Correlation of cancer treatment related fatigue with biochemical & hormonal profile a prospective study

Background: Cancer treatment using chemotherapy or radiotherapy results in considerable cancer treatment related fatigue. Fatigue can induce significant stress causing hormonal alteration through hypothalamic pituitary axis leading to change in the internal milieu. We evaluated hormonal and biochemical profile to find out a putative corr~lation. Materials & Method: Fifty two histopathology documented cases of cancer patients were subjected to Pipers Fatigue Score (PFS) and blood test for hormone and other biochemical parameters before and after radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment. Human growth hormone, adenocorticotrophic hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone and serum free cortisol level were evaluated along with routine biochemical analysis before and after anticancer treatment. The individual fatigue score were compared with individual hormone levels and other biochemical parameters. Results: Fifty two cancer patients planned for anticancer therapy completed initial pretreatment evaluation however post treatment assessment was not possible in 8 cases as they died during therapy. There were 20 males and 32 females in the study with a median age of 50 years (range15-78 years). The stage distribution was as stage-1 (12°k), stage-11 (17°.4>), stage-Ill (44%) and stage-IV (26°/o).The primary cancer were in breast (19°/o), sarcomas (9°/o), head and neck (19°k), gynecological (19°/o) and miscellaneous sites (14o/o). The individual fatigue score were behavioral severity (26.6°.4>), affective meaning (28°/o), sensory (22.2%), cognitive mood (8.8%) and total score (22.2°.4>) respectively. There were significant rise in the fatigue score followi~g chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The serum human growth hormone and cortisol were positively correlated whereas serum TSH level was negatively correlated with fatigue. Conclusions: Cancer treatment related fatigue is a multidimensional event that affect stress hormonal ·milieu. The human growth hormone and corticotrophins were affected among cancer patients suffering from cancer treatment related fatigue. Probably this finding may help to improve therapeutic intervention in the management fatigue in cance

Structure and Decay Properties of Th Isotopes Using E-RMFT Formalism

In the present scenario, the search for the thermally fissile nuclei is crucial and also important not only for the research background of nuclear physics but also for the great social and economic impact on the country. Many theoretical works have been performed to analyze a series of Th and U-isotopes and found that some of these isotopes are stable against α-decays and spontaneous fission. Here, we have chosen the isotopic chain of Th-nuclei for the present analysis using relativistic mean-field formalism. The work also explores a few stable isotopes in this region of the nuclear landscape, which is crucial for understanding the exotic region of the nuclear landscape. The objective of this work is to study the bulk properties such as binding energies, root mean square charge radii, neutron-proton radii, neutron skin-thickness as well as intrinsic properties such as excitation energy and specific heat for the 216-238Th-isotopic chain. Furthermore, the stability of these isotopes is investigated through their possible decay chain analysis. The relativistic mean-field theory was used to obtain the nuclear bulk properties, namely, binding energies, root-mean-square charge radii, neutron skin-thickness, and excitation energy. The steady solution of the temperature-dependent effective relativistic mean-field equations was obtained self-consistently by taking different inputs of the initial deformations. All the calculations were done for NL3, FSUGarnet and IOPB-I parameter sets for 216-238Th-isotopes. The decay energy of α (Qα) and β-decay (Qβ) were calculated from the binding energies and were further used to obtain the corresponding half-lives. We have analyzed the structural and decay properties of 216-238Th isotopes. The excitation energy and specific heat are also estimated for these considered nuclei by using the temperature-dependent effective relativistic mean-field (E-RMFT) formalism for NL3, FSUGarnet and IOPB-I parameters sets. The calculated results are compared with the available experimental data and found similar observations for all the parameter sets at a given temperature. The excitation energy study signifies the shell melting point where maybe the shape transition occurs. Three phenomenological formulae such as Viola-Seaborg, Royer and modified universal decay law are adopted for the calculation of α-decay half-lives. We found lower values of α-decay half-lives indicating a higher rate of β-decay for the isotopic chain

Correlation between the nuclear structure and reaction dynamics of Ar-isotopes as projectile using the relativistic mean-field approach

