WorldWideScience

Sample records for arm radiation studies

  1. A Comparison of Image Quality and Radiation Exposure Between the Mini C-Arm and the Standard C-Arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Rappard, Juliaan R M; Hummel, Willy A; de Jong, Tijmen; Mouës, Chantal M

    2018-04-01

    The use of intraoperative fluoroscopy has become mandatory in osseous hand surgery. Due to its overall practicality, the mini C-arm has gained popularity among hand surgeons over the standard C-arm. This study compares image quality and radiation exposure for patient and staff between the mini C-arm and the standard C-arm, both with flat panel technology. An observer-based subjective image quality study was performed using a contrast detail (CD) phantom. Five independent observers were asked to determine the smallest circles discernable to them. The results were plotted in a graph, forming a CD curve. From each curve, an image quality figure (IQF) was derived. A lower IQF equates to a better image quality. The patients' entrance skin dose was measured, and to obtain more information about the staff exposure dose, a perspex hand phantom was used. The scatter radiation was measured at various distances and angles relative to a central point on the detector. The IQF was significantly lower for the mini C-arm resulting in a better image quality. The patients' entrance dose was 10 times higher for the mini C-arm as compared with the standard C-arm, and the scatter radiation threefold. Due to its improved image quality and overall practicality, the mini C-arm is recommended for hand surgical procedures. To ensure that the surgeons' radiation exposure is not exceeding the safety limits, monitoring radiation exposure using mini C-arms with flat panel technology during surgery should be done in a future clinical study.

  2. Understanding the scatter radiation distribution during C-arm CT examination. A body phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norimasa, Toshiyo; Kakimi, Akihiko; Takao, Yoshinori; Sasaki, Shohei; Katayama, Yutaka; Himoto, Daisuke; Izuta, Shinichiro; Ichida, Takao

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to understand the scatter radiation distribution during C-arm CT examination in the interventional radiography (IVR) room to show the escaped area and the radiation protective method. The C-arm rotates 200deg in 5 s. The tube voltage was 90 kV, and the entrance dose to the detector was 0.36 μGy/frame during C-arm CT examination. The scattered doses were measured each 50 cm from the isocenter like a grid pattern. The heights of the measurement were 50, 100, and 150 cm from the floor. The maximum scattered doses were 38.23 ± 0.60 μGy at 50 cm, 43.86 ± 20 μGy at 100 cm, and 25.78 ± 0.37 μGy at 150 cm. The scatter radiation distribution at 100 cm was the highest scattered dose. The operator should protect their reproductive gland, thyroid, and lens. The scattered dose was low behind the C-arm body and the bed, so they will be able to become the escaped area for staff. (author)

  3. Science Plan for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-02-01

    The purpose of this Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Plan is to articulate the scientific issues driving the ARM Program, and to relate them to DOE's programmatic objectives for ARM, based on the experience and scientific progress gained over the past five years. ARM programmatic objectives are to: (1) Relate observed radiative fluxes and radiances in the atmosphere, spectrally resolved and as a function of position and time, to the temperature and composition of the atmosphere, specifically including water vapor and clouds, and to surface properties, and sample sufficient variety of situations so as to span a wide range of climatologically relevant possibilities; (2) develop and test parameterizations that can be used to accurately predict the radiative properties and to model the radiative interactions involving water vapor and clouds within the atmosphere, with the objective of incorporating these parameterizations into general circulation models. The primary observational methods remote sending and other observations at the surface, particularly remote sensing of clouds, water vapor and aerosols

  4. Measurements of surgeons' exposure to ionizing radiation dose: comparison of conventional and mini C-arm fluoroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sung, K H; Min, E; Chung, C Y; Jo, B C; Park, M S; Lee, K

    2016-03-01

    This study was performed to measure the equivalent scattered radiation dose delivered to susceptible organs while simulating orthopaedic surgery using conventional and mini C-arm fluoroscopy. In addition, shielding effects on the thyroid, thymus, and gonad, and the direct exposure delivered to the patient's hands were also compared. A conventional and mini C-arms were installed in an operating room, and a hand and an operator phantom were used to simulate a patient's hand and a surgeon. Photoluminescence dosimeters were used to measure the equivalent dose by scattered radiation arriving at the thyroid, thymus, and gonad on a whole-body phantom in the position of the surgeon. Equivalent scattered radiation doses were measured in four groups: (1) unshielded conventional C-arm group; (2) unshielded mini C-arm group; (3) lead-shielded conventional C-arm group; and (4) lead-shielded mini C-arm group. Equivalent scattered radiation doses to the unshielded group were significantly lower in the mini C-arm group than those in the conventional C-arm group for all organs. The gonad in the lead-shielded conventional C-arm group showed the highest equivalent dose among operator-susceptible organs, and radiation dose was reduced by approximately 96% compared with that in the unshielded group. Scattered radiation was not detected in any susceptible organ in the lead-shielded mini C-arm group. The direct radiation dose to the hand phantom measured from the mini C-arm was significantly lower than that measured from the conventional C-arm. The results show that the equivalent scattered radiation dose to the surgeon's susceptible organs and the direct radiation dose to a patient's hand can be decreased significantly by using a mini C-arm rather than a conventional C-arm. However, protective lead garments, such as a thyroid shield and apron, should be applied to minimize radiation exposure to susceptible organs, even during use of mini C-arm fluoroscopy. © The Author(s) 2015.

  5. Measurements of surgeons' exposure to ionizing radiation dose during intraoperative use of C-arm fluoroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Kisung; Lee, Kyoung Min; Park, Moon Seok; Lee, Boram; Kwon, Dae Gyu; Chung, Chin Youb

    2012-06-15

    Measurement of radiation dose from C-arm fluoroscopy during a simulated intraoperative use in spine surgery. OBJECTIVE.: To investigate scatter radiation doses to specific organs of surgeons during intraoperative use of C-arm fluoroscopy in spine surgery and to provide practical intraoperative guidelines. There have been studies that reported the radiation dose of C-arm fluoroscopy in various procedures. However, radiation doses to surgeons' specific organs during spine surgery have not been sufficiently examined, and the practical intraoperative radioprotective guidelines have not been suggested. Scatter radiation dose (air kerma rate) was measured during the use of a C-arm on an anthropomorphic chest phantom on an operating table. Then, a whole body anthropomorphic phantom was located besides the chest phantom to simulate a surgeon, and scatter radiation doses to specific organs (eye, thyroid, breast, and gonads) and direct radiation dose to the surgeon's hand were measured using 4 C-arm configurations (standard, inverted, translateral, and tube translateral). The effects of rotating the surgeon's head away from the patient and of a thyroid shield were also evaluated. Scatter radiation doses decreased as distance from the patient increased during C-arm fluoroscopy use. The standard and translateral C-arm configurations caused lower scatter doses to sensitive organs than inverted and tube translateral configurations. Scatter doses were highest for breast and lowest for gonads. The use of a thyroid shield and rotating the surgeon's head away from the patient reduced scatter radiation dose to the surgeon's thyroid and eyes. The direct radiation dose was at least 20 times greater than scatter doses to sensitive organs. The following factors could reduce radiation exposure during intraoperative use of C-arm; (1) distance from the patient, (2) C-arm configuration, (3) radioprotective equipments, (4) rotating the surgeons' eyes away from the patient, and (5) avoiding

  6. Radiation Pattern of Chair Armed Microstrip Antenna

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Rabindra Kishore; Sahu, Kumar Satyabrat

    2016-12-01

    This work analyzes planar antenna conformable to chair arm shaped surfaces for WLAN application. Closed form expressions for its radiation pattern are developed and validated using measurements on prototype and commercial EM code at 2.4 GHz.

  7. ARM Airborne Carbon Measurements (ARM-ACME) and ARM-ACME 2.5 Final Campaign Reports

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biraud, S. C. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Tom, M. S. [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Sweeney, C. [NOAA Earth Systems Research Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)

    2016-01-01

    We report on a 5-year multi-institution and multi-agency airborne study of atmospheric composition and carbon cycling at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, with scientific objectives that are central to the carbon-cycle and radiative-forcing goals of the U.S. Global Change Research Program and the North American Carbon Program (NACP). The goal of these measurements is to improve understanding of 1) the carbon exchange of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) SGP region; 2) how CO2 and associated water and energy fluxes influence radiative-forcing, convective processes, and CO2 concentrations over the ARM SGP region, and 3) how greenhouse gases are transported on continental scales.

  8. "Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Research Facility at Oliktok Point Alaska"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helsel, F.; Ivey, M.; Hardesty, J.; Roesler, E. L.; Dexheimer, D.

    2017-12-01

    Scientific Infrastructure To Support Atmospheric Science, Aerosol Science and UAS's for The Department Of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Programs At The Mobile Facility 3 Located At Oliktok Point, Alaska.The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program's Mobile Facility 3 (AMF3) located at Oliktok Point, Alaska is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) site designed to collect data and help determine the impact that clouds and aerosols have on solar radiation. AMF3 provides a scientific infrastructure to support instruments and collect arctic data for the international arctic research community. The infrastructure at AMF3/Oliktok is designed to be mobile and it may be relocated in the future to support other ARM science missions. AMF3's present base line instruments include: scanning precipitation Radars, cloud Radar, Raman Lidar, Eddy correlation flux systems, Ceilometer, Balloon sounding system, Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI), Micro-pulse Lidar (MPL) Along with all the standard metrological measurements. In addition AMF3 provides aerosol measurements with a Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS). Ground support for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and tethered balloon flights. Data from these instruments and systems are placed in the ARM data archives and are available to the international research community. This poster will discuss what instruments and systems are at the ARM Research Facility at Oliktok Point Alaska.

  9. [Radiative and hygienic certification in Armed Forces, problems of its implementation and ways of perfection].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rusakov, V N; Cherkashin, A V; Shishkanov, A P; Ian'shin, L A; Gracheva, T N

    2010-12-01

    Radiative and hygienic passportization is one of the most actual pattern of socio and hygienic monitoring in Armed Forces. Radiative and hygienic passport is the main document which characterizes the safety control in military unit and uses the sources of ionizing radiation. Sanitary and epidemiologic institutions were imputed to control the formation of radiative and hygienic passports, analysis and generalization of its data, formation of conclusions about the condition of radiation security in the military units. According to radiative and hygienic passportization, which took place in 2009, the radiation security in the Armed Forces and organizations is satisfactory, but there are some problems of providing of radiation security of personnel under the professional and medical radiation. The salvation of its problems requires the effective work of official functionary of radiac object and institutions of state sanitary and epidemiological supervision in Armed Forces of Russian Federation.

  10. Satellite data sets for the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shi, L.; Bernstein, R.L. [SeaSpace Corp., San Diego, CA (United States)

    1996-04-01

    This abstract describes the type of data obtained from satellite measurements in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. The data sets have been widely used by the ARM team to derive cloud-top altitude, cloud cover, snow and ice cover, surface temperature, water vapor, and wind, vertical profiles of temperature, and continuoous observations of weather needed to track and predict severe weather.

  11. Intraoperative radiation exposure in spinal scoliosis surgery for pediatric patients using the O-arm® imaging system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Kazuyoshi; Ando, Kei; Ito, Kenyu; Tsushima, Mikito; Morozumi, Masayoshi; Tanaka, Satoshi; Machino, Masaaki; Ota, Kyotaro; Ishiguro, Naoki; Imagama, Shiro

    2018-05-01

    The O-arm ® navigation system allows intraoperative CT imaging that can facilitate highly accurate instrumentation surgery, but radiation exposure is higher than with X-ray radiography. This is a particular concern in pediatric surgery. The purpose of this study is to examine intraoperative radiation exposure in pediatric spinal scoliosis surgery using O-arm. The subjects were 38 consecutive patients (mean age 12.9 years, range 10-17) with scoliosis who underwent spinal surgery with posterior instrumentation using O-arm. The mean number of fused vertebral levels was 11.0 (6-15). O-arm was performed before and after screw insertion, using an original protocol for the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine doses. The average scanning range was 6.9 (5-9) intervertebral levels per scan, with 2-7 scans per patient (mean 4.0 scans). Using O-arm, the dose per scan was 92.5 (44-130) mGy, and the mean total dose was 401 (170-826) mGy. This dose was 80.2% of the mean preoperative CT dose of 460 (231-736) mGy (P = 0.11). The total exposure dose and number of scans using intraoperative O-arm correlated strongly and significantly with the number of fused levels; however, there was no correlation with the patient's height. As the fused range became wider, several scans were required for O-arm, and the total radiation exposure became roughly the same as that in preoperative CT. Use of O-arm in our original protocol can contribute to reduction in radiation exposure.

  12. The Addition of SPECT/CT Lymphoscintigraphy to Breast Cancer Radiation Planning Spares Lymph Nodes Critical for Arm Drainage

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cheville, Andrea L., E-mail: Cheville.andrea@mayo.edu [Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Brinkmann, Debra H.; Ward, Shelly B. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Durski, Jolanta [Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Laack, Nadia N.; Yan, Elizabeth; Schomberg, Paula J.; Garces, Yolanda I. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Suman, Vera J. [Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Petersen, Ivy A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States)

    2013-03-15

    Background: This prospective cohort study was designed to determine whether the amount of radiation delivered to the nonpathological lymph nodes (LNs) that drain the arm can be significantly reduced by integrating single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) scans into radiation treatment planning. Methods: SPECT-CT scans were acquired for the 28 patients with stage I or II breast cancer and fused with the routinely obtained radiation oncology planning CT scans. Arm-draining LNs were contoured with 0.5-cm margins automatically using a threshold of 50% maximum intensity. Two treatment plans were generated: 1 per routine clinical practice (standard; STD) and the second (modified; MOD) with treatment fields modified to minimize dose to the arm-draining LNs visible on SPECT/CT images without interfering with the dosage delivered to target tissues. Participants were treated per the MOD plans. Arm volumes were measured prior to radiation and thereafter at least three subsequent 6-month intervals. Results: Sixty-eight level I-III arm-draining LNs were identified, 57% of which were inside the STD plan fields but could be blocked in the MOD plan fields. Sixty-five percent of arm-draining LNs in the STD versus 16% in the MOD plans received a mean of ≥10 Gy, and 26% in the STD versus 4% in the MOD plans received a mean of ≥40 Gy. Mean LN radiation exposure was 23.6 Gy (standard deviation 18.2) with the STD and 7.7 Gy (standard deviation 11.3) with the MOD plans (P<.001). No participant developed lymphedema. Conclusions: The integration of SPECT/CT scans into breast cancer radiation treatment planning reduces unnecessary arm-draining LN radiation exposure and may lessen the risk of lymphedema.

  13. The addition of SPECT/CT lymphoscintigraphy to breast cancer radiation planning spares lymph nodes critical for arm drainage.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheville, Andrea L; Brinkmann, Debra H; Ward, Shelly B; Durski, Jolanta; Laack, Nadia N; Yan, Elizabeth; Schomberg, Paula J; Garces, Yolanda I; Suman, Vera J; Petersen, Ivy A

    2013-03-15

    This prospective cohort study was designed to determine whether the amount of radiation delivered to the nonpathological lymph nodes (LNs) that drain the arm can be significantly reduced by integrating single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) scans into radiation treatment planning. SPECT-CT scans were acquired for the 28 patients with stage I or II breast cancer and fused with the routinely obtained radiation oncology planning CT scans. Arm-draining LNs were contoured with 0.5-cm margins automatically using a threshold of 50% maximum intensity. Two treatment plans were generated: 1 per routine clinical practice (standard; STD) and the second (modified; MOD) with treatment fields modified to minimize dose to the arm-draining LNs visible on SPECT/CT images without interfering with the dosage delivered to target tissues. Participants were treated per the MOD plans. Arm volumes were measured prior to radiation and thereafter at least three subsequent 6-month intervals. Sixty-eight level I-III arm-draining LNs were identified, 57% of which were inside the STD plan fields but could be blocked in the MOD plan fields. Sixty-five percent of arm-draining LNs in the STD versus 16% in the MOD plans received a mean of ≥10 Gy, and 26% in the STD versus 4% in the MOD plans received a mean of ≥40 Gy. Mean LN radiation exposure was 23.6 Gy (standard deviation 18.2) with the STD and 7.7 Gy (standard deviation 11.3) with the MOD plans (P<.001). No participant developed lymphedema. The integration of SPECT/CT scans into breast cancer radiation treatment planning reduces unnecessary arm-draining LN radiation exposure and may lessen the risk of lymphedema. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Proceedings of the third Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) science team meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1994-03-01

    This document contains the summaries of papers presented at the 1993 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team meeting held in Morman, Oklahoma. To put these papers in context, it is useful to consider the history and status of the ARM Program at the time of the meeting. Individual papers have been cataloged separately

  15. Proceedings of the third Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) science team meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1994-03-01

    This document contains the summaries of papers presented at the 1993 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team meeting held in Morman, Oklahoma. To put these papers in context, it is useful to consider the history and status of the ARM Program at the time of the meeting. Individual papers have been cataloged separately.

  16. The Development of light-weight 2-link robot arm for high radiation area

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shin, Ho Cheol; Seo, Yong Chil; Jung, Kyung Min; Choi, Young Soo

    2009-10-15

    A light-weight 2-link robot arm which weight is less than 8kg was developed for treating the small radio-active material in the high radiation area such as nuclear power plants and NDT area. The light-weight 2-link robot arm can be attached on a small mobile robot and carry out tasks. It is a 5 DOF robot arm including a gripper

  17. User interface development and metadata considerations for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) archive

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singley, P. T.; Bell, J. D.; Daugherty, P. F.; Hubbs, C. A.; Tuggle, J. G.

    1993-01-01

    This paper will discuss user interface development and the structure and use of metadata for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Archive. The ARM Archive, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is the data repository for the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) ARM Project. After a short description of the ARM Project and the ARM Archive's role, we will consider the philosophy and goals, constraints, and prototype implementation of the user interface for the archive. We will also describe the metadata that are stored at the archive and support the user interface.

  18. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Science Plan. Current Status and Future Directions of the ARM Science Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ackerman, Thomas P.; Del Genio, Anthony D.; Ellingson, Robert G.; Ferrare, Richard A.; Klein, Steve A.; McFarquhar, Gregory M.; Lamb, Peter J.; Long, Charles M.; Verlinde, Johannes

    2004-10-30

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program has matured into one of the key programs in the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. The ARM Program has achieved considerable scientific success in a broad range of activities, including site and instrument development, atmospheric radiative transfer, aerosol science, determination of cloud properties, cloud modeling, and cloud parameterization testing and development. The focus of ARM science has naturally shifted during the last few years to an increasing emphasis on modeling and parameterization studies to take advantage of the long time series of data now available. During the next 5 years, the principal focus of the ARM science program will be to: Maintain the data record at the fixed ARM sites for at least the next five years; Improve significantly our understanding of and ability to parameterize the 3-D cloud-radiation problem at scales from the local atmospheric column to the global climate model (GCM) grid square; Continue developing techniques to retrieve the properties of all clouds, with a special focus on ice clouds and mixed-phase clouds; Develop a focused research effort on the indirect aerosol problem that spans observations, physical models, and climate model parameterizations; Implement and evaluate an operational methodology to calculate broad-band heating rates in the atmospheric columns at the ARM sites; Develop and implement methodologies to use ARM data more effectively to test atmospheric models, both at the cloud-resolving model scale and the GCM scale; and, Use these methodologies to diagnose cloud parameterization performance and then refine these parameterizations to improve the accuracy of climate model simulations. In addition, the ARM Program is actively developing a new ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) that will be available for short deployments (several months to a year or more) in climatically important regions. The AMF will have much of the same instrumentation as the remote

  19. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Management Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mather, James [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2016-04-01

    Mission and Vision Statements for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Mission The ARM Climate Research Facility, a DOE scientific user facility, provides the climate research community with strategically located in situ and remote-sensing observatories designed to improve the understanding and representation, in climate and earth system models, of clouds and aerosols as well as their interactions and coupling with the Earth’s surface. Vision To provide a detailed and accurate description of the Earth atmosphere in diverse climate regimes to resolve the uncertainties in climate and Earth system models toward the development of sustainable solutions for the nation's energy and environmental challenges.

  20. Elevated Radiation Exposure Associated With Above Surface Flat Detector Mini C-Arm Use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Dennis P; Chapman, Talia; Williamson, Christopher; Tinsley, Brian; Ilyas, Asif M; Wang, Mark L

    2017-11-01

    This study aims to test the hypothesis that: (1) radiation exposure is increased with the intended use of Flat Surface Image Intensifier (FSII) units above the operative surface compared with the traditional below-table configuration; (2) this differential increases in a dose-dependent manner; and (3) radiation exposure varies with body part and proximity to the radiation source. A surgeon mannequin was seated at a radiolucent hand table, positioned for volar distal radius plating. Thermoluminescent dosimeters measured exposure to the eyes, thyroid, chest, hand, and groin, for 1- and 15-minute trials from a mini C-arm FSII unit positioned above and below the operating surface. Background radiation was measured by control dosimeters placed within the operating theater. At 1-minute of exposure, hand and eye dosages were significantly greater with the flat detector positioned above the table. At 15-minutes of exposure, hand radiation dosage exceeded that of all other anatomic sites with the FSII in both positions. Hand exposure was increased in a dose-dependent manner with the flat detector in either position, whereas groin exposure saw a dose-dependent only with the flat detector beneath the operating table. These findings suggest that the surgeon's hands and eyes may incur greater radiation exposure compared with other body parts, during routine mini C-arm FSII utilization in its intended position above the operating table. The clinical impact of these findings remains unclear, and future long-term radiation safety investigation is warranted. Surgeons should take precautions to protect critical body parts, particularly when using FSII technology above the operating with prolonged exposure time.

  1. Analysis of radiation risk to patients from intra-operative use of the mobile X-ray system (C-arm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang-Sub Lee

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: The aim of this study was to investigate clinical applications of mobile C-arms and consequent radiation risk, to increase medical attention on radiation protection, and to provide basic data for safe radiation use in the operating room. Materials and Methods: In this study, a total of 374 surgical operations, conducted using a portable fluoroscopic X-ray system from January to March of 2013, were analyzed. Dose summaries produced by the General Electric C-arm and data elements in digital imaging and communications in the medicine header of Ziehm C-arm, fluoroscopy time were used to obtain dose-area product (DAP and effective dose. Corresponding mean and maximum values were calculated, and the resulting data on the frequency of application, fluoroscopy time, DAP, and effective dose were compared and analyzed in terms of surgical specialty and operation types. Results: Orthopedic surgery was the most frequent with 165 cases (44.1%. The highest DAP value and effective dose were found in liver transplant among surgical specialty fields, with mean values of 2.90 ± 3.76 mGy∙m 2 and 58 ± 75.2 mSv, respectively (P = 0.0001. The highest DAP value and effective dose were observed in intra-operative mesenteric portography among types of surgery, showing mean values of 2.90 ± 3.81 mGy∙m 2 and 58.03 ± 76.24 mSv, respectively (P = 0.0001. Conclusion: Because DAP varies significantly across surgical specialties and types of operation, aggressive efforts to understand the effects of radiation dose is critical for radiation protection from intra-operative use of mobile C-arms.

  2. DOE ASR Final Report on “Use of ARM Observations to Investigate the Role of Tropical Radiative Processes and Cloud Radiative Effects in Climate Simulations”

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fu, Qiang [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences; Comstock, Jennifer [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States). Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences

    2018-01-29

    The overall objective of this ASR funded project is to investigate the role of cloud radiative effects, especially those associated with tropical thin cirrus clouds in the tropical tropopause layer, by analyzing the ARM observations combined with numerical models. In particular, we have processed and analyzed the observations from the Raman lidar at the ARM SGP and TWP sites. In the tenure of the project (8/15/2013 – 8/14/2016 and with a no-cost extension to 8/14/2017), we have been concentrating on (i) developing an automated feature detection scheme of clouds and aerosols for the ARM Raman lidar; (ii) developing an automated retrieval of cloud and aerosol extinctions for the ARM Raman lidar; (iii) investigating cloud radiative effects based on the observations on the simulated temperatures in the tropical tropopause layer using a radiative-convective model; and (iv) examining the effect of changes of atmospheric composition on the tropical lower-stratospheric temperatures. In addition, we have examined the biases in the CALIPSO-inferred aerosol direct radiative effects using ground-based Raman lidars at the ARM SGP and TWP sites, and estimated the impact of lidar detection sensitivity on assessing global aerosol direct radiative effects. We have also investigated the diurnal cycle of clouds and precipitation at the ARM site using the cloud radar observations along with simulations from the multiscale modeling framework. The main results of our research efforts are reported in the six referred journal publications that acknowledge the DOE Grant DE-SC0010557.

  3. A research program on radiative transfer model development in support of the ARM program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clough, S.A.

    1993-01-01

    The objective of this research effort is to develop radiative transfer models that are consistent with ARM spectral radiance measurements for clear and cloudy atmospheres. Our approach is to develop the model physics and related databases with a line-by-line model in the context of available spectral radiance measurements. The line-by-line model then functions as an intermediate standard to both develop and validate rapid radiative transfer models appropriate to GCM applications. A preprint of an extended abstract for the 1994 AMS volume describing a Quality Measurement Experiment using the ARM spectral data is included as an attachment

  4. "Radiative Closure Studies for Clear Skies During the ARM 2003 Aerosol Intensive Observation Period"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. J. Michalsky, G. P. Anderson, J. Barnard, J. Delamere, C. Gueymard, S. Kato, P. Kiedron, A. McComiskey, and P. Ricchiazzi

    2006-04-01

    The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program sponsored a large intensive observation period (IOP) to study aerosol during the month of May 2003 around the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility (CRF) in north central Oklahoma. Redundant measurements of aerosol optical properties were made using different techniques at the surface as well as in vertical profile with sensors aboard two aircraft. One of the principal motivations for this experiment was to resolve the disagreement between models and measurements of diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance at the surface, especially for modest aerosol loading. This paper focuses on using the redundant aerosol and radiation measurements during this IOP to compare direct beam and diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance measurements and models at the surface for a wide range of aerosol cases that occurred during 30 clear-sky periods on 13 days of May 2003. Models and measurements are compared over a large range of solar-zenith angles. Six different models are used to assess the relative agreement among them and the measurements. Better agreement than previously achieved appears to be the result of better specification of input parameters and better measurements of irradiances than in prior studies. Biases between modeled and measured direct irradiances are less than 1%, and biases between modeled and measured diffuse irradiances are less than 2%.

  5. Radiation protection for an intraoperative X-ray source compared to C-arm fluoroscopy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schneider, Frank; Clausen, Sven; Jahnke, Anika; Steil, Volker; Wenz, Frederik [Heidelberg Univ., University Medical Center Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology; Bludau, Frederic; Obertacke, Udo [Heidelberg Univ., University Medical Center Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Trauma Surgery; Suetterlin, Marc [Heidelberg Univ., University Medical Center Mannheim (Germany). Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

    2014-10-01

    Background: Intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) using the INTRABEAM {sup registered} system promises a flexible use regarding radiation protection compared to other approaches such as electron treatment or HDR brachytherapy with {sup 192}Ir or {sup 60}Co. In this study we compared dose rate measurements of breast- and Kypho-IORT with C-arm fluoroscopy which is needed to estimate radiation protection areas. Materials and Methods: C-arm fluoroscopy, breast- and Kypho-IORTs were performed using phantoms (silicon breast or bucket of water). Dose rates were measured at the phantom's surface, at 30 cm, 100 cm and 200 cm distance. Those measurements were confirmed during 10 Kypho-IORT and 10 breast-IORT patient treatments. Results: The measured dose rates were in the same magnitude for all three paradigms and ranges from 20 μSv/h during a simulated breast-IORT at two meter distance up to 64 mSv/h directly at the surface of a simulated Kypho-IORT. Those measurements result in a circle of controlled area (yearly doses > 6 mSv) for each paradigm of about 4 m ± 2 m. Discussion/Conclusions: All three paradigms show comparable dose rates which implies that the radiation protection is straight forward and confirms the flexible use of the INTRABEAM {sup registered} system. (orig.)

