Development of a sub-miniature rubidium oscillator for SEEKTALK application

Warm-up and size challenges to oscillator construction are presented as well as the problems involved in these tasks. The performance of M-100 military rubidium oscillator is compared to that of a subminiture rubididum oscillator (M-1000). Methods of achieving 1.5 minute warm-up are discussed as well as improvements in performance under adverse environmental conditions, including temperature, vibration, and magnetics. An attempt is made to construct an oscillator error budget under a set of arbitrary mission conditions

Effect of different quantities of a sugared clear fluid on gastric emptying and residual volume in children: a crossover study using magnetic resonance imaging

Background Gastric emptying in the first 2 h after 7 ml kg−1 of sugared clear fluid has recently been investigated in healthy children using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This study aims to compare gastric volume and emptying half-life during 1 h after 3 or 7 ml kg−1 sugared clear fluid intake. Methods Fourteen healthy volunteer children aged 11.1 (8.2-12.5) yr were investigated prospectively after administration of 3 and 7 ml kg−1 diluted raspberry syrup in a randomized order, after overnight fasting (baseline). Gastric content volume (GCVw) was assessed with a 1.5 Tesla MRI scanner in a blinded fashion. Data are presented as median (range) and compared using the Wilcoxon test. Results Baseline GCVw was 0.39 (0.04-1.00) and 0.34 (0.07-0.75) before intake of 3 and 7 ml kg−1 syrup, respectively (P=0.93). GCVw was 0.45 (0.04-1.55)/1.33 (0.30-2.60) ml kg−1 60 min after ingestion of 3/7 ml kg−1 syrup (P=0.002). Thus GCVw had declined to baseline after 3 ml kg−1 (P=0.39) but not after 7 ml kg−1 (P=0.001) within 60 min. T1/2 was 20 (10-62)/27 (13-43) min (P=0.73) after 3/7 ml kg−1. Conclusion In healthy volunteer children, residual GCVw 1 h after intake of 3 ml kg−1 syrup is significantly smaller than that after 7 ml kg−1 and within the range of baselin

Targeted Therapy in Ovarian Cancer

Ovarian cancer is the most common cause of mortality of tumors from gynecologic origin and is often diagnosed after patients have already progressed to advanced disease stage. The current standard of care for treatment of ovarian cancer includes cytoreductive surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Unfortunately, many patients will recur and ultimately die from their disease. Targeted therapies have been evaluated in ovarian cancer as a method to overcome resistant disease. Angiogenesis inhibitors have shown success in many tumor types and have also demonstrated promise in trials involving patients with ovarian cancer. PARP inhibitors may be potentially active agents in patients with BRCA-associated ovarian cancer. Trials that have evaluated combinations of targeted agents have often revealed untoward toxicities, thus tempering enthusiasm for this approach

The Use of Geotechnologies in the Analysis of Vegetation Index and Heat Island in the City of São Paulo, SP, Brazil

There is a solid body of knowledge linking urban growth to the decline of green spaces in Brazilian cities. In this context, this research aims to analyse the heat island, landscape ecology, and ecosystem services and their associated green infrastructure in São Paulo’s metropolitan area. Landscape Information will be applied to the open spaces and mapping will be done with the use of remote sensing techniques in Geographic Information System (GIS). High-resolution imagery will be used, including satellites World View-2 (panchromatic and multispectral from 0.5 to 2m), with the presence of the RGB bands and near infrared, pre-image processing will be done with filter Kuwahara. Subsequently, the classification will be supervised by MultiSpec 3.4 software, version 2010, with the following classes of land use: built area (including commercial area, residential multi-family, and single family, industrial area), asphalt, urban forest and other areas of vegetation and water surfaces. Also, the Kappa statistic will be used to calculate the accuracy of the classifications applied. Geotechnology will provide the basis for the examination of green infrastructure and the associated ecosystem services in the landscape. The vegetation index map was elaborated. The most widespread vegetation index is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The NDVI is used to characterize large areas on the density of vegetation. A thermal map will be produced in order to analyse possible heat islands in the study area. The NDVI index was related with the different temperatures in every subprefecture of the city of São Paulo. As a result of this research, it was found that areas with greater vegetation index feature lower surface temperatures. Therefore, it is intended to contribute to the local public policies emphasizing the importance of landscape planning in the pursuit of the population’s quality of life in São Paulo, SP, Brazil

