Role Of Intensification Research Articles

Surf & Turf: The role of intensification and surplus production in the development of social complexity in coastal vs terrestrial habitats

Social complexity in coastal and terrestrial environments both emerge as forms of subsistence intensification on previous foraging patterns but take different trajectories because of differences in the spatial and temporal structure and density of harvestable biomass between the two ecozones. Norms and values surrounding standards of living motivate households to intensify production above what is needed for mere survival (i.e., surplus), which in turn has the effect of providing a buffer against unpredictable shortfalls and longer-term population-resource imbalances caused by population growth. Economies of scale introduced by increasing labor group size and differentiation as well as technology fund the production and consumption of surplus and drive the emergence of social complexity among foragers and cultivators alike.

The role of intensification in the development of the economy of agricultural production

The role of intensification in the development of the economy of agricultural production

The role of intensification in improving the efficiency of horticulture

The role of intensification in improving the efficiency of horticulture

Similar prognosis of transformed and de novo diffuse large B-cell lymphomas in patients treated with immunochemotherapy

BackgroundThe prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) transformed from indolent lymphoma (TL) has been considered poorer than that of de novo DLBCL. However, it seems to have improved since the introduction of rituximab. Patients and methodsWe compared the characteristics (including the cell-of-origin), and the prognosis of 29 patients with TL and 101 with de novo DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy. ResultsPatients with TL and de novo DLBCL had similar characteristics. All TL cases evolving from follicular lymphoma were germinal-center B-cell-like, while those TL from marginal zone lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia were non-germinal-center B-cell-like. The complete response rate was similar in TL and de novo DLBCL (62 vs. 66%, p=0.825). The 5-year overall and progression-free survival probabilities (95% CI) were 59% (40–78) and 41% (22–60) for TL and 63% (53–73) and 60% (50–70) for de novo DLBCL, respectively (p=0.732 for overall survival and p=0.169 for progression-free survival). ConclusionIn this study, the prognosis of TL and de novo DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy was similar. The role of intensification with stem cell transplantation in the management of TL may be questionable in the rituximab era.

Pronóstico similar de los linfomas transformados y los linfomas difusos de células B grandes de novo en pacientes tratados con inmunoquimioterapia

BackgroundThe prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) transformed from indolent lymphoma (TL) has been considered poorer than that of de novo DLBCL. However, it seems to have improved since the introduction of rituximab. Patients and methodsWe compared the characteristics (including the cell-of-origin), and the prognosis of 29 patients with TL and 101 with de novo DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy. ResultsPatients with TL and de novo DLBCL had similar characteristics. All TL cases evolving from follicular lymphoma were germinal-center B-cell-like, while those TL from marginal zone lymphoma or chronic lymphocytic leukemia were non-germinal-center B-cell-like. The complete response rate was similar in TL and de novo DLBCL (62 vs. 66%, P=.825). The 5-year overall and progression-free survival probabilities (95% CI) were 59% (40-78) and 41% (22-60) for TL and 63% (53-73) and 60% (50-70) for de novo DLBCL, respectively (P=.732 for overall survival and P=.169 for progression-free survival). ConclusionIn this study, the prognosis of TL and de novo DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy was similar. The role of intensification with stem cell transplantation in the management of TL may be questionable in the rituximab era.

Bortezomib plus dexamethasone can improve stem cell collection and overcome the need for additional chemotherapy before autologous transplant in patients with myeloma

The aim of this phase II trial was to investigate the efficacy of bortezomib plus dexamethasone (Vel-Dex) as induction therapy in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) and to define the role of intensification before transplantation. Fifty-seven patients were treated with four courses of Vel-Dex, two cycles of dexamethasone, cyclophosphamide, etoposide and cisplatin (DCEP), and a single autologous transplant. Fourteen patients (25%) went off-study: seven after Vel-Dex, seven after DCEP. All patients yielded high numbers of stem cells (median CD34+ cells 7.5 × 106/kg); 54 of the 57 patients (94%) collected ≥4 × 106/kg CD34+ cells, 60% with a single leukapheresis. The overall response rate (ORR) after Vel-Dex was 86% (70% had a very good partial response [VGPR] or better) regardless of cytogenetic abnormalities and International Staging System stage (ISS). The response at the end of the two DCEP cycles remained unchanged in 35 patients (70%), worsened in 15 (20%), and improved in 5 (10%). Because of the consistent drop-out, the ORR in intention-to-treat analysis decreased significantly from 86% after Vel-Dex to 76% after DCEP, and 73% after transplantation. However, when considering the subset of 43 patients who completed the program, the ORR was 96% (complete response 39%, VGPR 41%, partial response 16%). In conclusion, Vel-Dex produces high response rates, improves stem cell collection, and overcomes the need for intensification before autologous transplantation.

ITERATED TABU SEARCH FOR THE TRAVELING SALESMAN PROBLEM: NEW RESULTS

In this paper, we present some new results obtained for the traveling salesman problem (TSP) by using the iterated tabu search (ITS) meta-heuristic. ITS is a promising extension to the ordinary tabu search scheme. It seeks near-optimal solutions by combining intensification (standard tabu search) and diversification (perturbation of solutions) in a proper way. For the TSP, the main effect is achieved due to decomposition of the solution neighbourhood structure and considerably speeding-up the tabu search process, which is used, namely, in the role of intensification. This fast-iterated tabu search (FITS) technique resulted in quite encouraging solutions for the TSP instances from the TSP instance library TSPLIB. FITS obviously outperformed the other heuristic algorithms used in the experimentation, especially, on the smaller TSP instances.