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Mid infrared integrated quantum photonics is a promising platform for applications in sensing and metrology. However, there are only few examples of on-chip single photon sources at these wavelengths. These have limited performances with respect to their C-band counterparts. In this work, we demonstrate a new approach to generate heralded single photons in the mid infrared on a silicon chip. By using a standard C-band pump, the inter-modal spontaneous four wave mixing enables the generation of the herald idler at 1259.7 nm and the heralded signal at 2015 nm. The idler photon is easily detected with a common infrared single photon detector while the signal photon is upconverted to the visible before its detection. In this way, we are able to operate a mid infrared source without the need of mid infrared detectors and laser sources. By measuring a heralded $g^{(2)}$ of $0.23 \, \pm \, 0.08$ we demonstrate the single photon behaviour of the source as well as the feasibility of multi-photon coincidence measurements beyond 2 $\mu$m with our setup. The source exhibits a high intrinsic heralding efficiency of $(59 \, \pm \,5)\%$, a maximum coincidence to accidental ratio of $40.4 \, \pm \, 0.9$ and a generation probability of $\left( 0.72 \, \pm \, 0.10 \right)$ W$^{-2}$.

Background: Previous studies on oxaliplatin and fluoropyrimidines as adjuvant therapy in older patients with stage III colon cancer (CC) produced conflicting results. Patients and methods: We assessed the impact of age on time to tumour recurrence (TTR), disease-free survival (DFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS) in 2360 patients with stage III CC (1667 aged

