MRI/TRUS data fusion for brachytherapy

BACKGROUND: Prostate brachytherapy consists in placing radioactive seeds for tumour destruction under transrectal ultrasound imaging (TRUS) control. It requires prostate delineation from the images for dose planning. Because ultrasound imaging is patient- and operator-dependent, we have proposed to fuse MRI data to TRUS data to make image processing more reliable. The technical accuracy of this approach has already been evaluated. METHODS: We present work in progress concerning the evaluation of the approach from the dosimetry viewpoint. The objective is to determine what impact this system may have on the treatment of the patient. Dose planning is performed from initial TRUS prostate contours and evaluated on contours modified by data fusion. RESULTS: For the eight patients included, we demonstrate that TRUS prostate volume is most often underestimated and that dose is overestimated in a correlated way. However, dose constraints are still verified for those eight patients. CONCLUSIONS: This confirms our initial hypothesis

The Microcalorimeter Arrays for a Rhenium Experiment (MARE): a next-generation calorimetric neutrino mass experiment

Neutrino oscillation experiments have proved that neutrinos are massive particles, but can't determine their absolute mass scale. Therefore the neutrino mass is still an open question in elementary particle physics. An international collaboration is growing around the project of Microcalorimeter Arrays for a Rhenium Experiment (MARE) for directly measuring the neutrino mass with a sensitivity of about 0.2eV/c2. Many groups are joining their experiences and technical expertise in a common effort towards this challenging experiment. We discuss the different scenarios and the impact of MARE as a complement of KATRIN.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure Nucl. Instr. Meth. A, proceedings of LTD11 workshop, Tokyo 200

Proceedings of the third French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for HEP

The reports collected in these proceedings have been presented in the third French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for high-energy physics held at LAL, Orsay on October 15-16. The workshop was conducted in the scope of the IDEATE International Associated Laboratory (LIA). Joint developments between French and Ukrainian laboratories and universities as well as new proposals have been discussed. The main topics of the papers presented in the Proceedings are developments for accelerator and beam monitoring, detector developments, joint developments for large-scale high-energy and astroparticle physics projects, medical applications.Comment: 3rd French-Ukrainian workshop on the instrumentation developments for High Energy Physics, October 15-16, 2015, LAL, Orsay, France, 94 page

First Results from the AMoRE-Pilot neutrinoless double beta decay experiment

The Advanced Molybdenum-based Rare process Experiment (AMoRE) aims to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{100}$Mo with $\sim$100 kg of $^{100}$Mo-enriched molybdenum embedded in cryogenic detectors with a dual heat and light readout. At the current, pilot stage of the AMoRE project we employ six calcium molybdate crystals with a total mass of 1.9 kg, produced from $^{48}$Ca-depleted calcium and $^{100}$Mo-enriched molybdenum ($^{48\textrm{depl}}$Ca$^{100}$MoO$_4$). The simultaneous detection of heat(phonon) and scintillation (photon) signals is realized with high resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter sensors that operate at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This stage of the project is carried out in the Yangyang underground laboratory at a depth of 700 m. We report first results from the AMoRE-Pilot $0\nu\beta\beta$ search with a 111 kg$\cdot$d live exposure of $^{48\textrm{depl}}$Ca$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystals. No evidence for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay of $^{100}$Mo is found, and a upper limit is set for the half-life of 0$\nu\beta\beta$ of $^{100}$Mo of $T^{0\nu}_{1/2} > 9.5\times10^{22}$ y at 90% C.L.. This limit corresponds to an effective Majorana neutrino mass limit in the range $\langle m_{\beta\beta}\rangle\le(1.2-2.1)$ eV

Sex as Boys\u27 Fame, but Girls\u27 Shame: Adversarial Gender Roles and Gender-based Violence in Guyana

Gender-based violence (GBV) is a significant issue for youth in Guyana, particularly among young women. Yet, discussions about sex, dating, and violence rarely occur at the community level. To understand the heightened risk for GBV with youth in Guyana, we utilized a critical qualitative design to explore adolescent dating violence with adolescents (14–16 years old), parents, and school officials in a public secondary school in Guyana. In total, 36 racially and religiously diverse participants from low to middle-income households participated in focus groups (n = 30) and interviews (n = 6). Discussions centered on dating in adolescence; community awareness of dating violence; gender, racialization, and class in relation to dating violence; and dating violence prevention in schools and family settings. Our results revealed that heteronormative, adversarial gender roles in Guyana are enacted in adolescent relationships in ways that contribute to violence. Two important factors emerged in relation to femininity: female respectability related to sexuality; and the relationship between clothing, sexuality, and social class. Masculinity for adolescent boys was centered on reproducing normative assumptions about femininity and explaining the use of violence through pathologizing race. Participants were also asked to identify gender roles that adolescent boys and girls should embody in relationships, which revealed possibilities for overcoming adversarial roles in relationships. We propose that adolescent GBV prevention initiatives consider long-standing and deeply embedded ideas within gender norms that are connected to sexuality, class, and race. Without accounting for these systemic factors, GBV prevention initiatives and programs may inadvertently perpetuate traditional definitions of masculinity and femininity that contribute to violence

Towards Smart Sensing Systems: A New Approach to Environmental Monitoring Systems by Using LoRaWAN

The proliferation of monitoring in unpredictable environments has aided the world in solving challenges that were previously thought to be insurmountable. Drastic advancement has been pinpointed in the way we live, work, and play; however, the data odyssey has yet started. From sensing to monitoring, the endless possibility enabled by LoRa, the long-range low power solution has made its mark on the technological world. With the adoption of the LoRaWAN, the long-range low power wide area network has appeared in existence to cope with the constraints associated with the Internet of Things (IoT) infrastructure. This paper presents a practical experiment for sensing the environmental condition using the LoRaWAN solution. The proposed work allows the users to check the environmental effects (temperature, and humidity) online. Furthermore, the signal behavior has been recorded and cross-verified by using MATLAB software implementation