Patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires for men who have radical surgery for prostate cancer: a conceptual review of existing instruments.

To critically review conceptual frameworks for available patient-reported outcome (PRO) questionnaires in men having radical prostatectomy (RP), psychometrically evaluate each questionnaire, and identify whether each is appropriate for use at the level of the individual patient. We searched PubMed, the Reports and Publications database of the University of Oxford Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Group and the website of the International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM) for psychometric reviews of prostate cancer-specific PRO questionnaires. From these we identified relevant questionnaires and critically appraised the conceptual content, guided by the Wilson and Cleary framework and psychometric properties, using well established criteria. The searches found four reviews and one recommendation paper. We identified seven prostate cancer-specific PROs: the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite-26 (EPIC-26), Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite-50 (EPIC-50), University of California-Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index (UCLA-PCI), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Prostate Cancer Subscale (FACT-P PCS), European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - prostate specific 25-item (EORTC QLQ-PR25), Prostate Cancer - Quality of Life (PC-QoL), and Symptom Tracking and Reporting (STAR). Six out of seven measures purported to measure health-related quality of life (HRQL), but items focused strongly on urinary and sexual symptoms/functioning. The remaining questionnaire (STAR) claimed to assess functional recovery after RP. The psychometric evidence for these questionnaires was incomplete and variable in quality; none had evidence that they were appropriate for use with individual patients. Several questionnaires provide the basis of measures of urinary and/or sexual symptoms/functioning. Further work should explore other aspects of HRQL that are important for men having RP. Further psychometric work is also needed to determine whether they can be used at the individual level

Preliminary evaluation of plasmix compound from plastics packaging waste for reuse in bituminous pavements

Finding an appropriate technical solution for reusing waste plastics is crucial for creating a circular plastic economy. Although mechanical recycling is the best option for recycling post-consumer plastics, some heterogeneous mixed plastics cannot be recycled to produce secondary material due to their very low properties. In this case, alternative routes should be considered in order to limit their disposal as much as possible. Therefore, in order to solve the environmental problems in the landfills of plastic waste recycling, and to improve the mechanical performance of bitumen for road pavement, the reuse of these post-consumer plastic wastes are preliminarily evaluated for the modification of bitumen for road use. The field of polymers used so far and widely studied concerns virgin materials, or highly homogeneous materials, in case of recycled plastics. In this work, a highly heterogeneous mixed plastic—Plasmix—from the separate collection in Italy, is used as a bitumen modifier for road construction. The research focused on the dry (into the mixture) and wet (into the binder) addition of different content of the Plasmix compound, with the aim of assessing the feasibility of the modification itself. Results of the mechanical tests carried out prove an increase in performance and that there is a potential of the addition of the Plasmix compound both for binder and mixture modifications

High resolution spectroscopy of Pluto's atmosphere: detection of the 2.3 μ\mum CH4_4 bands and evidence for carbon monoxide

The goal is to determine the composition of Pluto's atmosphere and to constrain the nature of surface-atmosphere interactions. We perform high--resolution spectroscopic observations in the 2.33--2.36 $\mu$m range, using CRIRES at the VLT. We obtain (i) the first detection of gaseous methane in this spectral range, through lines of the $\nu_3$ + $\nu_4$ and $\nu_1$ + $\nu_4$ bands (ii) strong evidence (6-$\sigma$ confidence) for gaseous CO in Pluto. For an isothermal atmosphere at 90 K, the CH$_4$ and CO column densities are 0.75 and 0.07 cm-am, within factors of 2 and 3, respectively. Using a physically--based thermal structure model of Pluto's atmosphere also satisfying constraints from stellar occultations, we infer CH$_4$ and CO mixing ratios q$_{CH_4}$= 0.6$^{+0.6}_{-0.3}$% (consistent with results from the 1.66 $\mu$m range) and q$_{CO}$ = 0.5$^{+1}_{-0.25}$$\times10^{-3}$. The CO atmospheric abundance is consistent with its surface abundance. As for Triton, it is probably controlled by a thin, CO-rich, detailed balancing layer resulting from seasonal transport and/or atmospheric escape.Comment: Astronomy and Astrophysics Letters, in pres

Pluto's global surface composition through pixel-by-pixel Hapke modeling of New Horizons Ralph/LEISA data

On July 14th 2015, NASA's New Horizons mission gave us an unprecedented detailed view of the Pluto system. The complex compositional diversity of Pluto's encounter hemisphere was revealed by the Ralph/LEISA infrared spectrometer on board of New Horizons. We present compositional maps of Pluto defining the spatial distribution of the abundance and textural properties of the volatiles methane and nitrogen ices and non-volatiles water ice and tholin. These results are obtained by applying a pixel-by-pixel Hapke radiative transfer model to the LEISA scans. Our analysis focuses mainly on the large scale latitudinal variations of methane and nitrogen ices and aims at setting observational constraints to volatile transport models. Specifically, we find three latitudinal bands: the first, enriched in methane, extends from the pole to 55deg N, the second dominated by nitrogen, continues south to 35deg N, and the third, composed again mainly of methane, reaches 20deg N. We demonstrate that the distribution of volatiles across these surface units can be explained by differences in insolation over the past few decades. The latitudinal pattern is broken by Sputnik Planitia, a large reservoir of volatiles, with nitrogen playing the most important role. The physical properties of methane and nitrogen in this region are suggestive of the presence of a cold trap or possible volatile stratification. Furthermore our modeling results point to a possible sublimation transport of nitrogen from the northwest edge of Sputnik Planitia toward the south.Comment: 43 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in Icaru

