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Fairfax, Va., May 1, 2014Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX) experienced improved local-regional control and, with patients censored at five years, improved overall survival with no increase in late toxicity, according to a study published in the May 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

This study, Final Results of Local-Regional Control and Late Toxicity of RTOG 9003: A Randomized Trial of Altered Fractionation Radiation for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer, is a multi-institutional, randomized Phase III trial of fractionation in locally advanced head and neck cancer. The study, the largest fractionation study performed to date, evaluated patients who received standard fractionation (SFX) compared to those that received HFX, accelerated fractionation with a split (AFX-S) or accelerated fractionation-continuous (AFX-C). Patients enrolled in RTOG 9003 were age 18 or older and had previously untreated, locally advanced squamous cell cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx or supraglottic larynx in stage III or IV or stage II-IV carcinoma of the base of the tongue or hypopharynx. Patients with a prior (within five years) or synchronous malignancy other than nonmelanoma skin cancer were excluded. The trial accrued 1,076 eligible patients from September 30, 1991 to August 1, 1997.

Patients were randomized to four different treatment arms: SFX (2 Gy/fraction/day to 70 Gy in 35 fractions over seven weeks), HFX (1.2 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 81.6 Gy over seven weeks), AFX-S (1.6 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 67.2 Gy over six weeks, with a two-week break after 38.4 Gy) and AFX-C (total dose of 72 Gy delivered over six weeks in 1.8 Gy daily fractions and additional 1.5 Gy boost field in the afternoon during the last 12 days of treatment). All treatments were delivered five days a week, and twice-daily treatments had a minimum interfraction interval of six hours.

Local-regional failure was analyzed at two years, at five years and at last follow-up. As of October 1, 2012, the median follow-up was 14.1 years. Toxicity and disease recurrence assessment was conducted weekly while patients received radiation therapy; four months after treatment completion; every three months for one-and-a-half years; every four months between one-and-a-half and three years; every six months in years three to five; and then annually until death. Toxicities occurring 180 days from the start of radiation were considered acute, and those occurring >180 days after radiation therapy were considered late effects. At the time of this reports analysis in October 2012, 52.7 percent of patients (568) had experienced local-regional failure, with 97.4 percent (553) occurring within the first five years.

Secondary primary cancers were reported for 18.6 percent of patients (200), with 50 percent (100) reported within the first three years, and 75 percent (150) reported within the first 5.5 years. After 5.5 years post-treatment, the rates of secondary malignancies decreased to <1 percent per year. There were no significant differences in the rates of second malignancies among all four study arms.

At five years, the prevalence of grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity, any feeding tube use after 180 days or feeding tube use at one year did not differ significantly when the SFX arm was compared to the three experimental arms. Grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity tended to be decreased for patients treated over seven weeks compared to those treated over six weeks (9.0 percent vs. 16.7 percent, respectively), and 4.8 percent of disease-free patients treated with HFX had feeding tubes compared to 13.0 percent of patients treated with AFX-C.

At five-years post-treatment, patients in the HFX arm had the highest overall survival rates at 37.1 percent (HR 0.81, 95 percent CI), compared to 33.7 percent for the AFX-C arm, 29.3 percent for the SFX arm, 29.0 percent for the AFX-S arm.

This study, one of only a few large studies to have follow-up beyond five years, demonstrates that patients who have head and neck cancers and who are being treated with radiation therapy alone have improved local-regional control and no increase in late toxicity when radiation therapy is delivered twice a day in two smaller doses which we call hyperfractionation, said Jonathan J. Beitler, MD, MBA, FASTRO, lead author of the study and professor of radiation oncology, otolaryngology and hematology/medical oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. The decrease in the rate of new cancers was unexpected; however, the large database and the long follow-up provided us with a window into information that had not previously been available about the long-term patterns of head and neck tumors and is particularly heartening. The results suggest that twice-daily radiation may improve cure and limit late side effects for patients. Twice-daily radiation might be worth considering in place of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for those patients who are at low risk for distant metastases and those patients who cannot tolerate systemic therapy.

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RTOG 9003 Study Indicates That Hyperfractionated Radiation Therapy Improves Local-Regional Control Without Increasing ...

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

1-May-2014

Contact: Michelle Kirkwood press@astro.org 703-286-1600 American Society for Radiation Oncology

Fairfax, Va., May 1, 2014Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX) experienced improved local-regional control and, with patients censored at five years, improved overall survival with no increase in late toxicity, according to a study published in the May 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

This study, "Final Results of Local-Regional Control and Late Toxicity of RTOG 9003: A Randomized Trial of Altered Fractionation Radiation for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer," is a multi-institutional, randomized Phase III trial of fractionation in locally advanced head and neck cancer. The study, the largest fractionation study performed to date, evaluated patients who received standard fractionation (SFX) compared to those that received HFX, accelerated fractionation with a split (AFX-S) or accelerated fractionation-continuous (AFX-C). Patients enrolled in RTOG 9003 were age 18 or older and had previously untreated, locally advanced squamous cell cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx or supraglottic larynx in stage III or IV or stage II-IV carcinoma of the base of the tongue or hypopharynx. Patients with a prior (within five years) or synchronous malignancy other than nonmelanoma skin cancer were excluded. The trial accrued 1,076 eligible patients from September 30, 1991 to August 1, 1997.

Patients were randomized to four different treatment arms: SFX (2 Gy/fraction/day to 70 Gy in 35 fractions over seven weeks), HFX (1.2 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 81.6 Gy over seven weeks), AFX-S (1.6 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 67.2 Gy over six weeks, with a two-week break after 38.4 Gy) and AFX-C (total dose of 72 Gy delivered over six weeks in 1.8 Gy daily fractions and additional 1.5 Gy boost field in the afternoon during the last 12 days of treatment). All treatments were delivered five days a week, and twice-daily treatments had a minimum interfraction interval of six hours.

Local-regional failure was analyzed at two years, at five years and at last follow-up. As of October 1, 2012, the median follow-up was 14.1 years. Toxicity and disease recurrence assessment was conducted weekly while patients received radiation therapy; four months after treatment completion; every three months for one-and-a-half years; every four months between one-and-a-half and three years; every six months in years three to five; and then annually until death. Toxicities occurring 180 days from the start of radiation were considered acute, and those occurring >180 days after radiation therapy were considered late effects. At the time of this report's analysis in October 2012, 52.7 percent of patients (568) had experienced local-regional failure, with 97.4 percent (553) occurring within the first five years.

Secondary primary cancers were reported for 18.6 percent of patients (200), with 50 percent (100) reported within the first three years, and 75 percent (150) reported within the first 5.5 years. After 5.5 years post-treatment, the rates of secondary malignancies decreased to <1 percent per year. There were no significant differences in the rates of second malignancies among all four study arms.

