The quality of life of men one year after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer: The fine details of experience matter.

INTRODUCTION: Radiographers and radiation therapists (RTT) meet cancer patients at the diagnosis, radiation treatment and late check-ups. This study aims to gain insight into men's experience concerning the quality of life one year after completing radiation therapy for head and neck cancer to contribute to radiographers' and RTT's understanding of patients' experiences during treatment. METHODS: Six male head and neck cancer survivors were enrolled and interviewed one year after radiation therapy. Semi-structured interview transcriptions were coded to include statements about their experience of quality of life. Siri Næss' definition of quality of life is used as a theoretical framework. RESULTS: This study generated four categories related to the personal experience concerned with the quality of life one year after radiotherapy treatment: Overwhelmed by information, Talking about mental well-being, Transitions - Cured but not healed, and The Fine Details to Quality of Life. There is a tendency that the patients do not express their emotions but express their assessments. CONCLUSION: This study contributes to a nuanced understanding concerning the possibility of high quality of life despite many late effects among men with head and neck cancer. The informants are overwhelmed by information before and after the course of treatment. The fine details in quality of life have a significant influence on the everyday life of head and neck cancer survivors. The findings have implications for radiographers' and RTT's communication, which requires knowledge of the patient's overall course of treatment. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The study indicates that it is vital for informants to be seen. Radiographers and RTT's must know of the patients' course of treatment and apply this in the dialogue with the patients.

Individual variations in protective effects of experimentally formed salivary pellicles.

Salivary proteins protect teeth against acid-induced softening and demineralization by forming a pellicle. However, little is known about individual, gender and ethnic variations in this effect. Therefore, we aimed to determine differences in protective effects of experimentally formed pellicles from 10 healthy young Scandinavians (3 women and 7 men) and 10 healthy young non-Scandinavians (4 women and 6 men) including Arabic, Persian, Pakistan, Indian, and Chinese subjects. Bovine enamel blocks, which were precoated with parotid and submandibular salivary proteins for 12 h, were exposed to an acidic solution with surface microhardness (SMH) determinations before and after. No change in SMH equalled 100% protection, whereas SMH corresponding to no protein coating equalled 0%. The results showed that experimentally formed pellicles from non-Scandinavians protected enamel better than pellicles from Scandinavians (p < 0.001). Within groups protective effects of pellicles formed from parotid and submandibular saliva were equal and subjects with high protection from parotid saliva pellicles also had high protection from submandibular saliva pellicles (r = 0.78; p < 0.001). Within groups considerable differences were obtained among individuals ranging from 25 to 51% protection. However, SDS-PAGE and HPLC did not reveal any systematic relation between saliva protein composition and protective effects, although slightly more of the SN-isoform of S-type cystatin was found in pooled parotid saliva from those non-Scandinavian subjects showing highest protection. We conclude that individual variations in experimental pellicle protection against erosive challenges exist and that such variations appear not to be due to differences in a single protein component.

Optimal drinking water composition for caries control in populations.

Apart from the well-documented effect of fluoride in drinking water on dental caries, little is known about other chemical effects. Since other ions in drinking water may also theoretically influence caries, as well as binding of fluoride in the oral environment, we hypothesized that the effect of drinking water on caries may not be limited to fluoride only. Among 22 standard chemical variables, including 15 ions and trace elements as well as gases, organic compounds, and physical measures, iterative search and testing identified that calcium and fluoride together explained 45% of the variations in the numbers of decayed, filled, and missing tooth surfaces (DMF-S) among 52,057 15-year-old schoolchildren in 249 Danish municipalities. Both ions had reducing effects on DMF-S independently of each other, and could be used in combination for the design of optimal drinking water for caries control in populations.

Oxidation of uric acid. 4. Synthesis, structure, and diabetogenic action of 5-imino-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-pyrimidinetrione salts and their alloxan-like covalent adducts.

Three synthetic routes to salts of 5-amino-5-hydroxy-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-pyrimidinetrione (10) are described. The key reactions involved acid-catalyzed cleavage of 5-amino-5-ureido-2,4,6(1H,3H,5H)-pyrimidinetrione (7), conversion of uramil (8) to dehydrouramil (9) and subsequent hydration, and the condensation of alloxan (5) with ammonium salts. The carbinol ammonium salt structure 10a was unambiguously established by X-ray crystallography. New alloxan-like compounds 7, 9, and 10 were evaluated for diabetogenic activity in rats. Compound 7 was inactive, whereas compounds 9 and 10 showed the highest activity comparable to that of streptozotocin (12).