Institutional experience with a rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) technique—A three decade review (1981–2012)

AbstractTotal skin electron irradiation (TSEI) for patients with cutaneous lymphomas is technically challenging, and numerous approaches have been developed to overcome the many field matching problems associated with such a large and complex treatment volume. Since 1981 we have delivered TSEI using a rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) technique in conjunction with patch, treat and boost fields in order to provide complete skin and dose coverage. Initially we used a 6MeV electron beam at an extended source-skin distance (SSD) on a modified linear accelerator. More recently we began using a high dose rate electron mode on a commercially available linear accelerator. The RTSEI technique allows the delivery of a seamless surface dose to the majority of the patient's skin surface in a single treatment. In this review paper we present our three-decade experience with the technical development, dosimetry, treatment delivery and clinical outcomes of our RTSEI technique

Algorithm for numerical integration of the rigid-body equations of motion

A new algorithm for numerical integration of the rigid-body equations of motion is proposed. The algorithm uses the leapfrog scheme and the quantities involved are angular velocities and orientational variables which can be expressed in terms of either principal axes or quaternions. Due to specific features of the algorithm, orthonormality and unit norms of the orientational variables are integrals of motion, despite an approximate character of the produced trajectories. It is shown that the method presented appears to be the most efficient among all known algorithms of such a kind.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Dragonfly Neurons Selectively Attend to Targets Within Natural Scenes

Aerial predators, such as the dragonfly, determine the position and movement of their prey even when both are moving through complex, natural scenes. This task is likely supported by a group of neurons in the optic lobe which respond to moving targets that subtend less than a few degrees. These Small Target Motion Detector (STMD) neurons are tuned to both target size and velocity, whilst also exhibiting facilitated responses to targets traveling along continuous trajectories. When presented with a pair of targets, some STMDs generate spiking activity that represent a competitive selection of one target, as if the alternative does not exist (i.e., selective attention). Here, we describe intracellular responses of CSTMD1 (an identified STMD) to the visual presentation of targets embedded within cluttered, natural scenes. We examine CSTMD1 response changes to target contrast, as well as a range of target and background velocities. We find that background motion affects CSTMD1 responses via the competitive selection between features within the natural scene. Here, robust discrimination of our artificially embedded “target” is limited to scenarios when its velocity is matched to, or greater than, the background velocity. Additionally, the background’s direction of motion affects discriminability, though not in the manner observed in STMDs of other flying insects. Our results highlight that CSTMD1’s competitive responses are to those features best matched to the neuron’s underlying spatiotemporal tuning, whether from the embedded target or other features in the background clutter. In many scenarios, CSTMD1 responds robustly to targets moving through cluttered scenes. However, whether this neuronal system could underlie the task of competitively selecting slow moving prey against fast-moving backgrounds remains an open question.Bernard John Essex Evans, David Charles O, Carroll, Joseph Mahandas Fabian, and Steven D. Wiederma

Novel criticality in a model with absorbing states

We study a one-dimensional model which undergoes a transition between an active and an absorbing phase. Monte Carlo simulations supported by some additional arguments prompted as to predict the exact location of the critical point and critical exponents in this model. The exponents $\delta=0.5$ and $z=2$ follows from random-walk-type arguments. The exponents $\beta = \nu_{\perp}$ are found to be non-universal and encoded in the singular part of reactivation probability, as recently discussed by H. Hinrichsen (cond-mat/0008179). A related model with quenched randomness is also studied.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, generalized version with the continuously changing exponent bet

A target-detecting visual neuron in the dragonfly locks-on to selectively attended targets