  6. Kinematics study and workspace analysis of an articulated robotic arm of a rpar

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeb, J.; Rashid, F.; Iqbal, N.

    2007-01-01

    An itinerant RPAR (Radiation Protection Assistant Robot) has been constructed to assist radiation workers in radiation area which are radiologically hazardous and beyond tile safe approach of radiation workers. The RPAR comprises of a cubicle tri- wheeled platform and a 4-DOF (Four Degree of Freedom) serial type articulated robotic arm. The movement of the platform is controlled by two differential wheeled driving systems. The Kinematics and Manipulator Jacobian of the end-effector (gripper) of the articulated robotic arm mounted on the RPAR were evaluated. The work space analyses of the articulated robotic arm have been carried out. The RPAR is helpful for surveillance of radiation zones, to pick and carry dropdown radioactive samples and sources, in routine radiological operations as well as during an emergency response to a radiological accident. The performance of the RPAR was found satisfactory. (author)

  7. ARM Mentor Selection Process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sisterson, D. L. [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2015-10-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program was created in 1989 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop several highly instrumented ground stations to study cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer. In 2003, the ARM Program became a national scientific user facility, known as the ARM Climate Research Facility. This scientific infrastructure provides for fixed sites, mobile facilities, an aerial facility, and a data archive available for use by scientists worldwide through the ARM Climate Research Facility—a scientific user facility. The ARM Climate Research Facility currently operates more than 300 instrument systems that provide ground-based observations of the atmospheric column. To keep ARM at the forefront of climate observations, the ARM infrastructure depends heavily on instrument scientists and engineers, also known as lead mentors. Lead mentors must have an excellent understanding of in situ and remote-sensing instrumentation theory and operation and have comprehensive knowledge of critical scale-dependent atmospheric processes. They must also possess the technical and analytical skills to develop new data retrievals that provide innovative approaches for creating research-quality data sets. The ARM Climate Research Facility is seeking the best overall qualified candidate who can fulfill lead mentor requirements in a timely manner.

  8. Proceedings of the second Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-12-01

    The second Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team Meeting was held in Denver, Colorado, in October 1991. The five-day meeting provided a forum for a technical exchange among the members of the ARM Science Team and a discussion of the technical aspects of the project infrastructure. The meeting included several activities: Science Team presentations, discussions of the first site occupation plan, experiment design sessions, and poster sessions. This Proceedings document includes papers presented at the meeting. The papers included are those from the technical sessions, the experiment design sessions, the first site occupation, and descriptions of locales for future sites. Individual projects are processed separately for the database

  9. Use of the ARM Measurements of Spectral Zenith Radiance for Better Understanding of 3D Cloud-Radiation Processes & Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alexander Marshak; Warren Wiscombe; Yuri Knyazikhin; Christine Chiu

    2011-05-24

    We proposed a variety of tasks centered on the following question: what can we learn about 3D cloud-radiation processes and aerosol-cloud interaction from rapid-sampling ARM measurements of spectral zenith radiance? These ARM measurements offer spectacular new and largely unexploited capabilities in both the temporal and spectral domains. Unlike most other ARM instruments, which average over many seconds or take samples many seconds apart, the new spectral zenith radiance measurements are fast enough to resolve natural time scales of cloud change and cloud boundaries as well as the transition zone between cloudy and clear areas. In the case of the shortwave spectrometer, the measurements offer high time resolution and high spectral resolution, allowing new discovery-oriented science which we intend to pursue vigorously. Research objectives are, for convenience, grouped under three themes: • Understand radiative signature of the transition zone between cloud-free and cloudy areas using data from ARM shortwave radiometers, which has major climatic consequences in both aerosol direct and indirect effect studies. • Provide cloud property retrievals from the ARM sites and the ARM Mobile Facility for studies of aerosol-cloud interactions. • Assess impact of 3D cloud structures on aerosol properties using passive and active remote sensing techniques from both ARM and satellite measurements.

  10. Single-column data assimilation for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Louis, J.F.

    1994-01-01

    The main purpose of the ARM program is to provide the necessary data to develop, test and validate the parameterization of clouds and of their interactions with the radiation field, and the computation of radiative transfer in climate models. For various reasons, much of the ARM observations will be imperfect, incomplete, redundant, indirect and unrepresentative. Various techniques of data assimilation have been developed to deal with these problems. The variational data assimilation and adjoint method applied to a single column model is described here. A model is used to simulate the evolution of the atmosphere during an assimilation period. As the model is run, a cost function is computed which is essentially a measure of simulation errors. The method then consists in adjusting some model parameters to minimize the cost function. Optimization of the model parameters needs to be done with a much longer series of data, to cover different meteorological situations. Once parameters are set, nudging terms are used as control variables. The Derber nudging method will require considerable tuning, especially in defining the vertical profiles of the nudging terms. Extensive tests are currently underway of both model optimization and data assimilation

  11. Measurement and Modeling of Vertically Resolved Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Fluxes Over the ARM SGP Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, B.; Arnott, P.; Bucholtz, A.; Colarco, P.; Covert, D.; Eilers, J.; Elleman, R.; Ferrare, R.; Flagan, R.; Jonsson, H.

    2003-01-01

    In order to meet one of its goals - to relate observations of radiative fluxes and radiances to the atmospheric composition - the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program has pursued measurements and modeling activities that attempt to determine how aerosols impact atmospheric radiative transfer, both directly and indirectly. However, significant discrepancies between aerosol properties measured in situ or remotely remain. One of the objectives of the Aerosol Intensive Operational Period (TOP) conducted by ARM in May 2003 at the ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site in north central Oklahoma was to examine and hopefully reduce these differences. The IOP involved airborne measurements from two airplanes over the heavily instrumented SGP site. We give an overview of airborne results obtained aboard the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS) Twin Otter aircraft. The Twin Otter performed 16 research flights over the SGP site. The aircraft carried instrumentation to perform in-situ measurements of aerosol absorption, scattering, extinction and particle size. This included such novel techniques as the photoacoustic and cavity ring-down methods for in-situ absorption (675 nm) and extinction (675 and 1550 nm) and a new multiwavelength, filter-based absorption photometer (467, 530, 660 nm). A newly developed instrument measured cloud condensation nucleus concentration (CCN) concentrations at two supersaturation levels. Aerosol optical depth and extinction (354-2139 nm) were measured with the NASA Ames Airborne Tracking 14-channel sunphotometer. Furthermore, up-and downwelling solar (broadband and spectral) and infrared radiation were measured using seven individual radiometers. Three up-looking radiometers werer mounted on a newly developed stabilized platform, keeping the instruments level up to aircraft pitch and roll angles of approximately 10(exp 0). This resulted in unprecedented continuous vertical profiles

  12. ARM Airborne Carbon Measurements VI (ARM-ACME VI) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Biraud, Sebastien [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

    2017-05-01

    From October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016, AAF deployed a Cessna 206 aircraft over the Southern Great Plains, collecting observations of trace gas mixing ratios over the ARM/SGP Central Facility. The aircraft payload included two Atmospheric Observing Systems (AOS Inc.) analyzers for continuous measurements of CO2, and a 12-flask sampler for analysis of carbon cycle gases (CO2, CO, CH4, N2O, 13CO2). The aircraft payload also includes solar/infrared radiation measurements. This research (supported by DOE ARM and TES programs) builds upon previous ARM-ACME missions. The goal of these measurements is to improve understanding of: (a) the carbon exchange of the ARM region; (b) how CO2 and associated water and energy fluxes influence radiative forcing, convective processes, and CO2 concentrations over the ARM region, and (c) how greenhouse gases are transported on continental scales.

  13. Environmental assessment for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Policastro, A.J.; Pfingston, J.M.; Maloney, D.M.; Wasmer, F.; Pentecost, E.D.

    1992-03-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is aimed at supplying improved predictive capability of climate change, particularly the prediction of cloud-climate feedback. The objective will be achieved by measuring the atmospheric radiation and physical and meteorological quantities that control solar radiation in the earth's atmosphere and using this information to test global climate and related models. The proposed action is to construct and operate a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) research site in the southern Great Plains as part of the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program whose objective is to develop an improved predictive capability of global climate change. The purpose of this CART research site in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma would be to collect meteorological and other scientific information to better characterize the processes controlling radiation transfer on a global scale. Impacts which could result from this facility are described

  14. Environmental assessment for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Policastro, A.J.; Pfingston, J.M.; Maloney, D.M.; Wasmer, F.; Pentecost, E.D.

    1992-03-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is aimed at supplying improved predictive capability of climate change, particularly the prediction of cloud-climate feedback. The objective will be achieved by measuring the atmospheric radiation and physical and meteorological quantities that control solar radiation in the earth`s atmosphere and using this information to test global climate and related models. The proposed action is to construct and operate a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) research site in the southern Great Plains as part of the Department of Energy`s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program whose objective is to develop an improved predictive capability of global climate change. The purpose of this CART research site in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma would be to collect meteorological and other scientific information to better characterize the processes controlling radiation transfer on a global scale. Impacts which could result from this facility are described.

  15. The ARM-GCSS Intercomparison Study of Single-Column Models and Cloud System Models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cederwall, R.T.; Rodriques, D.J.; Krueger, S.K.; Randall, D.A.

    1999-01-01

    The Single-Column Model (SCM) Working Group (WC) and the Cloud Working Group (CWG) in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program have begun a collaboration with the GEWEX Cloud System Study (GCSS) WGs. The forcing data sets derived from the special ARM radiosonde measurements made during the SCM Intensive Observation Periods (IOPs), the wealth of cloud and related data sets collected by the ARM Program, and the ARM infrastructure support of the SCM WG are of great value to GCSS. In return, GCSS brings the efforts of an international group of cloud system modelers to bear on ARM data sets and ARM-related scientific questions. The first major activity of the ARM-GCSS collaboration is a model intercomparison study involving SCMs and cloud system models (CSMs), also known as cloud-resolving or cloud-ensemble models. The SCM methodologies developed in the ARM Program have matured to the point where an intercomparison will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches. CSM simulations will bring much additional information about clouds to evaluate cloud parameterizations used in the SCMs. CSMs and SCMs have been compared successfully in previous GCSS intercomparison studies for tropical conditions. The ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) site offers an opportunity for GCSS to test their models in continental, mid-latitude conditions. The Summer 1997 SCM IOP has been chosen since it provides a wide range of summertime weather events that will be a challenging test of these models

  16. Raman lidar measurements of water vapor and aerosols during the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) remote clouds sensing (RCS) intensive observation period (IOP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Melfi, S.H.; Starr, D.O`C.; Whiteman, D. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    The first Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) remote Cloud Study (RCS) Intensive Operations Period (IOP) was held during April 1994 at the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. This experiment was conducted to evaluate and calibrate state-of-the-art, ground based remote sensing instruments and to use the data acquired by these instruments to validate retrieval algorithms developed under the ARM program.

  17. Proceedings of the sixth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-06-01

    This document contains the summaries of papers presented at the 1996 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team meeting held at San Antonio, Texas. The history and status of the ARM program at the time of the meeting helps to put these papers in context. The basic themes have not changed. First, from its beginning, the Program has attempted to respond to the most critical scientific issues facing the US Global Change Research Program. Second, the Program has been strongly coupled to other agency and international programs. More specifically, the Program reflects an unprecedented collaboration among agencies of the federal research community, among the US Department of Energy`s (DOE) national laboratories, and between DOE`s research program and related international programs, such as Global Energy and Water Experiment (GEWEX) and the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program. Next, ARM has always attempted to make the most judicious use of its resources by collaborating and leveraging existing assets and has managed to maintain an aggressive schedule despite budgets that have been much smaller than planned. Finally, the Program has attracted some of the very best scientific talent in the climate research community and has, as a result, been productive scientifically.

  18. ARM/GCSS/SPARC TWP-ICE CRM Intercomparison Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridlind, Ann; Ackerman, Andrew; Petch, Jon; Field, Paul; Hill, Adrian; McFarquhar, Greg; Xie, Shaocheng; Zhang, Minghua

    2010-01-01

    Specifications are provided for running a cloud-resolving model (CRM) and submitting results in a standardized format for inclusion in a n intercomparison study and archiving for public access. The simulated case study is based on measurements obtained during the 2006 Tropical Warm Pool - International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) led by the U. S. department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. The modeling intercomparison study is based on objectives developed in concert with the Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) program and the GEWEX cloud system study (GCSS) program. The Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment (GEWEX) is a core project of the World Climate Research PRogramme (WCRP).

  19. Study on the method or reducing the operator's exposure dose from a C-Arm system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ki Sik; Song, Jong Nam; Kim, Seung Ok

    2016-01-01

    In this study, C-Arm equipment is being used as we intend to verify the exposure dose on the operator by the scattering rays during the operation of the C-Arm equipment and to provide an effective method of reducing the exposure dose. Exposure dose is less than the Over Tube method utilizes the C-arm equipment Under Tube the scheme, The result showed that the exposure dose on the operator decreased with a thicker shield, and as the operator moved away from the center line. Moreover, as the research time prolongated, the exposure dose increased, and among the three affixed location of the dosimeter, the most exposure dose was measured at gonadal, then followed by chest and thyroid. However, in consideration of the relationship between the operator and the patient, the distance cannot be increased infinitely and the research time cannot be decreased infinitely in order to reduce the exposure dose. Therefore, by changing the thickness of the radiation shield, the exposure dose on the operator was able to be reduced. If you are using a C-Arm equipment discomfort during surgery because the grounds that the procedure is neglected and close to the dose of radiation shielding made can only increase. Because a separate control room cannot be used for the C-Arm equipment due to its characteristic, the exposure dose on the operator needs to be reduced by reinforcing the shield through an appropriate thickness of radiation shield devices, such as apron, etc. during a treatment

  20. Acupuncture for radiation or combined treatment induced edema in arms and legs of breast and cervical cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bardychev, M.S.; Guseva, L.I.; Zubova, N.D.

    1988-01-01

    Acupuncture was carried out in 141 sufferers from delayed radiation injuries to skin and soft tissues. 122 patients (86%) revealed clinical manifestations of edema of varying gravity in arms and legs, while 19 (14%) suffered radiation-induced neufritis or plexitis unaccompanied by edema. Radionuclide and rheographic studies as well as evaluation of hemostatic function showed acupuncture to be an effective treatment for edema and pain. it also improved lymph flow, rheovasographic indexes and normalized hemostasis. The best results were obtained in cases of stage 1-2 edema

  1. Acupuncture for radiation or combined treatment induced edema in arms and legs of breast and cervical cancer patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bardychev, M S; Guseva, L I; Zubova, N D

    1988-01-01

    Acupuncture was carried out in 141 sufferers from delayed radiation injuries to skin and soft tissues. 122 patients (86%) revealed clinical manifestations of edema of varying gravity in arms and legs, while 19 (14%) suffered radiation-induced neufritis or plexitis unaccompanied by edema. Radionuclide and rheographic studies as well as evaluation of hemostatic function showed acupuncture to be an effective treatment for edema and pain. it also improved lymph flow, rheovasographic indexes and normalized hemostasis. The best results were obtained in cases of stage 1-2 edema.

  2. ARM Climate Research Facility Annual Report 2005

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. Voyles

    2005-12-31

    Through the ARM Program, the DOE funded the development of several highly instrumented ground stations for studying cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer, and for measuring other parameters that determine the radiative properties of the atmosphere. This scientific infrastructure, and resultant data archive, is a valuable national and international asset for advancing scientific knowledge of Earth systems. In fiscal year (FY) 2003, the DOE designated ARM sites as a national scientific user facility: the ARM Climate Research (ACRF). The ACRF has enormous potential to contribute to a wide range interdisciplinary science in areas such as meteorology, atmospheric aerosols, hydrology, biogeochemical cycling, and satellite validation, to name only a few.

  3. A comparison of robotic arm versus gantry linear accelerator stereotactic body radiation therapy for prostate cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avkshtol, Vladimir; Dong, Yanqun; Hayes, Shelly B; Hallman, Mark A; Price, Robert A; Sobczak, Mark L; Horwitz, Eric M; Zaorsky, Nicholas G

    2016-01-01

    Prostate cancer is the most prevalent cancer diagnosed in men in the United States besides skin cancer. Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT; 6-15 Gy per fraction, up to 45 minutes per fraction, delivered in five fractions or less, over the course of approximately 2 weeks) is emerging as a popular treatment option for prostate cancer. The American Society for Radiation Oncology now recognizes SBRT for select low- and intermediate-risk prostate cancer patients. SBRT grew from the notion that high doses of radiation typical of brachytherapy could be delivered noninvasively using modern external-beam radiation therapy planning and delivery methods. SBRT is most commonly delivered using either a traditional gantry-mounted linear accelerator or a robotic arm-mounted linear accelerator. In this systematic review article, we compare and contrast the current clinical evidence supporting a gantry vs robotic arm SBRT for prostate cancer. The data for SBRT show encouraging and comparable results in terms of freedom from biochemical failure (>90% for low and intermediate risk at 5-7 years) and acute and late toxicity (6 MV). Finally, SBRT (particularly on a gantry) may also be more cost-effective than conventionally fractionated external-beam radiation therapy. Randomized controlled trials of SBRT using both technologies are underway.

  4. Camera-augmented mobile C-arm (CamC): A feasibility study of augmented reality imaging in the operating room.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von der Heide, Anna Maria; Fallavollita, Pascal; Wang, Lejing; Sandner, Philipp; Navab, Nassir; Weidert, Simon; Euler, Ekkehard

    2018-04-01

    In orthopaedic trauma surgery, image-guided procedures are mostly based on fluoroscopy. The reduction of radiation exposure is an important goal. The purpose of this work was to investigate the impact of a camera-augmented mobile C-arm (CamC) on radiation exposure and the surgical workflow during a first clinical trial. Applying a workflow-oriented approach, 10 general workflow steps were defined to compare the CamC to traditional C-arms. The surgeries included were arbitrarily identified and assigned to the study. The evaluation criteria were radiation exposure and operation time for each workflow step and the entire surgery. The evaluation protocol was designed and conducted in a single-centre study. The radiation exposure was remarkably reduced by 18 X-ray shots 46% using the CamC while keeping similar surgery times. The intuitiveness of the system, its easy integration into the surgical workflow, and its great potential to reduce radiation have been demonstrated. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  5. DEVELOPMENT OF IMPROVED TECHNIQUES FOR SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING OF CLOUDS AND RADIATION USING ARM DATA, FINAL REPORT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minnis, Patrick [NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA

    2013-06-28

    During the period, March 1997 – February 2006, the Principal Investigator and his research team co-authored 47 peer-reviewed papers and presented, at least, 138 papers at conferences, meetings, and workshops that were supported either in whole or in part by this agreement. We developed a state-of-the-art satellite cloud processing system that generates cloud properties over the Atmospheric Radiation (ARM) surface sites and surrounding domains in near-real time and outputs the results on the world wide web in image and digital formats. When the products are quality controlled, they are sent to the ARM archive for further dissemination. These products and raw satellite images can be accessed at http://cloudsgate2.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/site/showdoc?docid=4&cmd=field-experiment-homepage&exp=ARM and are used by many in the ARM science community. The algorithms used in this system to generate cloud properties were validated and improved by the research conducted under this agreement. The team supported, at least, 11 ARM-related or supported field experiments by providing near-real time satellite imagery, cloud products, model results, and interactive analyses for mission planning, execution, and post-experiment scientific analyses. Comparisons of cloud properties derived from satellite, aircraft, and surface measurements were used to evaluate uncertainties in the cloud properties. Multiple-angle satellite retrievals were used to determine the influence of cloud structural and microphysical properties on the exiting radiation field.

  6. A radiation closure study of Arctic stratus cloud microphysical properties using the collocated satellite-surface data and Fu-Liou radiative transfer model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike; Qiu, Shaoyue; Minnis, Patrick; Sun-Mack, Sunny; Rose, Fred

    2016-09-01

    Retrievals of cloud microphysical properties based on passive satellite imagery are especially difficult over snow-covered surfaces because of the bright and cold surface. To help quantify their uncertainties, single-layered overcast liquid-phase Arctic stratus cloud microphysical properties retrieved by using the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Edition 2 and Edition 4 (CERES Ed2 and Ed4) algorithms are compared with ground-based retrievals at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement North Slope of Alaska (ARM NSA) site at Barrow, AK, during the period from March 2000 to December 2006. A total of 206 and 140 snow-free cases (Rsfc ≤ 0.3), and 108 and 106 snow cases (Rsfc > 0.3), respectively, were selected from Terra and Aqua satellite passes over the ARM NSA site. The CERES Ed4 and Ed2 optical depth (τ) and liquid water path (LWP) retrievals from both Terra and Aqua are almost identical and have excellent agreement with ARM retrievals under snow-free and snow conditions. In order to reach a radiation closure study for both the surface and top of atmosphere (TOA) radiation budgets, the ARM precision spectral pyranometer-measured surface albedos were adjusted (63.6% and 80% of the ARM surface albedos for snow-free and snow cases, respectively) to account for the water and land components of the domain of 30 km × 30 km. Most of the radiative transfer model calculated SW↓sfc and SW↑TOA fluxes by using ARM and CERES cloud retrievals and the domain mean albedos as input agree with the ARM and CERES flux observations within 10 W m-2 for both snow-free and snow conditions. Sensitivity studies show that the ARM LWP and re retrievals are less dependent on solar zenith angle (SZA), but all retrieved optical depths increase with SZA.

  7. A prospective study of whether radiation pneumonitis is influenced by low-dose irradiated lung volume in primary lung cancer with chronic pulmonary disease

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niibe, Yuzuru; Hayakawa, Kazushige; Masuda, Noriyuki; Yoshimura, Hirokuni

    2007-01-01

    The current study prospectively investigated the optimal dose-volume condition in cases of lung cancer with chronic pulmonary disease compared to those without chronic pulmonary disease. Cases of primary lung cancer treated with intended curative radiation therapy were registered in the current study. Their fraction size was limited to 2-3 Gy, so-called standard fractionation. They were prescribed a total dose of 60 Gy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC; n=17) and a total dose of 54 Gy for small cell lung cancer (SCLC; n=4). Of the 21 patients enrolled in this study, 4 had chronic pulmonary disease (study arm), and the others had no chronic pulmonary disease (control arm). Seven received chemotherapy. Symptomatic radiation pneumonitis occurred in 5. Of the four patients in the study arm, two (50%) experienced symptomatic radiation pneumonitis; only 3 of the 17 patients in the control arm (17.6%) experienced symptomatic radiation pneumonitis. Furthermore, the median V 20 of patients who experienced symptomatic radiation pneumonitis in the study arm was 14%, which was higher than that of patients with no symptomatic radiation pneumonitis in the study arm, 5.8%. On the other hand, in the control arm, the median V 20 of patients with symptomatic radiation pneumonitis was 14.2%, about the same as that of patients with no symptomatic radiation pneumonitis in the control arm, 15.1%. The current study suggested that, as much as 15% of V 20 , might play an important role in cases of lung cancer with chronic pulmonary disease. (author)

  8. Proceedings of the fifth Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) science team meeting

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-04-01

    This document contains the summaries of papers presented at the 1995 Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Science Team meeting held in San Diego, California. To put these papers in context, it is useful to consider the history and status of the ARM program at the time of the meeting. The history of the project has several themes. First, the Program has from its very beginning attempted to respond to most critical scientific issues facing the US Global Change Research Program. Second, the Program has been strongly coupled to other agency and international programs. Indeed, the Program reflects an unprecedented collaboration among various elements of the federal research community, among the US Department of Energy`s national laboratories, and between an agency`s research program and the related international programs, such as Global Energy and Water Experiment and TOGA. Next, ARM has always attempted to make the most judicious use of its resources by collaborating and leveraging existing assets and has managed to maintain an aggressive schedule despite budgets that have been much smaller than planned. Finally, the Program has attracted some of the very best scientific talent in the climate research community and has, as a result, been productive scientifically. This introduction covers the first three points--the papers themselves speak to the last point. Selected papers are indexed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

  9. Final report for the project "Improving the understanding of surface-atmosphere radiative interactions by mapping surface reflectance over the ARM CART site" (award DE-FG02-02ER63351)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Alexander P. Trishchenko; Yi Luo; Konstantin V. Khlopenkov, William M. Park; Zhanqing Li; Maureen Cribb

    2008-11-28

    Surface spectral reflectance (albedo) is a fundamental variable affecting the transfer of solar radiation and the Earth’s climate. It determines the proportion of solar energy absorbed by the surface and reflected back to the atmosphere. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) identified surface albedo among key factors influencing climate radiative forcing. Accurate knowledge of surface reflective properties is important for advancing weather forecasting and climate change impact studies. It is also important for determining radiative impact and acceptable levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which makes this work strongly linked to major scientific objectives of the Climate Change Research Division (CCRD) and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. Most significant accomplishments of eth project are listed below. I) Surface albedo/BRDF datasets from 1995 to the end of 2004 have been produced. They were made available to the ARM community and other interested users through the CCRS public ftp site ftp://ftp.ccrs.nrcan.gc.ca/ad/CCRS_ARM/ and ARM IOP data archive under “PI data Trishchenko”. II) Surface albedo properties over the ARM SGP area have been described for 10-year period. Comparison with ECMWF data product showed some deficiencies in the ECMWF surface scheme, such as missing some seasonal variability and no dependence on sky-conditions which biases surface energy budget and has some influence of the diurnal cycle of upward radiation and atmospheric absorption. III) Four surface albedo Intensive Observation Period (IOP) Field Campaigns have been conducted for every season (August, 2002, May 2003, February 2004 and October 2004). Data have been prepared, documented and transferred to ARM IOP archive. Nine peer-reviewed journal papers and 26 conference papers have been published.

  10. Study on the method or reducing the operator's exposure dose from a C-Arm system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Ki Sik; Song, Jong Nam [Dept. of Radiological Science, Dongshin University, Naju (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seung Ok [Dept. of Radiology, Catholic Kwangdong Universty International ST.Mary' s Hospital, Incheon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-12-15

    In this study, C-Arm equipment is being used as we intend to verify the exposure dose on the operator by the scattering rays during the operation of the C-Arm equipment and to provide an effective method of reducing the exposure dose. Exposure dose is less than the Over Tube method utilizes the C-arm equipment Under Tube the scheme, The result showed that the exposure dose on the operator decreased with a thicker shield, and as the operator moved away from the center line. Moreover, as the research time prolongated, the exposure dose increased, and among the three affixed location of the dosimeter, the most exposure dose was measured at gonadal, then followed by chest and thyroid. However, in consideration of the relationship between the operator and the patient, the distance cannot be increased infinitely and the research time cannot be decreased infinitely in order to reduce the exposure dose. Therefore, by changing the thickness of the radiation shield, the exposure dose on the operator was able to be reduced. If you are using a C-Arm equipment discomfort during surgery because the grounds that the procedure is neglected and close to the dose of radiation shielding made can only increase. Because a separate control room cannot be used for the C-Arm equipment due to its characteristic, the exposure dose on the operator needs to be reduced by reinforcing the shield through an appropriate thickness of radiation shield devices, such as apron, etc. during a treatment.

