Cytoreductive surgery plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy for patients with peritoneal metastases from endometrial cancer

Background: More information is needed for selection of patients with peritoneal metastases from endometrial cancer (EC) to undergo cytoreductive surgery (CRS) plus hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC). Methods: This study analyzed clinical, pathologic, and treatment data for patients with peritoneal metastases from EC who underwent CRS plus HIPEC at two tertiary centers. The outcome measures were morbidity, overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) during a median 5 year follow-up period. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to identify significant factors related to outcome. Results: A total of 33 patients met the inclusion criteria and completed the follow-up period. At laparotomy, the median peritoneal cancer index (PCI) was 15 (range 3–35). The CRS procedure required a mean 8.3 surgical procedures per patient, and for 22 patients (66.6%), a complete cytoreduction was achieved. The mean hospital stay was 18 days, and major morbidity developed in 21% of the patients. The operative mortality was 3%. When surgery ended, HIPEC was administered with cisplatin 75 mg/m2for 60 min at 43 °C. During a median follow-up period of 73 months, Kaplan–Meier analysis indicated a 5 year OS of 30% (median 33.1 months) and a PFS of 15.5% (median 18 months). Multivariate analysis identified the completeness of cytoreduction (CC) score as the only significant factor independently influencing OS. Logistic regression for the clinicopathologic variables associated with complete cytoreduction (CC0) for patients with metachronous peritoneal spread from EC who underwent secondary CRS plus HIPEC identified the PCI as the only outcome predictor. Conclusions: For selected patients with peritoneal metastases from EC, when CRS leaves no residual disease, CRS plus HIPEC achieves outcomes approaching those for other indications such as colon and ovarian carcinoma

Core-collapse supernovae missed by optical surveys

We estimate the fraction of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe) that remain undetected by optical SN searches due to obscuration by large amounts of dust in their host galaxies. This effect is especially important in luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies, which are locally rare but dominate the star formation at redshifts of z~1-2. We perform a detailed investigation of the SN activity in the nearby luminous infrared galaxy Arp 299 and estimate that up to 83% of the SNe in Arp 299 and in similar galaxies in the local Universe are missed by observations at optical wavelengths. For rest-frame optical surveys we find the fraction of SNe missed due to high dust extinction to increase from the average local value of ~19% to ~38% at z~1.2 and then stay roughly constant up to z~2. It is therefore crucial to take into account the effects of obscuration by dust when determining SN rates at high redshift and when predicting the number of CCSNe detectable by future high-z surveys such as LSST, JWST, and Euclid. For a sample of nearby CCSNe (distances 6-15 Mpc) detected during the last 12 yr, we find a lower limit for the local CCSN rate of 1.5 +0.4/-0.3 x 10^-4 yr^-1 Mpc^-3, consistent with that expected from the star formation rate. Even closer, at distances less than ~6 Mpc, we find a significant increase in the CCSN rate, indicating a local overdensity of star formation caused by a small number of galaxies that have each hosted multiple SNe.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures, 11 tables, minor changes to match the published versio

Dust masses and star formation in bright IRAS galaxies Application of a physical model for the interpretation of FIR observations

We address the problem of modeling the far-infrared (FIR) spectrum and deriving the star-formation rate (SFR) and the dust mass of spiral galaxies. We use the realistic physical model of Popescu et al. (2000) to describe the overall ultra-violet (UV), optical and FIR spectral energy distribution (SED) of a spiral galaxy. The model has only three free parameters: SFR, dust mass, and the fraction of the UV radiation which is absorbed locally by dense dust in the HII regions. Using this model, we are able to fit well the FIR spectra of 62 bright, IRAS galaxies from the "SCUBA Local Universe Galaxy Survey" of Dunne et al.(2000). As a result, we are able to determine, among others, their SFR and dust mass. We find that, on average, the SFR (in absolute units), the star-formation efficiency, the SFR surface density, and the ratio of FIR luminosity over the total intrinsic luminosity, are larger than the respective values of typical spiral galaxies of the same morphological type. We also find that the mean gas-to-dust mass ratio is close to the Galactic value, while the average central face-on optical depth of these galaxies in the V band is 2.3. Finally, we find a strong correlation between SFR or dust mass and observed FIR quantities like total FIR luminosity or FIR luminosity at 100 and 850 $\mathrm{\mu m}$. These correlations yield well defined relations, which can be used to determine a spiral galaxy's SFR and dust-mass content from FIR observations.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication A&

The influence of teaching experience and professional development on Greek teachers' attitudes towards inclusion

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the European Journal of Special Needs Education© 2007 Copyright Taylor & Francis; European Journal of Special Needs Education is available online at http://www.informaworld.comOn the assumption that the successful implementation of any inclusive policy is largely dependent on educators being positive about it, a survey was undertaken into the attitudes of Greek teachers to inclusion. The 155 respondents were general education primary teachers drawn from one region of Northern Greece, with a proportion deliberately selected from schools identified as actively implementing inclusive programmes. The analysis revealed positive attitudes towards the general concept of inclusion but variable views on the difficulty of accommodating different types of disabilities in mainstream classrooms. Teachers who had been actively involved in teaching pupils with SEN held significantly more positive attitudes than their counterparts with little or no such experience. The analysis also demonstrated the importance of substantive long-term training in the formation of positive teacher attitudes towards inclusion. The paper concludes with recommendations for developing critical professional development courses that can result in attitudinal change and the formulation of genuinely inclusive practices

Multipoint Communications in a Beyond-3G Internetwork

We consider the problem of supporting IPbased quasi-reliable mobile multipoint communications in a Beyond-3G internetwork which combines the current Internet (including all connected home users and wired or wireless LANs) with the soon-to-be-deployed 3G networks and the future digital broadcast networks. We summarize existing IETF protocols such as IP multicast, Mobile IP, and Cellular IP, which we believe help in solving the problem. We refer to filtering techniques useful for delivering media to mobile users. We discuss the Mobile IP and IP multicast constraints as well as their interoperability problems, and we present existing alternatives. We also offer our own perspective by outlining requirements for future mobile multicast protocols; by describing fundamentals of the mobile multicast problem; by mentioning our own approach to the problem, which involves IETF protocols and current trends; and by presenting the Beyond-3G internetwork we envisage

Designing a Peer-to-Peer Wireless Network Confederation

We present the Peer-to-Peer Wireless Network Confederation (P2PWNC), a P2P system designed to enable the sharing of WLAN bandwidth among residential hotspots. The benefits of joining the Confederation outweigh the costs, and its token-based incentive mechanism prevents free-riding

A Peer-to-Peer Approach to Wireless LAN Roaming

We make the case for a Global Confederation of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Wireless Local Area Networks. A P2P Wireless Network Confederation (P2PWNC) is a community of administrative domains that offer wireless Internet access to each other's registered users. The ubiquitous Internet access that the roaming users of these domains could enjoy compensates for their home domain's cost of providing access to visitors. Existing roaming schemes utilize central authorities or bilateral contracts to control access to resources. In contrast, a P2PWNC forms a pure P2P community in which participating domains are autonomous entities. Domains make independent decisions concerning the amount of bandwidth they contribute. As a result, similarly to existing P2P systems, a P2PWNC will suffer from "free-riding" if no incentive mechanisms exist to ensure that domains offer the amount of resources that is economically justified. Flexible rules on reciprocity can be set to delimit domain actions and encourage domains to provide in order to consume. In this paper, we present several aspects of the P2PWNC requirements and design. We outline several P2PWNC implementation issues relating to user privacy and the confederation's real-world deployment. We also describe the P2PWNC prototype that we developed