Nasolabial esthetics in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate after 1- versus 3-stage treatment protocols

PURPOSE: Facial esthetics play an important role in social interactions. However, children with a repaired complete unilateral cleft lip and palate usually show some disfigurement of the nasolabial area. To date, few studies have assessed the nasolabial appearance after different treatment protocols. The aim of the present study was to compare the nasolabial esthetics after 1- and 3-stage treatment protocols. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four components of the nasolabial appearance (nasal form, nasal deviation, mucocutaneous junction, and profile view) were assessed by 4 raters in 108 consecutively treated children who had undergone either 1-stage closure (Warsaw group, 41 boys and 19 girls, mean age 10.8 years, SD 2.0) or 3-stage (Nijmegen group, 30 boys and 18 girls, mean age 8.9 years, SD 0.7). A 5-grade esthetic index of Asher-McDade was used, in which grade 1 indicates the most esthetic and grade 5 the least esthetic outcome. RESULTS: The nasal form was judged the least esthetic in both groups and graded 3.1 (SD 1.1) and 3.2 (SD 1.1). The nasal deviation, mucocutaneous junction, and profile view were scored from 2.1 (SD 0.8) to 2.3 (SD 1.0) in both groups. The treatment outcome after the Warsaw and Nijmegen protocols was comparable. Neither overall nor any of the 4 components of the nasolabial appearance showed intercenter differences (P > .1). CONCLUSIONS: The nasolabial appearance after the Warsaw (1-stage) and Nijmegen (3-stage) protocols was comparable. The technique of lip repair (triangular flap in Warsaw and Millard rotation advancement in Nijmegen) gave comparable results for the esthetics of the nasolabial area.

Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorber thinning and the homo-interface model: Influence of Mo back contact and 3-stage process on device characteristics

Thinning the absorber layer is one of the possibilities envisaged to further decrease the production costs of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGSe) thin films solar cell technology. In the present study, the electronic transport in submicron CIGSe-based devices has been investigated and compared to that of standard devices. It is observed that when the absorber is around 0.5 μm-thick, tunnelling enhanced interface recombination dominates, which harms cells energy conversion efficiency. It is also shown that by varying either the properties of the Mo back contact or the characteristics of 3-stage growth processing, one can shift the dominating recombination mechanism from interface to space charge region and thereby improve the cells efficiency. Discussions on these experimental facts led to the conclusions that 3-stage process implies the formation of a CIGSe/CIGSe homo-interface, whose location as well as properties rule the device operation; its influence is enhanced in submicron CIGSe based solar cells.

Single polarization, dual wavelength fiber laser based on a 3-stage all fiber lyot filter

We have demonstrated a switchable dual wavelength fiber ring laser with a high degree of polarization output by using an intracavity 3-stage all fiber Lyot filter. The filter is formed by concatenating four 45° tilted fiber gratings separated by polarization maintaining fibers with a length ratio of 1:2:4 (20, 40, and 80 cm), giving a compact integrated configuration with reduced bandwidth. Switchable dual wavelength or single wavelength output at 1533.5 and 1563.3 nm has been achieved. The output lasing is considerably stable owing to the in-phase mode-selecting function of the multistage Lyot filter, and has a very high degree of polarization higher than 99.9%. © 1989-2012 IEEE.

Classical strings in AdS(4) x CP(3) with three angular momenta

In this paper, rotating strings in three directions of AdS(4) x CP(3) geometry are studied; its divergent energy limit, and conserved charges are also determined. An interpretation of these configurations as either giant magnons or spiky strings is discussed.

Government salary tables, 1936, showing basic salaries in accordance with the provisions of the Classification Act approved March 4, 1923, as amended by the acts approved may 28, 1928 and July 3, 1930; three and one-half percent deduction in accordance with the amendments to the Civil Service Retirement Act approved July 3, 1926, and May 29, 1930 as well as basic salaries less three and one-half percent. Issued February 26, 1936.

At head of title: General Accounting Office. Office of the comptroller general of the United States.