  11. [Assessment of the surgeon radiation exposure during a minimally invasive TLIF: Comparison between fluoroscopy and O-arm system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grelat, M; Zairi, F; Quidet, M; Marinho, P; Allaoui, M; Assaker, R

    2015-08-01

    Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion with a minimally invasive approach (MIS TLIF) has become a very popular technique in the treatment of degenerative diseases of the lumbar spine, as it allows a decrease in muscle iatrogenic. However, iterative radiological controls inherent to this technique are responsible for a significant increase in exposure to ionizing radiation for the surgeon. New techniques for radiological guidance (O-arm navigation-assisted) would overcome this drawback, but this remains unproven. To analyze the exposure of the surgeon to intraoperative X-ray during a MIS TLIF under fluoroscopy and under O-arm navigation-assisted. This prospective study was conducted at the University Hospital of Lille from February to May 2013. Twelve patients underwent a MIS TLIF for the treatment of low-grade spondylolisthesis; six under standard fluoroscopy (group 1) and six under O-arm system (group 2). Passive dosimeters (rings and glasses) and active dosimeters for thorax were used to measure the radiation exposure of the surgeon. For group 1, the average time of fluoroscopy was 3.718 minutes (3.13-4.56) while no radioscopy was perform on group 2. For the first group, the average exposure dose was 12 μSv (5-20 μSv) on the thorax, 1168 μSv (510-2790 μSv) on the main hand and 179 μSv (103-486 μSv) on the lens. The exposure dose was measured zero on the second group. The maximum recommended doses can be reached, mainly for the lens. In addition to the radioprotection measures, O-arm navigation systems are safe alternatives to significantly reduce surgeon exposure. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  12. Radiation dose reduction and new image modalities development for interventional C-arm imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Kai

    Cardiovascular disease and stroke are the leading health problems and causes of death in the US. Due to the minimally invasive nature of the evolution of image guided techniques, interventional radiological procedures are becoming more common and are preferred in treating many cardiovascular diseases and strokes. In addition, with the recent advances in hardware and device technology, the speed and efficacy of interventional treatment has significantly improved. This implies that more image modalities can be developed based on the current C-arm system and patients treated in interventional suites can potentially experience better health outcomes. However, during the treatment patients are irradiated with substantial amounts of ionizing radiation with a high dose rate (digital subtraction angiography (DSA) with 3muGy/frame and 3D cone beam CT image with 0.36muGy/frame for a Siemens Artis Zee biplane system) and/or a long irradiation time (a roadmapping image sequence can be as long as one hour during aneurysm embolization). As a result, the patient entrance dose is extremely high. Despite the fact that the radiation dose is already substantial, image quality is not always satisfactory. By default a temporal average is used in roadmapping images to overcome poor image quality, but this technique can result in motion blurred images. Therefore, reducing radiation dose while maintaining or even improving the image quality is an important area for continued research. This thesis is focused on improving the clinical applications of C-arm cone beam CT systems in two ways: (1) Improve the performance of current image modalities on the C-arm system. (2) Develop new image modalities based on the current system. To be more specific, the objectives are to reduce radiation dose for current modalities (e.g., DSA, fluoroscopy, roadmapping, and cone beam CT) and enable cone beam CT perfusion and time resolved cone beam CT angiography that can be used to diagnose and triage acute

  13. Pion radiation for high grade astrocytoma: results of a randomized study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pickles, Tom; Goodman, George B.; Rheaume, Dorianne E.; Duncan, Graeme G.; Fryer, Chris J.; Bhimji, Shamim; Ludgate, Charles; Syndikus, Isabel; Graham, Peter; Dimitrov, Mario; Bowen, Julie

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: This study attempted to compare within a randomized study the outcome of pion radiation therapy vs. conventional photon irradiation for the treatment of high-grade astrocytomas. Methods and Materials: Eighty-four patients were randomized to pion therapy (33-34.5 Gyπ), or conventional photon irradiation (60 Gy). Entry criteria included astrocytoma (modified Kernohan high Grade 3 or Grade 4), age 18-70, Karnofsky performance status (KPS) ≥50, ability to start irradiation within 30 days of surgery, unifocal tumor, and treatment volume < 850 cc. The high-dose volume in both arms was computed tomography enhancement plus a 2-cm margin. The study was designed with the power to detect a twofold difference between arms. Results: Eighty-one eligible patients were equally balanced for all known prognostic variables. Pion patients started radiation 7 days earlier on average than photon patients, but other treatment-related variables did not differ. There were no significant differences for either early or late radiation toxicity between treatment arms. Actuarial survival analysis shows no differences in terms of time to local recurrence or overall survival where median survival was 10 months in both arms (p = 0.22). The physician-assessed KPS and patient-assessed quality of life (QOL) measurements were generally maintained within 10 percentage points until shortly before tumor recurrence. There was no apparent difference in the serial KPS or QOL scores between treatment arms. Conclusion: In contrast to high linear energy transfer (LET) therapy for central nervous system tumors, such as neutron or neon therapy, the safety of pion therapy, which is of intermediate LET, has been reaffirmed. However, this study has demonstrated no therapeutic gain for pion therapy of glioblastoma

  14. ARM Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE) Solar Radiation Data

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The ARM Enhanced Shortwave Experiment (ARESE) was conducted at the Department of Energy's ARM Southern Great Plains (SGP) Central Facility between September 22, 1995...

  15. A Climatology of Surface Cloud Radiative Effects at the ARM Tropical Western Pacific Sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McFarlane, Sally A.; Long, Charles N.; Flaherty, Julia E.

    2013-04-01

    Cloud radiative effects on surface downwelling fluxes are investigated using long-term datasets from the three Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) sites in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) region. The Nauru and Darwin sites show significant variability in sky cover, downwelling radiative fluxes, and surface cloud radiative effect (CRE) due to El Niño and the Australian monsoon, respectively, while the Manus site shows little intra-seasonal or interannual variability. Cloud radar measurement of cloud base and top heights are used to define cloud types so that the effect of cloud type on the surface CRE can be examined. Clouds with low bases contribute 71-75% of the surface shortwave (SW) CRE and 66-74% of the surface longwave (LW) CRE at the three TWP sites, while clouds with mid-level bases contribute 8-9% of the SW CRE and 12-14% of the LW CRE, and clouds with high bases contribute 16-19% of the SW CRE and 15-21% of the LW CRE.

  16. Counterbalanced radiation detection system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Platz, W.

    1987-01-01

    A counterbalanced radiation detection system is described comprising: (a) a stand; (b) a first radiation detector; (c) a first radiation detector arm means for tiltably connecting the first radiation detector with the stand; (d) a second radiation detector; (e) a second radiation detector arm means for tiltably connecting the second radiation detector with the stand, whereby the tilting angles of the radiation detector arm means define a distance between the radiation detectors; and (f) a torque transforming means connected between the first and second radiation detector arm means for transforming the torque created by one of the radiation detectors in a sense opposed to the torque created by the other radiation detector

  17. Radiation exposure to operating staff during rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam computed tomography (CT) applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schulz, Boris, E-mail: boris.schell@googlemail.com [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany); Heidenreich, Ralf, E-mail: ralf.heidenreich@roentgen-consult.de [Röntgen-Consult Company, Schulhausstrasse 37, 79199 Kirchzarten (Germany); Heidenreich, Monika, E-mail: info@roentgen-consult.de [Röntgen-Consult Company, Schulhausstrasse 37, 79199 Kirchzarten (Germany); Eichler, Katrin, E-mail: k.eichler@em.uni-frankfurt.de [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany); Thalhammer, Axel, E-mail: axel.thalhammer@kgu.de [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany); Naeem, Naguib Nagy Naguib, E-mail: nagynnn@yahoo.com [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany); Vogl, Thomas Josef, E-mail: T.Vogl@em.uni-frankfurt.de [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany); Zangos, Stefan, E-mail: Zangos@em.uni-frankfurt.de [Goethe University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Theodor-Stern-Kai 7, 60590 Frankfurt (Germany)

    2012-12-15

    Purpose: To evaluate the radiation exposure for operating personel associated with rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam CT. Materials and methods: Using a dedicated angiography-suite, 2D and 3D examinations of the liver were performed on a phantom to generate scattered radiation. Exposure was measured with a dosimeter at predefined heights (eye, thyroid, breast, gonads and knee) at the physician's location. Analysis included 3D procedures with a field of view (FOV) of 24 cm × 18 cm (8 s/rotation, 20 s/rotation and 5 s/2 rotations), and 47 cm × 18 cm (16 s/2 rotations) and standard 2D angiography (10 s, FOV 24 cm × 18 cm). Results: Measurements showed the highest radiation dose at the eye and thyroid level. In comparison to 2D-DSA (3.9 μSv eye-exposure), the 3D procedures caused an increased radiation exposure both in standard FOV (8 s/rotation: 28.0 μSv, 20 s/rotation: 79.3 μSv, 5 s/2 rotations: 32.5 μSv) and large FOV (37.6 μSv). Proportional distributions were measured for the residual heights. With the use of lead glass, irradiation of the eye lens was reduced to 0.2 μSv (2D DSA) and 10.6 μSv (3D technique with 20 s/rotation). Conclusion: Rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam applications significantly increase radiation exposure to the attending operator in comparison to 2D angiography. Our study indicates that the physician should wear protective devices and leave the examination room when performing 3D examinations.

  18. Radiation exposure to operating staff during rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam computed tomography (CT) applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schulz, Boris; Heidenreich, Ralf; Heidenreich, Monika; Eichler, Katrin; Thalhammer, Axel; Naeem, Naguib Nagy Naguib; Vogl, Thomas Josef; Zangos, Stefan

    2012-12-01

    To evaluate the radiation exposure for operating personnel associated with rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam CT. Using a dedicated angiography-suite, 2D and 3D examinations of the liver were performed on a phantom to generate scattered radiation. Exposure was measured with a dosimeter at predefined heights (eye, thyroid, breast, gonads and knee) at the physician's location. Analysis included 3D procedures with a field of view (FOV) of 24 cm × 18 cm (8s/rotation, 20s/rotation and 5s/2 rotations), and 47 cm×18 cm (16s/2 rotations) and standard 2D angiography (10s, FOV 24 cm×18 cm). Measurements showed the highest radiation dose at the eye and thyroid level. In comparison to 2D-DSA (3.9 μSv eye-exposure), the 3D procedures caused an increased radiation exposure both in standard FOV (8s/rotation: 28.0 μSv, 20s/rotation: 79.3 μSv, 5s/2 rotations: 32.5 μSv) and large FOV (37.6 μSv). Proportional distributions were measured for the residual heights. With the use of lead glass, irradiation of the eye lens was reduced to 0.2 μSv (2D DSA) and 10.6 μSv (3D technique with 20s/rotation). Rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam applications significantly increase radiation exposure to the attending operator in comparison to 2D angiography. Our study indicates that the physician should wear protective devices and leave the examination room when performing 3D examinations. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Radiation exposure to operating staff during rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam computed tomography (CT) applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schulz, Boris; Heidenreich, Ralf; Heidenreich, Monika; Eichler, Katrin; Thalhammer, Axel; Naeem, Naguib Nagy Naguib; Vogl, Thomas Josef; Zangos, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the radiation exposure for operating personel associated with rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam CT. Materials and methods: Using a dedicated angiography-suite, 2D and 3D examinations of the liver were performed on a phantom to generate scattered radiation. Exposure was measured with a dosimeter at predefined heights (eye, thyroid, breast, gonads and knee) at the physician's location. Analysis included 3D procedures with a field of view (FOV) of 24 cm × 18 cm (8 s/rotation, 20 s/rotation and 5 s/2 rotations), and 47 cm × 18 cm (16 s/2 rotations) and standard 2D angiography (10 s, FOV 24 cm × 18 cm). Results: Measurements showed the highest radiation dose at the eye and thyroid level. In comparison to 2D-DSA (3.9 μSv eye-exposure), the 3D procedures caused an increased radiation exposure both in standard FOV (8 s/rotation: 28.0 μSv, 20 s/rotation: 79.3 μSv, 5 s/2 rotations: 32.5 μSv) and large FOV (37.6 μSv). Proportional distributions were measured for the residual heights. With the use of lead glass, irradiation of the eye lens was reduced to 0.2 μSv (2D DSA) and 10.6 μSv (3D technique with 20 s/rotation). Conclusion: Rotational flat-panel angiography and C-arm cone beam applications significantly increase radiation exposure to the attending operator in comparison to 2D angiography. Our study indicates that the physician should wear protective devices and leave the examination room when performing 3D examinations.

  20. Preliminary Findings from the One-Year Electric Field Study in the North Slope of Alaska (OYES-NSA), Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Field Campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lavigne, T.; Liu, C.

    2017-12-01

    Previous studies focusing on the comparison of the measured electric field to the physical properties of global electrified clouds have been conducted almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere. The One-Year Electric Field Study-North Slope of Alaska (OYES-NSA) aims to establish a long-running collection of this valuable electric field data in the Northern Hemisphere. Presented here is the six-month preliminary data and results of the OYES-NSA Atmospheric Radiation Mission (ARM) field campaign. The local electric field measured in Barrow, Alaska using two CS110 reciprocating shutter field meters, has been compared to simultaneous measurements from the ARM Ka-Band zenith radar, to better understand the influence and contribution of different types of clouds on the local electric field. The fair-weather electric field measured in Barrow has also been analyzed and compared to the climatology of electric field at Vostok Station, Antarctica. The combination of the electric field dataset in the Northern Hemisphere, alongside the local Ka cloud radar, global Precipitation Feature (PF) database, and quasi-global lightning activity (55oN-55oS), allows for advances in the physical understanding of the local electric field, as well as the Global Electric Circuit (GEC).

  1. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research (ARM)

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — With heavily instrumented field sites around the globe, the ARM Climate Research Facility provides the world's most comprehensive outdoor laboratory and data archive...

  2. Organization of octopus arm movements: a model system for studying the control of flexible arms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutfreund, Y; Flash, T; Yarom, Y; Fiorito, G; Segev, I; Hochner, B

    1996-11-15

    Octopus arm movements provide an extreme example of controlled movements of a flexible arm with virtually unlimited degrees of freedom. This study aims to identify general principles in the organization of these movements. Video records of the movements of Octopus vulgaris performing the task of reaching toward a target were studied. The octopus extends its arm toward the target by a wave-like propagation of a bend that travels from the base of the arm toward the tip. Similar bend propagation is seen in other octopus arm movements, such as locomotion and searching. The kinematics (position and velocity) of the midpoint of the bend in three-dimensional space were extracted using the direct linear transformation algorithm. This showed that the bend tends to move within a single linear plane in a simple, slightly curved path connecting the center of the animal's body with the target location. Approximately 70% of the reaching movements demonstrated a stereotyped tangential velocity profile. An invariant profile was observed when movements were normalized for velocity and distance. Two arms, extended together in the same behavioral context, demonstrated identical velocity profiles. The stereotyped features of the movements were also observed in spontaneous arm extensions (not toward an external target). The simple and stereotypic appearance of the bend trajectory suggests that the position of the bend in space and time is the controlled variable. We propose that this strategy reduces the immense redundancy of the octopus arm movements and hence simplifies motor control.

  3. Atmospheric radiation measurement: A program for improving radiative forcing and feedback in general circulation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patrinos, A.A.; Renne, D.S.; Stokes, G.M.; Ellingson, R.G.

    1991-01-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a key element of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) global change research strategy. ARM represents a long-term commitment to conduct comprehensive studies of the spectral atmospheric radiative energy balance profile for a wide range of cloud conditions and surface types, and to develop the knowledge necessary to improve parameterizations of radiative processes under various cloud regimes for use in general circulation models (GCMs) and related models. The importance of the ARM program is a apparent from the results of model assessments of the impact on global climate change. Recent studies suggest that radiatively active trace gas emissions caused by human activity can lead to a global warming of 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius and to important changes in water availability during the next century (Cess, et al. 1989). These broad-scale changes can be even more significant at regional levels, where large shifts in temperature and precipitation patterns are shown to occur. However, these analyses also indicate that considerable uncertainty exists in these estimates, with the manner in which cloud radiative processes are parameterized among the most significant uncertainty. Thus, although the findings have significant policy implications in assessment of global and regional climate change, their uncertainties greatly influence the policy debate. ARM's highly focused observational and analytical research is intended to accelerate improvements and reduce key uncertainties associated with the way in which GCMs treat cloud cover and cloud characteristics and the resulting radiative forcing. This paper summarizes the scientific context for ARM, ARM's experimental approach, and recent activities within the ARM program

  4. Ultra-high resolution C-Arm CT arthrography of the wrist: Radiation dose and image quality compared to conventional multidetector computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Werncke, Thomas, E-mail: Werncke.Thomas@mh-hannover.de [Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover (Germany); Sonnow, Lena; Meyer, Bernhard C. [Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover (Germany); Lüpke, Matthias [University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Institute for General Radiology and Medical Physics, Bischofsholer Damm 15, 30173 Hannover (Germany); Hinrichs, Jan; Wacker, Frank K.; Falck, Christian von [Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover (Germany)

    2017-04-15

    Objective: Objective of this phantom and cadaveric study was to compare the effective radiation dose (ED) and image quality (IQ) between C-arm computed tomography (CACT) using an ultra-high resolution 1 × 1 binning with a standard 16-slice CT (MDCT) arthrography of the wrist. Methods: ED was determined with thermoluminescence dosimetry using an anthropomorphic phantom and different patient positions. Imaging was conducted in 10 human cadaveric wrists after tri-compartmental injection of diluted iodinated contrast material and a wire phantom. IQ of MDCT was compared with CACT reconstructed with a soft (CACT1) and sharp (CACT2) kernel. High and low contrast resolution was determined. Three radiologists assessed IQ of wrist structures and occurrence of image artifacts using a 5-point Likert scale. Results: ED of MDCT was comparable to standard CACT (4.3 μSv/3.7 μSv). High contrast resolution was best for CACT2, decreased to CACT1 and MDCT. Low contrast resolution increased between CACT2 and MDCT (P < 0.001). IQ was best for CACT2 (1.3 ± 0.5), decreased to CACT1 (1.9 ± 0.6) and MDCT (3.5 ± 0.6). Non-compromising artifacts were only reported for CACT. Conclusions: The results of this phantom and cadaveric study indicate that ultra-high resolution C-Arm CT arthrography of the wrist bears the potential to outperform MDCT arthrography in terms of image quality and workflow at the cost of mildly increasing image artifacts while radiation dose to the patient is comparably low for both, MDCT and C-Arm CT.

  5. Unequal-Arms Michelson Interferometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinto, Massimo; Armstrong, J. W.

    2000-01-01

    Michelson interferometers allow phase measurements many orders of magnitude below the phase stability of the laser light injected into their two almost equal-length arms. If, however, the two arms are unequal, the laser fluctuations can not be removed by simply recombining the two beams. This is because the laser jitters experience different time delays in the two arms, and therefore can not cancel at the photo detector. We present here a method for achieving exact laser noise cancellation, even in an unequal-arm interferometer. The method presented in this paper requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam. By linearly combining the two data sets with themselves, after they have been properly time shifted, we show that it is possible to construct a new data set that is free of laser fluctuations. An application of this technique to future planned space-based laser interferometer detector3 of gravitational radiation is discussed.

  6. ARM West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lubin, Daniel [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography; Bromwich, David H [Ohio State University; Vogelmann, Andrew M [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Verlinde, Johannes [Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States); Russell, Lynn M [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States). Scripps Inst. of Oceanography

    2017-09-15

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) is the most technologically advanced atmospheric and climate science campaign yet fielded in Antarctica. AWARE was motivated be recent concern about the impact of cryospheric mass loss on global sea level rise. Specifically, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) is now the second largest contributor to rising sea level, after the Greenland Ice Sheet. As steadily warming ocean water erodes the grounding lines of WAIS components where they meet the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas, the retreating grounding lines moving inland and downslope on the underlying terrain imply mechanical instability of the entire WAIS. There is evidence that this point of instability may have already been reached, perhaps signifying more rapid loss of WAIS ice mass. At the same time, the mechanical support provided by adjacent ice shelves, and also the fundamental stability of exposed ice cliffs at the ice sheet grounding lines, will be adversely impacted by a warming atmosphere that causes more frequent episodes of surface melting. The surface meltwater damages the ice shelves and ice cliffs through hydrofracturing. With the increasing concern regarding these rapid cryospheric changes, AWARE was motivated by the need to (a) diagnose the surface energy balance in West Antarctica as related to both summer season climatology and potential surface melting, and (b) improve global climate model (GCM) performance over Antarctica, such that future cryospheric projections can be more reliable.

  7. Ray tracing reconstruction investigation for C-arm tomosynthesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malalla, Nuhad A. Y.; Chen, Ying

    2016-04-01

    C-arm tomosynthesis is a three dimensional imaging technique. Both x-ray source and the detector are mounted on a C-arm wheeled structure to provide wide variety of movement around the object. In this paper, C-arm tomosynthesis was introduced to provide three dimensional information over a limited view angle (less than 180o) to reduce radiation exposure and examination time. Reconstruction algorithms based on ray tracing method such as ray tracing back projection (BP), simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART) and maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) were developed for C-arm tomosynthesis. C-arm tomosynthesis projection images of simulated spherical object were simulated with a virtual geometric configuration with a total view angle of 40 degrees. This study demonstrated the sharpness of in-plane reconstructed structure and effectiveness of removing out-of-plane blur for each reconstruction algorithms. Results showed the ability of ray tracing based reconstruction algorithms to provide three dimensional information with limited angle C-arm tomosynthesis.

  8. A Climatology of Midlatitude Continental Clouds from the ARM SGP Site. Part II; Cloud Fraction and Surface Radiative Forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xi, B.; Minnis, P.

    2006-01-01

    affected by uncertainties in data sampling and clear-sky screening. Traditionally, cloud radiative forcing includes, not only the radiative impact of the hydrometeors, but also the changes in the environment. Taken together over the ARM SCF, changes in humidity and surface albedo between clear and cloudy conditions offset approximately 20% of the NET radiative forcing caused by the cloud hydrometeors alone. Variations in water vapor, on average, account for 10% and 83% of the SW and LW CRFs, respectively, in total cloud cover conditions. The error analysis further reveals that the cloud hydrometeors dominate the SW CRF, while water vapor changes are most important for LW flux changes in cloudy skies. Similar studies over other locales are encouraged where water and surface albedo changes from clear to cloudy conditions may be much different than observed over the ARM SCF.

  9. Real-time statistical quality control and ARM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blough, D.K.

    1992-05-01

    An important component of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is real-time quality control of data obtained from meteorological instruments. It is the goal of the ARM program to enhance the predictive capabilities of global circulation models by incorporating in them more detailed information on the radiative characteristics of the earth's atmosphere. To this end, a number of Cloud and Radiation Testbeds (CART's) will be built at various locations worldwide. Each CART will consist of an array of instruments designed to collect radiative data. The large amount of data obtained from these instruments necessitates real-time processing in order to flag outliers and possible instrument malfunction. The Bayesian dynamic linear model (DLM) proves to be an effective way of monitoring the time series data which each instrument generates. It provides a flexible yet powerful approach to detecting in real-time sudden shifts in a non-stationary multivariate time series. An application of these techniques to data arising from a remote sensing instrument to be used in the CART is provided. Using real data from a wind profiler, the ability of the DLM to detect outliers is studied. 5 refs

  10. Comparison of Radiation Exposure during Endovascular Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease with Flat-Panel Detectors on Mobile C-arm versus Fixed Systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guillou, Marie; Maurel, Blandine; Necib, Hatem; Vent, Pierre-Alexandre; Costargent, Alain; Chaillou, Philippe; Gouëffic, Yann; Kaladji, Adrien

    2018-02-01

    Flat-panel detectors on mobile C-arm (MC-arm) systems are currently challenging fixed C-arm (FC-arm) systems used in hybrid operating rooms. MC-arm systems offer an alternative to FC-arm systems in the endovascular treatment of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) but their efficiency has not been evaluated comparatively. Two series of patients undergoing arteriography with intention to treat were included. Each series consisted of 2 nonrandomized groups: an MC-arm group and an FC-arm group. Series 1 evaluated exposure to the patient (MC-arm, n = 113; FC-arm, n = 206) while series 2 evaluated exposure to patients and also health care personnel (MC-arm, n = 24; FC-arm, n = 76). The primary end points for evaluating exposure were air kerma (AK, in mGy) for patients and effective dose for health care personnel (in μSv). After adjustment for the effect of body mass index (analysis of covariance test), AK was found to be lower in the MC-arm group than in the FC-arm group (124.1 ± 142 vs. 173.3 ± 248.7, P = 0.025). There was no difference between the groups with regard to effective dose recorded for senior surgeons or for operating room nurses. However, a higher effective dose was recorded by the MC-arm group external dosimeter for the trainee resident and for nurse anesthetists. In endovascular treatment of lower limb PAD, use of an FC-arm system is associated with more radiation exposure to the patient than an MC-arm system. However, this type of imaging system does not appear to affect exposure to health care personnel. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  11. Characteristics and direct radiative effect of mid-latitude continental aerosols: the ARM case

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. Iziomon

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A multi-year field measurement analysis of the characteristics and direct radiative effect of aerosols at the Southern Great Plains (SGP central facility of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM Program is presented. Inter-annual mean and standard deviation of submicrometer scattering fraction (at 550 nm and Ångström exponent å (450 nm, 700 nm at the mid-latitude continental site are indicative of the scattering dominance of fine mode aerosol particles, being 0.84±0.03 and 2.25±0.09, respectively. We attribute the diurnal variation of submicron aerosol concentration to coagulation, photochemistry and the evolution of the boundary layer. Precipitation does not seem to play a role in the observed afternoon maximum in aerosol concentration. Submicron aerosol mass at the site peaks in the summer (12.1±6.7mg m-3, with the summer value being twice that in the winter. Of the chemically analyzed ionic components (which exclude carbonaceous aerosols, SO4= and NH4+ constitute the dominant species at the SGP seasonally, contributing 23-30% and 9-12% of the submicron aerosol mass, respectively. Although a minor species, there is a notable rise in NO3- mass fraction in winter. We contrast the optical properties of dust and smoke haze. The single scattering albedo w0 shows the most remarkable distinction between the two aerosol constituents. We also present aircraft measurements of vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties at the site. Annually, the lowest 1.2 km contributes 70% to the column total light scattering coefficient. Column-averaged and surface annual mean values of hemispheric backscatter fraction (at 550 nm, w0 (at 550 nm and å (450 nm, 700 nm agree to within 5% in 2001. Aerosols produce a net cooling (most pronounced in the spring at the ARM site

  12. Hello to Arms

    Science.gov (United States)

    2005-01-01

    This image highlights the hidden spiral arms (blue) that were discovered around the nearby galaxy NGC 4625 by the ultraviolet eyes of NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The image is composed of ultraviolet and visible-light data, from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the California Institute of Technology's Digitized Sky Survey, respectively. Near-ultraviolet light is colored green; far-ultraviolet light is colored blue; and optical light is colored red. As the image demonstrates, the lengthy spiral arms are nearly invisible when viewed in optical light while bright in ultraviolet. This is because they are bustling with hot, newborn stars that radiate primarily ultraviolet light. The youthful arms are also very long, stretching out to a distance four times the size of the galaxy's core. They are part of the largest ultraviolet galactic disk discovered so far. Located 31 million light-years away in the constellation Canes Venatici, NGC 4625 is the closest galaxy ever seen with such a young halo of arms. It is slightly smaller than our Milky Way, both in size and mass. However, the fact that this galaxy's disk is forming stars very actively suggests that it might evolve into a more massive and mature galaxy resembling our own. The armless companion galaxy seen below NGC 4625 is called NGC 4618. Astronomers do not know why it lacks arms but speculate that it may have triggered the development of arms in NGC 4625.

  13. Measurement Capabilities of the DOE ARM Aerial Facility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, B.; Tomlinson, J. M.; Hubbe, J.; Comstock, J. M.; Kluzek, C. D.; Chand, D.; Pekour, M. S.

    2012-12-01

    The Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a climate research user facility operating stationary ground sites in three important climatic regimes that provide long-term measurements of climate relevant properties. ARM also operates mobile ground- and ship-based facilities to conduct shorter field campaigns (6-12 months) to investigate understudied climate regimes around the globe. Finally, airborne observations by ARM's Aerial Facility (AAF) enhance the surface-based ARM measurements by providing high-resolution in situ measurements for process understanding, retrieval algorithm development, and model evaluation that is not possible using ground-based techniques. AAF started out in 2007 as a "virtual hangar" with no dedicated aircraft and only a small number of instruments owned by ARM. In this mode, AAF successfully carried out several missions contracting with organizations and investigators who provided their research aircraft and instrumentation. In 2009, the Battelle owned G-1 aircraft was included in the ARM facility. The G-1 is a large twin turboprop aircraft, capable of measurements up to altitudes of 7.5 km and a range of 2,800 kilometers. Furthermore the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided funding for the procurement of seventeen new instruments to be used aboard the G-1 and other AAF virtual-hangar aircraft. AAF now executes missions in the virtual- and real-hangar mode producing freely available datasets for studying aerosol, cloud, and radiative processes in the atmosphere. AAF is also heavily engaged in the maturation and testing of newly developed airborne sensors to help foster the next generation of airborne instruments. In the presentation we will showcase science applications based on measurements from recent field campaigns such as CARES, CALWATER and TCAP.

