Implementation of a clinical dosimetry workflow to perform personalized dosimetry for internal radiotherapy

La médecine nucléaire est une spécialité médicale qui étudie la physiologie des organes et le métabolisme de divers types de tumeurs. La médecine nucléaire utilise des produits pharmaceutiques liés à un isotope radioactif. La radiothérapie interne vectorisée (RIV) est une spécialité de la médecine nucléaire où le vecteur est dirigé vers des cibles, généralement des tumeurs, et où l'action des rayonnements ionisants vise à détruire les tumeurs. Le suivi et l'optimisation de la RMT nécessitent l'évaluation de l'irradiation délivrée au patient (dosimétrie). Il y a un manque de standardisation en dosimétrie interne. Cette thèse propose une approche standardisée avec des flux de travail descriptifs pour la dosimétrie clinique. Un logiciel appelé OpenDose3D, basé sur 3D-Slicer en tant que module open source mettant en oeuvre les flux de travail proposés, est développé, validé et mis à la disposition du public. Le module a été utilisé en recherche clinique dans le projet MEDIRAD.Nuclear medicine is a medical specialty that studies the physiology of organs and the metabo-lism of various types of tumors. Nuclear medicine uses pharmaceuticals bound to a radioactive isotope. Molecular radiotherapy (MRT) is a specialty of nuclear medicine where the vector is directed to targets, usually tumors, and the action of ionizing radiation is aimed at destroying tumors. The follow-up and optimization of MRT requires the evaluation of the irradiation delivered to the patient (dosimetry). There is a lack of standardization in internal dosimetry. This thesis provides a standardized approach with descriptive clinical dosimetry workflows. A software named OpenDose3D, based in 3D-Slicer and implementing the proposed workflows was developed, validated and was made publicly available as an open source module. The module was used in clinical research within the MEDIRAD project

New database for a sample of optically bright lensed quasars in the northern hemisphere

In the framework of the Gravitational LENses and DArk MAtter (GLENDAMA) project, we present a database of nine gravitationally lensed quasars (GLQs) that have two or four images brighter than $r$ = 20 mag and are located in the northern hemisphere. This new database consists of a rich variety of follow-up observations included in the GLENDAMA global archive, which is publicly available online and contains 6557 processed astronomical frames of the nine lens systems over the period 1999$-$2016. In addition to the GLQs, our archive also incorporates binary quasars, accretion-dominated radio-loud quasars, and other objects, where about 50% of the non-GLQs were observed as part of a campaign to identify GLQ candidates. Most observations of GLQs correspond to an ongoing long-term macro-programme with 2$-$10 m telescopes at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory, and these data provide information on the distribution of dark matter at all scales. We outline some previous results from the database, and we additionally obtain new results for several GLQs that update the potential of the tool for astrophysical studies.Comment: Accepted to A&A; 32 pages. Tables 4-6, 8-11 and 13-16 are only available in electronic form at the CDS and https://grupos.unican.es/glendama/LQLM_results.ht

Emission of volatile halogenated organic compounds over various landforms at the Dead Sea

Abstract. Volatile halogenated organic compounds (VHOCs), such as methyl halides (CH3X; X = Br, Cl and I) and very short-lived halogenated substances (VSLS; CHBr3, CH2Br2, CHBrCl2, C2HCl3, CHCl3 and CHBr2Cl) are well known for their significant influence on ozone concentrations and oxidation capacity of the troposphere and stratosphere, and for their key role in aerosol formation. Insufficient characterization of the sources and emission rate of VHOCs limits our present ability to understand and assess their impact in both the troposphere and the stratosphere. Over the last two decades several natural terrestrial sources for VHOCs, including soil and vegetation, have been identified, but our knowledge about emission rates from these sources and their responses to changes in ambient conditions remains limited. Here we report measurements of the mixing ratios and the fluxes of several chlorinated and brominated VHOCs from different landforms and vegetated sites at the Dead Sea during different seasons. Fluxes were highly variable but were generally positive (emissive), corresponding with elevated mixing ratios for all of the VHOCs investigated in the four investigated site types – bare soil, coastal, cultivated and natural vegetated sites – except for fluxes of CH3I and C2HCl3 over the vegetated sites. In contrast to previous reports, we also observed emissions of brominated trihalomethanes, with net molar fluxes ordered as follows: CHBr2Cl > CHBr3 > CHBrCl2 > CHCl3. This finding can be explained by the enrichment of soil with Br. Correlation analysis, in agreement with recent studies, indicated common controls for the formation and emission of all the above trihalomethanes but also for CH2Br2. Also in line with previous reports, we observed elevated emissions of CHCl3 and C2HCl3 from mixtures of soil and different salt-deposited structures; the high correlations of flux with methyl halides, and particularly with CH3I, suggested that at least CH3I is also emitted via similar mechanisms or is subjected to similar controls. Overall, our results indicate elevate emission of VHOCs from bare soil under semi-arid conditions. Along with other recent studies, our findings point to the strong emission potential of a suite of VHOCs from saline soils and salt lakes, and call for additional studies of emission rates and mechanisms of VHOCs from saline soils and salt lakes

