Condensed data on the aircraft engines of the world

This compilation of the outstanding characteristics of the available aircraft engines of the world was prepared as a compact ready reference for desk use. It does not pretend to be anything but a skeleton outline of the characteristics of engines reported in the technical press as being in either the experimental, development, or production stage

Chiral particle separation by a non-chiral micro-lattice

We conceived a model experiment for a continuous separation strategy of chiral molecules (enantiomers) without the need of any chiral selector structure or derivatization agents: Micro-particles that only differ by their chirality are shown to migrate along different directions when driven by a steady fluid flow through a square lattice of cylindrical posts. In accordance with our numerical predictions, the transport directions of the enantiomers depend very sensitively on the orientation of the lattice relatively to the fluid flow

Evaluation des Nationalen Programms Ernährung und Bewegung 2008–2012 [Evaluation NPEB 2008-2012]

Le PNAAP 2008–2012 définit la stratégie nationale pour la promotion d’une alimentation équilibrée et d'une activité physique suffisante. Le 18 juin 2008, le Conseil fédéral adoptait le programme et chargeait le DFI de sa mise en pratique. Ce programme définit des objectifs à long terme ainsi que des champs d’action prioritaires pour la marche à suivre au plan national ; c’est aussi sur ce programme que se base la collaboration des différents acteurs impliqués. Sa mise en œuvre a été confiée à l’Office fédéral de la santé publique (OFSP), en collaboration avec l’Office fédéral du sport (OFSPO) et en coordination avec les cantons et Promotion Santé Suisse (PSS). Le PNAAP a une vision: motiver la population et plus particulièrement les jeunes à se nourrir de manière équilibrée et à bouger suffisamment, car ces mesures sont à même de lutter efficacement contre la surcharge pondérale, l’obésité, les troubles du comportement alimentaire et les maladies non transmissibles qui y sont liées. Le programme a cinq objectifs: 1. Assurer la coordination nationale 2. Promouvoir une alimentation équilibrée 3. Promouvoir l’activité physique et le sport 4. Réaliser des modèles intégrés de promotion d’un poids corporel sain 5. Optimiser le conseil et la thérapi

Acute radiation syndrome caused by accidental radiation exposure - therapeutic principles

Fortunately radiation accidents are infrequent occurrences, but since they have the potential of large scale events like the nuclear accidents of Chernobyl and Fukushima, preparatory planning of the medical management of radiation accident victims is very important. Radiation accidents can result in different types of radiation exposure for which the diagnostic and therapeutic measures, as well as the outcomes, differ. The clinical course of acute radiation syndrome depends on the absorbed radiation dose and its distribution. Multi-organ-involvement and multi-organ-failure need be taken into account. The most vulnerable organ system to radiation exposure is the hematopoietic system. In addition to hematopoietic syndrome, radiation induced damage to the skin plays an important role in diagnostics and the treatment of radiation accident victims. The most important therapeutic principles with special reference to hematopoietic syndrome and cutaneous radiation syndrome are reviewed

Intensification of chemotherapy for the treatment of solid tumours: feasibility of a 3-fold increase in dose intensity with peripheral blood progenitor cells and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

Dose intensity may be an important determinant of the outcome in cancer chemotherapy, but is often limited by cumulative haematological toxicity. The availability of haematopoietic growth factors such as granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and of peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) transplantation has allowed the development of a new treatment strategy in which several courses of high-dose combination chemotherapy are administered for the treatment of solid tumours. PBPCs were mobilised before chemotherapy using 12 or 30 micrograms kg-1 day-1 G-CSF (Filgrastim) for 10 days, and were collected by 2-5 leucaphereses. The yields of mononuclear cells, colony-forming units and CD34-positive cells were similar at the two dose levels of Filgrastim, and the numbers of PBPCs were sufficient for rescue following multiple cycles of chemotherapy. High-dose chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide 2.5 g m-2 for 2 days, etoposide 300 mg m-2 for 3 days and cisplatin 50 mg m-2 for 3 days) was administered sequentially for a median of three cycles (range 1-4) to ten patients. Following the 30 evaluable cycles, the median duration of leucopenia < or = 0.5 x 10(9) l-1 and < or = 1.0 x 10(9) l-1 was 7 and 8 days respectively. The median time of thrombopenia < or = 20 x 10(9) l-1 was 6 days. There was no cumulative haematological toxicity. The duration of leucopenia, but not of thrombopenia, was inversely related to the number of reinfused CFU-GM (granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming units). In the majority of patients, neurotoxicity and ototoxicity became dose limiting after three cycles of therapy. However, the average dose intensity delivered was about three times higher than in a standard regimen. The complete response rate in patients with small-cell lung cancers was 66% (95% CI 30-92%) and the median progression-free survival and overall survival were 13 months and 17 months respectively. These results are encouraging and should be compared, in a randomised fashion, with standard dose chemotherapy

