Indonesian market demand patterns for food commodity sources of carbohydrates in facing the global food crisis.

Global food consumption tends to rise more quickly than supply. This has to do with important global issues like population growth. Additionally, global conflicts are going to hinder the distribution of food. Indonesia has an enormous opportunity of anticipating these circumstances considering its promise as one of the largest supplies of food worldwide. Rice is still the staple food in Indonesia, but the dynamics of society are under threat from wheat food. It is possible to create strategy plans to deal with potential food scarcity by understanding the behavior of food demand trends for big carbohydrate sources like corn, cassava, sweet potatoes (as a substitution), and the development of wheat as a beneficial food. The results of the study indicate that rice, corn, cassava, and sweet potatoes-food commodities that are major sources of carbohydrates-are inelastic, which means that their prices are not affected by variations in demand. The community still relies on rice as the primary food source. Cross elasticity >0 in these non-wheat food commodities indicates mutually beneficial replacement among the foods that are sources of carbohydrates. That is, with the dynamics of an increase in income, for example, it will also increase consumption. The results of the study also demonstrate that wheat food items are only a complementary, not a staple food needed, thus concerns about wheat's dominance as a food component in industrial products actually have no impact on local food. The availability of high-yielding varieties of rice, corn, cassava, and sweet potatoes, the implementation of food reserves by the Indonesian National Logistics Agency (Bulog) from the government center to the regions, food diversification, changing preferences, and creating an awareness of local food pride with massive education are some of the anticipatory steps taken in response to the global food crisis.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging parameter changes as an early biomarker of tumor responses following radiation therapy in patients with spinal metastases: a systematic review.

PURPOSE: This systematic review aims to assess and summarize the clinical values of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) parameter changes as early biomarkers of tumor responses following radiation therapy (RT) in patients with spinal metastases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A systematic search was conducted on five electronic databases: PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Cochrane, and Embase. Studies were included if they mentioned DCE-MRI parameter changes before and after RT in patients with spinal metastases with a correlation to tumor responses based on clinical and imaging criteria. The Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 2 was used to assess study quality. RESULTS: This systematic review included seven studies involving 107 patients. All seven studies evaluated the transfer constant (Ktrans), six studies evaluated the plasma volume fraction (Vp), three studies evaluated the extravascular extracellular space volume fraction, and two studies evaluated the rate constant. There were variations in the type of primary cancer, RT techniques used, post-treatment scan time, and median follow-up time. Despite the variations, however, the collected evidence generally suggested that significant differences could be detected in DCE-MRI parameters between before and after RT, which might reflect treatment success or failures in long-term follow-up. Responders showed higher reduction and lower values of Ktrans and Vp after RT. DCE-MRI parameters showed changes and detectable recurrences significantly earlier (up to 6 months) than conventional MRI with favorable diagnostic values. CONCLUSION: The results of this systematic review suggested that DCE-MRI parameter changes in patients with spinal metastases could be a promising tool for treatment-response assessment following RT. Lower values and higher reduction of Ktrans and Vp after treatment demonstrated good prediction of local control. Compared to conventional MRI, DCE-MRI showed more rapid changes and earlier prediction of treatment failure.

A dynamical model of combination therapy applied to glioma.

Glioma is a human brain tumor that is very difficult to treat at an advanced stage. Studies of glioma biomarkers have shown that some markers are released into the bloodstream, so data from these markers indicate a decrease in the concentration of blood glucose and serum glucose in patients with glioma; these suggest an association between glucose and glioma. This decrease mechanism in glucose concentration can be described by the coupled ordinary differential equations of the early-stage glioma growth and interactions between glioma cells, immune cells, and glucose concentration. In this paper, we propose developing a new mathematical model to explain how glioma cells evolve and survive combination therapy between chemotherapy and oncolytic virotherapy, as an alternative to glioma treatment. In this study, three therapies were applied for analysis, that is, (1) chemotherapy, (2) virotherapy, and (3) a combination of chemotherapy and virotherapy. Virotherapy uses specialist viruses that only attack tumor cells. Based on the simulation results of the therapy carried out, we conclude that combination therapy can reduce the glioma cells significantly compared to the other two therapies. The simulation results of this combination therapy can be an alternative to glioma therapy.

