Clinical adoption patterns of 0.35 Tesla MR-guided radiation therapy in Europe and Asia.

Background: Magnetic resonance-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) utilization is rapidly expanding, driven by advanced capabilities including better soft tissue imaging, continuous intrafraction target visualization, automatic triggered beam delivery, and the availability of on-table adaptive replanning. Our objective was to describe patterns of 0.35 Tesla (T)-MRgRT utilization in Europe and Asia among early adopters of this novel technology.

Layered Double Hydroxide Quantum Dots for Use in a Bifunctional Separator of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries.

Functional separators, which are chemically modified and coated with nanostructured materials, are considered an effective and economical approach to suppressing the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfide (LiPS) and promoting the conversion kinetics of sulfur cathodes. Herein, we report cobalt-aluminum-layered double hydroxide quantum dots (LDH-QDs) deposited with nitrogen-doped graphene (NG) as a bifunctional separator for lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs). The mesoporous LDH-QDs/NG hybrids possess abundant active sites of Co and hydroxide groups, which result in capturing LiPSs through strong chemical interactions and accelerating the redox kinetics of the conversion reaction, as confirmed through X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, adsorption tests, LiS nucleation tests, and electrokinetic analyses of the LiPS conversion.

Tissue expander placement and adjuvant radiotherapy after surgical resection of retroperitoneal liposarcoma offers improved local control.

Given that retroperitoneal liposarcoma (LPS) is extremely difficult to completely resect, and has a relatively high rate of recurrence, radiotherapy (RT) is the treatment of choice after surgical resection. However, it is difficult to obtain a sufficient radiation field because of the close proximity of surrounding organs. We introduce the use of tissue expanders (TEs) after LPS resection in an attempt to secure a sufficient radiation field and to improve recurrence-free survival.

Role of Adjuvant Radiotherapy in Left-Sided Pancreatic Cancer-Population-Based Analysis with Propensity Score Matching.

This population-based study evaluated the survival impact of postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) in left-sided pancreatic cancer. The Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database was used to identify patients with surgically resected left-sided pancreatic adenocarcinoma from 2004 to 2010. Propensity score matching was conducted to compare PORT and non-PORT groups.

High ratio of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1)(+)/CD8(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes identifies a poor prognostic subset of extrahepatic bile duct cancer undergoing surgery plus adjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

Background And Purpose: This study investigated the prognostic role of PD-L1 expression, PD-1(+) tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), and the ratio of PD-1(+)/CD8(+) TILs in extrahepatic bile duct (EHBD) cancer.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed 83 patients with EHBD cancer who underwent curative surgery plus fluoropyrimidine-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT). Expressions of PD-L1, PD-1, and CD8 were assessed by immunohistochemistry.

Effect of Radiation Therapy Techniques on Outcome in N3-positive IIIB Non-small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate clinical outcomes following definitive concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for patients with N3-positive stage IIIB (N3-IIIB) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), with a focus on radiation therapy (RT) techniques.

Materials And Methods: From May 2010 to November 2012, 77 patients with N3-IIIB NSCLC received definitive CCRT (median, 66 Gy). RT techniques were selected individually based on estimated lung toxicity, with 3-dimensional conformal RT (3D-CRT) and intensity-modulated RT (IMRT) delivered to 48 (62.

Definitive Bimodality Concurrent Chemoradiotherapy in Patients with Inoperable N2-positive Stage IIIA Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the treatment outcomes following definitive bimodality concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with inoperable N2-positive stage IIIA (N2-IIIA) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Materials And Methods: From May 1997 to December 2012, 65 out of 633 patients with N2-IIIA NSCLC received bimodality therapy. The treatment modality was selected during/after neoadjuvant CCRT in 21 patients or primarily at diagnosis in 44 through a multidisciplinary consensus meeting.

Fibrotic airway stenosis following radiotherapy in patients with adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Background And Objective: Radiotherapy is usually administered to the central airway in patients with unresectable adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC). The purpose of this study was to describe the outcomes of endobronchial intervention in patients with airway stenosis following radiotherapy for ACC. Moreover, we investigated the incidence and contributing factors for airway stenosis following radiotherapy for ACC.

