Adding docetaxel to CF significantly improved TTP, survival, and response rate in gastric cancer patients, but resulted in some increase in toxicity. Incorporation of docetaxel, as in DCF or with other active drug(s), is a new therapy option for patients with untreated advanced gastric cancer.

To our knowledge, V325 is the first phase III trial to report clinical benefit in AGGEC patients. Clinical benefit was assessed beyond protocol-specific chemotherapy. The addition of D to CF not only significantly improved clinical benefit but also improved quality of life, time to progression, and overall survival compared with CF.

V325 represents the largest trial with the longest prospectively controlled evaluations of QOL during protocol chemotherapy and follow-up in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer. In V325, advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer patients receiving DCF not only had statistically improved overall survival and time to tumor-progression, but they also had better preservation of QOL compared with patients receiving CF.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of three shielding gases (argon and argonhydrogen and argon-helium mixtures) and two activating fluxes (a commercial flux and a TiO 2 based flux) on the geometry of welds produced by the tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding process on several casts of austenitic stainless steel AISI 316, using currents ranging from 100 to 300 A. Penetration depth increases with increasing current for all shielding gases, but weld depth to width ratio is higher for argon than for argon-hydrogen shielded welds. Both activating fluxes produce a substantial increase in penetration depth and in depth to width ratio of the welds. No correlation was found between penetration depth and oxygen content in the melted material. Some interaction exists between activating fluxes and shielding gases, which can affect the weld geometry and/or the defect formation in the welds.

Narrow baroclinic fronts are observed in the surface mixed layer (SML) of the Baltic Sea following an autumn storm. The fronts are subjected to hydrodynamic instabilities that lead to submesoscale and turbulent motions while restratifying the SML. We describe observations from an ocean glider that combines currents, stratification, and turbulence microstructure in a high horizontal resolution (150-300 m) to analyze such fronts. The observations show that SML turbulence is strongly modulated by frontal activity, acting as both source and sink for turbulent kinetic energy. In particular, a direct route to turbulent dissipation within the front is linked to shear instability caused by elevated nongeostrophic shear. The turbulent dissipation of frontal kinetic energy is large enough that it could be a significant influence in the evolution of the front and demonstrates that small-scale turbulence can act as a significant sink of submesoscale kinetic energy.

The aim of this research is to study the effect of an activating flux, two shielding gases (100%Ar and 50%Arz50%He) and a range of weld currents on the microstructure of autogeneous A-TIG welds on an austenitic stainless steel. Metallographic, Mo ¨ssbauer, X-ray diffraction and magnetic permeability methods were used in the study to evaluate ferrite content in the welds. The increase in welding current coarsened the microstructure and increased the retained ferrite content in welds made with and without flux. The activating flux increases the ferrite content and changes the distribution of ferrite in the welds. The influence of flux on ferrite content is less significant in Ar/ He than in Ar shield welds. The process of filling steel samples, currently used in the Mo ¨ssbauer method, drastically changes the microstructure of the parent and melted austenitic stainless steels.

The aim of this research is the development of activating fluxes to improve weld bead geometry and increase weld penetration depth in austenitic stainless steels. The effect on bead geometry of two home-made fluxes, composed of titanium and aluminium oxides, was studied, in combination with two shielding gases, respectively Argon and an Argon/Helium mixture. A significant increase in penetration was obtained in welds done with the Ti based activating flux across the whole range of welding currents for both shielding gases, which was not the case for welds performed with the Al based flux. A decrease in δ-ferrite content in the weld metal with increasing current was observed only in welds done with the Ti based flux.

Adult Still's disease (ASD) is a rare systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology, typically characterized by a clinical triad (daily spiking high fevers, evanescent rash, and arthritis) and a biological triad (hyperferritinemia, hyperleucocytosis with neutrophilia and abnormal liver function test). There are no specific diagnostic tests for ASD, so the diagnosis of ASD remains one of exclusion and the differential diagnosis may be lengthy. We present a case of an adultonset Still's disease with previous admissions for fever of unknown origin with a 2-month history of fever and systemic symptoms. The patient posteriorly presented polyarthralgies and cutaneous rash. The study disclosed anemia, inflammatory markers and hepatic enzymes elevation, and negative serological and immunological studies. The introduction of corticotherapy resolved symptoms and laboratories alterations. Adult-onset Still disease is a heterogeneous and rare disease and the lack of serologic markers as a true gold standard makes diagnosis difficult.