The use of the source-skin distance measuring bridge indeed reduces skin teleangiectasia after interstitial boost in breast conserving therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In 1990 the skin source measuring bridge was proposed as a tool to measure (1) the distance between the interstitial implant and the overlying skin during brachytherapy boost treatment as well as (2) the distances between the lateral source end and the exit point of the guide needle. The present study reports on the clinical experience using the source skin measuring bridge with respect to incidence and grade of teleangiectasia, and their relation to source skin distances and doses. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred and twenty-two breast cancer patients (229 breasts) treated between 1983 and 1996 with breast conserving therapy including a brachytherapy boost were scored on the occurrence of teleangiectasia. The minimum distance between the sources (above implant and laterally) and the skin surface were measured. RESULTS: If no bridge was used the appearance of teleangiectasia in the epiderm above the implant is 77, 63 and 50% for boost doses of 25, 20 and 15 Gy, respectively. For brachytherapy boost doses of 25 and 20 Gy and distances smaller than 10mm between the implant and the overlying epiderm, as determined with the skin source measuring bridge, the appearance of teleangiectasia was 78 and 46%, respectively. When respecting provisional dosimetry to spare the skin for a boost dose of 15 Gy, resulting in distances between 10 and 15 mm for the implant overlying skin and distances between 5 and 10 mm for the lateral skin, teleangiectasia can be reduced to a minimum (6.3% above and 3.3% laterally). While in a univariate analysis several parameters (use of the bridge, boost dose, boost modality, external beam therapy modality) were predictive factors, the use of the bridge remained the only significant variable in a multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: The skin source measuring bridge reduces teleangiectasia after interstitial brachytherapy boost treatment. A hypothesis made previously relating teleangiectasia and source skin distances was verified and extended. Even when 3D planning is used, the bridge allows for a provisional calculation of the security margins between source positions and the skin at the time of BT implantation to assure a correct needle positioning from the beginning, instead of correcting dwell times later on to avoid unnecessary high skin doses.     

Amorphization and modified release of ibuprofen by post-synthetic and solvent-free loading into tailored silica aerogels

Promising active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) often exhibit poor aqueous solubility and thus a low bioavailability that substantially limits their pharmaceutical application. Hence, efficient formulations are required for an effective translation into highly efficient drug products. One strategy is the preservation of an amorphous state of the API within a carrier matrix, which leads to enhanced dissolution. In this work, mesoporous silica aerogels (SA) were utilized as a carrier matrix for the amorphization of the poorly water-soluble model drug ibuprofen. Loading of tailored SA was performed post-synthetically and solvent-free, either by co-milling or via the melting method. Thorough analyses of these processes demonstrated the influence of macrostructural changes during the drying and grinding process on the microstructural properties of the SA. Furthermore, interfacial SA-drug interaction properties were selectively tuned by attaching terminal hydrophilic amino- or hydrophobic methyl groups to the surface of the gel. We demonstrate that not only the chemical surface properties of the SA, but also formulation-related parameters, such as the carrier-to-drug ratio, as well as process-related parameters, such as the drug loading method, decisively influence the ibuprofen adsorption efficiency. In addition, the drug-loaded SA formulations exhibited a remarkable physical stability over a period of 6 months. Furthermore, the release behavior is shown to change considerably with different surface properties of the SA matrix. Hence, the reported results demonstrate that utilizing specifically processed and modified SA offers a compelling technique for enhancement of the bioavailability of poorly-water soluble APIs and a versatile adjustment of their release profile.     

Cognitive and emotional processing in narratives of women abused by intimate partners

This study examined relationships between cognitive and emotional processing with changes in pain and depression among intimate partner violence survivors. Twenty-five women who wrote about their most traumatic experiences completed measures of pain and depressive symptoms before the first writing session and again 4 months following the last writing session. Reduced pain was significantly associated with less use of positive and negative emotion words. Relationships between cognitive and emotional aspects of writing with changes in depressive symptoms fell short of statistical significance. The results suggest that emotional processing in narrative writing predicts changes in pain in intimate partner violence survivors.     

Über Modifikationen der Hayemschen Lösung und ihre Verwendbarkeit für Serumflockungsreaktionen

Zusammenfassung 1. Der Ersatz des Sublimats in derHayemschen Lösung durch Zinkchlorid oder Kupfer (2)-chlorid liefert Reagentien, welche für die Anstellung von Serumflockungsreaktionen in gleicher Weise geeignet sind wie dieHayemsche Lösung selbst. Die mit den neuen Modifikationen erhaltenen Ergebnisse unterscheiden sich praktisch nicht von denjenigen mit der Originalmethode. Für alle 3 Lösungen ist der Satz gültig, daß eine beginnende Serumflockung nach Zusatz von weniger als 0,2–0,3 cm³ meist gleichbedeutend mit einer positiven Takatareaktion ist.2. Eisenchloridlösungen sind zum Ersatz des Sublimats in derHayem-Lösung für den Zweck der Serumflockung wenig geeignet, die Chloride von Strontium, Barium, Cadmium, Magnesium, Calcium, Zinn, Blei, Aluminium und Kalium völlig unbrauchbar.     

Der Physiologische Mechanismus Beim tod Durch Psychischen Shock

Ohne ZusammenfassungKurzer Bericht anläßlich der Sitzung der Dänischen psychiatrischen Gesellschaft am 25. Januar 1941.     

Beobachtungen über die Entwicklung verschiedener Arten von Fischschmarotzern aus der GattungDactylogyrus

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Metastasen

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Die Stossprophylaxe der Rachitis mit Vitamin D2 und D3

Ohne Zusammenfassung