Display Omitted A careflow mining approach designed to analyze heterogeneous longitudinal data is proposed.Temporal electronic phenotyping of EHR and billing data is performed.Better insights on the health care processes of breast cancer patients are obtained. In this work we present a careflow mining approach designed to analyze heterogeneous longitudinal data and to identify phenotypes in a patient cohort. The main idea underlying our approach is to combine methods derived from sequential pattern mining and temporal data mining to derive frequent healthcare histories (careflows) in a population of patients. This approach was applied to an integrated data repository containing clinical and administrative data of more than 4000 breast cancer patients. We used the mined histories to identify sub-cohorts of patients grouped according to healthcare activities pathways, then we characterized these sub-cohorts with clinical data. In this way, we were able to perform temporal electronic phenotyping of electronic health records (EHR) data.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of several cellular processes. During hematopoiesis, specific expression signatures have been reported in different blood cell lineages and stages of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) differentiation. Here we explored the expression of miRNAs in umbilical cord blood stem (HSC) and progenitor cells (HPC) and compared it to unilineage granulocyte and granulo-monocyte differentiation as well as to primary blasts from patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). CD34 + CD38- ad CD34 + CD38 + cells were profiled using a global array consisting of about 2000 miRNAs. An approach combining bioinformatic prediction of miRNA targets with mRNA expression profiling was used to search for putative biologically enriched functions and networks. At least 15 miRNAs to be differentially expressed between HSC and HPC cell population, a cluster of 7 miRNAs are located in the q32 region of human chromosome 14 (miR-377–3p, -136–5p, 376a–3p, 495–3p, 654–3p, 376c–3p and 381–3p) whose expression decreased during the early stages of normal myelopoiesis but were markedly increased in a small set of AML. Interestingly, miR-4739 and -4516, two novel microRNA whose function and targets are presently unknown, showed specific and peculiar expression profile during the hematopoietic stem cells differentiation into unilineages and resulted strongly upregulated in almost all AML subsets. miR-181, -126–5p, -29b–3p and -22–3p resulted dis-regulated in specific leukemias phenotypes. This study provides the first evidence of a miRNA signature in human cord blood stem and progenitor cells with a potential role in hematopoietic stemness properties and possibly in leukemogenesis of specific AML subtypes. J. Cell. Physiol. 230: 1770–1780, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Background: The primary results of SOFT at 5.6 years median follow-up found adding OFS to T did not provide a significant benefit in the overall study population of premenopausal women with HR+ BC (Francis et al, NEJM 2015). For those women at sufficient risk for recurrence to warrant adjuvant chemotherapy (CT) and who remained premenopausal, the addition of OFS improved disease outcomes. Follow-up was immature for overall survival (OS). We report a planned update with visit cut-off of 31Dec16 after 8 yrs median follow-up. Methods: SOFT randomized premenopausal women with HR+ BC from Nov 2003 to Jan 2011 to 5 yrs of T vs T+OFS vs Exemestane(E)+OFS. OFS was by choice of GnRH agonist triptorelin, oophorectomy or ovarian irradiation. SOFT was stratified by the use of prior CT; 47% received no CT and 53% remained premenopausal after prior CT, determined by premenopausal estradiol level within 8 months of CT completion. The primary endpoint was invasive disease-free survival (DFS; randomization until invasive local, regional, distant recurrence or contralateral breast; invasive second malignancy; death). Secondary endpoints included invasive breast cancer-free interval (BCFI), distant recurrence-free interval (DRFI) and OS. NCT00066690. Results: DFS for patients assigned T+OFS (n=1015) was significantly improved over T (n=1018; HR=0.76 [95%CI 0.62-0.93]) and 8yr DFS was 83.2% vs 78.9%, respectively; BCFI and DRFI results were supportive (see Table). Hazard ratios for these 3 endpoints showed no heterogeneity by use of prior CT. For patients with prior CT, 8yr DFS was 76.7% with T+OFS vs 71.4% with T (Δ=5.3%); in those without CT, 8yr DFS was 90.6% vs 87.4% (Δ=3.2%). E+OFS (n=1014) improved outcomes relative to T (Table); 8yr DFS for E+OFS was 85.9% (80.4% with use of prior CT and 92.5% for those without CT). OS was improved with T+OFS vs T (8yr OS 93.3% vs 91.5%). 8yr OS was 92.1% with E+OFS. 201/225 deaths occurred in women with prior CT. For women without CT there have been 10, 5 and 9 deaths in the T+OFS, T and E+OFS groups (total n=1419), respectively, only half of these deaths after breast cancer event. N. EventsHazard Ratio (95% CI)Endpoint(3 arms)T+OFS vs TE+OFS vs TDFS5180.76 (0.62-0.93) P=0.0090.65 (0.53-0.81)BCFI4370.76 (0.61-0.95)0.64 (0.51-0.81)DRFI3060.86 (0.66-1.13)0.73 (0.55-0.96)OS2250.67 (0.48-0.92)0.85 (0.62-1.15) Overall toxicity was worse with T+ OFS than with T, including 32% vs 25% grade 3+ targeted AEs. Early cessation of tamoxifen occurred for 19% assigned T+OFS and 22% of women assigned T; the cumulative incidence of early cessation of triptorelin on the T+OFS arm was 23% by 4yrs. Early cessation of exemestane occurred for 28% and of triptorelin for 21% by 4yrs on the E+OFS arm. Conclusions: With additional follow-up to a median of 8yrs, SOFT further supports the value of OFS for some premenopausal women. Follow-up continues, which will further clarify the safety and the benefit of OFS for late recurrence and overall survival. Oncologists appear to be able to select a low risk group (no chemotherapy) for whom treatment escalation is unlikely to improve survival. Citation Format: Fleming G, Francis PA, Láng I, Ciruelos EM, Bellet M, Bonnefoi HR, Climent MA, Pavesi L, Burstein HJ, Martino S, Davidson NE, Geyer Jr CE, Walley BA, Coleman RE, Kerbrat P, Buchholz S, Ingle JN, Rabaglio-Poretti M, Colleoni M, Regan MM. Randomized comparison of adjuvant tamoxifen (T) plus ovarian function suppression (OFS) versus tamoxifen in premenopausal women with hormone receptor-positive (HR+) early breast cancer (BC): Update of the SOFT trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr GS4-03.

Summary Background The combination of alternate i.v./oral (hybrid) administration of vinorelbine (VNR) plus cisplatin (CDDP), followed by oral VNR, could result in a more suitable first-line regimen for patients (pts) with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) in the outpatient setting. Methods The induction treatment consisted of CDDP 80 mg/m2 i.v. and VNR 25 mg/m2 i.v. day 1 and VNR 60 mg/m2 oral day 8, every 3 weeks for 4 courses. A dose escalation of VNR to 80 mg/m2 oral from day 8 of the second course and to 30 mg/m2 i.v. from day 1 of the third course was planned in the absence of G3–4 toxicity. Pts with disease control after 4 courses underwent consolidation treatment with oral VNR 80 mg/m2 days 1 and 8 every 3 weeks up to intolerance or progression. Results Fifty-three pts entered the study: 80% males; median age 63 years (range 43–71); median ECOG PS 0 (range 0–1); histotype: adenocarcinoma 59%, epidermoid 31%, undifferentiated 10%; disease stage: IIIB 22%, IV 70%, recurrent disease 8%. The objective response was as follows: 1 (2%) CR, 20 (38%) PR, 16 (30%) SD, 11 (21%) PD and 5 (9%) pts were not assessable. Median TTP and OS were 6 and 10 months, respectively. G3–4 neutropenia was observed in 23 and 24% of pts in the induction and in the consolidation phases, respectively, with febrile neutropenia in 6 pts (11%) and 2 (8%), respectively. G3–4 non-haematological toxicity was rare, being represented by nausea–vomiting and neurotoxicity in 3 pts (6%) in the induction phase. Conclusions This combination regimen including hybrid administration of VNR plus CDDP is feasible, tolerable and effective as a first-line treatment in pts with aNSCLC.

