In electrical engineering, the utilization of infrared thermography has been traditionally confined to the periodic inspection of electric installations, distribution lines and power transformers, ...among other applications. Over recent years, this technique is being increasingly incorporated in electric motors predictive maintenance programs. This is due to the fact that it has been reported its suitability for detecting certain types of problems, such as deficient bearing lubrication, cooling system problems, stator winding asymmetries or problems in the transmission system, among others. This paper presents an infrared-based methodology for detecting bearing anomalies in induction motors. It relies on the use of isothermal representations that enable to visualize the temperature gradient and, hence, to facilitate the localization of the anomaly source. At the same time, it enables an approximated computation of the motor losses, as it is carried out in the paper. The method is applied to both laboratory motors and industrial motors operating in a petrochemical plant. The results prove the potential of the presented infrared-based methodology to reliably detect the considered anomalies.
Vinorelbine-cisplatin combination chemotherapy is a standard approach for the treatment of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The addition of paclitaxel as a third therapeutic agent seems ...promising. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the activity and toxicity of this new regimen. Forty-six nonselected and chemotherapy-naive patients with stage IV NSCLC and an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0 to 2 were treated every 4 weeks with paclitaxel (135 mg/m2 given iv in 3 hours) and cisplatin (120 mg/m2 given iv in 6 hours) on day 1 and vinorelbine (30 mg/m2 given iv in 30 minutes) on days 1 and 15. All patients were evaluated for toxicity and response according to the intent-to-treat principle. An objective response was observed in 39% of the patients (95% CI: 25% to 55%). World Health Organization grade III to IV neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, and anemia occurred in 43%, 2%, and 17%, respectively. There was one treatment-related death. Nonhematologic toxicities were mild, mainly grade III nausea and vomiting in 20% of the patients. After a median follow-up period of 54 months, the median progression-free survival was 14.3 weeks and the median overall survival was 31.3 weeks. This three-drug chemotherapy combination is feasible, well tolerated, and shows activity in metastatic NSCLC.
Multidisciplinary treatment in high-risk breast cancer improves survival and local control. The feasibility and patterns of failure after several induction and high-dose consolidation regimens of ...chemotherapy were evaluated in this study. Between November 1990 and January 1997, 65 patients with histologically proven breast cancer American Joint Committee on Cancer stages II-III with four or more axillary lymph nodes positive or locally advanced breast cancer underwent high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) with peripheral stem cell support after surgery and induction chemotherapy. All patients were subsequently treated with radiotherapy (up to total doses of 50-60 Gy), which included the ipsilateral axilla and supraclavicular fossa and the chest wall or breast. A minimum follow-up period of 2 years from the completion of radiotherapy was required for analysis. Local control (LC), disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), and toxicity were evaluated. With a median follow-up of 62 months (range: 32-107 months), LC was 89%, and 5-year OS and DFS were 78% and 63%, respectively. Symptomatic pneumonitis developed in six patients (9%); only one patient had her radiotherapy interrupted because of hematologic toxicity. No treatment-related mortality was observed. Radiation therapy after HDC provides excellent local control rates without excessive toxicity. Delaying the start of irradiation until recovery from HDC does not seem to increase local failure rates.
ABSTRACT— Aims/Background: To establish the rate of infection with a newly discovered Flaviviridae family member – hepatitis G virus (HGV) – in Spanish patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), ...chronic alcoholic liver disease (CALD) with cirrhosis, or hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐induced chronic hepatitis (CH). Methods: The presence of HGV‐RNA was assessed in sera of 117 patients divided in three groups: group 1: 40 patients with HCC (35 men, mean age 62.7 years, SD 10.9 years); group 2: 41 patients with chronic alcoholic liver disease (CALD) (36 men, mean age 52.5 years, SD 9.8 years); group 3: 36 patients with HCV‐induced CH (27 men, mean age 35.8 years, SD 8.5 years). Serum samples were tested for HGV‐RNA by specific reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR). Serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and HCV were investigated in all patients and were negative in CALD patients, as a prerequisite for their inclusion in the study. All patients in group 1 were also tested for HBV‐DNA. Results: Rates of HGV‐RNA positivity were, respectively, 47%, 10% and 28% in groups 1, 2 and 3. Differences were significant between groups 1 and 2 (p=0.00017) and groups 2 and 3 (p=0.042), but not between groups 1 and 3 (p=0.079). Conclusions: HGV infection is common in HCC patients, but usually in association with HCV, indicating that both agents share common routes of infection. HGV was the only hepatitis virus detected in 12% of HCC patients, but its possible role in the pathogenesis of HCC remains unclear.
Nuevos tratamientos para el carcinoma renal Gúrpide, A; Olier, C; García-Foncillas López, Jesús ...
Anales del sistema sanitario de Navarra,
12/2007, Letnik:
30, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
El cáncer renal presenta varias características que lo diferencian de otros tumores. El aumento de supervivencia observado en pacientes con carcinoma renal metastásico tras la realización de ...nefrectomía, rompe un concepto clásico de la oncología según el cual la extirpación del tumor primario en tumores avanzados carece de sentido. Junto con el melanoma, es el único tumor en el que tratamientos inmunomoduladores, como interleukina-2 producen un beneficio clínico al paciente. El tratamiento del cáncer renal metastásico con interleukina-2 intravenosa a dosis altas ha confirmado en estudios aleatorios que puede producir respuestas completas de muy larga duración, en la práctica equivalentes a la curación. Por último, el cáncer renal está siendo empleado como modelo clínico para demostrar la eficacia de múltiples tratamientos dirigidos frente a nuevas dianas. En la actualidad se están estudiando más de 30 nuevos fármacos como tratamiento del cáncer renal, habiendo sido el primer tumor en el que se ha demostrado el beneficio clínico del tratamiento con inhibidores de la angiogénesis. En este artículo se revisan los aspectos más relevantes sobre el cáncer renal, incluyendo epidemiología, factores pronósticos, presentación clínica; bases moleculares y el estado actual de desarrollo de varios de los múltiples fármacos que se están estudiando en esta enfermedad.