Evaluation of target volume and dose accuracy in intrafractional cases of lung cancer based on 4D-CT and 4D-CBCT images using an in-house dynamic thorax phantom.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the target volume and dose accuracy in intrafraction cases using 4-dimensional imaging modalities and an in-house dynamic thorax phantom. Intrafraction motion can create errors in the definition of target volumes, which can significantly affect the accuracy of radiation delivery. Motion management using 4-dimensional modalities is required to reduce the risk. Materials and methods: Two variations in both breathing amplitude and target size were applied in this study. From these variations, internal target volume (ITVs) contoured in 10 phases of 4D-CT (ITV10), average intensity projection (AIP), and mid-ventilation (Mid-V) images were reconstructed from all 4D-CT datasets as reference images. Free-breathing (FB), augmentation free-breathing (Aug-FB), and static images were also acquired using the 3D-CT protocol for comparisons. In dose evaluations, the 4D-CBCT modality was applied before irradiation to obtain position correction. Then, the dose was evaluated with Gafchromic film EBT3. Results: The ITV10, AIP, and Mid-V provide GTVs that match the static GTV. The AIP and Mid-V reference images allowed reductions in ITVs and PTVs without reducing the range of target movement areas compared to FB and Aug-FB images with varying percentages in the range of 29.17% to 48.70%. In the dose evaluation, the largest discrepancies between the measured and planned doses were 10.39% for the FB images and 9.21% for the Aug-FB images. Conclusion: The 4D-CT modality can enable accurate definition of the target volume and reduce the PTV. Furthermore, 4D-CBCT provides localization images during registration to facilitate position correction and accurate dose delivery.

The Role of Pretherapeutic Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging Derived Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in Predicting Clinical Outcomes in Immunocompetent Patients with Primary CNS Lymphoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to confirm the role of Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC) values in predicting the prognosis of PCNSL patients based on previous studies. METHODS: A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted on related articles PubMed, Scopus, Sciencedirect, Cochrane, DOAJ, and Embase databases with last updated search on November 30, 2021. This systematic review and meta-analysis included a total of four studies. RESULT: All studies that examined the association between pretherapeutic ADC values and OS and PFS discovered that lower ADC values were associated with significantly shorter OS and PFS. The analysis revealed that patients with low ADC values had a higher risk of death than those with high ADC values, with a pooled HR of 0.24 (95% CI: 0.10-0.56; Z = 3.26; p = 0.001). A meta-analysis of five data from three studies examining the association between ADC values and PFS was also conducted using a fixed-effects model due to the low heterogeneity values (I2 = 4%; p = 0.38). The data analysis revealed that the pooled HR was 0.25 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.14-0.44, Z = 4.18; p 0.00001). CONCLUSION: Patients with low ADC values had significantly shorter overall survival and progression-free survival than those with high ADC values, so ADC values assessment prior to initial therapy administration can provide clinicians with valuable information about the prognosis of PCNSL.

Overexpression of c-Met is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Glioblastoma Multiforme: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association of c-Met overexpression with survival of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients. METHODS: A systematic review with meta-analyses was conducted on related articles from PubMed, EBSCOhost, Scopus, and Cochrane databases with last updated search on October 31, 2020. A total of 7 studies regarding c-Met overexpression and overall survival (OS) and/or progression free survival (PFS) are included in this study. RESULTS: All studies used immunohistochemistry to examine the expression of c-Met protein. The results showed that the positive rate of c-Met overexpression was detected in approximately 33,9% - 60,5% of GBM patients. c-Met overexpression was related to worse OS (HR: 1,74; 95% CI: 1,482-2,043; Z=6,756; p<0,001) and PFS (HR: 1,66; 95% CI: 1,327-2,066; Z=4,464; p<0,001) in GBM patients. Low heterogeneity of subjects was found in both OS and PFS analyses, I2 values were 7,8% and 0,0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, c-Met overexpression is significantly related to shorter OS and PFS in GBM patients, so c-Met can be considered as a potential prognostic indicator in GBM.