Background Guidelines tend to consider morphine and morphine-like opioids comparable and interchangeable in the treatment of chronic cancer pain, but individual responses can vary. This study compared the analgesic efficacy, changes of therapy and safety profile over time of four strong opioids given for cancer pain. Patient and methods In this four-arm multicenter, randomized, comparative, of superiority, phase IV trial, oncological patients with moderate to severe pain requiring WHO step III opioids were randomly assigned to receive oral morphine or oxycodone or transdermal fentanyl or buprenorphine for 28 days. At each visit, pain intensity, modifications of therapy and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) were recorded. The primary efficacy end point was the proportion of nonresponders, meaning patients with worse or unchanged average pain intensity (API) between the first and last visit, measured on a 0–10 numerical rating scale. (NCT01809106). Results Forty-four centers participated in the trial and recruited 520 patients. Worst pain intensity and API decreased over 4 weeks with no significant differences between drugs. Nonresponders ranged from 11.5% (morphine) to 14.4% (buprenorphine). Appreciable changes were made in the treatment schedules over time. Each group required increases in the daily dose, from 32.7% (morphine) to 121.2% (transdermal fentanyl). Patients requiring adjuvant analgesics ranged from 68.9% (morphine) to 81.6% (oxycodone), switches varied from 22.1% (morphine) to 12% (oxycodone), discontinuation of treatment from 27% ( morphine) to 14.5% (fentanyl). ADRs were similar except for effects on the nervous system, which significantly prevailed with morphine. Conclusion The main findings were the similarity in pain control, response rates and main adverse reactions among opioids. Changes in therapy schedules were notable over time. A considerable proportion of patients were nonresponders or poor responders. Clinical Trial Registration NCT01809106 ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01809106?term=cerp&rank=2 ).

Transient T cell immunodeficiency is a common complication following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In breast cancer patients transplanted with autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) harvested after cytotoxic treatment with either cyclophosphamide or epirubicin plus paclitaxel, we evaluated T cells infused in grafts and in peripheral blood during the early reconstitution phase. We found that PBPC grafts harvested after treatment with epirubicin plus paclitaxel contained substantially larger numbers of T cells with less altered composition than after cyclophosphamide. Three months after high-dose cytotoxic chemotherapy, the numbers and the kinetics of circulating naive T cells, but not of memory and CD28- T cells, correlated positively with the number of naive T cells infused PBPC grafts. Finally, retrospective analysis of two cohorts of patients transplanted in different clinical settings with PBPC grafts harvested following cyclophosphamide or epirubicin plus paclitaxel showed apparently different susceptibilities to develop endogenous varicella zoster virus reactivation in the first year after high-dose cytotoxic chemotherapy. On the whole, these data indicate that number and composition of T cells in PBPC grafts vary according to the former cytotoxic therapy, and suggest that autologous transfer of T cells may accelerate the early T cell reconstitution phase and possibly ameliorate immune competence in patients rendered lymphopenic by high-dose chemotherapy.

Preclinical data indicate there is strong synergism of action against Ewing sarcoma in sequential treatment with trabectedin followed by irinotecan and it appears to be related to a selective blockade of the transcription factor EWS–FLI1. This combination was evaluated in Ewing sarcoma patient who was progressing with standard therapies. Trabectedin was given as a 24-h iv infusion on day 1 at the dose of 1 mg/sqm, and irinotecan 75 mg/sqm on day 2 and then on days 2 and 4, every 3 weeks from the seventh course. The therapy was well tolerated with transient hematological toxicity and transaminitis and induced stabilization of the disease lasting for 11 courses, with clinical improvement and marked reduction of the need for opioids. However, shortly before the 12th course, sudden death occurred, possibly due to cerebral stroke, presumably not related to the drug treatment. The encouraging clinical benefit observed with the combination and its good tolerability deserves further investigation in Ewing sarcoma.

