Off-leash dog beaches: vet joins howls of protest

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By BREE FULLERSept. 15, 2014, 8:53 p.m.

A respected Austinmer veterinarian has joined the Wollongong Dog Community group in a fight to save the northern Illawarra's off-leash dog beaches.

A respected Austinmer veterinarian has joined the Wollongong Dog Community group in a fight to save the northern Illawarra's off-leash dog beaches.

Former RSPCA NSW director and veterinarian of 43 years Dr Rick Prowse has called for the council to maintain existing off-leash zones, saying further restrictions would unfairly punish responsible dog owners.

"I'm happy to stand up and defend the only area available to people who spontaneously want to get up, go for a walk, throw a ball and do something with the dog," the Austinmer vet said.

"The beach is an ideal, beautiful environment and we've got enough beaches to share for those who like dogs and for those who don't like dogs.

"There are an irresponsible few who don't clean up after their dogs or don't control them when there are people around who may be a little anxious about dogs ... but I don't think you should chastise the thousands of people who are doing the right thing for the few who aren't."

Under planned changes to its dogs on beaches and parks policy, the council has recommended dogs only be allowed on Sharkeys, McCauleys and Little Austinmer beaches at restricted times, provided they are on a leash.

Dr Prowse said the dog-owning community needed safe and convenient places to exercise their dogs, away from roads and free from hazards such as bush ticks and snakes. He said a lack of suitable parks or open spaces in the northern Illawarra meant the beach was the only viable option for most people.

If the council took that option away, the health and well-being of dogs and owners would be negatively affected, Dr Prowse said.

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The Most Exciting 365 days Ever in Astronomy starts now. Ceres Pluto Mars & more! – Video

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The Most Exciting 365 days Ever in Astronomy starts now. Ceres Pluto Mars more!
https://www.youtube.com/THORnews October 2014 through October 2015 should turn out to be the most exciting year in Known Astronomy EVER! Siding Spring at Mars, New Horizon at Pluto and an unnamed...

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The Most Exciting 365 days Ever in Astronomy starts now. Ceres Pluto Mars & more! - Video

A new director for the all-sky astronomers

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From today, the nation-wide ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics has a new director, Professor Elaine Sadler, Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Sydney.

She succeeds Professor Bryan Gaensler, also at the School of Physics at the University, who has led CAASTRO since its inception in 2011.

Professor Sadler has a distinguished record in optical and radio astronomy, with more than 150 refereed publications to her name.

"My interest in astronomy began when I was about eight and was given a book with pictures of telescopes and the Universe which got me thinking about big questions. By eleven I wasthe youngest member of the local amateur astronomical society in Guildford, (England) whose members were bemused but welcoming. My path was set."

After obtaining her PhD from the Australian National University in 1983, Professor Sadler held positions at the European Southern Observatory and at Kitt Peak National Observatory in the USA, before returning to Australia to join what is now the Australian Astronomical Observatory.

She moved to the University of Sydney in 1993.

"I held three ARC Fellowships back to back so I had time to carry out research projects with a broad scope. Over eight years, with my colleagues here in Sydney, I used the University's Molonglo radio telescopes to make a radio atlas of the entire southern sky which is used by astronomers all over the world. "

That work started Professor's Sadler's continuing involvement with wide-field astronomy and the interpretation of big data sets, both of which CAASTRO excels in. A focus of her research has been the changing nature of galaxies over cosmic time and the symbiotic relationship between black holes and galaxies.

In 2011 she became Professor of Astrophysics and a Chief Investigator in CAASTRO.

"I was involved in the foundation and funding of CAASTRO so I'm very happy to be in a position now to advance the organisation, especially through wider national and international networks."

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Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy to be opened with 'a big bang'

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ISSA to organise a 3-day workshop Cosmology in the Med in the run up to Science in the City

Professor George Smoot will be giving a public lecture on The Big Bang Theory on Wednesday 24 September at Valletta Campus.

Prof. Smoots public lecture scheduled for Wednesday 24 September from 7.00pm 9.00pm at Valletta Campus will be a befitting postlude to the inauguration of Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy (ISSA) during an event which will also feature opening speeches by the Minister of Education Evarist Bartolo, the University of Malta Pro-Rector for Research and Innovation Professor Richard Muscat and the Director of ISSA Dr Kristian Zarb Adami.

Being held on the sidelines of the upcoming Science in the City to lend a particle of excitement to the ever-expanding Festival, Prof. Smoots appearance at ISSAs inauguration will be followed by the Institutes first public workshop Cosmos in the Med, from 24 to 26 September at Valletta Campus, where science educators and university students reading for B.Ed will be provided with the skills and knowledge required to teach astronomy from eminent scientists.

