Compactness maximum method and complex measurement problems

A methodical approach to solving complex measurement problems is presented with a review of the results of developing and applyinga posteriori prediction systems for the metrological maintenance of test, monitoring, and control hardware and software. Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 7, pp. 15–21, July, 1995.     

Stage T1-2 prostate cancer: a multivariate analysis of factors affecting biochemical and clinical failures after radical prostatectomy

PURPOSE: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is extensively used in case selection and outcome evaluation after treatment of clinically localized prostate cancer. Careful case selection can have a profound impact on pathologic findings and ultimate outcome. In addition, salvage treatment is frequently initiated at the time of biochemical relapse rather than clinical recurrence. Consequently, patterns of failure can be significantly altered compared to previous times when PSA was not available. To better understand the impact of PSA on pathologic findings, outcome, and salvage treatment, we reviewed our experience in the PSA era with clinical Stage T1-2 prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Between 1987 and 1993, 423 cases could be identified with clinical Stage T1-2 prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy. The distribution of cases by pretreatment PSA levels was as follows: < or = 4 ng/ml (18%), 4-10 ng/ml (42%), 10-20 ng/ml (21%), > 20 ng/ml (14%), and unknown (5%). The median pretreatment PSA level for the entire group was 8.0 ng/ml. Sixteen patients received adjuvant or neoadjuvant androgen suppression and 13 received postoperative radiotherapy. Only 31 patients (7%) had pathologically positive pelvic lymph nodes. The overall margin involvement rate was 46%. Fifty-three percent of patients had surgical Gleason scores > or = 7, and 65% had extracapsular extension. The median follow-up time was 41 months. RESULTS: The projected overall survival at 7 years after surgery was 90%. The 5-year clinical relapse-free survival rate was 84%. At 5 years, the local control and distant failure rates were 92% and 91%, respectively. Biochemical relapse was defined as a detectable or rising PSA level after prostatectomy. The 5-year biochemical relapse-free survival (bRFS) rate was 59%. The 5-year RFS was 88% in patients with preoperative PSA levels < or = 4, 62% for 4-10, 48% for 10-20, and 31% for > 20. Combining the two independent preoperative variables, iPSA and biopsy GS (bGS), two risks groups were defined: low risk [initial PSA (iPSA) levels < or = 10.0 and bGS < or = 6] and high risk (iPSA levels > 10.0 ng/ml or bGS > or = 7). The 5-year bRFS rate for the low-risk cases was 81% vs. 40% for high-risk cases (p < 0.001). On multivariate analysis, three factors independently predicted biochemical relapse: iPSA levels (p = 0.005), Gleason score from the surgical specimen (sGS) (p = 0.002), and positive surgical margins (p < or = 0.001). The 5-year bRFS rates for margin positive vs. margin negative patients were 37% vs. 78%, respectively. The 5-year bRFS rates for GS > or = 7 vs. GS > or = 6 were 42% vs. 80%, respectively. All clinical relapses were accompanied by a rise in PSA. In patients who manifested biochemical failure followed by a clinical failure, the median interval between the PSA rise and clinical failure was 19 months (range 7-71). Margin involvement was the only independent predictor of local failure (p = 0.019). The 5-year local failure-free survival for negative margin cases was 96% vs. 87% for positive margin cases (p = 0.012). Lymph node (LN) involvement and high-risk group were the two independent predictors of distant failure. The 5-year distant failure-free survival for negative LN cases was 94% vs. 67% for positive LN cases (p < 0.001). The 5-year distant failure-free survival for low-risk cases was 97% vs. 85% for high-risk cases (p = 0.005). For the 124 patients failing biochemically, 85 were observed and 39 were treated either with radiation or androgen deprivation. With a median follow-up of 32 months, the clinical disease relapse-free survival was 79% for the treated patients vs. only 32% for the patients observed (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Pretreatment PSA is the most potent clinical factor independently predicting biochemical relapse, thereby allowing markedly better case selection. Achieving negative margins, even in relatively advanced disease, provides excellent lon     

Treatment of the production waste water of Konstantinovka Refractory Plant

Conclusions The coagulating action of aluminum sulfate and of the combination of it with polyacrylamide on a suspension of chamotte and clay, leading to a significant increase in particle size of the dispersed phase, was investigated.The presence of a threshold value of the addition of coagulant as an important production parameter determining the unstable suspension type sedimentation of particles was shown.To disturb the stability of the systems and to accelerate the clarification process of waste waters contaminated with chamotte and clay the necessary additions of reagents are 25–50 mg/liter of aluminum sulfate and 5 mg/liter of polyacrylamide.Translated from Ogneupory, No. 6, pp. 42–44, June, 1985.     

