The lung cancers: staging and response, CT, 18F-FDG PET/CT, MRI, DWI: review and new perspectives.

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths in both sexes combined. Recent years have seen major advances in the diagnostic and treatment options for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), including the routine use of 2-deoxy-2[18F]-fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) in staging and response evaluation, minimally invasive endoscopic biopsy, targeted radiotherapy, minimally invasive surgery, and molecular and immunotherapies. In this review, the central roles of CT and 18F-FDG PET/CT in staging and response in both NSCLC and malignant pleural mesothelioma (MPM) are critically assessed. The Tumour Node Metastases (TNM-8) staging systems for NSCLC and MPM are presented with critical appraisal of the strengths and pitfalls of imaging. Overviews of the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumours (RECIST 1.1) for NSCLC and the modified RECIST criteria for MPM are provided, together with discussion of the benefits and limitations of these anatomical-based tools. Metabolic response assessment (not evaluated by RECIST 1.1) will be explored. We introduce the Positron Emission Tomography Response Criteria in Solid Tumours (PERCIST 1.0) to include its advantages and challenges. The limitations of both anatomical and metabolic assessment criteria when applied to NSCLC treated with immunotherapy and the important concept of pseudoprogression are addressed with reference to immune RECIST (iRECIST). Separate consideration is given to the diagnosis and follow up of solitary pulmonary nodules with reference to the British Thoracic Society guidelines and Fleischner guidelines and use of the Brock (CT-based) and Herder (addition of 18F-FDG PET/CT) models for assessing malignant potential. We discuss how these models inform decisions by the multidisciplinary team, including referral of suspicious nodules for non-surgical management in patients unsuitable for surgery. We briefly outline current lung screening systems being used in the UK, Europe and North America. Emerging roles for MRI in lung cancer imaging are reviewed. The use of whole-body MRI in diagnosing and staging NSCLC is discussed with reference to the recent multicentre Streamline L trial. The potential use of diffusion-weighted MRI to distinguish tumour from radiotherapy-induced lung toxicity is discussed. We briefly summarise the new PET-CT radiotracers being developed to evaluate specific aspects of cancer biology, other than glucose uptake. Finally, we describe how CT, MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT are moving from primarily diagnostic tools for lung cancer towards having utility in prognostication and personalised medicine with the agency of artificial intelligence

Airborne monitoring of crop canopy temperatures for irrigation scheduling and yield prediction

Airborne and ground measurements were made on April 1 and 29, 1976, over a USDA test site consisting mostly of wheat in various stages of water stress, but also including alfalfa and bare soil. These measurements were made to evaluate the feasibility of measuring crop temperatures from aircraft so that a parameter termed stress degree day, SDD, could be computed. Ground studies have shown that SDD is a valuable indicator of a crop's water needs, and that it can be related to irrigation scheduling and yield. The aircraft measurement program required predawn and afternoon flights coincident with minimum and maximum crop temperatures. Airborne measurements were made with an infrared line scanner and with color IR photography. The scanner data were registered, subtracted, and color-coded to yield pseudo-colored temperature-difference images. Pseudo-colored images reading directly in daily SDD increments were also produced. These maps enable a user to assess plant water status and thus determine irrigation needs and crop yield potentials

Shared visiting in Equator city

In this paper we describe an infrastructure and prototype system for sharing of visiting experiences across multiple media. The prototype supports synchronous co-visiting by physical and digital visitors, with digital access via either the World Wide Web or 3-dimensional graphics

Resonances in rotationally inelastic scattering of OH(X2ΠX^2\Pi) with helium and neon

We present detailed calculations on resonances in rotationally and spin-orbit inelastic scattering of OH (X\,^2\Pi, j=3/2, F_1, f) radicals with He and Ne atoms. We calculate new \emph{ab initio} potential energy surfaces for OH-He, and the cross sections derived from these surfaces compare favorably with the recent crossed beam scattering experiment of Kirste \emph{et al.} [Phys. Rev. A \textbf{82}, 042717 (2010)]. We identify both shape and Feshbach resonances in the integral and differential state-to-state scattering cross sections, and we discuss the prospects for experimentally observing scattering resonances using Stark decelerated beams of OH radicals.Comment: 14 pages, 15 Figure

Comparison of multispectral remote-sensing techniques for monitoring subsurface drain conditions

The following multispectral remote-sensing techniques were compared to determine the most suitable method for routinely monitoring agricultural subsurface drain conditions: airborne scanning, covering the visible through thermal-infrared (IR) portions of the spectrum; color-IR photography; and natural-color photography. Color-IR photography was determined to be the best approach, from the standpoint of both cost and information content. Aerial monitoring of drain conditions for early warning of tile malfunction appears practical. With careful selection of season and rain-induced soil-moisture conditions, extensive regional surveys are possible. Certain locations, such as the Imperial Valley, Calif., are precluded from regional monitoring because of year-round crop rotations and soil stratification conditions. Here, farms with similar crops could time local coverage for bare-field and saturated-soil conditions