Dr Zarb Adami said: ISSA was set up with members from the University of Malta Faculties of Science, Engineering and ICT to explore and develop observational and theoretical facets of new physics. ISSA will give fresh impetus to this area of science in Malta as it reaches out and captures the imagination of the Maltese on the intricacies of the universe.

The workshop Cosmos in the Med is the latest in a series of Teaching the Universe workshops given by Prof Smoot, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2006 for the discovery of fluctuations in the Cosmic Microwave Background.

This work helped further theBig Bangtheory of the universe using theCosmic Background Explorer(COBE) satellite.According to the Nobel Prize committee, "the COBE project can also be regarded as the starting point forcosmologyas a precision science."

Joining Prof. Smoot are world renowned scientists Prof. Jim Rich, Dr Chiara Ferrari and Dr Edward Porter. The workshop is being held in conjunction with the Malta Tourism Authority, the Ministry of Education, ISSA at the University of Malta and the U.S. Embassy.

Attendance to ISSA inauguration can be confirmed via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1518857425015237/; by sending an email to issa@um.edu.mt or by calling 2340 2524.

More information about the three-day workshop is available on http://www.cosmointhemed.com or http://www.um.edu.met/issa

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Institute of Space Sciences and Astronomy to be opened with 'a big bang'

Will the God particle destroy the world?

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Editors note: Meg Urry is the Israel Munson professor of physics and astronomy at Yale University and director of the Yale Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. World-famous physicist Stephen Hawking recently said the world as we know it could be obliterated instantaneously.

Basically, we would be here one minute and gone the next.

Dont you love physics? When we speculate about catastrophes, we dont mess around.

The physics underlying this speculation is related to the Higgs particle, whose discovery was announced July 4, 2012, at the Large Hadron Collider, the worlds largest particle accelerator, in Geneva, Switzerland.

A leading physicist dubbed it the God particle a name I wish would disappear, as the particle and the laws of physics tell us nothing whatsoever about God, and God, if she exists, has not opined about the Higgs particle.

So, the simplified argument goes like something like this the Higgs particle pervades space roughly uniformly, with a relatively high mass about 126 times that of the proton (a basic building block of atoms). Theoretical physicists noted even before the Higgs discovery that its relatively high mass would mean lower energy states exist. Just as gravity makes a ball roll downhill, to the lowest point, so the universe (or any system) tends toward its lowest energy state. If the present universe could one day transition to that lower energy state, then it is unstable now and the transition to a new state would destroy all the particles that exist today.

This would happen spontaneously at one point in space and time and then expand throughout the universe at the speed of light. There would be no warning, because the fastest a warning signal could travel is also at the speed of light, so the disaster and the warning would arrive at the same time.

We know spontaneous events do happen. The universe began in a rapid expansion called inflation that lasted only a tiny fraction of a second. We owe our existence to that sudden event.

Spontaneous change is something you might have seen in chemistry class. Super-cooled water will rapidly crystallize to ice if you drop a snowflake into it, just as a salt crystal will grow when added to a supersaturated salt solution.

Back to the universe. Whether the existence of Higgs boson means were doomed depends on the mass of another fundamental particle, the top quark. Its the combination of the Higgs and top quark masses that determine whether our universe is stable.

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American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Join Forces …

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Newswise San Francisco, September 14, 2014The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) are partnering to launch and support a national registry for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments. The SRS patient registry will define national patterns of care in radiosurgery, with an eye to improving health care outcomes, supporting informed decision making and potentially lowering the cost-of-care for patients. The registry project will gather data from 30 diverse, high-volume sites with data specific to stereotactic radiosurgery during the next three years. The registry will log de-identified SRS treatment information of thousands of patients affected by brain metastases, benign brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).

AANS and ASTRO have begun a national prospective radiosurgical registry. The registry underscores the commitment by AANS and ASTRO to enhancing quality care for our patients. It also provides new opportunities for achieving major advances in the management of patients with complex problems such as brain tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders, which is why the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) is also providing support, commented Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, FAANS, Harrison Distinguished Professor and vice-chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia.

ASTRO Health Policy Council Chair and a radiation oncologist at the University of Colorado, Denver, Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, added, ASTRO is excited to partner with AANS for this important project. Radiosurgery is one of the most important, high-value services we can provide to a wide-range of patients for an assortment of benign and malignant cancers. The registry will give us big data that we can use to refine our current technical and patient selection guidelines with the nuanced observations that can only be derived from large patient cohorts who are followed prospectively in a registry platform.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive approach utilizing imaging guidance and stereotactic principles to deliver radiation to targeted cells within the body, and it has become an important part of the neurosurgical resources for the treatment of brain metastases, benign brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations.

