Normalization of prostate specific antigen in patients treated with intensity modulated radiotherapy for clinically localized prostate cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to determine the expected time to prostate specific antigen (PSA) normalization with or without neoadjuvant androgen deprivation (NAAD) therapy after treatment with intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective cohort research design was used. A total of 133 patients with clinical stage T1c to T3b prostate cancer (2002 AJCC staging) treated in a community setting between January 2002 and July 2005 were reviewed for time to PSA normalization using 1 ng/mL and 2 ng/mL as criteria. All patients received IMRT as part of their management. Times to PSA normalization were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Significance was assessed at p < 0.05.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-six of the 133 patients received NAAD (42.1%). Thirty-one patients (23.8%) received radiation to a limited pelvic field followed by an IMRT boost, while 99 patients received IMRT alone (76.2%). The times to serum PSA normalization < 2 ng/mL when treated with or without NAAD were 298 ± 24 and 302 ± 33 days (mean ± SEM), respectively (p > 0.05), and 303 ± 24 and 405 ± 46 days, respectively, for PSA < 1 ng/mL (p < 0.05). Stage T1 and T2 tumors had significantly increased time to PSA normalization < 1 ng/mL in comparison to Stage T3 tumors. Also, higher Gleason scores were significantly correlated with a faster time to PSA normalization < 1 ng/mL.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Use of NAAD in conjunction with IMRT leads to a significantly shortened time to normalization of serum PSA < 1 ng/mL in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer.</p

A Chinese Chan-Based Mind-Body Intervention Improves Sleep on Patients with Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Sleep disturbance is a common problem associated with depression, and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a more common behavioral intervention for sleep problems. The present study compares the effect of a newly developed Chinese Chan-based intervention, namely Dejian mind-body intervention (DMBI), with the CBT on improving sleep problems of patients with depression. Seventy-five participants diagnosed with major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to receive 10 weekly sessions of CBT or DMBI, or placed on a waitlist. Measurements included ratings by psychiatrists who were blinded to the experimental design, and a standardized questionnaire on sleep quantity and quality was obtained before and after the 10-week intervention. Results indicated that both the CBT and DMBI groups demonstrated significantly reduced sleep onset latency and wake time after sleep onset (effect size range = 0.46–1.0, P ≤ 0.05) as compared to nonsignificant changes in the waitlist group (P > 0.1). Furthermore, the DMBI group, but not the CBT or waitlist groups, demonstrated significantly reduced psychiatrist ratings on overall sleep problems (effect size = 1.0, P = 0.00) and improved total sleep time (effect size = 0.8, P = 0.05) after treatment. The present findings suggest that a Chinese Chan-based mind-body intervention has positive effects on improving sleep in individuals with depression

An ocean coupling potential intensity index for tropical cyclones

© American Geophysical Union, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geophysical Research Letters 40 (2013): 1878–1882, doi:10.1002/grl.50091.Timely and accurate forecasts of tropical cyclones (TCs, i.e., hurricanes and typhoons) are of great importance for risk mitigation. Although in the past two decades there has been steady improvement in track prediction, improvement on intensity prediction is still highly challenging. Cooling of the upper ocean by TC-induced mixing is an important process that impacts TC intensity. Based on detail in situ air-deployed ocean and atmospheric measurement pairs collected during the Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) field campaign, we modify the widely used Sea Surface Temperature Potential Intensity (SST_PI) index by including information from the subsurface ocean temperature profile to form a new Ocean coupling Potential Intensity (OC_PI) index. Using OC_PI as a TC maximum intensity predictor and applied to a 14 year (1998–2011) western North Pacific TC archive, OC_PI reduces SST_PI-based overestimation of archived maximum intensity by more than 50% and increases the correlation of maximum intensity estimation from r2 = 0.08 to 0.31. For slow-moving TCs that cause the greatest cooling, r2 increases to 0.56 and the root-mean square error in maximum intensity is 11 m s−1. As OC_PI can more realistically characterize the ocean contribution to TC intensity, it thus serves as an effective new index to improve estimation and prediction of TC maximum intensity.This work is supported by Taiwan’s National Science Council and National Taiwan University (grant numbers: NSC 101- 2111-M-002-002-MY2; NSC 101-2628-M-002-001-MY4; 102R7803) and US Office of Naval Research (ONR) under the Impact of Typhoons on Pacific (ITOP) program. PB’s support is provided by ONR under PE 0601153N through NRL Contract N00173-10-C-6019

The On-Orbit Performance of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer

