Remote sensing study of land use and sedimentation in the Ross Barnett Reservoir, Jackson, Mississippi area

This multi-year study is aimed at focusing on the recognition of sediment and other affluents in a selected area of the Ross Barnett Reservoir. The principle objectives are the determination of land use types, effect of land use on erosion, and the correlation of sediment with land use in the area. The I2S multi-band imagery was employed in conjunction with ground truth data for both water and land use studies. The selected test site contains approximately forty square miles including forest, open land, and water in addition to residential and recreational areas

Mitoxantrone is superior to doxorubicin in a multiagent weekly regimen for patients older than 60 with high-grade lymphoma: results of a BNLI randomized trial of PAdriaCEBO versus PMitCEBO

A prospective, multicenter, randomized trial was undertaken to compare the efficacy and toxicity of adriamycin with mitoxantrone within a 6-drug combination chemotherapy regimen for elderly patients (older than 60 years) with high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma (HGL) given for a minimum of 8 weeks. A total of 516 previously untreated patients aged older than 60 years were randomized to receive 1 of 2 anthracycline-containing regimens: adriamycin, 35 mg/m2 intravenously (IV) on day 1 (n = 259), or mitoxantrone, 7 mg/m2 IV on day 1 (n = 257); with prednisolone, 50 mg orally on days 1 to 14; cyclophosphamide, 300 mg/m2 IV on day 1; etoposide, 150 mg/m2 IV on day 1; vincristine, 1.4 mg/m2 IV on day 8; and bleomycin, 10 mg/m2 IV on day 8. Each 2-week cycle was administered for a minimum of 8 weeks in the absence of progression. Forty-three patients were ineligible for analysis. The overall and complete remission rates were 78% and 60% for patients receiving PMitCEBO and 69% and 52% for patients receiving PAdriaCEBO (P = .05, P = .12, respectively). Overall survival was significantly better with PMitCEBO than PAdriaCEBO (P = .0067). However, relapse-free survival was not significantly different (P = .16). At 4 years, 28% of PAdriaCEBO patients and 50% of PMitCEBO patients were alive (P = .0001). Ann Arbor stage III/IV, World Health Organization performance status 2-4, and elevated lactate dehydrogenase negatively influenced overall survival from diagnosis. In conclusion, the PMitCEBO 8-week combination chemotherapy regimen offers high response rates, durable remissions, and acceptable toxicity in elderly patients with HGL

British research in accounting and finance (2001–2007): the 2008 research assessment exercise

No abstract available

PO-1841 Infleunces of Interfractional changes of rectum/bladder on vagina motion in endometrium radiotherapy

Purpose or Objective To investigate the influence of interfractional position and volumetric changes of the bladder and rectum on vagina displacements during postoperative external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) of endometrial cancer. Materials and Methods In a single centre retrospective cohort study, measurements of interfractional displacements and volumetric changes of bladder, rectum and vagina were carried out for 28 patients that underwent EBRT for endometria tumours. Measurements were carried out on initial planning computer tomography (CT) scans and on daily cone beam computer tomography (CBCT) scans. Rectum displacements were determined by measuring anterior-posterior (AP) rectal diameters at S5 vertebrae and 4 cm inferior to S5 level. Bladder volumetric changes were determined via measure of AP bladder diameter and superiorinferior (SI) bladder diameter. Vaginal displacements were determined by measure of difference in distances from the pubic symphysis and from the S5 vertebrae at planning CT scans and daily CBCT scans. Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyse the significance in displacement of the rectum/bladder and vagina between planning CT scans and daily CBCT scans. Spearman’s rank-order correlation was then used to analyse significance of the association of changes in rectum and bladder with the displacement of the vagina from planning CT scans to daily CBCT scans. Results 28 initial planning CT scans and 756 CBCT scans were analysed. Significant interfractional changes in rectum position, bladder volume and vagina position were determined between planning CT scans and daily CBCT scans. No statistically significant correlations were found between interfractional changes of bladder and vaginal displacements. Weak relations were found (i) between increase in rectal AP diameter and increase in vaginal displacement from S5 (rs=0.14 p value<0.0.1) (ii) between increase in rectal AP diameter and increase in vaginal displacement from 4cm inferior to S5 (rs=0.22 p value<0.05) Greater interfractional changes in vaginal positions were found in patients who had larger interfractional variations in rectal volumes. Conclusion The findings of this study highlight that better strategies to ensure reproducible rectal volume and position in postoperative endometrium EBRT are required. Patient specific relation between interfractional changes of the rectum with vaginal displacements reinforce the importance of individualised internal target volume (ITV) margins and online daily image guided radiation therapy (IGRT). Radiotherapy and Oncology, Volume 170, S1634 - S163