ASTRO and AANS will lead the Scientific Advisory Committee charged with providing strategic oversight for the registry, including but not limited to identifying and approving contributing sites that will participate; developing the plan for data collection; managing the data collection issues; developing plans for data analysis and managing data analysis issues; review and analysis of statistical reports; development of policies and procedures for responding to requests for access to registry data; and for review and approval of the publication or public presentation of data, results or conclusions resulting from the project.

Analysis of the de-identified patient data will be scientifically published, and the fully de-identified data elements will subsequently be made available in the public domain. This transparency is important to the registry and will likely stimulate secondary publications beyond what is published by the Scientific Advisory Committee.

Major sponsorship for the project has been provided by BrainLAB. Additional sponsors are being sought to support the long-term efforts and expansion of the registry.

ABOUT AANS Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS is a scientific and educational association with more than 8,500 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves. To learn more, visit http://www.aans.org.

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American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) Join Forces ...

Stereotactic Radiosurgery Registry Launched By American Assoc. of Neurological Surgeons and American Soc. for …

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Newswise ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. (September 15, 2014) The American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) and the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) are partnering to launch and support a national registry for stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treatments. The SRS patient registry will define national patterns of care in radiosurgery, with an eye to improving health care outcomes, supporting informed decision making and potentially lowering the cost-of-care delivery to patients. The registry project will gather data from 30 diverse, high-volume sites with data specific to stereotactic radiosurgery during the next three years. The registry will log de-identified SRS treatment information of thousands of patients affected by brain metastases, benign brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations (AVMs).

AANS and ASTRO, along with corporate supporter Brainlab, have begun a national prospective radiosurgical registry. The registry, managed by Neuropoint Alliance (NPA), underscores the commitment by AANS, ASTRO and Brainlab to enhancing quality care for our patients. It also provides new opportunities for achieving major advances in the management of patients with complex problems such as brain tumors, vascular malformations and functional disorders, which is why the Neurosurgery Research & Education Foundation (NREF) is also providing support, commented Jason Sheehan, MD, PhD, FAANS, Harrison Distinguished Professor and Vice Chair of Neurological Surgery at the University of Virginia.

ASTRO Health Policy Council Chair and a radiation oncologist at the University of Colorado, Denver, Brian Kavanagh, MD, MPH, added, ASTRO is excited to partner with AANS for this important project. Radiosurgery is one of the most important, high-value services we can provide to a wide-range of patients for an assortment of benign and malignant cancers. The registry will give us big data that we can use to refine our current technical and patient selection guidelines with the nuanced observations that can only be derived from large patient cohorts who are followed prospectively in a registry platform.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a minimally invasive approach utilizing imaging guidance and stereotactic principles to deliver radiation to targeted cells within the body, and it has become an important part of the neurosurgical resources for the treatment of brain metastases, benign brain tumors and arteriovenous malformations.

ASTRO is providing both financial and professional support for the registry. ASTRO and AANS will lead the Scientific Advisory Committee charged with providing strategic oversight for the registry, including but not limited to: identifying and approving contributing sites that will participate; developing the plan for data collection; managing the data collection issues; developing plans for data analysis and managing data analysis issues; review and analysis of statistical reports; development of policies and procedures for responding to requests for access to registry data; and for review & approval of the publication or public presentation of data, results or conclusions resulting from the project.

Analysis of the de-identified patient data will be scientifically published, and the fully de-identified data elements will subsequently be made available in the public domain. This transparency is important to the registry and will likely stimulate secondary publications beyond what is published by the Scientific Advisory Committee. Storage, analysis and scientific supervision of the data are managed independently from Brainlab to ensure impartiality of the data.

Major sponsorship for the project has been provided by Brainlab. Other med- and biotech companies are being sought for additional sponsorship to support the long-term efforts and expansion of the registry.

About AANS Founded in 1931 as the Harvey Cushing Society, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) is a scientific and educational association with more than 8,500 members worldwide. The AANS is dedicated to advancing the specialty of neurological surgery in order to provide the highest quality of neurosurgical care to the public. All active members of the AANS are certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (Neurosurgery) of Canada or the Mexican Council of Neurological Surgery, AC. Neurological surgery is the medical specialty concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of disorders that affect the entire nervous system, including the spinal column, spinal cord, brain and peripheral nerves. To learn more, visit http://www.aans.org

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Patients with Advanced Esophageal Cancer Who Receive Radiation Therapy Alone Experience Less Problems When Swallowing …

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Newswise San Francisco, September 14, 2014Radiation therapy (RT) alone is as effective in decreasing swallowing complications experienced by advanced esophageal cancer patients as RT combined with chemotherapy, thus allowing patients to forgo chemotherapy, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncologys (ASTROs) 56th Annual Meeting.