Persistence in the passion investment market

Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Research on the passion investment market is still limited, especially on the issue of persistence. This paper is the first to investigate it using both R/S analysis and fractional integration in the case of 3 fine wine price indices, 10 diamond price indices, 15 art price indices, and 1 stamp price index at the daily, monthly and quarterly frequency. The results can be summarised as follows: wine prices are found to be highly persistent, whilst stamp prices appear to be only weakly persistent, though they can still be characterised as a long-memory process; as for diamond prices, they can be persistent (Diamonds & Gems), anti-persistent (Diamonds Carat indices) or even random (Polished Prices Diamond Index). The dynamic R/S analysis also shows that persistence is time-varying and tends to fluctuate around the average. These findings can be explained by the different degree of liquidity of the assets examined and have implications for both academics investigating market efficiency and practitioners interested in forecasting prices.Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (0121U100473)

Focus génétique sur Les Armes miraculeuses d’Aimé Césaire

Que se passerait-il, si l’on tentait de lire la genèse des textes de manière non-téléologique ? Le plus souvent, nous ne comprenons pas (ou ne nous souvenons pas) que le Texte en question n’est qu’une fonction dans une série d’événements textuels, la publication originale n’étant qu’un exemple parmi d’autres. Parmi les projets éditoriaux et littéraires sur lesquels Aimé Césaire a travaillé, entre 1941 et 1946, force est de constater que nombre d’entre eux demeurent invisibles ou méconnaissables, sauf si l’on écarte le problème de l’interprétation téléologique des données bibliographiques, tandis que de nombreux autres sont marqués par un effort soutenu visant à recontextualiser des textes préexistants. À travers cette dispersion textuelle, nous entr’apercevons un ouvrage qui n’a jamais existé et qui pourtant existe, à bien des égards : un long poème, Le Grand Midi, dissimulé par un poème plus court publié dans Les Armes miraculeuses, « Le Grand Midi ». Dans cette étude, nous reconstituons donc la trajectoire de ce texte fantôme et, en passant, sans le privilégier, les champs textuels dont serait issu le premier livre des poèmes de Césaire.What if we insisted on reading the genesis of texts in non-teleological ways? Would it still be genetic criticism? We often fail to see—or remember—that the Text in question is only a function of a series of textual events, original publication being only but one of them. In the case of the early Aimé Césaire, that textual field can be characterized as a nebulous playground, rife with possibilities. Césaire worked on several editorial and literary projects during the period 1941‑1946, many of them invisible or unrecognizable unless we bracket bibliographic teleology, and many of them characterized by an ongoing effort to re-contextualize pre-existing texts. Out of this explosion of textual vagrancy we can glimpse a work that never was, and yet, was in many ways: A long poem, Le Grand Midi, obfuscated by a smaller poem published in Les Armes miraculeuses, « Le Grand Midi. » In this study we trace the history of this phantom poem, and in passing, without privileging it, we outline the contours of the textual field out of which was born Césaire’s first published book of poetry

Placing Césaire

Picture the bibliographical prelude: in 1973, Frederick Ivor Case publishes the first enumerative bibliography of Aimé Césaire with the simple title “Aimé Césaire: Bibliographie”. Around the same time, we imagine Thomas Hale already hard at work on his thesis, “Aimé Césaire: His Literary and Political Writings with a Bio-Bibliography”, which he submits in 1974. A few years later, in 1978, a revised version of the latter is published in a special issue of Études françaises, “Les Écrits d’Aimé ..