At five years, the prevalence of grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity, any feeding tube use after 180 days or feeding tube use at one year did not differ significantly when the SFX arm was compared to the three experimental arms. Grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity tended to be decreased for patients treated over seven weeks compared to those treated over six weeks (9.0 percent vs. 16.7 percent, respectively), and 4.8 percent of disease-free patients treated with HFX had feeding tubes compared to 13.0 percent of patients treated with AFX-C.

At five-years post-treatment, patients in the HFX arm had the highest overall survival rates at 37.1 percent (HR 0.81, 95 percent CI), compared to 33.7 percent for the AFX-C arm, 29.3 percent for the SFX arm, 29.0 percent for the AFX-S arm.

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Hyperfractionated RT improves local-regional control for patients with head and neck cancer

Patients with locally advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck treated with hyperfractionated radiation therapy (HFX) experienced improved local-regional control and, with patients censored at five years, improved overall survival with no increase in late toxicity, according to a study published in the May 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

This study, "Final Results of Local-Regional Control and Late Toxicity of RTOG 9003: A Randomized Trial of Altered Fractionation Radiation for Locally Advanced Head and Neck Cancer," is a multi-institutional, randomized Phase III trial of fractionation in locally advanced head and neck cancer. The study, the largest fractionation study performed to date, evaluated patients who received standard fractionation (SFX) compared to those that received HFX, accelerated fractionation with a split (AFX-S) or accelerated fractionation-continuous (AFX-C). Patients enrolled in RTOG 9003 were age 18 or older and had previously untreated, locally advanced squamous cell cancers of the oral cavity, oropharynx or supraglottic larynx in stage III or IV or stage II-IV carcinoma of the base of the tongue or hypopharynx. Patients with a prior (within five years) or synchronous malignancy other than nonmelanoma skin cancer were excluded. The trial accrued 1,076 eligible patients from September 30, 1991 to August 1, 1997.

Patients were randomized to four different treatment arms: SFX (2 Gy/fraction/day to 70 Gy in 35 fractions over seven weeks), HFX (1.2 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 81.6 Gy over seven weeks), AFX-S (1.6 Gy/fraction, twice daily, to 67.2 Gy over six weeks, with a two-week break after 38.4 Gy) and AFX-C (total dose of 72 Gy delivered over six weeks in 1.8 Gy daily fractions and additional 1.5 Gy boost field in the afternoon during the last 12 days of treatment). All treatments were delivered five days a week, and twice-daily treatments had a minimum interfraction interval of six hours.

Local-regional failure was analyzed at two years, at five years and at last follow-up. As of October 1, 2012, the median follow-up was 14.1 years.

Toxicity and disease recurrence assessment was conducted weekly while patients received radiation therapy; four months after treatment completion; every three months for one-and-a-half years; every four months between one-and-a-half and three years; every six months in years three to five; and then annually until death. Toxicities occurring 180 days from the start of radiation were considered acute, and those occurring >180 days after radiation therapy were considered late effects.

At the time of this report's analysis in October 2012, 52.7 percent of patients (568) had experienced local-regional failure, with 97.4 percent (553) occurring within the first five years. Secondary primary cancers were reported for 18.6 percent of patients (200), with 50 percent (100) reported within the first three years, and 75 percent (150) reported within the first 5.5 years. After 5.5 years post-treatment, the rates of secondary malignancies decreased to <1 percent per year. There were no significant differences in the rates of second malignancies among all four study arms.

At five years, the prevalence of grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity, any feeding tube use after 180 days or feeding tube use at one year did not differ significantly when the SFX arm was compared to the three experimental arms. Grade 3, 4 or 5 toxicity tended to be decreased for patients treated over seven weeks compared to those treated over six weeks (9.0 percent vs. 16.7 percent, respectively), and 4.8 percent of disease-free patients treated with HFX had feeding tubes compared to 13.0 percent of patients treated with AFX-C. At five-years post-treatment, patients in the HFX arm had the highest overall survival rates at 37.1 percent (HR 0.81, 95 percent CI), compared to 33.7 percent for the AFX-C arm, 29.3 percent for the SFX arm, 29.0 percent for the AFX-S arm.

"This study, one of only a few large studies to have follow-up beyond five years, demonstrates that patients who have head and neck cancers and who are being treated with radiation therapy alone have improved local-regional control and no increase in late toxicity when radiation therapy is delivered twice a day in two smaller doses which we call hyperfractionation," said Jonathan J. Beitler, MD, MBA, FASTRO, lead author of the study and professor of radiation oncology, otolaryngology and hematology/medical oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

"The decrease in the rate of new cancers was unexpected; however, the large database and the long follow-up provided us with a window into information that had not previously been available about the long-term patterns of head and neck tumors and is particularly heartening. The results suggest that twice-daily radiation may improve cure and limit late side effects for patients. Twice-daily radiation might be worth considering in place of concurrent chemoradiotherapy for those patients who are at low risk for distant metastases and those patients who cannot tolerate systemic therapy."

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Hyperfractionated radiation therapy improves local-regional control for patients with head, neck cancer

G. Bilalbegovic, A. Maksimovic, V. Mohacek-Grosev

(Submitted on 29 Apr 2014)

The calcium-silicate-hydrate is used to model properties of cement on Earth. We study cementitious nanoparticles and propose these structures as components of cosmic dust grains. Quantum density functional theory methods are applied for the calculation of infrared spectra of Ca4Si4O14H4, Ca6Si3O13H2, and Ca12Si6O26H4 clusters. We find bands distributed over the near, mid and far-infrared region. A specific calcium-silicate-hydrate spectral feature at 14 microns, together with the bands at 10 and 18 microns which exist for other silicates as well, could be used for a detection of cosmic cement. We compare calculated bands with the 14 microns features in the spectra of HD 45677, HD 44179, and IRC+10420 which were observed by Infrared Space Observatory and classified as remaining. High abundance of oxygen atoms in cementitious nanoparticles could partially explain observed depletion of this element from the interstellar medium into dust grains.

Comments:

accepted for publication in MNRAS

Subjects:

Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR); Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA); Materials Science (cond-mat.mtrl-sci); Atomic and Molecular Clusters (physics.atm-clus)

Cite as:

arXiv:1404.7392 [astro-ph.SR] (or arXiv:1404.7392v1 [astro-ph.SR] for this version)

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Do cement nanoparticles exist in space ?