In this international study that included sites in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United Kingdom, researchers assessed the use of palliative chemotherapy combined with RT, or chemoradiotherapy (CRT), to provide relief from dysphagia. Dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing, is a common complication of advanced esophageal cancer and has been shown to be relieved with RT. The trial evaluated the effectiveness of RT alone versus CRT through patient-reported questionnaires that measured swallowing ability and quality of life, and through clinician-reported questionnaires that measured potential side effects and adverse events that affected the entire body.

A total of 220 patients were randomized to receive a course of palliative RT: 115 patients in Australia and New Zealand received 35 Gy in 15 fractions, and 105 patients in Canada and the United Kingdom received 30 Gy in 10 fractions. Of those patients, 109 received only RT, and 111 received concomitant CRT including Cisplatin and 5FU.

Dysphagia was measured using the Mellow scoring system, which measures swallowing on a scale of 0 to 5 based on the patients ability to swallow liquids or solids. Side effects were measured by clinicians using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v2, and quality of life was evaluated using two patient questionnairesEORTC QLQ30 and oesophagus module (OES-18). The primary end point was the proportion of patients with improved dysphagia as measured at week 9 and maintained until week 13.

Of the patients who received RT alone, 67.89 percent of patients reported a more favorable dysphagia response (meaning decreased pain at any point) compared to 73.87 percent of patients who received CRT and showed a positive dysphagia response (p=0.343).

Gastrointestinal side effects were reported in the CRT patients, including nausea (p=0.0019) and vomiting (p=0.0072). The median survival was 203 days for patients who received RT alone and 210 days for patients who had CRT, demonstrating comparable survival prognosis for both groups.

This study was the largest, randomized, phase three trial of advanced esophageal cancer and was a significant undertaking for a palliative care trial, namely where the emphasis was on the best, yet simplest and least toxic treatment to alleviate pain, said lead author Michael Penniment, MBBS, MBA, FRANZCR, director of radiation oncology at Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia and the director of radiation oncology at Alan Walker Cancer Care Centre in Darwin, Australia. It is common for chemotherapy to be prescribed for patients with advanced esophageal cancer, and this is based on the standard use of CRT in people with less advanced disease. However, some clinicians believe no treatment should be offered, assuming treatment is futile and potentially toxic. These results will allow us to simplify the treatment for patients who cannot be cured but who can expect an improvement in swallowing and quality of life as a result of RT alone; and these patients can be spared the extra toxicity and cost of chemotherapy.

The abstract, Best Practice in Advanced Oesophageal Cancer: A Report on TROG 03.01 NCIC CTG ES.2 Multinational Phase III Study in Advanced Oesophageal Cancer (OC) Comparing Quality of Life (QoL) and Palliation of Dysphagia in Patients Treated with Radiotherapy (RT) or Chemo-Radiotherapy (CRT), will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTROs 56th Annual Meeting at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, September 14, 2014. To speak with Dr. Penniment, please call Michelle Kirkwood on September 14 17, 2014, in the ASTRO Press Office at the Moscone Center in San Francisco Center at 415-978-3503 or 415-978-3504, or email michellek@astro.org.

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Improved Survival Shown in Early-Stage Hodgkin's Disease Patients Who Receive Radiation Therapy

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Newswise San Francisco, September 14, 2014Patients with stage I and II Hodgkins Disease who receive consolidated radiation therapy (RT) have a higher 10-year survival rate of 84 percent, compared to 76 percent for patients who did not receive RT; and, the data also shows a decrease in utilization of RT, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncologys (ASTROs) 56th Annual Meeting.

Researchers evaluated clinical features and survival outcomes among 41,502 patients diagnosed with stage I and II Hodgkins Disease from 1998 to 2011 from a prospectively collected databasethe National Cancer Data Base (NCDB), which is comprised of cases from 1,500 sites and represents >75 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the U.S. The average patient age was 37 (range: 18 90), with a median follow-up of 7.5 years. The association between RT use, co-variables and outcome were assessed in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model. Survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.

Multi-agent chemotherapy was administered to 96 percent (39,842) of the patients, and 49 percent (20,441) of patients received a median RT dose of 30.6 Gy. The 10-year overall survival of the entire group was 80.8 percent, with patients receiving RT having a statistically significant improved overall survival rate at 10 years, when compared to those not receiving RT (84.4 percent vs. 76.4 percent; p<0.00001). Additionally, the omission of RT was related to higher rates of salvage transplant procedures performed.

