Comparison of survival among patients with breast cancer treated at First Teaching Hospital,Changchun, China,and Saint-Sacrement hospital,Quebec, Canada

The aim of this study was to compare the survival of 116 patients with breast cancer initially treated at the First Teaching Hospital (FTH) of Norman Bethune University of Medical Sciences located in Changchun, China, from 1986 to 1991 with the survival of 886 patients seen in the “Hipital du Saint-Sacrement” (HSS) located in Quebec City, Canada, from 1987 to 1992. The clinical data were collected from the hospital records at FTH. The vital status for Chinese patients was obtained from letters of follow-up or the records of local police offices. The list of patients treated at HSS and the data for each woman were extracted from computerized data banks. The major variables studied included age at diagnosis, tumor size at pathology (cm), number of lymph nodes involved, breast surgery and adjuvant treatments of breast cancer (chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immuno-therapy). Age at diagnosis was substantially lower among patients with breast cancer seen at FTH compared to those treated at HSS (x) ₁ ² =60.95,P<0.0001). The average age at diagnosis for Chinese women was about 10 years less than that for Canadian women. Patients in the two hospitals differed with respect to tumor size at pathology (x ₂ ² =6.67,P=0.036). The proportion of patients with tumor size larger than 2.0 cm was larger at FTH (48.3%) than at HSS (41.1%). The mean tumor size at pathology was 3.0 cm (standard deviation =2.1 cm) for patients treated at FTH, but 2.6 cm (standard deviation=1.8 cm) for women treated at HSS (P=0.07). The proportion of women with lymph node involvement was greater at FTH (61.1 % than that at HSS (37.3%) (x ₁ ² =16.51,P<0.0001). Surgical treatment of breast cancer varied considerably. In Changchun, radical mastectomy was frequent for any stage of breast cancer patients, but partial mastectomy was never performed. The situation was reversed in Quebec. The five year observed survival was 74.2% (standard error, 0.05) among breast cancer patients seen at FTH compared to 76.0% (standard error, 0.02) among women treated at HSS. After adjustments of confounding factors, there were no significant difference in five year observed survival between the patients treated at the two hospitals (P=0.42).     

Transplantation of Aire-overexpressing bone marrow-derived dendritic cells delays the onset of type 1 diabetes

Autoimmune regulator (Aire) plays an indispensable role in maintaining central immune tolerance by promoting the ectopic expression of tissue-restricted antigens (TRAs) in medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) and dendritic cells (DCs), which lead to the deletion of autoreactive T cells or the induction of Tregs and consequently prevent autoimmune disease development. Curing autoimmune diseases has always been a challenge. DC-based immunotherapy represents a new and effective method to establish tolerance. We attempted to transplant Aire-overexpressing bone marrow-derived DCs (Aire-BMDCs) to treat type 1 diabetes (T1D) and to explore a new strategy for autoimmune disease treatment. We observed that the onset of T1D in recipient mice was delayed; insulin autoantibody (IAA) production was significantly decreased; the structure of islets was protected; and the degree of inflammatory infiltration was lower. Furthermore, we found that Aire-BMDCs can promote apoptosis and induce autoreactive CD4⁺ T cell clonal anergy, inhibit Th1 and Th17 production, and induce Treg production. These results suggest that transplantation of Aire-BMDCs will be a manipulation and effective method for preventing or treating T1D.     

Approach of five-year-average hazard rates for the breast cancer patients and analyses of prognostic factors—an application of cox regression model

Objective: To compare with five-year survival after surgery for the 116 breast cancer patients treated at the First Teaching Hospital (FTH) and the 866 breast cancer patients at Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement (HSS). Methods: Using Cox regression model, after eliminating the confounders, to develop the comparison of the five-year average hazard rates between two hospitals and among the levels of prognostic factors. Results: It has significant difference for the old patients (50 years old or more) between the two hospitals. Conclusion: Tumor size at pathology and involvement of lymph nodes were important prognostic factors.     

Ultrasonographic Identification of Fibromuscular Bands Associated with Neurogenic Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: The “Wedge-Sickle” Sign

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is a disorder characterized by compression of the lower trunk of the brachial plexus, most often in association with anomalous congenital fibromuscular bands in the scalenic region. Early diagnosis is important, because the neurologic deficit associated with TOS may be irreversible. Using high-resolution ultrasound, we investigated 20 consecutive patients with clinical signs suggestive of TOS (all females, average age: 40.4 ± 14.9 y) and 25 control patients. In 19 patients, we identified a hyper-echoic fibromuscular structure at the medial edge of the middle scalene muscle, which indented the lower trunk of the brachial plexus (“wedge-sickle sign”). It was associated with the significant enlargement (p < 0.0001) and hypo-echogenicity of the lower trunk. This novel and distinctive ultrasonographic sign allows pre-surgical identification of anomalous fibromuscular bands causing TOS. It is especially useful in patients without neurologic deficit, in whom the diagnosis may not be as straightforward.     

视频摘要技术及其在数字图书馆中的应用

介绍视频摘要的概念及分类,并对现有典型视频摘要系统进行对比分析,着重阐述视频摘要在数字图书馆中的应用,包括应用领域及在大学数字图书馆中的应用,展望视频摘要技术可能的发展趋势和研究方向。