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World Cultures/Culture in Africa/Culture of South Africa

The culture of South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. The South African black majority still has a substantial number of rural inhabitants who lead largely impoverished lives. It is among these people, however, that cultural traditions survive most strongly; as blacks have become increasingly urbanised and Westernised, aspects of traditional culture have declined. Urban blacks usually speak English or Afrikaans in addition to their native tongue. There are smaller but still significant groups of speakers of Khoisan languages, not included in the eleven official languages, but are one of the eight other officially recognised languages. There are small groups of speakers of endangered languages, most of which are from the Khoi-San family, that receive no official status; however, some groups within South Africa are attempting to promote their use and revival.

Members of middle class, who are predominantly white but whose ranks include growing numbers of people of colour, have lifestyles similar in many respects to that of people found in Western Europe, North America and Australasia. Members of the middle class often study and work abroad for greater exposure to the markets of the world.

Indian South Africans preserve their cultural heritage, languages and religious beliefs, being either Christian, Hindu or Muslim and speaking English, with Indian languages like Hindi, Telugu, Tamil or Gujarati being spoken less frequently as second languages. The first Indians arrived on the Truro ship as indentured labourers in Natal to work the Sugar Cane Fields, while the rest arrived as traders. A post-apartheid wave of South Asian (including Pakistani) immigration has also influenced South African Indian culture. There is a much smaller Chinese South African community, made up of early immigrants, apartheid-era immigrants from Taiwan, and post-apartheid immigrants from mainland China.

Art
The oldest art objects in the world were discovered in a South African cave. Dating from 75,000 years ago, these small drilled snail shells could have no other function than to have been strung on a string as a necklace. South Africa was one of the cradles of the human species. One of the defining characteristics of our species is the making of art (from Latin 'ars' meaning worked or formed from basic material).

The scattered tribes of Khoisan peoples moving into South Africa from around 10,000 BC had their own fluent art styles seen today in a multitude of cave paintings. They were superseded by Bantu and Nguni peoples with their own vocabularies of art forms. In the 20th century, traditional tribal forms of art were scattered and re-melded by the divisive policies of apartheid.

New forms of art evolved in the mines and townships: a dynamic art using everything from plastic strips to bicycle spokes. The Dutch-influenced folk art of the Afrikaner Trekboer and the urban white artists earnestly following changing European traditions from the 1850s onwards also contributed to this eclectic mix, which continues to evolve today.

Contemporary South Africa has a vibrant art scene, with artists receiving international recognition. The recent 'Figures and Fictions' exhibition of South African photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London included the work of Mikhael Subotzky, Zanele Muholi, David Goldblatt, Zwelethu Mthethwa and Guy Tillim. Contemporary South African artists whose work has been met with international acclaim include Marlene Dumas and William Kentridge.

Architecture
The architecture of South Africa mirrors the vast ethnic and cultural diversity of the country and its historical colonial period. In addition, influences from other, distant, countries, have contributed to the variety of the South African architectural landscape.

Herbert Baker, among the country's most influential architects, designed the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Other buildings of note include the Rhodes memorial and St George's Cathedral in Cape Town, and St John's College in Johannesburg.

Cape Dutch architecture was prominent in the early days (17th century) of the Cape Colony, and the name derives from the fact that the initial settlers of the Cape were primarily Dutch. The style has roots in mediaeval Holland, Germany, France and Indonesia. Houses in this style have a distinctive and recognisable design, with a prominent feature being the grand, ornately rounded gables, reminiscent of features in townhouses of Amsterdam built in the Dutch style.

The rural landscape of South Africa is populated with traditional African architecture.

Literature
South Africa's unique social and political history has generated a rich variety of literatures, with themes spanning precolonial life, the days of apartheid, and the lives of people in the "new South Africa".

Many of the first black South African print authors were missionary-educated, and many thus wrote in either English or Afrikaans. One of the first well known novels written by a black author in an African language was Solomon Thekiso Plaatje's Mhudi, written in 1930.

Notable white English-language South African authors include Nadine Gordimer who was, in Seamus Heaney's words, one of "the guerrillas of the imagination", and who became the first South African and the seventh woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Her most famous novel, July's People, was released in 1981, depicting the collapse of white-minority rule.

Athol Fugard, whose plays have been regularly premiered in fringe theatres in South Africa, London (The Royal Court Theatre), and New York City. Olive Schreiner's The Story of an African Farm (1883) was a revelation in Victorian literature: it is heralded by many as introducing feminism into the novel form.

Alan Paton published the acclaimed novel Cry, the Beloved Country in 1948. He told the tale of a black priest who comes to Johannesburg to find his son, which became an international best-seller. During the 1950s, Drum magazine became a hotbed of political satire, fiction, and essays, giving a voice to urban black culture.

Afrikaans-language writers also began to write controversial material. Breyten Breytenbach was jailed for his involvement with the guerrilla movement against apartheid. Andre Brink was the first Afrikaner writer to be banned by the government after he released the novel A Dry White Season about a white South African who discovers the truth about a black friend who dies in police custody.

John Maxwell (JM) Coetzee was also first published in the 1970s, and became internationally recognised in 1983 with his Booker Prize winning novel Life & Times of Michael K. His 1999 novel Disgrace won him his second Booker Prize as well as the 2000 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. He is also the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2003.

English writer J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, was born in Bloemfontein in 1892.

Poetry
South Africa has a rich tradition of oral poetry. Several influential African poets became prominent in the 1970s such as Mongane Wally Serote, whose most famous work, No Baby Must Weep, gave insight into the every day lives of black South Africans under apartheid. Another famous black novelist, Zakes Mda, transitioned from poetry and plays to becoming a novelist in the same time period. His novel, The Heart of Redness won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize and was made a part of the school curriculum across South Africa.

Cinema
While many foreign films have been produced about South Africa (usually involving race relations), few local productions are known outside South Africa itself. One exception was the film The Gods Must Be Crazy in 1980, set in the Kalahari. This is about how life in a traditional community of Bushmen is changed when a Coke bottle, thrown out of an aeroplane, suddenly lands from the sky. The late Jamie Uys, who wrote and directed The Gods Must Be Crazy, also had success overseas in the 1970s with his films Funny People and Funny People II, similar to the TV series Candid Camera in the US. Leon Schuster's You Must Be Joking! films are in the same genre, and hugely popular among South Africans.

Arguably, the most high-profile film portraying South Africa in recent years was "District 9". Directed by Neill Blomkamp, a native South African, and produced by Peter Jackson, the action/science-fiction film depicts a sub-class of alien refugees forced to live in the slums of Johannesburg in what many saw as a creative allegory for apartheid. The film was a critical and commercial success worldwide, and was nominated for Best Picture at the 82nd Academy Awards.

Other notable exceptions are the film Tsotsi, which won the Academy Award for Foreign Language Film at the 78th Academy Awards in 2006 as well as U-Carmen e-Khayelitsha, which won the Golden Bear at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival.

Music
There is great diversity in music from South Africa. Many black musicians who sang in Afrikaans or English during apartheid have since begun to sing in traditional African languages, and have developed a unique style called Kwaito. Of note is Brenda Fassie, who launched to fame with her song "Weekend Special", which was sung in English. More famous traditional musicians include Ladysmith Black Mambazo, while the Soweto String Quartet performs classic music with an African flavour. White and Coloured South African singers are historically influenced by European musical styles.

South Africa has produced world-famous jazz musicians, notably Hugh Masekela, Jonas Gwangwa, Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba, Jonathan Butler, Chris McGregor, and Sathima Bea Benjamin. Afrikaans music covers multiple genres, such as the contemporary Steve Hofmeyr and the punk rock band Fokofpolisiekar. Crossover artists such as Verity (internationally recognised for innovation in the music industry) and Johnny Clegg and his bands Juluka and Savuka have enjoyed various success underground, publicly, and abroad.

The South African music scene includes Kwaito, a new music genre that had developed in the mid-1980s and has since developed to become the most popular socio-economic form of representation among the populace. Some may argue that the political aspects of Kwaito have diminished after Apartheid, and the relative interest in politics has become a minor aspect of daily life. Others argue that in a sense, Kwaito is in fact a political force that shows activism in its apolitical actions.

Today, major corporations like Sony, BMG, and EMI have appeared on the South African scene to produce and distribute Kwaito music. Due to its overwhelming popularity, as well as the general influence of DJs, who are among the top 5 most influential types of people within the country, Kwaito has taken over radio, television, and magazines.

Cuisine
The cuisine of South Africa is heavily meat-based and has spawned the distinctively South African social gathering known as a braai, or barbecue. Braai is widely popular and includes meat, especially boerewors or spicy sausages, and mielies (maize) or Mielie-meal, often as a porridge, or pearl millet, a staple food of black South Africans. Pastries such like koeksisters and desserts like melktert (milk tart) are also universally popular. Vegetarianism is becoming widely accepted.

Indian food like curry is also popular, especially in Durban with its large Indian population. Another local Indian Durban speciality is the 'bunny' or bunny chow, which consists of a hollowed-out loaf of white bread filled with curry.

The Portuguese community has also made its mark, with spicy peri-peri chicken being a favourite. The South African Portuguese-themed restaurant chain Nando's now has restaurants in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, Malaysia and Kenya.

Wine
South Africa has developed into a major wine producer, with some of the best vineyards lying in valleys around Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and Barrydale. South African wine has a history dating back to 1659, and at one time Constantia was considered one of the greatest wines in the world. Access to international markets has unleashed a burst of new energy and new investment. Production is concentrated around Cape Town, with major vineyard and production centres at Paarl, Stellenbosch and Worcester.