Despite this benefit, the utilization of RT for patients with early-stage Hodgkins Disease decreased at the study sites from 56 percent to 41 percent between 1998 and 2011; and in 88.4 percent of the patients, the physician-reported reason given for not administering RT was that it was not part of the planned initial treatment strategy. The research also indicated that RT use was associated with younger patients (40 years), who are in a higher socioeconomic status, who had access to health insurance, and who received treatment at comprehensive cancer centers (all p<0.0001).

Multiple prospective, randomized trials have shown a significant improvement in disease control with the addition of RT, however previous trials were limited by low patient numbers and limited follow-up and thus, were unable to demonstrate an overall survival benefit, said lead study author Rahul R. Parikh, MD, a radiation oncologist at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. This is the largest dataset in this patient population to demonstrate a survival benefit with the addition of RT. Given that the utilization of RT was associated with younger age, insurance status, higher socioeconomic status, and treatment at comprehensive cancer centers, we have highlighted ongoing disparities in Hodgkins Disease treatment and it is important that we recognize these findings as potential barriers to care. Given the survival benefit demonstrated in this study, radiotherapy should be included in the combined modality approach of multi-agent chemotherapy followed by consolidation RT in order to maintain high overall survival rates for this curable disease.

The abstract, Early-Stage Hodgkin's Disease: The Utilization of Radiation Therapy and Its Impact on Overall Survival, will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTROs 56th Annual Meeting at 3:15 p.m. Pacific time on Sunday, September 14, 2014. To speak with Dr. Parikh, please call Michelle Kirkwood on September 14 17, 2014, in the ASTRO Press Office at the Moscone Center in San Francisco at 415-978-3503 or 415-978-3504, or email michellek@astro.org.

ASTROs 56th Annual Meeting, to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, September 14-17, 2014, is the nations premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology. The 2014 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees including oncologists from all disciplines, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses and nurse practitioners, biologists, physician assistants, practice administrators, industry representatives and other health care professionals from around the world. Led by ASTRO President Bruce G. Haffty, MD, FASTRO, a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer, the theme of the 2014 Meeting is Targeting Cancer: Technology and Biology, and the Presidential Symposium, Local-regional Management of Breast Cancer: A Changing Paradigm, will feature Jay R. Harris, MD, FASTRO, and Thomas A. Buchholz, MD, FASTRO, to highlight recent practice-changing, landmark studies and current developments in the local-regional management of breast cancer. ASTROs four-day scientific meeting includes presentation of up to four plenary papers, 360 oral presentations, 1,862 posters and 144 digital posters in more than 50 educational sessions and scientific panels for 20 disease-site tracks. Three keynote speakers will address a range of topics including oncologic imaging, biology and targeting in oncology, and human error and safety concerns: Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Radiology and the Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (hon), Professor Emeritus and the David A. Wood Distinguished Professor of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research of the University of California at San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Sidney Dekker, PhD, MA, MSc, Professor and Director of the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

ABOUT ASTRO ASTRO is the premier radiation oncology society in the world, with more than 10,000 members who are physicians, nurses, biologists, physicists, radiation therapists, dosimetrists and other health care professionals that specialize in treating patients with radiation therapies. As the leading organization in radiation oncology, the Society is dedicated to improving patient care through professional education and training, support for clinical practice and health policy standards, advancement of science and research, and advocacy. ASTRO publishes two medical journals, International Journal of Radiation Oncology Biology Physics (www.redjournal.org) and Practical Radiation Oncology (www.practicalradonc.org); developed and maintains an extensive patient website, http://www.rtanswers.org; and created the Radiation Oncology Institute (www.roinstitute.org), a non-profit foundation to support research and education efforts around the world that enhance and confirm the critical role of radiation therapy in improving cancer treatment. To learn more about ASTRO, visit http://www.astro.org. ###

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Long-Term Results of RTOG 0236 Confirm Good Primary Tumor Control and Positive Five-Year Survival Rates for Lung …

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - September 15, 2014) - Patients with inoperable, early-stage lung cancer who receive stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) have a five-year survival rate of 40 percent, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncology's (ASTRO's) 56th Annual Meeting. Such a positive survival rate is encouraging considering that historically conventional RT resulted in poor tumor control for patients with inoperable lung cancer. This study is an update of RTOG 0236, originally published in 2010[1], and also conducted by the original researchers to evaluate tumor control rates and side effects for patients at five years post-treatment.

