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Abstract: To evaluate and compare the dosimetry of field-in-field (FIF) and wedged beams (WB) techniques for patients with breast cancer receiving adjuvant radiotherapy after conservative surgery. A total of 89 patients with breast cancer participated in this study. Each patient received a computed tomography–based treatment plan with opposed tangential fields. Two planning techniques (FIF and WB) were generated for each patient by using the Pinnacle treatment-planning system. Three indices, the homogeneity index (HI), conformity index (CI), and uniformity index (UI), as well as maximum dose (Dmax), median dose (D50), number of portals, monitor unit (MU), and lung volume at 20Gy (lung20) were used for comparison. The mean values tested using a t-test indicated that the WB technique had a significantly lower HI (p < 0.0001), a significantly higher CI (p < 0.0001), and a significantly higher D50 (p = 0.0002) than did the FIF technique. The FIF technique had a significantly higher Dmax compared with the WB technique, but lung20 did not exhibit a significant difference. By contrast, the FIF technique had a significantly higher UI and a significantly lower MU compared with the WB technique, but a significantly higher number of portals were found in the FIF technique. The FIF technique did not demonstrate superior dosimetric results. The WB technique had a significantly lower HI, higher CI, lower Dmax, and lower number of portals; but the FIF technique had a significantly higher UI and lower MU. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Twenty-five Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms were selected for genetic classification. • Scanning electron microscopy micromorphology and quantitative taxonomy were used to classify the germplasms. • Validated expressed sequence tags markers were also used to classify the Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms. • All methods were combined to identify and name four new Rehmannia glutinosa cultivars. • Provides the first scientific basis for the sorting of Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms. Abstract Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch. is a valuable medicinal and industrial crop, in the clinical use of traditional Chinese medicine has been a thousand years of history, grown widely in the central plain of China. Different cultivars have wide differences in crop yield and quality. Furthermore, long-term mixed cultivation has led to a serious confusion between Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms, which has significantly restricted the breeding of fine cultivars. In this study, 25 core Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms were collected and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to obtain micromorphology. Quantitative taxonomy was then used to identify the genetic relationship between the Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms. Forty agronomic traits, including 24 scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micromorphology traits, were chosen to construct the quantitative taxonomy dendrogram. In addition, expressed sequence tags (EST) derived microsatellite markers were also identified and validated in the 25 different Rehmannia glutinosa germplasms to confirm the genetic relationships. Based on a combination of these approaches, four new cultivars were discovered, and were given the standard names “Huaidihuang 01 2017, Huaidihuang 02 2017, Huaidihuang 03 2017 and Huaidihuang 04 2017” according to the international code of nomenclature for cultivated plants (ICNCP) (1995 edition). The study has provided important pollen and seed micromorphology data, as well as genetic diversity data, that can be used as basis for the scientific classification and identification of Rehmannia glutinosa cultivars. It also indicates the hierarchical status of the newly identified cultivars, which will help in protecting the germplasm resources, as well as in Rehmannia glutinosa introduction, cultivation, and breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute skin reaction during adjuvant radiotherapy for breast cancer is an inevitable process, and its severity is related to the skin dose. A high–skin dose area can be speculated based on the isodose distribution shown on a treatment planning. To determine whether treatment planning can reflect high–skin dose location, 80 patients were collected and their skin doses in different areas were measured using a thermoluminescent dosimeter to locate the highest–skin dose area in each patient. We determined whether the skin dose is consistent with the highest-dose area estimated by the treatment planning of the same patient. The χ 2 and Fisher exact tests revealed that these 2 methods yielded more consistent results when the highest-dose spots were located in the axillary and breast areas but not in the inframammary area. We suggest that skin doses shown on the treatment planning might be a reliable and simple alternative method for estimating the highest skin doses in some areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]