There are about 60 appellations within the Wine of Origin (WO) system, which was implemented in 1973 with a hierarchy of designated production regions, districts and wards. WO wines must be made 100% from grapes from the designated area. "Single vineyard" wines must come from a defined area of less than 5 hectares. An "Estate Wine" can come from adjacent farms, as long as they are farmed together and wine is produced on site. A ward is an area with a distinctive soil type and/or climate, and is roughly equivalent to a European appellation.

Education
Learners have twelve years of formal schooling, from grade 1 to 12. Grade R is a pre-primary foundation year. Primary schools span the first seven years of schooling. High School education spans a further five years. The Senior Certificate examination takes place at the end of grade 12 and is necessary for tertiary studies at a South African university. See: Matriculation in South Africa; High school in South Africa

Public universities in South Africa are divided into three types: traditional universities, which offer theoretically oriented university degrees; universities of technology ("Technikons"), which offer vocational oriented diplomas and degrees; and comprehensive universities, which offer both types of qualification. Public institutions are usually English medium, although instruction may take place in Afrikaans as well. There are also a large number of other educational institutions in South Africa – some are local campuses of foreign universities, some conduct classes for students who write their exams at the distance-education University of South Africa and some offer unaccredited or non-accredited diplomas. See: List of universities in South Africa; List of post secondary institutions in South Africa; Category:Higher education in South Africa

Public expenditure on education was at 5.4% of the 2002–05 GDP.

Under apartheid, schools for blacks were subject to discrimination through inadequate funding and a separate syllabus called Bantu Education which was only designed to give them sufficient skills to work as labourers. Redressing these imbalances has been a focus of recent education policy; see Education in South Africa: Restructuring.

Gender roles
In general, all racial and ethnic groups in South Africa have long-standing beliefs concerning gender roles, and most are based on the premise that women are less important, or less deserving of power, than men. Most African traditional social organisations are male centred and male dominated. Even in the 1990s, in some rural areas of South Africa, for example, wives walk a few paces behind their husbands in keeping with traditional practices. A minority of ultra-conservative Afrikaners' religious beliefs, too, include a strong emphasis on the theoretically biblically based notion that women's contributions to society should normally be approved by, or be on behalf of, men. English speaking whites tend to be the most liberal group, including on issues pertaining to gender roles.

In the 20th century, economic and political developments presented South African women with both new obstacles and new opportunities to wield influence. For example, labour force requirements in cities and mining areas have often drawn men away from their homes for months at a time, and, as a result, women have borne many traditionally male responsibilities in the village and home. Women have had to guarantee the day-to-day survival of their families and to carry out financial and legal transactions that otherwise would have been reserved for men.

Sexual orientation
Although the Constitutional and legal system in South Africa theoretically ensure equality, social acceptance is generally lacking, especially outside of urban areas. Gay women from smaller towns (especially the townships) are often victims of beating or rape. This has been posited, in part, to be because of the perceived threat they pose to traditional male authority. Although evidence of hatred may influence rulings on a case-by-case basis, South Africa has no specific "hate crime" legislation; human rights organisations have criticised the South African police for failing to address the matter of bias motivated crimes.

For example, the NGO ActionAid has condemned the continued impunity and accused governments of turning a blind eye to reported murders of lesbians in homophobic attacks in South Africa; as well as to so-called "corrective" rapes, including cases among pupils, in which cases the male rapists purport to raping the lesbian victim with the intent of thereby "curing" her of her sexual orientation. Human rights watchdogs believe that much of the sexism and homophobia that erupts is tied to male frustration with unemployment and poverty.

Science and technology
Several important scientific and technological developments have originated in South Africa. The first human-to-human heart transplant was performed by cardiac surgeon Christiaan Barnard at Groote Schuur Hospital in December 1967. Max Theiler developed a vaccine against Yellow Fever, Allan McLeod Cormack pioneered x-ray Computed tomography, and Aaron Klug developed crystallographic electron microscopy techniques. These advancements were all (with the exception of that of Barnard) recognised with Nobel Prizes. Sydney Brenner won most recently, in 2002, for his pioneering work in molecular biology.

Mark Shuttleworth founded an early Internet security company Thawte, that was subsequently bought out by world-leader VeriSign.

South Africa has cultivated a burgeoning astronomy community. It hosts the Southern African Large Telescope, the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere. South Africa is currently building the Karoo Array Telescope as a pathfinder for the $20 billion Square Kilometer Array project to be build in South Africa and Australia.

Sports
The most popular sports in South Africa are soccer, rugby union and cricket. Other sports with significant support are hockey, swimming, athletics, golf, boxing, tennis and netball. Although soccer commands the greatest following among the youth, other sports like basketball, surfing, and skateboarding are increasingly popular.

Famous boxing personalities include Baby Jake Jacob Matlala, Vuyani Bungu, Welcome Ncita, Dingaan Thobela, Gerrie Coetzee and Brian Mitchell. Soccer players who have played for major foreign clubs include Lucas Radebe and Philemon Masinga (both formerly of Leeds United), Quinton Fortune (Atlético Madrid and Manchester United), Benni McCarthy (Ajax Amsterdam, F.C. Porto, Blackburn Rovers and West Ham United), Aaron Mokoena (Ajax Amsterdam, Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth), Delron Buckley (Borussia Dortmund) and Steven Pienaar (Ajax Amsterdam and Everton). Durban Surfer Jordy Smith won the 2010 Billabong J-Bay competition making him the no.1 ranked surfer in the world. South Africa produced Formula One motor racing's 1979 world champion Jody Scheckter. Famous current cricket players include Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy, etc. Most of them also participate in the Indian Premier League.

South Africa has also produced numerous world class rugby players, including Francois Pienaar, Joost van der Westhuizen, Danie Craven, Frik du Preez, Naas Botha and Bryan Habana. South Africa hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup and won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. It followed the 1995 Rugby World Cup by hosting the 1996 African Cup of Nations, with the national team going on to win the tournament. It also hosted the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the 2007 World Twenty20 Championship, and it was the host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, which was the first time the tournament was held in Africa. FIFA president Sepp Blatter awarded South Africa a grade 9 out of 10 for successfully hosting the event.

In 2004, the swimming team of Roland Schoeman, Lyndon Ferns, Darian Townsend and Ryk Neethling won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Athens, simultaneously breaking the world record in the 4x100 freestyle relay. Penny Heyns won Olympic Gold in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.

In golf, Gary Player is generally regarded as one of the greatest golfers of all time, having won the Career Grand Slam, one of five golfers to have done so. Other South African golfers to have won major tournaments include Bobby Locke, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Trevor Immelman and Louis Oosthuizen.

Scouting
South Africa has also had a large influence in the Scouting movement, with many Scouting traditions and ceremonies coming from the experiences of Robert Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting) during his time in South Africa as a military officer in the 1890s. The South African Scout Association was one of the first youth organisations to open its doors to youth and adults of all races in South Africa. This happened on 2 July 1977 at a conference known as Quo Vadis.


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User talk:2600:1700:1438:200:CDA6:3E4A:C28F:C45C

Prahlad balaji (T / C) 17:47, 18 September 2020 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


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User talk:103.58.73.116

Prahlad balaji (T / C) 17:47, 18 September 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:103.58.73.116


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User:Krubo/sandbox

Test sandbox 26

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User:Krubo

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Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/August 19

Today in 2004 Inveneo was incorporated, a non-profit organization that helped communities in developing countries to obtain information and communications technology.


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Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/April 14

Today is Yukihiro Matsumoto’s birthday. He is recognized for many years of work on GNU, Ruby, and other Free Software.


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Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/June 9

Today in 1994 the first Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing conference started. It is largest gathering of women in Information Technology.

title: Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/June 9


text: User talk:2.50.141.209

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Exercise as it relates to Disease/Exercise and it’s ability to prevent cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes

This is a critical analysis of the article “Effect of exercise intervention on endothelial function and incidence of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes” by Sadanori Okada, Aki Hiuge, Hisashi Makino, Ayako Nagumo, Hiroshi Takaki, Harumi Konishi, Yoichi Goto, Yasunao Yoshimasa, and Yoshihiro Miyamoto Contents

Background
Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is a progressive chronic condition where the body’s capacity for managing blood glucose levels and its ability to distribute it to necessary tissues is impeded. T2D is often characterized by low levels of insulin, insulin resistance and high levels of blood glucose, specifically glycated haemoglobin referred to as HbA1c. Symptoms often include, fatigue, frequent urination, thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, and poor healing. T2D often comes about because of combination of genetics and lifestyle risks such as obesity, insufficient exercise, and high energy diets. Chronic hyperglycaemia can result in severe health complications for people suffering from T2D, both on a microvascular level (i.e. nephropathies or retinopathies) and/or a macrovascular level. The macrovascular complications can include peripheral and coronary artery disease, atherosclerosis, and various other cardiovascular events. Many of these complications can result in serious debilitation or death.

Where is the research from?
Effect of exercise intervention on endothelial function and incidence of cardiovascular disease in patients with type 2 diabetes by Okada et al was published in the Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis on the 13th of May 2010. The Journal of Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis is published via J-stage which is an online journal database and publisher that is managed by the Japanese Science and Technology agency.

What kind of research was this?
The initial study was a randomised controlled trial (RCT) conducted over a period of three months, and there was a subsequent post hoc study that took place 24 months following randomisation. RCTs seek to reduce bias when testing the effectiveness of specific treatments, be it new or in this case when seeking further understanding of the mechanisms of prior existing treatments. Post hoc studies involve completing analyse after initial research and data collection has concluded.