RTOG 0236 was a Phase II North American multicenter trial from May 2004 until October 2006 of patients age 18 and older with biopsy-proven peripheral T1-T2 N0M0 non-small cell lung cancer (early stage with no lymph node involvement or metastases). Patients in the study all had medical conditions that precluded them from surgery, so they received SBRT, a specialized type of external beam therapy that usesfocused radiation beams at a tumor using detailed imaging. SBRT delivers high doses of radiation to the tumor in a decreased amount of treatment time, compared to standard RT, while minimizing exposure to surrounding healthy organs. SBRT appeared to improve tumor control, as suggested by the initial study results for RTOG 0236[2].

A total of 59 patients were accrued for the study, and 55 were evaluable (44 patients with T1 tumors and 11 patients with T2 tumors). Patients each received three fractions of 18 Gy (54 Gy total) of SBRT, and treatment lasted between one-and-a-half to two weeks.

Researchers evaluated local control, which is the rate of reoccurrence of the cancer at the site of origin, as well as disease-free survival, overall survival and toxicity (side effects). Median follow-up was four years (7.2 years for surviving patients). At five years, the rates for disease-free and overall survival were 26 percent and 40 percent, respectively, with a median overall survival of four years.

Only four patients had recurrences at the primary tumor site, resulting in an estimated five-year primary tumor failure rate of seven percent (range, 1.8 to 4.8 years after SBRT). Nine additional patients had recurrence within the involved lobe (range, 0.1 to 5.9 years after SBRT), resulting in a five-year primary tumor and involved lobe (local) failure rate of 20 percent.

The five-year local-regional failure rate was 38 percent, of which seven patients experienced a spread of the cancer to nearby lymph nodes or organs (range, 2.8 to 5.2 years after SBRT). Fifteen patients had disseminated recurrence (throughout the lung), thus the five-year disseminated failure rate was 31 percent. Treatment-related grade three and grade four side effects were reported in 15 patients and in two patients, respectively. No grade five adverse events were reported.

"Historically, when treating early lung cancer with radiotherapy, progression at the site of the primary tumor was the most common failure resulting in suffering and death," said lead study author Robert Timmerman, MD, professor and vice chair of the department of radiation oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. "The initial results of RTOG 0236 showed very good tumor control; however, many physicians were concerned that treatment-related toxicity would eventually appear, so SBRT has not seen wide-spread use. This long-term analysis confirms that treated tumors did not reappear at the original site; and late toxicity, beyond what was seen in the initial report, did not appear. However, metastatic tumors continued to appear over time in untreated sites likely because those tumors were so small at initial treatment that they were not detected.These five-year results demonstrate positive tumor control and disprove the misconception that short-course treatment will result in late-appearing, unacceptable toxicities."

The abstract, "Long-term Results of RTOG 0236: A Phase II Trial of Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) in the Treatment of Patients with Medically Inoperable Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer," will be presented in detail during a scientific session at ASTRO's 56th Annual Meeting at 10:45 a.m. Pacific time on Monday, September 15, 2014. To speak with Dr. Timmerman, please call Michelle Kirkwood on September 14 - 17, 2014, in the ASTRO Press Office at San Francisco's Moscone Center at 415-978-3503 or415-978-3504, or email michellek@astro.org.

ASTRO's 56th Annual Meeting, to be held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, September 14-17, 2014, is the nation's premier scientific meeting in radiation oncology. The 2014 Annual Meeting is expected to attract more than 11,000 attendees including oncologists from all disciplines, medical physicists, dosimetrists, radiation therapists, radiation oncology nurses and nurse practitioners, biologists, physician assistants, practice administrators, industry representatives and other health care professionals from around the world. Led by ASTRO President Bruce G. Haffty, MD, FASTRO, a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer, the theme of the 2014 Meeting is "Targeting Cancer: Technology and Biology," and the Presidential Symposium, "Local-regional Management of Breast Cancer: A Changing Paradigm," will feature Jay R. Harris, MD, FASTRO, and Thomas A. Buchholz, MD, FASTRO, to highlight recent practice-changing, landmark studies and current developments in the local-regional management of breast cancer. ASTRO's four-day scientific meeting includes presentation of up to four plenary papers, 360 oral presentations, 1,862 posters and 144 digital posters in more than 50 educational sessions and scientific panels for 20 disease-site tracks. Three keynote speakers will address a range of topics including oncologic imaging, biology and targeting in oncology, and human error and safety concerns: Hedvig Hricak, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Radiology and the Carroll and Milton Petrie Chair at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, DSc (hon), Professor Emeritus and the David A. Wood Distinguished Professor of Tumor Biology and Cancer Research of the University of California at San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Sidney Dekker, PhD, MA, MSc, Professor and Director of the Safety Science Innovation Lab at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

2014 American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 56th Annual Meeting News Briefing, Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 7:00 a.m. Pacific time

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Prostate Cancer Patients Who Receive Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy Report Consistent Quality of Life Before and …

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Newswise San Francisco, September 15, 2014Prostate cancer patients who received hypofractionated (HPFX) radiation therapy (RT) reported that their quality of life, as well as bladder and bowel function were at similar levels before and after RT, according to research presented today at the American Society for Radiation Oncologys (ASTROs) 56th Annual Meeting. Additionally, results indicate that parallel quality of life outcomes occurred between groups of patients who receive different regimens of HPFX RT.

