Breast treatments with Axxent equipment.Comparison with Mammosite for skin, lung and heart dose

Poster Session [EP-1314] Purpose or Objective We have treated 250 patients at our center from May 2015 to September 2017 for breast cancer with Axxent (Xoft Inc.) intraoperativ e radiotherapy (IORT) following the inclusion parameters of the TARGIT study, in this work we compare the doses in the skin of the first 150 patients treated with the 50 kVp source with the skin doses they would have received using the Mammosite kit using an Ir192 source. Material and Methods To the 250 patients treated in our center after removing the tumor, the appropriate balloon size is chosen to cover the tumor area with a dose of 20 Gy on the ball oon surface, the sizes used range fro m 30-65 cm3, after which it is verified that the distance to skin from the 3 closest points of the balloon i s less than 10 mm and then the treatment is carried out with an average duration of 10.3 minutes being the volumes of 30 and 35 cm3 the most used due to the inclusion criteria of the procedure. Treatment plans are previously per formed in a Brachyvision treatment planning system (TPS) (Varian Inc.) for each of the possible volumes. In tur n, another plan is calculated with the Mammosite applicator and Ir192 source, from which the skin dose of each control point is estimated, compared to our results. We present also the cases of acute dermatitis seen for these first 150 patients in a time less than 6 months after the surgical act and irradiation. Results The differences in maximum skin dose for bot h types of treatment are 8.1 ± 1.2 Gy for the case of Mammosite and 5.7 ± 1.5 Gy for patients treated with electronic source, due to the difference in the depht dos e percentage of both types of treatment (Image 1). This, in turn, explains the very few cases of acute dermatitis at 6 months (8 cases of grade 2 and 2 cases of grade 3) (Image 2) with no recurrence to date.We also show the mean and maximum doses (expressed as percentage of prescribed dose) for the left lung and heart in cases of left breast tumor for the volumes of 30 and 35 cm3, which are the most common volumes in our hospital (70% of cases): LEFT LUNG (Left Breast tratment) AXXENT MAMMOSITE Maximun Dose (%PD) 20.4% 29.9% Mean Dose (%PD) 1.0% 3.9% HEART (Left Breast tratment) AXXENT MAMMOSITE Maximun Dose (%PD) 4.1% 10.4% Mean Dose (%PD) 0.8% 3.3% Conclusion It is concluded that the IORT treatments performed with the Axxent equipment with electronic source are a good alternative to those performed with Ir192 and our 250 patients treated to date to the good results presented by other centers are joined.In additi on to the low skin toxicity, there is no recurrence in patients treated so far, which makes us very optimistic about the results

Analisi scientifiche sulle tempere murali di Villa Pace

International audienceThe morphology, mineralogy, and solid-liquid phase separation of the Cu and Zn precipitates formed with sulfide produced in a sulfate-reducing bioreactor were studied at pH 3, 5, and 7. The precipitates formed at pH 7 display faster settling rates, better dewaterability, and higher concentrations of settleable solids as compared to the precipitates formed at pH 3 and 5. These differences were linked to the agglomeration of the sulfidic precipitates and coprecipitation of the phosphate added to the bioreactor influent. The Cu and Zn quenched the intensity of the dissolved organic matter peaks identified by fluorescence-excitation emission matrix spectroscopy, suggesting a binding mechanism that decreases supersaturation, especially at pH 5. X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy analyses confirmed the precipitation of Zn-S as sphalerite and Cu-S as covellite in all samples, but also revealed the presence of Zn sorbed on hydroxyapatite. These analyses further showed that CuS structures remained amorphous regardless of the pH, whereas the ZnS structure was more organized at pH 5 as compared to the ZnS formed at pH 3 and 7, in agreement with the cubic sphalerite-type structures observed through scanning electron microscopy at pH 5

The Quijote CMB Experiment

We present the current status of the QUIJOTE (Q-U-I JOint TEnerife) CMB Experiment, a new instrument which will start operations early 2009 at Teide Observatory, with the aim of characterizing the polarization of the CMB and other processes of galactic and extragalactic emission in the frequency range 10-30 GHz and at large angular scales. QUIJOTE will be a valuable complement at low frequencies for the PLANCK mission, and will have the required sensitivity to detect a primordial gravitational-wave component if the tensor-to-scalar ratio is larger than r=0.05.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures. To appear in "Highlights of Spanish Astrophysics V", Proceedings of the VIII Scientific Meeting of the Spanish Astronomical Society (SEA) held in Santander, 7-11 July, 2008. Edited by J. Gorgas, L. J. Goicoechea, J. I. Gonzalez-Serrano, J. M. Dieg