Increase professional skills of teachers of higher professional institutions in the field of physical culture

The teaching of physical culture at the University requires the teacher not only ownership of professional knowledge, abilities and skills, high physical and technical preparednessПреподавание физической культуры в вузе требует от преподавателя не только владения профессиональными знаниями, умениями и навыками, высокой физической и технической подготовленность

Whole body and splanchnic amino acid metabolism in sheep during an acute endotoxin challenge

Acknowledgements The expertise of A. Graham Calder and Susan Anderson for the various stable isotope analyses is gratefully recognised. Ngaire Dennison is also thanked for her surgical expertise with the trans-splanchnic tissue catheter preparations. This study was supported by funds provided to the Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Aberdeen and Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland by the Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government. S. O. H. was a recipient of a FoRST (NZ) award to study abroad.Peer reviewedPostprin

Workshop report: Workshop on psychiatric prescribing and psychology testing and intervention in children and adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

This workshop aimed at summarising knowledge and key issues in psychiatric prescribing and psychological testing in children and adults with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). It comprised clinicians and patient representatives from the UK and the Netherlands. The following topics were discussed: a model for capturing the range of non-motor problems in the domains of cognition, learning, emotion and behaviour; psychosocial screening tools for use with children and adults; assessing neurocognitive functioning in children and adults; parent and teacher perspectives on psychosocial needs; and psychopharmacological treatment for affective disorders, anxiety disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and insomnia. Some key considerations included: the need for tools used to assess behavioural and psychosocial functioning to consider motor aspects in DMD; to understand more about working memory performance; the need for early interventions for automatisation problems, which affect reading and arithmetic; appropriate selection of tests for neuropsychology assessments; in schools, acknowledging the range of psychosocial risks and gathering evidence of psychosocial needs; the suitability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors for mood and anxiety disorders; the use of stimulant medications for ADHD; melatonin use for insomnia; the cautious use of benzodiazepines; and the need for improving pathways for psychosocial care

Positron Emission Tomography Score Has Greater Prognostic Significance Than Pretreatment Risk Stratification in Early-Stage Hodgkin Lymphoma in the UK RAPID Study.

PURPOSE: Accurate stratification of patients is an important goal in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), but the role of pretreatment clinical risk stratification in the context of positron emission tomography (PET) -adapted treatment is unclear. We performed a subsidiary analysis of the RAPID trial to assess the prognostic value of pretreatment risk factors and PET score in determining outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with stage IA to IIA HL and no mediastinal bulk underwent PET assessment after three cycles of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine; 143 PET-positive patients (PET score, 3 to 5) received a fourth doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine cycle and involved-field radiotherapy, and 419 patients in complete metabolic remission were randomly assigned to receive involved-field radiotherapy (n = 208) or no additional treatment (n = 211). Cox regression was used to investigate the association between PET score and pretreatment risk factors with HL-specific event-free survival (EFS). RESULTS: High PET score was associated with inferior EFS, before (P .4). CONCLUSION: In RAPID, a positive PET scan did not carry uniform prognostic weight; only a PET score of 5 was associated with inferior outcomes. This suggests that in future trials involving patients without B symptoms or mediastinal bulk, a score of 5 rather than a positive PET result should be used to guide treatment escalation in early-stage HL