The phase I/II trial enrolled 343 patients with low-to-intermediate risk prostate cancer at five institutions from 2002 to 2010 to study the effectiveness of HPFX RT, as well as the patients ability to tolerate the treatment. HPFX RT is radiation therapy in which the total dose of radiation is divided into large doses and administered over a shorter period of time (fewer days or weeks) than standard RT.

All of the patients received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) to the prostate and base of the seminal vesicles. IMRT is an advanced high-precision RT that uses guided imaging techniques to deliver well-defined radiation doses to a tumor or specific areas within the tumor. IMRT allows for the radiation dose to conform more precisely to the three-dimensional shape of a tumor while minimizing radiation to surrounding tissues.

Patients were divided into three groups based on dose-per-fraction schedules (the amount of radiation administered during each RT session). Researchers calculated and designed the three different HPFX regimens in hopes that each might achieve similar disease control and consistently minimal side effects for patients. Group Ones HPFX levels were 64.7 Gy total, with 22 fractions (doses) of 2.94 Gy each. Group Twos HPFX levels were 58.08 Gy total, with 16 fractions (doses) of 3.63 Gy each. Group Threes HPFX levels were 51.6 Gy total with 12 fractions (doses) of 4.3 Gy each.

Researchers evaluated the impact each treatment regimen had on the quality of life of patients, and all patients completed three quality-of-life (QOL) questionnaires at baseline and annually for up to three years post-treatment. Patient assessments measured bladder, bowel and sexual function, and included the Fox Chase Bowel/Bladder Toxicity questionnaire, the Spitzer Quality of Life Index (SQLI) questionnaire and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) questionnaire.

Analysis of patient-scored QOL bowel data at three years post-treatment revealed no significant difference in average pre- to post-treatment score changes. Additionally, there was little difference in composite QOL outcomes across the three groups. Out of a maximum score of 100, the scores were 86.3 for Group One; 87.7 for Group Two; and, and 85.4 for Group Three (p=0.469). Similarly, QOL data regarding bladder function at three years follow-up was comparable across the three groups. Out of a maximum score of 100, the scores were 79.5 for Group One; 82.5 for Group Two and 81.1 for Group Three (p=0.343).

The SQLI data, which has a range of 0-10, revealed excellent, similar three-year mean scores of 9.5 for Group One; 9.8 for Group Two and 9.5 for Group Three (p=0.188). IIEF data on sexual function also revealed no significant difference across HPFX levels at three years post-treatment when assessing erectile function (p=0.07), orgasmic function (p=0.078), sexual desire (p=0.231), intercourse satisfaction (p=0.354) and overall satisfaction (p=0.191). All measures except intercourse satisfaction were significantly worse at three years when compared to baseline for all three treatment groups.

These results will significantly contribute to the continued understanding of hypofractionation in the setting of prostate cancer, said lead author Jeffrey V. Brower MD, PhD, a radiation oncology resident at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics. We were pleased by the overall minimal changes from baseline noted in the study participants following hypofractionated radiation. The findings of non-statistically significant differences noted when comparing hypofractionation regimens was as anticipated, as much work was done to calculate equivalent doses and to predict late toxicities. Specifically, with regard to patient-reported quality of life outcomes, our research can assist in a continued paradigm shift concerning the role of hypofractionation in the treatment of prostate cancer, resulting in shorter treatment times and improved quality of life for our patients.

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Prostate Cancer Patients Who Receive Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy Report Consistent Quality of Life Before and ...

Time for: Wargame: Red Dragon – Part 3: Intelligent Artificial Intelligence – Video

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Time for: Wargame: Red Dragon - Part 3: Intelligent Artificial Intelligence
It #39;s happening (insert gif here). The ai finally can do something relatively smart! But is it too much for our heroes Kris, Binford, and Josh to handle?

By: HalfbodiedJish

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Time for: Wargame: Red Dragon - Part 3: Intelligent Artificial Intelligence - Video

Artificial Intelligence and the benefits of narrow AI for businesses

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The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often associated with maverick visions of hover cars, living on the moon, and robots with a tendency towards acquiring life threatening attitudes. But like the paperless office and three-day working week, it seems AI is a remote possibility for most people and most companies.

