Planned dose of intensity modulated proton beam therapy versus volumetric modulated arch therapy to tooth-bearing regions

Background: Intensity modulated proton beam therapy (IMPT) for head and neck cancer offers dosimetric benefits for the organs at risk when compared to photon-based volumetric modulated arch therapy (VMAT). However, limited data exists about the potential benefits of IMPT for tooth-bearing regions. The aim of this study was to compare the IMPT and VMAT radiation dosimetrics of the tooth-bearing regions in head and neck cancer patients. Also, we aimed to identify prognostic factors for a cumulative radiation dose of ≥40 Gy on the tooth-bearing areas, which is considered the threshold dose for prophylactic dental extractions. Methods: A total of 121 head and neck cancer patients were included in this retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. We compared the average Dmean values of IMPT versus VMAT of multiple tooth-bearing regions in the same patients. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed for receiving a cumulative radiation dose of ≥40 Gy to the tooth-bearing regions (primary endpoint) in both VMAT and IMPT. Results: A lower Dmean was seen after applying IMPT to the tooth-bearing tumour regions (p &lt; 0.001). Regarding VMAT, oral cavity tumours, T3-T4 tumours, molar regions in the mandible, and regions ipsilateral to the tumour were risk factors for receiving a cumulative radiation dose of ≥40 Gy. Conclusions: IMPT significantly reduces the radiation dose to the tooth-bearing regions.</p

Dental implant placement in alveolar cleft patients:a retrospective comparative study on clinical and aesthetic outcomes

The aim of this retrospective study was to assess the clinical and aesthetic outcomes, and patient satisfaction, following dental implant therapy in cleft patients. Implant survival, changes in marginal bone level, pocket probing depths, plaque and bleeding indices, aesthetics, and patient satisfaction were assessed in 17 alveolar cleft patients and 17 matched controls. At follow-up (mean 72.4 +/- 46.4 months), one implant had been lost in the cleft group. Mean marginal bone loss at follow-up was -0.4 +/- 0.4 mm in cleft patients and -0.2 +/- 0.4 mm in controls. Aesthetics of the peri-implant soft tissues (pink aesthetic score) were less favourable (P = 0.025) in cleft patients (5.0 +/- 1.9) than in controls (6.5 +/- 1.7), while peri-implant parameters were comparable in the two groups. Overall patient satisfaction was 8.6 +/- 0.9 in cleft patients and 8.9 +/- 1.1 in controls (P = 0.331). In cleft patients, no difference in aesthetics was observed between patients who received additional bone augmentation at 3 months prior to implant placement and those who did not (P = 0.092). Dental implant therapy in cleft patients is associated with high implant survival, minor marginal bone loss, healthy peri-implant soft tissues, and high patient satisfaction. Only the aesthetics of the soft tissues was worse in cleft patients compared to augmented non-cleft patients

Tuning the excited state of photoactive building blocks for metal-templated self-assembly.

The reaction of 2,2':4,4'':4',4'''-quaterpyridyl (qtpy), with d(6) ruthenium(II) (Ru(II) ), and rhenium(I) (Re(I) ) metal centers has been investigated. The pendant pyridyl groups on the products have also been methylated to produce a second series of complexes containing coordinated Meqtpy(2+). The absorption spectra of the complexes are dominated by intraligand and charge-transfer bands. The ruthenium(II) complexes display broad unstructured luminescence consistent with emission from a Ru(d)→diimine(π*) manifold in acetonitrile solutions. In aqueous solutions, their emissions are weaker and the lifetimes are shorter. This effect is particularly acute for complexes incorporating coordinated dipyridylpyrazine, dppz, ligands. Although the emission of the ruthenium(II) complexes containing Meqtpy(2+) is generally shorter than their qtpy analogs, it is notable that solvent-dependent effects are much less intense. The rhenium(I) complexes also display broad unstructured luminescence but, compared with the ruthenium(II) systems, they have a relatively short lifetime in acetonitrile. Electrochemical studies reveal that all of the Ru(II) complexes display chemically reversible metal-based oxidations. Re(I) complexes only display irreversible metal-based oxidations. In most cases, the reduction processes were not fully chemically reversible. The electrochemical and optical studies reveal that the nature of the lowest excited state of these complexes--particularly, the systems incorporating dppz--is highly dependent on the nature of the coordinated ligands. Calculations indicate that, although the excited state of most of the complexes is centered on the qtpy or Meqtpy(2+) ligands, the excited state of the complexes containing dppz ligands is switched away from the dppz by qtpy methylation. A crystallographic study on one of the dicationic ruthenium(II) structures reveals that it forms an inclusion complex with benzene

