lba14_prthe hoboe 2 multicenter randomized phase iii trial in premenopausal patients with hormone receptor positive early breast cancer comparing triptorelin plus either tamoxifen or letrozole or letrozole zoledronic acid

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Cross-sectional study to develop and describe psychometric characteristics of a patient-reported instrument (PROFFIT) for measuring financial toxicity of cancer within a public healthcare system

Objectives To measure and explain financial toxicity (FT) of cancer in Italy, where a public healthcare system exists and patients with cancer are not expected (or only marginally) to pay out-of-pocket for healthcare. Setting Ten clinical oncological centres, distributed across Italian macroregions (North, Centre, South and Islands), including hospitals, university hospitals and national research institutes. Participants From 8 October 2019 to 11 December 2019, 184 patients, aged 18 or more, who were receiving or had received within the previous 3 months active anticancer treatment were enrolled, 108 (59%) females and 76 (41%) males. Intervention A 30-item prefinal questionnaire, previously developed within the qualitative tasks of the project, was administered, either electronically (n=115) or by paper sheet (n=69). Primary and secondary outcome measures According to the protocol and the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research methodology, the final questionnaire was developed by mean of explanatory factor analysis and tested for reliability, internal consistency (Cronbach's α test and item-total correlation) and stability of measurements over time (test-retest reliability by intraclass correlation coefficient and weighted Cohen's kappa coefficient). Results After exploratory factor analysis, a score measuring FT (FT score) was identified, made by seven items dealing with outcomes of FT. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the FT score was 0.87 and the item-total correlation coefficients ranged from 0.53 to 0.74. Further, nine single items representing possible determinants of FT were also retained in the final instrument. Test-retest analysis revealed a good internal validity of the FT score and of the 16 items retained in the final questionnaire. Conclusions The Patient-Reported Outcome for Fighting FInancial Toxicity (PROFFIT) instrument consists of 16 items and is the first reported instrument to assess FT of cancer developed in a country with a fully public healthcare system. Trial registration number NCT03473379

Prev Chronic Dis

IntroductionObesity is highly prevalent among American Indians, and effective prevention efforts require caregiver involvement. We examined American Indian (AI) parents' assessment of and level of concern about their kindergarten child's weight status.MethodsWe collected baseline data (fall of 2005 and fall of 2006) on children and their parents or caregivers for a school-based obesity prevention trial (Bright Start) on an AI reservation in South Dakota. The current study uses 413 parent-child pairs. Age- and sex-adjusted body mass index percentiles were categorized as very underweight (<5th percentile), slightly underweight (5th to <15th percentile), normal weight (15th to <85th percentile), overweight (85th to <95th percentile), and obese ( 6595th percentile). Parents or caregivers reported their assessment of and concerns about their child's weight status as well as sociodemographic characteristics. We used mixed-model multivariable analysis to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and the probability of parents underclassifying or overclassifying their child's weight status; analyses were adjusted for school as a random effect.ResultsChildren were evenly divided by sex and had a mean age of 5.8 years. Twenty-nine percent of children and 86% of parents were overweight or obese. Approximately 33% (n = 138) of parents underclassified and 7% (n = 29) of parents overclassified their child's weight status. Higher parental weight status and higher concern about their child's weight status increased the probability of underclassification (P for trend = .02 for both).ConclusionIn this sample of at-risk children, one-third of parents underclassified their child's weight status. Childhood obesity prevention programs need to increase awareness and recognition of childhood obesity and address parental weight issues.2012649

Confirmatory validation analysis of the PROFFIT questionnaire to assess financial toxicity in cancer patients.

BACKGROUND The Patient Reported Outcome for Fighting FInancial Toxicity (PROFFIT) questionnaire was developed to measure financial toxicity (FT) and identify its determinants. The aim of the present study was to confirm its validity in a prospective cohort of patients receiving anticancer treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS From March 2021 to July 2022, 221 patients were enrolled at 10 Italian centres. Selected items of the EORTC-QLQ-C30 questionnaire represented the anchors, specifically, question 28 (Q-28) on financial difficulties, and questions 29-30 measuring global health status/quality of life (HR-QOL). The study had 80% power to detect a 0.20 correlation coefficient (r) between anchors and PROFFIT-score (items 1-7, range 0-100, 100 indicating maximum FT) with bilateral alpha 0.05 and 80% power. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted. FT determinants (items 8-16) were described. RESULTS Median age of patients was 65 years, 116 (52.5%) were females, 96 (43.4%) had low education level. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed goodness of fit of the PROFFIT-score. Significant partial correlation of PROFFIT-score was found with Q-28 (r = 0.51) and HR-QOL (r = -0.23). Mean (SD) PROFFIT-score at baseline was 36.5 (24.9); it was statistically significantly higher for patients living in South Italy, those with lower education level, those who were freelancer/unemployed at diagnosis and those who reported significant economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic. Mean (SD) scores of determinants ranged from 17.6 (27.1) for item 14 (support from medical staff) to 49.0 (36.3) for item 10 (expenses for medicines or supplements). PROFFIT-score significantly increased with worsening response to determinants. CONCLUSIONS External validation of PROFFIT-score in an independent sample of patients was successful. The instrument is now being used in clinical studies

Impact of strut diameter on the European Space Agency Deep Space Antennas efficiency and sidelobes

Large reflector antennas require the presence of struts to support both feeds and sub-reflectors. Such structures affect the antenna behavior. The present paper proposes an investigation between struts of different radius, considering the structure of the European Space Agency Deep Space Antenna 3 (DSA3), in terms of side-lobes and efficiency. The numerical simulations, which employed Physical Optics, are compared with those related to the DSA4, in order to assess the impact of both the smaller radius and of the different shape of the struts on the antenna performances

Numerical investigation about the impact of struts on the European Space Agency Deep Space Antennas efficiency and sidelobes

Large reflector antennas require struts to mechanically support feeds or sub-reflectors. In many cases, these affect the antenna performance. This paper proposes a comparison between the European Space Agency Deep Space Antennas (DSAs) 3 and 4, in terms of impact of struts on antenna efficiency and sidelobes. The numerical simulations, carried out on the entire antenna model using Physical Optics, indicates that the struts of the new DSA4 can provide a reduced impact due to the different design

On De-Pointing Effects Caused by Snow Accumulation on Radomes for Ground Stations Working at K-Band: An analysis of the SNOWBEAR project

Ground stations working at high frequencies, such as the K-band, installed at polar latitudes and protected by radomes, are increasingly used to support modern satellites. The effect that snow accumulation may have on the radome is consequently important, as at these frequencies it may jeopardize the satellite link. This article analyses an operative case, referred to as SNOWBEAR (Svalbard grouND StatiOn for Wide Band Earth observation dAta Reception), where a 6.4-m antenna has been installed at Svalbard, Norway, to track an Earth observation (EO) satellite, NOAA-20, for a period of two years. We demonstrate, using experimental data and numerical models, that a chief effect can be described in terms of de-pointing of the main beam, with a particular focus on the difference of de-pointing between the sum and delta modes, and that a real-time, effective, solution is not yet available