New measurements of the far ultraviolet scattering properties of interstellar dust

An analysis is presented for the spectra of the diffuse ultraviolet background taken during shuttle flight STS-61C (January 1986). Eight regions of the sky were observed for approximately 20 minutes each, using a spectrograph designed specifically to perform measurements of the UV background. The field of view was 3.8 deg x 8 min, with imaging along the slit to confine stellar contamination. The instrument featured a shutter mechanism to measure internal background during flight, a low-scatter holographically ruled diffraction grating, photon counting microchannel plate detectors, through baffling, and a crystal window to further attenuate stray light. The spectra covered the range 1400 to 1850 A and was binned in 50 A bands. The procedure for substracting the contribution of stars too faint to be detected as discrete sources during the observations (in general this represents a small fraction of the total intensity detected except at the longest wavelengths). A radiative transfer model used to interpret the data and set confidence intervals on the relevant parameters is described. It was found that the continuum component of the diffuse ultraviolet background arises primarily from two sources. One source is scattering of starlight by interstellar dust with an albedo of about 12 percent and a relatively isotropic phase function. A second source consists of about 150 photons/cm/sec/ster/A of extragalactic light which is attenuated by the dust in the galaxy. Although emission features possibly associated with molecular H2 are detected in one look direction, fluorescence of H2 is not a major contributor to the diffuse UV background, at least at galactic latitudes greater than -10 degrees

Final Calibration of the Berkeley Extreme and Far-Ultraviolet Spectrometer on the ORFEUS-SPAS I and II Missions

The Berkeley Extreme and Far-Ultraviolet Spectrometer (BEFS) flew as part of the ORFEUS telescope on the ORFEUS-SPAS I and II space-shuttle missions in 1993 and 1996, respectively. The data obtained by this instrument have now entered the public domain. To facilitate their use by the astronomical community, we have re-extracted and re-calibrated both data sets, converted them into a standard (FITS) format, and placed them in the Multimission Archive at Space Telescope (MAST). Our final calibration yields improved wavelength scales and effective-area curves for both data sets.Comment: To appear in the January 2002 issue of the PASP. 17 pages with 9 embedded postscript figures; uses emulateapj5.st

Retrospective Chart Review Assessing Factors that Contribute to Network Leakage in Postoperative Pancreatic Cancer Patients

Introduction: Standard of care for resectable pancreatic cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, with consideration of radiotherapy. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital (TJUH) is a large volume institution for pancreatectomy. Rate of subsequent in-network adjuvant treatment are far less which may impact outcomes. We will elucidate variables that influence coordinated patient care. Objective: To evaluate variables that correlate with follow up and adjuvant treatment of pancreatic cancer patients at TJUH. Methods: Retrospective medical chart reviews will be performed with data from patients with pancreatic cancer who have undergone resection at TJUH from April 2017 to March 2018. Patient demographics, clinical, and pathologic information will be obtained and a multivariable logistic regression done to identify variables associated with follow up and reception of adjuvant treatment. Results: We hypothesize that distance from TJUH will be the strongest predictor of follow up and adjuvant treatment at TJUH. Discussion: The findings will help us to characterize the quality of follow up and adjuvant treatment at TJUH. Identification of significant variables will help select patients that may benefit most from additional efforts to coordinate follow up. This may benefit patient outcomes as adjuvant treatment at high volume, academic centers have been associated with overall survival outcomes (Mandelson, ASCO 2016, abstract #191). Future projects based on our findings will evaluate the impact of current TJUH efforts such as the in-house inpatient medical and radiation oncology consultation through patient interviews and surveys. The ultimate goal of our work is to optimize current efforts while identifying gaps for innovation to maximize coordinating care

Far Ultraviolet Fluorescence of Molecular Hydrogen in IC 63

We present observations of H_2 fluorescence at wavelengths between 1000 and 1200 A from the bright reflection nebula IC 63. Observations were performed with the Berkeley spectrograph on the ORFEUS-SPAS II mission. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detection of astrophysical H_2 fluorescent emission at these wavelengths (excluding planetary atmospheres). The shape of the spectrum is well described by the model of Sternberg (1989). The absolute intensity, however, is fainter than an extrapolation from observations at longer ultraviolet wavelengths (Witt et al. 1989) by a factor of ten. Of the mechanisms that might help reconcile these observations, optical depth effects in the fluorescing H_2 itself are the most promising (or at least the most difficult to rule out).Comment: LaTeX file, 7 pages, 1 encapsulated PostScript figure. Uses aaspp4.sty and astrobib.sty. (Astrobib is available from http://www.stsci.edu/software/TeX.html .) The ORFEUS telescope is described at http://sag-www.ssl.berkeley.edu/orfeus/ . To appear in The Astrophysical Journal (Letters