Porous iron pellets for AMS C-14 analysis of small samples down to ultra-microscale size (10-25 mu gC)

We developed the use of a porous iron pellet as a catalyst for AMS C-14 analysis of small samples down to ultra-microscale size (10-25 mu gC). It resulted in increased and more stable beam currents through our HVEE 4130 C-14 AMS system, which depend smoothly on the sample size. We find that both the expected decrease of oxalic acid standards and increase of backgrounds with decreasing sample size, due to increasing influence of contamination, are reproducible. Using a mass-dependent background correction for dead (1.0 +/- 0.4 mu gC) and modern (0.25 +/- 0.10 mu gC) contamination, we obtain reliable results for small samples down to 10 mu gC and possibly smaller. Due to our low graphitization yield for ultra-small samples (increases from 40% to 80% on average with sample size), we measured graphite standards as small as 3 mu gC. The standard deviation of the corrected activity is about 5% for a 10-mu gC HOxII standard. Here we report the iron pellet technique, which is new to the best of our knowledge. It is generally applicable for AMS C-14 laboratories that want to measure small samples down to ultra-microscale size. As an illustrative test-case, we analyze C-14 data for IAEA-05, C7 and C8 samples with masses ranging from 15 to 300 mu gC. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Can Polymer Coils be modeled as "Soft Colloids"?

We map dilute or semi-dilute solutions of non-intersecting polymer chains onto a fluid of ``soft'' particles interacting via a concentration dependent effective pair potential, by inverting the pair distribution function of the centers of mass of the initial polymer chains. A similar inversion is used to derive an effective wall-polymer potential; these potentials are combined to successfully reproduce the calculated exact depletion interaction induced by non-intersecting polymers between two walls. The mapping opens up the possibility of large-scale simulations of polymer solutions in complex geometries.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures ReVTeX[epsfig,multicol,amssymb] references update

Slowing heavy, ground-state molecules using an alternating gradient decelerator

Cold supersonic beams of molecules can be slowed down using a switched sequence of electrostatic field gradients. The energy to be removed is proportional to the mass of the molecules. Here we report deceleration of YbF, which is 7 times heavier than any molecule previously decelerated. We use an alternating gradient structure to decelerate and focus the molecules in their ground state. We show that the decelerator exhibits the axial and transverse stability required to bring these molecules to rest. Our work significantly extends the range of molecules amenable to this powerful method of cooling and trapping.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Anharmonic magnetic deformation of self-assembled molecular nanocapsules

High magnetic fields were used to deform spherical nanocapsules, self-assembled from bola-amphiphilic sexithiophene molecules. At low fields the deformation -- measured through linear birefringence -- scales quadratically with the capsule radius and with the magnetic field strength. These data confirm a long standing theoretical prediction (W. Helfrich, Phys. Lett. {\bf 43A}, 409 (1973)), and permits the determination of the bending rigidity of the capsules as (2.6$\pm$0.8)$\times 10^{-21}$ J. At high fields, an enhanced rigidity is found which cannot be explained within the Helfrich model. We propose a complete form of the free energy functional that accounts for this behaviour, and allows discussion of the formation and stability of nanocapsules in solution.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted in Phys. Rev. Let

Is the time in therapeutic range on coumarins predicted by previous time in therapeutic range?

Background The benefit of vitamin K antagonists depends on the time within the therapeutic range (TTR). A patient's previous TTR could be a factor in the decision to change the anticoagulation regimen. However, the predictive value of a previous TTR for a future TTR is not well established, nor is it clear which TTR should prompt action. Objectives To investigate the predictive performance of a TTR and identify a threshold below which no recovery of TTR should be expected. Patients/Methods From 18 031 patients who used acenocoumarol in a first-line anticoagulation clinic, a TTR was calculated over multiple periods of 90, 180, and 365 days each. We assessed the correlation between baseline and later TTR and the separation between groups by quintile of baseline TTR. We describe the proportion of patients who obtain a TTR >= 70% conditional on baseline TTR. Results The correlation between baseline and later TTR was 0.25 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.24-0.26), 0.27 (95% CI, 0.26-0.28) and 0.34 (95% CI, 0.32-0.35) for analyses over 90, 180, and 365 days. Corresponding c statistics for discrimination by baseline group were 0.60, 0.61, and 0.63. The probability to obtain a TTR >= 70% increased with baseline TTR: from 42% with a baseline TTR of 50%-65% when TTR was 100% (TTR calculated over 180 days). Conclusions We conclude that a current TTR hardly predicts a future TTR. Physicians and patients should deliberate together which probabilities to accept, take measures to improve TTR, and consider potential alternatives