What did the research involve?
The study aimed to look at the specific role that exercise played in treating T2D. There were 38 participants (21 male, 17 female), broken into two groups, the control, and the intervention. As the study aimed to look at the role of exercise specifically, all participants in both groups received medical and dietary assistance with accord to diabetes treatment guidelines. The intervention included participants training 3-5 times a week, with each session comprising of a 10-minute warm up, 40-minutes aerobic activity, 20-minutes resistance training and a 5-minute cool down for a period of 3 months. Intensity was calculated at 60% based on the Karvonen heart formulae. The study looked at a variety of biological markers which were tested via blood test following a 12 hour overnight fast. These included: LDL, HDL, C reactive protein (CRP), HbA1c, serum adiponectin, and leptin. BMI and peak VO2 were also tested to ascertain any changes to cardiorespiratory fitness and body composition. Insulin sensitivity was determined via the steady-state plasma glucose method (SSPG), where patients receive an infusion of glucose and insulin and blood glucose is measured at 30-minute intervals for 2 hours. Endothelial function was determined via flow-mediated endothelium-dependent vasodilation (FMD), where the brachial artery diameter was measured via ultrasound and was occluded via pneumatic cuff placed around the forearm and was measured for 2-minuyes following cuff deflation. New-onset cardiovascular events were recorded in the 24-month post follow-up(1).

What were the basic results?
In both the intervention and control there was an increase in serum adiponectin levels and HDL and there was a decrease in LDL and HbA1c. In the intervention there was a drop in BMI and increase in Peak VO2 and FMD. There was an increase in Leptin in the control group. Neither group showed any statistically significant changes within CRP levels or SSPG. Within the control group there were four cardiovascular events, with 1 case of angina pectoris and 3 cases of cerebral infarction, whilst the exercise group did not display any new cases.

What conclusions can we take from this research?
For a few of the markers (LDL, HDL, HbA1c and serum adiponectin) there was a statistically significant change in both which would suggest that these were more so influenced by a healthy diet and appropriate medication rather than any exercise intervention. The increase in peak VO2 and drop in BMI are an unsurprising result for the intervention group, as an increase in physical activity and specifically aerobic activity would likely see a positive change in body composition (i.e. loss of adipose tissue) and also improved cardio fitness. The rise in serum leptin levels for the control group is somewhat inconclusive, as leptin concentrations are strongly correlated with levels of adipose tissues, so it is difficult to discern whether this increase and the lack of change in the intervention group is related to exercise or simply the decrease in adipose tissue of the intervention group. Of note was the positive increase in FMD within the intervention group, as FMD was utilised as a surrogate marker for endothelial tissue function. This positive change could potentially explain the difference between the two groups in number of cardiovascular events, as the intervention group had 0 incidence whilst the control presented 4 in the 24 months post randomisation. Based on the training modality of the individuals within the intervention group it can not be said specifically to what degree resistance and cardio training played individually.

Practical advice
Considering the positive change in results seen in LDL, HDL, Adiponectin, and HbA1c in both groups it is advised that individuals should eat a diet suitable for those suffering from T2D, specifically avoiding foods with a high glycaemic index such as foods high in added sugar and also saturated fats. Considering the reduction in risk of cardiovascular events and improved FMD it is highly recommended that individuals commence a suitable training program.

Further information/resources
For further information on how to appropriately manage T2D, see the following pages.
 * 1) Diabetes Australia
 * 2) Exercise Prescription in the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
 * 3) Diabtes what should I eat?
 * 4) Physical Activity/Exercise and Diabetes


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent

=Ethnomedicine=

 * Study or comparison of the traditional medicine based on bioactive compounds in plants and animals and practiced by various ethnic groups, especially those with little access to western medicines, e.g., indigenous people
 * Often these traditions constitute significant interactions with insects as well, in Africa or around the globe
 * The word ethnomedicine is sometimes used as a synonym for traditional medicine
 * Scientific ethnomedical studies constitute either anthropological research or drug discovery research
 * Chandrakant Katiyar, et al. Ayu. 2012 Jan-Mar; 33(1): 10–19. Drug discovery from plant sources: An integrated approach ( 23049178)
 * Akash Tariq et al. Phytother Res. 2017 Feb. A systematic review on ethnomedicines of anti-cancer plants ( 28093828)
 * A total of 199 anti-cancer plants were recorded in present review and results indicated that traditional medicines are mostly being use in developing countries for cancer treatment
 * Traditionally and scientifically skin and breast cancer types gained more focus
 * Twenty nine pure compounds (mostly phenolic) were reportedly isolated from anti-cancer plants and tested against different cancer cell lines
 * Detailed ethno-pharmacological and toxicological studies needed on un-explored anti-cancer plants in order to provide reliable knowledge to the patients and develop novel anti-cancer drugs
 * Pulok K et al. J Ayurveda Integr Med. 2010 Apr-Jun; 1(2): 100–109. Ethnopharmacology and integrative medicine – Let the history tell the future ( 21836796)

=Ethno-pharmaceuticals=
 * /Antrodia cinnamomea/（牛樟芝）
 * /Ganoderma lucidum/ (靈芝）
 * /Catharanthus roseus/
 * /Podophyllum/
 * Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)


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Radiation Oncology/Survival analysis

Survival Analysis

 * Survival analysis is a branch of statistics for analyzing the expected duration of time until one or more events happen, such as death in biological organisms and failure in mechanical systems
 * This topic is called reliability theory or reliability analysis in engineering, duration analysis or duration modelling in economics, and event history analysis in sociology
 * Survival analysis attempts to answer certain questions, such as what is the proportion of a population which will survive past a certain time? Of those that survive, at what rate will they die or fail? Can multiple causes of death or failure be taken into account? How do particular circumstances or characteristics increase or decrease the probability of survival?

Proportional Hazard Model

 * Proportional hazards models are a class of survival models in statistics
 * Survival models relate the time that passes, before some event occurs, to one or more covariates that may be associated with that quantity of time
 * In a proportional hazards model, the unique effect of a unit increase in a covariate is multiplicative with respect to the hazard rate
 * For example, taking a drug may halve one's hazard rate for a stroke occurring, or, changing the material from which a manufactured component is constructed may double its hazard rate for failure
 * Other types of survival models such as accelerated failure time models do not exhibit proportional hazards
 * The accelerated failure time model describes a situation where the biological or mechanical life history of an event is accelerated (or decelerated).

Regression Analysis

 * Linear Regression
 * Nonlinear Regression
 * Circular Regression

title: Radiation Oncology/Survival analysis


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Cell therapy

• Cell therapy (also called cellular therapy, cell transplantation, or cytotherapy) is a therapy in which viable cells are injected, grafted or implanted into a patient in order to effectuate a medicinal effect

- e.g. transplanting T-cells capable of fighting cancer cells via cell-mediated immunity in the course of immunotherapy

- e.g. grafting stem cells to regenerate diseased tissues

Stem-cell therapy

• Stem-cell therapy is the use of stem cells to treat or prevent a disease or condition

• As of 2016, the only established therapy using stem cells is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT)

• This usually takes the form of a bone marrow transplantation, but the cells can also be derived from umbilical cord blood

• Research is underway to develop various sources for stem cells as well as to apply stem-cell treatments for neurodegenerative diseases and conditions such as diabetes and heart disease

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

• Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is the transplantation of multipotent hematopoietic stem cells, usually derived from bone marrow, peripheral blood, or umbilical cord blood

• It may be autologous (the patient's own stem cells are used), allogeneic (the stem cells come from a donor) or syngeneic (from an identical twin)

title: Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Cell therapy


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Radiation Oncology/Epidemiology/Cancer screening

• Cancer screening aims to detect cancer before symptoms appear

• This may involve blood tests, urine tests, DNA tests, other tests, or medical imaging

• The benefits of screening in terms of cancer prevention, early detection and subsequent treatment must be weighed against any harms


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Radiation Oncology/Artificial neural network

 * A recent survey of AI applications in health care reported uses in major disease areas such as cancer or cardiology and artificial neural networks (ANN) as a common machine learning technique

 * Applications of ANN in health care include clinical diagnosis, prediction of cancer, speech recognition, prediction of length of stay, image analysis and interpretation (e.g. automated electrocardiographic (ECG) interpretation used to diagnose myocardial infarction), and drug development

 * Non-clinical applications have included improvement of health care organizational management, prediction of key indicators such as cost or facility utilization

 * ANN has been used as part of decision support models to provide health care providers and the health care system with cost-effective solutions to time and resource management

Most important types of neural networks that form the basis for most pre-trained models in deep learning:

Deep Learning

 * Jürgen Schmidhuber. Neural Netw. 2015 Jan. Deep learning in neural networks: an overview ( 25462637)

Machine Learning
An Introduction to Machine Learning for Clinicians ( 31094727)
 * Michael Rowe. Acad Med. 2019 Oct.

