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The clinical and financial effects of mental disorders are largely unknown among gastrointestinal (GI) cancer patients. Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare linked database, we identified patients whose first cancer was a primary colorectal, pancreatic, gastric, hepatic/biliary, esophageal, or anal cancer as well as those with coexisting depression, anxiety, psychotic, or bipolar disorder. Survival, chemotherapy use, total healthcare expenditures, and patient out-of-pocket expenditures were estimated and compared based on the presence of a mental disorder. We identified 112,283 patients, 23,726 (21%) of whom had a coexisting mental disorder. Median survival for patients without a mental disorder was 52 months (95% CI 50-53 months) and for patients with a mental disorder was 43 months (95% CI 42-44 months) (p

Radiation often plays a part in cancer treatment due to its ability to spare or target organs that surgery might not be able to. This is especially relevant to areas like Head and Neck (h/n) cancers, due to the complex anatomy of this region. However, radiation to the h/n region produces a significant amount of radiation related side effects, including xerostomia, dysphagia, mucositis, and skin reactions (Brook, 2021). These side effects are hard to predict and vary from patient to patient (Brook, 2021). In recent years, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help make clinical judgments in Radiation Oncology for h/n cancers have started to be explored in research. Specifically, the use of AI has been researched to predict individual levels and risks of side effects. Due to radiation related side effects, up to 57% of h/n patients are reported to miss treatments, leading to a four-time increased risk of worsening locoregional control (Miller et al., 2022). Because of this, the focus on this paper is explore research papers that investigate the potential use AI in predicting radiation related side effects in h/n cancer patients. By accurately predicting individual risk, health care providers can better prepare their patients and help assist with increased quality of life and consistency in treatment. A literature review was conducted. In literature, research has focused on using AI to predict xerostomia, weight loss, dysphagia, and mucositis in h/n patients. Of these four, xerostomia has been the focus of many papers and shows the most potential for clinical use. However, while many papers focused on xerostomia are robust with many algorithms showing high Area Under the Curve (AUC) values (indicating high algorithm performance), larger studies with more external validation are still needed before its application. Importantly, many algorithms studied show potential to not only predict mucositis but also specific dose gradients to avoid, leading to the potential of reducing this side effect all together. Literature remains sparse for dysphagia, weight loss and mucositis. Despite this, many of these side effects have be explored in single institution studies that indicate much promise for further research. While more research is needed globally in this area of cancer treatment, AI shows strong potential, especially in predicting and mitigating xerostomia. It is possible that one day, utilizing AI to predict individual levels of side effects can help with personalized teachings, prophylactic care and better preparation of inter-professional involvement to significantly enhance the care for h/n cancer patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disinfection of gloved hands is advocated increasingly in situations where visibly unsoiled gloves are used during multiple clinical activities on the same patient. As there are no data demonstrating that such practice attributes to lower bacterial transfer during clinical care, a standardized experimental study was conducted. Gloved hands touched chicken breasts contaminated with Staphylococcus epidermidis with or without disinfection before touching sterile catheter valves. Contaminated gloves transferred 5.18 log10 colony-forming units (cfu) S. epidermidis to the catheter valves. Disinfection of contaminated gloves significantly reduced the numbers transferred to 0.78 log10 cfu. Disinfection of gloved hands may reduce the risk of transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

14 C is an important consideration within safety assessments for proposed geological disposal facilities for radioactive wastes, since it is capable of re-entering the biosphere through the generation of 14 C bearing gases. The irradiation of graphite moderators in the UK gas-cooled nuclear power stations has led to the generation of a significant volume of 14 C-containing intermediate level wastes. Some of this 14 C is present as a carbonaceous deposit on channel wall surfaces. Within this study, the potential of biofilm growth upon irradiated and 13 C doped graphite at alkaline pH was investigated. Complex biofilms were established on both active and simulant samples. High throughput sequencing showed the biofilms to be dominated by Alcaligenes sp at pH 9.5 and Dietzia sp at pH 11.0. Surface characterisation revealed that the biofilms were limited to growth upon the graphite surface with no penetration of the deeper porosity. Biofilm formation resulted in the generation of a low porosity surface layer without the removal or modification of the surface deposits or the release of the associated 14 C/ 13 C. Our results indicated that biofilm formation upon irradiated graphite is likely to occur at the pH values studied, without any additional release of the associated 14 C.

Sporicidal products are of considerable importance in healthcare environments due to the requirement for products that are capable of dealing with contamination with Clostridium difficile spores. Sporicidal testing standards to validate the claims of sporicidal activity are an important tool in the evaluation of commercial sporicides. Within Europe there are a number of sporicidal testing standards which are often used to validate the claims of commercial sporicides. However, the extent to which these standards reflect the practical application of sporicides in healthcare settings is limited since they employ long contact times (≥30min) and do not involve surface contamination. Alternative international standards are available which employ contaminated carriers rather than spore suspensions, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is currently developing a unified set of standards which are more realistic in their design than the currently available European standards. This paper reviews the currently available testing standards for sporicides, highlighting the key procedural differences between them and the extent to which they reflect the practical application of sporicidal products. Some of the common problems and errors associated with the application of the European sporicidal standard methods are also highlighted and discussed. Finally gaps in the currently available testing standards are identified and discussed., (Copyright © 2010 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A small-scale greenhouse investigation was undertaken using Goat willow (Salix caprea) and aspen (Populus tremula) to evaluate the potential of short rotation coppice for remediation of 137Cs- and 90Sr-contaminated sites. Results showed that both species were able to accumulate these radionuclides from a representative disposal soil (aged) and a spiked soil S. caprea accumulating greater levels of 137Cs than P. tremula, with no difference between species for 90Sr accumulation. For each radionuclide, the distribution in both species was similar, with 137Cs accumulation greatest in the roots, whereas 90Sr accumulation was greatest in the leaves. It was also evident that the soil-to-plant transfer factor (Tf) values for 90Sr were greater than for 137Cs, agreeing with differences in the reported bioavailailablity of these radionuclides in soil Based on the Tf values for S. caprea (conservative), estimated remediation times were 92 and 56 yr, for 137Cs and 90Sr, respectively. It is suggested that the selection of Salix species grown in a system of SRC provides a significant opportunity for removal of both 137Cs and 90Sr, primarily due to its higher biomass production. However, for 137Cs phytoremediation investigations into the appropriate use of soil amendments for increasing bioavailability are required.