Swallowing dysfunction in cancer patients

Purpose Dysphagia (swallowing dysfunction) is a debilitating, depressing, and potentially life-threatening complication in cancer patients that is likely underreported. The present paper is aimed to review relevant dysphagia literature between 1990 and 2010 with a focus on assessment tools, prevalence, complications, and impact on quality of life in patients with a variety of different cancers, particularly in those treated with curative chemoradiation for head and neck cancer. Methods The literature search was limited to the English language and included both MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE. The search focused on papers reporting dysphagia as a side effect of cancer and cancer therapy. We identified relevant literature through the primary literature search and by articles identified in references. Results A wide range of assessment tools for dysphagia was identified. Dysphagia is related to a number of factors such as direct impact of the tumor, cancer resection, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy and to newer therapies such as epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitors. Concomitant oral complications such as xerostomia may exacerbate subjective dysphagia. Most literature focuses on head and neck cancer, but dysphagia is also common in other types of cancer. Conclusions Swallowing impairment is a clinically relevant acute and long-term complication in patients with a wide variety of cancers. More prospective studies on the course of dysphagia and impact on quality of life from baseline to long-term follow-up after various treatment modalities, including targeted therapies, are needed

Responses to systemic therapy in metastatic pheochromocytoma/paraganglioma: a retrospective multicenter cohort study

OBJECTIVE The therapeutic options for metastatic pheochromocytomas/paragangliomas (mPPGLs) include chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide/vincristine/dacarbazine (CVD), temozolomide monotherapy, radionuclide therapies, and tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as sunitinib. The objective of this multicenter retrospective study was to evaluate and compare the responses of mPPGLs including those with pathogenic variants in succinate dehydrogenase subunit B (SDHB), to different systemic treatments. DESIGN This is a retrospective analysis of treatment responses of mPPGL patients (n = 74) to systemic therapies. METHODS Patients with mPPGLs treated at 6 specialized national centers were selected based on participation in the ENSAT registry. Survival until detected progression (SDP) and disease-control rates (DCRs) at 3 months were evaluated based on imaging reports. RESULTS For the group of patients with progressive disease at baseline (83.8% of 74 patients), the DCR with first-line CVD chemotherapy was 75.0% (n = 4, SDP 11 months; SDHB [n = 1]: DCR 100%, SDP 30 months), with somatostatin peptide receptor-based radionuclide therapy (PPRT) 85.7% (n = 21, SDP 17 months; SDHB [n = 10]: DCR 100%, SDP 14 months), with 131I-meta-iodobenzylguanidine (131I-MIBG) 82.6% (n = 23, SDP 43 months; SDHB [n = 4]: DCR 100%, SDP 24 months), with sunitinib 100% (n = 7, SDP 18 months; SDHB [n = 3]: DCR 100%, SDP 18 months), and with somatostatin analogs 100% (n = 4, SDP not reached). The DCR with temozolomide as second-line therapy was 60.0% (n = 5, SDP 10 months; SDHB [n = 4]: DCR 75%, SDP 10 months). CONCLUSIONS We demonstrate in a real-life clinical setting that all current therapies show reasonable efficacy in preventing disease progression, and this is equally true for patients with germline SDHB mutations