Showing papers by "Marche Polytechnic University published in 2008"
TL;DR: A genetic algorithm for the Flexible Job-shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) integrates different strategies for generating the initial population, selecting the individuals for reproduction and reproducing new individuals to prove that genetic algorithms are effective for solving FJSP.
770 citations
TL;DR: This study provides scientific evidence that the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity is a priority for a sustainable functioning of the worlds' oceans and suggests that mutually positive functional interactions can be common in the largest biome of the authors' biosphere.
598 citations
Medical Research Council1, Université Paris-Saclay2, Karolinska Institutet3, Vanderbilt University4, Ghent University5, Cancer Research UK6, Royal North Shore Hospital7, University of California, Los Angeles8, Norwegian University of Science and Technology9, Queen's University10, University College London11, Marche Polytechnic University12
TL;DR: In this article, an individual patient data meta-analysis of supportive care and chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was carried out to assess newer regimens and determine conclusively the effect of chemotherapy.
Abstract: PURPOSE
Since our individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis (MA) of supportive care and chemotherapy for non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), published in 1995, many trials have been completed. An updated, IPD MA has been carried out to assess newer regimens and determine conclusively the effect of chemotherapy.
METHODS
Systematic searches for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were undertaken, followed by central collection, checking, and reanalysis of updated IPD. Results from RCTs were combined to calculate individual and pooled hazard ratios (HRs).
RESULTS
Data were obtained from 2,714 patients from 16 RCTs. There were 1,293 deaths among 1,399 patients assigned supportive care and chemotherapy and 1,240 among 1,315 assigned supportive care alone. Results showed a significant benefit of chemotherapy (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.71 to 0.83; P
579 citations
TL;DR: The findings implicate BANK1 as a susceptibility gene for SLE, with variants affecting regulatory sites and key functional domains, which could contribute to sustained B cell–receptor signaling and B-cell hyperactivity characteristic of this disease.
Abstract: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypical autoimmune disease characterized by production of autoantibodies and complex genetic inheritance. In a genome-wide scan using 85,042 SNPs, we identified an association between SLE and a nonsynonymous substitution (rs10516487, R61H) in the B-cell scaffold protein with ankyrin repeats gene, BANK1. We replicated the association in four independent case-control sets (combined P = 3.7 x 10(-10); OR = 1.38). We analyzed BANK1 cDNA and found two isoforms, one full-length and the other alternatively spliced and lacking exon 2 (Delta2), encoding a protein without a putative IP3R-binding domain. The transcripts were differentially expressed depending on a branch point-site SNP, rs17266594, in strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs10516487. A third associated variant was found in the ankyrin domain (rs3733197, A383T). Our findings implicate BANK1 as a susceptibility gene for SLE, with variants affecting regulatory sites and key functional domains. The disease-associated variants could contribute to sustained B cell-receptor signaling and B-cell hyperactivity characteristic of this disease.
469 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that sunscreens, by promoting viral infection, potentially play an important role in coral bleaching in areas prone to high levels of recreational use by humans.
Abstract: Coral reefs are among the most biologically productive and diverse ecosystems in the world, representing hot spots of marine biodiversity, and directly sustaining half a billion people (Moberg and Folke 1999; Wilkinson 2004). Approximately 60% of coral reefs are currently threatened by several natural and anthropogenic impacts (Hughes et al. 2003; Pandolfi et al. 2003). Over the last 20 years, massive coral bleaching (i.e., loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae hosted within scleractinian corals) has increased dramatically, both in frequency and spatial extent (Hoegh-Guldberg 1999; Hughes et al. 2003; Knowlton 2001). This phenomenon has been associated with positive temperature anomalies, excess ultraviolet (UV) radiation or altered available photo-synthetic radiation, and presence of bacterial pathogens and pollutants (Brown et al. 2000; Bruno et al. 2007; Douglas 2003; Glynn 1996; Jones 2004).