In this paper we propose the use of a texture feature called Linear Binary Patterns to inspect steal surfaces. To assess the proposed method, we have build two different databases. The first one contains 996 color images of steel bars illuminated with black light, where the defects were highlighted using penetrating liquid. The second dataset is composed of 1141 gray-scale images of steel bars without highlight. Comprehensive experiments using three different classifiers show that the proposed feature set is able to detect 91.5% and 95.6% of the defects on the first and second databases, respectively.

Stable aqueous solutions of undecylenic-acid-grafted silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) were prepared. The time evolution of the photoluminescence properties of these hydrophilic silicon nanocrystals has been followed on different timescales (hours and days). On a short timescale (hours), Si-nc tend to agglomerate while the PL lineshape and intensity are stable. Agglomeration can be reduced by using suitable surfactants. On a long timescale (days), oxidation of Si-nc occurs even in the presence of surfactants. These two observations render Si-nc very useful as a labeling agent for biosensin

Computational neural network methods are increasingly being used for researchoriented data mining tasks. Kohonen self-organising map (SOM) techniques are well established within the so-called connectionist paradigm of Artificial Intelligence where neural networks are used to extract both explicit and implicit dependency values often between data that is sometimes disparate in type and kind. The research described here seeks to elicit relationships between grape varieties and their growing conditions using SOM techniques. In addition, utilising k-means and principle component analysis (PCA) methods, the data mined and depicted by the SOM technique is shown to have dependency values that enable a clustering of terms relating to variety quality to be associated with growing condition data to produce optimal locations for each. This study is part of a larger research project that uses comparative data from New Zealand and Chile. The text mining aspect of it forms one element of a ‘toolbox’ of integrated hardware and software instruments being developed to underpin an environmental modelling methodology oriented not only towards grape growing but also generally for optimal crop production. The example described here uses data from New Zealand in the first instance. The paper begins with a summary of some historical wisdom relating to grape growing with a discussion of some previous studies and then describes the text mining of comments from wine tasters, which are statistically analysed. The results are clustered and the paper concludes with a reflection on the investigation with a pointer to future work in this aspect of the larger research project previously described.

This relates to early stage research that aims to build an integrated toolbox of instruments that can be used for environmental modeling tasks. The application area described is grape growing and wine production. A comparative study including data gathered in both New Zealand and Chile is described. Using both passive and sensor technology data is gathered from atmosphere, vines, and soil. Human sensory perceptions relating to wine taste and quality is also gathered. The project proposes a synthesizer which collects and analyzes data in real time. Computational neural network modeling methods and geographic information systems are used for result depiction. This convergence of computational techniques and information processing methods is proposed as being an example of software and systems collaboration. The project called Eno-Humanas is so named because of the bled of the precise enological data and less qualitative human perception data. It is expected that the discrete input elements of the architecture here will be demonstrably dependency-related and derived from correlation values once data gathering instruments and analytical software have been developed. At this stage of the project, these tools and methods are being built and tested. This is the first stage of the project and the proposed research that will come from it in order to answer wide questions such as the ordinal set of data values necessarily present to predict climate conditions, the relationship between vine sap rise and dew point calibrations, towards addressing the popular question of 'what makes for a good year for wine'. In addition to the bringing together of various technologies, methods and kinds of data, (geo-referential, climatic, atmospheric, terrain, plant biological and qualitative sensory expressions), the paper also describes an international research collaboration and its parameters.