 * Yalin Baştanlar et al. Methods Mol Biol. 2014. Introduction to machine learning ( 24272434)

 * Jenni A. M. Sidey-Gibbons and Chris J. Sidey-Gibbons. Machine learning in medicine: a practical introduction ( 30890124)

Artificial Intelligence

 * Rene Y Choi et al. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2020. Introduction to Machine Learning, Neural Networks, and Deep Learning ( 32704420)

Computational Intelligence

 * Neural Networks
 * Fuzzy Systems
 * Evolutionary Computation

Examination Performance

 * Harvard, 2023 PMID 37356806 -- "Evaluating GPT as an Adjunct for Radiologic Decision Making: GPT-4 Versus GPT-3.5 in a Breast Imaging Pilot" (Rao A, J Am Coll Radiol. 2023 Jun 21;S1546-1440(23)00394-0.)
 * ChatGPT3.5 and GPT4 responses for breast cancer screening and breast pain versus ACR Appropriateness Criteria
 * Outcome: Open ended score 1.83/2.00 for breast cancer screening. Select-all-that-apply score GPT3.5 89% vs GPT4 98%. For breast pain, 1.12/2.00 and 58% vs 78%
 * Conclusion: Feasibility of using LLMs for radiologic decision making

 * Brown University; 2023 PMID 37541614 -- "Performance of Three Large Language Models on Dermatology Board Examinations" (Mirza FN, J Invest Dermatol. 2023 Aug 2;S0022-202X(23)02486-7.)
 * [No text available via PubMed]

 * Rothschild Foundation Hospital, France; 2023 PMID 37537126 -- "Success of ChatGPT, an AI language model, in taking the French language version of the European Board of Ophthalmology examination: A novel approach to medical knowledge assessment" (Panthier C, J Fr Ophtalmol. 2023 Aug 1;S0181-5512(23)00305-4.)
 * Performance of ChatGPT on French language version of European Board of Ophthalmology examination
 * Outcome: Success rate 91%, across all categories. Rapid answer
 * Conclusion: ChatGPT could be a valuable tool in medical education and knowledge assessment

 * Mayo Clinic; 2023 PMID 37529688 -- "Evaluating large language models on a highly-specialized topic, radiation oncology physics" (Holmes J, Front Oncol. 2023 Jul 17;13:1219326.)
 * Custom exam of 100 radiation oncology physics question. GPT3.5, GPT4, Bard, BLOOMZ vs medical physicists vs non-experts
 * Outcome: GPT4 outperformed other LLMs. High level of consistency, whether correct or incorrect
 * Conclusion: Potential for LLM to work alongside radiation oncology experts as knowledgeable assistants

 * Multi-institutional, 2023 PMID 36929393 Skyler B Johnson et al. "Using ChatGPT to evaluate cancer myths and misconceptions: artificial intelligence and cancer information"
 * Following expert review, the percentage of overall agreement for accuracy was 100% for NCI answers and 96.9% for ChatGPT outputs for questions 1 through 13 (ĸ = ‒0.03, standard error = 0.08)
 * There were few noticeable differences in the number of words or the readability of the answers from NCI or ChatGPT
 * Overall, the results suggest that ChatGPT provides accurate information about common cancer myths and misconceptions

 * Erlangen, 2023 ArXiv link "Benchmarking ChatGPT-4 on ACR Radiation Oncology In-Training (TXIT) Exam and Red Journal Gray Zone Cases: Potentials and Challenges for AI-Assisted Medical Education and Decision Making in Radiation Oncology" Yixing Huang et al.
 * For the TXIT exam, ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 have achieved the scores of 63.65% and 74.57%, respectively


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Exercise as it relates to Disease/The effects of functional exercise in older adults with diabetes

This page provides a critical appraisal of the research paper titled “Functional Exercise Improves Mobility Performance in Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial” by Kimberlee A. Gretebeck, Caroline S. Blaum, Tisha Moore, Roger Brown, Andrzej Galecki, Debra Strasburg, Shu Chen, and Neil B. Alexander.

What is the background to this research?
Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic disease that results when a person’s insulin is unable to effectively regulate blood sugar levels. It is primarily attributed to excess body weight and physical inactivity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people with diabetes has risen from 108 million in 1980 to 422 million in 2014. (1) Type 2 Diabetes is on the rise and affecting a quarter of adults aged 65 and older, according to a report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as cited by Gretebeck et al. (2) For this reason, issues associated with this disease are important to address. One such issue is that of loss of mobility and independence and consequently a lower quality of life. As such, researchers have investigated how exercise can help to address concerns of mobility in older adults with diabetes in the paper “Functional Exercise Improves Mobility Performance in Older Adults With Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized Controlled Trial”. The authors’ aim was to implement a physical activity program suitable for this population, in order to provide a framework for exercise programs that can be applied more widely to enhance the quality of life of older adults with diabetes.

Where is the research from?
This research was published in Human Kinetics’ Journal of Physical Activity and Health in 2019. Human Kinetics is a company dedicated to educating and empowering people to improve their health and fitness. (3) The research for this article was conducted in the Midwest of the US. The authors are based at universities across the US and specialise in geriatrics. The authors’ background in this field evidently informed and inspired the research they undertook.

What kind of research was this?
The research conducted was a randomized controlled trial. Instead of having a completely unaffected control group the researchers chose to include two active comparison groups which involved different physical activity programs. Randomized controlled trials are the gold standard in clinical research to determine the effects of intervention programs. (4) As such, this research is of a credible design.

What did the research involve?
This research involved recruiting 111 older adults from urban areas in the Midwest to participate in structured exercise groups. The key intervention group consisted of functional circuit training, with activities that corresponded to daily tasks, such as rising from a chair, taking large steps or reaching and carrying objects. An important aspect, intentionally taken into account, was that the exercise program would be moderate-intensity and focused on day-to-day activities, in order to be applicable for the population. This was a 10-week program followed by 10-weeks of maintenance, as participants were given an individualised program to follow at home, with 20-min telephone calls each week to promote physical activity. The second group, for comparison, participated in flexibility and toning sessions with mostly seated activities for the first 10 weeks. In the following 10 weeks they receive phone calls regarding heath status but without any discussion of physical activity. The third group also participated in the functional circuit training for the first 10 weeks and then in the following 10 weeks received calls, as with the previous group, without promotion of physical activity. The comparison groups were not given a home program to continue in the second 10-week period. Measures of physical function were recorded at the participants’ baseline, after the 10-week group intervention, and again after the 10-week home program. These measures were that of comfortable gait speed, 6-minute walk distance and total physical activity.

What were the basic results?
The results showed that participants in all the groups improved in each of the measured outcomes. However, the results in the paper showed that the primary intervention did, as hypothesised, result in a significantly greater improvement in comfortable gait speed than the other interventions at the end of 20 weeks. Meanwhile, improvements in 6-minute walk and total physical activity were not significantly different from the other groups.

What conclusions can we take from this research?
This research is helpful in extending beyond the knowledge that physical activity is important for people with diabetes and demonstrating specific impacts of specific interventions. It is worth noting a limitation of this research: that the participants were primarily white, well educated and living in urban areas. While the lack of diversity in the field of participants may affect the generalisability of these results some helpful conclusions can still be drawn. We can conclude that functional exercise is more effective than flexibility and toning activities in improving outcome in comfortable walking gait. Gait speed is a predictor of survival in older adults (5) and is therefore a significant outcome measure. This research can empower exercise physiologists and other health care professionals to create programs for older adults based on the results.

Practical advice
In practical terms, older adults with Type 2 Diabetes based on this research can be advised to participate in regular exercise programs. Behaviour change is a necessary component of improvement when it comes to physical function outcomes. The conclusions drawn from this paper indicate the value of individualised home programs and promotion of physical activity. This paper inadvertently highlights the role of Exercise Physiologists in promoting health as they are professionals equipped to create and assist in implementing structured programs for individuals. The advice from this research paper would benefit aged care facilities as they provide resources for their residents, as well as for older adults living at home. A productive way aged care facilities can support their residents, who may suffer from chronic diseases such as diabetes, is to provide group exercise programs as a way for residents to be motivated to participate in activities that can improve their mobility. Alternatively, for those living at home, they could be encouraged by this research to seek guidance from an Exercise Physiologist, in creating a home-based functional exercise program.


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Radiation Oncology/Epidemiology/Cancer prevention

• Between 30-50% of all cancer cases are preventable

• Prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer

• National policies and programmes should be implemented to raise awareness, to reduce exposure to cancer risk factors and to ensure that people are provided with the information and support they need to adopt healthy lifestyles


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Radiation Oncology/End of life issues

• End-of-life care decision making carries paramount importance due to the advancements in medical sciences

• Since medical science has evolved over the time and now has a potentiality to reshape the circumstances during death and in turn prolong lives, various ethical issues surround end-of-life care

• Sameera Karnik et al. Healthcare (Basel). 2016 Jun; 4(2): 24. Ethical Issues Surrounding End-of-Life Care: A Narrative Review ( 27417612)

Spiritual Care

 * Carla I Ripamonti et al. Spiritual care in cancer patients: a need or an option? Curr Opin Oncol. 2018 Jul;30(4):212-218. ( 29746283)
 * Wasinee Wisesrith et al. Spiritual Care Needs of Terminal Ill Cancer Patients. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2021 Dec 1;22(12):3773-3779. ( 34967555)
 * Soolmaz Moosavi et al. Consequences of Spiritual Care for Cancer Patients and Oncology Nurses: a Qualitative Study. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs. 2019 Apr-Jun;6(2):137-144. ( 30931357)

title: Radiation Oncology/End of life issues


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Radiation Oncology/Ethics in research

• A number of ethical challenges related to informed consent, randomization, conflicts of interest, and scientific validity and social value are shared with other areas of medicine

• Unique concerns in radiation oncology arising from the rapid evolution and uneven distribution of radiation technologies; the greater unfamiliarity of the general public and research oversight committees in regard to radiation oncology clinical practice; and the high complexity of managing most radiation oncology research, much of which is carried out in high-acuity multidisciplinary oncologic settings

• To produce the best research, adherence to the highest ethical standards should be pursued as an integral component of all radiation oncology research

• Shlomo A Koyfman et al. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2017. Clinical Research Ethics: Considerations for the Radiation Oncologist ( 28871967)

• M. Bernstein, et al. Curr Oncol. 2006 Apr; 13(2): 55–60. Ethical guideposts to clinical trials in oncology ( 17576442)

title: Radiation Oncology/Ethics in research


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Radiation Oncology/Psycho-oncology

 * Psycho-oncology is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of physical, psychological, social, and behavioral aspects of the cancer experience for both patients and caregivers
 * Also known as Psychiatric Oncology or Psychosocial Oncology, researchers and practitioners in the field are concerned with aspects of individuals' experience with cancer beyond medical treatment, and across the cancer trajectory, including at diagnosis, during treatment, transitioning to and throughout survivorship, and approaching the end-of-life
 * Founded by Jimmie Holland in 1977 via the incorporation of a psychiatric service within the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York, the field has expanded drastically since and is now universally recognized as an integral component of quality cancer care
 * Cancer centers in major academic medical centers across the country now uniformly incorporate a psycho-oncology service into their clinical care, and provide infrastructure to support research efforts to advance knowledge in the field
 * Isabelle Lang-Rollin et al. Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2018 Mar; 20(1): 13–22. Psycho-oncology ( 29946207)

Psilocybin

 * Indole alkaloid found in family of mushrooms
 * After ingestion, metabolized to psilocin in the body. This metabolite is responsible for psychotropic properties via serotonin 2A receptor
 * Psilocin is further metabolized to 4-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (4-HIAA)
 * No specific studies reviewing effects of psilocybine on radiation oncology patients.

