Factors affecting the survival of patients with oesophageal carcinoma under radiotherapy in the north of Iran

Factors relevant to the survival of patients with oesophageal cancer under radiotherapy have been studied in northern Iran where its incidence is high. We conducted an analytical study using a historical cohort and information from the medical charts of patients with oesophageal cancer. Out of 523 patients referred to the Shahid Rajaii radiotherapy centre in Babolsar from 1992 to 1996, we followed 230 patients for whom an address was available in 1998. The frequency of prognostic factors among those not contacted was very similar to those included in the study. The data were analysed using survival analysis by the nonparametric method of Kaplan Meier and the Cox regression model to determine risk ratios (RR) of prognostic factors. Survival rates were 42% at 1 year, 21% at 2 years, and 8% at 5 years after diagnosis. Patients aged 50–64 were found to have poorer survival compared with those less than 50 (RR = 1.73, P = 0.03); the risk ratio for ages f = 65 was 1.88 (P = 0.03). Females had significantly better survival than males (RR = 0.71, P = 0.02). For each 100 rads dose of radiotherapy, the risk ratio was significantly decreased by 1% (RR = 0.99, P = 0.05); for each session of radiotherapy, the risk ratio was significantly decreased by 4% (RR = 0.96, P = 0.0001); for each square centimetre size of surface under radiotherapy, the risk ratio significantly increased (RR = 1.002, P = 0.04). We did not observe a significant difference on survival by histology, anatomical location of tumours, or type of treatment (P > 0.05). Prognosis is extremely poor. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

Tropospheric emissions: Monitoring of pollution (TEMPO)

TEMPO was selected in 2012 by NASA as the first Earth Venture Instrument, for launch between 2018 and 2021. It will measure atmospheric pollution for greater North America from space using ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy. TEMPO observes from Mexico City, Cuba, and the Bahamas to the Canadian oil sands, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific, hourly and at high spatial resolution (~2.1kmN/S x 4.4 kmE/W at 36.5°N, 100°W). TEMPO provides a tropospheric measurement suite that includes the key elements of tropospheric air pollution chemistry, as well as contributing to carbon cycle knowledge. Measurements are made hourly from geostationary (GEO) orbit, to capture the high variability present in the diurnal cycle of emissions and chemistry that are unobservable from current low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites that measure once per day. The small product spatial foot print resolves pollution sources at sub-urban scale. Together, this temporal and spatial resolution improves emission inventories, monitors population exposure, and enables effective emission-control strategies. TEMPO takes advantage of a commercial GEO host space craft to provide a modest cost mission that measures the spectra required to retrieve ozone(O3), nitrogen dioxide(NO2), sulfur dioxide(SO2), formaldehyde(H2CO), glyoxal (C2H2O2), bromine monoxide(BrO), IO (iodine monoxide), water vapor, aerosols, cloud parameters, ultraviolet radiation,and foliage properties. TEMPO thus measures the major elements,directly or by proxy, in the tropospheric O3 chemistry cycle. Multi-spectral observations provide sensitivity to O3 in the lower most troposphere, substantially reducing uncertainty in air quality predictions. TEMPO quantifies and tracks the evolution of aerosol loading. It provides these near-real- time air quality products that will be made publicly available. TEMPO will launch at a prime time to be the North American component of the global geostationary constellation of pollution monitoring together with the European Sentinel-4 (S4) and Korean Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instruments

Adrenal Function and Skeletal Regulation

The hormones produced by the adrenal gland have important effects on the bone both in physiological and pathological conditions. The role of cortisol secretion on the bone physiology during growth is not fully understood. During the adult life, the degree of the cortisol secretion, still in the normal range, seems to directly correlate with the bone mineral density in elderly individuals and in osteoporotic women. The overt and subclinical cortisol excess leads to an increased risk of fracture partially independent of the bone mineral density reduction and possibly related to a reduced bone quality. The individual sensitivity to cortisol due to the different polymorphisms of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) or of the 11\u3b2-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase may modulate the effect of glucocorticoids (GCs) on the bone, thus explaining, at least in part, the wide interindividual variability of the skeletal consequences of the hypercortisolism. The adrenal androgens excess in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) importantly affects the bone, leading not only to an early growth acceleration but to a reduction in the final adult height. On the other hand, the reduction of the adrenal androgens during aging has been considered among the pathophysiological mechanisms of the osteoporosis in the elderly, but the effects of the restoration of the androgen levels in the aging-related osteoporosis are conflicting. Finally, the presence of mineralocorticoid receptors has been demonstrated in osteoblast, osteoclast, and osteocyte, and an association exists between indexes of bone strength and some genes involved in aldosterone pathways. In keeping, the condition of hyperaldosteronism has been associated with an increased fracture risk