But actually it isn't. The chances are you will be using it a lot in the near future, and Narrow AI will be the format that predominates. The most recognised current use is in Apple's voice command product Siri.

Narrow AI is not a sophisticated technology, but it does offer a wide range of benefits for individuals and companies. For example, to a very great degree of accuracy it can scan and collate specific required information from the entire contents of the web in a fraction of a second. Not only that, narrow AI can be programmed to send selected information to specific third parties, and automatically update any changes to information.

Narrow AI uses a logic driven process that replicates human actions. Typically it sifts through massive amounts of information and accurately extracts only what is needed. However, the real benefits occur when used to contextually layer searches and reporting to build accurate scenarios. It becomes the perfect example of the three Cs context, context, context.

For example, Siri is actually quite a poor performer in narrow AI. You ask it a question such as: where is the nearest coffee shop? It will give you a list, and by tapping on a particular option you get a map with an accompanying pinpoint. This is a lightweight response compared to what the technology can do.

Narrow AI can be programmed to not only identify the nearest coffee shops, but also different forms of travel to them, travel time, how to access those forms of travel nearest bus stops, train stations etc. There could also be a map, but with specific driving, walking, skateboarding or bicycling directions, and the journey times for each. In addition, you could be informed what the weather will be like at the destination, nearby attractions, and also alert friends via email or social media that you will be at the coffee shop (and at what time).

A good illustration of how narrow AI is currently being used contextually in multi-layered form is a mobile first business service for iPhone that my company built.

Lowdown works simply by the user creating or accepting a calendar invitation using any calendar service (Google, Outlook etc). The app then generates information around a meeting. It displays travel options, when to leave for meetings, the time it will take to get there, a map, profiles of individuals and companies that will be present, tweets by them, shared company and personal connections, and recent email exchanges. This happens instantly on an app without spending time searching the web, diaries, timetables, maps or asking for directions. All emails or tweet updates by meeting attendees can easily be monitored, and responded to.

It is perfectly feasible to extend the Lowdown principle to corporate-level diary based systems that include access to internal documentation. This would enable business managers to know exactly how to get to meetings, who will be present, and also to receive any documents needed for meetings.

There will also be apps for information searches. This could include the researching of interview candidates, or for personal use finding out about teachers and schools, babysitters, or for just learning about the neighbours.

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Artificial Intelligence and the benefits of narrow AI for businesses

Terminate The Terminator: Hack Your Emotional Intelligence And Control Your Future

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Want to leave your number one business rival lying in a crumpled pile of rubble? Then put down your Android for a minute so you can size up exactly who that opponent is.

The assassin most likely to destroy your business isnt the guy down the street. Its not a brilliant 19-year-old coder lying in wait in a ranch house in Palo Alto.

Its a bot that does what you doeven better.

The singularity may sound like science fiction, but robots already write articles for newspapers sports sections, do surgery, fly jets and drones in the military, drive cars and answer phone calls for hotels and service firms. Bots beat our best chess champions on strategy. And theyre better managers than some leaders.One recent study at MIT found that people would rather work for a robot boss who gave out tasks than a person.

If robots can be encoded with artificial, emotional intelligence and it is greater than what you and your team have to offer to guests, you will be out of work. And emotional intelligence in robots is closer than youd think.

Want to keep a brainy, rolling hunk of metal from flattening you? Prep yourself to steal gigs from the terminators of the future by doing these five things:

Get Emotionally-Sharp. Smart leaders defend their businesses from the borgs by developing specialized knowledge, charged with super-talented human skills and emotional intelligence. They know that customers want to go where they feel like theyre being seen and heard. If you dont get customers better than a bot, theyll choose the bot.

Train yourself and your people with the latest research on the uses of emotional intelligence. And look for talent that is strong in this area. When I interview people, I ask: If you were to build a robot right now to replicate you, what 10 things would it need to have? I get all different types of answers. What I look for are qualities like integrity, tenacity, creativity, emotional maturity, leadership talent, conscientiousness, and perseverance.

Kick Off The SWAT Suit. You cant get a good read on customers feelings if your own are buried under 20 layers of scar tissue. Let your emotions rise before the machines do.

Sharpen your self-awareness by grilling yourself in challenging situations: How am I feeling about this? What internal and external resources can I bring to the table to help me solve this problem? How can I tap into what Im most passionate about to achieve my goal? How am I feeling relative to what I want to accomplish?

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Terminate The Terminator: Hack Your Emotional Intelligence And Control Your Future