The visual world projects a complex and rapidly changing image onto the retina of many animal species. This presents computational challenges for those animals reliant on visual processing to provide an accurate representation of the world. One such challenge is parsing a visual scene for the most salient targets, such as the selection of prey amidst a swarm. The ability to selectively prioritize processing of some stimuli over others is known as 'selective attention'. We recently identified a dragonfly visual neuron called 'Centrifugal Small Target Motion Detector 1' (CSTMD1) that exhibits selective attention when presented with multiple, equally salient targets. Here we conducted in vivo, electrophysiological recordings from CSTMD1 in wild-caught male dragonflies (Hemicordulia tau), whilst presenting visual stimuli on an LCD monitor. To identify the target selected in any given trial, we uniquely modulated the intensity of the moving targets (frequency-tagging). We found that the frequency information of the selected target is preserved in the neuronal response, whilst the distracter is completely ignored. We also show that the competitive system that underlies selection in this neuron can be biased by the presentation of a preceding target on the same trajectory, even when it is of lower contrast than an abrupt, novel distracter. With this improved method for identifying and biasing target selection in CSTMD1, the dragonfly provides an ideal animal model system to probe the neuronal mechanisms underlying selective attention.Benjamin H. Lancer, Bernard J.E. Evans, Joseph M. Fabian, David C. O’Carroll, and Steven D. Wiederma

Institutional experience with a rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) technique—A three decade review (1981–2012)

Total skin electron irradiation (TSEI) for patients with cutaneous lymphomas is technically challenging, and numerous approaches have been developed to overcome the many field matching problems associated with such a large and complex treatment volume. Since 1981 we have delivered TSEI using a rotational total skin electron irradiation (RTSEI) technique in conjunction with patch, treat and boost fields in order to provide complete skin and dose coverage. Initially we used a 6[[ce:hsp sp="0.25"/]]MeV electron beam at an extended source-skin distance (SSD) on a modified linear accelerator. More recently we began using a high dose rate electron mode on a commercially available linear accelerator. The RTSEI technique allows the delivery of a seamless surface dose to the majority of the patient's skin surface in a single treatment. In this review paper we present our three-decade experience with the technical development, dosimetry, treatment delivery and clinical outcomes of our RTSEI technique

Perceptual Pluralism

Perceptual systems respond to proximal stimuli by forming mental representations of distal stimuli. A central goal for the philosophy of perception is to characterize the representations delivered by perceptual systems. It may be that all perceptual representations are in some way proprietarily perceptual and differ from the representational format of thought (Dretske 1981; Carey 2009; Burge 2010; Block ms.). Or it may instead be that perception and cognition always trade in the same code (Prinz 2002; Pylyshyn 2003). This paper rejects both approaches in favor of perceptual pluralism, the thesis that perception delivers a multiplicity of representational formats, some proprietary and some shared with cognition. The argument for perceptual pluralism marshals a wide array of empirical evidence in favor of iconic (i.e., image-like, analog) representations in perception as well as discursive (i.e., language-like, digital) perceptual object representations

Fast-ion redistribution and loss due to edge perturbations in the ASDEX Upgrade, DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks

The impact of edge localized modes (ELMs) and externally applied resonant and non-resonant magnetic perturbations (MPs) on fast-ion confinement/transport have been investigated in the ASDEX Upgrade (AUG), DIII-D and KSTAR tokamaks. Two phases with respect to the ELM cycle can be clearly distinguished in ELM-induced fast-ion losses. Inter-ELM losses are characterized by a coherent modulation of the plasma density around the separatrix while intra-ELM losses appear as well-defined bursts. In high collisionality plasmas with mitigated ELMs, externally applied MPs have little effect on kinetic profiles, including fast-ions, while a strong impact on kinetic profiles is observed in low-collisionality, low q 95 plasmas with resonant and non-resonant MPs. In low-collisionality H-mode plasmas, the large fast-ion filaments observed during ELMs are replaced by a loss of fast-ions with a broad-band frequency and an amplitude of up to an order of magnitude higher than the neutral beam injection prompt loss signal without MPs. A clear synergy in the overall fast-ion transport is observed between MPs and neoclassical tearing modes. Measured fast-ion losses are typically on banana orbits that explore the entire pedestal/scrape-off layer. The fast-ion response to externally applied MPs presented here may be of general interest for the community to better understand the MP field penetration and overall plasma response.Ministerio de Economía y Empresa ((RYC-2011-09152 y ENE2012-31087)Marie Curie (Grant PCIG11-GA-2012-321455)US Department of Energy (DE-FC02-04ER54698, SC-G903402, DE-FG02-04ER54761, DE-AC02-09CH11466 and DE-FG02- 08ER54984)NRF Korea contract 2009-0082012MEST under the KSTAR projec