Quality assurance of the EORTC 22043-30041 trial in post-operative radiotherapy in prostate cancer: Results of the Dummy Run procedure.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The EORTC 22043-30041 trial investigates the role of the addition of androgen suppression to post-operative radiotherapy in patients who have undergone radical prostatectomy. As part of the quality assurance of radiotherapy (QART) a Dummy Run (DR) procedure was performed. MATERIALS AND METHOD: The protocol included detailed and published delineation guidelines. Participating institutions digitally submitted radiotherapy treatment volumes and a treatment plan for a standard clinical case. Submissions were centrally reviewed using the VODCA software platform. RESULTS: Thirty-eight submissions from thirty-one institutions were reviewed. Six were accepted without comments. Twenty-three were accepted with comments on one or more items: target volume delineation (22), OAR delineation (23), planning and dosimetry (3) or treatment verification (1). Nine submissions were rejected requiring resubmission, seven for target volume delineation reasons alone. Intervention to highlight the importance of delineation guidelines was made prior to the entry of the first patient in the trial. After this, a lower percentage of resubmissions was required. CONCLUSIONS: The EORTC 22043-30041 Dummy Run highlights the need for timely and effective QART in clinical trials. The variation in target volume and OAR definition demonstrates that clinical guidelines and radiotherapy protocols are not a substitute for QART procedures. Early intervention in response to the Dummy Run improved protocol understanding.

Line extension influence on brand image: a study on the alcoholic beverage market in Brazil

The present study has the objective of understanding the influence of line extensions on the image of vodka brands. The research was performed by organizing various focus groups with vodka consumers in São Paulo. These focus groups allowed exploring and analyzing how the last line extensions of vodka brands have modified the image the consumers had of the brand. Three hypotheses were distinguished as an outcome of the research: (1) The influence of a line extension on brand image depends heavily on the initial image the consumers have of the brand. For a vodka brand with an average or bad image, launching a line extension with a perceived average or bad quality does not modify the brand image. On the contrary, for a vodka brand with a positive initial brand image, launching a line extension with perceived high quality led to a positive change in the brand image. (2) For vodka brands, a vertical line extension recognized as having high authenticity provokes a transfer of attributes from the extended product to the brand. (3) Among Keller’s (1993) dimensions of brand image, non-product related attributes and especially packaging are the one that are the most influenced by line extensions of vodka brands.

Determinação do perfil sensorial de amostras comerciais de cachaça

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Determinação do teor alcoólico de vodcas: uma abordagem multidisciplinar no ensino da física, química e matemática

In this paper, it is proposed an experimental activity to be developed with high school students, addressing the concepts of density and surface tension from a multidisciplinary approach among Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. In this proposal, students are challenged to determine the alcohol content of vodkas from intensive physical properties of liquids. Two calibration curves were obtained, one for density and another for surface tension as a function of ethanol concentration in water. The alcohol levels obtained from these properties were very close to the values given by manufacturers, due the similarity of these beverages with ethanol-water binary mixtures.