Purpose
The aim of this study was to evaluate prognostic factors in patients with lung metastases who undergo lung stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).
Materials and methods
A total of 87 patients ...with 129 lung metastases who underwent SBRT between November 2004 and May 2012 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The patient collective consisted of 54 men (62.1%) and 33 women (37.9%); the median age was 65 years (range 36–88). The Karnofsky performance index was ≥70% (median 90%) for all cases, but one (60%). Adverse effects were categorized using the CTCAE 4.0 classification system. Retrospective analyses regarding patients’ characteristics, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), disease-specific survival (DSS), and local tumor control rates (LTC) were performed.
Results
On univariate and multivariate analysis OS, DSS, and PFS were significantly (
p
< 0.05) better for patients with ≤3 lung metastases; no extrathoracic metastases at the time of the SBRT; a gross tumor volume (GTV) <7.7 cm
3
and patients that received a staging that included positron emission tomography with fluorine 18 fluorodeoxyglucose/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) imaging. Furthermore, a longer OS was observed if newly diagnosed metastases during follow-up were limited to the lung (median survival: 43.7 months versus 21.7 months;
p
= 0.023).
Conclusion
The number and pattern of metastases, and the size of the target volume are strong predictors for the outcome of patients receiving SBRT of lung tumors. FDG-PET/CT should be part of pretherapeutic staging before SBRT.
This study examines the Salmonella status in reptiles kept in households with children suffering from gastroenteritis due to an exotic Salmonella serovar, to obtain information on possible ...transmission paths. A number of affected households (n=79) were contacted, and almost half (34/79) comprised at least one reptile in the home. Of the households, 19 were further studied, whereby a total of 36 reptiles were investigated. Samples were taken from the reptiles including the oral cavity, the cloaca, the skin and, in the case of lizards, the stomach, and isolation of Salmonella strains was performed using repeated enrichment and typing. Where the Salmonella serovars of the infected child and the reptile were identical, typing was followed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Bearded dragons (Pogona vitticeps) constituted 19 of 36 examined reptiles. Altogether 319 Salmonella isolates were investigated and 24 different serovars identified in the reptiles. In 15 of 19 households, an identical serovar to the human case was confirmed in at least one reptile (including 16 of all 19 bearded dragons examined). The results demonstrate that reptiles and especially bearded dragons shed various Salmonella serovars including those isolated from infected children in the respective households. Hygiene protocols and parents' education are therefore highly necessary to reduce the risk of transmission. From a terminological point of view, we propose to call such infections 'Reptile-Exotic-Pet-Associated-Salmonellosis' (REPAS).
Sulfuric acid is an important gas influencing atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). Both the binary (H2SO4-H2O) system and the ternary system involving ammonia (H2SO4-H2O-NH3) may be important in ...the free troposphere. An essential step in the nucleation of aerosol particles from gas-phase precursors is the formation of a dimer, so an understanding of the thermodynamics of dimer formation over a wide range of atmospheric conditions is essential to describe NPF. We have used the CLOUD chamber to conduct nucleation experiments for these systems at temperatures from 208 to 248 K. Neutral monomer and dimer concentrations of sulfuric acid were measured using a chemical ionization mass spectrometer (CIMS). From these measurements, dimer evaporation rates in the binary system were derived for temperatures of 208 and 223 K. We compare these results to literature data from a previous study that was conducted at higher temperatures but is in good agreement with the present study. For the ternary system the formation of H2SO4.NH3 is very likely an essential step in the formation of sulfuric acid dimers, which were measured at 210, 223, and 248 K. We estimate the thermodynamic properties (dH and dS) of the H2SO4.NH3 cluster using a simple heuristic model and the measured data. Furthermore, we report the first measurements of large neutral sulfuric acid clusters containing as many as 10 sulfuric acid molecules for the binary system using chemical ionization-atmospheric pressure interface time-of-flight (CI-APi-TOF) mass spectrometry.