Jouni Envall, Pekka Janhunen, Petri Toivanen, Mihkel Pajusalu, Erik Ilbis, Jaanus Kalde, Matis Averin, Henri Kuuste, Kaspars Laizans, Viljo Allik, Timo Rauhala, Henri Seppnen, Sergiy Kiprich, Jukka Ukkonen, Edward Haeggstrm, Taneli Kalvas, Olli Tarvainen, Janne Kauppinen, Antti Nuottajrvi, Hannu Koivisto

(Submitted on 28 Apr 2014)

The scientific mission of ESTCube-1, launched in May 2013, is to measure the Electric solar wind sail (E-sail) force in orbit. The experiment is planned to push forward the development of E-sail, a propulsion method recently invented at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. E-sail is based on extracting momentum from the solar wind plasma flow by using long thin electrically charged tethers. ESTCube-1 is equipped with one such tether, together with hardware capable of deploying and charging it. At the orbital altitude of ESTCube-1 (660--680~km) there is no solar wind present. Instead, ESTCube-1 shall observe the interaction between the charged tether and the ionospheric plasma. The ESTCube-1 payload uses a 10-meter, partly two-filament E-sail tether and a motorized reel on which it is stored. The tether shall be deployed from a spinning satellite with the help of centrifugal force. An additional mass is added at the tip of the tether to assist with the deployment. During E-sail experiment the tether shall be charged to 500~V potential. Both positive and negative voltages shall be experimented with. The voltage is provided by a dedicated high voltage source and delivered to the tether through a slip ring contact. When the negative voltage is applied to the tether, the satellite body is expected to attract electron flow capable of compensating for the ion flow, which runs to the tether from the surrounding plasma. With the positive voltage applied, onboard cold cathode electron guns are used to remove excess electrons to maintain the positive voltage of the tether. In this paper we present the design and structure of the tether payload of ESTCube-1.

Comments:

24 pages, 16 figures, submitted to the ESTCube-1 special issue of Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences

Subjects:

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Instrumentation and Detectors (physics.ins-det)

Cite as:

arXiv:1404.6961 [astro-ph.IM] (or arXiv:1404.6961v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)

Submission history

Continued here:

E-sail test payload of ESTCube-1 nanosatellite

Astro-Physics Portable Pier for 1200GTO/1600GTO Mounts
Easter, 2014, I picked up a lovely (used) Astro-Physics Portable Pier for my 1600GTO mount. FROM THE AP WEBSITE: -- Unique tension design combines rugged con...

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Astro-Physics Portable Pier for 1200GTO/1600GTO Mounts - Video

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

23-Apr-2014

Contact: Michelle Kirkwood michellek@astro.org 703-286-1600 American Society for Radiation Oncology

Fairfax, Va., April 23, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued a new guideline, "The Role of Postoperative Radiation Therapy for Endometrial Cancer: An ASTRO Evidence-Based Guideline," that details the use of adjuvant radiation therapy in the treatment of endometrial cancer. The guideline's executive summary is published in the May-June 2014 issue of Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), the official clinical practice journal of ASTRO. The full-length guideline is available as an open-access article online at http://www.practicalradonc.org.

ASTRO's Guidelines Panel of 17 leading gynecologic specialists compiled and reviewed extensive data from 330 studies from MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Specialized Register of the Cochrane Gynaecological Cancer Review Group published from 1980 to 2011. The data population selected for the guideline was defined as women of all races, age 18 or older, with stage I-IV endometrial cancer of any histologic type or grade. The studies included patients who underwent a hysterectomy followed by no adjuvant therapy, or pelvic and/or vaginal brachytherapy with or without systemic chemotherapy. The panel identified five key questions about the role of adjuvant radiation therapy and developed a series of recommendations to address each question.

The first Key Question addresses which patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer require no additional therapy after hysterectomy. For patients with no residual disease in the hysterectomy specimen despite positive biopsy or grade 1 or 2 cancers with either no invasion or <50 percent myometrial invasion, especially when no other high-risk features are present, no adjuvant radiation therapy is a reasonable option. Patients with grade 3 cancers without myometrial invasion or grade 1 or 2 cancers with <50 percent myometrial invasion and higher risk factors such as age >60 and/or lymphovascular space invasion could reasonably be treated with or without vaginal cuff brachytherapy.

Key Question 2 examines which patients with endometrioid endometrial cancer should receive vaginal cuff radiation. Evidence demonstrates that cuff brachytherapy is as effective as pelvic radiation therapy at preventing vaginal recurrence for patients with 1) grade 1 or 2 cancers with 50 percent myometrial invasion or 2) grade 3 tumors with <50 percent myometrial invasion. Vaginal cuff brachytherapy is preferred to pelvic radiation in patients with these risk factors particularly in patients who have had comprehensive nodal assessment.

Key Question 3 details which women should receive postoperative external beam radiation. Patients with early stage endometrial cancer which is grade 3 with 50 percent myometrial invasion or cervical stroma invasion are felt to benefit from pelvic radiation to reduce the risk of pelvic recurrence. Patients with grade 1 or 2 tumors with 50 percent myometrial invasion may also benefit from pelvic radiation to reduce pelvic recurrence rates if other risk factors are presents such as age >60 years and/or lymphovascular space invasion. For patients with positive nodes or involved uterine serosa, ovaries/fallopian tubes, vagina, bladder or rectum, the best available evidence suggests that treatment should include external beam radiation therapy as well as adjuvant chemotherapy. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy alone may be considered for some patients based on pathologic risk factors for pelvic recurrence.

Key Question 4 addresses when brachytherapy should be used in addition to external beam radiation. The panel noted that data is lacking to validate the use of brachytherapy after pelvic radiation and that retrospective studies show little conclusive evidence of a benefit, albeit with small patient numbers. Use of vaginal brachytherapy in patients also undergoing pelvic external beam radiation may not generally be warranted, unless risk factors for vaginal recurrence are present.

Key Question 5 examines how radiation therapy and chemotherapy should be integrated in the management of endometrial cancer. The panel concluded that the best available evidence suggests that concurrent chemoradiation followed by adjuvant chemotherapy is indicated for patients with positive nodes or involved uterine serosa, ovaries/fallopian tubes, vagina, bladder or rectum. Alternative sequencing strategies with external beam radiation and chemotherapy are also acceptable. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy alone may be considered for some patients based on pathologic risk factors for pelvic recurrence.

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ASTRO issues guideline on the role of postoperative radiation therapy for endometrial cancer

Astro-Physics 1600GTO German Equatorial Telescope Mount
ASTRO-PHYSICS #39;Dedicated to craftsmanship #39; #39;State-of-the-Art Instruments for Discriminating Astronomers #39; Astro-Physics 1600GTO German Equatorial Mount with G...

