Practical data collection and extraction for big data applications in radiotherapy

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146459/1/mp12817.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146459/2/mp12817_am.pd

Defining Ecological Drought for the Twenty-First Century

THE RISING RISK OF DROUGHT. Droughts of the twenty-first century are characterized by hotter temperatures, longer duration, and greater spatial extent, and are increasingly exacerbated by human demands for water. This situation increases the vulnerability of ecosystems to drought, including a rise in drought-driven tree mortality globally (Allen et al. 2015) and anticipated ecosystem transformations from one state to another—for example, forest to a shrubland (Jiang et al. 2013). When a drought drives changes within ecosystems, there can be a ripple effect through human communities that depend on those ecosystems for critical goods and services (Millar and Stephenson 2015). For example, the “Millennium Drought” (2002–10) in Australia caused unanticipated losses to key services provided by hydrological ecosystems in the Murray–Darling basin—including air quality regulation, waste treatment, erosion prevention, and recreation. The costs of these losses exceeded AUD $800 million, as resources were spent to replace these services and adapt to new drought-impacted ecosystems (Banerjee et al. 2013). Despite the high costs to both nature and people, current drought research, management, and policy perspectives often fail to evaluate how drought affects ecosystems and the “natural capital” they provide to human communities. Integrating these human and natural dimensions of drought is an essential step toward addressing the rising risk of drought in the twenty-first century

Atmospheric electrification in dusty, reactive gases in the solar system and beyond

Detailed observations of the solar system planets reveal a wide variety of local atmospheric conditions. Astronomical observations have revealed a variety of extrasolar planets none of which resembles any of the solar system planets in full. Instead, the most massive amongst the extrasolar planets, the gas giants, appear very similar to the class of (young) Brown Dwarfs which are amongst the oldest objects in the universe. Despite of this diversity, solar system planets, extrasolar planets and Brown Dwarfs have broadly similar global temperatures between 300K and 2500K. In consequence, clouds of different chemical species form in their atmospheres. While the details of these clouds differ, the fundamental physical processes are the same. Further to this, all these objects were observed to produce radio and X-ray emission. While both kinds of radiation are well studied on Earth and to a lesser extent on the solar system planets, the occurrence of emission that potentially originate from accelerated electrons on Brown Dwarfs, extrasolar planets and protoplanetary disks is not well understood yet. This paper offers an interdisciplinary view on electrification processes and their feedback on their hosting environment in meteorology, volcanology, planetology and research on extrasolar planets and planet formation

Assessment of the strength of individual Ir-192 seeds in ribbons

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Treatment plan optimization incorporating respiratory motion

This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder

Identification and immunolocalization of superoxide dismutase isoenzymes of olive pollen

5 páginas, 3 figuras.-- The definitive version is available at www3.interscience.wiley.comGametophytic tissues of plants are an area largely neglected in the broad literature on free radical processes in plants. In order to study the mechanisms of protection against oxidative stress in pollen, the presence of the key antioxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC 1.15.1.1) was investigated. Crude extracts of olive tree (Olea europaea L.) pollen were subjected to native PAGE in 10% polyacrylamide gels. The SOD activity staining of gels showed the presence of four isoenzymes. All the SODS were completely inhibited by 2 mM KCN and 5 mM H2O2, and therefore belong to the family of CuZn-SODS. Isoelectric focusing (pH 3.5-7) of crude extracts and further detection of SOD activity allowed determination of isoelectric points for the four isoforms, namely 4.60, 4.78, 5.08 and 5.22. The cross-reactivity of pollen extracts with a polyclonal antibody to cytosolic CuZn-SOD from spinach leaves was assayed by western blotting. After SDS-PAGE and immunoblotting, a major polypeptide band of about 16.5 kDa was detected, which is characteristic of the subunit of most CuZn-SODS. Immunocytochemical studies at TEM level using the same antiserum showed that CuZn-SOD was localized in the cytoplasm of both vegetative and generative cells, and also in material adhered to the pollen wall. The olive pollen CuZn-SODS could function in the protection against oxidative stress during pollen development.This work was supported by Project FMBI-CT95-0470 from the European Commission, and by the Junta de Andalucía (research groups CVI 0192 and AGR 160), Spain.Peer reviewe