Breast conservation and prolonged chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer: the University of Michigan experience

PURPOSE: To determine whether breast conservation and prolonged neoadjuvant chemotherapy have efficacy in locally advanced breast cancer (LABC), as measured by survival and rate of breast conservation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty-nine patients with stage III disease were enrolled at the University of Michigan (UM) onto a prospective nonrandomized trial. Patients received nine 21-day cycles of neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy that consisted of doxorubicin 30 mg/m2 and cyclophosphamide 750 mg/m2 intravenously on day 1, conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg orally twice daily on days 6 to 8, methotrexate 40 mg/m2 and fluorouracil 500 mg/m2 intravenously on day 8, and tamoxifen 10 mg orally twice daily on days 9 to 14. Patients with a negative biopsy received radiation only, while those with residual disease underwent mastectomy and postoperative radiotherapy. Eight more cycles of chemohormonal therapy were administered after local-regional therapy. RESULTS: The clinical response rate to neoadjuvant therapy was 97%, 28% of patients had a complete pathologic response evaluated at biopsy. Five-year overall and disease-free survival probabilities were 54% and 44%, respectively. The median disease-free survival time was 2.4 years. The 5-year actuarial rates of local-regional control with local failure as only first failure were 82% and 78% following radiotherapy, and mastectomy and radiotherapy, respectively (P = .99). CONCLUSION: Prolonged neoadjuvant chemohormonal therapy and biopsy-driven local therapy have efficacy in LABC, with 28% of patients being candidates for breast conservation and a 5-year overall survival rate of 54%.     

Phase transformations after long-time annealing in metastable Fe–Cr alloy films prepared by pulsed laser deposition

Metastable Fe–Cr alloy films of various composition prepared by cross-beam pulsed laser deposition using two different procedures are investigated by wide-angle X-ray scattering. Depending on the Fe–Cr composition of the samples in an extended range, a body-centered cubic (bcc) phase or metastable phases with body-centered tetragonal (bct), face-centered orthorhombic (fco) or primitive orthorhombic (po) and primitive cubic (pc) lattices are formed in the films prepared by simultaneous co-deposition of Fe and Cr. In the films produced by layer-by-layer deposition of thin separate Fe and Cr layers (thickness of about 1 nm), only bcc and bct Fe–Cr phases were observed. A long-time annealing (50 h) at a temperature of 425 °C near the low-temperature existence limit of the σ-phase under equilibrium conditions followed by slow cooling (rate 0.5 °C/min) has been performed and various phase transformations were observed. In addition to known equilibrium and metastable Fe–Cr crystalline phases (mainly bcc and bct phases in the films prepared by layer-by-layer technique and bcc, bct and σ-FeCr phases in co-deposited films), a new metastable Fe–Cr superstructure characterised by a primitive tetragonal lattice with parameters a and c of about 0.57 and 0.63 nm, respectively, has been identified. It is shown that the formation of ″-crystallites with preferred orientation in the metastable Fe–Cr alloy films during dedicated long-time annealing gives rise to a spatially periodic modulation of chemical composition resulting in the formation of multilayers with periods of one or a few atomic monolayers of individual Fe and Cr components.     

Improving measurement accuracy in supplying locomotives with diesel fuel and lubricating oil

A new tachometric chamber flowmeter of the roller-vane type has been developed. The flowmeter has a working volume of 500 cm³/rev. Results of tests of the instrument are reported.Translated from Izmeritel'naya Tekhnika, No. 8, pp. 30–34, August, 1995.     

Nightmares and annihilation anxiety.

Evaluated the relation between self-reported frequency of nightmares, a number of saliency measures of the nightmare experience, and a self-report measure of annihilation anxiety (appended) for 1,357 undergraduates from 2 independent populations. A significant positive relation was found between nightmare frequency and salience and annihilation anxiety. Findings were cross-validated across both samples. Results are discussed within the context of object relations and ego psychology theory utilizing an ego boundary model and are consistent with previous research (e.g., E. Hartmann, 1991) demonstrating boundary impairment in Ss with self-reported frequent nightmares. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The functional outcome of lower-extremity fractures with vascular injury

Salvage of lower-extremity Gustilo type IIIC fractures is difficult, time-consuming for the patients and physicians, and not universally successful because of poor functional outcomes. Even if successful with limb salvage, the functional result may be unsatisfactory because of mutilating injuries to muscle and nerve, bone loss, and the presence of chronic infection. From July 1991 until July 1994, revascularizations of open IIIC fractures were attempted for wounds with Mangled Extremity Severity Score (MESS) < or = 10. The functional results were evaluated at 2 years after injury. Thirty-six lower-extremity revascularizations were performed on 34 patients, including 1 patient with bilateral distal tibial IIIC fractures and a child with IIIC femoral fracture accompanied by ipsilateral distal tibial amputation. Excluded were patients with below-ankle IIIC fractures as well as patients who underwent immediate amputation at admission. After the revascularization, seven patients with IIIC fractures (7 of 36, 19.4%) underwent secondary amputation within 1 week. At the 2-year follow-up, the overall secondary amputation rate was 25% (9 of 36) and the salvage rate was 75% (27 of 36). Those were no deaths. Of the 29 salvaged limbs among these 27 patients, 23 limbs (23 of 29, 79.3%) required secondary coverage procedures that included 12 free flap transfers (12 of 29, 41.4%). Every patient needed subsequent reconstructive surgery to achieve an acceptable functional result. In this series, MESS was able to predict the secondary amputation rate and the functional result. Sixteen of the 17 limb-salvaged patients with MESS < or = 7 were able to achieve minimal functional requirements, whereas 3 of the 10 patients with MESS = 8 to 10 failed to achieve minimal functional requirements at the 2-year follow-up. Using statistical analysis, we found that the salvaged limbs with MESS < or = 9 exhibited a significant difference in achieving adequate function compared with limbs with MESS > 9. Using our protocol for treatment for IIIC fractures, the threshold for immediate amputation can be raised from MESS = 7 to MESS = 9. Our conclusions are (1) more severely injured limbs have poor functional results, (2) every patient needs subsequent reconstructive surgery, and (3) the MESS may be helpful in decision-making.