Optimization of Planck/LFI on--board data handling

To asses stability against 1/f noise, the Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) onboard the Planck mission will acquire data at a rate much higher than the data rate allowed by its telemetry bandwith of 35.5 kbps. The data are processed by an onboard pipeline, followed onground by a reversing step. This paper illustrates the LFI scientific onboard processing to fit the allowed datarate. This is a lossy process tuned by using a set of 5 parameters Naver, r1, r2, q, O for each of the 44 LFI detectors. The paper quantifies the level of distortion introduced by the onboard processing, EpsilonQ, as a function of these parameters. It describes the method of optimizing the onboard processing chain. The tuning procedure is based on a optimization algorithm applied to unprocessed and uncompressed raw data provided either by simulations, prelaunch tests or data taken from LFI operating in diagnostic mode. All the needed optimization steps are performed by an automated tool, OCA2, which ends with optimized parameters and produces a set of statistical indicators, among them the compression rate Cr and EpsilonQ. For Planck/LFI the requirements are Cr = 2.4 and EpsilonQ <= 10% of the rms of the instrumental white noise. To speedup the process an analytical model is developed that is able to extract most of the relevant information on EpsilonQ and Cr as a function of the signal statistics and the processing parameters. This model will be of interest for the instrument data analysis. The method was applied during ground tests when the instrument was operating in conditions representative of flight. Optimized parameters were obtained and the performance has been verified, the required data rate of 35.5 Kbps has been achieved while keeping EpsilonQ at a level of 3.8% of white noise rms well within the requirements.Comment: 51 pages, 13 fig.s, 3 tables, pdflatex, needs JINST.csl, graphicx, txfonts, rotating; Issue 1.0 10 nov 2009; Sub. to JINST 23Jun09, Accepted 10Nov09, Pub.: 29Dec09; This is a preprint, not the final versio

Planck pre-launch status: Low Frequency Instrument calibration and expected scientific performance

We give the calibration and scientific performance parameters of the Planck Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) measured during the ground cryogenic test campaign. These parameters characterise the instrument response and constitute our best pre-launch knowledge of the LFI scientific performance. The LFI shows excellent $1/f$ stability and rejection of instrumental systematic effects; measured noise performance shows that LFI is the most sensitive instrument of its kind. The set of measured calibration parameters will be updated during flight operations through the end of the mission.Comment: Accepted for publications in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Astronomy & Astrophysics, 2010 (acceptance date: 12 Jan 2010

La actividad física organizada en las personas mayores, una herramienta para mejorar la condición física en la senectud

Fundamentos. Un nivel adecuado de condición física (CF) es fundamental para el logro de un envejecimiento saludable. El objetivo de este estudio consistió en evaluar el impacto de la actividad física (AF) organizada y el número de horas de práctica sobre el nivel de CF de las personas mayores. Método. En el estudio participaron 3104 personas mayores de 65 años de España, pertenecientes al Proyecto Multicéntrico EXERNET (722 hombres y 2382 mujeres; edad media: 72, 1±5, 3 años). La CF se evaluó mediante 8 test específicos para esta población. La participación en AF organizada se registró mediante un cuestionario. Las diferencias en la CF en función de la práctica y número de horas de AF se midieron con ANCOVA ajustando por edad, horas de caminar y de estar sentado. Resultados. Aquellos que no participaban en este tipo de actividad incrementaban su riesgo de tener un nivel bajo de CF en la mayoría de las variables evaluadas, observándose algunas diferencias entre sexos (OR: desde 1, 6 hasta 2, 6 en hombres y desde 1, 4 hasta 2, 2 en mujeres). En los hombres no se observó ninguna diferencia significativa entre practicar menos de 2, 2-4 o más de 4 horas (todos P>0, 05), a excepción de la fuerza del brazo izquierdo; sin embargo, las mujeres que realizaban más de 2 horas de AF organizada a la semana tenían mayor equilibrio, fuerza de piernas y de brazos, flexibilidad de piernas, velocidad al caminar y resistencia aeróbica que aquellas que asistían a este tipo de sesiones menos de 2 horas a la semana (P<0, 05). Conclusiones. La práctica de AF organizada produce un efecto beneficioso sobre la CF de las personas mayores independientemente de la edad, las horas que estén sentados o el tiempo que dediquen a caminar. Background. An adequate level of fitness is critical to achieving healthy ageing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of organized physical activity (PA) and the number of hours of practice on the fitness levels of the elderly. Method. A total of 3104 people over 65 years old from Spain, belonging to the EXERNET Multicenter Project (722 men and 2382 women, mean age: 72.1 +/- 5.3 years) participated in the study. Fitness was evaluated by 8 specific tests for this population. Participation in organized PA was recorded through a questionnaire. Differences in fitness values depending on the participation in PA and the number of hours were measured with ANCOVA adjusting for age, hours of walking and sitting time. Results. Those who did not participate in this type of activity increased their risk of having a low level of fitness in most variables evaluated, with some differences between sexes (OR: from 1.6 to 2.6 in men and from 1.4 to 2.2 in women). In men, no significant differences were observed between practicing less than 2, 2-4 or more than 4 hours (P>0, 05), with an exception in the strength of the left arm. However, women who performed more than 2 hours a week in organized PA had better balance, strength of lower and upper extremities, flexibility of lower extremities, walking speed and aerobic capacity than those who performed less than 2 hours of PA a week (P<0, 05). Conclusions. The practice of organized PA produces a beneficial effect on the fitness of the elderly regardless of age, hours of walking and time sitting per day

Twenty Years of SUGRA

A brief review is given of the developments of mSUGRA and its extensions since the formulation of these models in 1982. Future directions and prospects are also discussed.Comment: Invited talk at the International Conference BEYOND-2003, Schloss Ringberg, Germany, June 10-14, 2003; 21 pages, Late