In the last decades, numerous stimuli-responsive polymers have been developed and investigated regarding their switching properties. In particular, thermoresponsive polymers, which form a miscibility ...gap with the ambient solvent with a lower or upper critical demixing point depending on the temperature, have been intensively studied in solution. For the application of such polymers in novel sensors, drug delivery systems or as multifunctional coatings, they typically have to be transferred into specific arrangements, such as micelles, polymer films or grafted nanoparticles. However, it turns out that the thermodynamic concept for the phase transition of free polymer chains fails, when thermoresponsive polymers are assembled into such sterically confined architectures. Whereas many published studies focus on synthetic aspects as well as individual applications of thermoresponsive polymers, the underlying structure-property relationships governing the thermoresponse of sterically constrained assemblies, are still poorly understood. Furthermore, the clear majority of publications deals with polymers that exhibit a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) behavior, with PNIPAAM as their main representative. In contrast, for polymer arrangements with an upper critical solution temperature (UCST), there is only limited knowledge about preparation, application and precise physical understanding of the phase transition. This review article provides an overview about the current knowledge of thermoresponsive polymers with limited mobility focusing on UCST behavior and the possibilities for influencing their thermoresponsive switching characteristics. It comprises star polymers, micelles as well as polymer chains grafted to flat substrates and particulate inorganic surfaces. The elaboration of the physicochemical interplay between the architecture of the polymer assembly and the resulting thermoresponsive switching behavior will be in the foreground of this consideration.
Polycationic poly(N,N-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) is a polyelectrolyte, which is appealing for the design of switchable surface coatings for sensors, catalysts, or biomaterials owing ...to its multiresponsiveness upon the variation of external triggers (temperature, ionic strength, pH value). In this study, a robust, efficient, and catalyst-free grafting-to approach is presented for the first time, which enables the preparation of double thermoresponsive (LCST and UCST-type transition) PDMAEMA brushes with well-controlled molecular weight and grafting density. The combination of grafting in the melt via a Huisgen 1,3 dipolar cycloaddition allows us to achieve a wide range of grafting densities (0.08–0.20 chains/nm2) even for polyelectrolyte chains with a high molecular weight of 40 000 g/mol. The synthetic control of the grafting density enables a study of the divergent impact of steric restrictions on mechanistically different thermoresponsive transitions of a homopolymer brush. Whereas a pronounced LCST transition with a reduction in brush layer thickness of more than 40% is observed via spectroscopic ellipsometry at intermediate grafting densities (0.12–0.20 chains/nm2) in 5 mM NaCl solution, the UCST transition, induced by multivalent Fe(CN)63– ions, reaches a remarkable change in layer thickness of ∼80% already at the lowest investigated grafting density of 0.08 chains/nm2.
Recently developed procedures for the coating of surfaces with metal-organic frameworks using cyclic preparation schemes in which different reactants are supplied in alternate manner result in very ...different morphologies of the coatings depending on the intermediate removal of reactants stored in the pores of the just grown MOF material between the different preparation cycles. Display omitted
► Growth of MOF-5 on copper, gold and fused silica generated by cyclic preparation techniques (CSA). ► Demonstration of the attachment of the first SBU layer on SAM covered surfaces via FTIR tracing. ► The surface storage effect and its influence on the morphology of MOF coatings.
As a representative of the IRMOF series, MOF-5 was deposited onto self-assembled monolayer modified metal and fused silica surfaces applying the controlled SBU approach (CSA) (SBU – secondary building unit). Although the controlled SBU approach was already used in some cases to deposit IRMOFs and other MOF (metal–organic framework) types on surfaces, this contribution is the first study concerned with basic processes of the deposition of IRMOFs onto SAM (self-assembled monolayers) coated substrates, like the carboxylate exchange between SBU precursor and SAM, the influence of different substrates, or the morphology differences resulting from different cyclic preparation procedures.