La représentation en profondeur de Et les chiens se taisaient d’Aimé Césaire : pour une édition génétique en ligne

Les nouvelles possibilités qu’offre l’édition numérique nous obligent à repenser l’analyse des différents états d’une œuvre avant et après sa première publication. Le texte d’Aimé Césaire intitulé Et les chiens se taisaient nous servira d’exemple. Il ressort de cet examen que l’on ne saurait interrompre l’étude de la genèse à l’édition originale du texte. La pratique rédactionnelle de Césaire est caractérisée par une surabondance de transpositions de blocs de texte d’une version à l’autre. Son œuvre offre par conséquent un champ particulièrement propice à l’étude des blocs de texte en tant que catégorie analytique. L’édition numérisée se prête à cette opération par sa capacité à mettre en évidence les transformations du texte. Nous proposons une technologie spécifique qui permettra de créer une édition complexe combinant analyse et représentation, et de révéler, par l’affichage simultané des différentes versions du texte, le processus interne de création.The new possibilities that digital editions offer require us to re-examine the analysis of a work’s various stages, before and after its first publication. We will use Aimé Césaire’s text titled Et les chiens se taisaient as an example. The outcome of this study shows that the genetic study of a text does not stop at its original edition. Césaire’s writing practice is defined by an overabundance of text units shifting from one version to another. Consequently, his work provides a particularly favorable field for the study of text units considered as an analytical category. Digital edition lends itself to this process thanks to its capacity to highlight the text’s transformations. We suggest a specific technology that will make possible a complex edition combining analysis and representation and, with a simultaneous display of the text’s various versions, revealing the inner creative process.Las nuevas posibilidades que brinda la edición numérica nos obligan a reconsiderar el análisis de los diferentes estados de una obra antes y después de su primera publicación. El texto de Aimé Césaire titulado Et les chiens se taisaient nos servirá como ejemplo. Este examen pone de manifiesto la necesidad de prolongar el estudio de la génesis más allá de la edición original del texto. La práctica redaccional de Césaire se caracteriza por una superabundancia de transposiciones de bloques de textos de una versión a la otra, por lo cual, su obra ofrece un campo particularmente propicio al estudio de los bloques de texto en tanto que categoría analítica. La edición digital se presta a esta operación, por su capacidad a poner en evidencia las transformaciones del texto. Proponemos una tecnología específica que permitirá crear una edición compleja, combinando análisis y representación, y revelar, a través de la visualización simultánea de diferentes versiones del texto, el proceso interno de creación.Die neuen Möglichkeiten, die sich bei einer digitalen Ausgabe bieten, nötigen uns, die Analyse der verschiedenen Zustände eines Werkes vor und nach dessen erster Veröffentlichung neu zu überdenken. Der Text von Aimé Césaire mit dem Titel Et les chiens se taisent dient uns als Beispiel. Es zeigt sich bei dessen Untersuchung, dass man bei der genetischen Analyse nicht bei der Edition des Originaltextes stehenbleiben kann. Charakteristisch für die redaktionelle Praxis Césaires ist die Überfülle von Transpositionen von Textblöcken, von einer Version zur nächsten. Sein Werk bietet deshalb ein besonders ergiebiges Feld für die Untersuchung von Textblöcken als analytische Kategorie. Die digitale Edition bietet sich bei diesem Unterfangen an, da sie es ermöglicht, die Texttransformationen darzustellen. Wir schlagen deshalb eine spezielle Technik vor, die es erlauben wird, eine komplexe Ausgabe zu erstellen, die Analyse und Darstellung miteinander verbindet, und durch die gleichzeitige Darstellung verschiedener Textversionen den inneren Schaffensprozess aufzuzeigen.Le nuove possibilità che offre l’edizione digitale ci obbliga a ripensare l’analisi dei diversi momenti di un’opera, prima e dopo la sua prima pubblicazione. Il testo di Aimé Césaire intitolato Et les chiens se taisaient ci servira d’esempio. Da questo esame emerge che non si deve interrompere lo studio genetico quando si arriva all’edizione originale dell’opera. La pratica redazionale di Césaire è caratterizzata da una sovrabbondanza di trasposizioni di blocchi di testo da una versione all’altra. Di conseguenza la sua opera offre un campo particolarmente propizio allo studio dei blocchi di testo come categoria di analisi. L’edizione digitale ben si presta a questa operazione per la sua capacità di mettere in luce le trasformazioni del testo. Qui si propone una tecnologia specifica che permetterà di realizzare un’edizione complessa che combina analisi e rappresentazione, e di rivelare, per mezzo della presentazione simultanea di versioni differenti del testo, il processo interno di creazione.As novas possibilidades que oferece a edição digital obrigam-nos a reconsiderar a análise dos diferentes estados de uma obra antes e após da sua primeira publicação. O texto de Aimé Césaire intitulado Et les chiens se taisaient servirá de exemplo. Resulta desse exame que não se poderia interromper o estudo da génese na edição original do texto. A prática redaccional de Césaire é caracterizada por abundantes transposições de blocos de texto de uma versão para outra. A sua obra oferece por conseguinte um campo particularmente propício ao estudo dos blocos de texto como categoria analítica. A edição digital presta-se a essa operação pela capacidade de realçar as transformações do texto. Propomos uma tecnologia específica que permitirá criar uma edição complexa que combina análise e representação, e revela, pela afixação simultânea das diferentes versões do texto, o processo interno da criação

