A comparison between cobalt and linear accelerator-based treatment plans for conformal and intensity-modulated radiotherapy

The simplicity of cobalt units gives them the advantage ofreduced maintenance, running costs and downtime when compared with linear accelerators. However, treatments carried out on such units are typically limited to simple techniques. This study has explored the use of cobalt beams for conformal and intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Six patients, covering a range of treatment sites, were planned using both X-ray photons (6/10 MV) and cobalt-60 gamma rays (1.17 and 1.33 MeV). A range of conformal and IMRT techniques were considered, as appropriate. Conformal plans created using cobalt beams for small breast, meningioma and parotid cases were found to compare well with those created using X-ray photons. By using additional fields, acceptable conformal plans were also created for oesophagus and prostate cases. IMRT plans were found to be of comparable quality for meningioma, parotid and thyroid cases on the basis of dose-volume histogram analysis. We conclude that it is possible to plan high-quality radical radiotherapy treatments for cobalt units. A well-designed beam blocking/compensation system would be required to enable a practical and efficient alternative to multileaf collimator (MLC)-based linac treatments to be offered. If cobalt units were to have such features incorporated into them, they could offer considerable benefits to the radiotherapy community

Sustainable regeneration : everyday landscapes of food acquisition, Pendleton

The report is structured as follows. Chapter two provides the context to the research, outlining why a study of food acquisition and digital inclusion is necessary in Pendleton at this time, and why both issues are linked to the current regeneration programme. Chapter three sets out the methodology employed along with details of the recruitment of participants. Chapter four provides a detailed analysis of the findings from the digital skills side of the research including: digital usage, confidence and competence, and digital skills and shopping, and chapter five focuses on findings related to the food landscape. Chapter six summarises the key findings by identifying what is going well, making recommendations for changes at a variety of scale, as well as specific recommendations for the on-going regeneration programme, and recommendations for further research

A survey to investigate the association of pain, foot disability and quality of life with corns

Background Corns are a common foot problem affecting a large proportion of the population. This study describes the characteristics of corns experienced by 201 participants taking part in a randomised controlled trial to investigate associations between demographic and corn parameters on pain, foot related disability and quality of life (QoL). Methods Pain from the main (index) corn was measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS); foot related disability was assessed with the Foot Disability Questionnaire (now known as the Manchester Foot Pain and Disability Index) and quality of life was recorded with the EQ-5D questionnaire. The effect of demographic and corn parameters on the pain and quality of life outcomes was assessed with analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods. The effect of the same factors on a linear combination of the foot-related disability outcome measures was assessed using multivariate ANOVA methods. Pain was also tested for its mediating properties on the causal pathway between the independent variables and quality of life. Results The mean pain score was 5.29 points on a 10 cm VAS, with females reporting substantively higher pain levels than males. Age affected foot-related disability, with lower levels on all domains of the MFPDI reported in older participants; each year of advancing age was associated with falls of: 0.009 points on the Concern about Appearance (CA) domain; 0.047 points on the Functional Limitation (FL) domain and 0.048 points on the Pain Intensity (PI) domain. Sex and corn type also affected disability, with higher scores reported by females and participants with plantar corns. Conclusions The effect of pain was shown to mediate the relationship between sex and foot-related disability. The presence of plantar corns has a more detrimental effect on QoL than dorsal/inter-digital corns

Facial Attractiveness

Facial attractiveness has important social consequences. Despite a widespread belief that beauty cannot be defined, in fact, there is considerable agreement across individuals and cultures on what is found attractive. By considering that attraction and mate choice are critical components of evolutionary selection, we can better understand the importance of beauty. There are many traits that are linked to facial attractiveness in humans and each may in some way impart benefits to individuals who act on their preferences. If a trait is reliably associated with some benefit to the perceiver, then we would expect individuals in a population to find that trait attractive. Such an approach has highlighted face traits such as age, health, symmetry, and averageness, which are proposed to be associated with benefits and so associated with facial attractiveness. This view may postulate that some traits will be universally attractive; however, this does not preclude variation. Indeed, it would be surprising if there existed a template of a perfect face that was not affected by experience, environment, context, or the specific needs of an individual. Research on facial attractiveness has documented how various face traits are associated with attractiveness and various factors that impact on an individual's judgments of facial attractiveness. Overall, facial attractiveness is complex, both in the number of traits that determine attraction and in the large number of factors that can alter attraction to particular faces. A fuller understanding of facial beauty will come with an understanding of how these various factors interact with each other

A novel live-attenuated vaccine candidate for mayaro Fever.

Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging, mosquito-borne alphavirus that causes a dengue-like illness in many regions of South America, and which has the potential to urbanize. Because no specific treatment or vaccine is available for MAYV infection, we capitalized on an IRES-based approach to develop a live-attenuated MAYV vaccine candidate. Testing in infant, immunocompetent as well as interferon receptor-deficient mice demonstrated a high degree of attenuation, strong induction of neutralizing antibodies, and efficacy against lethal challenge. This vaccine strain was also unable to infect mosquito cells, a major safety feature for a live vaccine derived from a mosquito-borne virus. Further preclinical development of this vaccine candidate is warranted to protect against this important emerging disease

Assessment of Diet and Physical Activity in Paediatric Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Patients: A United Kingdom Case Control Study

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease in children, with prevalence rising alongside childhood obesity rates. This study aimed to characterise the habitual diet and activity behaviours of children with NAFLD compared to obese children without liver disease in the United Kingdom (UK). Twenty-four biopsy-proven paediatric NAFLD cases and eight obese controls without biochemical or radiological evidence of NAFLD completed a 24-h dietary recall, a Physical Activity Questionnaire (PAQ), a Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and a 7-day food and activity diary (FAD), in conjunction with wearing a pedometer. Groups were well matched for age and gender. Obese children had higher BMI z-scores (p = 0.006) and BMI centiles (p = 0.002) than participants with NAFLD. After adjusting for multiple hypotheses testing and controlling for differences in BMI, no differences in macro- or micronutrient intake were observed as assessed using either 24-h recall or 7-day FAD (p > 0.001). Under-reporting was prevalent (NAFLD 75%, Obese Control 87%: p = 0.15). Restrained eating behaviours were significantly higher in the NAFLD group (p = 0.005), who also recorded more steps per day than the obese controls (p = 0.01). In conclusion, this is the first study to assess dietary and activity patterns in a UK paediatric NAFLD population. Only a minority of cases and controls were meeting current dietary and physical activity recommendations. Our findings do not support development of specific dietary/ physical activity guidelines for children with NAFLD; promoting adherence with current general paediatric recommendations for health should remain the focus of clinical management

Hidden Disunities and Uncanny Resemblances: Connections and Disconnections in the Music of Lera Auerbach and Michael Nyman

Does stylistic appropriation serve to create a sense of unity or disunity, continuity or fragmentation? Taking George Lipsitz's notion of �families of resemblance� and intertextuality's dialogic qualities (as shown in the writings of Mikhail Bakhtin and Julia Kristeva), this article will put forward the argument that certain forms of quotation result in a kind of halfway house�an in-between state�where the text seemingly announces its own independence despite its (inter)dependence on a whole host of other intertexts. Unlike the collage-like, so-called polystylistic compositions of the late 1960s, which also used quotation, an altogether different and more deeply embedded form has developed since then, where the quoted material is integrated to a much greater extent on the surface, only to lay bare its �difference� at a deeper level. Such �hidden discontinuities� will be examined in relation to a single work, Lera Auerbach's Sogno di Stabat Mater (2005/2008), before applying Lipsitz's principle as a case study to Michael Nyman's oeuvre