Assessment of a patient-reported outcome measure in men with prostate cancer who had radical surgery: a Rasch analysis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the psychometric properties (and identify specific anomalies to be resolved) of urinary and sexual function scales of the Symptom Tracking and Reporting (STAR) instrument for use in clinical practice with individual men using Rasch analysis. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING: 9 UK surgery centres in secondary care. PARTICIPANTS: 403 men diagnosed with prostate cancer and completed at least one questionnaire immediately before and at 1 or 3 months after radical prostatectomy. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMES: STAR instrument before surgery and 1 and 3 months afterwards. RESULTS: Neither scale fitted the Rasch model (both scales p0.2 above the average). Internal consistency was acceptable at the group level for both scales. Targeting was poor for both scales, indicating an inadequate match between the location of items and the distribution of the patients, suggesting that the underlying constructs that the scales purport to measure are not clear. CONCLUSION: Using Rasch analysis as a diagnostic tool, we identified that both the urinary and the sexual function scales have issues that need to be resolved before STAR can be used with confidence in clinical practice. The sexual function scale, in particular, is unlikely to provide precise estimates for the outcomes experienced by men after radical prostatectomy. These results demonstrate the need to evaluate the suitability of any patient-reported outcome measure before implementation in routine clinical practice, preferably using modern psychometric methods

"TNOs are Cool": A survey of the trans-Neptunian region VI. Herschel/PACS observations and thermal modeling of 19 classical Kuiper belt objects

Trans-Neptunian objects (TNO) represent the leftovers of the formation of the Solar System. Their physical properties provide constraints to the models of formation and evolution of the various dynamical classes of objects in the outer Solar System. Based on a sample of 19 classical TNOs we determine radiometric sizes, geometric albedos and beaming parameters. Our sample is composed of both dynamically hot and cold classicals. We study the correlations of diameter and albedo of these two subsamples with each other and with orbital parameters, spectral slopes and colors. We have done three-band photometric observations with Herschel/PACS and we use a consistent method for data reduction and aperture photometry of this sample to obtain monochromatic flux densities at 70.0, 100.0 and 160.0 \mu m. Additionally, we use Spitzer/MIPS flux densities at 23.68 and 71.42 \mu m when available, and we present new Spitzer flux densities of eight targets. We derive diameters and albedos with the near-Earth asteroid thermal model (NEATM). As auxiliary data we use reexamined absolute visual magnitudes from the literature and data bases, part of which have been obtained by ground based programs in support of our Herschel key program. We have determined for the first time radiometric sizes and albedos of eight classical TNOs, and refined previous size and albedo estimates or limits of 11 other classicals. The new size estimates of 2002 MS4 and 120347 Salacia indicate that they are among the 10 largest TNOs known. Our new results confirm the recent findings that there are very diverse albedos among the classical TNOs and that cold classicals possess a high average albedo (0.17 +/- 0.04). Diameters of classical TNOs strongly correlate with orbital inclination in our sample. We also determine the bulk densities of six binary TNOs.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Potential interference of aluminum chlorohydrate with estrogen receptor signaling in breast cancer cells

Aluminum salts are widely used as the active antiperspirant in underarm cosmetic. Experimental observations indicate that its long term application may correlate with breast cancer development and progression. This action is proposed to be attributed, among others, to aluminum possible estrogen-like activities. In this study we showed that aluminum, in the form of aluminum chlorohydrate (ACH), caused increase in estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) protein levels, in ERα-positive MCF-7 cells. This effect was accompanied by moderate activation of Estrogen Response Elements (ERE)-driven reporter gene expression and 20%-50% increase in certain estrogen responsive, ERE-independent genes expression. Genes affected were ERα, p53, cyclin D1, and c-fos, crucial regulators of breast cancer development and progression. ACH-induced genes expression was eliminated in the presence of the estrogen antagonist: ICI 182780, in MCF-7 cells, whereas it was not observed in ERα-negative MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells, indicating aluminum interference with estrogen signaling. Moreover, ACH caused increase in the perinuclear localization of estrogen receptor alpha in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and increase in the mitochondrial Bcl-2 protein, possibly affecting receptors-mediated mitochondrial actions and mitochondrial-dependent apoptosis. ACH-induced perinuclear localization of estrogen receptor beta was also observed in MDA-MB-231. Our findings indicate that aluminum actions on estrogen receptors protein level and subcellular localization possibly affect receptors-mediated actions and thus, aluminum interference with estrogen signaling