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Astro-Physics 1600GTO German Equatorial Telescope Mount - Video

THE STARGAZING event at Pico de Loro. JILL LEJANO

PICO de Loro in the early morning sun

As young as 5 years old, Rogel Mari Sese knew he wanted to be an astronomer.

It was a book from his scientist parents (his mom is a molecular biologist and his father is into chemistry and science communications) that started his love affair with space. One of the very first books I had was about astronomy and space flight.

His parents encouraged his passion, giving him his first telescope when he was eight. That sustained my interest. I still have it. Its a relic, it has sentimental value.

By age 13, he knew he wanted to be an astrophysicist, a dream he has turned now into reality.

He studied applied physics at the University of the Philippines in Los Baos, got his masters degree in physics from UP Diliman and, on a scholarship, got his doctorate in computational astrophysics from Japans University of Tsukuba.

Today, Dr. Sese is one of just three astrophysicists in the country, representing the Philippines in international conferences and organizations including the International Astronomical Union, the Universe Awareness Program by the EU-UNAWE and Galileo Teacher Training Program.

ST. THERESE of the Child Jesus Chapel is an air-conditioned glass chapel overlooking the West Philippine Sea, with a view deck where you can admire the Pico de Loro Cove and surrounding mountains. The chapel was designed by Filipino-American architect Carlos Arnaiz who is based in New York.

He is chairperson of the Southeast Asian Young Astronomers Collaboration and president of Regulus Spacetech Inc., a space technology research and development company he started. Regulus Spacetech is also in space education.

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Summer treat for your aspiring astronomers

Super Planet Crash is a pretty simple game: players build their own planetary system, putting planets into orbit around a star and racking up points until they add a planet that destabilizes the whole system. Beneath the surface, however, this addictive little game is driven by highly sophisticated software code that astronomers use to find planets beyond our solar system (called exoplanets).The release of Super Planet Crash (available online athttp://www.stefanom.org/spc) follows the release of the latest version of Systemic Console, a scientific software package used to pull planet discoveries out of the reams of data acquired by telescopes such as the Automated Planet Finder (APF) at the University of Californias Lick Observatory. Developed at UC Santa Cruz, Systemic Console is integrated into the workflow of the APF, and is also widely used by astronomers to analyze data from other telescopes.Greg Laughlin, professor and chair of astronomy and astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz, developed Systemic Console with his students, primarily Stefano Meschiari (now a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas, Austin). Meschiari did the bulk of the work on the new version, Systemic 2, as a graduate student at UC Santa Cruz. He also used the Systemic code as a foundation to create not only Super Planet Crash but also an online web application (Systemic Live) for educational use.Systemic Console is open-source software that weve made available for other scientists to use. But we also wanted to create a portal for students and teachers so that anyone can use it, Laughlin said. For the online version, Stefano tuned the software to make it more accessible, and then he went even further with Super Planet Crash, which makes the ideas behind planetary systems accessible at the most visceral level.Meschiari said hes seen people quickly get hooked on playing the game. It doesnt take long for them to understand whats going on with the orbital dynamics, he said.The educational program, Systemic Live, provides simplified tools that students can use to analyze real data. Students get a taste of what the real process of exoplanet discovery is like, using the same tools scientists use, Meschiari said.The previous version of Systemic was already being used in physics and astronomy classes at UCSC, Columbia University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and elsewhere, and it was the basis for an MIT Educational Studies program for high school teachers. The new online version has earned raves from professors who are using it.The online Systemic Console is a real gift to the community, said Debra Fischer, professor of astronomy at Yale University. I use this site to train both undergraduate and graduate students--they love the power of this program.Planet hunters use several kinds of data to find planets around other stars. Very few exoplanets have been detected by direct imaging because planets dont produce their own light and are usually hidden in the glare of a bright star. A widely used method for exoplanet discovery, known as the radial velocity method, measures the tiny wobble induced in a star by the gravitational tug of an orbiting planet. Motion of the star is detected as shifts in the stellar spectrum--the different wavelengths of starlight measured by a sensitive spectrometer, such as the APFs Levy Spectrometer. Scientists can derive a planets mass and orbit from radial velocity data.Another method detects planets that pass in front of their parent star, causing a slight dip in the brightness of the star. Known as the transit method, this approach can determine the size and orbit of the planet.Both of these methods rely on repeated observations of periodic variations in starlight. When multiple planets orbit the same star, the variations in brightness or radial velocity are very complex. Systemic Console is designed to help scientists explore and analyze this type of data. It can combine data from different telescopes, and even different types of data if both radial velocity and transit data are available for the same star. Systemic includes a large array of tools for deriving the orbital properties of planetary systems, evaluating the stability of planetary orbits, generating animations of planetary systems, and performing a variety of technical analyzes.Systemic Console aggregates data from the full range of resources being brought to bear on extrasolar planets and provides an interface between these subtle measurements and the planetary systems were trying to find and describe, Meschiari said.Laughlin said he was struck by the fact that, while the techniques used to find exoplanets are extremely subtle and difficult, the planet discoveries that emerge from these obscure techniques have generated enormous public interest. These planet discoveries have done a lot to create public awareness of whats out there in our galaxy, and thats one reason why we wanted to make this work more accessible, he said.PIO Contact:Tim Stephens+1 (831) 459-2495stephens@ucsc.eduScience Contacts:Greg Laughlin+1 (831) 459-3208laughlin@ucolick.orgStefano Meschiaristefano@astro.as.utexas.eduSupport for the development of the core scientific routines underlying the Systemic Console was provided by an NSF CAREER Award to Laughlin.

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Orbital Physics Is Child's Play with 'Super Planet Crash'

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Newswise Fairfax, Va., April 9, 2014 Practical Radiation Oncology (PRO), the official clinical practice journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), has been accepted for indexing in MEDLINE, the U.S. National Library of Medicines (NLM) premier online bibliographic database.

MEDLINE provides international access to the worlds biomedical journal literature and contains more than 20 million references to journal articles from approximately 5,600 scholarly journals worldwide dating back to 1946. As the primary component of PubMed, MEDLINE utilizes the NLM-controlled vocabulary Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) to index citations. PubMed is the NLMs National Center for Biotechnology Informations (NCBI) online library of more than 23 million citations for biomedical literature including MEDLINE, journals/manuscripts deposited in PubMed Central and the NCBI Bookshelf.

Journal selection for MEDLINE indexing is made by the Director of the NLM based on the recommendation of the Literature Selection Technical Review Committee (LSTRC), a National Institutes of Health-chartered advisory committee of external experts. The LSTRC assesses the journals content based on several critical elements including scope and coverage, quality of content, quality of editorial work, production quality and audience.

PRO is fully indexed in MEDLINE beginning with the January-February 2014 issue. Issues published prior to 2014, dating back to the first volume in January 2011, will be available through PubMed.