Production and consumption of personal care and cosmetic sun products are increasing worldwide, reaching unexpected levels, with potentially important consequences on environmental contamination. The release of these products is also linked with the rapid expansion of tourism in marine coastal areas (Wilkinson 2004). Chemical compounds contained in sunscreens and other personal care products have been demonstrated to reach detectable levels in both fresh and sea-water systems (Daughton and Ternes 1999; Giokas et al. 2007). These compounds are expected to be potentially harmful for the environment; hence, the use of sunscreen products is now banned in a few popular tourist destinations, for example, in marine ecoparks in Mexico, and in some semi-enclosed transitional systems (Xcaret 2007; Xel-ha 2007). Because sunscreens are lipophilic, their UV filters can bioaccumulate in aquatic animals (Giokas et al. 2007) and cause effects similar to those reported for other xenobiotic compounds (Balmer et al. 2005; Daughton and Ternes 1999). Paraben preservatives and some UV absorbers contained in sunscreens have estrogenic activity (Daughton and Ternes 1999; Schlumpf et al. 2004). In addition it has been demonstrated that several sunscreen agents may undergo photodegradation, resulting in the transformation of these agents into toxic by-products (Giokas et al. 2007, and literature therein).
Recently, it has also been demonstrated that sunscreens have an impact on marine bacterioplankton (Danovaro and Corinaldesi 2003), but there is no scientific evidence for their impact on coral reefs.
To evaluate the potential impact of sun-screen ingredients on hard corals and their symbiotic algae, we conducted several independent in situ studies with the addition of different concentrations of sunscreens to different species of Acropora (one of the most common hard-coral genus), Stylophora pistillata, and Millepora complanata. These studies were performed from 2003 to 2007 in different areas of the world, including the Celebes Sea (Pacific Ocean), the Caribbean Sea (Atlantic Ocean), and the Andaman Sea and the Red Sea (Indian Ocean).
438 citations
TL;DR: This study showed the important role played by the genetic background on the chemical and antioxidant profiles of strawberry fruits, and showed that differences exist among cultivars, applicable in dietary studies in human subjects.
Abstract: Strawberry contains high levels of micronutrients and phytochemical compounds. These exhibit functional roles in plant growth and metabolism and are also essential for the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the fruit. The aim of the present work was to better characterize the phytochemical and antioxidant profiles of the fruit of nine different genotypes of strawberry, by measuring the total flavonoid, anthocyanin, vitamin C, and folate contents. Cultivar effects on the total antioxidant capacities of strawberries were also tested. In addition, the individual contribution of the main antioxidant compounds was assessed by HPLC separation coupled to an online postcolumn antioxidant detection system. This study showed the important role played by the genetic background on the chemical and antioxidant profiles of strawberry fruits. Significant differences were found between genotypes for the total antioxidant capacity and for all tested classes of compounds. The HPLC analyses confirmed qualitative and quantitative variability in the antioxidant profiles. These studies show that differences exist among cultivars, applicable in dietary studies in human subjects.
422 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the impact of the founder-chief executive officer (CEO) succession in a sample of Italian firms and found that the maintenance of management within the family has a negative impact on the firm's performance, and this effect is largely borne by the good performers.
Abstract: This article contributes to the growing empirical literature on family firms by studying the impact of the founder-chief executive officer (CEO) succession in a sample of Italian firms. We contrast firms that continue to be managed within the family by the heirs to the founders with firms in which the management is passed on to outsiders. Family successions, that is, successions by the founder's heirs, are further analyzed by assessing the impact of the sectoral intensity of competition on the post-succession performance. This analysis also addresses the endogeneity in the timing of the CEO succession by controlling for a pure mean-reversion effect in the firm's performance. We find that the maintenance of management within the family has a negative impact on the firm's performance, and this effect is largely borne by the good performers, especially in the more competitive sectors. These results indicate that there is no inherent superiority of the family-firm structure and emphasize the importance of conducting an analysis of governance in a variety of institutional settings.
405 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that viral production in deep-sea benthic ecosystems worldwide is extremely high, and that viral infections are responsible for the abatement of 80% of prokaryotic heterotrophic production.
