Comparison of dose distribution in IMRT and RapidArc technique in prostate radiotherapy

AimThe aim was to provide a dosimetric comparison between IMRT and RapidArc treatment plans with RPI index with simultaneous comparison of the treatment delivery time.BackgroundIMRT and RapidArc provide highly conformal dose distribution with good sparing of normal tissues. However, a complex spatial dosimetry of IMRT and RapidArc plans hampers the evaluation and comparison between plans calculated for the two modalities. RPI was used in this paper for treatment plan comparisons. The duration of the therapeutic session in RapidArc is reported to be shorter in comparison to therapeutic time of the other dynamic techniques. For this reasons, total treatment delivery time in both techniques was compared and discussed.Materials and methods15 patients with prostate carcinoma were randomly selected for the analysis. Two competitive treatment plans using respectively the IMRT and RapidArc techniques were computed for each patient in Eclipse planning system v. 8.6.15. RPIwin^® application was used for RPI calculations for each treatment plan.Additionally, total treatment time was compared between IMRT and RapidArc plans. Total treatment time was a sum of monitor units (MU) for each treated field.ResultsThe mean values of the RPI indices were insignificantly higher for IMRT plans in comparison to rotational therapy. Comparison of the mean numbers of monitor units confirmed that the use of rotational technique instead of conventional static field IMRT can significantly reduce the treatment time.ConclusionAnalysis presented in this paper, demonstrated that RapidArc can compete with the IMRT technique in the field of treatment plan dosimetry reducing the time required for dose delivery.     

Ethylene and IAA interactions in the inhibition of photoperiodic flower induction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pharbitis nil</Emphasis>

It has been shown that both IAA and ethylene application inhibit flower induction in the short-day plant Pharbitis nil. However application of IAA has elevated ethylene production in this plant, as well. Strong enhancement of ethylene production is also correlated with the night-break effect, which completely inhibits flowering. In order to determine what the role of IAA and ethylene is in the photoperiodic flower induction in Pharbitis nil, we measured changes in their levels during inductive and non-inductive photoperiods, and the effects of ethylene biosynthesis and action inhibitors on inhibition of flowering by IAA. Our results have shown that the inhibitory effect of IAA on Pharbitis nil flowering is not physiological but is connected with its effect on ethylene biosynthesis.     

Superoxide dismutase is upregulated in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> following protoporphyrin-mediated photodynamic inactivation and does not directly influence the response to photodynamic treatment

Background  

Staphylococcus aureus, a major human pathogen causes a wide range of disease syndromes. The most dangerous are methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains, resistant not only to all β-lactam antibiotics but also to other antimicrobials. An alarming increase in antibiotic resistance spreading among pathogenic bacteria inclines to search for alternative therapeutic options, for which resistance can not be developed easily. Among others, photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of S. aureus is a promising option. Photodynamic inactivation is based on a concept that a non toxic chemical, called a photosensitizer upon excitation with light of an appropriate wavelength is activated. As a consequence singlet oxygen and other reactive oxygen species (e.g. superoxide anion) are produced, which are responsible for the cytotoxic effect towards bacterial cells. As strain-dependence in photodynamic inactivation of S. aureus was observed, determination of the molecular marker(s) underlying the mechanism of the bacterial response to PDI treatment would be of great clinical importance. We examined the role of superoxide dismutases (Sod) in photodynamic inactivation of S. aureus as enzymes responsible for oxidative stress resistance.     

Muscle hypertrophy and fast fiber type conversions in heavy resistance-trained women

Twenty-four women completed a 20-week heavy-resistance weight training program for the lower extremity. Workouts were twice a week and consisted of warm-up exercises followed by three sets each of full squats, vertical leg presses, leg extensions, and leg curls. All exercises were performed to failure using 6-8 RM (repetition maximum). Weight training caused a significant increase in maximal isotonic strength (1 RM) for each exercise. After training, there was a decrease in body fat percentage (p less than 0.05), and an increase in lean body mass (p less than 0.05) with no overall change in thigh girth. Biopsies were obtained before and after training from the superficial portion of the vastus lateralis muscle. Sections were prepared for histological and histochemical examination. Six fiber types (I, IC, IIC, IIA, IIAB, and IIB) were distinguished following routine myofibrillar adenosine triphosphatase histochemistry. Areas were determined for fiber types I, IIA, and IIAB + IIB. The heavy-resistance training resulted in significant hypertrophy of all three groups: I (15%), IIA (45%), and IIAB + IIB (57%). These data are similar to those in men and suggest considerable hypertrophy of all major fiber types is also possible in women if exercise intensity and duration are sufficient. In addition, the training resulted in a significant decrease in the percentage of IIB with a concomitant increase in IIA fibers, suggesting that strength training may lead to fiber conversions.     

PKA controls a level of topoisomerase I mRNA in mouse L5178Y lymphoma cells treated with db-cAMP

The level of topoisomerase I mRNA was measured in cells of two mouse lymphoma (LY) sublines treated with db-cAMP. A transient increase of the level was observed to be of about 60% of the basic level and to have maximum after the 3 h treatment of LY-S cells. The increase in LY-R subline was two-fold lower. The activity of PKA in a cytosol fraction of LY-S cells was 1.75 times higher than that in LY-R cells. The activity of PKA in membranes and nuclear fraction did not differ significantly in both cell types. When the activity of PKA in LY-S cells was inhibited with H8, no increase of the level of topoisomerase I mRNA was observed upon db-cAMP treatment of cells. We suggest that the activity of PKA in the cytosol controls the expression of topoisomerase I gene in LY cells at high concentration of cAMP.Abbreviations db-cAMP dibutyryl-cAMP - H8 N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide - LY mouse L5178Y lymphoma - PKA protein kinase A - topo I topoisomerase I     

Empirical testing of cryoconite granulation: Role of cyanobacteria in the formation of key biogenic structure darkening glaciers in polar regions

Cryoconite, the dark sediment on the surface of glaciers, often aggregates into oval or irregular granules serving as biogeochemical factories. They reduce a glacier's albedo, act as biodiversity hotspots by supporting aerobic and anaerobic microbial communities, constitute one of the organic matter (OM) sources on glaciers, and are a feeder for micrometazoans. Although cryoconite granules have multiple roles on glaciers, their formation is poorly understood. Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous and abundant engineers of cryoconite hole ecosystems. This study tested whether cyanobacteria may be responsible for cryoconite granulation as a sole biotic element. Incubation of Greenlandic, Svalbard, and Scandinavian cyanobacteria in different nutrient availabilities and substrata for growth (distilled water alone and water with quartz powder, furnaced cryoconite without OM, or powdered rocks from glacial catchment) revealed that cyanobacteria bind mineral particles into granules. The structures formed in the experiment resembled those commonly observed in natural cryoconite holes: they contained numerous cyanobacterial filaments protruding from aggregated mineral particles. Moreover, all examined strains were confirmed to produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), which suggests that cryoconite granulation is most likely due to EPS secretion by gliding cyanobacteria. In the presence of water as the only substrate for growth, cyanobacteria formed mostly carpet-like mats. Our data empirically prove that EPS-producing oscillatorialean cyanobacteria isolated from the diverse community of cryoconite microorganisms can form granules from mineral substrate and that the presence of the mineral substrate increases the probability of the formation of these important and complex biogeochemical microstructures on glaciers.