Modelling human choices: MADeM and decision‑making

Research supported by FAPESP 2015/50122-0 and DFG-GRTK 1740/2. RP and AR are also part of the Research, Innovation and Dissemination Center for Neuromathematics FAPESP grant (2013/07699-0). RP is supported by a FAPESP scholarship (2013/25667-8). ACR is partially supported by a CNPq fellowship (grant 306251/2014-0)

T Chart to evaluate consolidation test results

Using Terzaghi's degree of consolidation, U, and the time factor, T, relationship, if M<SUB>U1</SUB> and M<SUB>U2</SUB> (M<SUB>U1</SUB> ≠ M<SUB>U2</SUB>) are slopes of the U-√T curve at any two time factors T<SUB>U1</SUB> and T<SUB>U2</SUB>, then it can be shown that a unique relationship exists between T<SUB>U2</SUB>/T<SUB>U1</SUB>, M<SUB>U1</SUB>/M<SUB>U2</SUB>, and T<SUB>U1</SUB> (or T<SUB>U2</SUB>), and knowing any two of these, the third can be uniquely determined. A chart, called the T chart, has been plotted using these three variables for quickly determining T and U at any experimental time, t, to determine the coefficient of consolidation, c<SUB>ν</SUB>, corrected zero settlement, δ<SUB>0</SUB>, and ultimate primary settlement, δ<SUB>100</SUB>. The chart can be used even in those cases where settlement and time, at the instant of load increment, are not known

Development of a clinical score to estimate pancreatitis-related hospital admissions in patients with a new diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis : the trinity score

Background: The clinical course of chronic pancreatitis is unpredictable and there is no globally accepted score to predict the disease course. We developed a clinical score to estimate pancreatitis-related hospitalisation in patients with newly diagnosed chronic pancreatitis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using two clinical chronic pancreatitis databases held in tertiary referral centres in Dublin, Ireland, and in Tarragona, Spain. Individuals diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis between 2007 and 2014 were eligible for inclusion. Candidate predictors included aetiology, body mass index, exocrine dysfunction, smoking and alcohol history. We used multivariable logistic regression to develop the model. Results: We analysed data from 154 patients with newly diagnosed chronic pancreatitis. Of these, 105 patients (68%) had at least one hospital admission for pancreatitis-related reasons in the 6 years following diagnosis. Aetiology of chronic pancreatitis, body mass index, use of pain medications and gender were found to be predictive of more pancreatic-related hospital admissions. These predictors were used to develop a clinical score which showed acceptable discrimination (area under the ROC curve = 0.70). Discussion: We developed a clinical score based on easily accessible clinical parameters to predict pancreatitis-related hospitalisation in patients with newly diagnosed chronic pancreatitis

Four dimensional radiotherapy: a review of current technologies and modalities

Organ motion is a substantial concern in the treatment of thoracic tumours using radiotherapy. A number of technologies have evolved in order to address this concern in both the fields of CT imaging and radiation delivery. This review paper investigates the technologies which have been developed for the delivery of radiotherapy as well as the accuracy and workload implications of their use. Treatment techniques investigated include: breath hold, breath gating, robotic compensation and MLC manipulation. Each technique has its own advantages and drawbacks in regards to accuracy, treatment time, linac alterations and workload. Further, some treatment techniques have specific requirements for what kind of CT scans needs to be used in the planning process. This, along with the aforementioned considerations, could influence the decision as to implement some of these treatment techniques in the clinic.J. Moorrees, E. Beza

Four dimensional CT imaging: a review of current technologies and modalities

Organ motion is a substantial concern in the treatment of thoracic tumours using radiotherapy. A number of technologies have evolved in order to address this both during computed tomography (CT) imaging and radiation delivery. This review paper investigates the various technologies which have been developed in the field of CT scanning as well as their accuracy, cost and the implications of their clinical implementation. The scanning modalities covered include: slow CT, breath hold CT, gated CT and retrospectively correlated CT (4DCT). It was found that there are advantages and drawbacks to each of the mentioned techniques relating to patient dose, scan time, extra equipment and workload. Also some scanning techniques are only compatible with certain treatment modalities which would further influence the decision as to which technologies to implement.J. Moorrees, E. Beza