Deep Reinforcement Learning for Scheduling and Power Allocation in a 5G Urban Mesh

We study the problem of routing and scheduling of real-time flows over a multi-hop millimeter wave (mmWave) mesh. We develop a model-free deep reinforcement learning algorithm that determines which subset of the mmWave links should be activated during each time slot and using what power level. The proposed algorithm, called Adaptive Activator RL (AARL), can handle a variety of network topologies, network loads, and interference models, as well as adapt to different workloads. We demonstrate the operation of AARL on several topologies: a small topology with 10 links, a moderately-sized mesh with 48 links, and a large topology with 96 links. For each topology, the results of AARL are compared to those of a greedy scheduling algorithm. AARL is shown to outperform the greedy algorithm in two aspects. First, its schedule obtains higher goodput. Second, and even more importantly, while the run time of the greedy algorithm renders it impractical for real-time scheduling, the run time of AARL is suitable for meeting the time constraints of typical 5G networks

Economía energética circular en el sector agroalimentario y la transición tecnológica hacia la descarbonización

El sector agroalimentario debe prepararse para afrontar grandes retos en relación con el uso eficiente de recursos renovables y/o no renovables. Las estrategias basadas en el concepto de “Economía Circular” aportan soluciones de gran interés. En este proyecto se estudia detenidamente la situación de la industria alimentaria con el objetivo de hallar soluciones al uso eficiente de los recursos y encontrar una transición viable (económica y ambientalmente) hacia la descarbonización. Dicho de otra manera, se quiere dotar de valor a productos, materiales y recursos para mantenerlos económicamente productivos y ambientalmente sostenibles durante el mayor tiempo posible reduciendo al máximo la cantidad de residuos que generalmente se confinarán por tiempo indefinido en depósitos controlados. Este nuevo proyecto apuesta por aprovechar los residuos agroalimentarios para la producción de energía renovable en instalaciones a pequeña escala para mejorar el autoconsumo energético y favorecer un importante ahorro económico en la producción y gestión de residuos y de energía

The GA4GH Variation Representation Specification (VRS): a Computational Framework for the Precise Representation and Federated Identification of Molecular Variation

Maximizing the personal, public, research, and clinical value of genomic information will require that clinicians, researchers, and testing laboratories exchange genetic variation data reliably. Developed by a partnership among national information resource providers, public initiatives, and diagnostic testing laboratories under the auspices of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), the Variation Representation Specification (VRS, pronounced “verse”) is an extensible framework for the semantically precise and computable representation of variation that complements contemporary human-readable and flat file standards for variation representation. VRS objects are designed to be semantically precise representations of variation, and leverage this design to enable unique, federated identification of molecular variation. We describe the components of this framework, including the terminology and information model, schema, data sharing conventions, and a reference implementation, each of which is intended to be broadly useful and freely available for community use. The specification, documentation, examples, and community links are available at https://vrs.ga4gh.org/