Toxicity outcome of concurrent teletherapy and brachytherapy compared with teletherapy followed by brachytherapy in locally advanced carcinoma cervix

Background: Teletherapy and intracavitary brachytherapy are definitive treatment modalities for stages IIB to IVA cervical carcinoma. Globally, it is the second most common cancer among female. Majority of patients attend the hospital with locally advanced stage due to less screening facility and social stigma.Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted from January 2019 to June 2020 with a total of 76 patients. The patients were equally divided into two groups: A and B after obtaining their informed written consent.Results: Final follow up was given after completion of treatment at 24 weeks. Patients in both groups developed grade 1 gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities (10.5% versus 13.1%, 13.1% versus 15.7% in group A and B respectively). Two patients in group A and three patients in group B developed grade 2 gastrointestinal toxicities. In genitourinary toxicities, grade 2 toxicities were observed in two patients of group A and four patients of group B, (p>0.05). None developed grade 3 and 4 gastrointestinal and genitourinary toxicities. There were no statistically significant variations in treatment related toxicities between the two groups.Conclusions: Both gastrointestinal, genitourinary toxicities were comparable between two groups. The toxicities were acceptable and well tolerated.

Outdoor thermal comfort and summer PET range: A field study in tropical city Dhaka

© 2019 Elsevier B.V. Urban microclimate has important consequences on the thermal sensation of pedestrians. However, the extent of this effect may vary as other parameters such as respondents’ personal factors, psychological and behavioural aspects and cultural backgrounds may be involved. This heightens the need for subjective assessment and on-site questionnaire surveys alongside objective field measurements to understand outdoor comfort conditions which is essential for creating sustainable urban spaces. In this study thermal comfort conditions outdoors are examined through field surveys in the high-density, tropical city Dhaka, where extensive microclimatic monitoring has been carried out in parallel to subjective responses of the pedestrians. Microclimatic conditions, which are affected by the urban geometry, are found to be statistically correlated with thermal sensation votes (TSV), with air temperature, globe temperature and mean radiant temperature being the most important parameters (correlation coefficients of r = 0.47, 0.45 and 0.44 respectively). The study also reports the effect of urban geometry parameters on microclimatic conditions, identifying strong correlations with globe temperature (r = −0.50), mean radiant temperature (r = −0.48) and wind speed (r = 0.72). Furthermore, the study proposes acceptable ranges (upper limits) for PET for the tropical climate of Dhaka with a ‘Neutral’ range between 29.5° and 32.5 °C confirming that people in outdoor conditions will feel comfortable at a higher PET range.Schlumberger Foundatio

Comparison of dosimetric parameters between intensity modulated and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy planning for adjuvant therapy of gastric cancer

Background: Adjuvant chemoradiotherapy is the standard treatment for gastric carcinoma, but the optimal radiation modality remains uncertain. This study aimed to compare intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) in terms of dosimetry for adjuvant gastric cancer treatment. Methods: 21 patients with stage IIB-IIIC gastric cancer, treated between January and June 2021, underwent surgery followed by adjuvant chemoradiation with both IMRT and 3D-CRT plans. Dosimetric parameters were calculated for the planned target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OAR). Results: Both IMRT and 3D-CRT provided comparable PTV coverage. However, IMRT significantly improved kidney sparing, reducing the mean V20 value by 23% (p=0.01) for the right kidney and 26% (p=0.02) for the left kidney compared to 3D-CRT. IMRT also decreased the mean irradiated volume for both kidneys and the liver, as well as the V30 value for the liver, although these differences were not statistically significant. The dosimetric parameters for the spinal cord were comparable between IMRT and 3D-CRT plans. Conclusions: IMRT demonstrated better kidney sparing compared to 3D-CRT in adjuvant radiotherapy for gastric cancer, while PTV coverage was similar. Long-term follow-up is necessary to assess clinical outcomes and local recurrence rates for both treatment plans

