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Background: Complications related to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) such as acute radiation-induced esophagitis (ARIE) may cause significant morbidity and unplanned treatment delays in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We designed a prospective randomized study to assess the impact of glutamine (GLN) supplementation in preventing CCRT-induced toxicities of advanced NSCLC patients. Methods: From September 2014 to September 2015, 60 patients diagnosed with NSCLC were included to the study. Thirty patients (50%) received prophylactic powdered GLN orally at a dose of 10 g/8 h. The prescribed radiation dose to the planning target volume was 30 Gy in 2-Gy fractions. The endpoints were radiation-induced esophagitis, mucositis, body weight loss, overall survival and progression-free survival. Results: The 60 patients with NSCLC included 42 men and 18 women with a mean age ± standard deviation of 60.3 years ± 18.2 (range, 44–78 years). At a median follow-up of 26.4 months (range 10.4–32.2), all patients tolerated GLN well. A administration of GLN was associated with a decrease in the incidence of grade 2 or 3 ARIE (6.7% vs 53.4% for Gln+ vs Gln-; P = .004). GLN supplementation appeared to significantly delay ARIE onset for 5.8 days (18.2 days vs 12.4 days; P = .027) and reduced incidence of weight loss (20% vs 73.3%; P = .01). Discussion: Our study suggests a beneficial effect of oral glutamine supplementation for the prevention from radiation-induced injury and body weight loss in advanced NSCLC patients who receiving CCRT.

On October 16, 1998, a mudflow of 2,000 m(3) resulting in five deaths in the Neihu area of Taipei city came in the wake of Typhoon Zebert, which delivered approximately 300 mm/day of precipitation. The destructive 50-m-long mudflow rushed down the hill without any forewarning, wreaking severe destruction to the properties below. Based on in-situ investigation, this paper discusses the event scenario and provides critical data analyses to identify the contributing factors and main triggering mechanism of the disaster. The chances of possible water uplift due to groundwater conditions, the engineering properties of the geomaterials, and the influence of man-made changes in the morphology are examined in weighing the importance of these factors and identifying the main trigger

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