Abstract: Viruses are the most abundant biological organisms of the world's oceans. Viral infections are a substantial source of mortality in a range of organisms-including autotrophic and heterotrophic plankton-but their impact on the deep ocean and benthic biosphere is completely unknown. Here we report that viral production in deep-sea benthic ecosystems worldwide is extremely high, and that viral infections are responsible for the abatement of 80% of prokaryotic heterotrophic production. Virus-induced prokaryotic mortality increases with increasing water depth, and beneath a depth of 1,000 m nearly all of the prokaryotic heterotrophic production is transformed into organic detritus. The viral shunt, releasing on a global scale approximately 0.37-0.63 gigatonnes of carbon per year, is an essential source of labile organic detritus in the deep-sea ecosystems. This process sustains a high prokaryotic biomass and provides an important contribution to prokaryotic metabolism, allowing the system to cope with the severe organic resource limitation of deep-sea ecosystems. Our results indicate that viruses have an important role in global biogeochemical cycles, in deep-sea metabolism and the overall functioning of the largest ecosystem of our biosphere.
354 citations
TL;DR: The data indicate that bevacizumab-induced hypertension may represent an interesting prognostic factor for clinical outcome in advanced colorectal cancer patients receiving first-line bev Zaczumab.
320 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared firms that continue to be managed within the family by the heirs to the founders with firms in which the management is passed on to outsiders, concluding that there is no inherent superiority of the family-firm structure and emphasize the importance of conducting an analysis of governance in a variety of institutional settings.
319 citations
TL;DR: Tirofiban therapy was associated with noninferior resolution of ST-segment elevation at 90 minutes following coronary intervention, whereas sirolimus-eluting stent implantation wasassociated with a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiac events than uncoated stents within 8 months after intervention.
Abstract: Context Abciximab infusion and uncoated-stent implantation is a complementary treatment strategy to reduce major adverse cardiac events in patients undergoing angioplasty for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). It is uncertain whether there may be similar benefits in replacing abciximab with high-dose bolus tirofiban. Similarly, the use of drug-eluting stents in this patient population is currently discouraged because of conflicting results on efficacy reported in randomized trials and safety concerns reported by registries. Objective To evaluate the effect of high-dose bolus tirofiban and of sirolimus-eluting stents as compared with abciximab infusion and uncoated-stent implantation in patients with STEMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. Design, Setting, and Patients An open-label, 2 × 2 factorial trial of 745 patients presenting with STEMI or new left bundle-branch block at 16 referral centers in Italy, Spain, and Argentina between October 2004 and April 2007. Interventions High-dose bolus tirofiban vs abciximab infusion and sirolimus-eluting stent vs uncoated stent implantation. Main Outcome Measures For drug comparison, at least 50% ST-segment elevation resolution at 90 minutes postintervention with a prespecified noninferiority margin of 9% difference (relative risk, 0.89); for stent comparison, the rate of major adverse cardiac events, defined as the composite of death from any cause, reinfarction, and clinically driven target-vessel revascularization within 8 months. Results ST-segment resolution occurred in 302 of 361 patients (83.6%) who had received abciximab infusion and 308 of 361 (85.3%) who had received tirofiban infusion (relative risk, 1.020; 97.5% confidence interval, 0.958-1.086; P Conclusions In patients with STEMI undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention, compared with abciximab, tirofiban therapy was associated with noninferior resolution of ST-segment elevation at 90 minutes following coronary intervention, whereas sirolimus-eluting stent implantation was associated with a significantly lower risk of major adverse cardiac events than uncoated stents within 8 months after intervention. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00229515Published online March 30, 2008 (doi:10.1001/jama.299.15.joc80026).
TL;DR: An integrated view of the dysregulation of these two antagonistic systems in human obesity complicated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and increased cardiovascular risk is proposed.