Phase II clinical trial evaluating docetaxel, vinorelbine and GM-CSF in stage IV melanoma

PurposeMetastatic melanoma patients have a poor prognosis. No chemotherapy regimen has improved overall survival. More effective treatments are needed. Docetaxel has clinical activity in melanoma and may be more active when combined with vinorelbine. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) has shown activity as an adjuvant melanoma therapy. We carried out a phase II study of these agents in patients with stage IV melanoma.MethodsPatients had documented stage IV melanoma and may have had prior immuno or chemotherapy. Previously treated brain metastases were allowed. Docetaxel (40 mg/m(2) IV) and vinorelbine (30 mg/m(2) IV) were administered every 14 days, followed by GM-CSF (250 mg/m2 SC on days 2 to 12). The primary endpoint of the study was 1-year overall survival (OS). Secondary objectives were median overall survival, response rate (per RECIST criteria), and the toxicity profiles.ResultsFifty-two patients were enrolled; 80% had stage M1c disease. Brain metastases were present in 21%. Fifty-two percent of patients had received prior chemotherapy, including 35% who received prior biochemotherapy. Toxicity was manageable. Grade III/IV toxicities included neutropenia (31%), anemia (14%), febrile neutropenia (11.5%), and thrombocytopenia (9%). DVS chemotherapy demonstrated clinical activity, with a partial response in 15%, and disease stabilization in 37%. Six-month PFS was 37%. Median OS was 11.4 months and 1-year OS rate was 48.1%.ConclusionsThe DVS regimen was active in patients with advanced, previously treated melanoma, with manageable toxicity. The favorable 1-year overall survival and median survival rates suggest that further evaluation of the DVS regimen is warranted

Individual quality assessment of autografting by probability estimation for clinical endpoints: a prospective validation study from the European group for blood and marrow transplantation.

The aim of supportive autografting is to reduce the side effects from stem cell transplantation and avoid procedure-related health disadvantages for patients at the lowest possible cost and resource expenditure. Economic evaluation of health care is becoming increasingly important. We report clinical and laboratory data collected from 397 consecutive adult patients (173 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 30 Hodgkin lymphoma, 160 multiple myeloma, 7 autoimmune diseases, and 28 acute leukemia) who underwent their first autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). We considered primary endpoints evaluating health economic efficacy (eg, antibiotic administration, transfusion of blood components, and time in hospital), secondary endpoints evaluating toxicity (in accordance with Common Toxicity Criteria), and tertiary endpoints evaluating safety (ie, the risk of regimen-related death or disease progression within the first year after PBSCT). A time-dependent grading of efficacy is proposed with day 21 for multiple myeloma and day 25 for the other disease categories (depending on the length of the conditioning regimen) as the acceptable maximum time in hospital, which together with antibiotics, antifungal, or transfusion therapy delineates four groups: favorable (≤7 days on antibiotics and no transfusions; ≤21 [25] days in hospital), intermediate (from 7 to 10 days on antibiotics and 7 days on antibiotics, >3 but 30/34 days in hospital after transplantation), and very unfavorable (>10 days on antibiotics, >6 transfusions; >30 to 34 days in hospital). The multivariate analysis showed that (1) PBSC harvests of ≥4 × 106/kg CD34 + cells in 1 apheresis procedure were associated with a favorable outcome in all patient categories except acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (P = .001), (2) ≥5 × 106/kg CD34 + cells infused predicted better transplantation outcome in all patient categories (P 500 mL) (P = .002), and (5) patients with a central venous catheter during both collection and infusion of PBSC had a more favorable outcome post-PBSCT than peripheral access (P = .007). The type of mobilization regimen did not affect the outcome of auto-PBSCT. The present study identified predictive variables, which may be useful in future individual pretransplantation probability evaluations with the goal to improve supportive care

