were similar in elderly vs. younger adult subjects. The TD-0714 PK and PD profiles support further clinical development of TD-0714 and suggest the potential for once-daily administration and predictable exposure in patients with cardiorenal diseases regardless of their renal function.

AIMS AMG 181 pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), safety, tolerability and effects after single subcutaneous (s.c.) or intravenous (i.v.) administration were evaluated in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. METHODS Healthy male subjects (n= 68) received a single dose of AMG 181 or placebo at 0.7, 2.1, 7, 21, 70 mg s.c. (or i.v.), 210 mg s.c. (or i.v.), 420 mg i.v. or placebo. Four ulcerative colitis (UC) subjects (n= 4, male : female 2:2) received 210 mg AMG 181 or placebo s.c. (3:1). AMG 181 concentration, anti-AMG 181-antibody (ADA), α4β7 receptor occupancy (RO), target cell counts, serum C-reactive protein, fecal biomarkers and Mayo score were measured. Subjects were followed 3-9 months after dose. RESULTS Following s.c. dosing, AMG 181 was absorbed with a median tmax ranging between 2-10 days and a bioavailability between 82% and 99%. Cmax and AUC increased dose-proportionally and approximately dose-proportionally, respectively, within the 70-210 mg s.c. and 70-420 mg i.v. ranges. The linear β-phase t1/2 was 31 (range 20-48) days. Target-mediated disposition occurred at serum AMG 181 concentrations of less than 1 μgml-1. The PD effect on α4β7 RO showed an EC50 of 0.01 μgml-1. Lymphocytes, eosinophils, CD4+ T cells and subset counts were unchanged. AMG 181-treated UC subjects were in remission with mucosal healing at weeks 6, 12 and/or 28. The placebo-treated UC subject experienced colitis flare at week 6. No ADA or AMG 181 treatment-related serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS AMG 181 has PK/PD, safety, and effect profiles suitable for further testing in subjects with inflammatory bowel diseases.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the combined influence of alcohol use and comorbidity on 20-year mortality in older adults (average age 66 at the time of the baseline survey). DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of a national probability sample‐based cohort study. SETTING: Data sources were the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I (NHANES I), 1971‐1974, and the NHANES Epidemiologic Followup Survey, 1992. PARTICIPANTS: Four thousand six hundred ninety-one adults aged 60 and older who provided data on alcohol use. MEASUREMENTS: The prevalence of at-risk drinking in older adults in the United States and the 20-year all-cause mortality risk associated with it. At-risk drinking status was determined from amount of alcohol consumed and comorbidities, using a previously validated method. RESULTS: The prevalence of at-risk drinking in the United States between 1971 and 1974 in older adults was 10% (18% of men, 5% of women). The majority of at-risk drinkers were identified as such because of their use of alcohol in amounts deemed risky in the presence of relevant comorbidities (69%) (e.g., drinking 2‐3 drinks per day and having gout or anxiety or taking a medication for pain). In men, at-risk drinking was associated with higher mortality rates than not-at-risk drinking (hazard ratio 51.20, 95% confidence interval 51.01‐1.41); abstinence was not associated with greater mortality. In women, neither abstinence nor at-risk drinking was associated with greater mortality rates. CONCLUSION: In this first, large population-based study of older adults examining the mortality risks of alcohol use and comorbidity, at-risk drinking was associated with greater mortality rates in men. These findings suggest that a lower threshold of alcohol use should be recommended for older adults with specific comorbidities to reduce mortality risks. J Am Geriatr Soc 54:757–762, 2006.