Abstract: The obesity pandemic is closely related to hypertension and metabolic syndrome Visceral adipose tissue plays a key role in the metabolic and cardiovascular complications of being overweight The pathophysiological link between visceral adiposity and cardiometabolic complications focuses on insulin sensitivity, sympathetic nervous system, renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) and, only recently, on cardiac natriuretic peptide system (CNPS) RAAS and CNPS are endogenous antagonistic systems on sodium balance, cardiovascular system, and metabolism The circulating RAAS is dysregulated in obese patients, and adipose tissue has a full local renin-angiotensin system that is active at local and systemic level Adipocyte biology and metabolism are influenced by local renin-angiotensin system, with angiotensin II acting as a 'growth factor' for adipocytes CNPS induces natriuresis and diuresis, reduces blood pressure, and, moreover, has powerful lipolytic and lipomobilizing activity in humans but not in rodents In obesity, lower plasmatic natriuretic peptides levels with increasing BMI, waist circumference, and metabolic syndrome have been documented Thus, reduced CNPS effects coupled with increased RAAS activity have a central role in obesity and its deadly complications We propose herein an integrated view of the dysregulation of these two antagonistic systems in human obesity complicated with hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and increased cardiovascular risk
TL;DR: In this paper, an experimental rig was set up to carry out equi-biaxial tests: the classic bulge test method has been coupled with optical devices allowing measurement in real time of the stress and elongation levels of the specimen Uniaxial stretching tests were performed by means of a standard tensile machine and a video extensometer.
TL;DR: In this paper, the problem of the statistical uncertainty of the correlation matrix in the optimization of a financial portfolio was considered and it was shown that the use of clustering algorithms can improve the reliability of the portfolio in terms of the ratio between predicted and realized risk.
TL;DR: The results show that stock market returns tend to lead the level of economic activity, but only at the highest scales (lowest frequencies) corresponding to periods of 16 months and longer, and that the leading period increases as the wavelet time scale increases.
TL;DR: 2′,5-di-O-galloyl-d-hamamelose (hamamelitannin) is identified as a nonpeptide analog of RIP by virtual screening of a RIP-based pharmacophore against a database of commercially available small-molecule compounds and found to inhibit the quorum-sensing regulator RNAIII.
Abstract: Staphylococci are a major health threat because of increasing resistance to antibiotics. An alternative to antibiotic treatment is preventing virulence by inhibition of bacterial cell-to-cell communication using the quorum-sensing inhibitor RNAIII-inhibiting peptide (RIP). In this work, we identified 2,5-di-O-galloyl-Dhamamelose (hamamelitannin) as a nonpeptide analog of RIP by virtual screening of a RIP-based pharmacophore against a database of commercially available small-molecule compounds. Hamamelitannin is a natural product found in the bark of Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel), and it has no effect on staphylococcal growth in vitro; but like RIP, it does inhibit the quorum-sensing regulator RNAIII. In a rat graft model, hamamelitannin prevented device-associated infections in vivo, including infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis strains. These findings suggest that hamamelitannin may be used as a suppressor to staphylococcal infections.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relationship between the economic growth of European regions and their knowledge and human capital endowments and found that the share of adult population with tertiary education and the intensity of R&D expenditures in value-added emerged as the most effective factors enhancing the growth of GDP per capita recorded, during 1995-2002, by the regions belonging to twelve countries of the former EU15.
TL;DR: In primary aldosteronism, tissue damage, on several indices, is higher than in age-, sex- and blood pressure-matched controls, reflecting the ability of inappropriately elevated aldosterone for salt status to produce structural and functional changes over and above those produced by high blood pressure.
Abstract: For many years primary aldosteronism was considered a relatively benign form of hypertension. This assumption reflects the primacy accorded to elevated levels of angiotensin in terms of deleterious cardiovascular effects, and the fact that in primary aldosteronism renin and angiotensin levels are low. We now know that primary aldosteronism causes a constellation of cardiovascular, renal and metabolic sequelae which make it far from benign and that these are not merely effects of blood pressure elevation. In primary aldosteronism, tissue damage, on several indices, is higher than in age-, sex- and blood pressure-matched controls, reflecting the ability of inappropriately elevated aldosterone for salt status to produce structural and functional changes over and above those produced by high blood pressure.