Continuous microalgae recovery using electrolysis: effect of different electrode pairs and timing of polarity exchange.

Microalgae have great potential as a feedstock for biofuel production. Continuous operation is an important benefit of the continuous electrolytic microalgae (CEM) harvest system, but it is necessary to optimize cultivability and recovery efficiency in order to improve overall performance. Two pairs of best-candidate electrodes for polarity exchange (PE) were examined to improve these two key factors: (i) aluminum and dimensionally stable anode (Al-DSA), and (ii) Al-platinum (Al-Pt).

Identification and characterization of triamcinolone acetonide, a microglial-activation inhibitor.

Recent studies show that necrotic neuronal cells (NNC) activate microglia, thereby leading to neuronal cell death. This suggests that chemicals that inhibit microglia activation may be used as neuroprotective drugs. In this context, we screened a chemical library for inhibitors of microglia activation.

Continuous microalgae recovery using electrolysis with polarity exchange.

There is increasing interest in the use of microalgae as a renewable source for the production of fuels and chemicals, but improvements are needed in all steps of this process, including harvesting. A continuous microalgae harvest system was developed based on electrolysis, referred to here as a continuous electrolytic microalgae (CEM) harvest system. This innovative system combines cultivation and harvesting and enables continuous and efficient concentration of microalgae.

An effective preoperative three-dimensional radiotherapy target volume for extremity soft tissue sarcoma and the effect of margin width on local control.

Purpose: There is little information on the appropriate three-dimensional (3D) preoperative radiotherapy (XRT) volume for extremity soft-tissue sarcomas (STS). We retrospectively analyzed the pattern of local failure (LF) to help elucidate optimal field design.

Methods And Materials: We analyzed the 56 patients who underwent computed tomography-planned XRT for Stage I to III extremity STS between June 2000 and December 2006.

Palliative radiotherapy in a patient with pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Primary adenoid cystic carcinoma in the lung is very rare, so its clinicopathologic characteristics have usually been extrapolated from the salivary disease. However, the clinical courses of pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinomas may be different from those of salivary disease, and individual differences may also exist. I report here on a case of a patient who was initially diagnosed as pulmonary adenoid cystic carcinoma with liver metastases and the tumor showed extreme radiosensitivity, but it also underwent an aggressive clinical course.

Humic substance-enhanced ultrafiltration for removal of cobalt.

It is well known that the membrane separation process combined with surfactant micelle (micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration) or polyelectrolyte (polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration) can remove heavy metal ions or radionuclides effectively. However, the complexing agent, surfactant or polyelectrolyte remained in effluent is a serious disadvantage of these methods. In this study, humic substances (HS) were used as complexing agents instead of synthetic chemicals.

The Relation between Histopathologic Findings on Surgical Specimen and Outcomes in Patients with N2 Positive Stage IIIA Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Receiving Preoperative Concurrent Radiochemotherapy and Surgery.

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic implication of histopathologic findings on the surgical specimens of N2 positive stage IIIA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who were treated with preoperative concurrent radiochemotherapy (CRCT) and surgery.

Materials And Methods: From May 1997 to April 2000, 48 patients with N2 positive stage IIIA NSCLC were treated with preoperative CRCT and surgery. Retrospective analyses were performed on 33 patients who underwent surgical resection.

Removal characteristics of anionic metals by micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration.

Surfactant-based separation of Fe(CN)(6)(3-) and CrO(4)(2-) using regenerated cellulose membrane was studied in order to assess the potential of micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration for the remediation of wastewater or groundwater polluted with ferriccyanide and chromate. In the ferriccyanide/octadecylamine acetate (ODA) and chromate/ODA systems, removal of ferriccyanide increased from 73 to 92% and to 98%, and that of chromate from 64 to 97% and to >99.9% as the molar ratio of ODA to ferriccyanide and to chromate increased from 1 to 2 and to 3, respectively.