Ten years survival results of randomized study comparing weekly vs. triweekly cisplatin with concurrent radiation in locally advanced carcinoma cervix.

Background: The current standard of treatment for locally advanced cervical cancer is concurrent chemo-radiation with improved overall survival (OS) by 6% with manageable toxicities. The cisplatin 40 mg/m2 given weekly is the widely practiced regimen for 4-6 cycles concurrently with irradiation. Materials and methods: Two hundred and twelve patients with histologically proven squamous cell carcinoma of cervix with stages IIB to IIIB were enrolled between 2007-2011. External beam radiation dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions was delivered over 5 weeks. Brachytherapy was delivered by manual afterloading cesium-137 (Cs137) low dose brachytherapy (LDR) using modified Fletcher suit intracavitary applicators to a total dose of 30 Gy to Point A or interstitial template to dose of 21 Gy/3 fractions with remote afterloading iridium-192 (Ir192) high dose brachytherapy (HDR). Patients were randomized to arm A receiving 40 mg/m2 of concurrent cisplatin weekly and arm B receiving 100 mg/m2 of concurrent cisplatin triweekly. Results: One hundred and nine patients were randomized to weekly cisplatin and one hundred and three patients to triweekly cisplatin at the end of recruitment. At ten years, the OS was higher in the weekly arm (79.8%) compared to triweekly arm (70.9%). Disease free survival (DFS) was almost equal (76.1% and 73.8%) in the weekly and three-weekly arms. There is definite significance in overall DFS with patients receiving the cumulative cisplatin doses of more than 250 mg (p = 0.028). The patients with more than 45 years of age had better overall survival (OS) (79%) with statistical significance 31 (p = 0.020). Conclusion: Both cisplatin based triweekly and weekly concurrent chemotherapy are equally effective in terms of OS and DFS.

Potential applications of Fe3+-activated Sr9Al6O18 nanophosphors for fingerprint detection, oxidative stress, and thrombosis treatment.

This study reports on the synthesis of Fe3+-activated Sr9Al6O18 nanophosphors (SAO:Fe NPs) using a simple solution combustion process, which emits a pale green light and possesses excellent fluorescence properties. An in-situ powder dusting method was utilized to extract unique ridge features of latent fingerprints (LFPs) on various surfaces using ultra-violet 254 nm excitation. The results showed that SAO:Fe NPs possess high contrast, high sensitivity, and no background interference, enabling the observation of LFPs for longer periods. Poroscopy, which is the examination of sweat pores on the skin's papillary ridges, is important in the identification process, and the YOLOv8x program based on deep convolutional neural networks was used to study the features visible in FPs. The potential of SAO:Fe NPs to ameliorate oxidative stress and thrombosis was analyzed. The results showed that SAO:Fe NPs have antioxidant properties by scavenging 2,2-diphenylpicrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and normalized the stress markers in NaNO2-induced oxidative stress in Red Blood Cells (RBC). In addition, SAO:Fe inhibited platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Therefore, SAO:Fe NPs may have potential applications in advanced cardiology and forensic sciences. Overall, this study highlights the synthesis and potential applications of SAO:Fe NPs, which can enhance the sensitivity and specificity of fingerprint detection and provide insights into developing novel treatments for oxidative stress and thrombosis.

Primary desmoplastic small round cell tumor of the testis: First case in India and review of the literature.

The purpose of this study is to describe the aggressive clinical behavior of desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) of the testis and review of the literature. A 17-year-old male having painless testicular mass and neck swelling diagnosed to have metastatic DSRCT of the testis. Patient received aggressive chemotherapy with P6 protocol. The patient progressed on treatment and died due to extensive metastasis. Primary DSRCT of the testis is extremely rare mesenchymal tumor occurring in adolescence, with a tendency for extensive metastases. Management should be multimodal approach with aggressive polychemotherapy, surgical tumor debulking and radiotherapy. However the overall prognosis is very poor with <20% survival rates at 2 years.

Crystallization and preliminary X-ray diffraction analysis of crystals of Thermoascus aurantiacus xylanase.

Crystals suitable for high resolution X-ray diffraction analysis have been grown of the 29,774-Da protein, xylanase (1,-4-beta-xylan xylanohydrolase EC 3.2.1.8) from the thermophilic fungus Thermoascus aurantiacus. This protein, an endoxylanase demonstrates the hydrolysis of beta-(1-4)-D-xylose linkage in xylans and crystallizes as monoclinic pinacoids in the presence of ammonium sulphate buffered at pH 6.5, and also with neutral polyethylene glycol 6000. The crystals belong to space group P2(1) and have cell dimensions, a = 41.2 A, b = 67.76 A, c = 51.8 A; beta = 113.2 degrees.