The Meeting of Two Cultures: Public Broadcasting on the Threshold of the Digital Age

Provides a summary of discussions held in November 2007 on "Public Broadcasting: The Digital Challenge" among representatives of foundations, public broadcasting corporations and academia. Includes essays on visions for the future of public media

Contributors to the May Issue/Notes

Notes by Thomas W. Cain, A. E. Kerger, Ronald P. Rejent, Carl J. Kegelmayer, William J. Syring, Leo L. Linck, Edward A. Mahoney, Jr., John P. Meyer, William F. Spalding, and James O. Lang

Docetaxel (Taxotere): an active agent in metastatic urothelial cancer; results of a phase II study in non-chemotherapy-pretreated patients.

The semisynthetic taxoid docetaxel was investigated in a phase II study in non-chemotherapy pretreated patients with metastatic urothelial cell cancer. Thirty patients (median age 61, range 45-72) were treated with docetaxel 100 mg m(-2) administered as a 1-h infusion every 3 weeks. Of 29 evaluable patients, four achieved a complete response and five a partial response, for an overall response rate of 31%. The median duration of response was 6 months (range 4-51+). A total of 104 cycles were administered. The median number of cycles given was three (range 1-9). Toxic effects of docetaxel mainly consisted of neutropenia, which, however, rarely caused infectious complications (5%). Fluid retention or neuropathy necessitated treatment cessation in two patients. We conclude that docetaxel is an effective agent in urothelial cell cancer, and should be further tested in combination chemotherapy

Direct growth of graphene on GaN via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition under N₂ atmosphere

One of the bottlenecks in the implementation of graphene as a transparent electrode in modern opto-electronic devices is the need for complicated and damaging transfer processes of high-quality graphene sheets onto the desired target substrates. Here, we study the direct, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) growth of graphene on GaN-based light-emitting diodes (LEDs). By replacing the commonly used hydrogen (H2) process gas with nitrogen (N2), we were able to suppress GaN surface decomposition while simultaneously enabling graphene deposition at lt;800 °C in a single-step growth process. Optimizing the methane (CH4) flow and varying the growth time between 0.5 h and 8 h, the electro-optical properties of the graphene layers could be tuned to sheet resistances as low as ∼1 kΩ/D with a maximum transparency loss of ∼12. The resulting high-quality graphene electrodes show an enhanced current spreading effect and an increase of the emission area by a factor of ∼8 in operating LEDs. © 2020 The Author(s)

Age- and Concentration-Dependent Elimination Half-Life of 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in Seveso Children

OBJECTIVE: Pharmacokinetic and statistical analyses are reported to elucidate key variables affecting 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) elimination in children and adolescents. DESIGN: We used blood concentrations to calculate TCDD elimination half-life. Variables examined by statistical analysis include age, latency from exposure, sex, TCDD concentration and quantity in the body, severity of chloracne response, body mass index, and body fat mass. PARTICIPANTS: Blood was collected from 1976 to 1993 from residents of Seveso, Italy, who were < 18 years of age at the time of a nearby trichlorophenol reactor explosion in July 1976. RESULTS: TCDD half-life in persons < 18 years of age averaged 1.6 years while those ≥18 years of age averaged 3.2 years. Half-life is strongly associated with age, showing a cohort average increase of 0.12 year half-life per year of age or time since exposure. A significant concentration-dependency is also identified, showing shorter half-lives for TCDD concentrations > 400 ppt for children < 12 years of age and 700 ppt when including adults. Moderate correlations are also observed between half-life and body mass index, body fat mass, TCDD mass, and chloracne response. CONCLUSIONS: Children and adolescents have shorter TCDD half-lives and a slower rate of increase in half-life than adults, and this effect is augmented at higher body burdens. RELEVANCE: Modeling of TCDD blood concentrations or body burden in humans should take into account the markedly shorter elimination half-life observed in children and adolescents and concentration-dependent effects observed in persons > 400–700 ppt

Treatment algorithm in patients with ovarian cancer

Most ovarian cancer patients are diagnosed only at advanced stages when survival outcomes are worse, and when therapeutic decisions might prove challenging. The fundamental treatment for women with ovarian cancer includes debulking surgery whenever possible and appropriate systemic therapy (chemotherapy, targeted and antiangiogenic agents). In the last few years, knowledge about histological and molecular characteristics of ovarian cancer subtypes and stages has increased considerably. This has enabled the development and improvement of several options for the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer in a patient-tailored approach. Accordingly, therapeutic decisions are guided by the characteristics of the patient and the tumour, especially the molecular features of the cancer subtype and disease stage. Particularly relevant are the advances in early genetic testing of germline and somatic mutations involved in DNA repair, and the clinical development of targeted agents. In order to implement the best individual medical strategies, in this article, we present an algorithm of treatment options, including recently developed targeted agents, for primary and recurrent ovarian cancer patients in Belgium

Phase I study of Carzelesin (U-80,244) given (4-weekly) by intravenous bolus schedule