We report the first year on-orbit performance results for the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a NASA Small Explorer that is performing a survey of the sky in two ultraviolet bands. The instrument comprises a 50 cm diameter modified Ritchey-Chretien telescope with a 1.25 degree field of view, selectable imaging and objective grism spectroscopic modes, and an innovative optical system with a thin-film multilayer dichroic beam splitter that enables simultaneous imaging by a pair of photon counting, microchannel plate, delay line readout detectors. Initial measurements demonstrate that GALEX is performing well, meeting its requirements for resolution, efficiency, astrometry, bandpass definition and survey sensitivity.Comment: This paper will be published as part of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Astrophysical Journal Letters Special Issu

AMiBA Wideband Analog Correlator

A wideband analog correlator has been constructed for the Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy. Lag correlators using analog multipliers provide large bandwidth and moderate frequency resolution. Broadband IF distribution, backend signal processing and control are described. Operating conditions for optimum sensitivity and linearity are discussed. From observations, a large effective bandwidth of around 10 GHz has been shown to provide sufficient sensitivity for detecting cosmic microwave background variations.Comment: 28 pages, 23 figures, ApJ in press

Results from the centers for disease control and prevention's predict the 2013-2014 Influenza Season Challenge

Background: Early insights into the timing of the start, peak, and intensity of the influenza season could be useful in planning influenza prevention and control activities. To encourage development and innovation in influenza forecasting, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) organized a challenge to predict the 2013-14 Unites States influenza season. Methods: Challenge contestants were asked to forecast the start, peak, and intensity of the 2013-2014 influenza season at the national level and at any or all Health and Human Services (HHS) region level(s). The challenge ran from December 1, 2013-March 27, 2014; contestants were required to submit 9 biweekly forecasts at the national level to be eligible. The selection of the winner was based on expert evaluation of the methodology used to make the prediction and the accuracy of the prediction as judged against the U.S. Outpatient Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network (ILINet). Results: Nine teams submitted 13 forecasts for all required milestones. The first forecast was due on December 2, 2013; 3/13 forecasts received correctly predicted the start of the influenza season within one week, 1/13 predicted the peak within 1 week, 3/13 predicted the peak ILINet percentage within 1 %, and 4/13 predicted the season duration within 1 week. For the prediction due on December 19, 2013, the number of forecasts that correctly forecasted the peak week increased to 2/13, the peak percentage to 6/13, and the duration of the season to 6/13. As the season progressed, the forecasts became more stable and were closer to the season milestones. Conclusion: Forecasting has become technically feasible, but further efforts are needed to improve forecast accuracy so that policy makers can reliably use these predictions. CDC and challenge contestants plan to build upon the methods developed during this contest to improve the accuracy of influenza forecasts. © 2016 The Author(s)

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy

The Yuan-Tseh Lee Array for Microwave Background Anisotropy (AMiBA) is the first interferometer dedicated to studying the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation at 3mm wavelength. The choice of 3mm was made to minimize the contributions from foreground synchrotron radiation and Galactic dust emission. The initial configuration of seven 0.6m telescopes mounted on a 6-m hexapod platform was dedicated in October 2006 on Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Scientific operations began with the detection of a number of clusters of galaxies via the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect. We compare our data with Subaru weak lensing data in order to study the structure of dark matter. We also compare our data with X-ray data in order to derive the Hubble constant.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ (13 pages, 7 figures); a version with high resolution figures available at http://www.asiaa.sinica.edu.tw/~keiichi/upfiles/AMiBA7/pho_highreso.pd

A Forward Chemical Screen in Zebrafish Identifies a Retinoic Acid Derivative with Receptor Specificity

Background: Retinoids regulate key developmental pathways throughout life, and have potential uses for differentiation therapy. It should be possible to identify novel retinoids by coupling new chemical reactions with screens using the zebrafish embryonic model. Principal Findings: We synthesized novel retinoid analogues and derivatives by amide coupling, obtaining 80–92% yields. A small library of these compounds was screened for bioactivity in living zebrafish embryos. We found that several structurally related compounds significantly affect development. Distinct phenotypes are generated depending on time of exposure, and we characterize one compound (BT10) that produces specific cardiovascular defects when added 1 day post fertilization. When compared to retinoic acid (ATRA), BT10 shows similar but not identical changes in the expression pattern of embryonic genes that are known targets of the retinoid pathway. Reporter assays determined that BT10 interacts with all three RAR receptor sub-types, but has no activity for RXR receptors, at all concentrations tested. Conclusions: Our screen has identified a novel retinoid with specificity for retinoid receptors. This lead compound may be useful for manipulating components of retinoid signaling networks, and may be further derivatized for enhanced activity

The \u3cem\u3eChlamydomonas\u3c/em\u3e Genome Reveals the Evolution of Key Animal and Plant Functions