A comparison between thin film solar cells made from co-evaporated CuIn1-xGaxSe2using a one-stage process versus a three-stage process

Until this day, the most efficient Cu(In,Ga)Se2 thin film solar cells have been prepared using a rather complex growth process often referred to as three-stage or multistage. This family of processes is mainly characterized by a first step deposited with only In, Ga and Se flux to form a first layer. Cu is added in a second step until the film becomes slightly Cu-rich, where-after the film is converted to its final Cu-poor composition by a third stage, again with no or very little addition of Cu. In this paper, a comparison between solar cells prepared with the three-stage process and a one-stage/in-line process with the same composition, thickness, and solar cell stack is made. The one-stage process is easier to be used in an industrial scale and do not have Cu-rich transitions. The samples were analyzed using glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, current–voltage-temperature, capacitance-voltage, external quantum efficiency, transmission/reflection, and photoluminescence. It was concluded that in spite of differences in the texturing, morphology and Ga gradient, the electrical performance of the two types of samples is quite similar as demonstrated by the similar J–V behavior, quantum spectral response, and the estimated recombination losses.

Correlation Between Testosterone And Psa Kinetics In Metastatic Prostate Cancer Patients Treated With Diverse Chemical Castrations.

To assess total testosterone and prostatic-specific antigen (PSA) kinetics among diverse chemical castrations, advanced-stage prostate cancer patients were randomized into three groups of 20: Group 1, Leuprolide 3.75 mg; Group 2, Leuprolide 7.5 mg; and Group 3, Goserelin 3.6 mg. All groups were treated with monthly application of the respective drugs. The patients' levels of serum total testosterone and PSA were evaluated at two time periods: before the treatment and 3 months after the treatment. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was utilized to verify the hypothesis of linear correlation between total testosterone and PSA levels. At the beginning the patients' age, stage, grade, PSA, and total testosterone were similar within the three groups, with median age 72, 70, and 70 years in Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Three months after the treatment, patients who received Leuprolide 7.5 mg presented significantly lower median total testosterone levels compared with Goserelin 3.6 mg and Leuprolide 3.75 mg (9.5 ng/dL vs. 20.0 ng/dL vs. 30.0 ng/dL, respectively; p = .0072), while those who received Goserelin 3.6 mg presented significantly lower PSA levels compared with Leuprolide 7.5 mg and Leuprolide 3.75 mg (0.67 vs. 1.86 vs. 2.57, respectively; p = .0067). There was no linear correlation between total testosterone and PSA levels. Overall, regarding castration levels of total testosterone, 28.77% of patients did not obtain levels ≤50 ng/dL and 47.80% did not obtain levels ≤20 ng/dL. There was no correlation between total testosterone and PSA kinetics and no equivalence among different pharmacological castrations.

Evaluation of the xenodiagnosis of chronic Chagas patients infected ten years or over in an area where transmission has been interrupted - Iguatama and Pains, west Minas Gerais State, Brazil

To evaluate the results of xenodiagnosis in chronic Chagas patients infected for ten years or over in an area where transmission has been stemmed as well as the performance of these tests applied one or more times to determine the presence of the paraiste in serum-positive patients for Trypanosoma cruzi infection, 570 xenodiagnosis were performed in 246 patients by exoposing each pacient to 40 Triatoma infestans nymphs of 3 rd/4th stage once, twice or three times, at 30 days intervals. The 570 xenodiagnosis showed overall positive results in 50.7% with a peak 78% in patients under 20 years of age, and 60.5% in those over 60. Of the l58 patients who underwent three xenodiagnosis, 51 (32.3%) had three positive tests, 48 (30.3%) had all negative results, and the remainder had alternating positve and negative findings. There was no difference in number of positive results between the 1st, 2nd and 2rd tests; however, the 1st and 2nd trials added up to 53.2% and the sum total of all three trials was 57.7%.

Concurrent use of cisplatin or cetuximab with definitive radiotherapy for locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. Strahlentherapie in Kombination mit platinbasierter Chemotherapie oder Cetuximab zur Behandlung von lokal fortgeschrittenen Plattenepithelkarzinomen im Kopf-Hals-Bereich.