PRO fulfills the need for practical articles on issues of quality, safety and ethics in radiation oncology, and includes ASTRO's official practice guidelines and white papers. PRO has become a must-read and -reference journal for many cancer care professionals, said W. Robert Lee, MD, MS, MEd, editor-in-chief of PRO, and a professor of radiation oncology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C. PROs inclusion in MEDLINEs library is a testament to its value to physicians and researchers around the world.

First published in January 2011 as a quarterly journal, PROs mission is to improve the quality of radiation oncology practice by documenting the current practice, providing background for those in training and continuing education for practitioners through the discussion and illustration of new techniques, evaluating current practices and publishing case reports. The journal includes articles on practical topics in radiation oncology treatment, including imaging, contouring, target delineation, simulation, treatment planning, immobilization and organ motion, as well as practice quality improvement, maintenance of certification and biomedical ethics. PRO also publishes ASTRO practice guidelines, white papers and consensus statements. In 2014, the journal was expanded to six issues per year and has a 35 percent acceptance rate.

PROs acceptance in MEDLINE confirms the journals high quality papers and the importance of research focused on practical issues in the radiation oncology field, said Colleen A.F. Lawton, MD, FASTRO, chair of ASTROs Board of Directors. PROs worldwide availability through MEDLINE ensures access to the latest research and guidelines for the many oncology professionals who care for more than 60 percent of all cancer patients who receive radiation therapy.

For more information about PRO, visit http://www.practicalradonc.org.

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Practical Radiation Oncology Accepted in MEDLINE(r)

Equinix. (PRNewsFoto/Equinix)

AMSTERDAM, April 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) the global interconnection and data center company, Vancis, provider of high-quality ICT services, and Nikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics, today announced they have joined infrastructure to deliver enhanced network connectivity to businesses in the Amsterdam Science Park. The collaboration provides new opportunities for customers to expand their data centre footprint, and access to cloud providers such as Cloudsigma, Virtustream, Carrenza and Redbee and leading networks including Box, Joyent, Syniverse, FireHost and AMS-IX already present in Equinix's rich business ecosystems in Amsterdam. Access to Nikhef and Vancis is immediately available for Equinix customers in AM3 Science Park.

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About Equinix Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), connects more than 4,500 companies directly to their customers and partners inside the world's most networked data centers. Today, businesses leverage the Equinix interconnection platform in 32 strategic markets across the Americas, EMEA and Asia-Pacific. http://www.equinix.com.

About VancisSince 2008, Vancis BV has been operational as a provider of high-quality ICT services. Vancis is a young corporation, but has access to over forty years of experience in the ICT sector by means of a technology transfer contract with SURFsara. From its sustainably equipped data centres in Amsterdam and Almere, Vancis offers value for money, 24x7 continuity and state-of-the-art security. Vancis offers extensive possibilities in the field of connectivity and is one if the locations of the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX). Vancis is specialised in data centre services, cloud services, managed services and technical application management. From our scientific labs we constantly work on improving our services, e.g. in the field of Sector Clouds, Big Data and High-performance Computing. The Vancis team consists of approximately 145 enthusiastic members, divided among two locations.

About NikhefNikhef, the National Institute for Subatomic Physics [Nationaal Instituut voor Subatomaire Fysica], considers research in the field of (astro)particle physics its mission. As a nonprofit, neutral and independent organisation, Nikhef has a long-standing tradition regarding the development of the internet and advanced distributed computing and data processing. Since the mid-nineties, Nikhef has been a colocation for members of the Amsterdam Internet Exchange (AMS-IX). A substantial share of the AMS-IX traffic occurs through the Nikhef location. There are also other internet exchanges established at Nikhef, such as NL-ix, as well as some essential internet services, for instance an any-cast K-root server of RIPE NCC, an F-root server of ISC and a number of top-level domain servers.

Forward Looking StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from expectations discussed in such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to, the challenges of acquiring, operating and constructing IBX centers and developing, deploying and delivering Equinix services; unanticipated costs or difficulties relating to the integration of companies we have acquired or will acquire into Equinix; a failure to receive significant revenue from customers in recently built out or acquired data centers; failure to complete any financing arrangements contemplated from time to time; competition from existing and new competitors; the ability to generate sufficient cash flow or otherwise obtain funds to repay new or outstanding indebtedness; the loss or decline in business from our key customers; and other risks described from time to time in Equinix's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In particular, see Equinix's recent quarterly and annual reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which are available upon request from Equinix. Equinix does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.

Equinix and IBX are registered trademarks of Equinix, Inc. International Business Exchange is a trademark of Equinix, Inc.

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Equinix, Vancis and Nikhef Boost Network Connectivity with New Partnership in Amsterdam

-All Dates- Today Tomorrow This Weekend This Week -------------------- Wednesday, April 9 Thursday, April 10 Friday, April 11 Saturday, April 12 Sunday, April 13 Monday, April 14 Tuesday, April 15 Wednesday, April 16 Thursday, April 17 Friday, April 18 Saturday, April 19 Sunday, April 20 Monday, April 21 Tuesday, April 22 Wednesday, April 23 Thursday, April 24 Friday, April 25 Saturday, April 26 Sunday, April 27 Monday, April 28 Tuesday, April 29 Wednesday, April 30 Thursday, May 1 Friday, May 2 Saturday, May 3 Sunday, May 4 Monday, May 5 Tuesday, May 6 Wednesday, May 7 Thursday, May 8 Friday, May 9 -All Event Categories- ARTS AGENDA Classical Music Comedy Film Museums Readings & Signings Spoken Word Theater/Dance/Performance Art Visual Arts COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS Benefits & Fundraisers Clubs & Organizations Family Festivals/Events Gay & Lesbian Health & Fitness Holiday Lectures, Classes & Seminars Nightlife Sex & Love Singles Sports & Recreation Support Groups Volunteers/Public Life FOOD & DRINK Culinary Wine/Cocktails MUSIC EVENTS Blues/Roots/International Classical/Jazz/Smooth Country/Folk DJ/Electronic General Hip-Hop/Soul/R&B Pop/Rock -All Dates- Today Tomorrow This Weekend This Week -------------------- Wednesday, April 9 Thursday, April 10 Friday, April 11 Saturday, April 12 Sunday, April 13 Monday, April 14 Tuesday, April 15 Wednesday, April 16 Thursday, April 17 Friday, April 18 Saturday, April 19 Sunday, April 20 Monday, April 21 Tuesday, April 22 Wednesday, April 23 Thursday, April 24 Friday, April 25 Saturday, April 26 Sunday, April 27 Monday, April 28 Tuesday, April 29 Wednesday, April 30 Thursday, May 1 Friday, May 2 Saturday, May 3 Sunday, May 4 Monday, May 5 Tuesday, May 6 Wednesday, May 7 Thursday, May 8 Friday, May 9 -All Neighborhoods- General Charlotte Area NORTH CHARLOTTE Concord/Kannapolis Dilworth Lake Norman University North End EAST SIDE East Charlotte Elizabeth NoDa Plaza Midwood CENTRAL CHARLOTTE Midtown Uptown SOUTH CHARLOTTE Ballantyne Matthews/Southeast Charlotte Myers Park Pineville/Hwy 51 South Charlotte South End SouthPark/Cotswold WEST CHARLOTTE Gastonia FreeMore West Westside SOUTH CAROLINA Fort Mill Rock Hill

