Distributed Radiation Monitoring System for Linear Accelerators based on CAN Bus

Abstract—Gamma and neutron radiation is produced during the normal operation of linear accelerators like Free-Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) or X-ray Free Electron Laser (X-FEL). Gamma radiation cause general degeneration of electronics devices and neutron fluence can be a reason of soft error in memories and microcontrollers. X-FEL accelerator will be built only in one tunnel, therefore most of electronic control systems will be placed in radiation environment. Exposing control systems to radiation may lead to many errors and unexpected failure of the whole accelerator system. Thus, the radiation monitoring system able to monitor radiation doses produced near controlling systems is crucial. Knowledge of produced radiation doses allows to detect errors caused by radiation, make plans of essential exchange of control systems and prevent accelerator from serious damages. The paper presents the project of radiation monitoring system able to monitor radiation environment in real time

Diagnostic Application for Development of Custom ATCA Carrier Board for LLRF

The Advanced Telecommunications Computing Architecture (ATCA) standard describes a powerful and efficient platform. With multiple integrated solutions like redundancies and intelligent control mechanisms this technology is characterized with reliability estimated at the level of 99.99999 percent. These features make the standard perfect for use in projects like the Free Electron Laser in Hamburg (FLASH) and the X-ray Free Electron Laser (X-FEL) in order to help them meet the requirements of high availability and reliability. The ATCA standard incorporates advanced control systems defined in the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification as one of the key elements. The entire ATCA implementation retains its functionality as long as the IPMI remains operational. The complexity level of the application increases, which results in preparing it to run and debugging being more difficult to perform. At the same time, only scrupulous elimination of any kind of possible deficiencies can enable the ATCA implementation to offer the desired level of reliability. Thus, diagnostics become crucial, which creates a need for additional tools performing these tasks during the preparations of both hardware and software for the ATCA application. The paper presents application aiding in development of the prototype Carrier Board by enabling the user of external PC station to perform diagnostic and control activities over the Board. It helps in examining all its components at the stage of running the Board, as well as in further operation analysis

Fusion of morphological data obtained by coronary computed tomography angiography with quantitative echocardiographic data on regional myocardial function

Background: Three-dimensional (3D) fusion of morphological data obtained by coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) with functional data from resting and stress echocardiography could potentially provide additional information compared to examination results analyzed separately and increase the diagnostic and prognostic value of non-invasive imaging in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). Using vendor-independent software developed in our institution, we aimed to assess the feasibility and reproducibility of 3D fusion of morphological CCTA data with echocardiographic data regarding regional myocardial function. Methods: Thirty patients with suspected CAD underwent CCTA and resting transthoracic echocardiography. From CCTA we obtained 3D reconstructions of coronary arteries and left ventricle (LV). Offline speckle-tracking analysis of the echocardiographic images provided parametric maps depicting myocardial longitudinal strain in 17 segments of the LV. Using our software, 3 independent investigators fused echocardiographic maps with CCTA reconstruc­tions in all patients. Based on the obtained fused models, each segment of the LV was assigned to one of the major coronary artery branches. Results: Mean time necessary for data fusion was 65 ± 7 s. Complete agreement between independent investigators in assignment of LV segments to coronary branches was obtained in 94% of the segments. The average coefficient of agreement (kappa) between the investigators was 0.950 and the intra-class correlation coefficient was 0.9329 (95% CI 0.9227–0.9420). Conclusions: Three-dimensional fusion of morphological CCTA data with quantitative echocardiographic data on regional myocardial function is feasible and allows highly repro­ducible assignment of myocardial segments to coronary artery branches

Maturation, Peer Context, and Indigenous Girls\u27 Early-Onset Substance Use

This paper examines a biosocial model of the impact of puberty on Indigenous girls\u27 early-onset substance use by considering the potential mediating role of peer context (i.e. mixed-sex peer groups and substance use prototypes) on the puberty and substance use relationship. Data include responses from 360 girls of a common Indigenous cultural group residing on reservations/reserves in the upper Midwest and Canada. Results of structural equation modeling revealed that the statistically significant relationship between girls\u27 pubertal development and early-onset substance use was mediated by both mixed-sex/romantic peer groups and favorable social definitions of substance use. Implications for substance use prevention work include addressing the multiple and overlapping effects of peer influence from culturally-relevant perspectives

Phase II study and biomarker analysis of cetuximab combined with modified FOLFOX6 in advanced gastric cancer

This prospective study was conducted with the Korean Cancer Study Group to evaluate the efficacy and safety of cetuximab combined with modified FOLFOX6 (mFOLFOX6) as first-line treatment in recurrent or metastatic gastric cancer and to identify potential predictive biomarkers. Patients received cetuximab 400 mg m−2 at week 1 and 250 mg m−2 weekly thereafter until disease progression. Oxaliplatin (100 mg m−2) and leucovorin (100 mg m−2) were administered as a 2-h infusion followed by a 46-h continuous infusion of 5-fluorouracil (2400 mg m−2) every 2 weeks for a maximum of 12 cycles. Biomarkers potentially associated with efficacy were analysed. Among 38 evaluable patients, confirmed response rate (RR) was 50.0% (95% CI 34.1–65.9). Median time-to-progression (TTP) was 5.5 months (95% CI 4.5–6.5) and overall survival (OS) 9.9 months. Eleven patients having tumour EGFR expression by immunohistochemistry with low serum EGF and TGF-α levels showed a 100% RR compared to 37.0% in the remaining 27 patients (P<0.001). Moreover, ligand level increased when disease progressed in seven out of eight patients with EGFR expression and low baseline ligand level. No patient exhibited EGFR amplification or K-ras mutations. Gastric cancer patients with EGFR expression and low ligand levels had better outcomes with cetuximab/mFOLFOX6 treatment

Impacts of excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase, and epidermal growth factor receptor on the outcomes of patients with advanced gastric cancer

Using laser-captured microdissection and a real-time RT–PCR assay, we quantitatively evaluated mRNA levels of the following biomarkers in paraffin-embedded gastric cancer (GC) specimens obtained by surgical resection or biopsy: excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), and five other biomarkers related to anticancer drug sensitivity. The study group comprised 140 patients who received first-line chemotherapy for advanced GC. All cancer specimens were obtained before chemotherapy. In patients who received first-line S-1 monotherapy (69 patients), low MTHFR expression correlated with a higher response rate (low: 44.9% vs high: 6.3%; P=0.006). In patients given first-line cisplatin-based regimens (combined with S-1 or irinotecan) (43 patients), low ERCC1 correlated with a higher response rate (low: 55.6% vs high: 18.8%; P=0.008). Multivariate survival analysis of all patients demonstrated that high ERCC1 (hazard ratio (HR): 2.38 (95% CI: 1.55–3.67)), high DPD (HR: 2.04 (1.37–3.02)), low EGFR (HR: 0.34 (0.20–0.56)), and an elevated serum alkaline phosphatase level (HR: 1.00 (1.001–1.002)) were significant predictors of poor survival. Our results suggest that these biomarkers are useful predictors of clinical outcomes in patients with advanced GC