The Prognostic Significance of the Expression Change of EGFR during Neoadjuvant Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Rectal Carcinoma

Aim of the study: the aim of this retrospective study was to determine the prognostic impact of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression changes during neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer

Care of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer stage III

Background. Management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is affected by regional specificities. The present study aimed at determining diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including outcome of patients with NSCLC stage III in the realworld setting in Central European countries to define areas for improvements. Patients and methods. This multicentre, prospective and non-interventional study collected data of patients with NSCLC stage III in a web-based registry and analysed them centrally. Results. Between March 2014 and March 2017, patients (n=583) with the following characteristics were entered: 32% females, 7% never-smokersECOG performance status (PS) 0, 1, 2 and 3 in 25%, 58%, 12% and 5%, respectively21% prior weight loss53% squamous carcinoma, 38% adenocarcinoma10% EGFR mutations. Staging procedures included chest X-ray (97% of patients), chest CT (96%), PET-CT (27%), brain imaging (20%), bronchoscopy (89%), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) (13%) and CT-guided biopsy (9%). Stages IIIA/IIIB were diagnosed in 55%/45% of patients, respectively. N2/N3 nodes were diagnosed in 60%/23% and pathologically confirmed in 29% of patients. Most patients (56%) were treated by combined modalities. Surgery plus chemotherapy was administered to 20%, definitive chemoradiotherapy to 34%, chemotherapy only to 26%, radiotherapy only to 12% and best supportive care (BSC) to 5% of patients. Median survival and progression-free survival times were 16.8 (15.318.5) and 11.2 (10.212.2) months, respectively. Stage IIIA, female gender, no weight loss, pathological mediastinal lymph node verification, surgery and combined modality therapy were associated with longer survival. Conclusions. The real-world study demonstrated a broad heterogeneity in the management o f stage III NSCLC in Central European countries and suggested to increase the rates of PET-CT imaging, brain imaging and invasive mediastinal staging

Time-of-flight electron spectrometer for a broad range of kinetic energies

A newly constructed time-of-flight electron spectrometer of the magnetic bottle type is characterized for electron detection in a broad range of kinetic energies. The instrument is designed to measure the energy spectra of electrons generated from liquids excited by strong laser fields and photons in the range of extreme ultra violet and soft X-rays. Argon inner shell electrons were recorded to calibrate the spectrometer and investigate its characteristics, such as energy resolution and collection efficiency. Its energy resolution ΔE/E of 1.6% allows resolving the Ar 2p spin orbit structure at kinetic energies higher than 100 eV. The collection efficiency is determined and compared to that of the spectrometer in its field-free configuration

RAPTOR - Room Adaptive Precisely Topologically Orienting Robot

Die Projektgruppe 524, auch RAPTOR (Room Adaptive Precisely Topologically Orienting Robot) genannt, entwickelt mit dem c’t Bot als Grundlage, einen Staubsaugerroboter ohne Saugmechanismus. Motiviert von den Unzulänglichkeiten bestehender Roboter strebt die Projektgruppe einige Verbesserungen, siehe Abschnitt 1.1 auf dieser Seite, an. Auf das Ziel und die Vorgehensweise wird in den Abschnitten 1.2 und 1.3 näher eingegangen

Catastrophizing in Patients with Burning Mouth Syndrome

Uvod: Sindrom pekućih usta (SPU) idiopatska je tegoba kod koje usna šupljina peče i boli pacijente s klinički normalnom oralnom sluznicom. Pritom su isključeni lokalni i opći uzroci. Katastrofiziranje se definira kao pretjerana negativna orijentacija prema osjećaju boli i bolnog iskustva. Svrha ovog rada bila je ispitati povezanost između katastrofiziranja i kliničkih parametara SPU-a te između katastrofiziranja i kvalitete života bolesnika s SPU-om. Materijali i metode: Anonimni trodijelni upitnik [opći parametri i vizualna analogna ljestvica (VAS) za procjenu intenziteta pečenja (od 0 do 100 mm), hrvatska inačica OHIP-ove ljestvice (OHIP 14) te hrvatska verzija ljestvice Pain Catastrophizing] ispunilo je 30 pacijenata s dijagnosticiranim SPU-om. Rezultati: Katastrofiziranje je bilo klinički značajno izraženo kod 30 posto bolesnika. Ukupno katastrofiziranje i sve tri potkomponente bile su u korelaciji s intenzitetom pečenja, ali ne i s trajanjem tegoba. Pacijenti sa snažnijim katastrofiziranjem imali su lošiju kvalitetu života. Spol nije utjecao na to stanje. Zaključak: Uvidom u katastrofiziranje moglo bi se identificirati pacijente s negativnim obrascima ponašanja kod kojih bi se dodatnom psihološkom intervencijom mogli smanjiti ili eliminirati negativni kognitivni čimbenici i poboljšati podnošenje kroničnoga bolnog stanja kao što je SPU.Background: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is an idiopathic painful condition which manifests with burning sensations in the oral cavity in patients with clinically normal oral mucosa and without any local and/or systemic causative factor. Catastrophizing is defined as an exaggerated negative orientation toward pain stimuli and pain experience. The aim of this study was to examine the association between catastrophizing and clinical parameters of BMS, and to examine the association between catastrophizing and the quality of life in patients with BMS. Materials and methods: Anonymous questionnaire consisting of 3 parts (demographic and clinical data with 100 mm visual analogue scale (VAS), Croatian version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14) scale and Croatian version of the Pain Catastrophizing scale (PC), was distributed to 30 patients diagnosed with BMS. Results: A higher level of catastrophizing was clinically significant in 30% of the patients. Total catastrophizing score and all three subcomponents of catastrophizing significantly correlated with the intensity of symptoms, but did not correlate with the duration of symptoms. Gender and previous treatment did not affect the catastrophizing. Conclusion: Obtaining the information about catastrophizing could help a clinician to identify patients with negative behavioural patterns. Additional psychological intervention in these individuals could reduce/eliminate negative cognitive factors and improve coping with chronic painful condition such as BMS

molecular recognition at interfaces

In order to investigate molecular recognition on surfaces, an azide- functionalized monolayer was deposited on gold. The monolayer was characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and angle-resolved near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) experiments and the decomposition of the azide upon irradiation with X-ray beams was investigated. Subsequently, various alkyne-functionalized host and guest molecules were attached to the azide by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition. These modified surfaces and their host–guest chemistry were analysed by XPS and angle-resolved NEXAFS. The reversibility of guest binding was shown for one example as a proof of principle