Performance Evaluation for Repair of HSGc-C5 Carcinoma Cell Using Geant4-DNA.

Track-structure Monte Carlo simulations are useful tools to evaluate initial DNA damage induced by irradiation. In the previous study, we have developed a Gean4-DNA-based application to estimate the cell surviving fraction of V79 cells after irradiation, bridging the gap between the initial DNA damage and the DNA rejoining kinetics by means of the two-lesion kinetics (TLK) model. However, since the DNA repair performance depends on cell line, the same model parameters cannot be used for different cell lines.

Effects of loading a magnetic field longitudinal to the linear particle-beam track on yields of reactive oxygen species in water.

The effects of a magnetic field longitudinal to the ion beam track on the generation of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and hydrogen peroxide (HO) in water were investigated. A longitudinal magnetic field was reported to enhance the biological effects of the ion beam. However, the mechanism of the increased cell death by a longitudinal magnetic field has not been clarified.

Application of lung substitute material as ripple filter for multi-ion therapy with helium-, carbon-, oxygen-, and neon-ion beams.

A development project for hypo-fractionated multi-ion therapy has been initiated at the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Japan. In the treatment, helium, carbon, oxygen, and neon ions will be used as primary beams with pencil beam scanning. A ripple filter (RiFi), consisting of a thin plastic or aluminum plate with a fine periodic ridge and groove structure, has been used to broaden the Bragg peak of heavy-ion beams in the beam direction.

Effects of early nutritional intervention by a nutritional support team for patients with head and neck cancer undergoing chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy.

Background: We analyzed the effects of early nutritional intervention by a nutritional support team (NST) in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) undergoing chemoradiotherapy or radiotherapy.

Methods: This study investigated whether early nutritional interventions by a multidisciplinary NST improve body weight loss, mucositis, serum albumin level, and hospital length of stay.

Results: Sixty-one patients with HNSCC were treated during the study, and 32 patients received NST intervention since admission.

[Persistent Chemotherapy-Induced Hiccups Successfully Treated with Pregabalin].

A 62-year-old male was diagnosed with large cell lung cancer(c-Stage IV)based on pathological examination of an anterior chest tumor. He received chemotherapy with cisplatin, pemetrexed, and bevacizumab. He suffered from persistent hiccups from day 2 of the first course of chemotherapy.

[The Role of Certified Nurse in Palliative Care to Promote the Discharge Support and Regional Cooperation for Cancer Patients].

The objective of this study is to understand the issues and solutions considered by certified nurses(CN)in palliative care (hereinafter referred to as"palliative care CN)regarding discharge support and regional cooperation for cancer patients, and to discover the roles and responsibilities of palliative care CN. Data obtained from training sessions for 22 palliative care CNs was reconfigured and analyzed. As a result, problems related to discharge support and regional cooperation for cancer patients were classified into 13 categories and 3 core categories.

Development of the Assessment of Belief Conflict in Relationship-14 (ABCR-14).

Purpose: Nurses and other healthcare workers frequently experience belief conflict, one of the most important, new stress-related problems in both academic and clinical fields.

Methods: In this study, using a sample of 1,683 nursing practitioners, we developed The Assessment of Belief Conflict in Relationship-14 (ABCR-14), a new scale that assesses belief conflict in the healthcare field. Standard psychometric procedures were used to develop and test the scale, including a qualitative framework concept and item-pool development, item reduction, and scale development.

Concurrent Specialized Palliative Care Upon Initiation of First-Line Chemotherapy for Cancer Progression: Is It Early Enough?

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of specialized palliative care (PC) administered at the time of administration of first-line chemotherapy for cancer progression.

Methods: Patients who received regular specialist PC concomitantly with first-line chemotherapy after being diagnosed with progressive disease assigned to PC group. Patients transferred to palliative care unit (PCU) after discontinuation of chemotherapy were assigned to standard care (SC) group.

Palliative care physicians' practices and attitudes regarding advance care planning in palliative care units in Japan: a nationwide survey.

To clarify physicians' practices and attitudes regarding advance care planning (ACP) in palliative care units (PCUs) in Japan, we conducted a self-completed questionnaire survey of 203 certificated PCUs in 2010. Ninety-nine physicians participated in the survey. Although most Japanese palliative care physicians recognized the importance of ACP, many failed to implement aspects of patient-directed ACP that they acknowledged to be important, such as recommending completion of advance directives (ADs), designation of health care proxies, and implementing existing ADs.

