SOCIAL CATEGORIES AND HEALTH CARE OUTCOMES: AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN AND HIV SURVIVAL IN THE URBAN SOUTH

This ethnographic research examines the daily life and institutional conditions under which low-income Black women in urban North Carolina perceived and attended to HIV health-related needs. I focus specifically on the interplay among women’s living conditions, programmatic service needs, and their strategies for navigating the local system of care to explore and refine the categorical label “low income.” I found that there were significant differences among study participants in terms of their monthly incomes and financial resources, housing quality and status, and personal experiences with incarceration and substance abuse. The economic differences among women translated into social differences within the context of federally-funded AIDS care programs. Social differences were realized as the differential ability to transform programmatic services enrollment into beneficial social networks. Ultimately, financially stable women were better positioned than their more economically vulnerable counterparts to reap the economic and social benefits of programmatic services eligibility and enrollment. It is in this context that I explore federally-funded AIDS care services as one social field through which processes of class unfold and articulate with processes of race and gender

Is a 3-mm intrafractional margin sufficient for daily image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy of prostate cancer?

PURPOSE: To determine whether a 3-mm isotropic target margin adequately covers the prostate and seminal vesicles (SVs) during administration of an intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment fraction, assuming that daily image-guided setup is performed just before each fraction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In-room computed tomographic (CT) scans were acquired immediately before and after a daily treatment fraction in 46 patients with prostate cancer. An eight-field IMRT plan was designed using the pre-fraction CT with a 3-mm margin and subsequently recalculated on the post-fraction CT. For convenience of comparison, dose plans were scaled to full course of treatment (75.6 Gy). Dose coverage was assessed on the post-treatment CT image set. RESULTS: During one treatment fraction (21.4+/-5.5 min), there were reductions in the volumes of the prostate and SVs receiving the prescribed dose (median reduction 0.1% and 1.0%, respectively, p\u3c0.001) and in the minimum dose to 0.1 cm(3) of their volumes (median reduction 0.5 and 1.5 Gy, p\u3c0.001). Of the 46 patients, three patients\u27 prostates and eight patients\u27 SVs did not maintain dose coverage above 70 Gy. Rectal filling correlated with decreased percentage-volume of SV receiving 75.6, 70, and 60 Gy (p\u3c0.02). CONCLUSIONS: The 3-mm intrafractional margin was adequate for prostate dose coverage. However, a significant subset of patients lost SV dose coverage. The rectal volume change significantly affected SV dose coverage. For advanced-stage prostate cancers, we recommend to use larger margins or improve organ immobilization (such as with a rectal balloon) to ensure SV coverage

19th Annual Conference on Legal Issues For Financial Institutions

Materials from the 19th Annual Conference on Legal Issues For Financial Institutions held by UK/CLE in May 1999

Internal Wavelength Locking Of Grating-Coupled Semiconductor Lasers Using Integrated On-Chip Littrow Grating

We have conceived, fabricated, and tested a semiconductor laser with an integrated wavelength locking mechanism using an out-coupling grating combined with a total internal reflection (TIR) Littrow grating. © 2005 OSA/IPRA 2005

Internal Wavelength Locking Of Broad Stripe Gratingcoupled Semiconductor Lasers

This paper investigates wavelength locking of broad stripe grating coupled surface emitting lasers. This approach introduces an innovative TIR-type Littrow grating for locking with comparisons it to a conventional DBR. © 2005 Optical Society of America

Compact High Peak Power Mopa Assembly Based On Grating Coupled Laser Diodes

A hybrid MOPA was assembled by stacking laser diodes incorporating grating couplers. Applying subnanosecond driving pulses for both MO and flared PA, optical pulses with 130W peak power and 98psec pulsewidth were achieved. © 2006 IEEE

Multi-Bounce Dual Grating Reflector For Internal Wavelength Locking Of Laser Diodes

This paper introduces a multi-bounce scheme based on a Dual Grating Reflector concept for integrated wavelength locking of broad stripe laser diodes. Theoretical and experimental results are shown to have a line-width of less than 50 pm for a broad stripe device. © 2007 Optical Society of America

Micro And Nano-Optics In Surface Emitting Lasers

This paper investigates surface emitting lasers using nano and micro-optics integration for spatial and spectral beam control. Specific results will be presented for beam shaping, anti-reflection coatings, and integrated wavelength locking schemes for high power devices. © 2006 Optical Society of America