  14. MPL-net at ARM Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spinhirne, J. D.; Welton, E. J.; Campbell, J. R.; Berkoff, T. A.; Starr, David OC. (Technical Monitor)

    2002-01-01

    The NASA MPL-net project goal is consistent data products of the vertical distribution of clouds and aerosol from globally distributed lidar observation sites. The four ARM micro pulse lidars are a basis of the network to consist of over twelve sites. The science objective is ground truth for global satellite retrievals and accurate vertical distribution information in combination with surface radiation measurements for aerosol and cloud models. The project involves improvement in instruments and data processing and cooperation with ARM and other partners.

  15. Comparison of C-arm computed tomography and on-site quick cortisol assay for adrenal venous sampling: A retrospective study of 178 patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chang, Chin-Chen; Lee, Bo-Ching; Chang, Yeun-Chung; Liu, Kao-Lang [National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Department of Medical Imaging, Taipei (China); Wu, Vin-Cent [National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Taipei (China); Huang, Kuo-How [National Taiwan University Hospital and National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Department of Urology, Taipei (China); Collaboration: on behalf of the TAIPAI Study Group

    2017-12-15

    To compare the performance of on-site quick cortisol assay (QCA) and C-arm computed tomography (CT) assistance on adrenal venous sampling (AVS) without adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation. The institutional review board at our hospital approved this retrospective study, which included 178 consecutive patients with primary aldosteronism. During AVS, we used C-arm CT to confirm right adrenal cannulation between May 2012 and June 2015 (n = 100) and QCA for bilateral adrenal cannulation between July 2015 and September 2016 (n = 78). Successful AVS required a selectivity index (cortisol{sub adrenal} {sub vein}/cortisol{sub peripheral}) of ≥ 2.0 bilaterally. The overall success rate of C-arm CT-assisted AVS was 87%, which increased to 97.4% under QCA (P =.013). The procedure time (C-arm CT, 49.5 ± 21.3 min; QCA, 37.5 ± 15.6 min; P <.001) and radiation dose (C-arm CT, 673.9 ± 613.8 mGy; QCA, 346.4 ± 387.8 mGy; P <.001) were also improved. The resampling rate was 16% and 21.8% for C-arm CT and QCA, respectively. The initial success rate of the performing radiologist remained stable during the study period (C-arm CT 75%; QCA, 82.1%, P =.259). QCA might be superior to C-arm CT for improving the performance of AVS. (orig.)

  16. A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campos, E [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Sisterson, Douglas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2016-12-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. The ARM Facility currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through a number of sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, the Facility relies on instrument mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office (DQO) to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed. Note that some of the instrument observations require mathematical algorithms (retrievals) to convert a measured engineering variable into a useful geophysical measurement. While those types of retrieval measurements are identified, this study does not address particular methods for retrieval uncertainty. As well, the ARM Facility also provides engineered data products, or value-added products (VAPs), based on multiple instrument measurements. This study does not include uncertainty estimates for those data products. We propose here that a total measurement uncertainty should be calculated as a function of the instrument uncertainty (calibration factors), the field uncertainty (environmental factors), and the retrieval uncertainty (algorithm factors). The study will not expand on methods for computing these uncertainties. Instead, it will focus on the practical identification, characterization, and inventory of the measurement uncertainties already available in the ARM community through the ARM instrument mentors and their ARM instrument handbooks. As a result, this study will address the first steps towards reporting ARM measurement uncertainty

  17. ARM Unmanned Aerial Systems Implementation Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schmid, Beat [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ivey, Mark [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

    2016-11-01

    Recent advances in Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) coupled with changes in the regulatory environment for operations of UAS in the National Airspace increase the potential value of UAS to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. UAS include unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and tethered balloon systems (TBS). The roles UAVs and TBSs could play within the ARM Facility, particularly science questions they could help address, have been discussed in several workshops, reports, and vision documents, including: This document describes the implementation of a robust and vigorous program for use of UAV and TBS for the science missions ARM supports.

  18. Passive detection of nuclear-armed SLCMs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sagdeev, R.Z.; Prilutsky, O.F.; Frolov, V.A.

    1992-01-01

    Effective procedures have been developed, using national technical measures (photoreconnaissance satellites, radiointercept stations, etc.), for verification of reductions in land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, such as marine-based ballistic missiles, and strategic bombers. However, there is agreement on procedures for verifying limitations of numbers of long-range nuclear-armed cruise missiles. The difficulties in developing such procedures are sometimes regarded (by opponents of nuclear disarmament) as a reason why cruise missiles based on ships and submarines ought not to be limited by future arms-reduction treaties. This paper considers the detectability of nuclear-armed cruise missiles through the penetrating radiation emitted spontaneously from their warheads

  19. Mobile C-arm cone-beam CT for guidance of spine surgery: Image quality, radiation dose, and integration with interventional guidance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schafer, S.; Nithiananthan, S.; Mirota, D. J.; Uneri, A.; Stayman, J. W.; Zbijewski, W.; Schmidgunst, C.; Kleinszig, G.; Khanna, A. J.; Siewerdsen, J. H. [Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 (United States); Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 (United States); Siemens Healthcare XP Division, Erlangen (Germany); Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21239 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 and Department of Computer Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)

    2011-08-15

    Purpose: A flat-panel detector based mobile isocentric C-arm for cone-beam CT (CBCT) has been developed to allow intraoperative 3D imaging with sub-millimeter spatial resolution and soft-tissue visibility. Image quality and radiation dose were evaluated in spinal surgery, commonly relying on lower-performance image intensifier based mobile C-arms. Scan protocols were developed for task-specific imaging at minimum dose, in-room exposure was evaluated, and integration of the imaging system with a surgical guidance system was demonstrated in preclinical studies of minimally invasive spine surgery. Methods: Radiation dose was assessed as a function of kilovolt (peak) (80-120 kVp) and milliampere second using thoracic and lumbar spine dosimetry phantoms. In-room radiation exposure was measured throughout the operating room for various CBCT scan protocols. Image quality was assessed using tissue-equivalent inserts in chest and abdomen phantoms to evaluate bone and soft-tissue contrast-to-noise ratio as a function of dose, and task-specific protocols (i.e., visualization of bone or soft-tissues) were defined. Results were applied in preclinical studies using a cadaveric torso simulating minimally invasive, transpedicular surgery. Results: Task-specific CBCT protocols identified include: thoracic bone visualization (100 kVp; 60 mAs; 1.8 mGy); lumbar bone visualization (100 kVp; 130 mAs; 3.2 mGy); thoracic soft-tissue visualization (100 kVp; 230 mAs; 4.3 mGy); and lumbar soft-tissue visualization (120 kVp; 460 mAs; 10.6 mGy) - each at (0.3 x 0.3 x 0.9 mm{sup 3}) voxel size. Alternative lower-dose, lower-resolution soft-tissue visualization protocols were identified (100 kVp; 230 mAs; 5.1 mGy) for the lumbar region at (0.3 x 0.3 x 1.5 mm{sup 3}) voxel size. Half-scan orbit of the C-arm (x-ray tube traversing under the table) was dosimetrically advantageous (prepatient attenuation) with a nonuniform dose distribution ({approx}2 x higher at the entrance side than at isocenter

  20. Testbed model and data assimilation for ARM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Louis, J.F.

    1992-01-01

    The objectives of this contract are to further develop and test the ALFA (AER Local Forecast and Assimilation) model originally designed at AER for local weather prediction and apply it to three distinct but related purposes in connection with the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program: (a) to provide a testbed that simulates a global climate model in order to facilitate the development and testing of new cloud parametrizations and radiation models; (b) to assimilate the ARM data continuously at the scale of a climate model, using the adjoint method, thus providing the initial conditions and verification data for testing parameumtions; (c) to study the sensitivity of a radiation scheme to cloud parameters, again using the adjoint method, thus demonstrating the usefulness of the testbed model. The data assimilation will use a variational technique that minimizes the difference between the model results and the observation during the analysis period. The adjoint model is used to compute the gradient of a measure of the model errors with respect to nudging terms that are added to the equations to force the model output closer to the data. The radiation scheme that will be included in the basic ALFA model makes use of a gen two-stream approximation, and is designed for vertically inhonogeneous, multiple-scattering atmospheres. The sensitivity of this model to the definition of cloud parameters will be studied. The adjoint technique will also be used to compute the sensitivities. This project is designed to provide the Science Team members with the appropriate tools and modeling environment for proper testing and tuning of new radiation models and cloud parametrization schemes

  1. Theoretical studies of radiative properties of broken clouds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Titov, G.A.

    1994-01-01

    One of the three goals of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is to improve the quality of radiation models under clear sky, homogeneous cloud, and broken cloud conditions. This report is concerned with the development of the theory of radiation transfer in the broken clouds. Our approach is based on a stochastic description of the interaction between the radiation and cloud field with stochastic geometry; In the following, we discuss (1) the mean radiation fluxes in the near IR spectral range 2.7 to 3.2 μm; (2) the influence of random geometry of individual cumulus clouds on the mean fluxes of visible solar radiation; (3) the equations of the mean radiance in the statistically inhomogeneous cloud fields

  2. Pedicle Screw Insertion Accuracy Using O-Arm, Robotic Guidance, or Freehand Technique: A Comparative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laudato, Pietro Aniello; Pierzchala, Katarzyna; Schizas, Constantin

    2018-03-15

    A retrospective radiological study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of pedicle screw insertion using O-Arm navigation, robotic assistance, or a freehand fluoroscopic technique. Pedicle screw insertion using either "O-Arm" navigation or robotic devices is gaining popularity. Although several studies are available evaluating each of those techniques separately, no direct comparison has been attempted. Eighty-four patients undergoing implantation of 569 lumbar and thoracic screws were divided into three groups. Eleven patients (64 screws) had screws inserted using robotic assistance, 25 patients (191 screws) using the O-arm, while 48 patients (314 screws) had screws inserted using lateral fluoroscopy in a freehand technique. A single experienced spine surgeon assisted by a spinal fellow performed all procedures. Screw placement accuracy was assessed by two independent observers on postoperative computed tomography (CTs) according to the A to D Rampersaud criteria. No statistically significant difference was noted between the three groups. About 70.4% of screws in the freehand group, 69.6% in the O arm group, and 78.8% in the robotic group were placed completely within the pedicle margins (grade A) (P > 0.05). About 6.4% of screws were considered misplaced (grades C&D) in the freehand group, 4.2% in the O-arm group, and 4.7% in the robotic group (P > 0.05). The spinal fellow inserted screws with the same accuracy as the senior surgeon (P > 0.05). The advent of new technologies does not appear to alter accuracy of screw placement in our setting. Under supervision, spinal fellows might perform equally well to experienced surgeons using new tools. The lack of difference in accuracy does not imply that the above-mentioned techniques have no added advantages. Other issues, such as surgeon/patient radiation, fiddle factor, teaching suitability, etc., outside the scope of our present study, need further assessment. 3.

  3. Design Study of Control System for Radiation Therapy System Based on 6 MeV X-band LINAC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Sehee; Kim, Jaehyun; Chae, Moonsik; Lee, Byeongno; Oh, Kyeongmin; Lee, Soomin; Ju, Jinsik; Park, Sangjoon; Kim, Hansoo; Jeong, Kyeongmin

    2017-01-01

    Linear accelerator(LINAC) is used in various fields such as industrial, defense, medical, etc because it is easy to control radiation energy or flow rate. KAERI developed a robot-based radiation therapy system that can efficiently irradiate radiation in a short period of time. Unlike the old type which uses a single robot arm, two robot arms are used and the smart bed is linked to track the respiration. This paper discusses the development of system of integrated X-band LINAC modules installed in smart robot therapy machines. In this study, total control program for integrating and controlling the medical LINAC modules was developed and verified. Future research will continue to reduce delays between transmissions and receptions and minimize interference between the modules.

  4. ARM Climate Research Facility Annual Report 2004

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voyles, J.

    2004-12-31

    Like a rock that slowly wears away beneath the pressure of a waterfall, planet earth?s climate is almost imperceptibly changing. Glaciers are getting smaller, droughts are lasting longer, and extreme weather events like fires, floods, and tornadoes are occurring with greater frequency. Why? Part of the answer is clouds and the amount of solar radiation they reflect or absorb. These two factors clouds and radiative transfer represent the greatest source of error and uncertainty in the current generation of general circulation models used for climate research and simulation. The U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990 established an interagency program within the Executive Office of the President to coordinate U.S. agency-sponsored scientific research designed to monitor, understand, and predict changes in the global environment. To address the need for new research on clouds and radiation, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. As part of the DOE?s overall Climate Change Science Program, a primary objective of the ARM Program is improved scientific understanding of the fundamental physics related to interactions between clouds and radiative feedback processes in the atmosphere.

  5. Evaluation of cloud fraction and its radiative effect simulated by IPCC AR4 global models against ARM surface observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Qian

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Cloud Fraction (CF is the dominant modulator of radiative fluxes. In this study, we evaluate CF simulated in the IPCC AR4 GCMs against ARM long-term ground-based measurements, with a focus on the vertical structure, total amount of cloud and its effect on cloud shortwave transmissivity. Comparisons are performed for three climate regimes as represented by the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM sites: Southern Great Plains (SGP, Manus, Papua New Guinea and North Slope of Alaska (NSA. Our intercomparisons of three independent measurements of CF or sky-cover reveal that the relative differences are usually less than 10% (5% for multi-year monthly (annual mean values, while daily differences are quite significant. The total sky imager (TSI produces smaller total cloud fraction (TCF compared to a radar/lidar dataset for highly cloudy days (CF > 0.8, but produces a larger TCF value than the radar/lidar for less cloudy conditions (CF < 0.3. The compensating errors in lower and higher CF days result in small biases of TCF between the vertically pointing radar/lidar dataset and the hemispheric TSI measurements as multi-year data is averaged. The unique radar/lidar CF measurements enable us to evaluate seasonal variation of cloud vertical structures in the GCMs.

    Both inter-model deviation and model bias against observation are investigated in this study. Another unique aspect of this study is that we use simultaneous measurements of CF and surface radiative fluxes to diagnose potential discrepancies among the GCMs in representing other cloud optical properties than TCF. The results show that the model-observation and inter-model deviations have similar magnitudes for the TCF and the normalized cloud effect, and these deviations are larger than those in surface downward solar radiation and cloud transmissivity. This implies that other dimensions of cloud in addition to cloud amount, such as cloud optical thickness and

  6. Design and implementation of a computer based site operations log for the ARM Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tichler, J.L.; Bernstein, H.J.; Bobrowski, S.F.; Melton, R.B.; Campbell, A.P.; Edwards, D.M.; Kanciruk, P.; Singley, P.T.

    1992-01-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a Department of Energy (DOE) research effort to reduce the uncertainties found in general circulation and other models due to the effects of clouds and solar radiation. ARM will provide an experimental testbed for the study of important atmospheric effects, particularly cloud and radiative processes, and testing of parameterizations of the processes for use in atmospheric models. The design of the testbed known as the Clouds and Radiation Testbed (CART), calls for five, long-term field data collection sites. The first site, located in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) in Lamont, OK began operation in the spring of 1992. The CART Data Environment (CDE) is the element of the testbed which acquires the basic observations from the instruments and processes them to meet the ARM requirements. A formal design was used to develop a description of the logical requirements for the CDE. This paper discusses the design and prototype implementation of a part of the CDE known as the site operations log, which records metadata defining the environment within which the data produced by the instruments is collected

  7. Evaluation of the knowledge of the French armed forces health service after a regulatory training in patients' radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nombo, M.; Gagna, G.; Lahutte, M.; Bourguignon, M.; Amabile, J.-C.

    2017-01-01

    According to the Public Health Code, all the professionals who perform therapeutic or diagnostic acts with ionizing radiation (IR) and the professionals involved in the implementation of these acts and the maintenance of the equipment should be given theoretical and practical training. Such training must focus on the protection of the people exposed to IR for medical purposes. Knowledge should be updated at least every 10 years, under the Nuclear Safety Authority. For the Ministry of Defense, the Military School of the Val-de-Grace offers a training day dedicated to the health-care professionals of the Military Hospitals and the forces using or prescribing examinations requiring ionizing radiation. The objective of the study was to assess the efficiency of this training day on patients' radiation protection organized for the French Armed Forces Health Service; the study was carried out with questionnaires assessing the knowledge and the quality of the interventions. A multicentric prospective study was conducted from September 2013 to November 2014 in four Military Hospitals (Val-de- Grace, St. Anne, Percy and Legouest) on French Armed Forces Health Service professionals who agreed to answer a questionnaire containing 50 multiple choice questions, both at the beginning and at the end of the training day. The analysis was focused on the comparison of the scores obtained before and after the training (overall ratings, by profession and according to the monitoring of previous training or not). The results of the primary care physicians' questionnaires were of particular interest (physicians serving in military units). The results were obtained from a total of 126 respondents over five training sessions in the four Military Hospitals. A significant 18% increase of the overall score after training according to the Student's test with p < 0.001 was observed. However, there was no significant difference between the results obtained by the professionals who

  8. ARM Operations and Engineering Procedure Mobile Facility Site Startup

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voyles, Jimmy W

    2015-05-01

    This procedure exists to define the key milestones, necessary steps, and process rules required to commission and operate an Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF), with a specific focus toward on-time product delivery to the ARM Data Archive. The overall objective is to have the physical infrastructure, networking and communications, and instrument calibration, grooming, and alignment (CG&A) completed with data products available from the ARM Data Archive by the Operational Start Date milestone.

  9. A Study of Accuracy and Time Delay for Bilateral Master-Slave Industrial Robotic Arm Manipulator System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansor Nuratiqa Natrah

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Bilateral master-slave industrial robotic arm manipulator system is an advanced technology used to help human to interact with environments that are unreachable to human, due to its remoteness or perilous. The system has been used in different areas such as tele-surgery, autonomous tele-operation for sea and space operation and handling explosive or high radiation operation fields. It is beneficial both for science and society. Remarkably, the system is not common and generally used in Malaysia. Likewise, the number of research conducted that focused about this technology in our country manufacturing industry are not yet discovered and existent. The implementation of this bilateral manipulator system in an industrial robot could be useful for industrial imminent and development over our country and people, specifically for production yield size and human operative. Hence, the study of bilateral robotic arm manipulator system in an industrial robot and analyzation of its performance and time delay in 3 differ controllers will be discussed to attest the efficiency and its effectiveness on the said design system. The experiment conducted was on KUKA youBot arm in V-Rep simulation with three different controllers (P, PD, PID.

  10. Treatment of cloud radiative effects in general circulation models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, W.C.; Dudek, M.P.; Liang, X.Z.; Ding, M. [State Univ. of New York, Albany, NY (United States)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    We participate in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program with two objectives: (1) to improve the general circulation model (GCM) cloud/radiation treatment with a focus on cloud verticle overlapping and layer cloud optical properties, and (2) to study the effects of cloud/radiation-climate interaction on GCM climate simulations. This report summarizes the project progress since the Fourth ARM Science Team meeting February 28-March 4, 1994, in Charleston, South Carolina.

  11. Developing low-dose C-arm CT imaging for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder in interventional radiology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhu, Xiaowei; Cahill, Anne Marie [Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Felice, Marc [University of Pennsylvania, Environmental Health and Radiation Safety, Philadelphia, PA (United States); Johnson, Laura [Computed Tomography Division, Siemens Healthcare Sector, Shanghai (China); Sarmiento, Marily [Siemens Medical Solutions, Angiography and X-ray Division, Hoffman Estates, IL (United States)

    2011-04-15

    Manufacturers have provided C-arm CT imaging technologies for applications in interventional radiology in recent years. However, clinical imaging protocols and radiation doses have not been well studied or reported. The purpose of this study is to develop low-dose settings for clinically acceptable CT imaging of temporomandibular joint in interventional radiology suites, using a C-arm imaging angiography system. CT scans were performed with a flat-panel digital C-arm angiographic system on a 5-year-old anthropomorphic phantom. The CTDI was determined for various rotation times, dose settings and Cu filter selections. The CTDI values were compared with those of conventional low-dose CT for the same phantom. The effectiveness of using Cu filters to reduce dose was also investigated. Images were reviewed by a senior radiologist for clinical acceptance. The manufacturer's default setting gave an equivalent CTDI of 4.8 mGy. Optimizing the dose settings and adding copper filtration reduced the radiation dose by 94%. This represents a 50% reduction from conventional CT. Use of Cu filters and low-dose settings significantly reduced radiation dose from that of standard settings. This phantom study process successfully guided the clinical implementation of low-dose studies for all ages at our institution. (orig.)

  12. Evaluating the Effects of Aluminum-Containing and Non-Aluminum Containing Deodorants on Axillary Skin Toxicity During Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer: A 3-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Lucy, E-mail: Lucy.lewis@curtin.edu.au [Centre for Nursing Research, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia (Australia); School of Nursing and Midwifery Curtin University, Perth (Australia); Carson, Sharron [Radiation Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia (Australia); Bydder, Sean [Radiation Oncology, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Nedlands, Western Australia (Australia); School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia (Australia); Athifa, Mariyam [School of Nursing and Midwifery Curtin University, Perth (Australia); Williams, Anne M. [School of Nursing and Midwifery Curtin University, Perth (Australia); School of Nursing and Midwifery, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia (Australia); Bremner, Alexandra [School of Population Health, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia (Australia)

    2014-11-15

    Purpose: Deodorant use during radiation therapy for breast cancer has been controversial as there are concerns deodorant use may exacerbate axillary skin toxicity. The present study prospectively determined the use of both aluminum-containing and non aluminum containing deodorants on axillary skin toxicity during conventionally fractionated postoperative radiation therapy for breast cancer. Methods and Materials: This 3-arm randomized controlled study was conducted at a single center, tertiary cancer hospital between March 2011 and April 2013. Participants were randomized to 1 of 2 experimental groups (aluminum-containing deodorant and soap or non–aluminum containing deodorant and soap) or a control group (soap). A total of 333 participants were randomized. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate and compare the odds of experiencing high levels of sweating and skin toxicity in each of the deodorant groups to the odds in the control group. The study evaluated a range of endpoints including objective measurements of axilla sweating, skin toxicity, pain, itch and burning. Quality of life was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Results: Radiation characteristics were similar across all groups. Patients in the deodorant groups did not report significantly different ratings for axillary pain, itch, or burning compared with the control group. Patients in the aluminum-containing deodorant group experienced significantly less sweating than the control; the odds of their sweating being barely tolerable and frequently or always interfering with their daily activities was decreased by 85% (odds ratio, 0.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.91). Conclusions: We found no evidence that the use of either aluminum-containing or non–aluminum containing deodorant adversely effects axillary skin reaction during conventionally fractionated radiation therapy for breast cancer. Our analysis also suggests patients in the aluminum-containing deodorant arm had

  13. Evaluating the Effects of Aluminum-Containing and Non-Aluminum Containing Deodorants on Axillary Skin Toxicity During Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer: A 3-Armed Randomized Controlled Trial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, Lucy; Carson, Sharron; Bydder, Sean; Athifa, Mariyam; Williams, Anne M.; Bremner, Alexandra

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Deodorant use during radiation therapy for breast cancer has been controversial as there are concerns deodorant use may exacerbate axillary skin toxicity. The present study prospectively determined the use of both aluminum-containing and non aluminum containing deodorants on axillary skin toxicity during conventionally fractionated postoperative radiation therapy for breast cancer. Methods and Materials: This 3-arm randomized controlled study was conducted at a single center, tertiary cancer hospital between March 2011 and April 2013. Participants were randomized to 1 of 2 experimental groups (aluminum-containing deodorant and soap or non–aluminum containing deodorant and soap) or a control group (soap). A total of 333 participants were randomized. Generalized estimating equations were used to estimate and compare the odds of experiencing high levels of sweating and skin toxicity in each of the deodorant groups to the odds in the control group. The study evaluated a range of endpoints including objective measurements of axilla sweating, skin toxicity, pain, itch and burning. Quality of life was assessed with a validated questionnaire. Results: Radiation characteristics were similar across all groups. Patients in the deodorant groups did not report significantly different ratings for axillary pain, itch, or burning compared with the control group. Patients in the aluminum-containing deodorant group experienced significantly less sweating than the control; the odds of their sweating being barely tolerable and frequently or always interfering with their daily activities was decreased by 85% (odds ratio, 0.15; 95% confidence interval, 0.03-0.91). Conclusions: We found no evidence that the use of either aluminum-containing or non–aluminum containing deodorant adversely effects axillary skin reaction during conventionally fractionated radiation therapy for breast cancer. Our analysis also suggests patients in the aluminum-containing deodorant arm had

  14. Virtual Reality Aided Positioning of Mobile C-Arms for Image-Guided Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenzhou Shao

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available For the image-guided surgery, the positioning of mobile C-arms is a key technique to take X-ray images in a desired pose for the confirmation of current surgical outcome. Unfortunately, surgeons and patient often suffer the radiation exposure due to the repeated imaging when the X-ray image is of poor quality or not captured at a good projection view. In this paper, a virtual reality (VR aided positioning method for the mobile C-arm is proposed by the alignment of 3D surface model of region of interest and preoperative anatomy, so that a reference pose of the mobile C-arm with respect to the inside anatomy can be figured out from outside view. It allows a one-time imaging from the outside view to greatly reduce the additional radiation exposure. To control the mobile C-arm to the desired pose, the mobile C-arm is modeled as a robotic arm with a movable base. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the accuracy of appearance model and precision of mobile C-arm positioning. The appearance model was reconstructed with the average error of 2.16 mm. One-time imaging of mobile C-arm was achieved, and new modeling of mobile C-arm with 8 DoFs enlarges the working space in the operating room.

  15. Study of Shortwave Spectra in Fully 3D Environment: Synergy Between Scanning Radars and Spectral Radiation Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiscombe, Warren J.

    2012-01-01

    The main theme for our research is the understanding and closure of the surface spectral shortwave radiation problem in fully 3D cloud situations by combining the new ARM scanning radars, shortwave spectrometers, and microwave radiometers with the arsenal of radiative transfer tools developed by our group. In particular, we define first a large number of cloudy test cases spanning all 3D possibilities not just the customary uniform-overcast ones. Second, for each case, we define a "Best Estimate of Clouds That Affect Shortwave Radiation" using all relevant ARM instruments, notably the new scanning radars, and contribute this to the ARM Archive. Third, we test the ASR-signature radiative transfer model RRTMG_SW for those cases, focusing on the near-IR because of long-standing problems in this spectral region, and work with the developers to improve RRTMG_SW in order to increase its penetration into the modeling community.

  16. MAGIC: Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, ER; Wiscombe, WJ; Albrecht, BA; Bland, GL; Flagg, CN; Klein, SA; Kollias, P; Mace, G; Reynolds, RM; Schwartz, SE; Siebesma, AP; Teixeira, J; Wood, R; Zhang, M

    2012-10-03

    The second Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF2) will be deployed aboard the Horizon Lines cargo container ship merchant vessel (M/V) Spirit for MAGIC, the Marine ARM GPCI1 Investigation of Clouds. The Spirit will traverse the route between Los Angeles, California, and Honolulu, Hawaii, from October 2012 through September 2013 (except for a few months in the middle of this time period when the ship will be in dry dock). During this field campaign, AMF2 will observe and characterize the properties of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, and atmospheric radiation; standard meteorological and oceanographic variables; and atmospheric structure. There will also be two intensive observational periods (IOPs), one in January 2013 and one in July 2013, during which more detailed measurements of the atmospheric structure will be made.