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The Pull List (4/9/14): Explore the city with Shutter

Source: Copernicus/ESA

Europe has launched the first satellite of what is heralded as one of the most ambitious Earth-observation programmes ever. On 3 April, a Soyuz rocket dispatched into orbit the Sentinel-1A probe, the first craft of a planned constellation of six Sentinel families set to be launched by the end of the decade. Together, the satellites will offer unprecedented long-term monitoring of the planets land, water and atmosphere.

The Sentinels will be the core of the 8.4-billion (US$11.5-billion) Copernicus programme, which is managed by the European Commission. Copernicus will also draw in data from about 30other satellites, and from ocean buoys, weather stations and air-quality monitoring networks.

The Sentinels and Copernicus have the potential to become the worlds most comprehensive Earth-monitoring system, says Zbynek Malenovsky, who studies vegetation using remote sensing at the University of Wollongong in Australia.

Copernicus was designed by the European Union (EU) and the European Space Agency (ESA) to help the European Commission and EU member states to develop environmental policies and monitor the results. Its data will be used to create services for myriad practical applications, including ice mapping, agriculture management, climate-change forecasting and disaster response. The idea is to produce images, maps and models in near real time, much as is done with weather monitoring, but for many more variables.

Unlike most previous Earth-observation missions, the Sentinels will be replaced regularly as they age. This will help to generate long-term cross-calibrated data sets of a variety of imagery and measurements, says Cathy Clerbaux, an atmospheric scientist at the LATMOS atmosphere and astrophysics research institute in Paris. Its not easy to connect data series such as measurements of pollutants, ozone or greenhouse gases when you have different instruments, and gaps between missions, she says.

The data will be free for anyone to access and use. But researchers will enjoy formal user status alongside public authorities, and will thus have privileged access, including dedicated help desks and support. Scientists are now much more integrated into the user community, and not neglected as they have been in the past, when the focus was more on the operational side, says Josef Aschbacher, head of ESAs Copernicus office. I expect scientists to be the number-one user group.

Sentinel-1A is the first of two identical satellites; 1B is set to be launched in the next 18months. Both contain a radar system that can see in darkness and through clouds, unlike the optical instruments on many satellites. This will allow them to continuously image cloudy areas such as tropical forests. They will operate in tandem, cutting down the time between flyovers of the same point on Earth (known as revisit time), and enabling quick-succession imaging to measure, for example, ground deformation from earthquakes.

Sentinels 2 to 5 will have different goals. Between them, they will use optical sensors, radiometers and spectrometers to measure everything from sea temperatures to air pollution. In addition, a Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite will be launched in 2016 to minimize the shortfall in atmospheric data-gathering following the 2012 loss of the European Envisat satellite. A sixth Sentinel, a radar altimeter that will measure sea-surface heights, is also under discussion (see Watchers in the skies).

These diverse measurements of the major components of Earth systems will make the Sentinels very valuable, says Richard Anthes, emeritus president of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. A balanced suite of Earth observations is required for observing and understanding Earth as an interconnected system, he says.

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Earth observation enters next phase

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Newswise April 4, 2014 The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) seeks to recognize an individual cancer survivor in the San Francisco Bay area who has dedicated his or her time and energy to helping their local community. The winner of ASTROs 2014 Survivor Circle Award will receive $1,000 and will be honored at a ceremony at San Franciscos Moscone Center on Tuesday, September 16, 2014. The Survivor Circle Award will be presented at ASTROs 56th Annual Scientific Meeting, an international medical meeting hosting more than 11,000 radiation oncology physicians and professionals, to be held September 14-17, 2014, at San Franciscos Moscone Center.

Cancer survivors are the best advocates for patients, and they provide us with valuable information as we focus our techniques and technologies to optimize treatment outcomes, said Bruce D. Minsky, MD, president-elect of ASTRO. The Survivor Circle Award will honor a Bay area resident who is providing exemplary volunteerism and leadership in their community.

Any cancer survivor residing within the metropolitan San Francisco Bay area who received radiation therapy as part of their treatment and who is giving back to their community through volunteer efforts is eligible to enter. The winner may keep the cash prize of $1,000 or may donate the award to a support organization or charity of his or her choice. The application is online at http://www.rtanswers.org/scaward/. Applications must be postmarked by June 1, 2014.

Since 2003, ASTRO has recognized cancer survivors in the city where its Annual Scientific Meeting is held. In addition to recognizing a local individual each year, ASTRO provides grants to patient advocacy groups that help patients and their families cope with a cancer diagnosis. These organizations are featured in the Survivor Circle during ASTROs Annual Meeting.

Cancer survivors are a vital resource as we push for increased patient survival and improved outcomes, said Laura I. Thevenot, ASTRO CEO. These awards honor the leadership, dedication and strength of the many patient advocates and patient support organizations nationwide.

Applications for the 2014 Survivor Circle Award must be postmarked by Sunday, June 1, 2014. The application is available at: http://www.rtanswers.org/survivorship/survivorcircle/SurvivorCircleAward.

For more information on ASTROs 56th Annual Meeting, please visit http://www.astro.org/AnnualMeeting.

For more information on radiation therapy, please visit http://www.rtanswers.org.

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Call for entries to ASTRO's annual Survivor Circle Award

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Newswise Fairfax, Va., April 3, 2014Dose-escalated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with use of a moderate hypofractionation regimen (72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions) can safely treat patients with localized prostate cancer with limited grade 2 or 3 late toxicity, according to a study published in the April 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Previous randomized clinical trials have shown that dose-escalated radiation therapy improves prostate cancer control compared to lower-dose conventional radiation therapy. Conventional fractionation of dose-escalated radiation therapy (1.8 or 2 Gy fractions) can take up to nine weeks to complete, while hypofractionated radiation therapy can deliver a higher biologically effective dose over a shorter period of time (six weeks) and has the potential to increase prostate cancer control without increasing toxicity. However, there are limited data on the late toxicity of moderate hypofractionated regimens for prostate cancer. This randomized trial from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center compares the late toxicity outcomes of men with localized prostate cancer treated with either conventionally fractionated IMRT (CIMRT) or dose-escalated hypofractionated IMRT (HIMRT).

