Analysis of MRI Volumetric Changes After Hypofractionated Stereotactic Radiation Therapy for Benign Intracranial Neoplasms.

Purpose: To quantitatively assess volumetric changes after hypofractionated stereotactic radiation therapy (HFSRT) in patients treated for vestibular schwannomas and meningiomas.

Methods And Materials: We retrospectively reviewed records of patients treated with HFSRT at our institution from 2002 to 2014. Patients received a median dose of 25 Gy in 5 fractions.

Non-hematologic predictors of mortality improve the prognostic value of the international prognostic scoring system for MDS in older adults.

Objectives: The International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) is commonly used to predict survival and assign treatment for the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). We explored whether self-reported and readily available non-hematologic predictors of survival add independent prognostic information to the IPSS.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective cohort study of consecutive MDS patients ≥age 65 who presented to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute between 2006 and 2011 and completed a baseline quality of life questionnaire.

Interactions between halide anions and a molecular hydrophobic interface.

Interactions between halide ions (fluoride and iodide) and t-butyl alcohol (TBA) dissolved in water are probed using a recently developed hydration-shell spectroscopic technique and theoretical cluster and liquid calculations. High ignal-to-noise Raman spectroscopic measurements are combined with multivariate curve resolution (Raman-MCR) to reveal that while there is little interaction between aqueous fluoride ions and TBA, iodide ions break down the tetrahedral hydration-shell structure of TBA and produce a red-shift in its CH stretch frequency, in good agreement with the theoretical effective fragment potential (EFP) molecular dynamics simulations and hybrid quantum/EFP frequency calculations. The results imply that there is a significantly larger probability of finding iodide than fluoride in the first hydration shell of TBA, although the local iodide concentration is apparently not as high as in the surrounding bulk aqueous NaI solution.

Geriatric assessment in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia: a retrospective study of associated treatment and outcomes.

We explored whether geriatric assessment variables predicted mortality in addition to known prognostic factors in 101 patients aged ≥ 65 with newly diagnosed AML. Baseline comorbidity score (HR=1.92; 95%CI 1.

Application of Raman multivariate curve resolution to solvation-shell spectroscopy.

Raman spectroscopy and multivariate curve resolution (Raman-MCR) are combined to yield a powerful spectroscopic method for identifying solute-induced perturbations of solvent molecules. The principles and applications of the resulting solvation-shell spectroscopy are described and illustrated using both numerical model spectra and experimental Raman spectra, including water in acetone and aqueous OH(-), as well as of both neutral and ionic acetic acid solutions. The results illustrate the quantitative capabilities of Raman-MCR as a solvation-shell spectroscopy, including fundamental limitations arising from "intensity" and "rotational" ambiguities.