  17. Science team participation in the ARM program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cess, R.D.

    1993-01-01

    This progress report discusses the Science Team participation in the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program for the period of October 31, 1992 to November 1, 1993. This report summarized the research accomplishments of six papers

  18. Biomarkers specific to densely-ionising (high LET) radiations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brenner, D.J.; Okladnikova, N.; Hande, P.; Burak, L.; Geard, C.R.; Azizova, T.

    2001-01-01

    There have been several suggestions of biomarkers that are specific to high LET radiation. Such a biomarker could significantly increase the power of epidemiological studies of individuals exposed to densely-ionising radiations such as alpha particles (e.g. radon, plutonium workers, individuals exposed to depleted uranium) or neutrons (e.g. radiation workers, airline personnel). We discuss here a potentially powerful high LET biomarker (the H value) which is the ratio of induced inter-chromosomal aberrations to intra-arm aberrations. Both theoretical and experimental studies have suggested that this ratio should differ by a factor of about three between high LET radiation and any other likely clastogen, and will yield more discrimination than the previously suggested F value (ratio of inter-chromosomal aberrations to intra-chromosomal inter-arm aberrations). Evidence of the long-term stability of such chromosomal biomarkers has also been generated. Because these stable intra-arm and inter-chromosomal aberrations are (1) frequent and (2) measurable at long times after exposure, this H value appears to be a practical biomarker of high LET exposure, and several in vitro studies have confirmed the approach for unstable aberrations. The approach is currently being tested in a population of Russian radiation workers exposed several decades ago to high- or low LET radiation. (author)

  19. Information booklet on personal protective equipment: arm and hand protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1992-01-01

    Fire, heat, cold, electro-magnetic and ionising radiation, electricity, chemicals, impacts, cuts, abrasion, etc. are the common hazards for arms and hands at work. The gloves chosen for protection of the arm and hand should cover those parts adequately and the material of the gloves should be capable of offering protection against the specific hazard involved. Criteria for choosing arm and hand protection equipment will be based on their shape and part of the arm and hand protected. Guide lines for choosing such personal protection equipment for nuclear facilities are given. (M.K.V.). 3 annexures, 1 appendix

  20. A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Campos, E [Argonne National Laboratory; Sisterson, DL [Argonne National Laboratory

    2015-10-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. The ARM Facility currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through a number of sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, the Facility relies on instrument mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office (DQO) to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily-accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed.

  1. Placement of iliosacral screws using 3D image-guided (O-Arm) technology and Stealth Navigation: comparison with traditional fluoroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theologis, A A; Burch, S; Pekmezci, M

    2016-05-01

    We compared the accuracy, operating time and radiation exposure of the introduction of iliosacral screws using O-arm/Stealth Navigation and standard fluoroscopy. Iliosacral screws were introduced percutaneously into the first sacral body (S1) of ten human cadavers, four men and six women. The mean age was 77 years (58 to 85). Screws were introduced using a standard technique into the left side of S1 using C-Arm fluoroscopy and then into the right side using O-Arm/Stealth Navigation. The radiation was measured on the surgeon by dosimeters placed under a lead thyroid shield and apron, on a finger, a hat and on the cadavers. There were no neuroforaminal breaches in either group. The set-up time for the O-Arm was significantly longer than for the C-Arm, while total time for placement of the screws was significantly shorter for the O-Arm than for the C-Arm (p = 0.001). The mean absorbed radiation dose during fluoroscopy was 1063 mRad (432.5 mRad to 4150 mRad). No radiation was detected on the surgeon during fluoroscopy, or when he left the room during the use of the O-Arm. The mean radiation detected on the cadavers was significantly higher in the O-Arm group (2710 mRem standard deviation (sd) 1922) than during fluoroscopy (11.9 mRem sd 14.8) (p Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:696-702. ©2016 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

  2. The efficacy of octreotide in the therapy of acute radiation-induced diarrhea: a randomized controlled study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yavuz, Melek N.; Yavuz, A. Aydin; Aydin, Fazil; Can, Gamze; Kavgaci, Halil

    2002-01-01

    Purpose: Although the somatostatin analog octreotide is currently used in the treatment of chemotherapy-induced diarrhea and secretory diarrhea associated with various disorders, its role in the management of radiation enteritis is not well defined. We performed a randomized study that compared octreotide acetate with diphenoxylate hydrochloride plus atropine sulfate, the drug commonly used as therapy for acute radiation-induced diarrhea (ARID). Methods and Materials: Sixty-one patients with Grade 2 (four to six stools per day) or Grade 3 (≥ seven stools per day, National Cancer Institute Common Toxicity Criteria) diarrhea associated with pelvic radiotherapy were assigned randomly to receive octreotide s.c., 100 μg three times daily (n=33) or diphenoxylate and atropine orally, 2.5 mg four times daily (n = 28). Radiotherapy was delivered to all patients in a conventional manner, with high-energy photons in a total dose ≥45 Gy, which exceeds the tolerance of intestine. Overall, there was no significant difference in patient characteristics or radiotherapy applied between the two arms. Patients were evaluated daily for the primary study end point, resolution of diarrhea, as well as for interruption of pelvic radiotherapy. Results: Within 3 days, ARID completely resolved in 20 patients in the octreotide arm (2 within the first day, 11 within the second day, and 7 within the third day) vs. only 4 (all within the second day of therapy) in the diphenoxylate arm (p=0.002). On the diphenoxylate arm, 15/28 patients were required to discontinue pelvic radiotherapy; on the octreotide arm, 6/33 patients were required to discontinue pelvic radiotherapy for an average of 1.89±0.5 and 0.45±0.2 days, respectively (p=0.003). No side effects were observed in either arm. Three patients on the diphenoxylate arm and only 1 on the octreotide arm required further treatment for parenteral replenishment of fluids and electrolytes or other antidiarrheal treatments. Conclusion

  3. Scattered radiation risk to the lens of the eyes for staff involved in using mobile C-arm fluoroscopy unit: Which position is riskiest?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salleh, H.; Matori, M. K.; Isa, M. J. M. [Agensi Nuklear Malaysia, Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor (Malaysia); Samat, S. B. [Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600 UKM Bangi, Selangor (Malaysia)

    2015-09-25

    Cataractogenesis is something to be concerned by radiologist and radiographer who work extensively in fluoroscopy. The increasing use of fluoroscopy or interventional fluoroscopy has to come with safety awareness on scattered radiation risk for staff performing the procedure. This study is looking into the radiation risk to the lens of the eyes for staff involved in fluoroscopy using the mobile C-arm fluoroscopy unit. The Toshiba SXT-1000A and Alderson Rando phantom were used in this study. Based on the results, it is found clearly that over couch (OC) procedure is riskier than under couch (UC) procedure. The cathode bound area is clearly riskier than anode bound area especially for UC procedure. More doses (at least +1,568 % of safest position) are received by the lens of the eyes for staff standing at the cathode bound area especially the position opposite to the x-ray tube.

  4. Scattered radiation risk to the lens of the eyes for staff involved in using mobile C-arm fluoroscopy unit: Which position is riskiest?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salleh, H.; Matori, M. K.; Isa, M. J. M.; Samat, S. B.

    2015-01-01

    Cataractogenesis is something to be concerned by radiologist and radiographer who work extensively in fluoroscopy. The increasing use of fluoroscopy or interventional fluoroscopy has to come with safety awareness on scattered radiation risk for staff performing the procedure. This study is looking into the radiation risk to the lens of the eyes for staff involved in fluoroscopy using the mobile C-arm fluoroscopy unit. The Toshiba SXT-1000A and Alderson Rando phantom were used in this study. Based on the results, it is found clearly that over couch (OC) procedure is riskier than under couch (UC) procedure. The cathode bound area is clearly riskier than anode bound area especially for UC procedure. More doses (at least +1,568 % of safest position) are received by the lens of the eyes for staff standing at the cathode bound area especially the position opposite to the x-ray tube

  5. A Unified Approach for Reporting ARM Measurement Uncertainties Technical Report: Updated in 2016

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sisterson, Douglas [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)

    2017-01-15

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility is observationally based, and quantifying the uncertainty of its measurements is critically important. With over 300 widely differing instruments providing over 2,500 datastreams, concise expression of measurement uncertainty is quite challenging. ARM currently provides data and supporting metadata (information about the data or data quality) to its users through several sources. Because the continued success of the ARM Facility depends on the known quality of its measurements, ARM relies on Instrument Mentors and the ARM Data Quality Office to ensure, assess, and report measurement quality. Therefore, an easily accessible, well-articulated estimate of ARM measurement uncertainty is needed. This report is a continuation of the work presented by Campos and Sisterson (2015) and provides additional uncertainty information from instruments not available in their report. As before, a total measurement uncertainty has been calculated as a function of the instrument uncertainty (calibration factors), the field uncertainty (environmental factors), and the retrieval uncertainty (algorithm factors). This study will not expand on methods for computing these uncertainties. As before, it will focus on the practical identification, characterization, and inventory of the measurement uncertainties already available to the ARM community through the ARM Instrument Mentors and their ARM instrument handbooks. This study continues the first steps towards reporting ARM measurement uncertainty as: (1) identifying how the uncertainty of individual ARM measurements is currently expressed, (2) identifying a consistent approach to measurement uncertainty, and then (3) reclassifying ARM instrument measurement uncertainties in a common framework.

  6. ARM Climate Research Facility Quarterly Ingest Status Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koontz, A. [DOE ARM Climate Research Facility, Washington, DC (United States); Sivaraman, C. [DOE ARM Climate Research Facility, Washington, DC (United States)

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide a concise status update for ingests maintained by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) new ingests for which development has begun, (2) progress on existing ingests, (3) future ingests that have been recently approved, (4) other work that leads to an ingest, and (5) top requested ingests from the ARM Data Archive. New information is highlighted in blue text.

  7. ARM Climate Research Facility Quarterly Ingest Status Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koontz, A. [ARM Climate Reesearch Facility, Washington, DC (United States); Sivaraman, C. [ARM Climate Reesearch Facility, Washington, DC (United States)

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide a concise status update for ingests maintained by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) new ingests for which development has begun, (2) progress on existing ingests, (3) future ingests that have been recently approved, (4) other work that leads to an ingest, and (5) top requested ingests from the ARM Data Archive. New information is highlighted in blue text.

  8. Using the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Datasets to Evaluate Climate Models in Simulating Diurnal and Seasonal Variations of Tropical Clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Hailong [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Burleyson, Casey D. [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Ma, Po-Lun [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Fast, Jerome D. [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Rasch, Philip J. [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

    2018-04-01

    We use the long-term Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) datasets collected at the three Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) sites as a tropical testbed to evaluate the ability of the Community Atmosphere Model (CAM5) to simulate the various types of clouds, their seasonal and diurnal variations, and their impact on surface radiation. We conducted a series of CAM5 simulations at various horizontal grid spacing (around 2°, 1°, 0.5°, and 0.25°) with meteorological constraints from reanalysis. Model biases in the seasonal cycle of cloudiness are found to be weakly dependent on model resolution. Positive biases (up to 20%) in the annual mean total cloud fraction appear mostly in stratiform ice clouds. Higher-resolution simulations do reduce the positive bias in the frequency of ice clouds, but they inadvertently increase the negative biases in convective clouds and low-level liquid clouds, leading to a positive bias in annual mean shortwave fluxes at the sites, as high as 65 W m-2 in the 0.25° simulation. Such resolution-dependent biases in clouds can adversely lead to biases in ambient thermodynamic properties and, in turn, feedback on clouds. Both the CAM5 model and ARM observations show distinct diurnal cycles in total, stratiform and convective cloud fractions; however, they are out-of-phase by 12 hours and the biases vary by site. Our results suggest that biases in deep convection affect the vertical distribution and diurnal cycle of stratiform clouds through the transport of vapor and/or the detrainment of liquid and ice. We also found that the modelled gridmean surface longwave fluxes are systematically larger than site measurements when the grid that the ARM sites reside in is partially covered by ocean. The modeled longwave fluxes at such sites also lack a discernable diurnal cycle because the ocean part of the grid is warmer and less sensitive to radiative heating/cooling compared to land. Higher spatial resolution is more helpful is this regard. Our

  9. Study on the Orion spiral arm structure by the statistical modelling method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basharina, T.S.; Pavlovskaya, E.D.; Filippova, A.A.

    1980-01-01

    A method of investigation of the spiral structure based on the statistical modelling methods is suggested. This method is used for the study of the Orion spiral arm. The maxima of density and the widths of the Orion arm in the direction of the areas considered for the longitude interval 55 deg - 187 deg are defined under the assumption of normal distribution of stars across the arm. The Sun is shown to be at the inner edge of the arm [ru

  10. Proprioceptive Interaction between the Two Arms in a Single-Arm Pointing Task.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kazuyoshi Kigawa

    Full Text Available Proprioceptive signals coming from both arms are used to determine the perceived position of one arm in a two-arm matching task. Here, we examined whether the perceived position of one arm is affected by proprioceptive signals from the other arm in a one-arm pointing task in which participants specified the perceived position of an unseen reference arm with an indicator paddle. Both arms were hidden from the participant's view throughout the study. In Experiment 1, with both arms placed in front of the body, the participants received 70-80 Hz vibration to the elbow flexors of the reference arm (= right arm to induce the illusion of elbow extension. This extension illusion was compared with that when the left arm elbow flexors were vibrated or not. The degree of the vibration-induced extension illusion of the right arm was reduced in the presence of left arm vibration. In Experiment 2, we found that this kinesthetic interaction between the two arms did not occur when the left arm was vibrated in an abducted position. In Experiment 3, the vibration-induced extension illusion of one arm was fully developed when this arm was placed at an abducted position, indicating that the brain receives increased proprioceptive input from a vibrated arm even if the arm was abducted. Our results suggest that proprioceptive interaction between the two arms occurs in a one-arm pointing task when the two arms are aligned with one another. The position sense of one arm measured using a pointer appears to include the influences of incoming information from the other arm when both arms were placed in front of the body and parallel to one another.

  11. C-arm guided closed reduction of zygomatic arch fracture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eo, Yoon Ki; Lee, Dong Kun; Kim, Jeong Sam; Jang, Young Il

    1999-01-01

    The zygomatic arch is structurally protruded and is easily fractured. The classic management of zygomatic arch fracture has been mentioned the Keen, Lothrop, Dingman and Alling and threaded K-wire. All of the above methods have advantages and disadvantages. To minimize the disadvantages, we performed threaded K-wire for the first time using C-arm image intensifier. The subjects were 16 patients with Knight North group II (Zygomatic arch fracture). Among them the C-arm was used in 12 patients and the operator used sensitivity general method in 4 patients and confirmed the operation by mobile X-ray equipment. In conclusion, both groups were satisfied surgically and cosmetically. Using the C-arm, actual image at the time operation was clear and satisfied, the surrounding tissue damage was minimized and at was more accurately completed. The operation time was shortened by 30 to 60 minutes proving it to be an efficient method. We suggest though that further studies be needed to evaluate the radiation effect on these patients

  12. Analyst Tools and Quality Control Software for the ARM Data System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moore, S.T.

    2004-12-14

    ATK Mission Research develops analyst tools and automated quality control software in order to assist the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Quality Office with their data inspection tasks. We have developed a web-based data analysis and visualization tool, called NCVweb, that allows for easy viewing of ARM NetCDF files. NCVweb, along with our library of sharable Interactive Data Language procedures and functions, allows even novice ARM researchers to be productive with ARM data with only minimal effort. We also contribute to the ARM Data Quality Office by analyzing ARM data streams, developing new quality control metrics, new diagnostic plots, and integrating this information into DQ HandS - the Data Quality Health and Status web-based explorer. We have developed several ways to detect outliers in ARM data streams and have written software to run in an automated fashion to flag these outliers.

  13. Overview of the aerial radiological measuring system (ARMS) program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deal, L.J.; Doyle, J.F. III.

    1975-01-01

    Since 1960 EG and G, Inc. has developed and maintained for the U.S. Energy Research and Development Administration (ERDA) a state-of-the-art radiation surveillance program called the Aerial Radiological Measuring System (ARMS). Radiological surveys covering more than 300,000 square miles have been performed. In addition to the radiation detector gear, the system includes an inertial navigation system, radar altimeter, meteorological probes, air sampler, air sample analyzer, multispectral cameras, aerial mapping camera and infrared scanner. The recently improved data acquisition system, REDAR, records all inputs digitally on magnetic tape and is readily mounted in fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. The data analysis system, REDAC, is mounted in a mobile processing laboratory which accompanies the aircraft on surveys. Radiation isopleth maps, both for gross counts and selected isotopes, can be prepared in the field. Special computer software enables the ARMS to detect changes of less than 1.0 μR/hr in exposure rates between successive surveys of a given site

  14. Dummy Run of Quality Assurance Program in a Phase 3 Randomized Trial Investigating the Role of Internal Mammary Lymph Node Irradiation in Breast Cancer Patients: Korean Radiation Oncology Group 08-06 Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chung, Yoonsun; Kim, Jun Won; Shin, Kyung Hwan; Kim, Su Ssan; Ahn, Sung-Ja; Park, Won; Lee, Hyung-Sik; Kim, Dong Won; Lee, Kyu Chan; Suh, Hyun Suk; Kim, Jin Hee; Shin, Hyun Soo; Kim, Yong Bae; Suh, Chang-Ok

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) 08-06 study protocol allowed radiation therapy (RT) technique to include or exclude breast cancer patients from receiving radiation therapy to the internal mammary lymph node (IMN). The purpose of this study was to assess dosimetric differences between the 2 groups and potential influence on clinical outcome by a dummy run procedure. Methods and Materials: All participating institutions were asked to produce RT plans without irradiation (Arm 1) and with irradiation to the IMN (Arm 2) for 1 breast-conservation treatment case (breast-conserving surgery [BCS]) and 1 mastectomy case (modified radical mastectomy [MRM]) whose computed tomography images were provided. We assessed interinstitutional variations in IMN delineation and evaluated the dose-volume histograms of the IMN and normal organs. A reference IMN was delineated by an expert panel group based on the study guidelines. Also, we analyzed the potential influence of actual dose variation observed in this study on patient survival. Results: Although physicians intended to exclude the IMN within the RT field, the data showed almost 59.0% of the prescribed dose was delivered to the IMN in Arm 1. However, the mean doses covering the IMN in Arm 1 and Arm 2 were significantly different for both cases (P<.001). Due to the probability of overdose in Arm 1, the estimated gain in 7-year disease-free survival rate would be reduced from 10% to 7.9% for BCS cases and 7.1% for MRM cases. The radiation doses to the ipsilateral lung, heart, and coronary artery were lower in Arm 1 than in Arm 2. Conclusions: Although this dummy run study indicated that a substantial dose was delivered to the IMN, even in the nonirradiation group, the dose differences between the 2 groups were statistically significant. However, this dosimetric profile should be studied further with actual patient samples and be taken into consideration when analyzing clinical outcomes according to IMN

  15. Dummy Run of Quality Assurance Program in a Phase 3 Randomized Trial Investigating the Role of Internal Mammary Lymph Node Irradiation in Breast Cancer Patients: Korean Radiation Oncology Group 08-06 Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, Yoonsun [Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jun Won [Department of Radiation Oncology, Gangnam Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Kyung Hwan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Proton Therapy Center, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Su Ssan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Sung-Ja [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Park, Won [Department of Radiation Oncology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyung-Sik [Department of Radiation Oncology, Dong-A University Hospital, Dong-A University School of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Dong Won [Department of Radiation Oncology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Kyu Chan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, Incheon (Korea, Republic of); Suh, Hyun Suk [Department of Radiation Oncology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Jin Hee [Department of Radiation Oncology, Dongsan Medical Center, Keimyung University School of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Shin, Hyun Soo [Department of Radiation Oncology, Bundang CHA Hospital, School of Medicine, CHA University, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Yong Bae, E-mail: ybkim3@yuhs.ac [Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Suh, Chang-Ok [Department of Radiation Oncology, Yonsei Cancer Center, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-02-01

    Purpose: The Korean Radiation Oncology Group (KROG) 08-06 study protocol allowed radiation therapy (RT) technique to include or exclude breast cancer patients from receiving radiation therapy to the internal mammary lymph node (IMN). The purpose of this study was to assess dosimetric differences between the 2 groups and potential influence on clinical outcome by a dummy run procedure. Methods and Materials: All participating institutions were asked to produce RT plans without irradiation (Arm 1) and with irradiation to the IMN (Arm 2) for 1 breast-conservation treatment case (breast-conserving surgery [BCS]) and 1 mastectomy case (modified radical mastectomy [MRM]) whose computed tomography images were provided. We assessed interinstitutional variations in IMN delineation and evaluated the dose-volume histograms of the IMN and normal organs. A reference IMN was delineated by an expert panel group based on the study guidelines. Also, we analyzed the potential influence of actual dose variation observed in this study on patient survival. Results: Although physicians intended to exclude the IMN within the RT field, the data showed almost 59.0% of the prescribed dose was delivered to the IMN in Arm 1. However, the mean doses covering the IMN in Arm 1 and Arm 2 were significantly different for both cases (P<.001). Due to the probability of overdose in Arm 1, the estimated gain in 7-year disease-free survival rate would be reduced from 10% to 7.9% for BCS cases and 7.1% for MRM cases. The radiation doses to the ipsilateral lung, heart, and coronary artery were lower in Arm 1 than in Arm 2. Conclusions: Although this dummy run study indicated that a substantial dose was delivered to the IMN, even in the nonirradiation group, the dose differences between the 2 groups were statistically significant. However, this dosimetric profile should be studied further with actual patient samples and be taken into consideration when analyzing clinical outcomes according to IMN

  16. Obesity predicts for arm edema in conservatively treated breast cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Werner, R.S.; McCormick, B.; Gray, J.R.; Cox, L.; Cirrincione, C.; Petrek, J.A.; Yahalom, J.

    1990-01-01

    This paper identifies risk factors for arm edema (AE) following breast-conserving surgery and radiation therapy. Upper and lower arm circumferences were measured at interval follow-up visits in 284 patients. A different of 2.5 cm or more in either measurement (treated vs untreated arms) defined AE. Possible predictors for AE examined by univariate and multivariate analysis included level of dissection; number of nodes removed; number involved; tumor size and location; use of supraclavicular fields; patient age, weight, and size (tangent separation measurement); and systemic therapy

  17. C-arm flat-panel CT arthrography of the shoulder: Radiation dose considerations and preliminary data on diagnostic performance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Ulbrich, Erika J.; Kaelin, Pascal; Pfammatter, Thomas; Alkadhi, Hatem; Andreisek, Gustav; Dietrich, Tobias J.; Scholz, Rosemarie; Koehler, Christoph; Elsaesser, Thilo; Le Corroller, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    To investigate radiation dose and diagnostic performance of C-arm flat-panel CT (FPCT) versus standard multi-detector CT (MDCT) shoulder arthrography using MRI-arthrography as reference standard. Radiation dose of two different FPCT acquisitions (5 and 20 s) and standard MDCT of the shoulder were assessed using phantoms and thermoluminescence dosimetry. FPCT arthrographies were performed in 34 patients (mean age 44 ± 15 years). Different joint structures were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed by two independent radiologists. Inter-reader agreement and diagnostic performance were calculated. Effective radiation dose was markedly lower in FPCT 5 s (0.6 mSv) compared to MDCT (1.7 mSv) and FPCT 20 s (3.4 mSv). Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in FPCT 20-s versus 5-s protocols. Inter-reader agreements of qualitative ratings ranged between κ = 0.47-1.0. Sensitivities for cartilage and rotator cuff pathologies were low for FPCT 5-s (40 % and 20 %) and moderate for FPCT 20-s protocols (75 % and 73 %). FPCT showed high sensitivity (81-86 % and 89-99 %) for bone and acromioclavicular-joint pathologies. Using a 5-s protocol FPCT shoulder arthrography provides lower radiation dose compared to MDCT but poor sensitivity for cartilage and rotator cuff pathologies. FPCT 20-s protocol is moderately sensitive for cartilage and rotator cuff tendon pathology with markedly higher radiation dose compared to MDCT. (orig.)

  18. C-arm flat-panel CT arthrography of the shoulder: Radiation dose considerations and preliminary data on diagnostic performance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guggenberger, Roman; Ulbrich, Erika J.; Kaelin, Pascal; Pfammatter, Thomas; Alkadhi, Hatem; Andreisek, Gustav [University Hospital Zurich, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Zuerich (Switzerland); Dietrich, Tobias J. [Balgrist University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Scholz, Rosemarie; Koehler, Christoph; Elsaesser, Thilo [Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Business Area Advanced Therapies, Forchheim (Germany); Le Corroller, Thomas [Aix-Marseille Universite, CNRS, ISM UMR 7287, Marseille (France); Radiology Department, APHM, Marseille (France)

    2017-02-15

    To investigate radiation dose and diagnostic performance of C-arm flat-panel CT (FPCT) versus standard multi-detector CT (MDCT) shoulder arthrography using MRI-arthrography as reference standard. Radiation dose of two different FPCT acquisitions (5 and 20 s) and standard MDCT of the shoulder were assessed using phantoms and thermoluminescence dosimetry. FPCT arthrographies were performed in 34 patients (mean age 44 ± 15 years). Different joint structures were quantitatively and qualitatively assessed by two independent radiologists. Inter-reader agreement and diagnostic performance were calculated. Effective radiation dose was markedly lower in FPCT 5 s (0.6 mSv) compared to MDCT (1.7 mSv) and FPCT 20 s (3.4 mSv). Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in FPCT 20-s versus 5-s protocols. Inter-reader agreements of qualitative ratings ranged between κ = 0.47-1.0. Sensitivities for cartilage and rotator cuff pathologies were low for FPCT 5-s (40 % and 20 %) and moderate for FPCT 20-s protocols (75 % and 73 %). FPCT showed high sensitivity (81-86 % and 89-99 %) for bone and acromioclavicular-joint pathologies. Using a 5-s protocol FPCT shoulder arthrography provides lower radiation dose compared to MDCT but poor sensitivity for cartilage and rotator cuff pathologies. FPCT 20-s protocol is moderately sensitive for cartilage and rotator cuff tendon pathology with markedly higher radiation dose compared to MDCT. (orig.)

  19. A Climatology of Midlatitude Continental Clouds from the ARM SGP Site. Part I; Low-Level Cloud Macrophysical, Microphysical, and Radiative Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiquan; Minnis, Patrick; Xi, Baike

    2005-01-01

    A record of single-layer and overcast low cloud (stratus) properties has been generated using approximately 4000 hours of data collected from January 1997 to December 2002 at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains Central Facility (SCF). The cloud properties include liquid-phase and liquid-dominant, mixed-phase, low cloud macrophysical, microphysical, and radiative properties including cloud-base and -top heights and temperatures, and cloud physical thickness derived from a ground-based radar and lidar pair, and rawinsonde sounding; cloud liquid water path (LWP) and content (LWC), and cloud-droplet effective radius (r(sub e)) and number concentration (N) derived from the macrophysical properties and radiometer data; and cloud optical depth (tau), effective solar transmission (gamma), and cloud/top-of-atmosphere albedos (R(sub cldy)/R(sub TOA)) derived from Eppley precision spectral pyranometer measurements. The cloud properties were analyzed in terms of their seasonal, monthly, and hourly variations. In general, more stratus clouds occur during winter and spring than in summer. Cloud-layer altitudes and physical thicknesses were higher and greater in summer than in winter with averaged physical thicknesses of 0.85 km and 0.73 km for day and night, respectively. The seasonal variations of LWP, LWC, N. tau, R(sub cldy), and R(sub TOA) basically follow the same pattern with maxima and minima during winter and summer, respectively. There is no significant variation in mean r(sub e), however, despite a summertime peak in aerosol loading, Although a considerable degree of variability exists, the 6-yr average values of LWP, LWC, r(sub e), N, tau, gamma, R(sub cldy) and R(sub TOA) are 150 gm(exp -2) (138), 0.245 gm(exp -3) (0.268), 8.7 micrometers (8.5), 213 cm(exp -3) (238), 26.8 (24.8), 0.331, 0.672, 0.563 for daytime (nighttime). A new conceptual model of midlatitude continental low clouds at the ARM SGP site has been developed from this study

  20. Design of the CART data system for the US Department of Energy's ARM Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Melton, R.B.; Campbell, A.P.; Edwards, D.M.; Kanciruk, P.; Tichler, J.L.

