688 research outputs found
PD-0283: 4D dose accumulation for dose painting by numbers for lung cancer
In conventional radiotherapy of locally advanced lung cancer (LALC) doses levels are homogeneously delivered to the entire PTV, whereat dose escalation is restricted by normal tissue toxicity. Several studies have shown the geometrical correlation between high FDG uptake in a PET scan and tumour recurrence. This is the rationale for FDG-based local dose escalation, e.g. by dose prescription on the voxel values of a PET scan – dose painting by numbers (DPBN). The aim of this study is to investigate the robustness of the DPBN plans against tumour motio
Conditioning bounds for traveltime tomography in layered media
This paper revisits the problem of recovering a smooth, isotropic, layered
wave speed profile from surface traveltime information. While it is classic
knowledge that the diving (refracted) rays classically determine the wave speed
in a weakly well-posed fashion via the Abel transform, we show in this paper
that traveltimes of reflected rays do not contain enough information to recover
the medium in a well-posed manner, regardless of the discretization. The
counterpart of the Abel transform in the case of reflected rays is a Fredholm
kernel of the first kind which is shown to have singular values that decay at
least root-exponentially. Kinematically equivalent media are characterized in
terms of a sequence of matching moments. This severe conditioning issue comes
on top of the well-known rearrangement ambiguity due to low velocity zones.
Numerical experiments in an ideal scenario show that a waveform-based model
inversion code fits data accurately while converging to the wrong wave speed
profile
Mechanical and Microstructural Analysis of Carbon nanotube Composites Pretreated at Different Temperatures
Abstract Carbon nanotube (CNT) based epoxy composites have been fabricated and were subjected to different temperature conditions. Flexural moduli and hardness of all samples were determined. The resulting composites demonstrated enhanced physical properties due to the addition of high strength CNTs. Effect of temperature on mechanical properties of composites has been examined microscopically by SEM through fracture surface. Results confirmed that nanocomposites pretreated with hot water are found to be tough and those treated in liquid nitrogen are brittle. Uniform distribution of CNTs in the matrix and bridging of crack initiation by CNTs contribute to maintain structural integrity under variable temperature
Carbon nanotubes adhesion and nanomechanical behavior from peeling force spectroscopy
Applications based on Single Walled Carbon Nanotube (SWNT) are good example
of the great need to continuously develop metrology methods in the field of
nanotechnology. Contact and interface properties are key parameters that
determine the efficiency of SWNT functionalized nanomaterials and nanodevices.
In this work we have taken advantage of a good control of the SWNT growth
processes at an atomic force microscope (AFM) tip apex and the use of a low
noise (1E-13 m/rtHz) AFM to investigate the mechanical behavior of a SWNT
touching a surface. By simultaneously recording static and dynamic properties
of SWNT, we show that the contact corresponds to a peeling geometry, and
extract quantities such as adhesion energy per unit length, curvature and
bending rigidity of the nanotube. A complete picture of the local shape of the
SWNT and its mechanical behavior is provided
Dynamical aspects of the fuzzy CP in the large reduced model with a cubic term
``Fuzzy CP^2'', which is a four-dimensional fuzzy manifold extension of the
well-known fuzzy analogous to the fuzzy 2-sphere (S^2), appears as a classical
solution in the dimensionally reduced 8d Yang-Mills model with a cubic term
involving the structure constant of the SU(3) Lie algebra. Although the fuzzy
S^2, which is also a classical solution of the same model, has actually smaller
free energy than the fuzzy CP^2, Monte Carlo simulation shows that the fuzzy
CP^2 is stable even nonperturbatively due to the suppression of tunneling
effects at large N as far as the coefficient of the cubic term () is
sufficiently large. As \alpha is decreased, both the fuzzy CP and the fuzzy
S^2 collapse to a solid ball and the system is essentially described by the
pure Yang-Mills model (\alpha = 0). The corresponding transitions are of first
order and the critical points can be understood analytically. The gauge group
generated dynamically above the critical point turns out to be of rank one for
both CP^2 and S^2 cases. Above the critical point, we also perform perturbative
calculations for various quantities to all orders, taking advantage of the
one-loop saturation of the effective action in the large-N limit. By
extrapolating our Monte Carlo results to N=\infty, we find excellent agreement
with the all order results.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figures, (v2) References added (v3) all order analyses
added, some typos correcte
Spike-Train Responses of a Pair of Hodgkin-Huxley Neurons with Time-Delayed Couplings
Model calculations have been performed on the spike-train response of a pair
of Hodgkin-Huxley (HH) neurons coupled by recurrent excitatory-excitatory
couplings with time delay. The coupled, excitable HH neurons are assumed to
receive the two kinds of spike-train inputs: the transient input consisting of
impulses for the finite duration (: integer) and the sequential input
with the constant interspike interval (ISI). The distribution of the output ISI
shows a rich of variety depending on the coupling strength and the
time delay. The comparison is made between the dependence of the output ISI for
the transient inputs and that for the sequential inputs.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figure
Nonperturbative studies of fuzzy spheres in a matrix model with the Chern-Simons term