This theoretical study is devoted to bridging the gap between the nuclear structure and reaction dynamics and unravelling their impact on each other, considering the neutron-rich light mass 30-60Ar isotopes. Using the relativistic mean-field with the NL3* parameter set, several bulk properties such as binding energies, charge radii, quadrupole deformation parameter, two neutron separation energy, and differential two neutron separation energy with the shell closure parameter are probed for the mentioned isotopic chain. For validation, the RMF (NL3*) results are compared with those obtained from the finite range droplet model (FRDM), Weizsacker-Skyrme model with WS3, WS* parameters and the available experimental data. Most of the participating isotopes are found to be prolate in structure and neutron shell closures are conspicuously revealed at N=14, 20, 40 but weakly shown at N=24, 28, 34. From our analysis, a central depletion in the nucleonic density is identified in 32Ar and 42-58Ar, indicating them as possible candidates for a semi-bubble-like structure. Interestingly, these results are consistent with recent theoretical and experimentally measured data. Besides, using the Glauber model, the reaction cross-sections are determined by taking 26-48Ar as projectiles and stable targets such as 12C, 16O, 40Ca, 90Zr, 124,132Sn, 208Pb and 304120. Although there is no experimental evidence for the stability of 304120, it has been predicted in Ref. [Mod. Phys. Lett. A {\bf 27}, 1250173 (2012)] as a stable nucleus. A relatively higher cross-section value is noticed between 30Ar and 32Ar which infers that 32Ar is the most stable isotope among the considered chain. Moreover, we noticed that the profile of the differential cross-sections and scattering angle are highly influenced by the mass of the target nuclei and the magnitude of the incident energy of the projectile nucleus.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

eta_c production at the Large Hadron Collider

We have studied the production of the 1S_0 charmonium state, eta_c, at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in the framework of Non-Relativistic Quantum Chromodynamics (NRQCD) using heavy-quark symmetry. We find that NRQCD predicts a large production cross-section for this resonance at the LHC even after taking account the small branching ratio of eta_c into two photons. We show that it will be possible to test NRQCD through its predictions for eta_c, with the statistics that will be achieved at the early stage of the LHC, running at a center of mass energy of 7 TeV with an integrated luminosity of 100 pb^{-1}Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure

Correlation of Clinical Examination, MRI and Arthroscopy Findings in Menisco-Cruciate Injuries of the Knee: A Prospective Diagnostic Study

Background: The aim of this study was to examine the correlation of the clinical examination, MRI and arthroscopic findings in cruciate ligaments and meniscal injuries of knee and to evaluate the accuracy of clinical examination and MRI with the gold standard arthroscopy. Methods: A prospective diagnostic double-blind study was conducted on 104 consecutive patients admitted to the outdoor/casualty with trauma to the knee complaining of knee pain/locking/ instability, from August 2012 to June 2014. All the patients were subjected to clinical examination, MRI scanning and diagnostic arthroscopy. Variables like sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of clinical examination and MRI against arthroscopy were evaluated. Results: The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of clinical examination for anterior cruciate ligament tears were 94.7%, 71.4% and 88.5% and for MRI were 94.7%, 78.6% and 90.4%, respectively; for posterior cruciate ligament tears 100%, 100% and 100% for clinical examination and for MRI 80%, 97.9% and 96.2%, respectively. These values for medial meniscus tears were 76.5%, 68.6% and 71.2% for clinical examination and 88.2%, 62.8% and 71.2% respectively for MRI. For lateral meniscus tears, 40%, 94.6% and 78.8% for clinical examination and 46.7%, 89.2% and 76.9% respectively for MRI. Conclusions: A skillfully performed clinical examination establishes a diagnosis on which an arthroscopic procedure can be planned, reserving MRI scans for patients where the clinical examination fails to establish a diagnosis or cannot be performed. Decision to use MRI should be based on the criteria that it would confirm, expand the diagnosis or change diagnosis in such a way that alters the proposed treatment