Combined Hyperthermia and Radiotherapy for the Treatment of Cancer

Radiotherapy is used to treat approximately 50% of all cancer patients, with varying success. Radiation therapy has become an integral part of modern treatment strategies for many types of cancer in recent decades, but is associated with a risk of long-term adverse effects. Of these side effects, cardiac complications are particularly relevant since they not only adversely affect quality of life but can also be potentially life-threatening. The dose of ionizing radiation that can be given to the tumor is determined by the sensitivity of the surrounding normal tissues. Strategies to improve radiotherapy therefore aim to increase the effect on the tumor or to decrease the effects on normal tissues, which must be achieved without sensitizing the normal tissues in the first approach and without protecting the tumor in the second approach. Hyperthermia is a potent sensitizer of cell killing by ionizing radiation (IR), which can be attributed to the fact that heat is a pleiotropic damaging agent, affecting multiple cell components to varying degrees by altering protein structures, thus influencing the DNA damage response. Hyperthermia induces heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70; HSPA1A) synthesis and enhances telomerase activity. HSPA1A expression is associated with radioresistance. Inactivation of HSPA1A and telomerase increases residual DNA DSBs post IR exposure, which correlates with increased cell killing, supporting the role of HSPA1A and telomerase in IR-induced DNA damage repair. Thus, hyperthermia influences several molecular parameters involved in sensitizing tumor cells to radiation and can enhance the potential of targeted radiotherapy. Therapy-inducible vectors are useful for conditional expression of therapeutic genes in gene therapy, which is based on the control of gene expression by conventional treatment modalities. The understanding of the molecular response of cells and tissues to ionizing radiation has lead to a new appreciation of the exploitable genetic alterations in tumors and the development of treatments combining pharmacological interventions with ionizing radiation that more specifically target either tumor or normal tissue, leading to improvements in efficacy

Hyperthermia and immunotherapy: clinical opportunities.

Hyperthermia holds great promise to advance immunotherapy in the treatment of cancer. Multiple trials have demonstrated benefit with the addition of hyperthermia to radiation or chemotherapy in the treatment of wide-ranging malignancies. Similarly, pre-clinical studies have demonstrated the ability of hyperthermia to enhance each of the 8 steps in the cancer-immunotherapy cycle including stimulation of tumor-specific immunity. While there has been an extensive recent focus on augmenting immunotherapy with radiation, surprisingly to date, there have been no clinical trials assessing the combination of hyperthermia with immunotherapy. The study of hyperthermia with immunotherapy is particularly compelling when considered in the context of a new treatment paradigm for this anti-neoplastic modality. Novel concepts include ease of treatment including elicitation of the tumor-specific response of not requiring whole tumor heating, potentially shorter treatment time, better treatment tolerance as opposed to other multi-agent approaches to immunotherapy and the ability to apply heat repeatedly with immunotherapies, unlike ionizing radiation. Several questions remained with regard to clinical integration which can be readily addressed with thoughtful clinical trial design building upon lessons learned at the bench and from clinical trials combining radiation and immunotherapy. Examples of promising avenues for clinical investigation of hyperthermia and immunotherapy including melanoma, bladder, and head and neck cancers are reviewed. In summary, there is a present convergence of factors in oncology that compel further investigation of the integration of hyperthermia with immunotherapy for the benefit of cancer patients

Status of CHIPS: A NASA University Explorer Astronomy Mission

In the age of Faster, Better, Cheaper , NASA\u27s Goddard Space Flight Center has been looking for a way to implement university based science missions for significantly less money. The University Explorer (UNEX) program is the result. UNEX missions are designed for rapid turnaround with fixed budgets in the $10-$15 million US dollar range. The CHIPS project was selected in 1998. The CHIPS mission passed the Design Verification Review in April 2001 and is now proceeding into implementation with a launch in mid-2002. Many lessons have already been learned from the CHIPS UNEX project. The 2000 paper discussed the early issues surrounding the use of commercial satellite constellations and the politics of small satellites using foreign launchers. The difficulties of finding a spacecraft in the UNEX price range were highlighted. The advantages of utilizing Internet technologies from the earliest phases of the project through communications with the spacecraft on orbit were discussed. The 2001 paper will discuss the implementation status of CHIPS, the first of this new class of NASA mission, and the lessons learned. The current state of the program will be summarized and the project’s plans for the future will be charted