TL;DR: The study of offspring originating from different cross combinations showed that fruit nutritional quality can be considered an inheritable trait and that the variability of Fruit nutritional quality among commercial cultivars can be improved by breeding.
TL;DR: It is suggested that the extracellular DNA pool in marine sediments represents a repository of genetic information, which can be used for improving the understanding of the biodiversity, functioning and evolution of ecosystems over different timescales.
Abstract: The extracellular DNA pool in marine sediments is the largest reservoir of DNA of the world oceans and it potentially represents an archive of genetic information and gene sequences involved in natural transformation processes. However, no information is at present available for the gene sequences contained in the extracellular DNA and for the factors that influence their preservation. In the present study, we investigated the depurination and degradation rates of extracellular DNA in a variety of marine sediment samples characterized by different ages (up to 10 000 years) and environmental conditions according to the presence, abundance and diversity of prokaryotic gene sequences. We provide evidence that depurination of extracellular DNA in these sediments depends upon the different environmental factors that act synergistically and proceeds at much slower rates than those theoretically predicted or estimated for terrestrial ecosystems. These findings suggest that depurination in marine sediments is not the main process that limits extracellular DNA survival. Conversely, DNase activities were high suggesting a more relevant role of biologically driven processes. Amplifiable prokaryotic 16S rDNA sequences were present in most benthic systems analysed, independent of depurination and degradation rates and of the ages of the sediment samples. Additional molecular analyses revealed that the extracellular DNA pool is characterized by relatively low-copy numbers of prokaryotic 16S rDNA sequences that are highly diversified. Overall, our results suggest that the extracellular DNA pool in marine sediments represents a repository of genetic information, which can be used for improving our understanding of the biodiversity, functioning and evolution of ecosystems over different timescales.
TL;DR: In this article, the role of the swash zone in influencing the whole nearshore dynamics is reviewed with a focus on the interaction between surf and swash zones processes, and methods to account for swash-zone processes in coastal models with different temporal and spatial resolutions are proposed.
Abstract: The role of the swash zone in influencing the whole nearshore dynamics is reviewed with a focus on the interaction between surf and swash zone processes. Local and global hydromorphodynamic phenomena are discussed in detail, and a description of the overall swash zone operation is given. The effects of swash zone boundary conditions are highlighted, together with the importance of surf zone boundary conditions. Major emphasis is placed on illustrating the interactions of various hydrodynamic modes which, in turn, control the swash and surf zone morphology. Finally, methods to account for swash zone processes in coastal models with different temporal and spatial resolutions are proposed.
TL;DR: It can be concluded that nanostructured lipid carriers encapsulation may represent an effective strategy to prolong the half-life of bromocriptine.
Abstract: The present investigation describes a formulative study for the development of innovative drug delivery systems for bromocriptine. Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) based on different lipidic components have been produced and characterized. Morphology and dimensional distribution have been investigated by electron microscopy and Photon Correlation Spectroscopy. The antiparkinsonian activities of free bromocriptine and bromocriptine encapsulated in nanostructured lipid carriers were evaluated in 6-hydroxydopamine hemilesioned rats, a model of Parkinson’s disease. Tristearin/tricaprin mixture resulted in nanostructured lipid carriers with stable mean diameter up to 6 months from production. Bromocriptine was encapsulated with high entrapment efficiency in all of the SLN samples, particularly in the case of tristearin/tricaprin mixture. Bromocriptine encapsulation did not change nanoparticle dimensions. In vitro release kinetics based on a dialysis method demonstrated that bromocriptine was released in a prolonged fashion for 48 h. Tristearin/tricaprin nanoparticles better controlled bromocriptine release. Both free and encapsulated bromocriptine reduced the time spent on the blocks (i.e. attenuated akinesia) in the bar test, although the action of encapsulated bromocriptine was more rapid in onset and prolonged. It can be concluded that nanostructured lipid carriers encapsulation may represent an effective strategy to prolong the half-life of bromocriptine.