Diagnosis delay of breast cancer and its associated factors in Malaysian women

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality among women in Malaysia. Delayed diagnosis is preventable and has major effects on patients' prognosis and survival. The objectives of our study were to identify the magnitude of delayed diagnosis and its associated factors in women with breast cancer in Malaysia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study had a cross-sectional design. Respondents had histologically confirmed breast cancer and were registered at five medical centres between 2005 and 2007. All breast cancer patients who attended hospital clinics at the East Coast were included. Patients at Kuala Lumpur hospitals were selected by systematic sampling. A standardised questionnaire was developed to interview respondents. We measured the time from the first recognition of symptoms to the first general practitioners' consultation and to the histological diagnosis of breast cancer. Diagnosis delay was defined when there was more than 6 months from the recognition of symptoms to the histological diagnosis. Multiple logistic regression was used for analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In total, 328 respondents were included. The mean (standard deviation) age was 47.9 (9.4) years. Most respondents were of Malay ethnicity, were married housewives with a median family income of RM1500 a month. Most respondents had ductal carcinoma (89.3%) and the stage distribution was as follows: 5.2% stage I, 38.7% stage II, 44.8% stage III and 11.3% stage IV. The median time to consultation was 2 months and the median time to diagnosis was 5.5 months. The frequency of diagnosis delay of more than 3 months was 72.6% and delay of more than 6 months occurred in 45.5% of the cases. The factors associated with diagnosis delay included the use of alternative therapy (odds ratio (OR) 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06, 2.94), breast ulcer (OR 5.71; 95% CI: 1.59, 20.47), palpable axillary lymph nodes (OR 2.19; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.90), false-negative diagnostic test (OR 5.32; 95% CI: 2.32, 12.21), non-cancer interpretation (OR 1.68; 95% CI: 1.01, 2.78) and negative attitude toward treatment (OR 2.09; 95% CI: 1.15, 3.82).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Delays in consultation and diagnosis are serious problems in Malaysia. Diagnosis delay was influenced by complex interactions between many factors. Breast awareness and education are required to promote early detection, diagnosis and treatment before the tumours enlarge and metastasis.</p

Crystal structure and magnetic properties of spin-1/21/2 frustrated two-leg ladder compounds (C4_4H14_{14}N2_2)Cu2X6_2X_6 (XX= Cl and Br)

We have successfully synthesized single crystals, solved the crystal structure, and studied the magnetic properties of a new family of copper halides (C$_4$H$_{14}$N$_2$)Cu$_2X_6$ ($X$= Cl, Br). These compounds crystallize in an orthorhombic crystal structure with space group $Pnma$. The crystal structure features Cu$^{2+}$ dimers arranged parallel to each other that makes a zig-zag two-leg ladder-like structure. Further, there exists a diagonal interaction between two adjacent dimers which generates inter-dimer frustration. Both the compounds manifest a singlet ground state with a large gap in the excitation spectrum. Magnetic susceptibility is analyzed in terms of both interacting spin-$1/2$ dimer and two-leg ladder models followed by exact diagonalization calculations. Our theoretical calculations in conjunction with the experimental magnetic susceptibility establish that the spin-lattice can be described well by a frustrated two-leg ladder model with strong rung coupling ($J_0/k_{\rm B} \simeq 116$ K and 300 K), weak leg coupling ($J^{\prime\prime}/k_{\rm B} \simeq 18.6$ K and 105 K), and equally weak diagonal coupling ($J^{\prime }/k_{\rm B} \simeq 23.2$ K and 90 K) for Cl and Br compounds, respectively. These exchange couplings set the critical fields very high, making them experimentally inaccessible. The correlation function decays exponentially as expected for a gapped spin system. The structural aspects of both the compounds are correlated with their magnetic properties. The calculation of entanglement witness divulges strong entanglement in both the compounds which persists upto high temperatures, even beyond 370~K for the Br compound.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, 2 table

Three Dimensional Measurements of Asphaltene Deposition in a Transparent Micro-Channel

This study describes a novel experimental approach to directly measure the thicknesses of asphaltene deposits in micro-channels. The thickness of the asphaltene deposit is estimated using a visualization technique based on 3D digital microscopy. The working fluid is a mixture of n-heptane and dead oil. Induced by the addition of n-heptane, the asphaltenes present in crude oil phase separate at ambient temperature to form aggregates of asphaltene-rich phase. Part of the asphaltene aggregates deposit on the walls of the transparent micro-channel. A two-dimensional profile of the deposit across the channel at selected axial sections is measured. The influences of injection mixture volume on the growth of the thickness of deposited asphaltenes is investigated using two experimental conditions, (i) varying elapsed time at constant flow rate and (ii) increasing the flow rate at a constant elapsed time. In both cases the deposit thickness of asphaltene (δ) increases with the total injection volume (V). The experimental results obtained in this work provide new insights into the deposition process at the micro-scale level, which can be used to facilitate the development of more accurate numerical model for this applicatio