    1991-01-01

    The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated a major atmospheric research effort to reduce the uncertainties found in general circulation and other models due to the effects of clouds and radiation. The objective of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program (ARM) is to provide an experimental testbed for the study of important atmospheric effects, particularly cloud and radiative processes, and testing parameterizations of the processes for use in atmospheric models. This experimental testbed, known as the Clouds and Radiation Testbed (CART), will include a complex data system, the CART Data Environment (CDE). The major functions of the CDE will be to: acquire environments from instruments and external data sources; perform quality assessments of the data streams; create data streams of known quality to be used as model input compared to model output; execute the models and capture their predictions; and make data streams associated with model tests available to ARM investigators in near real-time. The CDE will also be expected to capture ancillary information (''meta-data'') associated with the data streams, provide data management facilities for design of ARM experiments, and provide for archival data storage. The first section of this paper presents background information on CART. Next the process for the functional design of the system is described, the functional requirements summarized, and the conceptual architecture of the CDE is presented. Finally, the status of the CDE design activities is summarized, and major technical challenges are discussed

  1. A flow visualization study of single-arm sculling movement emulating cephalopod thrust generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazakidi, Asimina; Gnanamanickam, Ebenezer P.; Tsakiris, Dimitris P.; Ekaterinaris, John A.

    2014-11-01

    In addition to jet propulsion, octopuses use arm-swimming motion as an effective means of generating bursts of thrust, for hunting, defense, or escape. The individual role of their arms, acting as thrust generators during this motion, is still under investigation, in view of an increasing robotic interest for alternative modes of propulsion, inspired by the octopus. Computational studies have revealed that thrust generation is associated with complex vortical flow patterns in the wake of the moving arm, however further experimental validation is required. Using the hydrogen bubble technique, we studied the flow disturbance around a single octopus-like robotic arm, undergoing two-stroke sculling movements in quiescent fluid. Although simplified, sculling profiles have been found to adequately capture the fundamental kinematics of the octopus arm-swimming behavior. In fact, variation of the sculling parameters alters considerably the generation of forward thrust. Flow visualization revealed the generation of complex vortical structures around both rigid and compliant arms. Increased disturbance was evident near the tip, particularly at the transitional phase between recovery and power strokes. These results are in good qualitative agreement with computational and robotic studies. Work funded by the ESF-GSRT HYDRO-ROB Project PE7(281).

  2. The Impact of Radiation Therapy on the Risk of Lymphedema After Treatment for Breast Cancer: A Prospective Cohort Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Warren, Laura E.G.; Miller, Cynthia L. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Horick, Nora [Department of Biostatistics, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Skolny, Melissa N.; Jammallo, Lauren S.; Sadek, Betro T.; Shenouda, Mina N. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); O' Toole, Jean A. [Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); MacDonald, Shannon M. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Specht, Michelle C. [Division of Surgical Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Taghian, Alphonse G., E-mail: ataghian@partners.org [Department of Radiation Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (United States)

    2014-03-01

    Purpose/Objective: Lymphedema after breast cancer treatment can be an irreversible condition with a negative impact on quality of life. The goal of this study was to identify radiation therapy-related risk factors for lymphedema. Methods and Materials: From 2005 to 2012, we prospectively performed arm volume measurements on 1476 breast cancer patients at our institution using a Perometer. Treating each breast individually, 1099 of 1501 patients (73%) received radiation therapy. Arm measurements were performed preoperatively and postoperatively. Lymphedema was defined as ≥10% arm volume increase occurring >3 months postoperatively. Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate risk factors for lymphedema. Results: At a median follow-up time of 25.4 months (range, 3.4-82.6 months), the 2-year cumulative incidence of lymphedema was 6.8%. Cumulative incidence by radiation therapy type was as follows: 3.0% no radiation therapy, 3.1% breast or chest wall alone, 21.9% supraclavicular (SC), and 21.1% SC and posterior axillary boost (PAB). On multivariate analysis, the hazard ratio for regional lymph node radiation (RLNR) (SC ± PAB) was 1.7 (P=.025) compared with breast/chest wall radiation alone. There was no difference in lymphedema risk between SC and SC + PAB (P=.96). Other independent risk factors included early postoperative swelling (P<.0001), higher body mass index (P<.0001), greater number of lymph nodes dissected (P=.018), and axillary lymph node dissection (P=.0001). Conclusions: In a large cohort of breast cancer patients prospectively screened for lymphedema, RLNR significantly increased the risk of lymphedema compared with breast/chest wall radiation alone. When considering use of RLNR, clinicians should weigh the potential benefit of RLNR for control of disease against the increased risk of lymphedema.

  3. A Numerical Study on a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine with Inclined Arms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agostino De Marco

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This work focuses on a particular type of vertical-axis wind turbine, in which a number of inclined arms with airfoil-shaped cross-sections are mounted to connect the principal blades to their hub. While the majority of the known studies on vertical-axis turbines is devoted to the role of principal blades, in most of the cases without taking into account other parts of the wind turbine, the objective of this work is to investigate the effect of uncommon arm geometries, such as the inclined arms. The inclined arms are known to have a potentially beneficial role in the power extraction from the wind current but, due to the complexity of the phenomena, the investigation on aerodynamics of this type of turbine is often impossible through analytical models, such as blade-element momentum theory. It turns out that adequate studies can only be carried out by wind tunnel experiments or CFD simulations. This work presents a methodical CFD study on how inclined arms can be used on a selected wind turbine configuration to harvest additional power from the wind. The turbine configuration, geometry, and some fundamental definitions are introduced first. Then an in-depth CFD analysis is presented and discussed.

  4. C-arm CT for chemo-embolization of liver tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huppert, P.E.; Firlbeck, G.; Meissner, O.A.; Wietholtz, H.

    2009-01-01

    Local efficacy of transarterial chemo-embolization (TACE) is enhanced if selective treatment is performed. Selectivity of TACE mainly depends on vascular anatomy but also on the identification and catheterization of tumor feeding arteries. Correlation of vascular territories and target tumor volume in angiographic projection images is more difficult if tumors are not hypervascularized and contrast of liver parenchyma is inhomogeneous. C-arm CT offers the option of selective perfusion imaging via tumor-feeding arteries. This allows the comparison of perfusion images and baseline cross-sectional imaging to evaluate if tumors are covered completely by local treatment and to change the catheter position if necessary. Furthermore the uptake of embolization material, such as lipiodol can be checked by C-arm CT. In a prospective study of 75 TACE of liver tumors and liver metastases we evaluated the appropriateness of 85 catheter positions ready for delivery by perfusion C-arm CT and compared the diagnostic confidence of angiography and perfusion C-arm CT in terms of judgment of correct catheter position for the planned treatment. Diagnostic confidence was improved by perfusion C-arm CT in 55% of cases and in 11 cases (13%) catheter positions were inappropriate and had to be corrected. The reasons for catheter repositioning were incomplete coverage of the target tumor by perfusion volume (mismatch) in 6 cases, inappropriate perfusion of adjacent liver parenchyma in 2 cases and non-selective tumor perfusion via collateral arteries in 3 cases. C-arm CT allowed sufficient visualization of uptake of lipiodol in all cases evaluated. The diagnostic benefit of C-arm CT increases if tumors are treated more selectively, are not strongly hypervascular, are located centrally and if the enhancement of liver parenchyma is inhomogeneous. C-arm CT causes additional working time and contrast load, which is relatively low compared to angiography. Radiation exposure of 151 μGy per C-arm

  5. Armed Groups and Intra State Conflict: A Study on the Egyptian Case

    OpenAIRE

    Ghzlan Mahmoud Abdel Aziz

    2016-01-01

    This case study aims to identify the intrastate conflicts between the nation state and armed groups. Nowadays, most wars weaken states against armed groups. Thus, it is very important to negotiate with such groups in order to reinforce the law for the protection of victims. These armed groups are the cause of conflicts and they are related with many of humanitarian issues that result out of conflicts. In this age of rivalry; terrorists, insurgents, or transnational criminal parties have surfa...

  6. Status and prospects of nuclear arms control study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Xiangli; Wang Deli

    1995-01-01

    Some main issues and problems involved in nuclear arms control study, such as nuclear policy, NPT regime, verification technologies for a CTBT and disposal of military nuclear materials are introduced, in which both the current state and prospects of these issues are analyzed

  7. [Treatment of cloud radiative effects in general circulation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, W.C.

    1993-01-01

    This is a renewal proposal for an on-going project of the Department of Energy (DOE)/Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program. The objective of the ARM Program is to improve the treatment of radiation-cloud in GCMs so that reliable predictions of the timing and magnitude of greenhouse gas-induced global warming and regional responses can be made. The ARM Program supports two research areas: (I) The modeling and analysis of data related to the parameterization of clouds and radiation in general circulation models (GCMs); and (II) the development of advanced instrumentation for both mapping the three-dimensional structure of the atmosphere and high accuracy/precision radiometric observations. The present project conducts research in area (I) and focuses on GCM treatment of cloud life cycle, optical properties, and vertical overlapping. The project has two tasks: (1) Development and Refinement of GCM Radiation-Cloud Treatment Using ARM Data; and (2) Validation of GCM Radiation-Cloud Treatment

  8. An ARM data-oriented diagnostics package to evaluate the climate model simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, C.; Xie, S.

    2016-12-01

    A set of diagnostics that utilize long-term high frequency measurements from the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program is developed for evaluating the regional simulation of clouds, radiation and precipitation in climate models. The diagnostics results are computed and visualized automatically in a python-based package that aims to serve as an easy entry point for evaluating climate simulations using the ARM data, as well as the CMIP5 multi-model simulations. Basic performance metrics are computed to measure the accuracy of mean state and variability of simulated regional climate. The evaluated physical quantities include vertical profiles of clouds, temperature, relative humidity, cloud liquid water path, total column water vapor, precipitation, sensible and latent heat fluxes, radiative fluxes, aerosol and cloud microphysical properties. Process-oriented diagnostics focusing on individual cloud and precipitation-related phenomena are developed for the evaluation and development of specific model physical parameterizations. Application of the ARM diagnostics package will be presented in the AGU session. This work is performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344, IM release number is: LLNL-ABS-698645.

  9. A Climatology of Midlatitude Continental Clouds from the ARM SGP Central Facility. Part II; Cloud Fraction and Radiative Forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike; Minnis, Patrick

    2006-01-01

    Data collected at the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) central facility are analyzed for determining the variability of cloud fraction and radiative forcing at several temporal scales between January 1997 and December 2002. Cloud fractions are estimated for total cloud cover and for single-layer low (0-3 km), middle (3-6 km), and high clouds (greater than 6 km) using ARM SGP ground-based paired lidar-radar measurements. Shortwave (SW), longwave (LW), and net cloud radiative forcings (CRF) are derived from up- and down-looking standard precision spectral pyranometers and precision infrared radiometer measurements. The annual averages of total, and single-layer, nonoverlapped low, middle and high cloud fractions are 0.49, 0.11, 0.03, and 0.17, respectively. Total and low cloud amounts were greatest from December through March and least during July and August. The monthly variation of high cloud amount is relatively small with a broad maximum from May to August. During winter, total cloud cover varies diurnally with a small amplitude, mid-morning maximum and early evening minimum, and during summer it changes by more than 0.14 over the daily cycle with a pronounced early evening minimum. The diurnal variations of mean single-layer cloud cover change with season and cloud height. Annual averages of all-sky, total, and single-layer high, middle, and low LW CRFs are 21.4, 40.2, 16.7, 27.2, and 55.0 Wm(sup -2), respectively; and their SW CRFs are -41.5, -77.2, -37.0, -47.0, and -90.5 Wm(sup -2). Their net CRFs range from -20 to -37 Wm(sup -2). For all-sky, total, and low clouds, the maximum negative net CRFs of -40.1, -70, and -69.5 Wm(sup -2), occur during April; while the respective minimum values of -3.9, -5.7, and -4.6 Wm(sup -2), are found during December. July is the month having maximum negative net CRF of -46.2 Wm(sup -2) for middle clouds, and May has the maximum value of -45.9 Wm(sup -2) for high clouds. An

  10. ARM User Survey Report: Data Access, Quality, and Delivery

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mather, JH; Roeder, LR; Sivaraman, C

    2012-06-28

    The objective of this survey was to obtain user feedback to determine how users of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Data Archive interact with the more than 2000 available types of datastreams. The survey also gathered information about data discovery and data quality. The Market and Competitive Analysis group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory worked with web administrators to develop a landing page from which users could access the survey. A survey invitation was sent by ARM via email to about 6100 users on February 22, 2012. The invitation was also posted on the ARM website and Facebook page. Reminders were sent via e-mail and posted on Facebook while the survey was open, February 22-March 23, 2012.

  11. A novel combination treatment of armed oncolytic adenovirus expressing IL-12 and GM-CSF with radiotherapy in murine hepatocarcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Wonwoo; Seong, Jinsil; Oh, Hae-Jin; Koom, Woong-Sub; Choi, Kyung-Joo; Yun, Chae-Ok

    2011-01-01

    In this study, a novel combination treatment of armed oncolytic adenovirus expressing interleukin 12 (IL-12) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) with radiation was investigated for antitumor and antimetastatic effect in a murine hepatic cancer (HCa-I) model. Tumor bearing syngeneic mice were treated with radiation, armed oncolytic virus Ad-ΔE1Bmt7 (dB7) expressing both IL-12 and GM-CSF (armed dB7), or a combination of both. The adenovirus was administered by intratumoral injection 1 x 10 8 plaque forming units (PFU) per tumor in 50 μl of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) four times every other day. Tumor response to treatment was determined by a tumor growth delay assay. Metastatic potential was evaluated by a lung metastasis model. To understand the underlying mechanism, the level of apoptosis was examined as well as the change in microvessel density and expression of immunological markers: CD4+, CD8+ and Cd11c. The combination of armed dB7 and radiation resulted in significant growth delay of murine hepatic cancer, HCa-1, with an enhancement factor of 4.3. The combination treatment also resulted in significant suppression of lung metastasis. Increase of apoptosis level as well as decrease of microvessel density was shown in the combination treatment, suggesting an underlying mechanism for the enhancement of antitumor effect. Expression of immunological markers: CD4+, CD8+ and Cd11c also increased in the combination treatment. This study showed that a novel combination treatment of radiotherapy with armed oncolytic adenovirus expressing IL-12 and GM-CSF was effective in suppressing primary tumor growth. (author)

  12. Synchrotron X-ray scattering characterization of the molecular structures of star polystyrenes with varying numbers of arms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jin, Sangwoo; Higashihara, Tomoya; Jin, Kyeong Sik; Yoon, Jinhwan; Rho, Yecheol; Ahn, Byungcheol; Kim, Jehan; Hirao, Akira; Ree, Moonhor

    2010-05-20

    We have synthesized well-defined multiarmed star polystyrenes, with 6, 9, 17, 33, and 57 arms, and studied their molecular shapes and structural characteristics in a good solvent (tetrahydrofuran at 25 degrees C) and in a theta (Theta) solvent (cyclohexane at 35 degrees C) by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) using a synchrotron radiation source. Analysis of the SAXS data provided a detailed characterization of the molecular shapes, including the contributions of the blob morphology of the arms, the radius of gyration, the paired distance distribution, the radial electron density distribution, and the Zimm-Stockmayer and Roovers g-factor, for the multiarmed star polystyrenes. In particular, the molecular shapes of the star polystyrenes were found to change from a fuzzy ellipsoid, for the 6-armed polystyrene, to a fuzzy sphere, for the 57-armed polystyrene, with an increasing number of arms. The ellipsoidal character of the star polystyrenes with fewer arms may originate from the extended anisotropically branched architecture at the center of the molecule. The arms of the star polystyrenes were found to be more extended than those of the linear polystyrenes. Furthermore, the degree of chain extension in the arms increased with the number of arms.

  13. Lymphedema of the arm and breast in irradiated breast cancer patients: risks in an era of dramatically changing axillary surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goffman, Thomas E; Laronga, Christine; Wilson, Lori; Elkins, David

    2004-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to assess risk for lymphedema of the breast and arm in radiotherapy patients in an era of less extensive axillary surgery. Breast cancer patients treated for cure were reviewed, with a minimum follow-up of 1.5 years from the end of treatment. Clinical, surgical, and radiation-related variables were tested for statistical association with arm and breast lymphedema using regression analyses, t-tests, and chi-squared analyses. Between January 1998 and June 2001, 240 women received radiation for localized breast cancer in our center. The incidence of lymphedema of the ipsilateral breast, arm, and combined (breast and arm) was 9.6%, 7.6%, and 1.8%, respectively, with a median follow-up of 27 months. For breast edema, t-test and multivariate analysis showed body mass index (BMI) to be significant (p = 0.043, p = 0.0038), as was chi-squared and multivariate testing for site of tumor in the breast (p = 0.0043, p = 0.0035). For arm edema, t-test and multivariate analyses showed the number of nodes removed to be significant (p = 0.0040, p = 0.0458); the size of the tumor was also significant by multivariate analyses (p = 0.0027). Tumor size appeared significant because a number of very large cancers failed locally and caused cancer-related obstructive lymphedema. In our center, even modern, limited level 1-2 axillary dissection and tangential irradiation carries the risk of arm lymphedema that would argue in favor of sentinel node biopsy. For breast edema, disruption of draining lymphatics by surgery and radiation with boost to the upper outer quadrant increased risk, especially for the obese. Fortunately both breast and arm edema benefited from manual lymphatic drainage.

  14. EEG Mind Controlled Smart Prosthetic Arm – A Comprehensive Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taha Beyrouthy

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Recently, the field of prosthetics has seen many accomplishments especially with the integration of technological advancements. In this paper, different arm types (robotic, surgical, bionic, prosthetic and static are analyzed in terms of resistance, usage, flexibility, cost and potential. Most of these techniques have some problems; they are extremely expensive, hard to install and maintain and may require surgery. Therefore, our work introduces the initial design of an EEG mind controlled smart prosthetic arm. The arm is controlled by the brain commands, obtained from an electroencephalography (EEG headset, and equipped with a network of smart sensors and actuators that give the patient intelligent feedback about the surrounding environment and the object in contact. This network provides the arm with normal hand functionality, smart reflexes and smooth movements. Various types of sensors are used including temperature, pressure, ultrasonic proximity sensors, accelerometers, potentiometers, strain gauges and gyroscopes. The arm is completely 3D printed built from various lightweight and high strength materials that can handle high impacts and fragile elements as well. Our project requires the use of nine servomotors installed at different places in the arm. Therefore, the static and dynamic modes of servomotors are analyzed. The total cost of the project is estimated to be relatively cheap compared to other previously built arms. Many scenarios are analyzed corresponding to the actions that the prosthetic arm can perform, and an algorithm is created to match these scenarios. Experimental results show that the proposed EEG Mind-controlled Arm is a promising alternative for current solutions that require invasive and expensive surgical procedures.

  15. Reduced-dose C-arm computed tomography applications at a pediatric institution

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Acord, Michael; Shellikeri, Sphoorti; Vatsky, Seth; Srinivasan, Abhay; Krishnamurthy, Ganesh; Keller, Marc S.; Cahill, Anne Marie [The Children' s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA (United States)

    2017-12-15

    Reduced-dose C-arm computed tomography (CT) uses flat-panel detectors to acquire real-time 3-D images in the interventional radiology suite to assist with anatomical localization and procedure planning. To describe dose-reduction techniques for C-arm CT at a pediatric institution and to provide guidance for implementation. We conducted a 5-year retrospective study on procedures using an institution-specific reduced-dose protocol: 5 or 8 s Dyna Rotation, 248/396 projection images/acquisition and 0.1-0.17 μGy/projection dose at the detector with 0.3/0.6/0.9-mm copper (Cu) filtration. We categorized cases by procedure type and average patient age and calculated C-arm CT and total dose area product (DAP). Two hundred twenty-two C-arm CT-guided procedures were performed with a dose-reduction protocol. The most common procedures were temporomandibular and sacroiliac joint injections (48.6%) and sclerotherapy (34.2%). C-arm CT was utilized in cases of difficult percutaneous access in less common applications such as cecostomy and gastrostomy placement, foreign body retrieval and thoracentesis. C-arm CT accounted for between 9.9% and 80.7% of the total procedural DAP. Dose-reducing techniques can preserve image quality for intervention while reducing radiation exposure to the child. This technology has multiple applications within pediatric interventional radiology and can be considered as an adjunctive imaging tool in a variety of procedures, particularly when percutaneous access is challenging despite routine fluoroscopic or ultrasound guidance. (orig.)

  16. Diagnostic modeling of the ARM experimental configuration. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Somerville, R.C.J.

    1998-04-01

    A major accomplishment of this work was to demonstrate the viability of using in-situ data in both mid-continent North America (SGP CART site) and Tropical Western Pacific (TOGA-COARE) locations to provide the horizontal advective flux convergences which force and constrain the Single-Column Model (SCM) which was the main theoretical tool of this work. The author has used TOGA-COARE as a prototype for the ARM TWP site. Results show that SCMs can produce realistic budgets over the ARM sites without relying on parameterization-dependent operational numerical weather prediction objective analyses. The single-column model is diagnostic rather than prognostic. It is numerically integrated in time as an initial value problem which is forced and constrained by observational data. The input is an observed initial state, plus observationally derived estimates of the time-dependent advection terms in the conservation equations, provided at all model layers. Its output is a complete heat and water budget, including temperature and moisture profiles, clouds and their radiative properties, diabatic heating terms, surface energy balance components, and hydrologic cycle elements, all specified as functions of time. These SCM results should be interpreted in light of the original motivation and purpose of ARM and its goal to improve the treatment of cloud-radiation interactions in climate models.

  17. Design of a multi-arm randomized clinical trial with no control arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magaret, Amalia; Angus, Derek C; Adhikari, Neill K J; Banura, Patrick; Kissoon, Niranjan; Lawler, James V; Jacob, Shevin T

    2016-01-01

    Clinical trial designs that include multiple treatments are currently limited to those that perform pairwise comparisons of each investigational treatment to a single control. However, there are settings, such as the recent Ebola outbreak, in which no treatment has been demonstrated to be effective; and therefore, no standard of care exists which would serve as an appropriate control. For illustrative purposes, we focused on the care of patients presenting in austere settings with critically ill 'sepsis-like' syndromes. Our approach involves a novel algorithm for comparing mortality among arms without requiring a single fixed control. The algorithm allows poorly-performing arms to be dropped during interim analyses. Consequently, the study may be completed earlier than planned. We used simulation to determine operating characteristics for the trial and to estimate the required sample size. We present a potential study design targeting a minimal effect size of a 23% relative reduction in mortality between any pair of arms. Using estimated power and spurious significance rates from the simulated scenarios, we show that such a trial would require 2550 participants. Over a range of scenarios, our study has 80 to 99% power to select the optimal treatment. Using a fixed control design, if the control arm is least efficacious, 640 subjects would be enrolled into the least efficacious arm, while our algorithm would enroll between 170 and 430. This simulation method can be easily extended to other settings or other binary outcomes. Early dropping of arms is efficient and ethical when conducting clinical trials with multiple arms. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Satellite Data Support for the ARM Climate Research Facility, 8/01/2009 - 7/31/2015

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Minnis, Patrick [NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA (United States); Khaiyer, Mandana M [Science Systems and Applications, Inc., Hampton, VA (United States)

    2015-10-06

    This report summarizes the support provided by NASA Langley Research for the DOE ARM Program in the form of cloud and radiation products derived from satellite imager data for the period between 8/01/09 through 7/31/15. Cloud properties such as cloud amount, height, and optical depth as well as outgoing longwave and shortwave broadband radiative fluxes were derived from geostationary and low-earth orbiting satellite imager radiance measurements for domains encompassing ARM permanent sites and field campaigns during the performance period. Datasets provided and documents produced are listed.

  19. An ARM Mobile Facility Designed for Marine Deployments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiscombe, W. J.

    2007-05-01

    The U.S. Dept. of Energy's ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurements) Program is designing a Mobile Facility exclusively for marine deployments. This marine facility is patterned after ARM's land Mobile Facility, which had its inaugural deployment at Point Reyes, California, in 2005, followed by deployments to Niger in 2006 and Germany in 2007 (ongoing), and a planned deployment to China in 2008. These facilities are primarily intended for the study of clouds, radiation, aerosols, and surface processes with a goal to include these processes accurately in climate models. They are preferably embedded within larger field campaigns which provide context. They carry extensive instrumentation (in several large containers) including: cloud radar, lidar, microwave radiometers, infrared spectrometers, broadband and narrowband radiometers, sonde-launching facilities, extensive surface aerosol measurements, sky imagers, and surface latent and sensible heat flux devices. ARM's Mobile Facilities are designed for 6-10 month deployments in order to capture climatically-relevant datasets. They are available to any scientist, U.S. or international, who wishes to submit a proposal during the annual Spring call. The marine facility will be adapted to, and ruggedized for, the harsh marine environment and will add a scanning two-frequency radar, a boundary-layer wind profiler, a shortwave spectrometer, and aerosol instrumentation adapted to typical marine aerosols like sea salt. Plans also include the use of roving small UAVs, automated small boats, and undersea autonomous vehicles in order to address the point-to-area-average problem which is so crucial for informing climate models. Initial deployments are planned for small islands in climatically- interesting cloud regimes, followed by deployments on oceanic platforms (like decommissioned oil rigs and the quasi-permanent platform of this session's title) and eventually on large ships like car carriers plying routine routes.

  20. Evaluation and re-evaluation of genetic radiation hazards in man. The arm number hypothesis and the induction of reciprocal translocations in man. II

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sankaranarayanan, K [Rijksuniversiteit Leiden (Netherlands). Lab. voor Stralengenetica en Chemische Mutagenese; Cohen (J.A.) Instituut voor Radiopathologie en Stralenbescherming, Leiden (Netherlands))

    1976-06-01

    The arm number hypothesis proposed by Brewen and colleagues in 1973 has been examined in the light of information thus far available from mammalian studies. In experiments with peripheral blood lymphocytes (radiation in vitro), a linear relationship between dicentric yield and the effective chromosome arm number of the species was obtained in the mouse, Chinese hamster, goat, sheep, pig, wallaby and man. However, the data are not consistent with such a relationship in several primate species (marmoset, rhesus monkey, cynomolgus monkey, squirrel monkey and the slow loris), the cat and the dog. In the rabbit, the data are conflicting. In the mouse and the Chinese hamster the frequencies of reciprocal translocations recorded in spermatocytes descended from irradiated spermatogonia are in line with the expectation based on the arm number hypothesis, whereas in the golden hamster, rabbit and the rhesus they are not. In man and the marmoset, the limited data are not inconsistent with a 2-fold higher sensitivity of these species relative to the mouse although they do not rule out a difference as high as 4-fold. In the guinea-pig, the situation is unclear. New data on the transmission of reciprocal translocations in mice suggest that the frequency in the F/sub 1/ progeny may be close to one-quarter of that recorded in the spermatocytes of the irradiated fathers (spermatogonial irradiation) at an exposure level of 150 R, whereas at higher exposures, the reduction factor is about one-eighth, the latter being in line with the earlier finding. All these results taken together suggest that inter-specific extrapolation from the radiosensitivity of somatic cells (to dicentric induction) to that of germ cells (to translocation induction) is fraught with uncertainty at present. Certain aspects that need to be studied in more detail in the context of induced chromosome aberrations are discussed.