Carzelesin is a cyclopropylpyrroloindole analogue which acts as a DNA-sequence-specific alkylating agent. In this phase I study, Carzelesin was given as a 4-weekly 10 min IV infusion to 51 patients with advanced solid tumours. Patients received a median of two courses (range 1–5) at one of nine dose levels: 24, 48, 96, 130, 150, 170, 210, 250 and 300 μg m−2. According to NCI-CTC criteria, non-haematological toxicities (grade 1/2) included fever, nausea and vomiting, mucositis and anorexia, none of which was clearly dose related. The dose-limiting toxicity was haematological and consisted mainly of neutropenia and to a lesser extent thrombocytopenia. From the dose level 150 μg m−2, the haematological toxicity (particularly thrombocytopenia) was delayed in onset, prolonged and cumulative in some patients. In several courses, double WBC nadirs occurred. The maximum tolerated dose for a single course was 300 μg m−2. From the dose level 170 μg m−2, the intended dose intensity could not be delivered to most patients receiving > 2 courses owing to cumulative haematological toxicity. The dose level with the best dose intensity for multiple courses was 150 μg m−2. The pharmacokinetics of Carzelesin and its metabolites (U-76,073; U-76,074) have been established in 31 patients during the first course of treatment using a HPLC method. Carzelesin exhibited linear pharmacokinetics. The concentration of U-76,074 (active metabolite) extended above the lower limit of quantitation (1 ng ml−1) for short periods of time and only at the higher dose levels. There was no relationship between neutropenia and the AUC of the prodrug Carzelesin, but the presence of detectable plasma levels of the active metabolite U-76,074 was usually associated with a substantial decrease in ANC values. © 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Detection of ctDNA in plasma of patients with clinically localised prostate cancer is associated with rapid disease progression.

BACKGROUND DNA originating from degenerate tumour cells can be detected in the circulation in many tumour types, where it can be used as a marker of disease burden as well as to monitor treatment response. Although circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) measurement has prognostic/predictive value in metastatic prostate cancer, its utility in localised disease is unknown. METHODS We performed whole-genome sequencing of tumour-normal pairs in eight patients with clinically localised disease undergoing prostatectomy, identifying high confidence genomic aberrations. A bespoke DNA capture and amplification panel against the highest prevalence, highest confidence aberrations for each individual was designed and used to interrogate ctDNA isolated from plasma prospectively obtained pre- and post- (24 h and 6 weeks) surgery. In a separate cohort (n = 189), we identified the presence of ctDNA TP53 mutations in preoperative plasma in a retrospective cohort and determined its association with biochemical- and metastasis-free survival. RESULTS Tumour variants in ctDNA were positively identified pre-treatment in two of eight patients, which in both cases remained detectable postoperatively. Patients with tumour variants in ctDNA had extremely rapid disease recurrence and progression compared to those where variants could not be detected. In terms of aberrations targeted, single nucleotide and structural variants outperformed indels and copy number aberrations. Detection of ctDNA TP53 mutations was associated with a significantly shorter metastasis-free survival (6.2 vs. 9.5 years (HR 2.4; 95% CIs 1.2-4.8, p = 0.014). CONCLUSIONS CtDNA is uncommonly detected in localised prostate cancer, but its presence portends more rapidly progressive disease

Measurement of inclusive D*+- and associated dijet cross sections in photoproduction at HERA

Inclusive photoproduction of D*+- mesons has been measured for photon-proton centre-of-mass energies in the range 130 < W < 280 GeV and a photon virtuality Q^2 < 1 GeV^2. The data sample used corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 37 pb^-1. Total and differential cross sections as functions of the D* transverse momentum and pseudorapidity are presented in restricted kinematical regions and the data are compared with next-to-leading order (NLO) perturbative QCD calculations using the "massive charm" and "massless charm" schemes. The measured cross sections are generally above the NLO calculations, in particular in the forward (proton) direction. The large data sample also allows the study of dijet production associated with charm. A significant resolved as well as a direct photon component contribute to the cross section. Leading order QCD Monte Carlo calculations indicate that the resolved contribution arises from a significant charm component in the photon. A massive charm NLO parton level calculation yields lower cross sections compared to the measured results in a kinematic region where the resolved photon contribution is significant.Comment: 32 pages including 6 figure

Measurement of Jet Shapes in Photoproduction at HERA

The shape of jets produced in quasi-real photon-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies in the range $134-277$ GeV has been measured using the hadronic energy flow. The measurement was done with the ZEUS detector at HERA. Jets are identified using a cone algorithm in the $\eta - \phi$ plane with a cone radius of one unit. Measured jet shapes both in inclusive jet and dijet production with transverse energies $E^{jet}_T>14$ GeV are presented. The jet shape broadens as the jet pseudorapidity ($\eta^{jet}$) increases and narrows as $E^{jet}_T$ increases. In dijet photoproduction, the jet shapes have been measured separately for samples dominated by resolved and by direct processes. Leading-logarithm parton-shower Monte Carlo calculations of resolved and direct processes describe well the measured jet shapes except for the inclusive production of jets with high $\eta^{jet}$ and low $E^{jet}_T$. The observed broadening of the jet shape as $\eta^{jet}$ increases is consistent with the predicted increase in the fraction of final state gluon jets.Comment: 29 pages including 9 figure