AIM: The goal of the present work was to compare outcomes of definitive concurrent cisplatin-based chemoradiotherapy (CRT) with cetuximab-based bioradiotherapy (BRT) in locally advanced head-and-neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2006 and 2012, 265 patients with locally advanced HNSCC were treated at our institution with CRT (n = 194; 73 %) with three cycles of cisplatin (100 mg/m(2), every 3 weeks) or BRT (n = 71; 27 %) with weekly cetuximab. Patients receiving BRT had more pre-existing conditions (Charlson index ≥ 2) than the CRT group (p = 0.005). RESULTS: Median follow-up was 29 months. In all, 56 % of patients treated with CRT received the planned three cycles (92 % at least two cycles) and 79 % patients treated with BRT received six cycles or more. The 2-year actuarial overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 72 % and 61 %, respectively. In the multivariate analysis (MVA), T4 stage, N2-3 stage, smoking status (current smoker as compared with never smoker), and non-oropharyngeal locations predicted for OS, whereas BRT association with OS was of borderline significance (p = 0.054). The 2-year actuarial locoregional control (LRC) and distant control (DC) rates were 73 and 79 %, respectively. CRT was independently associated with an improved LRC (2-year LRC: 76 % for CRT vs. 61 % for BRT) and DC (2-year LRC: 81 % for CRT vs. 68 % for BRT) in comparison with BRT (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01 in the MVA). Subgroup analyses showed that T4 patients benefited significantly from CRT (vs. BRT) in LRC, while T1-3 did not. BRT patients had more G3-4 skin complications (p < 0.001) and CRT patients had higher rates of feeding tube placement (p = 0.006) and G3-4 gastrointestinal toxicities (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: This retrospective analysis showed a better LRC in locally advanced HNSCC treated by cisplatin-based CRT than cetuximab-based BRT, and a nonsignificant trend towards an improved OS.

Seminoma arising in corrected and uncorrected inguinal cryptorchidism: treatment and prognosis in 66 patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to analyze prognosis and treatment results for seminoma arising in corrected and uncorrected inguinal cryptorchidism (SCIC and SUIC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: We reviewed 66 patients with inguinal seminomas between June 1958 and December 1991 at the Cancer Hospital and Institute of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Of these patients, 23 had prior orchiopexy and 43 presented with an inguinal form of cryptorchidism. At presentation, 17 of 66 (26%) patients had nodal metastases. This nodal involvement was 30% (7 of 23) for SCIC and 23% (10 of 43) for SUIC, respectively. These numbers are comparable with those in a series of patients treated for scrotal seminoma at our institution (26% vs. 20%). However, 3 of 23 (13%) patients who had prior orchiopexy presented with inguinal nodal metastasis as compared with 0 of 43 patients with SUIC or 4 of 237 patients with scrotal seminoma (p < .05). There were 49 stage I, 5 stage IIA, 8 stage IIB, 3 stage III, and 1 stage IV patients. All patients underwent radical orchiectomy and received further radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or both. Patients with stage I and stage II disease were treated primarily with radiotherapy, whereas patients with stage III and IV disease were treated with chemotherapy. RESULTS: The overall and disease-free survival at 5 and 10 years was 94% and 92%, 89% and 87%, respectively. The overall 5- and 10-year survival by stage was 100% and 100% for stage I, and 77% and 68% for stage II, respectively (p < .05). There was no significant difference in survival between SUIC and SCIC (93% vs. 96% at 5 years). Four patients developed relapse. Two of these four patients experienced relapse at the inguinal area, due to a marginal miss. Three of four patients with relapse were successfully salvaged, and one died of disease. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that prognosis for inguinal seminoma is excellent and similar to that of scrotal seminoma. Postorchiectomy radiotherapy can be considered as the standard treatment for stage I and IIA inguinal seminoma. We recommend routinely including the para-aortic and ipsilateral pelvic nodes.

Algorithms for two-dimensional cutting stock and strip packing problems using dynamic programming and column generation

We investigate several two-dimensional guillotine cutting stock problems and their variants in which orthogonal rotations are allowed. We first present two dynamic programming based algorithms for the Rectangular Knapsack (RK) problem and its variants in which the patterns must be staged. The first algorithm solves the recurrence formula proposed by Beasley; the second algorithm - for staged patterns - also uses a recurrence formula. We show that if the items are not so small compared to the dimensions of the bin, then these algorithms require polynomial time. Using these algorithms we solved all instances of the RK problem found at the OR-LIBRARY, including one for which no optimal solution was known. We also consider the Two-dimensional Cutting Stock problem. We present a column generation based algorithm for this problem that uses the first algorithm above mentioned to generate the columns. We propose two strategies to tackle the residual instances. We also investigate a variant of this problem where the bins have different sizes. At last, we study the Two-dimensional Strip Packing problem. We also present a column generation based algorithm for this problem that uses the second algorithm above mentioned where staged patterns are imposed. In this case we solve instances for two-, three- and four-staged patterns. We report on some computational experiments with the various algorithms we propose in this paper. The results indicate that these algorithms seem to be suitable for solving real-world instances. We give a detailed description (a pseudo-code) of all the algorithms presented here, so that the reader may easily implement these algorithms. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.