  1. Evaluating Radiative Closure in the Middle-to-Upper Troposhere

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tobin, David C. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Turner, David D. [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States), Norman, OK (United States); Knuteson, Robert O. [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States)

    2013-01-02

    This project had two general objectives. The first is the characterization and improvement of the radiative transfer parameterization in strongly absorbing water vapor bands, as these strongly absorbing bands dictate the clear sky radiative heating rate. The second is the characterization and improvement of the radiative transfer in cirrus clouds, with emphasis on ensuring that the parameterization of the radiative transfer is consistent and accurate across the spectrum. Both of these objectives are important for understanding the radiative processes in the mid-to-upper troposphere. The research on this project primarily involved analysis of data from the First and Second Radiative Heating in Underexplored Bands Campaigns, RHUBC-I and II. This included a climate model sensitivity study using results from RHUBC-I. The RHUBC experiments are ARM-funded activities that directly address the objectives of this research project. A secondary effort was also conducted that investigated the trends in the long-term (~14 year) dataset collected by the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) at the ARM Southern Great Plains site. This work, which was primarily done by a post-doc at the University of Wisconsin, Madison under Dr. Turner's direction, uses the only NIST-traceable instrument at the ARM site that has a well-documented calibration and uncertainty performance to investigate long-term trends in the downwelling longwave radiance above this site.

  2. In Silico Study of Spacer Arm Length Influence on Drug Vectorization by Fullerene C60

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haifa Khemir

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This work studies theoretically the effect of spacer arm lengths on the characteristics of a fullerene C60-based nanovector. The spacer arm is constituted of a carbon chain including a variable number of methylene groups (n = 2–11. To improve the ability of the fullerene carriage, two arms are presented simultaneously through a malonyl bridge. Then the evolution of selected physicochemical parameters is monitored as a function of the spacer arm length and the angle between the two arms. We show here that while the studied characteristics are almost independent of the spacer arm length or vary monotonically with it, the dipole moment and its orientation vary periodically with the parity of the number of carbon atoms. This periodicity is related to both modules and orientations of dipole moments of the spacer arms. In the field of chemical synthesis, these results highlight the importance of theoretical calculations for the optimization of operating conditions. In the field of drug discovery, they show that theoretical calculations of the chemical properties of a drug candidate can help predict its in vivo behaviour, notably its bioavailability and biodistribution, which are known to be tightly dependent of its polarity.

  3. Visual Display of 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA Expression with a Mobile Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Chao-Yu; Kuo, Wei-Ting; Chiu, Chien-Yuan; Lin, Wen-Chang

    2017-01-01

    MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in human cancers. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that both 5p-arm and 3p-arm of mature miRNAs could be expressed from the same precursor and we further interrogated the 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression with a comprehensive arm feature annotation list. To assist biologists to visualize the differential 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression patterns, we utilized a user-friendly mobile App to display. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) miRNA-Seq expression information. We have collected over 4,500 miRNA-Seq datasets from 15 TCGA cancer types and further processed them with the 5p-arm and 3p-arm annotation analysis pipeline. In order to be displayed with the RNA-Seq Viewer App, annotated 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression information and miRNA gene loci information were converted into SQLite tables. In this distinct application, for any given miRNA gene, 5p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the top of chromosome ideogram and 3p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the bottom of chromosome ideogram. Users can then easily interrogate the differentially 5p-arm/3p-arm expressed miRNAs with their mobile devices. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of RNA-Seq Viewer App in addition to mRNA-Seq data visualization.

  4. Visual Display of 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA Expression with a Mobile Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao-Yu Pan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available MicroRNAs (miRNAs play important roles in human cancers. In previous studies, we have demonstrated that both 5p-arm and 3p-arm of mature miRNAs could be expressed from the same precursor and we further interrogated the 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression with a comprehensive arm feature annotation list. To assist biologists to visualize the differential 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression patterns, we utilized a user-friendly mobile App to display. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA miRNA-Seq expression information. We have collected over 4,500 miRNA-Seq datasets from 15 TCGA cancer types and further processed them with the 5p-arm and 3p-arm annotation analysis pipeline. In order to be displayed with the RNA-Seq Viewer App, annotated 5p-arm and 3p-arm miRNA expression information and miRNA gene loci information were converted into SQLite tables. In this distinct application, for any given miRNA gene, 5p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the top of chromosome ideogram and 3p-arm miRNA is illustrated on the bottom of chromosome ideogram. Users can then easily interrogate the differentially 5p-arm/3p-arm expressed miRNAs with their mobile devices. This study demonstrates the feasibility and utility of RNA-Seq Viewer App in addition to mRNA-Seq data visualization.

  5. Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Site

    Data.gov (United States)

    Federal Laboratory Consortium — The Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Site (SGP-ARM) is the oldest and largest of DOE's Arm sites. It was established in 1992. It consists of...

  6. Processing ARM VAP data on an AWS cluster

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, T.; Macduff, M.; Shippert, T.

    2017-12-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Management Facility (DMF) manages over 18,000 processes and 1.3 TB of data each day. This includes many Value Added Products (VAPs) that make use of multiple instruments to produce the derived products that are scientifically relevant. A thermodynamic and cloud profile VAP is being developed to provide input to the ARM Large-eddy simulation (LES) ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) project (https://www.arm.gov/capabilities/vaps/lasso-122) . This algorithm is CPU intensive and the processing requirements exceeded the available DMF computing capacity. Amazon Web Service (AWS) along with CfnCluster was investigated to see how it would perform. This cluster environment is cost effective and scales dynamically based on demand. We were able to take advantage of autoscaling which allowed the cluster to grow and shrink based on the size of the processing queue. We also were able to take advantage of the Amazon Web Services spot market to further reduce the cost. Our test was very successful and found that cloud resources can be used to efficiently and effectively process time series data. This poster will present the resources and methodology used to successfully run the algorithm.

  7. Seismic restraint means for radiation detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Underwood, R.H.; Todt, W.H.

    1983-01-01

    Seismic restraint means are provided for mounting an elongated, generally cylindrical nuclear radiation detector within a tubular thimble in a nuclear reactor monitor system. The restraint means permits longitudinal movement of the radiation detector into and out of the thimble. Each restraint means comprises a split clamp ring and a plurality of symmetrically spaced support arms pivotally mounted on the clamp ring. Each support arm has spring bias means and thimble contact means eg insulating rollers whereby the contact means engage the thimble with a constant predetermined force which minimizes seismic vibration action on the radiation detector. (author)

  8. Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense—left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers

    OpenAIRE

    Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally th...

  9. Instrument development for atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM): Status of the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer - extended Resolution (AERI-X), the Solar Radiance Transmission Interferometer (SORTI), and the Absolute Solar Transmission Inferometer (ASTI)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murcray, F.; Stephen, T.; Kosters, J. [Univ. of Denver, CO (United States)

    1996-04-01

    This paper describes three instruments currently under developemnt for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program at the University of Denver: the AERI-X (Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer-Extended Resolution) and the SORTI (Solar R adiance Transmission Interferometer), and ASTI (Absolute Solar transmission Interferometer).

  10. ARM Data File Standards Version: 1.0

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kehoe, Kenneth [University of Oklahoma; Beus, Sherman [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Cialella, Alice [Brookhaven National Laboratory; Collis, Scott [Argonne National Laboratory; Ermold, Brian [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Perez, Robin [State University of New York, Albany; Shamblin, Stefanie [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Sivaraman, Chitra [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Jensen, Mike [Brookhaven National Laboratory; McCord, Raymond [Oak Ridge National Laboratory; McCoy, Renata [Sandia National Laboratories; Moore, Sean [Alliant Techsystems, Inc.; Monroe, Justin [University of Oklahoma; Perkins, Brad [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Shippert, Tim [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    2014-04-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility performs routine in situ and remote-sensing observations to provide a detailed and accurate description of the Earth atmosphere in diverse climate regimes. The result is a diverse data sets containing observational and derived data, currently accumulating at a rate of 30 TB of data and 150,000 different files per month (http://www.archive.arm.gov/stats/storage2.html). Continuing the current processing while scaling this to even larger sizes is extremely important to the ARM Facility and requires consistent metadata and data standards. The standards described in this document will enable development of automated analysis and discovery tools for the ever-growing volumes of data. It also will enable consistent analysis of the multiyear data, allow for development of automated monitoring and data health status tools, and facilitate development of future capabilities for delivering data on demand that can be tailored explicitly to user needs. This analysis ability will only be possible if the data follows a minimum set of standards. This document proposes a hierarchy that includes required and recommended standards.

  11. Hypofractionated radiation therapy in the treatment of epidemic Kaposi sarcoma - A prospective randomized trial

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Niveditha B.; Lakier, Roy H.; Donde, Bernard

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To compare a conventional fractionation regimen with a hypofractionated regimen in the treatment of Epidemic Kaposi sarcoma with radiation therapy. Materials and methods: Sixty patients were randomized to receive a standard regimen of 24 Gy in 12 fractions (ARM A) or the study regimen of 20 Gy in five fractions (ARM B). Radiation technique was individualized. Treatment response, local control and toxicity were recorded. Results: Thirty five sites were treated in ARM A and 30 sites in ARM B. Treatment arms were similar for gender, ECOG performance score, treated site, antiretroviral therapy usage, T stage, I stage and S stage. The overall survival using the Kaplan Meier method was 37% at 1 year. Complete responses were recorded at 28 sites (13 Arm A, 15 Arm B), partial responses at 19 sites (8 Arm A, 11 Arm B) and stable disease at three sites (2 Arm A, 1 Arm B). The mean time to maximum objective response was 3 months (range: 1-14 months). Response rates and local control were equal in the two arms (p = 0.73 and 0.77, respectively, log rank test). Acute skin toxicity (p = 0.77) and late skin toxicity (p = 0.24) were equal in the two arms. Conclusion: The two treatment regimens produced equivalent results for treatment response, local recurrence-free survival and toxicity

  12. Observations of a cold front with strong vertical undulations during the ARM RCS-IOP

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Starr, D.O`C.; Whiteman, D.N. [Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States); Melfi, S.H. [Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore, MD (United States)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    Passage of a cold front was observed on the night of April 14-15, 1994, during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Remote Cloud Sensing (RCS) Intensive Observatios Period (IOP) at the Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site near Lamont, Oklahoma. The observations are described.

  13. Effects of age, sex and arm on the precision of arm position sense-left-arm superiority in healthy right-handers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmidt, Lena; Depper, Lena; Kerkhoff, Georg

    2013-01-01

    Position sense is an important proprioceptive ability. Disorders of arm position sense (APS) often occur after unilateral stroke, and are associated with a negative functional outcome. In the present study we assessed horizontal APS by measuring angular deviations from a visually defined target separately for each arm in a large group of healthy subjects. We analyzed the accuracy and instability of horizontal APS as a function of age, sex and arm. Subjects were required to specify verbally the position of their unseen arm on a 0-90° circuit by comparing the current position with the target position indicated by a LED lamp, while the arm was passively moved by the examiner. Eighty-seven healthy subjects participated in the study, ranging from 20 to 77 years, subdivided into three age groups. The results revealed that APS was not a function of age or sex, but was significantly better in the non-dominant (left) arm in absolute errors (AE) but not in constant errors (CE) across all age groups of right-handed healthy subjects. This indicates a right-hemisphere superiority for left APS in right-handers and neatly fits to the more frequent and more severe left-sided body-related deficits in patients with unilateral stroke (i.e. impaired APS in left spatial neglect, somatoparaphrenia) or in individuals with abnormalities of the right cerebral hemisphere. These clinical issues will be discussed.

  14. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-02-01

    In order to understand energy's role in anthropogenic global climate change, significant reliance is being placed on General Circulation Models (GCMs). A major goal is to foster the development of GCMs capable of predicting the timing and magnitude of greenhouse gas-induced global warming and the regional effects of such warming. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program will contribute to the Department of Energy goal by improving the treatment of cloud radiative forcing and feedbacks in GCMs. Two issues will be addressed: the radiation budget and its spectral dependence and the radiative and other properties of clouds. The experimental objective of the ARM Program is to characterize empirically the radiative processes in the Earth's atmosphere with improved resolution and accuracy. A key to this characterization is the effective treatment of cloud formation and cloud properties in GCMs. Through this characterization of radiative properties, it will be possible to understand both the forcing and feedback effects. 19 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs

  15. Informatics in radiology: use of a C-arm fluoroscopy simulator to support training in intraoperative radiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bott, Oliver Johannes; Dresing, Klaus; Wagner, Markus; Raab, Björn-Werner; Teistler, Michael

    2011-01-01

    Mobile image intensifier systems (C-arms) are used frequently in orthopedic and reconstructive surgery, especially in trauma and emergency settings, but image quality and radiation exposure levels may vary widely, depending on the extent of the C-arm operator's knowledge and experience. Current training programs consist mainly of theoretical instruction in C-arm operation, the physical foundations of radiography, and radiation avoidance, and are largely lacking in hands-on application. A computer-based simulation program such as that tested by the authors may be one way to improve the effectiveness of C-arm training. In computer simulations of various scenarios commonly encountered in the operating room, trainees using the virtX program interact with three-dimensional models to test their knowledge base and improve their skill levels. Radiographs showing the simulated patient anatomy and surgical implants are "reconstructed" from data computed on the basis of the trainee's positioning of models of a C-arm, patient, and table, and are displayed in real time on the desktop monitor. Trainee performance is signaled in real time by color graphics in several control panels and, on completion of the exercise, is compared in detail with the performance of an expert operator. Testing of this computer-based training program in continuing medical education courses for operating room personnel showed an improvement in the overall understanding of underlying principles of intraoperative radiography performed with a C-arm, with resultant higher image quality, lower overall radiation exposure, and greater time efficiency. Supplemental material available at http://radiographics.rsna.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1148/rg.313105125/-/DC1. Copyright © RSNA, 2011.

  16. Nonparetic arm force does not overinhibit the paretic arm in chronic poststroke hemiparesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dimyan, Michael A; Perez, Monica A; Auh, Sungyoung; Tarula, Erick; Wilson, Matthew; Cohen, Leonardo G

    2014-05-01

    To determine whether nonparetic arm force overinhibits the paretic arm in patients with chronic unilateral poststroke hemiparesis. Case-control neurophysiological and behavioral study of patients with chronic stroke. Research institution. Eighty-six referred patients were screened to enroll 9 participants (N=9) with a >6 month history of 1 unilateral ischemic infarct that resulted in arm hemiparesis with residual ability to produce 1Nm of wrist flexion torque and without contraindication to transcranial magnetic stimulation. Eight age- and handedness-matched healthy volunteers without neurologic diagnosis were studied for comparison. Not applicable. Change in interhemispheric inhibition targeting the ipsilesional primary motor cortex (M1) during nonparetic arm force. We hypothesized that interhemispheric inhibition would increase more in healthy controls than in patients with hemiparesis. Healthy age-matched controls had significantly greater increases in inhibition from their active to resting M1 than patients with stroke from their active contralesional to resting ipsilesional M1 in the same scenario (20%±7% vs -1%±4%, F1,12=6.61, P=.025). Patients with greater increases in contralesional to ipsilesional inhibition were better performers on the 9-hole peg test of paretic arm function. Our findings reveal that producing force with the nonparetic arm does not necessarily overinhibit the paretic arm. Though our study is limited in generalizability by the small sample size, we found that greater active contralesional to resting ipsilesional M1 inhibition was related with better recovery in this subset of patients with chronic poststroke. Copyright © 2014 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. Exploring Large Scale Data Analysis and Visualization for ARM Data Discovery Using NoSQL Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krishna, B.; Gustafson, W. I., Jr.; Vogelmann, A. M.; Toto, T.; Devarakonda, R.; Palanisamy, G.

    2016-12-01

    This paper presents a new way of providing ARM data discovery through data analysis and visualization services. ARM stands for Atmospheric Radiation Measurement. This Program was created to study cloud formation processes and their influence on radiative transfer and also include additional measurements of aerosol and precipitation at various highly instrumented ground and mobile stations. The total volume of ARM data is roughly 900TB. The current search for ARM data is performed by using its metadata, such as the site name, instrument name, date, etc. NoSQL technologies were explored to improve the capabilities of data searching, not only by their metadata, but also by using the measurement values. Two technologies that are currently being implemented for testing are Apache Cassandra (noSQL database) and Apache Spark (noSQL based analytics framework). Both of these technologies were developed to work in a distributed environment and hence can handle large data for storing and analytics. D3.js is a JavaScript library that can generate interactive data visualizations in web browsers by making use of commonly used SVG, HTML5, and CSS standards. To test the performance of NoSQL for ARM data, we will be using ARM's popular measurements to locate the data based on its value. Recently noSQL technology has been applied to a pilot project called LASSO, which stands for LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation Workflow. LASSO will be packaging LES output and observations in "data bundles" and analyses will require the ability for users to analyze both observations and LES model output either individually or together across multiple time periods. The LASSO implementation strategy suggests that enormous data storage is required to store the above mentioned quantities. Thus noSQL was used to provide a powerful means to store portions of the data that provided users with search capabilities on each simulation's traits through a web application. Based on the user selection

  18. Structural Studies of Three-Arm Star Block Copolymers Exposed to Extreme Stretch Suggests a Persistent Polymer Tube

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mortensen, Kell; Borger, Anine L.; Kirkensgaard, Jacob J. K.; Garvey, Christopher J.; Almdal, Kristoffer; Dorokhin, Andriy; Huang, Qian; Hassager, Ole

    2018-05-01

    We present structural small-angle neutron scattering studies of a three-armed polystyrene star polymer with short deuterated segments at the end of each arm. We show that the form factor of the three-armed star molecules in the relaxed state agrees with that of the random phase approximation of Gaussian chains. Upon exposure to large extensional flow conditions, the star polymers change conformation resulting in a highly stretched structure that mimics a fully extended three-armed tube model. All three arms are parallel to the flow, one arm being either in positive or negative stretching direction, while the two other arms are oriented parallel, right next to each other in the direction opposite to the first arm.

  19. Mode Theory of Multi-Armed Spiral Antennas and Its Application to Electronic Warfare Antennas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Radway, Matthew J.

    Since their invention about 55 years ago, spiral antennas have earned a reputation for providing stable impedance and far-field patterns over multi-decade frequency ranges. For the first few decades these antennas were researched for electronic warfare receiving applications, primarily in the 2-18 GHz range. This research was often done under conditions of secrecy, and often by private contractors who did not readily share their research, and now have been defunct for decades. Even so, the body of literature on the two-armed variant of these antennas is rich, often leading non-specialists to the misconception that these antennas are completely understood. Furthermore, early work was highly experimental in nature, and was conducted before modern data collection and postprocessing capabilities were widespread, which limited the range of the studies. Recent research efforts have focused on extending the application of spirals into new areas, as well as applying exotic materials to `improve' their performance and reduce their size. While interesting results have been obtained, in most instances these were incomplete, often compromising the frequency independent nature of these antennas. This thesis expands the role of the multi-armed spiral outside of its traditional niche of receive-only monopulse direction finding. As a first step, careful study of the spiral-antenna mode theory is undertaken with particular attention paid to the concepts of mode filtering and modal decomposition. A technique for reducing the modal impedance of high arm-count spirals is introduced. The insights gained through this theoretical study are first used to improve the far-field performance of the coiled-arm spiral antenna. Specifically, expanding the number of arms on a coiled arm spiral from two to four while providing proper excitation enables dramatically improved broadside axial ratio and azimuthal pattern uniformity. The multiarming technique is then applied to the design of an antenna

  20. Robotic arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kwech, Horst

    1989-04-18

    A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel.

  1. ARM Data-Oriented Metrics and Diagnostics Package for Climate Model Evaluation Value-Added Product

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Chengzhu [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Xie, Shaocheng [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-10-15

    A Python-based metrics and diagnostics package is currently being developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Infrastructure Team at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to facilitate the use of long-term, high-frequency measurements from the ARM Facility in evaluating the regional climate simulation of clouds, radiation, and precipitation. This metrics and diagnostics package computes climatological means of targeted climate model simulation and generates tables and plots for comparing the model simulation with ARM observational data. The Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) model data sets are also included in the package to enable model intercomparison as demonstrated in Zhang et al. (2017). The mean of the CMIP model can serve as a reference for individual models. Basic performance metrics are computed to measure the accuracy of mean state and variability of climate models. The evaluated physical quantities include cloud fraction, temperature, relative humidity, cloud liquid water path, total column water vapor, precipitation, sensible and latent heat fluxes, and radiative fluxes, with plan to extend to more fields, such as aerosol and microphysics properties. Process-oriented diagnostics focusing on individual cloud- and precipitation-related phenomena are also being developed for the evaluation and development of specific model physical parameterizations. The version 1.0 package is designed based on data collected at ARM’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) Research Facility, with the plan to extend to other ARM sites. The metrics and diagnostics package is currently built upon standard Python libraries and additional Python packages developed by DOE (such as CDMS and CDAT). The ARM metrics and diagnostic package is available publicly with the hope that it can serve as an easy entry point for climate modelers to compare their models with ARM data. In this report, we first present the input data, which

  2. Robotic arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwech, H.

    1989-01-01

    A robotic arm positionable within a nuclear vessel by access through a small diameter opening and having a mounting tube supported within the vessel and mounting a plurality of arm sections for movement lengthwise of the mounting tube as well as for movement out of a window provided in the wall of the mounting tube is disclosed. An end effector, such as a grinding head or welding element, at an operating end of the robotic arm, can be located and operated within the nuclear vessel through movement derived from six different axes of motion provided by mounting and drive connections between arm sections of the robotic arm. The movements are achieved by operation of remotely-controllable servo motors, all of which are mounted at a control end of the robotic arm to be outside the nuclear vessel. 23 figs

  3. Structural studies of three-arm star block copolymers exposed to extreme stretch suggests persistent polymer tube

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garvey, Christopher J.; Almdal, Kristoffer; Dorokhin, Andriy

    2018-01-01

    We present structural SANS-studies of a three-armed polystyrene star polymer with short deuterated segments at the end of each arm. We show that the form factor of the three-armed star molecules in the relaxed state agrees with that of the random phase approximation of Gaussian chains. Upon...

  4. The inter-arm systolic blood pressure difference and risk of cardiovascular mortality: A meta-analysis of cohort studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ming; Gao, Zhen; Chen, Fei; Xu, Haijun; Dong, Xiao; Ma, Li

    2016-01-01

    The inter-arm systolic blood pressure difference (SBPD) is recommended to be in relation to potential cardiovascular disease (CVD). Previous studies yielded controversial results about the association between an inter-arm SBPD ≥ 10 mmHg or ≥15 mmHg and the risk of cardiovascular mortality. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to investigate this association. We searched PubMed and Embase databases through December 31, 2014, and examined the references of retrieved articles to identify relevant cohort studies. We utilized Newcastle-Ottawa scale to assess the quality of included studies and calculated the summary risk estimates in a fixed/random-effect model. All data analyses were conducted using STATA version 11.0. A total of seven studies were identified. Compared with participants with an inter-arm SBPD arm SBPD ≥ 10 mmHg was 1.58 (95% CI: 1.3-1.93), and the pooled HR of cardiovascular mortality of participants with an inter-arm SBPD ≥ 15 mmHg versus those with an inter-arm SBPD arm SBPD may define a subpopulation at high risk of CVD events.

  5. LES ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) Implementation Strategy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gustafson Jr., WI [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Vogelmann, AM [Brookhaven National Laboratory

    2015-09-01

    This document illustrates the design of the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) workflow to provide a routine, high-resolution modeling capability to augment the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s high-density observations. LASSO will create a powerful new capability for furthering ARM’s mission to advance understanding of cloud, radiation, aerosol, and land-surface processes. The combined observational and modeling elements will enable a new level of scientific inquiry by connecting processes and context to observations and providing needed statistics for details that cannot be measured. The result will be improved process understanding that facilitates concomitant improvements in climate model parameterizations. The initial LASSO implementation will be for ARM’s Southern Great Plains site in Oklahoma and will focus on shallow convection, which is poorly simulated by climate models due in part to clouds’ typically small spatial scale compared to model grid spacing, and because the convection involves complicated interactions of microphysical and boundary layer processes.

  6. Efficacy Endpoints of Radiation Therapy Group Protocol 0247: A Randomized, Phase 2 Study of Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy Plus Concurrent Capecitabine and Irinotecan or Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin for Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, Stuart J.; Moughan, Jennifer; Meropol, Neal J.; Anne, Pramila Rani; Kachnic, Lisa A.; Rashid, Asif; Watson, James C.; Mitchell, Edith P.; Pollock, Jondavid; Lee, R. Jeffrey; Haddock, Michael; Erickson, Beth A.; Willett, Christopher G.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To report secondary efficacy endpoints of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol 0247, primary endpoint analysis of which demonstrated that preoperative radiation therapy (RT) with capecitabine plus oxaliplatin achieved a pathologic complete remission prespecified threshold (21%) to merit further study, whereas RT with capecitabine plus irinotecan did not (10%). Methods and Materials: A randomized, phase 2 trial evaluated preoperative RT (50.4 Gy in 1.8-Gy fractions) with 2 concurrent chemotherapy regimens: (1) capecitabine (1200 mg/m 2 /d Monday-Friday) plus irinotecan (50 mg/m 2 /wk × 4); and (2) capecitabine (1650 mg/m 2 /d Monday-Friday) plus oxaliplatin (50 mg/m 2 /wk × 5) for clinical T3 or T4 rectal cancer. Surgery was performed 4 to 8 weeks after chemoradiation, then 4 to 6 weeks later, adjuvant chemotherapy (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m 2 ; leucovorin 400 mg/m 2 ; 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m 2 ; 5-fluorouracil 2400 mg/m 2 ) every 2 weeks × 9. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated univariately by the Kaplan-Meier method. Local–regional failure (LRF), distant failure (DF), and second primary failure (SP) were estimated by the cumulative incidence method. No statistical comparisons were made between arms because each was evaluated individually. Results: A total of 104 patients (median age, 57 years) were treated; characteristics were similar for both arms. Median follow-up for RT with capecitabine/irinotecan arm was 3.77 years and for RT with capecitabine/oxaliplatin arm was 3.97 years. Four-year DFS, OS, LRF, DF, and SP estimates for capecitabine/irinotecan arm were 68%, 85%, 16%, 24%, and 2%, respectively. The 4-year DFS, OS, LRF, DF, and SP failure estimates for capecitabine/oxaliplatin arm were 62%, 75%, 18%, 30%, and 6%, respectively. Conclusions: Efficacy results for both arms are similar to other reported studies but suggest that pathologic complete remission is an unsuitable surrogate for

  7. Efficacy Endpoints of Radiation Therapy Group Protocol 0247: A Randomized, Phase 2 Study of Neoadjuvant Radiation Therapy Plus Concurrent Capecitabine and Irinotecan or Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin for Patients With Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wong, Stuart J. [Medical College of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (United States); Moughan, Jennifer [Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Statistical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Meropol, Neal J., E-mail: Neal.Meropol@case.edu [University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (United States); Anne, Pramila Rani [Department of Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Kachnic, Lisa A. [Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Massachusetts (United States); Rashid, Asif [Department of Pathology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Watson, James C. [Department of Surgical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Mitchell, Edith P. [Department of Radiation Oncology and Medical Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Pollock, Jondavid [The Schiffler Cancer Center, Wheeling, West Virginia (United States); Lee, R. Jeffrey [Intermountain Medical Center, Murray, Utah (United States); Haddock, Michael [Division of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Erickson, Beth A. [Medical College of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin (United States); Willett, Christopher G. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To report secondary efficacy endpoints of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group protocol 0247, primary endpoint analysis of which demonstrated that preoperative radiation therapy (RT) with capecitabine plus oxaliplatin achieved a pathologic complete remission prespecified threshold (21%) to merit further study, whereas RT with capecitabine plus irinotecan did not (10%). Methods and Materials: A randomized, phase 2 trial evaluated preoperative RT (50.4 Gy in 1.8-Gy fractions) with 2 concurrent chemotherapy regimens: (1) capecitabine (1200 mg/m{sup 2}/d Monday-Friday) plus irinotecan (50 mg/m{sup 2}/wk × 4); and (2) capecitabine (1650 mg/m{sup 2}/d Monday-Friday) plus oxaliplatin (50 mg/m{sup 2}/wk × 5) for clinical T3 or T4 rectal cancer. Surgery was performed 4 to 8 weeks after chemoradiation, then 4 to 6 weeks later, adjuvant chemotherapy (oxaliplatin 85 mg/m{sup 2}; leucovorin 400 mg/m{sup 2}; 5-fluorouracil 400 mg/m{sup 2}; 5-fluorouracil 2400 mg/m{sup 2}) every 2 weeks × 9. Disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated univariately by the Kaplan-Meier method. Local–regional failure (LRF), distant failure (DF), and second primary failure (SP) were estimated by the cumulative incidence method. No statistical comparisons were made between arms because each was evaluated individually. Results: A total of 104 patients (median age, 57 years) were treated; characteristics were similar for both arms. Median follow-up for RT with capecitabine/irinotecan arm was 3.77 years and for RT with capecitabine/oxaliplatin arm was 3.97 years. Four-year DFS, OS, LRF, DF, and SP estimates for capecitabine/irinotecan arm were 68%, 85%, 16%, 24%, and 2%, respectively. The 4-year DFS, OS, LRF, DF, and SP failure estimates for capecitabine/oxaliplatin arm were 62%, 75%, 18%, 30%, and 6%, respectively. Conclusions: Efficacy results for both arms are similar to other reported studies but suggest that pathologic complete remission is an

  8. Department of Energy’s ARM Climate Research Facility External Data Center Operations Plan Located At Brookhaven National Laboratory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cialella, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Gregory, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Lazar, K. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Liang, M. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Ma, L. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Tilp, A. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Wagener, R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2015-05-01

    The External Data Center (XDC) Operations Plan describes the activities performed to manage the XDC, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), for the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. It includes all ARM infrastructure activities performed by the Data Management and Software Engineering Group (DMSE) at BNL. This plan establishes a baseline of expectation within the ARM Operations Management for the group managing the XDC.