 * US Multi-Institutional; 2023 (2019 - 2022) PMID 37651119 -- "Single-Dose Psilocybin Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial" (Raison CL, JAMA. 2023 Sep 5;330(9):843-853. doi: 10.1001/jama.2023.14530.)
 * Randomized Phase 2. 11 sites. 104 participants with major depressive disorder, >60 days, moderate+ symptoms. Single dose 25 mg psilocybin vs 100 mg niacin placebo. MADRS score (0-60) used.
 * Outcome: MADRS scores psilocybin better by 12.3 points (SS) at 43 days. Also reduced Sheehan Disability Score by 2.3 points (SS). More sustained response
 * Toxicity: Severe AE psilocybin 8% (migraine x1, headache x1, illusion x1, panic attack/paranoia x1) vs control 0%. No suicidal ideation. No changes in vital signs or labs.
 * Conclusion: Psilocybin clinically significant reduction in depressive symptoms and functional disability, without serious adverse events

 * Medical University of Vienna; 2022 PMID 34871422 -- "Psilocybin Therapy of Psychiatric Disorders Is Not Hampered by hERG Potassium Channel-Mediated Cardiotoxicity" (Hack B, Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2022 Apr 19;25(4):280-282. doi: 10.1093/ijnp/pyab085.)
 * Cell culture. 4-HIAA applied to hERG channels, up to 500x concentration
 * Conclusion: hERG blockade by clinical levels of psilocin does not account for cardiotoxic effects

 * Copenhagen University, 2021 PMID 34246868 -- "Psilocybin-induced changes in brain network integrity and segregation correlate with plasma psilocin level and psychedelic experience" (Madsen MK, Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2021 Sep:50:121-132. doi: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2021.06.001. Epub 2021 Jul 8.)
 * 15 participants. MRI data acquistion correlated with psilocin plasma concentrations
 * Outcome: Executive control and dorsal attention networks desegretate
 * Conclusion: Expression network integrity and segregation implicated in the psychedelic experience and consciousness

title: Radiation Oncology/Psycho-oncology


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Radiation Oncology/Radiochemistry

 * Radiochemistry is the chemistry of radioactive materials, where radioactive isotopes of elements are used to study the properties and chemical reactions of non-radioactive isotopes (often within radiochemistry the absence of radioactivity leads to a substance being described as being inactive as the isotopes are stable
 * Radiochemistry includes the study of both natural and man-made radioisotopes
 * Verena Pichler et al. J Nucl Med. 2018 Sep. An Overview of PET Radiochemistry, Part 1: The Covalent Labels 18 F, 11 C, and 13 N ( 30042159)

Radioactive Equilibrium

 * Transient Equilibrium
 * Secular Equilibrium

Radioactive Series

 * Thorium Series
 * Neptunium Series
 * Uranium Series
 * Actiuranium Series

Industrial Applications

 * Albert Zeller et al. Chimia (Aarau). 2020. Radiochemical Applications in Industry - A Journey through Time with RC Tritec ( 33357297)

title: Radiation Oncology/Radiochemistry


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Radiation Oncology/Radiation Chemistry

 * Radiation chemistry is a subdivision of nuclear chemistry which is the study of the chemical effects of radiation on matter; this is very different from radiochemistry as no radioactivity needs to be present in the material which is being chemically changed by the radiation
 * An example is the conversion of water into hydrogen gas and hydrogen peroxide
 * P Wardman. Br J Radiol. 2009 Feb. The importance of radiation chemistry to radiation and free radical biology (The 2008 Silvanus Thompson Memorial Lecture) ( 19168690)

title: Radiation Oncology/Radiation Chemistry


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Radiation Oncology/Biological Therapy Agents

(1) Biological therapy for cancer is a type of treatment that uses the body's immune system to kill cancer cells

(2) Biological therapy for cancer is used in the treatment of many types of cancer to prevent or slow tumor growth and to prevent the spread of cancer

(3) Biological therapy for cancer often causes fewer toxic side effects than do other cancer treatments
 * /Adoptive cell transfer/
 * /Angiogenesis inhibitors/
 * /Bacillus Calmette-Guerin therapy/
 * /Biochemotherapy/
 * /Cancer vaccines/
 * /Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy/
 * /Cytokine therapy/
 * /Gene therapy/
 * /Immune checkpoint modulators/
 * /Immunoconjugates/
 * /Monoclonal antibodies/
 * /Oncolytic virus therapy/
 * /Targeted drug therapy/


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Radiation Oncology/Cytokine therapy

 * Cytokine therapies are designed to alter immune homeostasis with the tumor and provoke or disinhibit immune effectors

 * Often associated with severe dose-limiting toxicities that are manageable with appropriate dosing and are now better understood to induce immune-suppressive humoral factors, suppressive cells, and cellular checkpoints, without consistently inducing a tumor-specific response

 * Cytokines are being investigated clinically with new engineered cytokine mutants (superkines), chimeric antibody-cytokine fusion proteins (immunokines), anticancer vaccines, CPIs, and cancer-directed monoclonal antibodies to increase their antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity or sustain cellular responses and anticancer efficacy

 * Michele Ardolino et al. Oncotarget. 2015 Aug 14; 6(23): 19346–19347. Cytokine treatment in cancer immunotherapy ( 26305981)

 * Kevin C Conlon et al. J Interferon Cytokine Res. 2019 Jan. Cytokines in the Treatment of Cancer ( 29889594)

 * /Interferon alpha (IFNα)
 * /High-dose interleukin-2 (HDIL-2)
 * /Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)
 * /IFN gamma (IFNγ)
 * /IL-7
 * /IL-12
 * /IL-21
 * /IL-15

title: Radiation Oncology/Cytokine therapy


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Radiation Oncology/Radiopharmaceuticals

 * Radiopharmaceuticals, or medicinal radiocompounds, are a group of pharmaceutical drugs containing radioactive isotopes

 * Radiopharmaceuticals can be used as diagnostic and therapeutic agents

 * Radiopharmaceuticals emit radiation themselves, which is different from contrast media which absorb or alter external electromagnetism or ultrasound

 * Radiopharmacology is the branch of pharmacology that specializes in these agents

List of Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmaceuticals

 * /Calcium-47/
 * /Carbon-11/
 * /Carbon-14/
 * /Chromium-51/
 * /Cobalt-57/
 * /Cobalt-58/
 * /Erbium-169/
 * /Fluorine-18/
 * /Gallium-67/
 * /Gallium-68/
 * /Hydrogen-3/
 * /Indium-111/
 * /Iodine-123/
 * /Iodine-125/
 * /Iodine-131/
 * /Iron-59/
 * /Krypton-81m/
 * /Lutetium-177/
 * /Nitrogen-13/
 * /Oxygen-15/
 * /Phosphorus-32/
 * /Radium-223/
 * /Rubidium-82/
 * /Samarium-153/
 * /Selenium-75/
 * /Sodium-22/
 * /Sodium-24/
 * /Strontium-89/
 * /Technetium-99m/
 * /Thallium-201/
 * /Xenon-133/
 * /Yttrium-90/

title: Radiation Oncology/Radiopharmaceuticals


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User talk:Cmdrrnvr

Welcome, Cmdrrnvr!

If you have any questions, you can ask in the assistance reading room or possibly contact me personally. 1234qwer1234qwer4 (discuss • contribs) 23:51, 19 September 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:Cmdrrnvr


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User talk:James734

Welcome, James734!