The deposition of the first SBU layer (basic zinc perfluoromethylbenzoate) onto the surface and the carboxylate exchange during CSA was demonstrated by infrared reflection–absorption spectroscopy. The various aspects of the MOF deposition, such as the crystalline growth, the element distribution, the porosity, and the morphology of the thin films were addressed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), nitrogen cryo-adsorption measurement, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Abstract This review considers qualifying standards of wound management, explains the hypothesis for the applicability of tissue tolerable plasma (TTP) and lists the TTP effects relevant for wound ...healing. TTP fulfils these requirements in-vitro and in-vivo together with its demonstrated good tissue tolerability. Cases of treatment of chronic wounds in pets are presented which healed by TTP in combination with polihexanide or octenidine within 3 to 24 weeks. It may be concluded that TTP is a new option for the treatment of chronic wounds.
Cirrus clouds impact the planetary energy balance and upper-tropospheric water vapor transport and are therefore relevant for climate. In this study cirrus clouds at temperatures colder than −40°C ...simulated by the ECHAM–Hamburg Aerosol Module (ECHAM-HAM) general circulation model are compared to Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) satellite data. The model captures the general cloud cover pattern and reproduces the observed median ice water content within a factor of 2, while extinction is overestimated by about a factor of 3 as revealed by temperature-dependent frequency histograms. Two distinct types of cirrus clouds are found: in situ–formed cirrus dominating at temperatures colder than −55°C and liquid-origin cirrus dominating at temperatures warmer than −55°C. The latter cirrus form in anvils of deep convective clouds or by glaciation of mixed-phase clouds, leading to high ice crystal number concentrations. They are associated with extinction coefficients and ice water content of up to 1 km−1 and 0.1 gm−3, respectively, while the in situ–formed cirrus are associated with smaller extinction coefficients and ice water content. In situ–formed cirrus are nucleated either heterogeneously or homogeneously. The simulated homogeneous ice crystals are similar to liquid-origin cirrus, which are associated with high ice crystal number concentrations. On the contrary, heterogeneously nucleated ice crystals appear in smaller number concentrations. However, ice crystal aggregation and depositional growth smooth the differences between several formation mechanisms, making the attribution to a specific ice nucleation mechanism challenging.
The literature lacks established concrete parameters for assigning grafted chain regimes. In this context, dichroic
attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and
...ellipsometry were used complementarily, offering new opportunities for conformational analysis of end-grafted polymer chains. Especially polymer chain orientation was studied as a new parameter, among others, for proper chain regime assignment in this report. Alkyne-functionalized poly(
,
-dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) with a molecular weight of 49.8 kg/mol and a contour length of around 80 nm was grafted to self-assembled monolayers bearing triazole end groups as reported. Different chain regimes were generated by using three different grafting densities. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy based on the ν(C═O) stretching vibration at around 1728 cm
provided a new direct approach to determine the GD of polymer chains. Significant shifts in the position of the ν(C═O) band comparing dry and wet states were observed, caused by increased hydrogen bonding interactions between PDMAEMA and water. Finally, the averaged orientation of PDMAEMA chains along the
-axis was determined using dichroic ATR-FTIR spectroscopy based on the dichroic ratios of the ν(C═O) band and molecular order parameters
calculated thereof. High
values were found for the wet state compared to the dry state, confirming that all GD PDMAEMA samples are in the brush regime in the swollen state.
A strongly coupled quantum dot-micropillar cavity system is studied under variation of the excitation power. The characteristic double peak spectral shape of the emission with a vacuum Rabi splitting ...of 85 microeV at low excitation transforms gradually into a single broad emission peak when the excitation power is increased. Modelling the experimental data by a recently published formalism Laussy et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 083601 (2008) yields a transition from strong coupling towards weak coupling which is mainly attributed to an excitation power driven decrease of the exciton-photon coupling constant.
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