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Biomedical subjects

T Whalen

Publications and source records attributed to T Whalen.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

MOPP or radiation in addition to ABVD in the treatment of pathologically staged advanced Hodgkin's disease in children: results of the Children's Cancer Group Phase III Trial.

PURPOSE: A randomized trial designed to compare mechlorethamine, vincristine, procarbazine, and prednisone (MOPP)/doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and daccarbazine (ABVD) (regimen A) with ABVD plus low-dose regional (extended-field) radiation therapy (EF RT) (regimen B) for the treatment of children and adolescents with stages III and IV Hodgkin's disease was conducted by the Children's Cancer Group (CCG-521) from 1986 until 1990. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred eleven eligible patients were randomized, 57 to regimen A and 54 to regimen B. All patients had pathologically verified stage III or stage IV Hodgkin's disease. RESULTS: Overall survival (S) is 87% at 4 years and event-free survival (EFS) is 82%. Patients randomized to ABVD plus EF RT have a 4-year EFS of 87% compared with 77% for patients randomized to MOPP/ABVD (P = .09, two-sided). Patients randomized to ABVD plus EF RT have a 4-year S of 90% compared with 84% for patients randomized to MOPP/ABVD (P = .45, two-sided). Significant prognostic factors in multivariate analysis for EFS are stage of disease, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) at diagnosis, liver size at diagnosis, and, among stage III patients, the size of the mediastinal mass at diagnosis. The acute toxicities of treatment are largely hematopoietic in nature, whereas acute pulmonary and cardiac toxicities are modest and not limiting. CONCLUSION: The results of this study show that, in advanced-stage Hodgkin's disease in children, equivalent results can be obtained by the addition of either MOPP or low-dose EF RT to the ABVD regimen; whether the addition of either contributes to outcome was not addressed in this study and will require additional testing. It is clear, however, that MOPP chemotherapy can safely be eliminated from front-line combination chemotherapy regimens for advanced Hodgkin's disease in pediatric patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Scale-up of a cyclone bioreactor.

The operation of a cyclone bioreactor differs from conventional stirred tanks since the agitation is accomplished by means of a pumped recirculation loop. Oxygen transfer can occur across the swirling gas-liquid interface in the cyclone or from bubbles entrained in the recirculation loop. A cyclone bioreactor was scaled-up from a 1 dm3 bench top unit to a 75 dm3 Process Development Unit (PDU). A reduction in the aspect ratio was compensated for by extending the length of the recirculation loop and providing additional aeration. Performance of the two reactors for the production of microbial poly-beta-hydroxybutyrate (PHB) was compared under various operating conditions. The culture used for PHB production was Alcaligenes eutrophus DSM 545, grown on a mineral salts medium limited by the supply of nitrogen. The levels of dissolved oxygen obtained in the PDU were strongly dependent on the location at which the air was introduced into the reactor. However, with aeration balanced between two injection points and a similar level of power input, 17 J s-1 dm-3, the PDU was able to provide at least as much oxygen transfer capability as the laboratory-scale reactor. Under all conditions tested, the PHB accumulation by A. eutrophus was in excess of 80% of the biomass dry weight, although the yield on glucose was lower in the PDU than in the laboratory-scale reactor.

Alcaligenes↗
PubMed1994

Follow-up of complex unresectable lymphangiomas.

Our purpose was to determine the natural history of unresectable lymphangiomas. From 1986-1992, 11 cases of unresectable lymphangiomas were seen in our institution (age 1 month to 14 years). Locations affected included cervical (8), mediastinal (6), and abdominal (3). Presenting symptoms included abdominal pain, respiratory problems, chylothorax, pleural effusions, and pneumococcal sepsis. Attempts at total excision were performed in all but one patient who had biopsy only. The tumor that could not be removed was then observed for the development of complications. Follow-up of these 11 patients ranged from 2 to 6 years. Two have completely regressed, five have stabilized, and four have required repeat operation. Of the five that have stabilized, none have developed complications such as infection or compression secondary to the mass. In an asymptomatic patient, it appears that the portion of the lymphangiomas remaining will regress or at least not progress, and no further resections were required.

Abdominal Neoplasms↗
PubMed1991

Sound localization and sensitivity to interaural time differences in human infants.

The role of interaural time differences in infants' sound localization was investigated. One experiment on free-field sound localization corroborated previous findings that the minimum audible angle changes substantially toward the end of the first half year after birth, and 3 experiments explored interaural time discrimination in that age range. The first of these 3 experiments used an adaptive psychophysical procedure, showing that infants responded appropriately in a sound lateralization task that provides a direct measure of interaural time discrimination. The other 2 experiments improved on the psychophysical procedure by taking into account the ceiling level on performance in the task. Infants aged 16, 20, and 28 weeks had thresholds in the range of 50 to 75 microsec, with no apparent age difference. These thresholds were much lower than would be predicted from studies of free-field sound localization, indicating that sensitivity to interaural time differences is not a limiting factor for the precision of sound localization in this age range. Instead, age-related changes in free-field sound localization may reflect the need to integrate across different localization cues and to calibrate the changing values of cues due to head growth.

Acoustic Stimulation↗