If you have any questions, you can ask in the assistance reading room or possibly contact me personally. 1234qwer1234qwer4 (discuss • contribs) 23:55, 19 September 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:James734


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Radiation Oncology/Physics/Dosimetry/Bragg–Gray cavity theory

 * Bragg-Gray cavity theory relates the radiation dose in a cavity volume of material g to the dose that would exist in a surrounding medium m in the absence of the cavity volume
 * It was developed in 1936 by British scientists Louis Harold Gray, William Henry Bragg, and William Lawrence Bragg


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Radiation Oncology/Treatment planning/Ergonomics

 * The International Ergonomics Association defines ergonomics or human factors as follows:
 * Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design to optimize human well-being and overall system performance
 * Alvita J Chan et al. Radiother Oncol. 2010 Dec. The use of human factors methods to identify and mitigate safety issues in radiation therapy ( 21044802)


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Radiation Oncology/Physics/Photobiology

 * Photobiology is the study of the effects of ultraviolet, visible and infrared radiation on living organisms
 * It includes topics such as photosynthesis, vision, bioluminescence, circadian rhythms and photodynamic therapy
 * The field includes the study of photophysics, photochemistry, photosynthesis, photomorphogenesis, visual processing, circadian rhythms, photomovement, bioluminescence, and ultraviolet radiation effects
 * When photons come into contact with molecules, these molecules can absorb the energy in photons and become excited
 * Then they can react with molecules around them and stimulate "photochemical" and "photophysical" changes of molecular structures
 * Photophysics
 * Photochemistry

title: Radiation Oncology/Physics/Photobiology


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Radioimmunotherapy

 * Radioimmunotherapy (RIT) uses an antibody labeled with a radionuclide to deliver cytotoxic radiation to a target cell
 * In cancer therapy, an antibody with specificity for a tumor-associated antigen is used to deliver a lethal dose of radiation to the tumor cells
 * The ability for the antibody to specifically bind to a tumor-associated antigen increases the dose delivered to the tumor cells while decreasing the dose to normal tissues
 * By its nature, RIT requires a tumor cell to express an antigen that is unique to the neoplasm or is not accessible in normal cells
 * Steven M et al. Nat Rev Cancer. 2015 Jun; 15(6): 347–360. Radioimmunotherapy of human tumours ( 25998714)


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Free Knowledge Culture Calendar/October 11

Today in 1993 the UNIX trademark was transferred to the vendor-independent X/Open consortium. While previously only one or two dominant variants existed, several increasingly incompatible proprietary Unix forks appeared in the past few years. Vendors had been fighting for influence on the development of the platform standard and fragmented the Unix ecosystem. AT&T partnered with Sun, which prompted concerned rivals to form the Open Software Foundation (OSF) to develop open Unix standards. AT&T and its partners then formed their own standards group, Unix International. The first significant step towards resolving the so-called Unix wars was taken with the formation of the Common Open Software Environment initiative, when all participants came together in a neutral forum to base the future of all their Unix variants on open, unified standards.


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User talk:Aryansingh55

Welcome, Aryansingh55!

If you have any questions, you can ask in the assistance reading room or possibly contact me personally. 1234qwer1234qwer4 (discuss • contribs) 10:11, 20 September 2020 (UTC)

title: User talk:Aryansingh55


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English-Hanzi/Ways to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease include eating healthy

Ways to reduce the risk of coronary heart disease include eating healthy, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. Sometimes medications for diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure are used.

降低冠心病风险的方法包括饮食健康，规律运动，保持健康体重以及不吸烟. 有时会使用糖尿病，高胆固醇或高血压的药物.


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User:IJForst

Hello!

My name is Isabella, I am a fourth-year student at NC State University studying Graphics Communications and Technical and Scientific Communications. I am currently working on a Wikibook as part of the Google Season of Docs program (2020!)

title: User:IJForst


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User:Techiemanish

I am Computer Engineer graduates from University of Delhi. I am currently working as Server Administrator. I have created website named mycscode.com I have also created Online editor which supports every web development language on testing purpose.

title: User:Techiemanish


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Antrodia cinnamomea

 * Antrodia cinnamomea is a fungus species, also known as AC fungus, or AC mushroom
 * It causes brown heart rot of aromatic tree Cinnamomum kanehirai
 * It is used in Taiwan medicine as a supposed remedy for cancer, hypertension, and hangover
 * Yu-Kai Su et al. J Ethnopharmacol. 2017. Antrodia cinnamomea sensitizes radio-/chemo-therapy of cancer stem-like cells by modulating microRNA expression ( 28602756)


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Ganoderma lucidum

 * Ganoderma lucidum is a natural medicine that is widely used and recommended by Asian physicians and naturopaths for its supporting effects on immune system
 * Laboratory research and a handful of preclinical trials have suggested that G. lucidum carries promising anticancer and immunomodulatory properties
 * Xingzhong Jin et al. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016 Apr; 2016(4): CD007731. Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi mushroom) for cancer treatment ( 27045603)
 * The meta‐analysis results showed that patients who had been given G. lucidum alongside with chemo/radiotherapy were more likely to respond positively compared to chemo/radiotherapy alone (RR 1.50; 95% CI 0.90 to 2.51, P = 0.02)


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Radiation Oncology/Physical Oncology

 * Physical oncology (PO) is defined as the study of the role of mechanical signals in a cancerous tumor
 * The mechanical signals can be forces, pressures ("pull", "push" and "shear" designating the forces / pressures that push, pull or are tangential)
 * A cancerous tumor (or "solid tumor" in the jargon of oncologists to differentiate them from hematological malignancies) is an organ consisting of two tissues
 * In the center the cancerous tumor proper and around the ExtraCellular Matrix (ECM), sometimes called stroma, chorion or connective tissue
 * The cancerous tissue is derived from a normal tissue of the body: breast cancer arises from a cancerous transformation of the normal mammary glandular tissue

title: Radiation Oncology/Physical Oncology


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Catharanthus roseus

 * Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as bright eyes, Cape periwinkle, graveyard plant, Madagascar periwinkle, old maid, pink periwinkle, rose periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apocynaceae
 * It is native and endemic to Madagascar, but grown elsewhere as an ornamental and medicinal plant, a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer
 * The species has long been cultivated for herbal medicine
 * In Ayurveda (Indian traditional medicine) the extracts of its roots and shoots, though poisonous, are used against several diseases
 * In traditional Chinese medicine, extracts from it have been used against numerous diseases, including diabetes, malaria, and Hodgkin's lymphoma
 * Many of the vinca alkaloids were first isolated from Catharanthus roseus, including vinblastine and vincristine used in the treatment of leukemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Podophyllum

 * Podophyllum is an herbaceous perennial plant in the family Berberidaceae, described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1753
 * In the past, several species were included in the genus, but all but one have been transferred to other genera (Dysosma and Sinopodophyllum)
 * The one remaining species is Podophyllum peltatum, with common names mayapple, American mandrake, wild mandrake, and ground lemon
 * It is widespread across most of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada
 * Mayapple contains podophyllotoxin, which is highly toxic if consumed, but can be used as a topical medicine
 * Mayapple has been used by American Indians as an emetic, cathartic, and antihelmintic agent
 * The rhizome of the mayapple has been used for a variety of medicinal purposes, originally by indigenous inhabitants and later by other settlers
 * Mayapple can be also used topically as an escharotic in removing warts, and two of its derivatives, etoposide and teniposide, have shown promise in treating some cancers
 * Etoposide is among the World Health Organisations's list of essential medicines and it is derived from podophyllotoxin


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Radiation Oncology/Imaging Modalities

 * Conventional radiography
 * Fluoroscopy
 * Angiography
 * Mammography
 * /Computed Tomography
 * /Ultrasound and Ultrasound/Doppler
 * /Magnetic resonance Imaging
 * /Proton Radiography
 * /Neutron Radiography

External Resources

 * Basic Physics of Digital Radiography
 * Basic Physics of Nuclear Medicine
 * Diagnostic Radiology
 * Nuclear Medicine

title: Radiation Oncology/Imaging Modalities


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Radiation Oncology/Physics/Photophysics

 * Basic photophysics in the framework of photobiology is concerned with processes that occur when sunlight, filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, interacts with matter (atoms and molecules) present on Earth
 * The spectrum of solar radiation striking the Earth spans 100 nm to 106 nanometers (1 nm = 10-9 m) and can be divided into the ultraviolet (UV) range (100 nm to 400 nm), visible range (400 nm to 700 nm) and infrared (IR) range (700 nm to 106 nm)
 * UV radiation has both damaging and beneficial effects on living matter
 * UV radiation is also responsible for the photochemical reaction leading to production of the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere
 * As the name suggests the visible part of the spectrum is the light that human eyes can detect
 * Visible light is only one small part of the electromagnetic spectrum, which is classified by wavelength into radio wave, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma rays

title: Radiation Oncology/Physics/Photophysics


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Photochemistry

 * Photochemistry is the branch of chemistry concerned with the chemical effects of light
 * Generally, this term is used to describe a chemical reaction caused by absorption of ultraviolet (wavelength from 100 to 400 nm), visible light (400–750 nm) or infrared radiation (750–2500 nm)
 * In nature, photochemistry is of immense importance as it is the basis of photosynthesis, vision, and the formation of vitamin D with sunlight
 * Photochemical reactions proceed differently than temperature-driven reactions
 * Photochemical paths access high energy intermediates that cannot be generated thermally, thereby overcoming large activation barriers in a short period of time, and allowing reactions otherwise inaccessible by thermal processes
 * Photochemistry is also destructive, as illustrated by the photodegradation of plastics


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Agricultural Applications

 * Nuclear technology uses radiation to improve the productivity of the entire food chain in a substantial manner
 * Water Use and Soil Management
 * Neutron meters improve irrigation practices that help conserve water and protect vulnerable land
 * Tagging fertilizers with radioisotopes can determine how plants are using nutrients
 * Nuclear techniques help increase crop yields and help determine which plants to grow in areas with less available water
 * Selective breeding creates disease resistant plants with greater nutritional value
 * Pest Control
 * Sterile insect technique (SIT) uses gamma radiation to  sterilize large populations of insects
 * The Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) and tsetse fly have been successful controlled using this method
 * Animal Health and Productivity
 * Radioisotope tracers are used to follow the path of the food in animals’ digestive systems and helps determine the nutritional value of the feed
 * Radiation techniques can diagnose harmful pathogens in animals early so we can vaccinate them and eliminate the wide spread of diseases
 * Food Safety
 * Irradiation uses kills bacteria, molds, and parasites in our food
 * Irradiated  foods can be stored for an extended period without refrigeration, which increases their availability in underdeveloped countries
 * Using lower does of ionizing radiation can lengthen the refrigerated life of fresh fish and chicken for several weeks
 * Strawberries treated this way can last for about 30 days
 * Sealed, treated foods–like canned goods–can stay on the shelf at room temperature for years


