User's manual for rocket combustor interactive design (ROCCID) and analysis computer program. Volume 2: Appendixes A-K

The appendices A-K to the user's manual for the rocket combustor interactive design (ROCCID) computer program are presented. This includes installation instructions, flow charts, subroutine model documentation, and sample output files. The ROCCID program, written in Fortran 77, provides a standardized methodology using state of the art codes and procedures for the analysis of a liquid rocket engine combustor's steady state combustion performance and combustion stability. The ROCCID is currently capable of analyzing mixed element injector patterns containing impinging like doublet or unlike triplet, showerhead, shear coaxial and swirl coaxial elements as long as only one element type exists in each injector core, baffle, or barrier zone. Real propellant properties of oxygen, hydrogen, methane, propane, and RP-1 are included in ROCCID. The properties of other propellants can be easily added. The analysis models in ROCCID can account for the influences of acoustic cavities, helmholtz resonators, and radial thrust chamber baffles on combustion stability. ROCCID also contains the logic to interactively create a combustor design which meets input performance and stability goals. A preliminary design results from the application of historical correlations to the input design requirements. The steady state performance and combustion stability of this design is evaluated using the analysis models, and ROCCID guides the user as to the design changes required to satisfy the user's performance and stability goals, including the design of stability aids. Output from ROCCID includes a formatted input file for the standardized JANNAF engine performance prediction procedure

The Effect of Atorvastatin on Breast Cancer Biomarkers in High-Risk Women

Statins have the potential to reduce breast cancer incidence and recurrence as shown in both epidemiologic and laboratory studies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a lipophilic statin, atorvastatin, on breast cancer biomarkers of risk [mammographic density (MD) and insulin growth factor 1 (IGF-1)] in high-risk premenopausal women

Healthcare satisfaction in older and younger patients with cancer

Objective Although older patients represent the most rapidly growing segment of the oncology population, clinical care is guided by very little data on patient-reported outcomes, particularly satisfaction with healthcare. Using a large cancer center registry, we sought to describe factors associated with satisfaction with care for older and younger oncology patients. Methods Data were collected through the University of North Carolina Health Registry Cancer Survivorship Cohort. Satisfaction was measured with the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire Short Form. Quality of life (QOL) measures included were the Promis Global short form and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy General (FACT-G). Results A total of 2385 patients were included. 460 (20%) were aged 70 and above (older group). Older patients reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction in domains of time spent with doctor (scores 3.84 versus 3.73 p = 0.03) and financial aspects (scores 4.03 versus 3.44 p < 0.001) compared to younger patients. In multivariable analysis, higher QOL scores and higher self-reported ECOG performance status were associated with higher satisfaction scores. African American race was associated with lower satisfaction scores in all age groups. QOL was more closely correlated with satisfaction in older patients compared to younger patients. Conclusions Older patients with cancer report higher levels of satisfaction with care, in part due to lesser financial burden of care. Better QOL is associated with satisfaction with care in older patients. Use of patient-reported outcomes such as patient satisfaction may help improve patient-centered geriatric oncology care

Effect of Pretreatment Renal Function on Treatment and Clinical Outcomes in the Adjuvant Treatment of Older Women With Breast Cancer: Alliance A171201, an Ancillary Study of CALGB/CTSU 49907

CALGB 49907 showed the superiority of standard therapy, which included either cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin (AC) or cyclophosphamide/methotrexate/fluorouracil over single-agent capecitabine in the treatment of patients age ≥ 65 with early-stage breast cancer. The treatment allowed dosing adjustments of methotrexate and capecitabine for pretreatment renal function. The purpose of the current analysis was to assess the relationship between pretreatment renal function and five end points: toxicity, dose modification, therapy completion, relapse-free survival, and overall survival

A Comparative Study of Machine Learning Regression Methods on LiDAR Data: A Case Study

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is a remote sensor able to extract vertical information from sensed objects. LiDAR-derived information is nowadays used to develop environmental models for describing fire behaviour or quantifying biomass stocks in forest areas. A multiple linear regression (MLR) with previous stepwise feature selection is the most common method in the literature to develop LiDAR-derived models. MLR defines the relation between the set of field measurements and the statistics extracted from a LiDAR flight. Machine learning has recently been paid an increasing attention to improve classic MLR results. Unfortunately, few studies have been proposed to compare the quality of the multiple machine learning approaches. This paper presents a comparison between the classic MLR-based methodology and common regression techniques in machine learning (neural networks, regression trees, support vector machines, nearest neighbour, and ensembles such as random forests). The selected techniques are applied to real LiDAR data from two areas in the province of Lugo (Galizia, Spain). The results show that support vector regression statistically outperforms the rest of techniques when feature selection is applied. However, its performance cannot be said statistically different from that of Random Forests when previous feature selection is skipped

A phase II trial of bendamustine in combination with rituximab in older patients with previously untreated diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Bendamustine in combination with rituximab (BR) has been associated with high response rates and acceptable toxicity in older patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Evaluation of BR is warranted in the front-line setting for DLBCL patients not eligible for anthracyclines or for the elderly. In this phase II study, we enrolled DLBCL patients aged ≥65 years who were poor candidates for R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisone) to determine the efficacy and safety of BR in previously untreated stage II–IV DLBCL. Twenty-three patients were enrolled with a median age of 80 years. 52% of patients presented with poor functional status (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of ≥2). The overall response rate was 78% with 12 complete responses (52%). At a median follow up of 29 months, the median overall survival was 10.2 months and the median progression-free survival was 5.4 months. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were haematological. Combination therapy with BR demonstrates high response rates as front-line therapy in frail older patients with DLBCL, but survival rates were low. BR should be used with caution in future clinical trials involving older DLBCL patients with poor functional status

Geriatric Assessment of Older Adults With Cancer During Unplanned Hospitalizations: An Opportunity in Disguise

Geriatric assessment (GA) is an important tool for management of older cancer patients; however, GA research has been performed primarily in the outpatient setting. The primary objective of this study was to determine feasibility of GA during an unplanned hospital stay. Secondary objectives were to describe deficits found with GA, to assess whether clinicians recognized and addressed deficits, and to determine 30-day readmission rates

Age-Specific Changes in Intrinsic Breast Cancer Subtypes: A Focus on Older Women

Breast cancer (BC) is a disease of aging and the number of older BC patients in the U.S. is rising. Immunohistochemical data show that with increasing age, the incidence of hormone receptor-positive tumors increases, whereas the incidence of triple-negative tumors decreases. Few data exist on the frequency of molecular subtypes in older women. Here, we characterize the incidence and outcomes of BC patients by molecular subtypes and age

Quality of Life Changes during the Pre- to Post-Diagnosis Period and Treatment-Related Recovery Time in Older Women with Breast Cancer

Healthcare providers have little population-based evidence about health-related quality of life (HRQOL) changes, from the pre- to post-diagnosis period, and treatment-related recovery time for women ages 65 and older diagnosed with breast cancer