Workers' attitude towards bus rapid transit in Dhaka, Bangladesh

This study investigates: –how travel and socio-demographic attributes act on workers’ mode choice decisions in Dhaka –whether Dhaka’s commuters would choose BRT for their work trip once implemented •Very limited research exists on users’ perceptions of BRT in developing countries’ megacities •We adopted a discrete choice modelling approach •As BRT has not yet been implemented in Dhaka, we collected Stated Choice (SC) survey data including a hypothetical BRT mode to understand factors important to workers’ mode choice decisions •We compare the impact of travel factors between Dhaka and cities of developed countrie

A novel bio-inspired routing algorithm based on ACO for WSNs

The methods to achieve efficient routing in energy constrained wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is a fundamental issue in networking research. A novel approach of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm for discovering the optimum route for information transmission in the WSNs is proposed here for optimization and enhancement. The issue of path selection to reach the nodes and vital correspondence parameters, for example, the versatility of nodes, their constrained vitality, the node residual energy and route length are considered since the communications parameters and imperatives must be taken into account by the imperative systems that mediate in the correspondence procedure, and the focal points of the subterranean insect framework have been utilized furthermore. Utilizing the novel technique and considering both the node mobility and the existing energy of the nodes, an optimal route and best cost from the originating node to the target node can be detected. The proposed algorithm has been simulated and verified using MATLAB and the simulation results demonstrate that new ACO based algorithm achieved improved performance, about 30% improvement compared with the traditional ACO algorithm, and faster convergence to determine the best cost route, and recorded an improvement in the energy consumption of the nodes per transmission

Energy-efficient scalable routing protocol based on ACO for WSNS

Efficient routing is an essential requirement for the design of wireless sensor network (WSN) protocols to overcome inherent challenges and to meet hardware and resource constraints. An energy-efficient scalable routing algorithm based on ant colony optimization (ACO) for WSNs is presented here to find the optimal path of data transmission while consuming less energy leading to increase of network’s lifetime. Most of the existing ACO based routing algorithms are designed on the assumption that the sensor nodes and the sinks are stationary and do not consider the overhead of mobility and the current node energy is not considered, which will prompt sudden passing of certain nodes. To overcome the existing problem of accommodating node mobility, reducing initialization time for ant based routing algorithm and to maintain scalability in WSN for time critical applications, an ACO based WSN routing algorithm has been proposed and analyzed in this paper. The proposed algorithm has been simulated and verified utilizing MATLAB. The evaluation results demonstrate that it has reduced energy consumption, almost 50% less consumed energy even with the increasing number of nodes, compared with the traditional ACO and an existing ant-based routing algorithm. Moreover, it increases the nodes’ lifetime and lifetime of the network

A noble approach of ACO algorithm for WSN

In energy compelled wireless sensor networks (WSNs), the means by which to perform effectual routing is among the main focuses. A noble approach of ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm for discovering the optimum route in the WSNs for data transmission is proposed here for enhancement and optimization considering the issue of path selection to reach the nodes. Using the proposed ACO algorithm and considering both the node mobility and the existing energy of the nodes, an optimum route and best cost from the originating node to the target node can be detected. The proposed algorithm has been simulated and verified utilizing MATLAB and the simulation results demonstrate that new ant colony optimization based algorithm can achieve better performance and faster convergence to determine the best cost route

Consumer Perceptions of Brand Mention in Magazines by Level of Involvement

Consumer perceptions of different methods of information delivery in magazines were studied. Three information delivery methods (advertisements, advertorials, editorials) and two types of consumer products (high involvement, low involvement) were used to evaluate reader perceptions of selling intent, source credibility, and purchase intention. Significant differences between high and low involvement products and between editorials, advertorials, and advertisements in perceived selling intent, perceived credibility, and purchase intention were found. Gender and prior knowledge of the product were also significant. Implications for marketers and policy-makers are also discusse