Simple analytical expression for the peak-frequency shifts of plasmonic resonances for sensing

We derive a closed-form expression that accurately predicts the peak frequency-shift and broadening induced by tiny perturbations of plasmonic nanoresonators without critically relying on repeated electrodynamic simulations of the spectral response of nanoresonator for various locations, sizes or shapes of the perturbing objects. The force of the present approach, in comparison with other approaches of the same kind, is that the derivation is supported by a mathematical formalism based on a rigorous normalization of the resonance modes of nanoresonators consisting of lossy and dispersive materials. Accordingly, accurate predictions are obtained for a large range of nanoparticle shapes and sizes, used in various plasmonic nanosensors, even beyond the quasistatic limit. The expression gives quantitative insight, and combined with an open-source code, provides accurate and fast predictions that are ideally suited for preliminary designs or for interpretation of experimental data. It is also valid for photonic resonators with large mode volumes.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, journal pape

Advancing Biomedical Image Retrieval: Development and Analysis of a Test Collection

Objective: Develop and analyze results from an image retrieval test collection. Methods: After participating research groups obtained and assessed results from their systems in the image retrieval task of Cross-Language Evaluation Forum, we assessed the results for common themes and trends. In addition to overall performance, results were analyzed on the basis of topic categories (those most amenable to visual, textual, or mixed approaches) and run categories (those employing queries entered by automated or manual means as well as those using visual, textual, or mixed indexing and retrieval methods). We also assessed results on the different topics and compared the impact of duplicate relevance judgments. Results: A total of 13 research groups participated. Analysis was limited to the best run submitted by each group in each run category. The best results were obtained by systems that combined visual and textual methods. There was substantial variation in performance across topics. Systems employing textual methods were more resilient to visually oriented topics than those using visual methods were to textually oriented topics. The primary performance measure of mean average precision (MAP) was not necessarily associated with other measures, including those possibly more pertinent to real users, such as precision at 10 or 30 images. Conclusions: We developed a test collection amenable to assessing visual and textual methods for image retrieval. Future work must focus on how varying topic and run types affect retrieval performance. Users' studies also are necessary to determine the best measures for evaluating the efficacy of image retrieval system

Platinum-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab first-line for Asian patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck: Results of an open-label, single-arm, multicenter trial

Background The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of cisplatin-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab as first-line treatment in Chinese and Korean patients with recurrent and/or metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Methods Patients (n = 68) received cetuximab weekly plus 3-week cycles of cisplatin/5-fluorouracil (5-FU) chemotherapy for up to 6 cycles. The primary endpoint was overall response rate. Results The overall response rate was 55.9%, including 2 complete responses (CRs). Median overall survival (OS) was 12.6 months and median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6.6 months. Grade 3/4 adverse events (AEs) were reported in 41 (60.3%) patients. The safety profile was in line with previous clinical experience. The pharmacokinetic profile was in line with that observed with cetuximab in white and Japanese patients. Conclusion The efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetic findings from this study support the use of first-line platinum-based chemotherapy plus cetuximab in Chinese and Korean patients with recurrent and/or metastatic SCCHN (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01177956). © 2014 The Authors Head & Neck Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 37: 1081–1087, 201