105 research outputs found
Effect of MLC tracking latency on conformal volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans in 4D stereotactic lung treatment
AbstractBackground and purposeThe latency of a multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking system used to overcome respiratory motion causes misalignment of the treatment beam with respect to the gross tumour volume, which may result in reduced target coverage. This study investigates the magnitude of this effect.Material and methodsSimulated superior–inferior breathing motion was used to construct histograms of isocentre offset with respect to the gross tumour volume (GTV) for a variety of tracking latencies. Dose distributions for conformal volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) arcs were then calculated at a range of offsets and summed according to these displacement histograms. The results were verified by delivering the plans to a Delta4 phantom on a motion platform.ResultsIn the absence of an internal target margin, a tracking latency of 150ms reduces the GTV D95% by approximately 2%. With a margin of 2mm, the same drop in dose occurs for a tracking latency of 450ms. Lung V13Gy is unaffected by a range of latencies. These results are supported by the phantom measurements.ConclusionsAssuming that internal motion can be modelled by a rigid translation of the patient, MLC tracking of conformal VMAT can be effectively accomplished in the absence of an internal target margin for substantial breathing motion (4s period and 20mm peak–peak amplitude) so long as the system latency is less than 150ms
The role of insulin receptor substrate 2 in hypothalamic and β cell function
Insulin receptor substrate 2 (Irs2) plays complex roles in energy homeostasis. We generated mice lacking Irs2 in β cells and a population of hypothalamic neurons (RIPCreIrs2KO), in all neurons (NesCreIrs2KO), and in proopiomelanocortin neurons (POMCCreIrs2KO) to determine the role of Irs2 in the CNS and β cell. RIPCreIrs2KO mice displayed impaired glucose tolerance and reduced β cell mass. Overt diabetes did not ensue, because β cells escaping Cre-mediated recombination progressively populated islets. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed hyperphagia, obesity, and increased body length, which suggests altered melanocortin action. POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display this phenotype. RIPCreIrs2KO and NesCreIrs2KO mice retained leptin sensitivity, which suggests that CNS Irs2 pathways are not required for leptin action. NesCreIrs2KO and POMCCreIrs2KO mice did not display reduced β cell mass, but NesCreIrs2KO mice displayed mild abnormalities of glucose homeostasis. RIPCre neurons did not express POMC or neuropeptide Y. Insulin and a melanocortin agonist depolarized RIPCre neurons, whereas leptin was ineffective. Insulin hyperpolarized and leptin depolarized POMC neurons. Our findings demonstrate a critical role for IRS2 in β cell and hypothalamic function and provide insights into the role of RIPCre neurons, a distinct hypothalamic neuronal population, in growth and energy homeostasis
MHV Rules for Higgs Plus Multi-Gluon Amplitudes
We use tree-level perturbation theory to show how non-supersymmetric one-loop
scattering amplitudes for a Higgs boson plus an arbitrary number of partons can
be constructed, in the limit of a heavy top quark, from a generalization of the
scalar graph approach of Cachazo, Svrcek and Witten. The Higgs boson couples to
gluons through a top quark loop which generates, for large top mass, a
dimension-5 operator H tr G^2. This effective interaction leads to amplitudes
which cannot be described by the standard MHV rules; for example, amplitudes
where all of the gluons have positive helicity. We split the effective
interaction into the sum of two terms, one holomorphic (selfdual) and one
anti-holomorphic (anti-selfdual). The holomorphic interactions give a new set
of MHV vertices -- identical in form to those of pure gauge theory, except for
momentum conservation -- that can be combined with pure gauge theory MHV
vertices to produce a tower of amplitudes with more than two negative
helicities. Similarly, the anti-holomorphic interactions give anti-MHV vertices
that can be combined with pure gauge theory anti-MHV vertices to produce a
tower of amplitudes with more than two positive helicities. A Higgs boson
amplitude is the sum of one MHV-tower amplitude and one anti-MHV-tower
amplitude. We present all MHV-tower amplitudes with up to four
negative-helicity gluons and any number of positive-helicity gluons (NNMHV).
These rules reproduce all of the available analytic formulae for Higgs +
n-gluon scattering (n<=5) at tree level, in some cases yielding considerably
shorter expressions.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures; v2, references correcte
State of nature 2019
State of Nature 2019 presents an overview of how the country’s wildlife is faring, looking back over nearly 50 years of monitoring to see how nature has changed in the UK, its Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. As well as this long-term view, we focus on what has happened in the last decade, and so whether things are getting better or worse for nature. In addition, we have assessed the pressures that are acting on nature, and the responses being made, collectively, to counter these pressures
Diversidade e distribuição espacial de artrópodes associados ao solo em agroecossistemas
Desempenho fisiolĂłgico de sementes de feijĂŁo colhidas em diferentes perĂodos do desenvolvimento
Microbiota intestinal e desempenho de frangos alimentados com rações elaboradas com sorgo ou milheto e complexo enzimático
Digestibilidade aparente de alguns alimentos protéicos pela tilápia do Nilo (Oreochromis niloticus)
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