Geo-informatics is a field of science that combines geodetic and spatial information processing methods with computing hardware and software technologies. Research being conducted by the authors extends this blend of science and technology by utilising contemporary computational techniques for data analysis and some sensor and telemetry technologies integrated with spatial information processing methods. The geo-spatial technologies of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) have had a transformational effect on both the science and industry of this field, as has the advent of wireless telemetry devices. The introduction of what has become known as 'computational intelligence' has added a new dimension to the approaches taken for analysing geo-coded data and furthermore, to the kind of predictions that can be made from it. One domain of application for geo-informatics is in viticulture and enology in which the demand for scientific analysis of the industry due to globalisation has led to widespread research. Thus, the influence of the technologies used in this field have been significant, the changes can be seen across the whole wine industry from grape growing to wine production. The early entry of computing into viticulture and indeed to geo-referenced data analysis began with rule based expert systems (ES), but increasingly, there is a demand for greater precision in the information outcomes from geo-spatial data analysis, especially in agriculture, horticulture and viticulture. The authors are integrating previous scientific methods with state-of-the-art computational technologies to record, transfer and analyse data using artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic. This paper reviews developments in geodetic and computer science over the past two decades and briefly describes the work currently being undertaken by the authors in this field.

To improve the biopharmaceutical performance of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug piroxicam, inclusion compounds with β-cyclodextrin carrier have been prepared and studied for a wide range of chemical, physical and pharmaceutical properties.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a potential tool in the evaluation of atherosclerotic lesions. However, two basic difficulties have to date prevented the full exploitation of the potentials of this technique: the poor spatial resolution of the conventional tomographs and the wide variety of the lesions as well as their intrinsic dishomogeneity. In this study the in vitro morphology of normal and atherosclerotic vascular tissue specimens has been evaluated using a high resolution spectometer equipped with a microimaging device. Morphological features of the vessel walls as small as 10 −1 mm have been detected and the distribution of lipids and of calcified or necrotic regions has been evidenced in atherosclerotic plaques. Different techniques, such as local spectroscopy performed on volumes of 1 mm 3 and localized magnetization recovery measurements, have been employed to characterize specific regions of the vessel walls from the chemical and the physical point of view. The good agreement of NMR findings with histological data allows us to conclude that NMR microimaging represents a suitable technique for the in vitro detection and characterization of atheromatous lesions.

In this paper we present a framework to implement compilation flows targeting architectures with an heterogeneous structure. We will show techniques for analyzing and transforming the code of the input source program with the aim to identify critical computational kernels. In particular we will describe an high level compilation layer designed to build analytical information completely derived by static analysis and its back-end towards architecture specific layers. Finally we will show a compilation flow targeting an hybrid architecture consisting of a VLIW coupled with a reconfigurable core which exploits the capabilities of our framework.

One of the possible drawbacks to autologous stem cell transplantation in breast cancer (BC) patients is the potential for tumor contamination in the transplanted product. We present a patient with advanced disease who received high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and PBPC support as consolidation therapy after achieving complete remission with standard-dose first-line treatment, and suffered recurrence of the disease 6 months after transplantation. Retrospective analysis revealed the presence of contaminating cells in the leukapheretic product, and clinical evidence suggested a role for these cells in the tumor relapse.

The purpose of this multicenter phase III trial was to assess the impact of a time-intensification of FEC (fluorouracil, epirubicin, cyclophosphamide) and MMM (mitoxantrone, methotrexate, mitomycin C) regimens, supported by lenograstim (G-CSF) on the objective response rate, time to progression and survival of patients with chemotherapy-naive metastatic breast cancer (mbc). Women with mbc were randomized to receive as first-line chemotherapy either standard-dose FEC (all doses in mg/m2): arm A (500, 75, 500 every 21 days), or time-intensified FEC-G: arm B (500, 75, 500 every 14 days), or time-intensified MMM-G: arm C (mitoxantrone 10, methotrexate 35 every 14 days and mitomycin C 10 every 28 days), both with support of lenograstim (G-CSF 150 microg/m2/day s.c. for 10 days). All study treatments were administered for six cycles. Eligible female patients were in the 31-70 year range with histologically proven mbc, and measurable or evaluable disease. An intent-to-treat analysis was performed. The overall response rate (CR + PR, intent-to-treat analysis) was significantly improved in the time-intensified FEC-G regimen (69%) in comparison with standard-dose FEC (41%), p=0.002. Time-intensified MMM-G (51%) did not lead to a significant improvement in the response rate. The percentage of complete responses was significantly higher in the FEC-G arm as compared to standard-dose FEC (17% vs. 4.7%; p=0.002). The median duration was longer in the intensified-dose arms without, however, achieving a statistically significant improvement. The median time to progression (TTP), and the median survival time did not differ between the three treatment arms. Grade 3-4 leukopenia was significantly higher (p

The DIAMINE sensor makes use of the neutron backscattering techniques (NBT). The presence of a buried land‐mine causes a localized strong increase of the yield of low energy neutrons, due to the hydrogen content of the explosive and of the plastic case of the mine. In some conditions, the hit distribution could provide an “image” of the hidden object. Coupling of the NBT sensor with a metal detector (MD) will provide the operator with a compact device, reducing the false alarm rate of the single sensors. The laboratory tests of the DIAMINE system demonstrate the possibility to detect small APM up to 10 cm depth in sand. The best use of the NBT technique is presented in the frame of the Humanitarian De‐mining requirements.