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a unicellular green alga whose lineage diverged from land plants over 1 billion years ago. It is a model system for studying chloroplast-based photosynthesis, as well as the structure, assembly, and function of eukaryotic flagella (cilia), which were inherited from the common ancestor of plants and animals, but lost in land plants. We sequenced the ∼120-megabase nuclear genome of Chlamydomonas and performed comparative phylogenomic analyses, identifying genes encoding uncharacterized proteins that are likely associated with the function and biogenesis of chloroplasts or eukaryotic flagella. Analyses of the Chlamydomonas genome advance our understanding of the ancestral eukaryotic cell, reveal previously unknown genes associated with photosynthetic and flagellar functions, and establish links between ciliopathy and the composition and function of flagella

Influence of Bleeding Risk on Outcomes of Radial and Femoral Access for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: An Analysis From the GLOBAL LEADERS Trial

Background: Radial artery access has been shown to reduce mortality and bleeding events, especially in patients with acute coronary syndromes. Despite this, interventional cardiologists experienced in femoral artery access still prefer that route for percutaneous coronary intervention. Little is known regarding the merits of each vascular access in patients stratified by their risk of bleeding. Methods: Patients from the Global Leaders trial were dichotomized into low or high risk of bleeding by the median of the PRECISE-DAPT score. Clinical outcomes were compared at 30 days. Results: In the overall population, there were no statistical differences between radial and femoral access in the rate of the primary end point, a composite of all-cause mortality, or new Q-wave myocardial infarction (MI) (hazard ratio [HR] 0.70, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.42-1.15). Radial access was associated with a significantly lower rate of the secondary safety end point, Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) 3 or 5 bleeding (HR 0.55, 95% CI 0.36-0.84). Compared by bleeding risk strata, in the high bleeding score population, the primary (HR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26-0.85; P = 0.012; Pinteraction = 0.019) and secondary safety (HR 0.57, 95% CI 0.35-0.95; P = 0.030; Pinteraction = 0.631) end points favoured radial access. In the low bleeding score population, however, the differences in the primary and secondary safety end points between radial and femoral artery access were no longer statistically significant. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the outcomes of mortality or new Q-wave MI and BARC 3 or 5 bleeding favour radial access in patients with a high, but not those with a low, risk of bleeding. Because thisContexte : Il a et e d emontr e que l ’accès par l’artère radiale reduit la mortalite et les h emorragies, en particulier chez les patients presentant un syndrome coronarien aigu. Malgr e cela, les cardiologues interventionnels qui ont acquis de l’experience en matière d ’accès par l’artère femorale pr efèrent encore utiliser cette voie lorsqu ’ils doivent pratiquer une intervention coronarienne percutanee. On connaît mal l’interêt de chacune de ces techniques d ’accès vasculaire au regard du risque d’hemorragie. Methodologie : Les patients de l’essai GLOBAL LEADERS ont et e repartis en deux groupes, selon qu ’ils presentaient un risque d’hemorragie faible ou elev e d ’après le score PRECISE-DAPT median, puis les resultats cliniques ont et e compar es à 30 jours. Resultats : Dans l’ensemble de la population, aucune difference sta- tistiquement significative n’a et e observ ee entre l ’accès radial et l’accès femoral quant au critère d ’evaluation principal, compos e de la mortalite toutes causes confondues et d ’un nouvel infarctus du myocarde (IM) avec onde Q (rapport des risques instantanes [RRI] de 0,70; intervalle de confiance [IC] à 95 % : 0,42-1,15). L’accès radial a et e associe à un taux signi ficativement plus faible de survenue du critère secondaire d’evaluation de l ’innocuite, c ’est-à-dire une hemorragie de type 3 ou 5 selon la classification du BARC (Bleeding Academic Research Consortium) (RRI de 0,55; IC à 95 % : 0,36-0,84). Lorsqu’on compare les sujets en fonction du risque d’hemorragie, les critères d’evaluation de l ’innocuite principal (RRI de 0,47; IC à 95 % : 0,26- 0,85; p ¼ 0,012; pinteraction ¼ 0,019) et secondaire (RRI de 0,57; IC à 95 % : 0,35-0,95; p ¼ 0,030; pinteraction ¼ 0,631) sont favorables à l’accès radial au sein de la population presentant un risque d ’hemor- ragie elev e. Dans la population pr esentant un risque d ’hemorragie faible, les differences entre l ’accès radial et l’accès femoral quant aux critères d’evaluation de l ’innocuite principal et secondaire ne sont toutefois plus statistiquement significatives. Conclusions : Selon ces observations, les resultats concernant la mortalite ou la survenue d ’un nouvel IM avec onde Q et le risque d’hemorragie de type 3 ou 5 selon la classi fication du BARC indiquent que l’accès radial serait à privilegier lorsque le risque d ’hemorragie est elev e, mais pas lorsqu ’il est faible. Comme il ne s’agissait pas d’une analyse principale, il convient de considerer ces observations comme etant g en eratrices d ’hypothèses