Intensity modulated radiation therapy with simultaneous integrated boost based dose escalation on neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy for locally advanced distal esophageal adenocarcinoma

AIM:To evaluate impact of radiation therapy dose escalation through intensity modulated radiation therapy with simultaneous integrated boost(IMRT-SIB).METHODS:We retrospectively reviewed the patients who underwent four-dimensional-based IMRT-SIBbased neoadjuvant chemoradiation protocol.During the concurrent chemoradiation therapy,radiation therapy was through IMRT-SIB delivered in 28 consecutive daily fractions with total radiation doses of 56 Gy to tumor and 5040 Gy dose-painted to clinical tumor volume,with a regimen at the discretion of the treating medical oncologist.This was followed by surgical tumor resection.We analyzed pathological completion response(p CR) rates its relationship with overall survival and event-freesurvival.RESULTS:Seventeen patients underwent dose escalation with the IMRT-SIB protocol between 2007 and 2014 and their records were available for analysis.Among the IMRT-SIB-treated patients,the toxicity appeared mild,the most common side effects were grade 1-3 esophagitis(46%) and pneumonitis(11.7%).There were no cardiac events.The Ro resection rate was 94%(n = 16),the p CR rate was 47%(n = 8),and the postoperative morbidity was zero.There was one mediastinal failure found,one patient had local failure at the anastomosis site,and the majority of failures were distant in the lung or bone.The 3-year diseasefree survival and overall survival rates were 41%(n = 7) and 53%(n = 9),respectively.CONCLUSION:The dose escalation through IMRT-SIB in the chemoradiation regimen seems responsible for down-staging the distal esophageal with well-tolerated complications.

Field Excursion Introduction for IGCP 679 1^stInternational Symposium: Progress in Cretaceous Geology in Shandong Province, China

The non-marine Cretaceous sequences are well developed in the relict basins, i.e. the Luxi basin in the west, and the Jiaolai basin in the east of Shandong Province. The Lower Cretaceous Santai Formation (140 - 136 Ma) in the Luxi basin contains aeolian dune deposits, which were formed under the control by westerly. The Cretaceous strata of the Jiaolai basin are divided into three groups: i.e. in ascending order, the Laiyang, Qingshan and Wangshi groups. New SHRIMP zircon U-Pb radiometric dating data demonstrated six Cretaceous volcanism episodes. The lower part of the Wangshi Group should be assigned to the upper Lower Cretaceous. An Ir anomaly recovered in the lower Jiaozhou Formation suggests that the Cretaceous/Palaeogene boundary would be in the interval between 537.3 - 537.4 m in the borehole JK1. At last the detailed information about the pre-symposium field excursion was introduced.

NITROGEN USE AND MANAGEMENT IN ORCHARDS AND VEGETABLE FIELDS IN CHINA: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS

China is the largest producer and consumer of fruits and vegetables in the world.Although the annual planting areas of orchards and vegetable fields(OVF)account for 20%of total croplands,they consume more than 30%of the mineral nitrogen fertilizers in China and have become hotspots of reactive N emissions.Excess N fertilization has not only reduced the N use efficiency(NUE)and quality of grown fruits and vegetables but has also led to soil acidification,biodiversity loss and climate change.Studies using 15N labeling analysis showed that the recovery rate of N fertilizer in OVFs was only 16.6%,and a high proportion of fertilizer N resided in soils(48.3%)or was lost to the environment(35.1%).Nitrate accumulation in the soil of OVFs is the main fate of N fertilizer in northern China,which threatens groundwater quality,while leaching and denitrification are the important N fates of N fertilizer in southern China.Therefore,taking different measures to reduce N loss and increase NUE based on the main pathways of N loss in the various regions is urgent,including rational N fertilization,substituting mineral N fertilizers with organic fertilizers,fertigation,and adding mineral N fertilizers with urease inhibitors and nitrification inhibitors.