Optical emission spectroscopy on Ar/N/sub 2/ and Ar/N/sub 2//C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ expanding thermal plasmas

This work has been carried out in connection with the possibilities to deposit carbon nitride materials by expansion thermal plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition (ETP-A-CVD). With the same technique high deposition rates and good quality a-Si:H and a-C:H materials have been obtained. A study of the intensity of atomic lines and molecular bands in a Ar/N/sub 2/ and Ar/N/sub 2//C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ expanding thermal plasma has been performed. In the case of the Ar/N/sub 2//C/sub 2/H/sub 2/ mixture rotational and vibrational temperatures were obtained by comparing computer simulated spectra of the CN(B/sup 2/ Sigma -X/sup 2/ Sigma , Delta v=0) spectral system bands with the experimental spectra. The CN ground state density is determined by taking into account the self-absorption of the CN band

Effective Prolonged Therapy with Voriconazole in a Lung Transplant Recipient with Spondylodiscitis Induced by Scedosporium apiospermum

Scedosporium/Pseudallescheria species are frequently seen in cystic fibrosis patients. However, disseminated forms after lung transplantation in these patients are rarely seen, but often with poor outcome. In this case report we describe a lung transplant recipient with cystic fibrosis who developed a spondylodiscitis that was caused by Scedosporium apiospermum. The patient was treated with anti-fungal treatment by voriconazole for over three years with a clinical good response and without the need for surgical intervention. To our opinion this is the first anti-fungal treated case of invasive disease caused by Scedosporium/Pseudallescheria in a cystic fibrosis (CF) patient who underwent lung transplantation that survived

Health-related quality of life and symptom burden of epithelioid hemangioendothelioma patients:A global patient-driven Facebook study in a very rare malignancy

Contains fulltext : 225963.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access)Purpose: Epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (EHE) is an ultra-rare vascular sarcoma with unique clinical features. EHE is characterized by an unpredictable, often protracted, clinical course and highly variable clinical presentation. Due to difficulty recruiting ultra-rare cancer patients, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of EHE patients has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to assess EHE symptom burden and its impact on HRQoL and psychological distress.Methods: The study was initiated after EHE patients' foundations approached our research group to study HRQoL. Patients were recruited from the international EHE Facebook group from May through October 2018. Data were collected using the online PROFILES registry. Latent class cluster analysis was performed to identify groups based on frequently reported symptoms. Differences in HRQoL (EORTC-QLQ-C30) and psychological distress (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale) between symptom-based clusters were examined.Results: Among 115 EHE patients from 20 countries, three clusters were identified, with low-, intermediate- and high-symptom burden, respectively. Highly symptomatic patients (33%) had clinically relevantly lower scores on HRQoL compared to the other two groups (p < 0.001). These patients suffered mostly from pain, insomnia and fatigue. Symptom burden significantly correlated with reduced daily functioning and high levels of psychological distress. Only for highly symptomatic patients, HRQoL and symptom levels were worse compared to healthy individuals.Conclusion: For the first time, we studied HRQoL in a large international cohort of ultra-rare cancer patients with distinct clinical characteristics, enabled by collaboration with patients and use of social media. We showed a considerable number of EHE patients were highly symptomatic, with a significant impact on HRQoL and psychological distress

Predictive Value of Multislice Computed Tomography Variables of Atherosclerosis for Ischemia on Stress-Rest Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)

BACKGROUND: -Previous studies have shown that the presence of stenosis alone on multislice computed tomography (MSCT) has a limited positive predictive value for the presence of ischemia on myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). The purpose of this study was to assess which variables of atherosclerosis on MSCT angiography are related to ischemia on MPI. METHODS AND RESULTS: -Both MSCT and MPI were performed in 514 patients. On MSCT, the calcium score, degree of stenosis (>/=50% and >/=70% stenosis), plaque extent and location were determined. Plaque composition was classified as non-calcified, mixed or calcified. Ischemia was defined as a summed difference score >/=2 on a per patient basis. Ischemia was observed in 137 patients (27%). On a patient basis, multivariate analysis showed that the degree of stenosis (presence of >/=70% stenosis, OR 3.5), plaque extent and composition (mixed plaques >/=3, OR 1.7 and calcified plaques >/=3, OR 2.0) and location (atherosclerotic disease in left main coronary artery and/or proximal left anterior descending coronary artery, OR 1.6) were independent predictors for ischemia on MPI. In addition, MSCT variables of atherosclerosis such as plaque extent, composition and location had significant incremental value for the prediction of ischemia over the presence of >/=70% stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: -In addition to the degree of stenosis, MSCT variables of atherosclerosis describing plaque extent, composition and location are predictive of the presence of ischemia on MPI

Telomere length in breast cancer patients before and after chemotherapy with or without stem cell transplantation

High-dose chemotherapy and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT) may accelerate telomere length loss in haematopoietic stem cells. As data including pre-and post-treatment samples are lacking, we studied leukocyte telomere length and telomerase activity before and after treatment in breast cancer patients randomized to receive 5 adjuvant courses FEC (5-FU, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide) (n= 17), or 4 × FEC followed by high-dose cyclophosphamide, thiotepa, carboplatin and autologous PBSCT (n= 16). Haemoglobin, MCV, leukocyte-and platelet numbers were assessed prior to (t0), 5 months after (t1) and 9 months after chemotherapy (t2); these parameters were decreased at t1 and t2 compared to t0(high-dose: all parameters; standard-dose: leukocytes and platelets), and all parameters were lower after high-dose than standard-dose treatment at t1. Paired individual leukocyte samples of t0 and t1 showed telomere length change (determined by telomere restricted fragment (TRF) assay) ranging from +0.8 to –2.2 kb, with a decreased TRF length in 9 patients of both groups. Telomerase activity (determined by TRAP assay) was below detection limit in leukocyte samples of t0 and t1. Thus, standard-and high-dose chemotherapy negatively affect haematological reconstitution in this setting. In individual patients, telomere length can be remarkably changed following haematological proliferative stress after treatment. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign www.bjcancer.co