26 Ocena wyników pooperacyjnej radioterapii skojarzonej z 5-fluorouracylem u chorych na raka odbytnicy

Celem pracy była ocena wyników leczenia uzupełniającego z udziałem chemio- i radioterapii chorych po radykalnym zabiegu operacyjnym z powodu raka odbytnicy, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem tolerancji leczenia. Materiał obejmuje 64 chorych leczonych w Klinice Onkologii i Radioterapii w Iatach1991–1995. Głównymi powikłaniami w czasie leczenia były biegunki (58%), nudności i wymioty (15%), objawy dyżuryczne (6%), leukopenia (33%) i niedokrwistość (5%). Do ostrych powikłań doszło ogółem 43 chorych (66%) w tym u 15 (23%) miały one charakter ciężki (stopień III i IV). Troje chorych nie ukończyło leczenia z powodu znacznego nasilenia objawów niepożądanych leczenia i pogorszenia stanu ogólnego.Późne powikłania, przede wszystkim w obrębie jelit i dróg moczowych, wystąpiły ogółem u 22 chorych (34%) w tym u 6 (9%)- w stopniu ciężkim. Spośród ocenionych 64 chorych dotychczas zmarło 19 (30%). Mediana czasu przeżycia w całej grupie wynosiła 37 miesięcy (11–60 miesięcy). Do wznowy miejscowej doszło u 15 chorych (23%) natomiast przerzuty odległe wystąpiły u 18 chorych (28%). Przedstawione wyniki, wskazujące na wysoki odsetek nawrotów oraz dużą liczbę powikłań popromiennych, skłoniły nas do zmiany techniki napromieniania. Efekty tych modyfikacji będzie można ocenić dopiero za kilka lat

Histological, histochemical and fine structure studies of the lacrimal gland and superficial gland of the third eyelid and their significance on the proper function of the eyeball in alpaca (Vicugna pacos)

The lacrimal gland (LG) and superficial gland of the third eyelid (SGTE) belong to accessory organs of the eye. The aim of the present studies was to evaluate the histological, histochemical and fine structure of the LG and SGTE obtained from 3 adult females and 2 adult males of alpaca (Vicugna pacos). The LG was situated in the dorsolateral angle of the orbit between the dorsal rectus and the lateral rectus muscles. The SGTE was located between the medial rectus muscle, the ventral rectus muscle and was partially covered by the ventral oblique muscle of the eyeball. There were no effect of gender on the morphometry of examined LG and SGTE. The third eyelid resembles an anchor in shape. During histological and ultrastructural analyses using light and transmission electron microscopy, it was established that the LG and SGTE are tubulo-acinar glands with mucoserous characters. The LG contains either lymphocytes or plasma cells, while SGTE had rare plasma cells and numerous lymphocytes in connective tissue. The cartilage of the third eyelid was composed of hyaline tissue. Numerous aggregations of lymphocytes as lymph nodules in bulbar surface of the third eyelid were observed. The LG and SGTE secretory cells exhibited a similar ultrastructure appearance in electron microscopic examination, with secretory cells tightly filled with intracytoplasmatic secretory granules and numerous clusters of mucus of different sizes which were observed in the peripheral cells compartment

Domain-wall dynamics in 4C pyrrhotite at low temperature

Monoclinic 4C pyrrhotite (Fe7S8) is ferrimagnetic due to an ordered defect structure with alternating vacancy and vacancy-free sublattices. Its low-temperature magnetic transition near 35 K is characterized by the distinct increase in coercivity and remanent magnetization. The increase of these parameters has been attributed to changes in the domain wall structure. We present static and dynamic magnetization data of a powder sample to study the domain-wall dynamics across the low-temperature transition. The amplitude-dependent ac susceptibility and the ferromagnetic resonance spectroscopy indicate that the hardening of the domain-wall pinning at the transition occurs simultaneously with the decrease in initial saturation remanent magnetization. These two effects are explained by the enhanced inhomogeneity of the bulk material caused by the persistency of the ordered vacancies and by newly formed defects due to localized distortion of Fe(II) sites in the vacancy-free sublattice. The generated localized defects are the link between the domain wall dynamics and the low-temperature transition in 4C pyrrhotit

Adjuvant treatment of patients with rectal cancer

Adjuvant postoperative radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy is considered a standard management of rectal cancer patients with increased risk of local recurrence. In this study we evaluated the results of adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy after radical surgery in 64 patients with rectal carcinoma with special reference to tolerance of treatment. All patients underwent radical surgery: anterior abdominal resection in 26, abdominoperineal resection in 19 and Hartman resection in one. Thirty three patients were postoperatively staged as Dukes B2 and 31 patients – as Dukes C. All patients received postoperative chemo-radiotherapy. Treatment included megavoltage irradiation with two parallel opposed fields to small pelvis at a dose of 45 Gy in 23–25 fractions and concomitant chemotherapy with 5-Fluorouracil during first three and last three days of irradiation.Main early complications from chemoradiation included diarrhea (58%), nausea and vomiting (15%), dysuria (6%), leukopenia (31%) and anaemia (4%). In total, acute side effects occured in 42 patients (66%) and in 16 of them (25%) were of grade 3 or 4. Three patients did not complete the treatment due to exacerbation of side effects and/or serious deterioration of performance status. Late complications, mainly from bowels and urinary bladder, occured in 19 patients (30%) and six of then (9%) were severe.Nineteen of the 64 evaluated patients have deceased ill now. Median survival was 29 months (4 to 50 months). Local recurrence was seen in 14 patients (22%) and distant metastases – in 18 (28%).Results of our study show that postoperative radiochemotherapy in rectal cancer patients is accompanied by a large number of acute and late complications. Literature data demonstrate that better tolerance of treatment may be achieved with the use of special surgical techniques preventing the replacement of small intestines to the pelvis after rectal amputation. Further improvement may be achieved with the use of multiple radiation fields, computerized treatment planning and customized blocking. Another option is an application of preoperative radiotherapy – the approach becoming recently more commonly used

