780 research outputs found
Semi-empirical formulation of multiple scattering for Gaussian beam model of heavy charged particles stopping in tissue-like matter
Dose calculation for radiotherapy with protons and heavier ions deals with a
large volume of path integrals involving a scattering power of body tissue.
This work provides a simple model for such demanding applications. There is an
approximate linearity between RMS end-point displacement and range of incident
particles in water, empirically found in measurements and detailed
calculations. This fact was translated into a simple linear formula, from which
the scattering power that is only inversely proportional to residual range was
derived. The simplicity enabled analytical formulation for ions stopping in
water, which was designed to be equivalent with the extended Highland model and
agreed with measurements within 2% or 0.02 cm in RMS displacement. The
simplicity will also improve the efficiency of numerical path integrals in the
presence of heterogeneity.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physics in Medicine and Biolog
GABA(A) receptor phospho-dependent modulation is regulated by phospholipase C-related inactive protein type 1, a novel protein phosphatase 1 anchoring protein
GABA(A) receptors are critical in controlling neuronal activity. Here, we examined the role for phospholipase C-related inactive protein type 1 (PRIP-1), which binds and inactivates protein phosphatase 1alpha (PP1alpha) in facilitating GABA(A) receptor phospho-dependent regulation using PRIP-1(-/-) mice. In wild-type animals, robust phosphorylation and functional modulation of GABA(A) receptors containing beta3 subunits by cAMP-dependent protein kinase was evident, which was diminished in PRIP-1(-/-) mice. PRIP-1(-/-) mice exhibited enhanced PP1alpha activity compared with controls. Furthermore, PRIP-1 was able to interact directly with GABA(A) receptor beta subunits, and moreover, these proteins were found to be PP1alpha substrates. Finally, phosphorylation of PRIP-1 on threonine 94 facilitated the dissociation of PP1alpha-PRIP-1 complexes, providing a local mechanism for the activation of PP1alpha. Together, these results suggest an essential role for PRIP-1 in controlling GABA(A) receptor activity via regulating subunit phosphorylation and thereby the efficacy of neuronal inhibition mediated by these receptors
Computational modeling of beam-customization devices for heavy-charged-particle radiotherapy
A model for beam customization with collimators and a range-compensating
filter based on the phase-space theory for beam transport is presented for dose
distribution calculation in treatment planning of radiotherapy with protons and
heavier ions. Independent handling of pencil beams in conventional pencil-beam
algorithms causes unphysical collimator-height dependence in the middle of
large fields, which is resolved by the framework comprised of generation,
transport, collimation, regeneration, range-compensation, and edge-sharpening
processes with a matrix of pencil beams. The model was verified to be
consistent with measurement and analytic estimation at a submillimeter level in
penumbra of individual collimators with a combinational-collimated carbon-ion
beam. The model computation is fast, accurate, and readily applicable to
pencil-beam algorithms in treatment planning with capability of combinational
collimation to make best use of the beam-customization devices.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figure
A straw drift chamber spectrometer for studies of rare kaon decays
We describe the design, construction, readout, tests, and performance of
planar drift chambers, based on 5 mm diameter copperized Mylar and Kapton
straws, used in an experimental search for rare kaon decays. The experiment
took place in the high-intensity neutral beam at the Alternating Gradient
Synchrotron of Brookhaven National Laboratory, using a neutral beam stop, two
analyzing dipoles, and redundant particle identification to remove backgrounds
First Observation of the Rare Decay Mode K-long -> e+ e-
In an experiment designed to search for and study very rare two-body decay
modes of the K-long, we have observed four examples of the decay K-long -> e+
e-, where the expected background is 0.17+-0.10 events. This observation
translates into a branching fraction of 8.7^{+5.7}_{-4.1} X 10^{-12},
consistent with recent theoretical predictions. This result represents by far
the smallest branching fraction yet measured in particle physics.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Consensus report from the 6th International forum for liver MRI using gadoxetic acid
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108276/1/jmri24419.pd
Heterodimers as the Structural Unit of the T=1 Capsid of the Fungal Double-Stranded RNA Rosellinia Necatrix Quadrivirus 1
Most double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) viruses are transcribed and replicated in a specialized icosahedral capsid with a T=1 lattice consisting of 60 asymmetric capsid protein (CP) dimers. These capsids help to organize the viral genome and replicative complex(es). They also act as molecular sieves that isolate the virus genome from host defense mechanisms and allow the passage of nucleotides and viral transcripts. Rosellinia necatrix quadrivirus 1 (RnQV1), the type species of the family Quadriviridae, is a dsRNA fungal virus with a multipartite genome consisting of four monocistronic segments (segments 1 to 4). dsRNA-2 and dsRNA-4 encode two CPs (P2 and P4, respectively), which coassemble into ∼450-Å-diameter capsids. We used three-dimensional cryo-electron microscopy combined with complementary biophysical techniques to determine the structures of RnQV1 virion strains W1075 and W1118. RnQV1 has a quadripartite genome, and the capsid is based on a single-shelled T=1 lattice built of P2-P4 dimers. Whereas the RnQV1-W1118 capsid is built of full-length CP, P2 and P4 of RnQV1-W1075 are cleaved into several polypeptides, maintaining the capsid structural organization. RnQV1 heterodimers have a quaternary organization similar to that of homodimers of reoviruses and other dsRNA mycoviruses. The RnQV1 capsid is the first T=1 capsid with a heterodimer as an asymmetric unit reported to date and follows the architectural principle for dsRNA viruses that a 120-subunit capsid is a conserved assembly that supports dsRNA replication and organization
Chromatic Illumination Discrimination Ability Reveals that Human Colour Constancy Is Optimised for Blue Daylight Illuminations
The phenomenon of colour constancy in human visual perception keeps surface colours constant, despite changes in their reflected light due to changing illumination. Although colour constancy has evolved under a constrained subset of illuminations, it is unknown whether its underlying mechanisms, thought to involve multiple components from retina to cortex, are optimised for particular environmental variations. Here we demonstrate a new method for investigating colour constancy using illumination matching in real scenes which, unlike previous methods using surface matching and simulated scenes, allows testing of multiple, real illuminations. We use real scenes consisting of solid familiar or unfamiliar objects against uniform or variegated backgrounds and compare discrimination performance for typical illuminations from the daylight chromaticity locus (approximately blue-yellow) and atypical spectra from an orthogonal locus (approximately red-green, at correlated colour temperature 6700 K), all produced in real time by a 10-channel LED illuminator. We find that discrimination of illumination changes is poorer along the daylight locus than the atypical locus, and is poorest particularly for bluer illumination changes, demonstrating conversely that surface colour constancy is best for blue daylight illuminations. Illumination discrimination is also enhanced, and therefore colour constancy diminished, for uniform backgrounds, irrespective of the object type. These results are not explained by statistical properties of the scene signal changes at the retinal level. We conclude that high-level mechanisms of colour constancy are biased for the blue daylight illuminations and variegated backgrounds to which the human visual system has typically been exposed
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