Psychological distress in adult survivors of childhood cancer: the Swiss Childhood Cancer Survivor study

Purpose To evaluate the degree of psychological distress in adult childhood cancer survivors in Switzerland and to characterize survivors with significant distress. Methods Childhood cancer survivors who were age younger than 16 years when diagnosed between 1976 and 2003, had survived more than 5 years, and were currently age 20 years or older received a postal questionnaire. Psychological distress was assessed using the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Raw scores were transformed into T scores according to the German norm sample, and the proportion of participants being at increased risk for psychological distress was calculated (case rule: T ≥ 63). t tests and univariable and multivariable logistic regressions were used for statistical analyses. Results One thousand seventy-six survivors (63.% of eligible survivors, 71.9% of contacted survivors) returned the questionnaire, 987 with complete data on BSI. Comparison with the norm populations showed lower T scores (T < 50) in the Global Severity Index (GSI; T = 46.2), somatization (T = 47.6), obsessive-compulsive tendencies (T = 46.9), and anxiety (T = 48.4). However, more childhood cancer survivors (especially women) had increased distress for GSI (14.4%), interpersonal sensitivity (16.5%), depression (13.4%), aggression (16.9%), and psychotic tendencies (15.6%) than the expected 10% from the norm population. Caseness was associated with female sex, being a single child, older age at study, and self-reported late effects, especially psychological problems. Conclusion Results show that childhood cancer survivors, on average, have less psychological distress than a norm population but that the proportion of survivors at risk for high psychological distress is disproportionally large. Monitoring psychological distress in childhood cancer survivors may be desirable during routine follow-up, and psychological support should be offered as needed.

The recoil transfer chamber - An interface to connect the physical preseparator TASCA with chemistry and counting setups

Performing experiments with transactinide elements demands highly sensitive detection methods due to the extremely low production rates (one-atom-at-a-time conditions). Preseparation with a physical recoil separator is a powerful method to significantly reduce the background in experiments with sufficiently long-lived isotopes (t1/2≥0.5 s). In the last years, the new gas-filled TransActinide Separator and Chemistry Apparatus (TASCA) was installed and successfully commissioned at GSI. Here, we report on the design and performance of a Recoil Transfer Chamber (RTC) for TASCA—an interface to connect various chemistry and counting setups with the separator. Nuclear reaction products recoiling out of the target are separated according to their magnetic rigidity within TASCA, and the wanted products are guided to the focal plane of TASCA. In the focal plane, they pass a thin Mylar window that separates the ∼1 mbar atmosphere in TASCA from the RTC kept at ∼1 bar. The ions are stopped in the RTC and transported by a continuous gas flow from the RTC to the ancillary setup. In this paper, we report on measurements of the transportation yields under various conditions and on the first chemistry experiments at TASCA—an electrochemistry experiment with osmium and an ion exchange experiment with the transactinide element rutherfordium.

Adolescent survivors of childhood cancer: are they vulnerable for psychological distress?

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to (i) evaluate psychological distress in adolescent survivors of childhood cancer and compare them to siblings and a norm population; (ii) compare the severity of distress of distressed survivors and siblings with that of psychotherapy patients; and (iii) determine risk factors for psychological distress in survivors. METHODS: We sent a questionnaire to all childhood cancer survivors aged <16 years when diagnosed, who had survived ≥5 years and were aged 16-19 years at the time of study. Our control groups were same-aged siblings, a norm population, and psychotherapy patients. Psychological distress was measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) assessing somatization, depression, anxiety, and a global severity index (GSI). Participants with a T-score ≥57 were defined as distressed. We used logistic regression to determine risk factors. RESULTS: We evaluated the BSI-18 in 407 survivors and 102 siblings. Fifty-two survivors (13%) and 11 siblings (11%) had scores above the distress threshold (T ≥ 57). Distressed survivors scored significantly higher in somatization (p = 0.027) and GSI (p = 0.016) than distressed siblings, and also scored higher in somatization (p ≤ 0.001) and anxiety (p = 0.002) than psychotherapy patients. In the multivariable regression, psychological distress was associated with female sex, self-reported late effects, and low perceived parental support. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of survivors did not report psychological distress. However, the severity of distress of distressed survivors exceeded that of distressed siblings and psychotherapy patients. Systematic psychological follow-up can help to identify survivors at risk and support them during the challenging period of adolescence. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Spectroscopy of element 115 decay chains

A high-resolution α, x-ray, and γ-ray coincidence spectroscopy experiment was conducted at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung. Thirty correlated α-decay chains were detected following the fusion-evaporation reaction Ca48+Am243. The observations are consistent with previous assignments of similar decay chains to originate from element Z=115. For the first time, precise spectroscopy allows the derivation of excitation schemes of isotopes along the decay chains starting with elements Z>112. Comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations accompany the data analysis. Nuclear structure models provide a first level interpretation.

The Emergence of Open Hardware Phenomena in Different Technological Environments

Dannie Jost gave an introductory presentation on the emergence on open hardware phenomena, including synthetic biology and other technological environments at the HEPTech Workshop on Open Hardware on June 13 held at the GSI, Darmstadt (Germany). The workshop was organized by CERN and GSI. This event addressed the OSHW phenomenon and its implications for academia and industry with special attention to knowledge and technology transfer issues. Consideration was given to the various aspects of open source hardware development, and how these are dealt with in academia and industry. Presentations from legal experts, academics, practitioners and business provided input for the discussions and exchange of ideas.