8,556 research outputs found
Benchmarking GEANT4 nuclear models for hadron therapy with 95 MeV/nucleon carbon ions
In carbon-therapy, the interaction of the incoming beam with human tissues
may lead to the production of a large amount of nuclear fragments and secondary
light particles. An accurate estimation of the biological dose deposited into
the tumor and the surrounding healthy tissues thus requires sophisticated
simulation tools based on nuclear reaction models. The validity of such models
requires intensive comparisons with as many sets of experimental data as
possible. Up to now, a rather limited set of double di erential carbon
fragmentation cross sections have been measured in the energy range used in
hadrontherapy (up to 400 MeV/A). However, new data have been recently obtained
at intermediate energy (95 MeV/A). The aim of this work is to compare the
reaction models embedded in the GEANT4 Monte Carlo toolkit with these new data.
The strengths and weaknesses of each tested model, i.e.
G4BinaryLightIonReaction, G4QMDReaction and INCL++, coupled to two di fferent
de-excitation models, i.e. the generalized evaporation model and the Fermi
break-up are discussed
Localizing the Latent Structure Canonical Uncertainty: Entropy Profiles for Hidden Markov Models
This report addresses state inference for hidden Markov models. These models
rely on unobserved states, which often have a meaningful interpretation. This
makes it necessary to develop diagnostic tools for quantification of state
uncertainty. The entropy of the state sequence that explains an observed
sequence for a given hidden Markov chain model can be considered as the
canonical measure of state sequence uncertainty. This canonical measure of
state sequence uncertainty is not reflected by the classic multivariate state
profiles computed by the smoothing algorithm, which summarizes the possible
state sequences. Here, we introduce a new type of profiles which have the
following properties: (i) these profiles of conditional entropies are a
decomposition of the canonical measure of state sequence uncertainty along the
sequence and makes it possible to localize this uncertainty, (ii) these
profiles are univariate and thus remain easily interpretable on tree
structures. We show how to extend the smoothing algorithms for hidden Markov
chain and tree models to compute these entropy profiles efficiently.Comment: Submitted to Journal of Machine Learning Research; No RR-7896 (2012
Parametrised Complexity of Model Checking and Satisfiability in Propositional Dependence Logic
In this paper, we initiate a systematic study of the parametrised complexity
in the field of Dependence Logics which finds its origin in the Dependence
Logic of V\"a\"an\"anen from 2007. We study a propositional variant of this
logic (PDL) and investigate a variety of parametrisations with respect to the
central decision problems. The model checking problem (MC) of PDL is
NP-complete. The subject of this research is to identify a list of
parametrisations (formula-size, treewidth, treedepth, team-size, number of
variables) under which MC becomes fixed-parameter tractable. Furthermore, we
show that the number of disjunctions or the arity of dependence atoms
(dep-arity) as a parameter both yield a paraNP-completeness result. Then, we
consider the satisfiability problem (SAT) showing a different picture: under
team-size, or dep-arity SAT is paraNP-complete whereas under all other
mentioned parameters the problem is in FPT. Finally, we introduce a variant of
the satisfiability problem, asking for teams of a given size, and show for this
problem an almost complete picture.Comment: Update includes refined result
Scald risk in social housing can be reduced through thermostatic control system without increasing Legionella risk: a cluster randomised trial.
OBJECTIVE: To quantify the effects of a thermostatic control system in social (public) housing on the prevalence of dangerous (>60°C) water temperatures and on fuel consumption. DESIGN: Pair-matched double-blind cluster randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Social housing in a deprived inner-London borough. PARTICIPANTS: 150 households recruited as clusters from 22 social housing estates. Four small estates were combined into two clusters (resulting in a total of 10 pairs of clusters). INTERVENTION: Social housing estate boiler houses were randomised to a thermostatic control sterilisation programme (heating water to 65°C during 00:00-06:00 h and to 50°C from 06:00 to 00:00 h daily) or to standard control (constant temperature 65°C). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Water temperature over 60°C ('dangerous') after running taps for 1 min and daily fuel consumption (cubic feet of gas). RESULTS: 10 clusters (80 households) were allocated to the sterilisation programme and 10 clusters (70 households) to control, of which 73 and 67 households, respectively, were analysed. Prevalence of dangerous (>60°C) hot water temperatures at 1 min was significantly reduced with the sterilisation programme (mean of cluster prevalence 1% in sterilisation programme group vs 34% in control group; absolute difference 33%, 95% CI 12% to 54%; p=0.006). Prevalence of high (>55°C) hot water temperatures at 1 min was significantly reduced (31% sterilisation vs 59% control; absolute difference 28%, 95% CI 9% to 47%; p=0.009). Gas consumption per day reduced more in the control group than in the sterilisation programme group, although not statistically significantly (p=0.125). CONCLUSIONS: The thermostatic control with daily sterilisation was effective in capping hot water temperatures and therefore reduced scald risk. Although expected to save energy, fuel consumption was increased relative to the control group. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT00874692
Fixed Point and Aperiodic Tilings
An aperiodic tile set was first constructed by R.Berger while proving the
undecidability of the domino problem. It turned out that aperiodic tile sets
appear in many topics ranging from logic (the Entscheidungsproblem) to physics
(quasicrystals) We present a new construction of an aperiodic tile set that is
based on Kleene's fixed-point construction instead of geometric arguments. This
construction is similar to J. von Neumann self-reproducing automata; similar
ideas were also used by P. Gacs in the context of error-correcting
computations. The flexibility of this construction allows us to construct a
"robust" aperiodic tile set that does not have periodic (or close to periodic)
tilings even if we allow some (sparse enough) tiling errors. This property was
not known for any of the existing aperiodic tile sets.Comment: v5: technical revision (positions of figures are shifted
Update on the ICUD-SIU consultation on multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging in localised prostate cancer
Introduction: Prostate cancer (PCa) imaging is a rapidly evolving field. Dramatic improvements in prostate MRI during the last decade will probably change the accuracy of diagnosis. This chapter reviews recent current evidence about MRI diagnostic performance and impact on PCa management. Materials and methods: The International Consultation on Urological Diseases nominated a committee to review the literature on prostate MRI. A search of the PubMed database was conducted to identify articles focussed on MP-MRI detection and staging protocols, reporting and scoring systems, the role of MP-MRI in diagnosing PCa prior to biopsy, in active surveillance, in focal therapy and in detecting local recurrence after treatment. Results: Differences in opinion were reported in the use of the strength of magnets [1.5 Tesla (T) vs. 3T] and coils. More agreement was found regarding the choice of pulse sequences; diffusion-weighted MRI (DW-MRI), dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE MRI), and/or MR spectroscopy imaging (MRSI) are recommended in addition to conventional T2-weighted anatomical sequences. In 2015, the Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS version 2) was described to standardize image acquisition and interpretation. MP-MRI improves detection of clinically significant PCa (csPCa) in the repeat biopsy setting or before the confirmatory biopsy in patients considering active surveillance. It is useful to guide focal treatment and to detect local recurrences after treatment. Its role in biopsy-naive patients or during the course of active surveillance remains debated. Conclusion: MP-MRI is increasingly used to improve detection of csPCa and for the selection of a suitable therapeutic approach
Deformation of grain boundaries in polar ice
The ice microstructure (grain boundaries) is a key feature used to study ice
evolution and to investigate past climatic changes. We studied a deep ice core,
in Dome Concordia, Antarctica, which records past mechanical deformations. We
measured a "texture tensor" which characterizes the pattern geometry and
reveals local heterogeneities of deformation along the core. These results
question key assumptions of the current models used for dating
- …