Men with organ-confined prostate cancer were enrolled in this institutional review board-approved trial from January 2001 to January 2010 and were randomized to receive either CIMRT (75.6 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions over eight-and-a-half weeks) or HIMRT (72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions over six weeks). Eligible patients had biopsy-proven prostate adenocarcinoma; good performance status; stage T1b-T3b disease; a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 20 ng/ml; a Gleason score <10; and no clinical, radiographic or pathologic evidence of nodal or bone metastasis. Patients with stage cT3c or cT4 disease, a history of prior pelvic radiation therapy, or who received more than four months of hormone ablation therapy with prior or planned radical prostate surgery and with concurrent active malignancy other than nonmetastatic skin cancer or early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia were not eligible for the trial. The median age of the patient cohort was 68. Of the 203 patients analyzed in the study, 72 percent had stage T1 disease (146) and 89 percent had a PSA <10 ng/ml (181). Thirty-four percent (70) had Gleason 6 disease, 65 percent (131) had Gleason 7 disease and 1 percent (2) had Gleason 8 disease. Patients were classified into low-risk (28 percent = 57), intermediate risk (71 percent = 144) and high-risk (1 percent = 2) disease using current National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk-group definitions.

All patients were treated with static-field IMRT. One hundred and one (101) men received CIMRT and 102 men received HIMRT. Physician-reported toxicity was evaluated for all patients during treatment and at each follow-up visit. After completion of radiation therapy, follow-up was conducted at least every six months for the first two years post-treatment, and annually thereafter. Median follow-up was six years.

Late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity were analyzed in this study, starting 90 days post-treatment, using modified Radiation Therapy Oncology Group toxicity grading. In the CIMRT arm, 17 percent (17) experienced grade 1 GI toxicity, 4 percent (4) experienced grade 2 GI toxicity and 1 percent (1) experienced grade 3 GI toxicity. In the HIMRT arm, 26 percent (27) experienced grade 1 GI toxicity, 9 percent (9) experienced grade 2 GI toxicity and 2 percent (2) experienced grade 3 GI toxicity. There was a numeric increase in the absolute frequency of late GI toxicity for men treated with HIMRT, but the difference was not statistically significant. The five-year actuarial grade 2 or 3 late GI toxicity was 5.1 percent (95 percent Confidence Interval (CI)) for patients treated with CIMRT and 10 percent for patients treated with HIMRT. The increase in late GI toxicity for men receiving HIMRT was the result of moderate and high radiation dose to a larger proportion of the rectum, which suggests that more stringent dose constraints for the rectum may result in lower late GI toxicity for those patients.

Additionally, there was not a statistically significant difference in the absolute frequency of late GU toxicity in men treated with CIMRT or HIMRT. In the CIMRT arm, 15 percent (15) experienced grade 1 GU toxicity, 14 percent (14) experienced grade 2 GU toxicity and 1 percent (1) experienced grade 3 GU toxicity. In the HIMRT arm, 10 percent (10) experienced grade 1 GU toxicity and 15 percent (15) experienced grade 2 GU toxicity; no patients reported grade 3 GU toxicity. The five-year actuarial grade 2 or 3 late GU toxicity was 16.5 percent (95 percent CI) for patients treated with CIMRT and 15.8 percent for patients treated with HIMRT.

These results demonstrate that the length of radiation treatment for prostate cancer can be safely decreased to six weeks (from eight-and-a-half weeks) by delivering larger daily doses of radiation without increasing the urinary and bowel effects, said Karen E. Hoffman, MD, a co-author of the study and assistant professor in the Division of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Decreasing the length of treatment decreases the cost and is more convenient for patients.

For a copy of the manuscript of the study, contact Brittany Ashcroft at 703-839-7336, press@astro.org. For more information about the Red Journal, visit http://www.redjournal.org.

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Dose-Escalated Hypofractionated IMRT for Localized Prostate Cancer Has Similar Side Effects When Compared to ...

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:

3-Apr-2014

Contact: Brittany Ashcroft press@astro.org 703-839-7336 American Society for Radiation Oncology

Fairfax, Va., April 3, 2014Dose-escalated intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with use of a moderate hypofractionation regimen (72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions) can safely treat patients with localized prostate cancer with limited grade 2 or 3 late toxicity, according to a study published in the April 1, 2014 edition of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Previous randomized clinical trials have shown that dose-escalated radiation therapy improves prostate cancer control compared to lower-dose conventional radiation therapy. Conventional fractionation of dose-escalated radiation therapy (1.8 or 2 Gy fractions) can take up to nine weeks to complete, while hypofractionated radiation therapy can deliver a higher biologically effective dose over a shorter period of time (six weeks) and has the potential to increase prostate cancer control without increasing toxicity. However, there are limited data on the late toxicity of moderate hypofractionated regimens for prostate cancer. This randomized trial from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center compares the late toxicity outcomes of men with localized prostate cancer treated with either conventionally fractionated IMRT (CIMRT) or dose-escalated hypofractionated IMRT (HIMRT).

Men with organ-confined prostate cancer were enrolled in this institutional review board-approved trial from January 2001 to January 2010 and were randomized to receive either CIMRT (75.6 Gy in 1.8 Gy fractions over eight-and-a-half weeks) or HIMRT (72 Gy in 2.4 Gy fractions over six weeks). Eligible patients had biopsy-proven prostate adenocarcinoma; good performance status; stage T1b-T3b disease; a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 20 ng/ml; a Gleason score <10; and no clinical, radiographic or pathologic evidence of nodal or bone metastasis. Patients with stage cT3c or cT4 disease, a history of prior pelvic radiation therapy, or who received more than four months of hormone ablation therapy with prior or planned radical prostate surgery and with concurrent active malignancy other than nonmetastatic skin cancer or early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia were not eligible for the trial. The median age of the patient cohort was 68. Of the 203 patients analyzed in the study, 72 percent had stage T1 disease (146) and 89 percent had a PSA <10 ng/ml (181). Thirty-four percent (70) had Gleason 6 disease, 65 percent (131) had Gleason 7 disease and 1 percent (2) had Gleason 8 disease. Patients were classified into low-risk (28 percent = 57), intermediate risk (71 percent = 144) and high-risk (1 percent = 2) disease using current National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk-group definitions.