Thirteen polymorphic microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from the reef fish L. kasmira. Polymorphism was studied in two populations from the South-West Indian Ocean, Seychelles and Tanzania. Polymorphism ranged from two to 16 alleles and loci are characterized by high variability. Two of these loci were characterized by highly significant heterozygote deficiencies for both populations and they should be avoided in future studies. Finally, eleven of these markers could be used to study population structure and connectivity of this species in a context of marine biodiversity conservation. Cross-amplification was tested for an other bluestriped snapper Lutjanus bengalensis and at least 5 of the 13 loci developed for L. kasmira could be used for this other bluestripped snapper.

The purpose of the meta-analysis was to understand the antitussive effect of treatment with dextromethorphan hydrobromide, 30 mg, vs placebo over a 3-h treatment period in patients with cough due to uncomplicated upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), and to show that the computerized system for acquisition and analysis of cough sound was consistent and reproducible across the individual studies.The six studies used for the meta-analysis were randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, single-dose, placebo-controlled studies with a 3-h postdose cough evaluation period.One study was conducted in Durban, South Africa, and five studies were conducted in Bombay, India. Four studies took place in clinics, and two studies were in-home studies.Seven hundred ten adult patients with cough due to uncomplicated URTI who were otherwise healthy and who satisfied the inclusion/exclusion criteria for the meta-analysis.For each patient, a standard baseline was calculated pretreatment, then a 3-h continuous cough recording was made after treatment was initiated. Five efficacy variables were measured in 30-min intervals: cough bouts, cough components, cough effort, cough intensity, and cough latency. The meta-analysis showed consistent results across most of the studies for each of the efficacy variables. It demonstrated significantly greater overall reductions in cough bouts, cough components, and cough effort, and an increase in cough latency for patients treated with dextromethorphan hydrobromide, 30 mg, vs those treated with placebo.The results of a meta-analysis of the six clinical studies show that the antitussive effect of a single dose of dextromethorphan hydrobromide, 30 mg, has been established. The consistent nature of the results shows that the computerized cough acquisition and analysis system is a valid and reproducible methodology for evaluating cough associated with URTI.

Publisher Summary This chapter deals with porous silicon micro-cavities (PSM). Porous silicon was discovered in 1956 by Uhlir, while performing electropolishing experiments on silicon wafers using a hydrofluoric acid that contained electrolyte. This chapter discusses the physics of Porous Silicon (PS), and explains the ways to control its physical parameters to exploit its various properties. This chapter presents the procedure for the production of PS. This chapter presents the structure and optical properties of PS, and gives a general introduction to dielectric multilayers. The mastering of the etching process to form PS layers of designed parameters has allowed the formation of high-quality dielectric multilayers with a competitive technique. A comparison of PS with other Si-based light-emitting systems is performed. This chapter further introduces semiconductor microcavities. Furthermore, this chapter turns to the discussion of PS multilayers and PS microcavities. Some applications of PS microcavities area also highlighted. The recent improvements in the engineering of the PS surface, the demonstration of a full integration of PS-LEDs with both bipolar junction transistor and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor circuits, and the use of microcavities to control the PS spontaneous emission are all recent results that point to brighter future for PS.

We have evaluated the combination of ifosfamide, carboplatin and etoposide (ICE regimen) along with mesna in 26 previously untreated patients with non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Thirteen stage III B and 13 stage IV patients received intermediate doses of ifosfamide (1000 mg/m2), carboplatin (120 mg/m2) and etoposide (120 mg/m2) given intravenously on day 1 to 3 every 4 weeks. Except for one patient who experienced grade 3 transient thrombocytopenia no major events of hematological or systemic toxicity were observed. Response rate (27%, 95% C.I., 10 to 44%), median duration of response (9 months, range 6-15), and survival (9.5 months, range 2-44+) were comparable to those achieved with conventional cisplatin-containing regimens. Our ICE combination, as compared to standard or high dose schedules appears effective, safe, well tolerated, and devoid of severe hematological toxicity.