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Cancer rehabilitation

 * Cancer rehabilitation has been defined in the scientific literature as a distinct field of medicine that focuses on reducing or eliminating side-effects of cancer treatment and improving survivors' strength, ability to function and quality of life
 * Using an interdisciplinary model of care, professionals identify patients’ goals, improve their function, develop a patient and family centered plan of care that accounts for medical, physical, psychological and social components
 * The aim is helping patients improve their cancer-related symptoms and treatment side effects, while promoting optimal patient function at home, work and in the community
 * Additionally, cancer rehabilitation physicians work on identifying musculoskeletal and neurologic problems and treat them with a variety of treatments including medications, procedures and therapy
 * Some of those procedures include, but are not limited to, various types of injections and other procedures
 * Therapeutic exercises include those guided by physical, occupational and speech therapists to work on specific motor or cognitive impairments as well as difficulties performing activities of daily living (ADLs) (dressing, bathing, toileting etc.) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as house cleaning, shopping, etc.
 * However, patient-driven general exercise to maintain or improve endurance and overall functional status is also an important component of the rehabilitation process
 * Because cancer patients’ problems typically are complex and survivors have a high likelihood of developing physical, mental and functional issues, rehabilitation experts have recommended that cancer rehabilitation be integrated in oncology care early on
 * Several clinical articles have highlighted the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions before, during, and after cancer treatment to screen for, assess, and treat patients’ functional needs


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Interferon alpha (IFNα)

 * Interferons (IFNs) are a group of signaling proteins made and released by host cells in response to the presence of several viruses
 * In a typical scenario, a virus-infected cell will release interferons causing nearby cells to heighten their anti-viral defenses
 * The mammalian types are designated IFN-α (alpha), IFN-β (beta), IFN-κ (kappa), IFN-δ (delta), IFN-ε (epsilon), IFN-τ (tau), IFN-ω (omega), and IFN-ζ (zeta, also known as limitin)
 * The IFN-α proteins are produced mainly by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs)
 * They are mainly involved in innate immunity against viral infection
 * The genes responsible for their synthesis come in 13 subtypes that are called IFNA1, IFNA2, IFNA4, IFNA5, IFNA6, IFNA7, IFNA8, IFNA10, IFNA13, IFNA14, IFNA16, IFNA17, IFNA21
 * These genes are found together in a cluster on chromosome 9
 * IFN-α is also made synthetically as medication in hairy cell leukemia
 * The pegylated types are pegylated interferon alfa-2a and pegylated interferon alfa-2b
 * Alpha interferons are used in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis (C and B), some solid tumors (e.g., Kaposi sarcomas in patients with HIV infection), melanoma, and certain leukemias


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Exercise as it relates to Disease/Association between video games and blood pressure and lipids in overweight and obese adolescents

This is a critique of the research article: Goldfield Gary S, Kenny Glen P, Hadjiyannakis Stasia, Phillips Penny, Alberga Angela S, Saunders Travis J, Tremblay Mark S. Malcolm Janine, Prud’homme Denis, Gougeon Rejeanne, Sigal Ronald J, (2011), Video game playing Is independently associated with blood pressure and lipids in overweight and obese adolescents

This critique was undertaken as an assignment for the unit Health, Disease, and Exercise (8340) at the University of Canberra, during Semester 2 of 2020

What is the background to this research?
Overweight and obesity have been increasing rapidly over the last three decades and has now reached epidemic proportions worldwide. As many as 32% of adolescents are estimated to be overweight or obese. [1] Increased Body Mass Index (BMI) is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality in adults. More concerning, is that adolescent inactivity and overweight tends to carry forward into adulthood, increasing health risks.[1,2] Adolescent overweight has been linked to a number of comorbidities including diabetes mellitus type2; obstructive sleep apnea; non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (fatty liver disease); psychological disorders; metabolic syndrome; dyslipidemia (abnormally elevated cholesterol or fats (lipids) in the blood); and hypertension (high blood pressure) [2]. Online gaming is now global a multi-billion dollar industry with an estimated 1.5billion people participating worldwide. The rise of video gaming seems to coincide with the rise in obesity levels. The relationship between screen media exposure and obesity has been widely studied since the mid- 1980s. Observational and epidemiologic studies have recorded mixed findings on whether screen time is linked to obesity and associated health issues. But general opinion supports reducing screen time and promoting physical activity.

Where is the research from?
This research was conducted in Ontario Canada and published in PLoS One in 2011 as an open-access article distributed under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution Licence. The researchers identified their objective as examining ‘the association between duration and type of screen time and blood pressure and lipids in overweight and obese adolescents’.

What kind of research was this?
The researchers conducted a cross-sectional study of overweight or obese adolescents using a small sample of participants from a range of ethnic groups voluntarily recruited from within the local Ontario population. Each participant undertook a range of medical assessments and completed diaries to record various activities and food intake. The researchers then applied statistical methods, including multiple linear regression, to analyse the data gathered and identify correlations between various sedentary behaviours, physical activity and blood pressure and lipids. This mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to gather data allowed the researchers to consider and manage a range of inter-related variables

What did the research involve?
A total of 282 overweight and obese adolescents aged between 14 and 18 years (86 male and 196 female) were selected for a diet and exercise trial. All participants had to be either obese (≥ 95 BMI) or overweight (85th to 94th BMI percentile for age and sex) based on cut off values determined by the US Centers for Disease Control. Participants who were overweight had to have at least one comorbid cardiovascular disease or diabetes risk factor, including family history, to be included. All participants had passed through puberty or were well advanced in their development. Consent to join this study was obtained from either the participants or their parents. Participants were asked to self-report time spent each day watching television, playing seated video games and recreational computer use via a questionnaire. They also completed a Likert-type rating scale for the amount of physical activity undertaken each day. Duration and intensity of physical activity were used as covariates for statistical analysis. Lipid levels were tested from overnight-fasting blood samples to assess cholesterol/HDL-C ratios. Blood pressure was measured manually using a mercury sphygmomanometer. Three blood pressure readings were taken for each participant with the mean of the final two measurements being used for analysis. Covariates of weight, height and socio-economic status (using parental education as a proxy) were measured. Dietary intake was recorded using 3-day, 24 hour food diaries under the supervision of a registered dietician.

Table 1. Describes the characteristics of the participants in the sample.

What were the basic results?
This study found that seated video gaming was the only sedentary behaviour undertaken by the participants that was associated with elevated blood pressure and elevated lipids both before and after adjustment for a range of variables including age, sex, pubertal stage, parental education (socio-economic background), BMI, overall calorie intake, calorie intake for fats, and duration and intensity of physical activity.

Table 2. Shows the correlations between various sedentary behaviours, physical activity and blood pressure and lipids amongst participants in the sample.

Table 3. Shows the independent associations of various sedentary behaviours, physical activity intensity and blood pressure and lipids for participants in the sample.

What conclusions can we take from this research?
These findings are consistent with other research about the association between obesity, engaging in sedentary activity and hypertension. Connections to raised lipid levels have been studied much less. Another US study using a ‘nationally representative sample’, also published in 2011, also found a link between screen time and cardiometabolic risk factors including hypertension, elevated cholesterol levels, insulin resistance, elevated inflammation and metabolic syndrome. [7] Much of the other research appears to have been undertaken after this study and consistently reiterates: •	The prevalence of hypertension is rising in parallel with global increases in the prevalence of overweight and obesity. •	A close correlation between BMI and raised blood pressure in adolescents. [10] •	Sedentary behaviours such a playing video games increasing risk of obesity and to also increase level of blood pressure. [2] Other research has also suggested that the distraction caused by playing video games weakens the ability to interpret and process visceral sensations leading to overeating by gamers. Some research now suggests that adolescents can also develop life-threatening thromboembolic events in a setting of obesity, sedentary lifestyle and/or immobilisation and prolonged video game use. Whether playing video games alone is the source of raised blood pressure or lipids in adolescents is now a moot point as mounting evidence points to many health-related concerns of sedentary behaviour – including video gaming.

Practical advice
Video games are now an inescapable part of our lives. Lifestyle modification is considered a cornerstone for the treatment of obesity and related conditions such as hypertension or dyslipidaemia. Limiting screen time – including video gaming, and increasing physical activity (at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity on at least three days per week) are generally recognised as suitable strategies to manage weight and associated health risks. [6,10] Interestingly, some researchers are now even suggesting that video games can actually help to fight obesity by improving knowledge about nutrition, eating habits and exercise and by offering games to improve physical activity, but it is unclear whether this really helps with weight management.

Further information/resources
Online gaming / eSafety Commissioner

Healthy Limits on Video Games

Video Game Safety Guidelines for Parents

Setting Limits on Video Games

Can Playing Video Games be Good for Kids?