Background: The combination of carfilzomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (KRd) is approved in the United States and the European Union (EU) for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Under these approvals, carfilzomib is administered twice weekly as a 10-minute intravenous (IV) infusion at a dose of 20/27 mg/m2. The phase 1/2 CHAMPION-1 study showed that once-weekly carfilzomib (20/70 mg/m2; 30-minute IV infusion) with dexamethasone was well tolerated and active in patients with RRMM (Berenson et al. Blood. 2016;127:3360−3368). We present initial results from the dose evaluation component of a phase 1b study (NCT02335983) assessing the safety and efficacy of once-weekly carfilzomib with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with MM. Methods: This is an open-label, multicenter, dose-finding, phase 1b study.The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of a once-weekly KRd regimen. Secondary objectives included evaluation of the efficacy of a once-weekly KRd regimen. This study consists of 2 parts: a dose-evaluation component in patients with RRMM and a dose-expansion component in both RRMM and newly diagnosed MM (NDMM). Results from the ongoing dose-evaluation component in RRMM are presented. There were 2 planned dose cohorts in the dose-evaluation portion of the study: carfilzomib 56 mg/m2 KRd cohort (56 mg/m2) and carfilzomib 70 mg/m2 KRdcohort (70 mg/m2). All patients received carfilzomib (days 1, 8, and 15), lenalidomide 25 mg (days 1 - 21), and dexamethasone 40 mg (days 1, 8, 15 and 22) on a 28-day cycle (dexamethasone was not administered on day 22 for cycles 9+). Carfilzomib was administered as a 30-minute IV infusion: 20 mg/m2 on cycle 1 day 1 with escalation to the assigned dose level (56 or 70 mg/m2) thereafter. The protocol allowed 8 DLT-evaluable patients to be treated in the 56 mg/m2 and 70 mg/m2 cohorts. Response was assessed by investigators using International Myeloma Working Group Uniform Response Criteria. The data cutoff date for this analysis was June 23, 2016. Results: A total of 22 patients (56 mg/m2, n=10; 70 mg/m2, n=12) with a median age of 69 (range, 50-87) years were enrolled in the dose evaluation component of the study. The median number of prior regimens was 1 (range, 1 - 3) in both cohorts. There were no dose-limiting toxicities observed in any of the 15 dose-evaluable RRMM patients (56 mg/m2 cohort, n=8; 70 mg/m2 cohort, n=7). The median number of cycles started as of data cutoff was 9.5 (range, 3-15) in the 56 mg/m2 cohort and 6.0 (range, 2-9) in the 70 mg/m2 cohort. All patients experienced at least 1 treatment-emergent adverse event (AE). Grade ≥3 AEs occurring in ≥9% of patients, and any AE of interest are shown in Table 1. The only grade ≥3 AEs to occur in ≥2 patients (≥9%) were thrombocytopenia (56 mg/m2, n=2; 70 mg/m2, n=1), decreased neutrophil count (56 mg/m2, n=2; 70 mg/m2, n=1), anemia (56 mg/m2, n=2), and hypertension (56 mg/m2, n=1; 70 mg/m2, n=1). Although the numbers were small, there was no apparent difference in the incidence of dyspnea or hypertension between the 56 and 70 mg/m2 cohorts. Cardiac or renal failure of any grade was not reported at the time of the database snapshot in these patients with RRMM. Response rates after 4 cycles, as assessed by investigators, are shown in Table 2. Two patients in the 56 mg/m2 cohort did not complete 4 cycles: an 87-year old patient developed asymptomatic pulmonary hypertension (detected on a required echocardiogram study) and was taken off therapy; another patient withdrew consent. One patient in the 70 mg/m2 cohort had a partial response after cycle 1 but was found to have progressive disease in cycle 3 (listed as did not complete 4 cycles in Table 2). After 4 cycles, the response rates (investigator assessed), were 70% and 75% in the 56 and 70 mg/m2 cohorts (response assessment for 2 patients in the 70 mg/m2 cohort was missing at the time of the data cutoff). Conclusions: These results demonstrate that carfilzomib administered in a convenient once-weekly schedule in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with RRMM is safe with promising efficacy. The 70 mg/m2 dosing was selected for dose-expansion cohorts in RRMM and NDMM. An update on the expansion cohorts will be presented at the meeting. Disclosures Biran: Onyx: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Consultancy, Speakers Bureau. Siegel:Novartis: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Merck: Honoraria; BMS: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Celgene: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Berdeja:Abbvie, Acetylon, Amgen, Bluebird, BMS, Calithera, Celgene, Constellation, Curis, Epizyme, Janssen, Karyopharm, Kesios, Novartis, Onyx, Takeda, Tragara: Research Funding. Faber:Celgene: Speakers Bureau; Cardinal Health: Honoraria; Gilead: Consultancy, Honoraria. Seneviratne:Novartis Pharmaceuticals: Speakers Bureau. Alsina:Onyx: Speakers Bureau; Millenium Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Signal Genetics: Consultancy; Onyx: Consultancy. Bensinger:Celgene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding, Speakers Bureau. Kimball:Amgen Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Zhou:Amgen Inc.: Employment, Equity Ownership. Landgren:BMS: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding.

We present a unified approach to nonparametric comparisons of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves for a paired design with clustered data. Treating empirical ROC curves as stochastic processes, their asymptotic joint distribution is derived in the presence of both between-marker and within-subject correlations. A Monte Carlo method is developed to approximate their joint distribution without involving nonparametric density estimation. The developed theory is applied to derive new inferential procedures for comparing weighted areas under the ROC curves, confidence bands for the difference function of ROC curves, confidence intervals for the set of specificities at which one diagnostic test is more sensitive than the other, and multiple comparison procedures for comparing more than two diagnostic markers. Our methods demonstrate satisfactory small-sample performance in simulations. We illustrate our methods using clustered data from a glaucoma study and repeated-measurement data from a startle response study.

Objectives. We examined demographic predictors of longitudinal patterns in alcohol consumption. Methods. We used mixed-effects models to describe individual alcohol consumption and change in consumption with age, as well as the associations between consumption and birth year, national alcohol consumption, and demographic factors, among 14 105 adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-Up Study. Results. Alcohol consumption declined with increasing age, and individual consumption mirrored national consumption. Higher consumption was associated with male gender, being White, being married, having a higher educational level, having a higher income, being employed, and being a smoker. Faster age-related decline in consumption was associated with earlier cohorts, being male, being married, having a lower educational level, and being a smoker. Conclusions. Compared with alcohol consumption among earlier cohorts, that among recent cohorts declined more slowly with increasing age, suggesting that negative health effects of alcohol could increase in the future.

Pharmacokinetics (PK), Pharmacodynamics (PD), and Safety of Amg 181, a Fully Human Anti-α4β7 Antibody for Treating Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) Wei-Jian Pan, Barbara A. Sullivan, Christine M. Evangelista, David R. Doherty, Chi-Yan J. Tam, Sonal K. Patel, Peter J. Prince, Kai O. Reynhardt, William A. Rees, Hailing Hsu, Kefei Zhou, Wen Gu, Mark Yen, Christine A. Haller, Susanna Dodson, Zhigang Yu, Larry C. Wienkers, Dominique C. Borie