All patients were treated with static-field IMRT. One hundred and one (101) men received CIMRT and 102 men received HIMRT. Physician-reported toxicity was evaluated for all patients during treatment and at each follow-up visit. After completion of radiation therapy, follow-up was conducted at least every six months for the first two years post-treatment, and annually thereafter. Median follow-up was six years.

Late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity were analyzed in this study, starting 90 days post-treatment, using modified Radiation Therapy Oncology Group toxicity grading. In the CIMRT arm, 17 percent (17) experienced grade 1 GI toxicity, 4 percent (4) experienced grade 2 GI toxicity and 1 percent (1) experienced grade 3 GI toxicity. In the HIMRT arm, 26 percent (27) experienced grade 1 GI toxicity, 9 percent (9) experienced grade 2 GI toxicity and 2 percent (2) experienced grade 3 GI toxicity. There was a numeric increase in the absolute frequency of late GI toxicity for men treated with HIMRT, but the difference was not statistically significant. The five-year actuarial grade 2 or 3 late GI toxicity was 5.1 percent (95 percent Confidence Interval (CI)) for patients treated with CIMRT and 10 percent for patients treated with HIMRT. The increase in late GI toxicity for men receiving HIMRT was the result of moderate and high radiation dose to a larger proportion of the rectum, which suggests that more stringent dose constraints for the rectum may result in lower late GI toxicity for those patients.

Additionally, there was not a statistically significant difference in the absolute frequency of late GU toxicity in men treated with CIMRT or HIMRT. In the CIMRT arm, 15 percent (15) experienced grade 1 GU toxicity, 14 percent (14) experienced grade 2 GU toxicity and 1 percent (1) experienced grade 3 GU toxicity. In the HIMRT arm, 10 percent (10) experienced grade 1 GU toxicity and 15 percent (15) experienced grade 2 GU toxicity; no patients reported grade 3 GU toxicity. The five-year actuarial grade 2 or 3 late GU toxicity was 16.5 percent (95 percent CI) for patients treated with CIMRT and 15.8 percent for patients treated with HIMRT.

"These results demonstrate that the length of radiation treatment for prostate cancer can be safely decreased to six weeks (from eight-and-a-half weeks) by delivering larger daily doses of radiation without increasing the urinary and bowel effects," said Karen E. Hoffman, MD, a co-author of the study and assistant professor in the Division of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "Decreasing the length of treatment decreases the cost and is more convenient for patients."

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Dose-escalated hypofractionated IMRT, conventional IMRT for prostate cancer have like side effects

The impact heat accumulated during the late stage of planetary accretion can melt a significant part or even the entire mantle of a terrestrial body, giving rise to a global magma ocean. [...] Assuming fractional crystallization of the magma ocean, dense cumulates are produced close to the surface, largely due to iron enrichment in the evolving magma ocean liquid (Elkins-Tanton et al., 2003).

A gravitationally unstable mantle thus forms, which is prone to overturn. We investigate the cumulate overturn and its influence on the thermal evolution of Mars using mantle convection simulations in 2D cylindrical geometry. We present a suite of simulations using different initial conditions and a strongly temperature-dependent viscosity. We assume that all radiogenic heat sources have been enriched during the freezing-phase of the magma ocean in the uppermost 50 km and that the initial steam-atmosphere created by the degassing of the freezing magma ocean was rapidly lost, implying that the surface temperature is set to present-day values. In this case, a stagnant lid forms rapidly on top of the convective interior preventing the uppermost dense cumulates to sink, even when allowing for a plastic yielding mechanism.

Below this dense stagnant lid, the mantle chemical gradient settles to a stable configuration. The convection pattern is dominated by small-scale structures, which are difficult to reconcile with the large-scale volcanic features observed over Mars' surface and partial melting ceases in less than 900 Ma. Assuming that the stagnant lid can break because of additional mechanisms and allowing the uppermost dense layer to overturn, a stable density gradient is obtained, with the densest material and the entire amount of heat sources lying above the CMB. This stratification leads to a strong overheating of the lowermost mantle [...]

A.-C. Plesa (1 and 2), N. Tosi (1 and 3), D. Breuer (1) ((1) Institute of Planetary Research, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Berlin, Germany, (2) Institute of Planetology, University of Mnster, Mnster, Germany, (3) Department of Planetary Geodesy, Technische Universitt Berlin, Berlin, Germany) (Submitted on 1 Apr 2014)

Comments: 30 pages, 5 figures, 1 table, submitted to EPSL

Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Geophysics (physics.geo-ph)

Cite as: arXiv:1404.0306 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:1404.0306v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)

Submission history From: Ana-Catalina Plesa [v1] Tue, 1 Apr 2014 16:55:15 GMT (1635kb)

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Can a fractionally crystallized magma ocean explain the thermo-chemical evolution of Mars?

Big Cigar Astronomy Missile Strike
Big Cigar Astronomy Missile Strike destroys priceless Astro-Physics Telescopes.

By: Mark Jenkins

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Big Cigar Astronomy Missile Strike - Video

Image Caption: This is an image of a solar flare. Scientists have for the first time witnessed the mechanism behind explosive energy releases in the Sun's atmosphere. Credit: NASA/SDO and AIA

University of Cambridge

Video of magnetic field lines slipping reconnection bring scientists a step closer to predicting when and where large flares will occur

Scientists have for the first time witnessed the mechanism behind explosive energy releases in the Suns atmosphere, confirming new theories about how solar flares are created.

New footage put together by an international team led by University of Cambridge researchers shows how entangled magnetic field lines looping from the Suns surface slip around each other and lead to an eruption 35 times the size of the Earth and an explosive release of magnetic energy into space.

The discoveries of a gigantic energy build-up bring us a step closer to predicting when and where large flares will occur, which is crucial in protecting the Earth from potentially devastating space weather. The study is published in The Astrophysical Journal.

While solar flares have long been a spectacular reminder of our stars power, they are also associated with Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) eruptions of solar material with a twisted magnetic structure flying out of the Sun and into interplanetary space.

Space weather such as CMEs has been identified as a significant risk to the countrys infrastructure by the UKs National Risk Register. Late last year The UKs MET Office announced it would set up a daily space weather forecast to work with the USAs Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC).

The papers lead author, Dr Jaroslav Dudik, Royal Society Newton International Fellow at the University of Cambridges Centre for Mathematical Sciences, said: We care about this as during flares we can have CMEs and sometimes they are sent in our direction. Human civilization is nowadays maintained by technology and that technology is vulnerable to space weather. Indeed, CMEs can damage satellites and therefore have an enormous financial cost.

[ Watch the Video: First Sightings Of Solar Flare Phenomena Confirm 3D Models Of Space Weather ]

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First Sightings Of Solar Flare Phenomena Confirm 3-D Models Of Space Weather