Poor Pulmonary Function is Not Associated with Increased Rates of Toxicity or Decreased Overall Survival After Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Early Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of a Multi-institutional Analysis

Purpose/Objective(s): Stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) is considered as the treatment of choice for stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in medically inoperable patients. It was the purpose of this study to evaluate whether pretreatment pulmonary function is predictive for survival and toxicity after SBRT. American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 52nd Annual Meeting October 31 - November 4, San Diego, C

Application of a spring-dashpot system to clinical lung tumor motion data

A spring-dashpot system based on the Voigt model was developed to model the correlation between abdominal respiratory motion and tumor motion during lung radiotherapy. The model was applied to clinical data comprising 52 treatment beams from 10 patients, treated on the Mitsubishi Real-Time Radiation Therapy system, Sapporo, Japan. In Stage 1, model parameters were optimized for individual patients and beams to determine reference values and to investigate how well the model can describe the data. In Stage 2, for each patient the optimal parameters determined for a single beam were applied to data from other beams to investigate whether a beam-specific set of model parameters is sufficient to model tumor motion over a course of treatment. In Stage 1 the baseline root mean square (RMS) residual error for all individually-optimized beam data was 0.90 plus or minus 0.40 mm. In Stage 2, patient-specific model parameters based on a single beam were found to model the tumor position closely, even for irregular beam data, with a mean increase with respect to Stage 1 values in RMS error of 0.37 mm. On average the obtained model output for the tumor position was 95% of the time within an absolute bound of 2.0 mm and 2.6 mm in Stage 1 and 2, respectively. The model was capable of dealing with baseline, amplitude and frequency variations of the input data, as well as phase shifts between the input tumor and output abdominal signals. These results indicate that it may be feasible to collect patient-specific model parameters during or prior to the first treatment, and then retain these for the rest of the treatment period. The model has potential for clinical application during radiotherapy treatment of lung tumors

Correction:How the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the necessity of animal research (vol 30, pg R1014, 2020)

(Current Biology 30, R1014–R1018; September 21, 2020) As a result of an author oversight in the originally published version of this article, a number of errors were introduced in the author list and affiliations. First, the middle initials were omitted from the names of several authors. Second, the surname of Dr. van Dam was mistakenly written as “Dam.” Third, the first name of author Bernhard Englitz was misspelled as “Bernard” and the surname of author B.J.A. Pollux was misspelled as “Pullox.” Finally, Dr. Keijer's first name was abbreviated rather than written in full. These errors, as well as various errors in the author affiliations, have now been corrected online

Procesamiento, uso, consumo y comercialización del Hayo (Erythroxilum cumanense Kunth) entre los Caribe prehispánicos de la Costa de Venezuela

Durante la primera década del siglo actual, tres investigaciones independientes mostraron que el hayo (Erythroxylum cumanense Kunth.) produce el alcaloide tropano identificado como cocaína. A su vez, los registros botánicos revelaron que la distribución geográfica de esta especie está limitada a los territorios xerófilos costeros del norte de Suramérica desde la Guyana Francesa hasta el noreste de Colombia, las islas venezolanas y las Antillas menores, un territorio colonizado en su mayor parte por los Caribe de la Costa, seguido en el oeste por los Caquetío, Ayomán y Wayúu. Entre 1499 y las primeras décadas de siglo XVI, las crónicas señalan que estos amerindios, los Guaiquerí de la región de Cumaná en particular, cultivaban, procesaban, consumían y comercializaban las hojas de E. cumanense junto con conchas de gasterópodos pulverizadas. También mencionan el efecto de masticar este producto similar al descrito años más tarde entre las culturas amerindias de los Andes y la cuenca amazónica noroccidental quienes aún hoy cultivan y mastican las hojas de E. coca var. coca, E. coca var. ipadu, E. novogranatense var. novogranatense y/o E. novogranatense var. truxillense. Esta evidencia expande la geografía de la costumbre de “masticar coca” para incluir a las poblaciones indígenas de la costa norte del continente.The processing, use, consumption and commercialization of Hayo (Erythroxilum cumanense Kunth) among the prehispanic Caribs of coastal VenezuelaAbstract. During the first decade of this century, three independent investigations showed that hayo, (Erythroxylum cumanense Kunth.), produces the tropane alkaloid identified as cocaine. At the same time, the botanical records revealed that the geographic distribution of this species is limited to xerophytic zones of northern South America from French Guyana to northeastern Colombia, the Venezuelan islands and the Lesser Antilles; a territory colonized in greater part by the Costal Caribs followed by the Caquetío, Ayomán and the Wayúu. Between 1499 and the first decades of the 16th Century, the chronicles show that, these Amerindians, the Guaiquerí in particular, cultivated, processed, consumed and commercialized the leaves of E. cumanense together with pulverized gastropod shells. They also mention the effects of chewing this “product” which corresponds with those documented years later among the Amerindian cultures of the Andes and the northwest Amazon Basin who even today cultivate and chew the leaves of E. coca var. coca, E. coca var. ipadu, E. novogranatense var. novogranatense and/or E. novogranatense var. truxillense. This evidence expands the geography of a “coca chewing custom” to include the native populations of the north coast of South America

The pneumatic theory of female Warao herbalists

Among the Warao Indians of eastern Venezuela herbalism is a nonritualized occupation practiced by women. As a medical practice herbalism complements the ritual occupation of shamanism practiced by men. But whereas Warao herbalism is governed by a theory of supernatural causation of illness mystically brought about by contagion, Warao shamanism is a theory of supernatural causation of illness attributed to spirit aggression and object intrusion. According to herbalist theory, pathogenesis results from odoriferous agents that invade the body regions (head, thorax, abdomen) of the victim. Here they expand in the form of fetid gas, producing clinical symptoms by affecting the organs and the soul of a particular region. Treatment of disease by herbal medicines is allopathic. Upon administration the remedy transforms into an aromatic gas which is denser, hence more powerful, than the noxius gas. This enables the therapeutic air to displace the pathogenic air. A cure is achieved after both gases have left the body, returning the patient to an inodorous state. This study presents physical, cultural and ideational data as they relate to health, disease and herbal medicine among the Warao. The status and role of the female herbalist are described. Warao herbal curers make use of more than 100 plant species from which they prepare 259 remedies. The collecting and processing of materia medica conform to a meticulous protocol which is transmitted from mother to daughter through informal methods of training. Treatment of 'symptom-oriented' diseases is effected through the administration of ablutants, ingestants and/or inhalants. While practicing medicine in a nonritual way Warao herbalists are nevertheless directly aligned with the Mother of the Forest. As a personage of the Warao pantheon she is the mistress of the trees and ultimate owner of herbal medicines. Tree people are anthropomorph and the body/tree, people/forest metaphors connote the compatibility of the Warao as potential patients and the 'forest people' as providers of medicinal herbs.women herbalists pneumatic theory traditional medicine