51 research outputs found
The contemporary role of renal mass biopsy in the management of small renal tumors
The selective use of percutaneous biopsy for diagnosis in renal masses is a relatively uncommon approach when compared to the management of other solid neoplasms. With recent advancements in imaging techniques and their widespread use, the incidental discovery of asymptomatic, small renal masses (SRM) is on the rise and a substantial percentage of these SRM are benign. Recent advances in diagnostics have significantly improved accuracy rates of renal mass biopsy (RMB), making it a potentially powerful tool in the management of SRM. In this review, we will discuss the current management of SRM, problems with the traditional view of RMB, improvements in the diagnostic power of RMB, cost-effectiveness of RMB, and risks associated with RMB. RMB may offer important information enabling treating clinicians to better risk-stratify patients and ultimately provide a more personalized treatment approach for SRM
Ethnic Differences in Bladder Cancer Survival
ObjectiveTo examine trends in bladder cancer survival among whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific Islanders in the United States over a 30-year period. Racial disparities in bladder cancer outcomes have been documented with poorer survival observed among blacks. Bladder cancer outcomes in other ethnic minority groups are less well described.MethodsFrom the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results cancer registry data, we identified patients diagnosed with transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder between 1975 and 2005. This cohort included 163,973 white, 7731 black, 7364 Hispanic, and 5934 Asian/Pacific Islander patients. We assessed the relationship between ethnicity and patient characteristics. Disease-specific 5-year survival was estimated for each ethnic group and for subgroups of stage and grade.ResultsBlacks presented with higher-stage disease than whites, Hispanics, and Asian/Pacific Islanders, although a trend toward earlier-stage presentation was observed in all groups over time. Five-year disease-specific survival was consistently worse for blacks than for other ethnic groups, even when stratified by stage and grade. Five-year disease-specific survival was 82.8% in whites compared with 70.2% in blacks, 80.7% in Hispanics, and 81.9% in Asian/Pacific Islanders. There was a persistent disease-specific survival disadvantage in black patients over time that was not seen in the other ethnic groups.ConclusionEthnic disparities in bladder cancer survival persist between whites and blacks, whereas survival in other ethnic minority groups appears similar to that of whites. Further study of access to care, quality of care, and treatment decision making among black patients is needed to better understand these disparities
Photometry using the Infrared Array Camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope
We present several corrections for point source photometry to be applied to
data from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope.
These corrections are necessary because of characteristics of the IRAC arrays
and optics and the way the instrument is calibrated in-flight. When these
corrections are applied, it is possible to achieve a ~2% relative photometric
accuracy for sources of adequate signal to noise in an IRAC image.Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in the Publications of
the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi
A Spitzer IRAC Measure of the Zodiacal Light
The dominant non-instrumental background source for space–based infrared observatories is the zodiacal light
(ZL). We present Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) measurements of the ZL at 3.6, 4.5, 5.8, and 8.0 μm,
taken as part of the instrument calibrations. We measure the changing surface brightness levels in approximately
weekly IRAC observations near the north ecliptic pole over the period of roughly 8.5 years. This long time
baseline is crucial for measuring the annual sinusoidal variation in the signal levels due to the tilt of the dust disk
with respect to the ecliptic, which is the true signal of the ZL. This is compared to both Cosmic Background
Explorer Diffuse Infrared Background Experiment data and a ZL model based thereon. Our data show a few
percent discrepancy from the Kelsall et al.(1998) model including a potential warping of the interplanetary dust
disk and a previously detected overdensity in the dust cloud directly behind the Earth in its orbit. Accurate
knowledge of the ZL is important for both extragalactic and Galactic astronomy including measurements of the
cosmic infrared background, absolute measures of extended sources, and comparison to extrasolar interplanetary
dust models. IRAC data can be used to further inform and test future ZL models
Comparison of laboratory and in-flight performance of infared array camera (IRAC) detector arrays on Spitzer Space Telescope
The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on Spitzer Space Telescope includes four Raytheon Vision Systems focal plane arrays, two with InSb detectors, and two with Si:As detectors. A brief comparison of pre- flight laboratory results vs. in-flight performance is given, including quantum efficiency and noise, as well as a discussion of irregular effects, such as residual image performance, "first frame effect", "banding", "column pull-down" and multiplexer bleed. Anomalies not encountered in pre-flight testing, as well as post-flight laboratory tests on these anomalies at the University of Rochester and at NASA Ames using sister parts to the flight arrays, are emphasized
Comparison of laboratory and in-flight performance of infared array camera (IRAC) detector arrays on Spitzer Space Telescope
The Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on Spitzer Space Telescope includes four Raytheon Vision Systems focal plane arrays, two with InSb detectors, and two with Si:As detectors. A brief comparison of pre- flight laboratory results vs. in-flight performance is given, including quantum efficiency and noise, as well as a discussion of irregular effects, such as residual image performance, "first frame effect", "banding", "column pull-down" and multiplexer bleed. Anomalies not encountered in pre-flight testing, as well as post-flight laboratory tests on these anomalies at the University of Rochester and at NASA Ames using sister parts to the flight arrays, are emphasized
Observing with the infrared array camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope
We describe the astronomical observation template (AOT) for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, hereafter Spitzer). Commissioning of the AOTs was carried out in the first three months of the Spitzer mission. Strategies for observing fixed and moving targets are described, along with the performance of the AOT in flight. We also outline the operation of the IRAC data reduction pipeline at the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and describe residual effects in the data due to electronic and optical anomalies in the instrument
Observing with the infrared array camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope
We describe the astronomical observation template (AOT) for the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) on the Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, hereafter Spitzer). Commissioning of the AOTs was carried out in the first three months of the Spitzer mission. Strategies for observing fixed and moving targets are described, along with the performance of the AOT in flight. We also outline the operation of the IRAC data reduction pipeline at the Spitzer Science Center (SSC) and describe residual effects in the data due to electronic and optical anomalies in the instrument
Protostars in the Elephant Trunk Nebula
The optically-dark globule IC 1396A is revealed using Spitzer images at 3.6,
4.5, 5.8, 8, and 24 microns to be infrared-bright and to contain a set of
previously unknown protostars. The mid-infrared colors of the 24 microns
detected sources indicate several very young (Class I or 0) protostars and a
dozen Class II stars. Three of the new sources (IC 1396A: gamma, delta, and
epsilon) emit over 90% of their bolometric luminosities at wavelengths greater
than 3 microns, and they are located within ~0.02 pc of the ionization front at
the edge of the globule. Many of the sources have spectra that are still rising
at 24 microns. The two previously-known young stars LkHa 349 a and c are both
detected, with component c harboring a massive disk and component a being bare.
Of order 5% of the mass of material in the globule is presently in the form of
protostars in the 10^5 to 10^6 yr age range. This high star formation rate was
likely triggered by radiation from a nearby O star.Comment: Spitzer first ApJS special issue (in press
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