Fuzzy spheres appear as classical solutions in a matrix model obtained via
dimensional reduction of 3-dimensional Yang-Mills theory with the Chern-Simons
term. Well-defined perturbative expansion around these solutions can be
formulated even for finite matrix size, and in the case of coincident fuzzy
spheres it gives rise to a regularized U() gauge theory on a noncommutative
geometry. Here we study the matrix model nonperturbatively by Monte Carlo
simulation. The system undergoes a first order phase transition as we change
the coefficient () of the Chern-Simons term. In the small
phase, the large properties of the system are qualitatively the same as in
the pure Yang-Mills model (), whereas in the large phase a
single fuzzy sphere emerges dynamically. Various `multi fuzzy spheres' are
observed as meta-stable states, and we argue in particular that the
coincident fuzzy spheres cannot be realized as the true vacuum in this model
even in the large limit. We also perform one-loop calculations of various
observables for arbitrary including . Comparison with our Monte Carlo
data suggests that higher order corrections are suppressed in the large
limit.Comment: Latex 37 pages, 13 figures, discussion on instabilities refined,
references added, typo corrected, the final version to appear in JHE
Participatory evaluation guides the development and selection of farmers’ preferred rice varieties for salt- and flood-affected coastal deltas of South and Southeast Asia
Rice is the staple food and provides livelihood for smallholder farmers in the coastal delta regions of South and Southeast Asia. However, its productivity is often low because of several abiotic stresses including high soil salinity and waterlogging during the wet (monsoon) season and high soil and water salinity during the dry season. Development and dissemination of suitable rice varieties tolerant of these multiple stresses encountered in coastal zones are of prime importance for increasing and stabilizing rice productivity, however adoption of new varieties has been slow in this region. Here we implemented participatory varietal selection (PVS) processes to identify and understand smallholder farmers’ criteria for selection and adoption of new rice varieties in coastal zones. New breeding lines together with released rice varieties were evaluated in on-station and on-farm trials (researcher-managed) during the wet and dry seasons of 2008–2014 in the Indian Sundarbans region. Significant correlations between preferences of male and female farmers in most trials indicated that both groups have similar criteria for selection of rice varieties. However, farmers’ preference criteria were different from researchers’ criteria. Grain yield was important, but not the sole reason for variety selection by farmers. Several other factors also governed preferences and were strikingly different when compared across wet and dry seasons. For the wet season, farmers preferred tall (140–170cm), long duration (160–170 d), lodging resistant and high yielding rice varieties because these traits are required in lowlands where water stagnates in the field for about four months (July to October). For the dry season, farmers’ preferences were for high yielding, salt tolerant, early maturing (115–130 d) varieties with long slender grains and good quality for better market value. Pest and disease resistance was important in both seasons but did not rank high. When farmers ranked the two most preferred varieties, the ranking order was sometimes variable between locations and years, but when the top four varieties that consistently ranked high were considered, the variability was low. This indicates that at least 3–4 of the best-performing entries should be considered in succeeding multi-location and multi-year trials, thereby increasing the chances that the most stable varieties are selected. These findings will help improve breeding programs by providing information on critical traits. Selected varieties through PVS are also more likely to be adopted by farmers and will ensure higher and more stable productivity in the salt- and flood-affected coastal deltas of South and Southeast Asia
Prognostic Factors Associated with Survival in Patients with Primary Duodenal Adenocarcinoma
Background/Aims: The prognostic factors in primary duodenal adenocarcinoma remain controversial. This study evaluated the prognostic factors associated with survival in patients with primary duodenal adenocarcinoma. Methods: From March 1996 to June 2008, the medical records of 30 patients with a final diagnosis of primary duodenal epithelial malignancy seen at two referral centers were reviewed retrospectively. The prognostic factors for survival were evaluated 6 months and 1, 2, and 5 years after the diagnosis. Results: The median survival was 5.7 months. The survival rate was 46.7 % (14/30), 16.7 % (5/30), 10 % (3/30), and 6.7 % (2/30) at 6 months and 1, 2, and 5 years, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that cancer-direct-ed treatment, including curative surgery or chemotherapy, was a common independent risk factor at all follow-up times. Total bilirubin, cytology, and TNM stage were independent risk factors for survival at 1, 2, and 5 years. The white blood cell count was an independent risk factor at 1 year only. The actuarial probability of survival in patients undergoing cancer-directed treatment was significantly higher than in those without treatment at 6 months (71.4 vs. 25.0%, p < 0.01), 1 year (28.6 vs. 6.3%, p < 0.01), 2 years (21.4 vs. 0%, p < 0.01), and 5 years (14.3 vs. 0%, p < 0.01). Conclusions: The prognostic factors in patients with primary duodenal adenocarcinoma were total bilirubin, TNM stage, cytology, and cancer-directed treatments until the 5-year follow-up. Especially, cancer-directed treat-ments improved patient survival. (Korean J Intern Med 2011;26:34-40
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