Comparison of a Novel Curvilinear Approach to Conventional Rectilinear Approach for Prostate Seed Implant

Purpose: To evaluate dosimetric benefit of curvilinear distribution of seeds for low-dose-rate (LDR) prostate brachytherapy with I-125 isotopes. American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) 52nd Annual Meeting July 18-22, Philadelphia, P

Precision grid and hand motion for accurate needle insertion in brachytherapy

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98741/1/MPH004749.pd

Dosimetric Evaluation of Tumor Tracking in 4D Radiotherapy

Purpose: In some patients the tumors in lung, pancreas, liver, breast, and other organs move significantly during cardiac and breathing cycles. In this study we have investigated the dosimetric benefits of real-time tumor tracking for patients who were diagnosed with lung cancer. American Society for Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) 52nd Annual Meeting October 31 - November 4, San Diego, C

RISK-INDUCED BACKWARD BIFURCATION IN HSV-2 TRANSMISSION DYNAMICS

Abstract. A risk-structured, two-sex, model for the transmission dynamics of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in a population is designed and qualitatively analysed. It is shown that adding risk structure (i.e., the risk of transmitting or acquiring HSV-2 infection) to an HSV-2 transmission model causes the phenomenon of backward bifurcation when the associated reproduction threshold is less than unity. This dynamical feature, which has non-trivial consequence on the persistence or elimination of the disease (when the reproduction threshold is less than unity), can be removed if the susceptible male and female sub populations are not stratified according to the risk of acquiring HSV-2 infection

A clinical audit and confidential enquiry of caesarean section indications at rural tertiary health care centre

Background: Worldwide CSR has been steadily increasing beyond recommended level of 15 %by WHO. High CSR have been reported in developed and developing countries. Reasons for increase in CSR are not obvious and somewhat complex. Thus, present study was undertaken to analyze various indications for CS performed at rural tertiary health care centre Sewagram, M.S.Methods: This was prospective study included all women who underwent CS from 1st January 2015 till 30th June 2016. Data was entered in MS excel sheet analyzed with percentage and chi square test using SPSS ver.17.Results: CSR was 36 .88% in present study. As per NICE guidelines CS were classified in four categories based on urgency, women were distributed in each category. Category I had 22.62%, category II -38.61%, category III - 28.37% and Category IV - 10.40% women. In CAT I common indication was foetal bradycardia (71.53%). In CAT II CS, common indication was non reassuring foetal status (38.82%).  Breech presentation (14.74%) and previous scar with doubtfull scar integrity (14.33) were next common indications. In CAT III (43.43%), IV (41.13%) previous LSCS with inadequate pelvis was the common indication. Confidential enquiry revealed that 26.17% (28/107), 20.3% (40/197), 23.17%, (35/151) and 8.3 % (5/60) of CAT I, II, III and IV CS had questionable indications.Conclusions: In this study, CSR was higher than WHO standard. Common indications in primipara was foetal distress while in multiparas primary indication previous LSC

Systematic categorization of optimization strategies for virtual power plants

Due to the rapid growth in power consumption of domestic and industrial appliances, distributed energy generation units face difficulties in supplying power efficiently. The integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) and energy storage systems (ESSs) provides a solution to these problems using appropriate management schemes to achieve optimal operation. Furthermore, to lessen the uncertainties of distributed energy management systems, a decentralized energy management system named virtual power plant (VPP) plays a significant role. This paper presents a comprehensive review of 65 existing different VPP optimization models, techniques, and algorithms based on their system configuration, parameters, and control schemes. Moreover, the paper categorizes the discussed optimization techniques into seven different types, namely conventional technique, offering model, intelligent technique, price-based unit commitment (PBUC) model, optimal bidding, stochastic technique, and linear programming, to underline the commercial and technical efficacy of VPP at day-ahead scheduling at the electricity market. The uncertainties of market prices, load demand, and power distribution in the VPP system are mentioned and analyzed to maximize the system profits with minimum cost. The outcome of the systematic categorization is believed to be a base for future endeavors in the field of VPP development

Radioactive seed immobilization techniques for interstitial brachytherapy

Purpose In prostate brachytherapy, seeds can detach from their deposited sites and move locally in the pelvis or migrate to distant sites including the pulmonary and cardiac regions. Undesirable consequences of seed migration include inadequate dose coverage of the prostate and tissue irradiation effects at the site of migration. Thus, it is clinically important to develop seed immobilization techniques. Methods We first analyze the possible causes for seed movement, and propose three potential techniques for seed immobilization: (1) surgical glue, (2) laser coagulation and (3) diathermy coagulation. The feasibility of each method is explored. Experiments were carried out using fresh bovine livers to investigate the efficacy of seed immobilization using surgical glue. Results Results have shown that the surgical glue can effectively immobilize the seeds. Evaluation of the radiation dose distribution revealed that the non-immobilized seed movement would change the planned isodose distribution considerably; while by using surgical glue method to immobilize the seeds, the changes were negligible. Conclusions Prostate brachytherapy seed immobilization is necessary and three alternative mechanisms are promising for addressing this issue. Experiments for exploring the efficacy of the other two proposed methods are ongoing. Devices compatible with the brachytherapy procedure will be designed in futur

Coordination of myeloid differentiation with reduced cell cycle progression by PU.1 Induction of microRNAs targeting cell cycle regulators and lipid anabolism

During macrophage development, myeloid progenitor cells undergo terminal differentiation coordinated with reduced cell cycle progression. Differentiation of macrophages from myeloid progenitors is accompanied by increased expression of the E26 transformation-specific transcription factor PU.1. Reduced PU.1 expression leads to increased proliferation and impaired differentiation of myeloid progenitor cells. It is not understood how PU.1 coordinates macrophage differentiation with reduced cell cycle progression. In this study, we utilized cultured PU.1- inducible myeloid cells to perform genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) analysis coupled with gene expression analysis to determine targets of PU.1 that may be involved in regulating cell cycle progression. We found that genes encoding cell cycle regulators and enzymes involved in lipid anabolism were directly and inducibly bound by PU.1 although their steady-state mRNA transcript levels were reduced. Inhibition of lipid anabolism was sufficient to reduce cell cycle progression in these cells. Induction of PU.1 reduced expression of E2f1, an important activator of genes involved in cell cycle and lipid anabolism, indirectly through microRNA 223. Next-generation sequencing identified microRNAs validated as targeting cell cycle and lipid anabolism for downregulation. These results suggest that PU.1 coordinates cell cycle progression with differentiation through induction of microRNAs targeting cell cycle regulators and lipid anabolism