Synthesis and crystallochromy of 1,4,7,10-tetraalkyltetracenes: tuning of solid-state optical properties of tetracenes by alkyl side-chain length.

We synthesized a series of 1,4,7,10-tetraalkyltetracenes using a new 2,6-naphthodiyne precursor and 2,5-dialkylfurans as starting materials (alkyl=methyl to hexyl). Surprisingly, the solid-state color of the tetracenes ranges through yellow, orange, and red. Both yellow and red solids are obtained for the butyl derivative.

Survey of the current status of cancer rehabilitation in Japan.

Purpose: To elucidate the current status of cancer rehabilitation in institutions nationwide.

Method: A questionnaire survey regarding the current status of cancer rehabilitation in 1693 healthcare institutions was conducted by mail. The survey first asked whether rehabilitation was being conducted for cancer patients and, in facilities in which it was being conducted, it then asked about the content of the rehabilitation, the stage of the cancer patients, etc.

Electronic inhomogeneity and breakdown of the universal thermal conductivity of cuprate superconductors.

We report systematic, high-precision measurements of the low-T (down to 70 mK) thermal conductivity kappa of YBa2Cu3O(y), La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO4, and Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta). Careful examinations of the Zn- and hole-doping dependences of the residual thermal conductivity kappa0/T, as well as the in-plane anisotropy of kappa0/T in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta), indicate a breakdown of the universal thermal conductivity, a notable theoretical prediction for d-wave superconductors. Our results point to an important role of electronic inhomogeneities, which are not considered in the standard perturbation theory for thermal conductivity, in the underdoped to optimally doped regime.

Physical evaluation of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) scan methods and conditions for improvement of carbon beam distribution.

To reduce errors in the carbon beam distribution between the treatment planning system and the actual situation, we evaluated the geometrical accuracy, volume accuracy, water-equivalent length (WEL), and treatment planning, and compared the results of evaluation of axial and helical scan methods with various scan parameters. The results indicated that both scan methods showed good geometrical accuracy for thin slice images, but for thick slice images it is easier to understand the phantom as a sphere from the helical as compared with the axial scan. Treatment planning with a thin slice thickness (ST) provided accurate dose distribution for both scan methods, and the dose distribution on the treatment planning system was almost the same as that in the actual situation.

Abrupt transition in quasiparticle dynamics at optimal doping in a cuprate superconductor system.

We report time-resolved measurements of the photoinduced change in reflectivity, DeltaR, in the Bi2Sr2Ca(1-y)Dy(y)Cu2O8+delta (BSCCO) system of cuprate superconductors as a function of hole concentration. We find that the kinetics of quasiparticle decay and the sign of DeltaR both change abruptly where the superconducting transition temperature T(c) is maximal. These coincident changes suggest that a sharp transition in quasiparticle dynamics takes place precisely at optimal doping in the BSCCO system.

Novel anisotropy in the superconducting gap structure of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O(8+delta) probed by quasiparticle heat transport.

Since the nature of pairing interactions is manifested in the superconducting gap symmetry, the exact gap structure, particularly any deviation from the simple d(x(2)-y(2)) symmetry, would help in elucidating the pairing mechanism in high- T(c) cuprates. Anisotropic heat transport measurement in Bi(2)Sr(2)CaCu(2)O(8+delta) reveals that the quasiparticle populations are different for the two nodal directions and thus the gap structure must be uniquely anisotropic, suggesting that pairing is governed by interactions with a rather complicated anisotropy. Intriguingly, it is found that the "plateau" in the magnetic-field dependence of the thermal conductivity is observed only in the b-axis transport.

Electromagnetic response of static and fluctuating stripes in cuprate superconductors.

Using infrared spectroscopy, we found that changes in the in-plane charge dynamics attributable to static stripe order in La(1.275)Nd(0.6)Sr(0.

Observing a codimension-two heteroclinic bifurcation.

This paper reports experimental observations of codimension-two heteroclinic bifurcations in an autonomous third-order electrical circuit. The paper also reports confirmations by computer simulations. In the laboratory experiments, a pair of programmable resistors are used in order to adjust two bifurcation parameters.