Flows of people in villages and large centres in Bronze Age Italy through strontium and oxygen isotopes

This study investigates to what extent Bronze Age societies in Northern Italy were permeable accepting and integrating non-local individuals, as well as importing a wide range of raw materials, commodities, and ideas from networks spanning continental Europe and the Mediterranean. During the second millennium BC, the communities of Northern Italy engaged in a progressive stabilization of settlements, culminating in the large polities of the end of the Middle/beginning of the Late Bronze Age pivoted around large defended centres (the Terramare). Although a wide range of exotic archaeological materials indicates that the inhabitants of the Po plain increasingly took part in the networks of Continental European and the Eastern Mediterranean, we should not overlook the fact that the dynamics of interaction were also extremely active on local and regional levels. Mobility patterns have been explored for three key-sites, spanning the Early to Late Bronze Age (1900–1100 BC), namely Sant’Eurosia, Casinalbo and Fondo Paviani, through strontium and oxygen isotope analysis on a large sample size (more than 100 individuals). The results, integrated with osteological and archaeological data, document for the first time in this area that movements of people occurred mostly within a territorial radius of 50 km, but also that larger nodes in the settlement system (such as Fondo Paviani) included individuals from more distant areas. This suggests that, from a demographic perspective, the process towards a more complex socio-political system in Bronze Age Northern Italy was triggered by a largely, but not completely, internal process, stemming from the dynamics of intra-polity networks and local/regional power relationships

Hydrographic observations from the US/PRC Cooperative Program in the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean, cruises 5-8

In support of the Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program, investigators from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), and the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) from both Qingdao (First Institute) and Guangzhou (South China Sea Branch) conducted hydrographic observations aboard the Chinese R/V Xiang Yang Hong 14 in the western equatorial Pacific Ocean. The objective of this component of the TOGA program was to document the water mass property distributions of the western equatorial Pacific and describe the oceanic velocity field. The four cruises summarized here were conducted during the period November 1988 to July 1990 and are the final half of an eight cruise repeated survey of the region begun in 1985. Conductivity-Temperature-Depth-Oxygen (CTD/O2) stations were collected to a minimum cast depth of 2500m or the bottom when shallower. The cruises reoccupied the same stations to provide temporal information. Summarized listings of CTD/02 data together with selected physical properties of sea water for these cruises are provided here, as well as a description of the hardware used and an explanation of the data reduction techniques employed.Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Grant No. NA85AA-D-AC117

Analytic Inversion of Emission Lines of Arbitrary Optical Depth for the Structure of Supernova Ejecta

We derive a method for inverting emission line profiles formed in supernova ejecta. The derivation assumes spherical symmetry and homologous expansion (i.e., $v(r) \propto r$), is analytic, and even takes account of occultation by a pseudo-photosphere. Previous inversion methods have been developed which are restricted to optically thin lines, but the particular case of homologous expansion permits an analytic result for lines of {\it arbitrary} optical depth. In fact, we show that the quantity that is generically retrieved is the run of line intensity $I_\lambda$ with radius in the ejecta. This result is quite general, and so could be applied to resonance lines, recombination lines, etc. As a specific example, we show how to derive the run of (Sobolev) optical depth $\tau_\lambda$ with radius in the case of a pure resonance scattering emission line.Comment: 6 pages, no figures, to appear in Astrophysical Journal Letters, requires aaspp4.sty to late

Explorations in anatomy: the remains from Royal London Hospital

This paper considers the faunal remains from recent excavations at the Royal London Hospital. The remains date to the beginning of the 19th century and offer an insight into the life of the hospital's patients and practices of the attached medical school. Many of the animal remains consist of partially dissected skeletons, including the unique finds of Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni) and Cercopithecus monkey. The hospital diet and developments in comparative anatomy are discussed by integrating the results with documentary research. They show that zooarchaeological study of later post-medieval material can significantly enhance our understanding of the exploitation of animals in this perio

On being a good Bayesian

Bayesianism is fast becoming the dominant paradigm in archaeological chronology construction. This paradigm shift has been brought about in large part by widespread access to tailored computer software which provides users with powerful tools for complex statistical inference with little need to learn about statistical modelling or computer programming. As a result, we run the risk that such software will be reduced to the status of black boxes. This would be a dangerous position for our community since good, principled use of Bayesian methods requires mindfulness when selecting the initial model, defining prior information, checking the reliability and sensitivity of the software runs and interpreting the results obtained. In this article, we provide users with a brief review of the nature of the care required and offer some comments and suggestions to help ensure that our community continues to be respected for its philosophically rigorous scientific approach