Effect of a prebiotic mixture on intestinal comfort and general wellbeing in health

Specific carbohydrates, i.e. prebiotics such as fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS), are not digested in the small intestine but fermented in the colon. Besides beneficial health effects of an enhanced bifidobacteria population, intestinal gas production resulting from fermentation can induce abdominal symptoms. Partial replacement with slowly fermented acacia gum may attenuate side effects. The aim was to compare the effects of FOS with those of a prebiotic mixture (50% FOS and 50% acacia gum; BLEND) and a rapidly absorbed carbohydrate (maltodextrin) on general intestinal wellbeing, abdominal comfort and anorectal sensory function. Twenty volunteers (eight male and twelve female; age 20-37 years) completed this double-blind, randomised study with two cycles of a 2-week run-in phase (10g maltodextrin) followed by 5 weeks of 10g FOS or BLEND once daily, separated by a 4-week wash-out interval. Abdominal symptoms and general wellbeing were documented by telephone interview or Internet twice weekly. Rectal sensations were assessed by a visual analogue scale during a rectal barostat test after FOS and BLEND treatment. Both FOS and BLEND induced more side effects than maltodextrin. Belching was more pronounced under FOS compared with BLEND (P=0·09 for females; P=0·01 for males), and for self-reported general wellbeing strong sex differences were reported (P=0·002). Urgency scores during rectal barostat were higher with FOS than BLEND (P=0·01). Faced with a growing range of supplemented food products, consumers may benefit from prebiotic mixtures which cause fewer abdominal side effects. Sex differences must be taken in consideration when food supplements are use

Air suctioning during colon biopsy acquisition reduces bacterial contamination

Background and Aim: Contamination of endoscopy suites with bacteria during procedures is of concern particularly through droplets during handling of biopsy specimens. It has been advocated that suctioning while removing the biopsy forceps could help to reduce potentially hazardous bioaerosols. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of air suctioning during removal of the biopsy forceps. Materials and Methods: Airborne bacteria were collected by an impactor air-sampler (MAS-100). Fifty liters of air were collected continuously for 30 seconds at a 30 cm distance from the colonoscope suction channel. Room air samples were taken in the endoscopy suite in the morning prior to the beginning of the endoscopy program, during colonoscopy with a sham biopsy in the descending colon with and without suctioning and at the end of the procedure day. Standard 90 mm Petri dishes containing a selective medium for gram-positive cocci (CNA blood agar) were used with the impaction sampler and colony forming units/m3 (cfu) were determined. Results: Measurements were performed at fifty consecutive colonoscopies. Prior to the beginning of the endoscopy program, the bioaerosol burden in the colonoscopy suite reached a mean of 4.2 cfu/m3. During colonoscopies performed without suctioning at biopsy the bioaerosol burden increased to 29.4 cfu/m3 whereas this burden increased only to 15.1 cfu/m3 when the suctioning was applied during removal of the biopsy forceps. The difference in bioaerosol burden between suctioning and no suctioning was highly significant (p < 0.0005). At the end of the procedure day the airborne bacteria count dropped to 15.6 cfu/m3. The analysis of the colonies on the CNA blood agar identified predominantly enterococci. Staphylococci spp. and other gram-positive bacteria were rarely isolated. Conclusion: The present study indicates that the bioaerosol burden during handling of biopsy specimens is not neglectable but can be reduced by the simple habit of applying suctioning during acquisition of biopsies. This practice might be an important infection-control measure during gastrointestinal endoscopies