TL;DR: This approach is valid for establishing true-positive marker-trait relationships in tomato as the proportion of significant associations is higher between the Q-SSR subset of markers and the subset of traits related to fruit size and shape than for all of the other combinations.
Abstract: The study of phenotypic and genetic diversity in landrace collections is important for germplasm conservation. In addition, the characterisation of very diversified materials with molecular markers offers a unique opportunity to define significant marker-trait associations of biological and agronomic interest. Here, 50 tomato landraces (mainly collected in central Italy), nine vintage and modern cultivars, and two wild outgroups were grown at two locations in central Italy and characterised for 15 morpho-physiological traits and 29 simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci. The markers were selected to include a group of loci in regions harbouring reported quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that affect fruit size and/or shape (Q-SSRs) and a group of markers that have not been mapped or shown to have a priori known linkage (NQ-SSRs). As revealed by univariate and multivariate analyses of morphological data, the landraces grouped according to vegetative and reproductive traits, with emphasis on fruit size, shape and final destination of the product. Compared to the low molecular polymorphism reported in tomato modern cultivars, our data reveal a high level of molecular diversity in landraces. Such diversity has allowed the inference of the existence of a genetic structure that was factored into the association analysis. As the proportion of significant associations is higher between the Q-SSR subset of markers and the subset of traits related to fruit size and shape than for all of the other combinations, we conclude that this approach is valid for establishing true-positive marker-trait relationships in tomato.
TL;DR: In this article, a network of 124 larch and spruce sites across the European Alpine arc were selected based on their correlation with early (1864−1933) instrumental temperatures to assess their ability of tracking recent (1934−2003) temperature variations.
Abstract: Evidence for reduced sensitivity of tree growth to temperature has been reported from multiple forests along the high northern latitudes. This alleged circumpolar phenomenon described the apparent inability of temperature-sensitive tree-ring width and density chronologies to parallel increasing instrumental temperature measurements since the mid-20th century. In addition to such low-frequency trend offset, the inability of formerly temperature-sensitive tree growth to reflect high-frequency temperature signals in a warming world is indicated at some boreal sites, mainly in Alaska, the Yukon and Siberia. Here, we refer to both of these findings as the ‘divergence problem’ (DP), with their causes and scale being debated. If DP is widespread and the result of climatic forcing, the overall reliability of tree-ring-based temperature reconstructions should be questioned. Testing for DP benefits from well-replicated tree-ring and instrumental data spanning from the 19th to the 21st century. Here, we present a network of 124 larch and spruce sites across the European Alpine arc. Tree-ring width chronologies from 40 larch and 24 spruce sites were selected based on their correlation with early (1864‐1933) instrumental temperatures to assess their ability of tracking recent (1934‐2003) temperature variations. After the tree-ring series of both species were detrended in a manner that allows low-frequency variations to be preserved and scaled against summer temperatures, no unusual late 20th century DP is found. Independent tree-ring width and density evidence for unprecedented late 20th century temperatures with respect to the past millennium further reinforces our results.
TL;DR: Overall this study confirmed the utility of caged mussels to assess the remobilization of chemicals from dredged sediments and the onset of potentially harmful biological effects.
TL;DR: The results have demonstrated that the Flegg et al.
Abstract: The paper aims to analyse the behaviour of a battery of non-survey techniques of constructing regional I-O tables in estimating impact. For this aim, a Monte Carlo simulation, based on the generation of ‘true’ multiregional I-O tables, was carried out. By aggregating multi-regional I-O tables, national I-O tables were obtained. From the latter, indirect regional tables were derived through the application of various regionalisation methods and the relevant multipliers were compared with the ‘true’ multipliers using a set of statistics. Three aspects of the behaviour of the methods have been analysed: performances to reproduce ‘true’ multipliers, variability of simulation error and direction of bias. The results have demonstrated that the Flegg et al. Location Quotient (FLQ) and its augmented version (AFLQ) represent an effective improvement of conventional techniques based on the use of location quotients in both reproducing ‘true’ multipliers and generating more stable simulation errors. In addition, the...
