Prolactin

During an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) glucose and insulin levels were measured in 26 patients with prolactin-producing pituitary tumours without growth hormone excess. Basal glucose and insulin levels did not differ from the values of an age-matched control group. After glucose load the hyperprolactinaemic patients showed a decrease in glucose tolerance and a hyperinsulinaemia. Bromocriptine (CB 154), which suppressed PRL, improved glucose tolerance and decreased insulin towards normal in a second OGTT. — Human PRL or CB 154 had no significant influence on insulin release due to glucose in the perfused rat pancreas. — These findings suggest a diabetogenic effect of PRL. CB 154 might be a useful drug in improving glucose utilization in hormone-active pituitary tumours

Initial Experience Treating Lung Tumors with the CyberKnife

Stereotactic body radiosurgery (SBRS) of lung tumors with the CyberKnife® (Accuray Incorporated, Sunnyvale, CA) achieves excellent rates of local disease control with limited toxicity to surrounding tissues. We retrospectively reviewed treatments and outcomes for 90 patients with 109 lung lesions treated at the CyberKnife Center of Miami between March 2004 and September 2006. This monotherapy review included 49 patients with 53 primary lung cancers, 27 patients with 42 pulmonary metastases, 6 patients with external beam failure and 8 patients treated by SBRS as a boost following or before conventionally fractionated radiotherapy (3DCRT or IMRT). In the primary tumor category, 43 patients remain alive. Thirty-two have been followed 1 to 25 months (median = 11.5 months). Fortynine percent (21/43) of them have had a complete radiographic response and have been followed for a median of 18.5 months. Another 8 have evidence of at least a partial radiographic response. There have been 5 failures (5/43) within the PTV, for a local recurrence rate of 11%. Of the total 109 treated lesions, 97/109 (89%) showed radiographic evidence of at least a partial response to treatment. Six of the failures were in lesions 100 cc. All of the patients tolerated SBRS well with fatigue as the main toxicity. Two patients required hospitalization for Grade III radiation pneumonitis. We conclude that the delivery of precisely targeted, high dose, hypofractionated irradiation to lung tumors with the CyberKnife is well tolerated and has outcomes that are comparable with published results for other methods of SBRS

Modernizing and expanding the NASA Space Geodesy Network to meet future geodetic requirements

Special issue Satellite Laser Ranging.-- 11 pages, 7 figures, 1 tableNASA maintains and operates a global network of Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), and Global Navigation Satellite System ground stations as part of the NASA Space Geodesy Program. The NASA Space Geodesy Network (NSGN) provides the geodetic products that support Earth observations and the related science requirements as outlined by the US National Research Council (NRC in Precise geodetic infrastructure: national requirements for a shared resource, National Academies Press, Washington, 2010. http://nap.edu/12954, Thriving on our changing planet: a decadal strategy for Earth observation from space, National Academies Press, Washington, 2018. http://nap.edu/24938). The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) and the NRC have set an ambitious goal of improving the Terrestrial Reference Frame to have an accuracy of 1 mm and stability of 0.1 mm per year, an order of magnitude beyond current capabilities. NASA and its partners within GGOS are addressing this challenge by planning and implementing modern geodetic stations colocated at existing and new sites around the world. In 2013, NASA demonstrated the performance of its next-generation systems at the prototype next-generation core site at NASA¿s Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory in Greenbelt, Maryland. Implementation of a new broadband VLBI station in Hawaii was completed in 2016. NASA is currently implementing new VLBI and SLR stations in Texas and is planning the replacement of its other aging domestic and international legacy stations. In this article, we describe critical gaps in the current global network and discuss how the new NSGN will expand the global geodetic coverage and ultimately improve the geodetic products. We also describe the characteristics of a modern NSGN site and the capabilities of the next-generation NASA SLR and VLBI systems. Finally, we outline the plans for efficiently operating the NSGN by centralizing and automating the operations of the new geodetic station