Recent reports have suggested that the total number of autologous or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) infused after high-dose chemotherapy might predict survival, post-transplant morbidity and rate of hematopoietic engraftment. However, HSC capable of long-term multilineage potential are still poorly defined, and tools for accurate and reproducible HSC enumeration are highly warranted.

Two recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (rHu G-CSF) are clinically available, a glycosylated (lenograstim) and a nonglycosylated from (filgrastim). Since there is accumulating evidence that glycosylation plays a role in the in vitro activity of the G-CSF molecule, we compared the biological potency of lenograstim and filgrastim on human hematopoietic progenitor cells by colony assay in semisolid medium and ex vivo expansion experiments. Leukapheretic products without further processing and CD34-positive purified cells were used as source of human progenitors. Lenograstim demonstrated greater capacity, to stimulate the colony growth of both, purified and CD34+ peripheral blood cells. This effect, which is evident especially at low doses of growth factor, seems not to be mediated by accessory cells. Whether these observations may have clinical relevance is still to be clearly assessed and further investigations are needed.

As valid therapeutic alternatives to adriamycin, with a more favourable safety profile, epirubicin (E) and novantrone (N) were compared in combination with fluorouracil (F) and cyclophosphamide (C) in a prospective randomized clinical trial as first-line treatment for metastatic breast cancer (mbc). 158 women with mbc were randomly allocated to receive FEC or FNC regimen; the dosage in mg/m2 was as follows: 500 for C and F, 75 for E and 10 for N. All drugs were administered iv. on day 1 and recycled on day 21. In 141 evaluable patients the response rate (CR+PR) was better in the FEC (43.6%) than in the FNC regimen (30.3%) (95% C.I. of 32% to 55% versus 14% to 34%), without any statistically significant difference. Differences in response rate were significantly in favour of FEC group in previously untreated patients (57.6% versus 25%, p = .02), and in postmenopausal women (46.1% versus 23.6%, p = .01). No significant differences between the two treatment arms were observed in terms of either time to progression or duration of response and survival. The most important dose-limiting toxicity was hematological (leuko-and thrombocytopenia were significantly higher in FNC-treated patients). This difference in hematological toxicity sustained a significantly different incidence of delays in administering chemotherapy courses, which precluded the administration of comparable doses of all drugs in both groups. The incidence of complete alopecia was significantly higher in FEC-treated patients, while no clinical or instrumental evidence of CHF was observed with either regimen. Due to its more favourable therapeutic profile, the E-containing regimen seems a suitable first-line treatment for previously untreated patients with mbc, while the FNC combination should be offered to women refusing hair loss.

The bioequivalence of two megestrol acetate formulations, 160-mg "tablets" and 160-mg "sachets," was investigated in a single-dose, open-label, balanced-for-sequence cross-over study involving 12 advanced-cancer patients. The observed plasma megestrol-acetate time course obtained with both formulations was consistent with the literature data. The main source of variability in the pharmacokinetic parameters was intersubject variability; drug formulation played only a minor (and nonsignificant) role. The width of the 90% confidence interval of the area-under-the-curve (AUC) ratio (sachets: tablets) computed according to Schuirmann (0.9-1.4) was mainly due to the presence of a single outlier, showing an AUC ratio of 2.7. The trend to higher bioavailability of the new formulation was not significant, especially as compared with the dose-response data reported in the literature.

Purpose Triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) is a specific histological subclass of breast cancer that has gained attention in recent years for its clinical and molecular heterogeneity with still no evidence of an optimal therapeutic strategy. Aim of this study is to identify clinical and pathological features of TNBC reviewed in our center and try to figure out prognostic factors that can drive therapeutic approach. Methods In this retrospective study we reviewed 127 cases of TNBC (median Age 59) that underwent surgical treatment from 2003 to 2008 analyzing the outcome (in terms of Disease Free Survival) in relation to clinical and pathologic features. Results Univariate analysis performed on the entire cohort revealed that the cha Staging (P Conclusions In the TNBC several genes involved in angiogenesis are frequently pointed out. In our hands peritumoral vascular invasion is a major prognostic factor that would identify a subgroup of TNBC with worse prognosis and therefore this would require a more aggressive therapeutic regimen with the inhibition of angiogenesis as a possible tool for the optimal treatment. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.