10 Sep 2008
TL;DR: A new variant of the McEliece cryptosystem based on QC-LDPC codes is improved and it is shown that a new attack has been discovered that can recover the private key with limited complexity can be avoided by changing the form of some constituent matrices.
Abstract: We improve our proposal of a new variant of the McEliece cryptosystem based on QC-LDPC codes. The original McEliece cryptosystem, based on Goppa codes, is still unbroken up to now, but has two major drawbacks: long key and low transmission rate. Our variant is based on QC-LDPC codes and is able to overcome such drawbacks, while avoiding the known attacks. Recently, however, a new attack has been discovered that can recover the private key with limited complexity. We show that such attack can be avoided by changing the form of some constituent matrices, without altering the remaining system parameters. We also propose another variant that exhibits an overall increased security level. We analyze the complexity of the encryption and decryption stages by adopting efficient algorithms for processing large circulant matrices. The Toom-Cook algorithm and the short Winograd convolution are considered, that give a significant speed-up in the cryptosystem operations.
TL;DR: Salivary gland US is a useful method in visualizing glandular structural changes in patients suspected of having pSS and it may represent a good option as a first-line imaging tool in the diagnostics of the disease.
Abstract: (AUC-ROC) was employed to evaluate the screening method’s performance. Results. Of the 77 patients with pSS, 66 had abnormal US findings. Mean US score in pSS patients was 9.0 (range from 3 to 16). Subjects without confirmed pSS had the mean US score 3.9 (range from 0 to 9) (P 6U S resulted in the best ratio of sensitivity (75.3%) to specificity (83.5%), with a likelihood ratio of 4.58. If a threshold >8.0 was applied the test gained specificity, at the cost of a serious loss of sensitivity (sensitivity 54.5%, specificity 97.5%, likelihood ratio 21.5). Conclusions. Salivary gland US is a useful method in visualizing glandular structural changes in patients suspected of having pSS and it may represent a good option as a first-line imaging tool in the diagnostics of the disease.
TL;DR: Variations of antioxidants and lysosomal stability were confirmed as sensitive early warning signals for biological disturbance of both natural and anthropogenic origin in mussels in the central Adriatic Sea.
TL;DR: In IV BP–naïve breast cancer patients with bone metastases, denosumab suppresses bone turnover and seems to reduce SRE risk similarly to IV BPs, with a safety profile consistent with an advanced cancer population receiving systemic therapy.
Abstract: Purpose: Denosumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody to RANKL, suppresses bone resorption. This study evaluated the effects of denosumab in i.v. bisphosphonate (IV BP)–naive patients with breast cancer-related bone metastases. Experimental Design: Eligible women ( n = 255), stratified by type of antineoplastic therapy, were randomized to 1 of 5 blinded denosumab cohorts or an open-label IV BP cohort. Denosumab was administered s.c. every 4 weeks (30, 120, or 180 mg) or every 12 weeks (60 or 180 mg) through 21 weeks. Final efficacy results for up to 25 weeks are reported, including percentage change from baseline in urine N-telopeptide corrected for creatinine (uNTx/Cr) and incidence of skeletal-related events (SRE). Safety results are reported through the end of follow-up (up to 57 weeks). Results: At week 13 and 25, the median percent changes in uNTx/creatinine (Cr) among patients with measurable uNTx were −73% and −75% for the pooled denosumab groups and −79% and −71% for the IV BP group. Among patients with ≥1 postbaseline measurement of uNTx at week 25, 52% (109 of 208) of denosumab-treated patients and 46% (19 of 41) of IV BP–treated patients achieved >65% uNTx/Cr reduction. On-study SREs occurred in 12% (26 of 211) of denosumab-treated patients and 16% (7 of 43) of IV BP–treated patients. Overall rates of adverse events were 95% in denosumab and IV BP groups. No denosumab-related serious or fatal adverse events occurred. Conclusions: In IV BP–naive breast cancer patients with bone metastases, denosumab suppresses bone turnover and seems to reduce SRE risk similarly to IV BPs, with a safety profile consistent with an advanced cancer population receiving systemic therapy.