67. Radical radiotherapy of muscle-invading bladder cancer (BC): a retrospective analysis of 49 patients

Growing interest in the use of combined modality approaches for bladder-sparing procedures force radiation oncologists to optimise methods of radical radiotherapy. Since treatment policies have changed considerably over the last years, in this retrospective study we analysed feasibility of radical radiotherapy and outcomes of patients treated in our institution between 1992 and 2000. Study group comprised 49 consecutive BC patients aged 43 to 80 years (median 71), including three cases with clinically involved pelvic lymph nodes. There were 45 urothelial, and four other types of cancer (grade 1- four, 2 – 21, 3-nine, and unknown -14 cases). Six patients were referred for radiotherapy after nonradical operation. Treatment was delivered with the use of 60Co or LA five days a week, without planned interruptions. Thirty-two patients received elective irradiation of the pelvic lymph nodes to the dose 40 to 48 Gy, followed by the boost to the bladder to the total dose 60 to 66 Gy. Seventeen patients received total dose of 58 to 62 Gy to the bladder and perivesical tissue. Fraction doses ranged from 1.8 to 2.0 Gy. Treatment was prematurely stopped due to disease progression (PD), patient refusal, uraemia, in one case each, and intractable diarrhoea in six cases. After a median follow-up of 14 months (range 1 – 102) 23 patients died of PD. Median survival in the entire group is 159 months. Results of this study confirm relative efficacy of radiotherapy in BC. Further refinement of radiotherapy techniques is warranted to improve the outcome

Surgery followed by irradiation in glioblastoma multiforme. A report of 28 cases

Treatment results in glioblastoma multiforme, irrespective of the management, are poor. Median survival in patients managed with surgery alone is 4 months and in those treated with surgery and adjuvant radiotherpy -9 months.Twenty eight patients with glioblastoma multiforme were treated at the Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy, Medical University of Gdańsk between 1991 to 1995. There were females and 20 males and the median age was 58 years (range 18 to 75 years). In 22 cases (78%) diagnosis was confirmed by histology, and in the remaining six cases biopsy was not taken due to the deep localization of the tumour; in all these patients diagnosis was based on CT imaging. All patients were irradiated with cobalt unit and received conventional radiotherapy, 5 days a week, 1.8 Gy per fraction. The first part of treatment included whole brain irradiation (40 Gy) delivered through lateral parallel opposed fields. Thereafter in all instances a brain CT was done and in case of regression or stabilisation (23 pts), a boost dose of 15–22 Gy with reduced portals was delivered. Total dose delivered to the tumor bed was 55–62 Gy. Radiotherapy tolerance was satisfactory and there were no serious complications and interruptions of treatment.Median local recurrence-free survival was 5.3 months, and a median survival – 9.9 months (range, 1.6 to 31.2 months). There was no correlation between survival and radiotherapy dose, sex, pretreatment WHO performance status and tumor localization.Our results confirm poor prognosis in glioblastoma multitorme. New more effective therapeutic approaches are sorely needed in this tumour

Functional basis of electron transport within photosynthetic complex I

Photosynthesis and respiration rely upon a proton gradient to produce ATP. In photosynthesis, the Respiratory Complex I homologue, Photosynthetic Complex I (PS-CI) is proposed to couple ferredoxin oxidation and plastoquinone reduction to proton pumping across thylakoid membranes. However, little is known about the PS-CI molecular mechanism and attempts to understand its function have previously been frustrated by its large size and high lability. Here, we overcome these challenges by pushing the limits in sample size and spectroscopic sensitivity, to determine arguably the most important property of any electron transport enzyme – the reduction potentials of its cofactors, in this case the iron-sulphur clusters of PS-CI (N0, N1 and N2), and unambiguously assign them to the structure using double electron-electron resonance. We have thus determined the bioenergetics of the electron transfer relay and provide insight into the mechanism of PS-CI, laying the foundations for understanding of how this important bioenergetic complex functions

Evidence for geomagnetic excursions recorded in Brunhes and Matuyama Chron lavas from the trans‐Mexican volcanic belt

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99072/1/arar_methodology.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99072/2/jgrb50214.pd

Global Ban on Plastic and What Next? Are Consumers Ready to Replace Plastic with the Second-Generation Bioplastic? Results of the Snowball Sample Consumer Research in China, Western and Eastern Europe, North America and Brazil

Plastic can be used for many things and at the same time is the most versatile material in our modern world. However, the uncontrolled and unprecedented use of plastic comes to its end. The global ban on plastic brings significant changes in technology but even more so in civil perception—changes taking place before our eyes. The aim of this study was to find answers to the questions about the readiness of consumers for a global ban on plastic. Within the research, the differences in consumer acceptance in countries in Europe, South and North America and Asia and the expression of social readiness to change attitudes towards plastic food packaging were analyzed. This work sketches the legal framework related to limiting the use of one-use food packaging made of fossil raw materials at the level of the European Union, Poland and Portugal but also at the level of the two largest economies in the world, China and the United States, as well as lower-income countries, e.g., Ukraine and Brazil. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The performed study demonstrates that, in in all the surveyed countries, appropriate legal acts related to the reduction of plastic in everyday life are already in place. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the full understanding of plastic banning in all surveyed countries. Consumers are aware that every effort should be made to prevent the world from drowning in plastic waste. Society is, in general, open to the use of bioplastics produced from the second-generation resource if second-generation bioplastics contribute to environmental and pollution reduction targets