Acute toxicity outcomes and dosimetric implications from incidental irradiation of adjacent tissues in tangent field hypofractionated breast radiotherapy

PurposeAdjacent tissues-in-beam (TIB) may receive substantial incidental doses within standard tangent fields during hypofractioned whole breast irradiation (HF-WBI). To characterize the impact of dose to TIB, we analyzed dosimetric parameters of TIB and associated acute toxicity.Materials and MethodsPlans prescribed to 40.5 Gy/15 fractions from 4/2016-1/2018 were evaluated. Structures of interest were contoured: (1) TIB: all tissues encompassed by plan 30% isodose lines, (2) breast, (3) non-breast TIB (nTIB): TIB minus contoured breast. Volumes of TIB, breast, and nTIB receiving 100%–107% of prescription dose (V100-V107) were calculated. Twelve patient- and physician-reported acute toxicities were prospectively collected weekly. Correlations between volumetric and dosimetric parameters were assessed. Uni- and multivariable logistic regressions evaluated toxicity grade changes as a function of TIB, breast, and nTIB V100-V107 (in cm3).ResultsWe evaluated 137 plans. Breast volume was positively correlated with nTIB and nTIB V100 (rho = 0.52, rho = 0.30, respectively, both p  2 cm3 were noted in 14% of breast and 21% of nTIB volumes. On multivariable analyses, increasing breast and nTIB V100 significantly raised odds of grade 2+ dermatitis and burning/twinging pain, respectively; increasing nTIB V105 elevated odds of hyperpigmentation and burning pain; and increasing nTIB V107 raised odds of burning pain. Threshold volumes for >6-fold odds of developing burning pain were TIB V105 > 100 cm3 and V107 > 5 cm3.ConclusionsFor HF-WBI, doses to nTIB over the prescription predicted acute toxicities independent of breast doses. These data support inclusion of TIB as a region of interest in treatment planning and protocol desig

Minimum Data Elements for Radiation Oncology:An American Society for Radiation Oncology Consensus Paper

PURPOSE: In recent years, the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has received requests for a standard list of data elements from other societies, database architects, Electronic Health Record vendors and, most recently, the pharmaceutical industry. These requests point to a growing interest in capturing radiation oncology data within registries and for quality measurement, interoperability initiatives, and research. Identifying a short and consistent list will lead to improved care coordination, a reduction in data entry by practice staff, and a more complete view of the holistic approach required for cancer treatment. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The task force formulated recommendations based on analysis from radiation specific data elements currently in use in registries, accreditation programs, incident learning systems, and electronic health records. The draft manuscript was peer reviewed by 8 reviewers and ASTRO legal counsel and was revised accordingly and posted on the ASTRO website for public comment in April 2019 for 2 weeks. The final document was approved by the ASTRO Board of Directors in June 2019

Defining Ecological Drought for the Twenty-First Century

THE RISING RISK OF DROUGHT. Droughts of the twenty-first century are characterized by hotter temperatures, longer duration, and greater spatial extent, and are increasingly exacerbated by human demands for water. This situation increases the vulnerability of ecosystems to drought, including a rise in drought-driven tree mortality globally (Allen et al. 2015) and anticipated ecosystem transformations from one state to another—for example, forest to a shrubland (Jiang et al. 2013). When a drought drives changes within ecosystems, there can be a ripple effect through human communities that depend on those ecosystems for critical goods and services (Millar and Stephenson 2015). For example, the “Millennium Drought” (2002–10) in Australia caused unanticipated losses to key services provided by hydrological ecosystems in the Murray–Darling basin—including air quality regulation, waste treatment, erosion prevention, and recreation. The costs of these losses exceeded AUD $800 million, as resources were spent to replace these services and adapt to new drought-impacted ecosystems (Banerjee et al. 2013). Despite the high costs to both nature and people, current drought research, management, and policy perspectives often fail to evaluate how drought affects ecosystems and the “natural capital” they provide to human communities. Integrating these human and natural dimensions of drought is an essential step toward addressing the rising risk of drought in the twenty-first century