Australia's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines

Physical Activity and Obesity in Children


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Radiation Oncology/Drugs/Ethnopharmacologic therapeutic agent/Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)

 * Pacific yew is native to the Coast Range of British Columbia and the northwest coast of the United States
 * It is also found in a few areas farther inland
 * Local First Nations identified Pacific yew as a plant with medicinal properties, making teas from the needles and bark, and applying crushed needles to wounds
 * They also used the extremely hard wood for implements that needed to withstand strain, such as fishhooks and paddles
 * In 1971, researchers identified a chemical compound in Pacific yew called paclitaxel
 * It was later approved for use against ovarian and certain types of beast cancer and is sold under the trade name Taxol®
 * It is now also approved for use against an AIDS-related cancer
 * Research continues into other medical uses for paclitaxel and also for new compounds derived from or related to it
 * D G Kingston et al. J Nat Prod. Jul-Aug 1982. New taxanes from Taxus brevifolia ( 7130988)


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User:Juan de Bolas

Welcome to my user page.

title: User:Juan de Bolas


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User talk:Juan de Bolas

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title: User talk:Juan de Bolas


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User:Omda4wady/Collections/WikiText

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title: User:Omda4wady/Collections/WikiText


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Wikibooks:Collections/WikiText

WikiText

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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU)

 * High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound or HIFU is a minimally invasive procedure for the treatment of prostate cancer that offers personalized treatment and dramatically reduced side effects
 * HIFU destroys prostate cancer through the delivery of precise and focused sound waves to a targeted spot of diseased prostate tissue
 * The Ultrasound energy, or sound waves, is transmitted through the rectal wall and focused at desired locations within the prostate identified by MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) and confirmed by ultrasound
 * This targeted and minimally invasive approach to treating prostate cancer leaves the healthy tissue untouched and unharmed and minimizes the chance of side effects


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Radiofrequency Ablation (RFA)

 * Radiofrequency ablation for cancer is a minimally invasive procedure that uses electrical energy and heat to destroy cancer cells
 * The radiologist uses imaging tests to guide a thin needle through the skin or through an incision and into the cancer tissue
 * High-frequency energy passes through the needle and causes the surrounding tissue to heat up, killing the nearby cells


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Radiation Oncology/RT Techniques/Cryotherapy

 * Cryotherapy, also called cryosurgery, uses extreme cold to freeze and kill cancer cells
 * It's also used to control pain and control bleeding
 * All cells, including cancer cells, contain water. When cryotherapy freezes the cells, the water turns to ice crystals
 * These ice crystals, along with the cold itself, destroy the cancer cells
 * Cryotherapy is used to regularly treat certain cancers and other lesions
 * For example, dermatologists apply liquid nitrogen directly to the skin to kill certain early-stage skin cancers and other skin lesions that could potentially turn into cancer (called pre-cancerous lesions)
 * Cryotherapy also is used to treat some forms of cervical, prostate, and bone cancer
 * When cryotherapy is used to treat cancers in the body, one or more small needles, called cryoprobes, deliver either liquid nitrogen or argon gas directly to the cancer tissue
 * Ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT), or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to put the cryoprobes in exactly the right place
 * People who have cryotherapy usually get a local anesthetic in the area where the cryoprobes will be inserted as well as a mild sedative


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Exercise as it relates to Disease/Exercise program intervention for children with leukaemia

A critical review of journal article "Effects of an Intrahospital Exercise program Intervention for children with leukaemia" Alejandro F. San Juan, Steven J. Fleck, Carolina Chamorro-vina, Jose Luis Mate-munoz, Susana Moral, Margarita Perz, Claudia Cardona, Maria Fernandez Del Valle, Mercedes Hernandez, ManuelRamirez, Luis Madero, and Alejandro Lucia. (2006) Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 2007;39(1):13-21.

What is the background to this research?
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) accounts for 26% of all childhood cancers. With increased survival rates, there has been increasing recognition of adverse short-, mid-, or long-term effects associated with treatment and the cancer itself that impair the quality of life (QOL) and functional capacity of patients and survivors of childhood ALL. Some include:
 * Impaired neurophysiological functioning gross
 * Sarcopenia and muscle weakness
 * Osteopenia and Osteoporosis
 * Reduced ankle range of motion

Structured, supervised exercise training has been shown to increase the functional capacity of adult cancer patients and survivors with improvements in their QOL. However, minimal research has been performed with childhood cancers. Any findings for adult cancer patients cannot ensure a child, particularly prepubescent children, would respond in the same manner. This study chose to investigate the effects of a 16-week intra-hospital supervised condition program including both resistance and aerobic training. Also included was a 20-week detraining period on measures of aerobic fitness, muscular strength, functional mobility, ankle range of motion and QOL in children receiving treatment for ALL.

Where is the research from?
The study was conducted at the Children’s Hospital Nino Jesus of Madrid, Department of Onco-Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Madrid, Spain. Supported by a grant from the fondo de investigacions do Sanitarias (FIS) and from the European University of Madrid and correspondence with Steven J. Fleck, PHD at the Sport Science Department of Colorado College in Colorado Springs, United States of America. Author Steven J. Fleck PhD has taken part in many exercise intervention studies in relation to chronic diseases and published a book in 1987 named Designing Resistance Training Programs.

What kind of research was this?
The research conducted in the article is an observational study on the intervention of exercise on child patients with ALL and the effects posed by a conditioning program and detraining period during treatment.

What did the research involve?
All subjects were patients of the Children’s Hospital Nino Jesus of Madrid, Spain and the study was conducted within the hospital gymnasium designed for the children during treatment against ALL. In order to maintain the health of the subjects they received fortnightly oncologist appointments during the training period for physical evaluation and blood analysis.

Participants/Patients: A preliminary screening of patients was conducted in order to deem the eligibility of the participant for the needs of the study. The following conditions had to be met: Due to ethical and logistical reasons it was not possible to have a control group. This is a weakness within the experimental design. The study consisted of four boys, three girls with a mean age of 5.1 years old. With a small sample size, this makes it difficult to evaluate the results and observe valid effects of an exercise intervention.
 * Undergoing last phase of maintenance therapy against standard-medium risk ALL
 * Time elapsed after start of treatment ranging between 18-24 months
 * 4-7 years of age and within Tanner’s stage 1 of maturation status
 * Having no conditions that could contraindicate vigorous physical activity

Measurements at Pretraining, Posttraining and Detraining: All of the subjects had never participated in a weight training or conditioning program before the study. In order the minimise the influence of a learning effects, all subjects went through a familiarisation period which consisted of a 4-6-week period with two to three sessions per week. All exercise tests were performed under similar environmental conditions and at the same time of day. Heart rate was continuously monitored by a 12-lead ECG during tests. Subjects were asked to eat a normal diet 3hr before test protocols.

Training Intervention: All subjects followed the 16-week training program of three sessions a week. Each session was accompanied by a low intensity warm-up and cool-down of light aerobic exercise and stretching exercises involving major muscle groups. Sessions were split into strength training and aerobic training with both areas focused on involving major muscle groups.

What were the basic results?
Given the small sample size the study chose to use the nonparametric Friedman Test to compare the mean values. The study had an 85% adherence to training with all subjects missing no more than two training sessions in a row. High adherence to training could be due to the parents having the responsibility to enforce the adherence and not the subject themselves.

Both body mass and height increased significantly between pre-training and post-training. Training also improved Vo2 peak, dynamic muscle strength of the upper and lower extremities and functional mobility and doesn’t significantly decrease after 20 weeks of detraining. These findings contradict information discovered in adult cancer patients who had a significant decrease in the detraining phase. As children grow, they experience an increase aerobic fitness without training and explains why detraining effects are insignificant. Justified by the natural growth process seen in children.

Unfortunately, no significant differences were found during the study period for self-reported QOL of children or in the parents’ evaluations of their children’s QOL. This could be due to the fact that the subject’s parents were responsible for adherence. This means that the subjects motivation may not have stemmed from themselves. One study found information that providing physical activities (PA) with an engaging and enjoyable experience lead to child adhering to the PA. If the subjects found the prescribed training more engaging and fun could this have led to more self-motivation for the study and improve their QOL.

What conclusions can we take from this research?
The study suggests that intra-hospital exercise intervention programs for both adult and child cancer patients positively improve physical fitness. However, children do experience less loss during detraining (which could be justified by the natural growth process given further research). No effects on self-reported QOL were found through the duration of the study. Suggestions were made to further investigate ways in order to improve QOL of ALL children. In summary, young children with ALL receiving the last phase of cancer treatment can safely undergo an intra-hospital program and experience positive physical benefits.

Practical advice
A larger sample size is needed in order to validate the significance of the results. In order to improve QOL reported, exercises chosen for the study should be evaluated on the effectiveness to engage and motivate. This would allow the subjects to enjoy their time in the study. In order to build on the significance of intra-hospital exercise interventions for ALL patients, the study should to be conducted in all timeline areas of cancer treatment to understand its full impact. At the time of publication, not many studies have been conducted on this intervention group. With the base knowledge gathered by the study, it can be expanded upon in future studies.

Further information/resources
The following resources provide information regarding the signs, symptoms and treatment of children with leukaemia.
 * https://www.leukaemia.org.au/blood-cancer-information/
 * https://www.cancer.org/cancer/leukemia-in-children/about/what-is-childhood-leukemia.html


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A-level Computing/AQA/Paper 1/Fundamentals of data representation/Comparison between vector and bitmaps

This image illustrates the difference between bitmap and vector images. The bitmap image is composed of a fixed set of dots (pixels), while the, that will run on a mobile phone and a home console. What type should you use and why?

Answer:Vector, as it allows for scaling without distortion and retaining its file size. You would only need one image to use on all the different systems.

You want to take an image of a local cat stuck in a tree. What type should you use and why?

Answer:Bitmap as it is better for photographs.


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User talk:Achim55

Belated welcome
Welcome to Wikibooks, Achim55!

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Hi I know you've been here for quite awhile, but were never welcomed, so here it is. Cheers Jules  (Mrjulesd) 19:57, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

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User talk:Vitund

Welcome
Welcome to Wikibooks, Vitund!

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Cheers Jules  (Mrjulesd) 20:34, 21 September 2020 (UTC)

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