  9. ARM Data File Standards Version 1.2

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Palanisamy, Giri [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2016-05-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility performs routine in situ and remote-sensing observations to provide a detailed and accurate description of the Earth atmosphere in diverse climate regimes. The result is a huge archive of diverse data sets containing observational and derived data, currently accumulating at a rate of 30 terabytes (TB) of data and 150,000 different files per month (http://www.archive.arm.gov/stats/). Continuing the current processing while scaling this to even larger sizes is extremely important to the ARM Facility and requires consistent metadata and data standards. The standards described in this document will enable development of automated analysis and discovery tools for the ever growing data volumes. It will enable consistent analysis of the multiyear data, allow for development of automated monitoring and data health status tools, and allow future capabilities of delivering data on demand that can be tailored explicitly for the user needs. This analysis ability will only be possible if the data follows a minimum set of standards. This document proposes a hierarchy of required and recommended standards.

  10. Randomized trial of opioids versus tricyclic antidepressants for radiation-induced mucositis pain in head and neck cancer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ehrnrooth, E.; Grau, C.; Zachariae, R.; Andersen, Joern [Aarhus Univ. Hospital (Denmark). Dept. of Oncology

    2001-11-01

    Patients who receive radiotherapy for head and neck cancer are likely to develop painful mucositis. The pain is characterized by a burning or stinging sensation similar to neuropathic pain sensations. The purpose of the present study was to compare the analgesic effect of a tricyclic antidepressant (TC), commonly used in the treatment of neuropathic pain, with the effect of opioids on radiation-induced mucositis pain. Forty-three patients receiving 66-68 Gy external radiation according to the DAHANCA guidelines (the Danish Head and Neck Cancer Study Group) were randomized to either morphine or TC when mucositis pain was insufficiently managed with weak analgesics. Patients with insufficient pain control in either treatment arm received supplementary medication from the opposite treatment arm. Pain was evaluated weekly using a VAS scale and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The degree of mucositis and the degree of depression were measured at the same time intervals. Twenty-two patients entered the opioid arm and 21 the TC arm. Two patients in each arm were non-evaluable. VAS pain scores were significantly reduced in the opioid treatment arm one week after randomization (p=0.01). Eight patients in the TC arm were managed with TC alone, but for 11 patients it was necessary to add morphine. The 20 evaluable patients in the morphine arm required no additional treatment. There were no significant differences in side effects between the two groups. Higher pain scores in the TC arm, but not in the opioid arm, were significantly correlated with higher BDI scores. Some head and neck cancer patients with radiation-induced nucositis pain may have sufficient pain control on TC alone. This might be useful in patients with relative counter-indications to opioid treatment.

  11. Randomized trial of opioids versus tricyclic antidepressants for radiation-induced mucositis pain in head and neck cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ehrnrooth, E.; Grau, C.; Zachariae, R.; Andersen, Joern

    2001-01-01

    Patients who receive radiotherapy for head and neck cancer are likely to develop painful mucositis. The pain is characterized by a burning or stinging sensation similar to neuropathic pain sensations. The purpose of the present study was to compare the analgesic effect of a tricyclic antidepressant (TC), commonly used in the treatment of neuropathic pain, with the effect of opioids on radiation-induced mucositis pain. Forty-three patients receiving 66-68 Gy external radiation according to the DAHANCA guidelines (the Danish Head and Neck Cancer Study Group) were randomized to either morphine or TC when mucositis pain was insufficiently managed with weak analgesics. Patients with insufficient pain control in either treatment arm received supplementary medication from the opposite treatment arm. Pain was evaluated weekly using a VAS scale and the McGill Pain Questionnaire. The degree of mucositis and the degree of depression were measured at the same time intervals. Twenty-two patients entered the opioid arm and 21 the TC arm. Two patients in each arm were non-evaluable. VAS pain scores were significantly reduced in the opioid treatment arm one week after randomization (p=0.01). Eight patients in the TC arm were managed with TC alone, but for 11 patients it was necessary to add morphine. The 20 evaluable patients in the morphine arm required no additional treatment. There were no significant differences in side effects between the two groups. Higher pain scores in the TC arm, but not in the opioid arm, were significantly correlated with higher BDI scores. Some head and neck cancer patients with radiation-induced nucositis pain may have sufficient pain control on TC alone. This might be useful in patients with relative counter-indications to opioid treatment

  12. The spiral arms of the Milky Way: The relative location of each different arm tracer within a typical spiral arm width

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vallée, Jacques P., E-mail: jacques.vallee@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca [National Research Council Canada, National Science Infrastructure portfolio, Herzberg Astronomy and Astrophysics, 5071 West Saanich Road, Victoria, B.C., V9E 2E7 (Canada)

    2014-07-01

    From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, different arm tracers (CO, H I, hot dust, etc.) have been employed to locate a tangent to each spiral arm. Using all various and different observed spiral arm tracers (as published elsewhere), we embark on a new goal, namely the statistical analysis of these published data (data mining) to statistically compute the mean location of each spiral arm tracer. We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center). Are some arms major and others minor? Separating arms into two sets, as suggested by some, we find the same arm widths between the two sets. Our interpretation is that we live in a multiple (four-arm) spiral (logarithmic) pattern (around a pitch angle of 12°) for the stars and gas in the Milky Way, with a sizable interarm separation (around 3 kpc) at the Sun's location and the same arm width for each arm (near 400 pc from mid-arm to dust lane).

  13. The spiral arms of the Milky Way: The relative location of each different arm tracer within a typical spiral arm width

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vallée, Jacques P.

    2014-01-01

    From the Sun's location in the Galactic disk, different arm tracers (CO, H I, hot dust, etc.) have been employed to locate a tangent to each spiral arm. Using all various and different observed spiral arm tracers (as published elsewhere), we embark on a new goal, namely the statistical analysis of these published data (data mining) to statistically compute the mean location of each spiral arm tracer. We show for a typical arm cross-cut, a separation of 400 pc between the mid-arm and the dust lane (at the inner edge of the arm, toward the Galactic center). Are some arms major and others minor? Separating arms into two sets, as suggested by some, we find the same arm widths between the two sets. Our interpretation is that we live in a multiple (four-arm) spiral (logarithmic) pattern (around a pitch angle of 12°) for the stars and gas in the Milky Way, with a sizable interarm separation (around 3 kpc) at the Sun's location and the same arm width for each arm (near 400 pc from mid-arm to dust lane).

  14. ARM Climate Research Facility Quarterly Value-Added Product Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sivaraman, C. [DOE ARM Climate Research Facility, Washington, DC (United States)

    2016-10-01

    The purpose of this report is to provide a concise status update for Value-Added Products (VAPs) implemented by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) new VAPs for which development has begun; (2) progress on existing VAPs; (3) future VAPs that have been recently approved; (4) other work that leads to a VAP; (5) top requested VAPs from the ARM Data Archive; and (6) a summary of VAP and data releases to production and evaluation. New information is highlighted in blue text. New information about processed data by the developer is highlighted in red text. The upcoming milestones and dates are highlighted in green.

  15. Visits to Australia by nuclear powered or armed vessels: contingency planning for the accidental release of ionizing radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1989-01-01

    The report refers to the adequacy of current contingency planning by the Australian Federal and Senate authorities to deal with the accidental release of ionizating radiation from visiting nuclear powered or armed vessels in Australian waters and ports. Much of the material was obtained in response to questions put in writing by the Senate Standing Committee to the Department of Defence, ANSTO and others. In addition, the report contains relevant information from Commonwealth documents as well as the Committee findings and recommendations. Issues considered include: types of visiting nuclear powered vessels, accident likelihood and consequences, differences between naval and land-based reactors, safety records. The persons or organizations who made submissions or appeared in all public hearings are listed in the appendixes, along with all visits to Australian ports by nuclear powered warships from 1976 to 1988

  16. Arm-to-arm variation when evaluating neuromuscular block: an analysis of the precision and the bias and agreement between arms when using mechanomyography or acceleromyography

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Claudius, C; Skovgaard, L T; Viby-Mogensen, J

    2010-01-01

    Studies comparing acceleromyography and mechanomyography indicate that the two methods cannot be used interchangeably. However, it is uncertain to what extent differences in precision between the methods and the naturally occurring arm-to-arm variation have influenced the results of these studies...

  17. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility (ACRF) Annual Report 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    LR Roeder

    2008-12-01

    The Importance of Clouds and Radiation for Climate Change: The Earth’s surface temperature is determined by the balance between incoming solar radiation and thermal (or infrared) radiation emitted by the Earth back to space. Changes in atmospheric composition, including greenhouse gases, clouds, and aerosols, can alter this balance and produce significant climate change. Global climate models (GCMs) are the primary tool for quantifying future climate change; however, there remain significant uncertainties in the GCM treatment of clouds, aerosol, and their effects on the Earth’s energy balance. In 1989, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science created the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program to address scientific uncertainties related to global climate change, with a specific focus on the crucial role of clouds and their influence on the transfer of radiation in the atmosphere. To reduce these scientific uncertainties, the ARM Program uses a unique twopronged approach: • The ARM Climate Research Facility, a scientific user facility for obtaining long-term measurements of radiative fluxes, cloud and aerosol properties, and related atmospheric characteristics in diverse climate regimes; and • The ARM Science Program, focused on the analysis of ACRF and other data to address climate science issues associated with clouds, aerosols, and radiation, and to improve GCMs. This report provides an overview of each of these components and a sample of achievements for each in fiscal year (FY) 2008.

  18. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program and interfaces with external data sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stokes, G.M.; Cress, T.S.; Melton, R.B.

    1993-10-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is the Department of Energy's major field project in support of its global change research program. Its objective is to improve the performance of cloud and radiation models and parameterizations in general circulation models (GCMs) used for climate research. The data produced by ARM will be handled and maintained to satisfy the research needs of the program and to be accessible and usable by the general research and academic communities. In addition to data from field instrumentation, ARM Science Team needs include a substantial amount of data from outside the ARM Program (''external data''), which will be acquired and provided routinely through the ARM data system. With respect to data archival and sharing, the ARM Program reflects the objectives delineated by the US Global Change. The purpose of this presentation is to summarize the conceptual designs embodied in the ARM data system and the status of its implementation

  19. Student measurement of blood pressure using a simulator arm compared with a live subject's arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jennifer J; Sobieraj, Diana M; Kuti, Effie L

    2010-06-15

    To compare accuracy of blood pressure measurements using a live subject and a simulator arm, and to determine students' preferences regarding measurement. This was a crossover study comparing blood pressure measurements from a live subject and a simulator arm. Students completed an anonymous survey instrument defining opinions on ease of measurement. Fifty-seven students completed blood pressure measurements on live subjects while 72 students completed blood pressure measurements using the simulator arm. There were no significant systematic differences between the 2 measurement techniques. Systolic blood pressure measurements from a live subject arm were less likely to be within 4 mm Hg compared with measurements of a simulator arm. Diastolic blood pressure measurements were not significantly different between the 2 techniques. Accuracy of student measurement of blood pressure using a simulator arm was similar to the accuracy with a live subject. There was no difference in students' preferences regarding measurement techniques.

  20. A randomised clinical trial of misoprostol for radiation mucositis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faroudi, F.; Timms, I.; Sathiyuaseelan, Y.; Cakir, B.; Tiver, K.W.; Gebski, V.; Veness, M.

    2003-01-01

    Radiation mucositis is a major acute toxicity of radiation therapy for head and neck malignancies. We tested whether Misoprostol, a synthetic prostaglandin E 1 analogue given prophylactically decreased intensity of radiation mucositis. A double blind randomized trial was conducted. The intervention consisted of swishing dissolved drug or placebo as a mouthwash, and then swallowing two hours prior to radiation treatment. Patients were stratified based on concurrent chemotherapy, altered fractionation, smoking, extent of oral mucosa in radiation field, and institution. The main end point was the extent of RTOG grade III mucositis, taking into account both time and duration of mucositis. 42 patients were randomized to active drug, and 41 patients to placebo. The trial was designed to have 70 patients in each arm. The trial closed due to poor accrual. In the Misoprostol group 18/42 (43%) had grade III/IV mucositis, and in the placebo group 17/40 (42%). The mean difference between the areas under the curve was 0.38 (p-value: 0.38). For grade II mucositis the corresponding figures were 18 (42%) and 19 (47%). The time from commencement of radiation therapy to the development of peak mucositis was 49 days in the misoprostol patients and 51 days in the placebo group. The duration of grade III mucositis 12.5 days in the Misoprostol patients and 7 days in the placebo patients. In the Misoprostol arm 4 patients had an interruption to their Radiation Therapy, in the Placebo arm 5 had interruptions. Patients average weight loss was 8.1 and 8.2kg. Average self-assessment was via a 10cm LASA scale for soreness of throat and overall well-being. Misoprostol showed a worse QoL on soreness of mouth (mean difference: 0.84 units (p-value .03), but overall well-being was similar on both treatment arms 1 patient withdrew in the Misoprostol arm and 2 in the placebo arm. Misoprostol given prophylactically does not reduce the incidence of Grade III/IV mucositis, is associated with a shorter

  1. Evolution of robotic arms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Michael E

    2007-01-01

    The foundation of surgical robotics is in the development of the robotic arm. This is a thorough review of the literature on the nature and development of this device with emphasis on surgical applications. We have reviewed the published literature and classified robotic arms by their application: show, industrial application, medical application, etc. There is a definite trend in the manufacture of robotic arms toward more dextrous devices, more degrees-of-freedom, and capabilities beyond the human arm. da Vinci designed the first sophisticated robotic arm in 1495 with four degrees-of-freedom and an analog on-board controller supplying power and programmability. von Kemplen's chess-playing automaton left arm was quite sophisticated. Unimate introduced the first industrial robotic arm in 1961, it has subsequently evolved into the PUMA arm. In 1963 the Rancho arm was designed; Minsky's Tentacle arm appeared in 1968, Scheinman's Stanford arm in 1969, and MIT's Silver arm in 1974. Aird became the first cyborg human with a robotic arm in 1993. In 2000 Miguel Nicolalis redefined possible man-machine capacity in his work on cerebral implantation in owl-monkeys directly interfacing with robotic arms both locally and at a distance. The robotic arm is the end-effector of robotic systems and currently is the hallmark feature of the da Vinci Surgical System making its entrance into surgical application. But, despite the potential advantages of this computer-controlled master-slave system, robotic arms have definite limitations. Ongoing work in robotics has many potential solutions to the drawbacks of current robotic surgical systems.

  2. High Spectral Resolution Infrared and Raman Lidar Observations for the ARM Program: Clear and Cloudy Sky Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Revercomb, Henry; Tobin, David; Knuteson, Robert; Borg, Lori; Moy, Leslie

    2009-06-17

    This grant began with the development of the Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) for ARM. The AERI has provided highly accurate and reliable observations of downwelling spectral radiance (Knuteson et al. 2004a, 2004b) for application to radiative transfer, remote sensing of boundary layer temperature and water vapor, and cloud characterization. One of the major contributions of the ARM program has been its success in improving radiation calculation capabilities for models and remote sensing that evolved from the multi-year, clear-sky spectral radiance comparisons between AERI radiances and line-by-line calculations (Turner et al. 2004). This effort also spurred us to play a central role in improving the accuracy of water vapor measurements, again helping ARM lead the way in the community (Turner et al. 2003a, Revercomb et al. 2003). In order to add high-altitude downlooking AERI-like observations over the ARM sites, we began the development of an airborne AERI instrument that has become known as the Scanning High-resolution Interferometer Sounder (Scanning-HIS). This instrument has become an integral part of the ARM Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle (ARM-UAV) program. It provides both a cross-track mapping view of the earth and an uplooking view from the 12-15 km altitude of the Scaled Composites Proteus aircraft when flown over the ARM sites for IOPs. It has successfully participated in the first two legs of the “grand tour” of the ARM sites (SGP and NSA), resulting in a very good comparison with AIRS observations in 2002 and in an especially interesting data set from the arctic during the Mixed-Phase Cloud Experiment (M-PACE) in 2004.

  3. A Phase III Study of Conventional Radiation Therapy Plus Thalidomide Versus Conventional Radiation Therapy for Multiple Brain Metastases (RTOG 0118)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knisely, Jonathan P.S.; Berkey, Brian; Chakravarti, Arnab; Yung, Al W.K.; Curran, Walter J.; Robins, H. Ian; Movsas, Benjamin; Brachman, David G.; Henderson, Randall H.; Mehta, Minesh P.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To compare whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) with WBRT combined with thalidomide for patients with brain metastases not amenable to resection or radiosurgery. Patients and Methods: Patients with Zubrod performance status 0-1, MRI-documented multiple (>3), large (>4 cm), or midbrain brain metastases arising from a histopathologically confirmed extracranial primary tumor, and an anticipated survival of >8 weeks were randomized to receive WBRT to a dose of 37.5 Gy in 15 fractions with or without thalidomide during and after WBRT. Prerandomization stratification used Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) Recursive Partitioning Analysis (RPA) Class and whether post-WBRT chemotherapy was planned. Endpoints included overall survival, progression-free survival, time to neurocognitive progression, the cause of death, toxicities, and quality of life. A protocol-planned interim analysis documented that the trial had an extremely low probability of ever showing a significant difference favoring the thalidomide arm given the results at the time of the analysis, and it was therefore closed on the basis of predefined statistical guidelines. Results: Enrolled in the study were 332 patients. Of 183 accrued patients, 93 were randomized to receive WBRT alone and 90 to WBRT and thalidomide. Median survival was 3.9 months for both arms. No novel toxicities were seen, but thalidomide was not well tolerated in this population. Forty-eight percent of patients discontinued thalidomide because of side effects. Conclusion: Thalidomide provided no survival benefit for patients with multiple, large, or midbrain metastases when combined with WBRT; nearly half the patients discontinued thalidomide due to side effects

  4. Arm retraction dynamics of entangled star polymers: A forward flux sampling method study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Jian; Likhtman, Alexei E.; Wang, Zuowei

    2017-07-01

    The study of dynamics and rheology of well-entangled branched polymers remains a challenge for computer simulations due to the exponentially growing terminal relaxation times of these polymers with increasing molecular weights. We present an efficient simulation algorithm for studying the arm retraction dynamics of entangled star polymers by combining the coarse-grained slip-spring (SS) model with the forward flux sampling (FFS) method. This algorithm is first applied to simulate symmetric star polymers in the absence of constraint release (CR). The reaction coordinate for the FFS method is determined by finding good agreement of the simulation results on the terminal relaxation times of mildly entangled stars with those obtained from direct shooting SS model simulations with the relative difference between them less than 5%. The FFS simulations are then carried out for strongly entangled stars with arm lengths up to 16 entanglements that are far beyond the accessibility of brute force simulations in the non-CR condition. Apart from the terminal relaxation times, the same method can also be applied to generate the relaxation spectra of all entanglements along the arms which are desired for the development of quantitative theories of entangled branched polymers. Furthermore, we propose a numerical route to construct the experimentally measurable relaxation correlation functions by effectively linking the data stored at each interface during the FFS runs. The obtained star arm end-to-end vector relaxation functions Φ (t ) and the stress relaxation function G(t) are found to be in reasonably good agreement with standard SS simulation results in the terminal regime. Finally, we demonstrate that this simulation method can be conveniently extended to study the arm-retraction problem in entangled star polymer melts with CR by modifying the definition of the reaction coordinate, while the computational efficiency will depend on the particular slip-spring or slip

  5. Octopus-inspired multi-arm robotic swimming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sfakiotakis, M; Kazakidi, A; Tsakiris, D P

    2015-05-13

    The outstanding locomotor and manipulation characteristics of the octopus have recently inspired the development, by our group, of multi-functional robotic swimmers, featuring both manipulation and locomotion capabilities, which could be of significant engineering interest in underwater applications. During its little-studied arm-swimming behavior, as opposed to the better known jetting via the siphon, the animal appears to generate considerable propulsive thrust and rapid acceleration, predominantly employing movements of its arms. In this work, we capture the fundamental characteristics of the corresponding complex pattern of arm motion by a sculling profile, involving a fast power stroke and a slow recovery stroke. We investigate the propulsive capabilities of a multi-arm robotic system under various swimming gaits, namely patterns of arm coordination, which achieve the generation of forward, as well as backward, propulsion and turning. A lumped-element model of the robotic swimmer, which considers arm compliance and the interaction with the aquatic environment, was used to study the characteristics of these gaits, the effect of various kinematic parameters on propulsion, and the generation of complex trajectories. This investigation focuses on relatively high-stiffness arms. Experiments employing a compliant-body robotic prototype swimmer with eight compliant arms, all made of polyurethane, inside a water tank, successfully demonstrated this novel mode of underwater propulsion. Speeds of up to 0.26 body lengths per second (approximately 100 mm s(-1)), and propulsive forces of up to 3.5 N were achieved, with a non-dimensional cost of transport of 1.42 with all eight arms and of 0.9 with only two active arms. The experiments confirmed the computational results and verified the multi-arm maneuverability and simultaneous object grasping capability of such systems.

  6. A Fast, Accurate and Easy to Implement Method for Pose Recognition of an Intramedullary Nail using a Tracked C-arm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Esfandiari

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available A C-arm is a mobile X-ray device that is frequently used during orthopaedic surgeries. It consists of a semi-circular, arc-shaped arm that holds an X-ray transmitter at one end and an X-ray detector at the other. Intramedullary nail (IM nail fixation is a popular orthopaedic surgery in which a metallic rod is placed into the patient's fractured bone (femur or tibia and fixed using metal screws. The main challenge of IM-nail fixation surgery is to achieve the X-ray shot in which the distal holes of the IM nail appear as circles (desired view so that the surgeon can easily insert the screws. Although C-arm X-ray devices are routinely used in IM-nail fixation surgeries, the surgeons or radiation technologists (rad-techs usually use it in a trial-and-error manner. This method raises both radiation exposure and surgery time. In this study, we have designed and developed an IM-nail distal locking navigation technique that leads to more accurate and faster screw placement with a lower radiation dose and a minimum number of added steps to the operation to make it more accepted within the orthopaedic community. The specific purpose of this study was to develop and validate an automated technique for identifying the current pose of the IM nail relative to the C-arm. An accuracy assessment was performed to test the reliability of the navigation results. Translational accuracy was demonstrated to be better than 1 mm, roll and pitch rotations better than 2° and yaw rotational accuracy better than 2–5° depending on the separate angle. Computation time was less than 3.5 seconds.

  7. A Pilot Study: Comparison of Arm Versus Ankle Noninvasive Blood Pressure Measurement at 2 Different Levels of Backrest Elevation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henley, Nicole; Quatrara, Beth D; Conaway, Mark

    2015-01-01

    Standard practice for obtaining noninvasive blood pressure includes arm blood pressure (BP) cuff placement at the level of the heart; however, some critical care patients cannot have BPs taken in their arm because of various conditions, and ankle BPs are frequently used as substitutes. The aim of this study was to determine if there was a significant variation between upper arm and ankle BP measurements at different backrest elevations with consideration of peripheral edema factors. After institutional review board approval was obtained, a pilot study was implemented to evaluate noninvasive BP measurements of the arm and ankle with backrest elevation at 0° and 30° in a population of medical intensive care unit patients. Participants served as their own controls and were randomly assigned to left- versus right-side BP readings. Data were also collected on presence of arm versus ankle edema. A total of 30 participants enrolled in the study and provided 120 BP measurements. Blood pressure readings were analyzed in terms of diastolic and systolic findings as well as backrest elevations and edema presence. Thirteen participants presented with either arm or ankle edema. There was a statistical difference between the systolic arm and ankle BP measurements in the 0° (P = .008) and 30° (P arm and ankle diastolic BP is greater for participants without ankle edema (P = .038, r = 0.54) than for participants with ankle edema (P = .650, r = 0.14), but it is not statistically significant (P = .47). Even though ankle BPs are often substituted for arm BPs when the arm is unable to be used, ankle BPs and arm BPs are not interchangeable. Adjustments in backrest elevation and considerations of edema do not normalize the differences. Blood pressures obtained from the ankle are significantly greater than those obtained from the arm. This information needs to be considered when arms are not available and legs are used as surrogates for the upper arm.

  8. Recent Observational Efforts Using the DOE ARM Observatory at Oliktok Point, Alaska

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Boer, G.; Shupe, M.; McComiskey, A. C.; Creamean, J.; Williams, C. R.; Matrosov, S. Y.; Solomon, A.; Turner, D. D.; Norgren, M.; Maahn, M.; Lawrence, D.; Argrow, B. M.; Palo, S. E.; Weibel, D.; Curry, N.; Nichols, T.; D'Amore, P.; Finamore, W.; Ivey, M.; Bendure, A.; Schmid, B.; Biraud, S.

    2016-12-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program has deployed it's third mobile facility (AMF-3) to Oliktok Point, Alaska for an extended measurement campaign. This facility includes a variety of instruments to measure clouds, aerosols, surface meteorology, and surface energy exchange (including radiation). Additionally, this site features two areas of controlled airspace in which additional measurements can be made using manned- and unmanned aircraft and tethered balloons. Over the past two years, several field campaigns have taken place to make measurements complimentary to those collected by the AMF-3. These include several unmanned aircraft and tethered balloon campaigns (Coordinated Observations of the Lower Arctic Atmosphere, COALA; Evaluation of Routine Atmospheric Sounding Measurements using Unmanned Systems, ERASMUS; Inaugural Campaigns for ARM Research using Unmanned Systems, ICARUS), as well as a manned aircraft campaign during the summer of 2015 (ARM Carbon Measurement Experiment, ACME-5). In addition to these field campaigns, DOE has formed a site science team to conduct research using AMF-3 measurements. In this presentation, we will provide an overview of these measurement campaigns. Additionally, we will provide an overview of scientific results from these campaigns and from AMF-3 research that aid to inform numerical modeling efforts.

  9. Does race influence survival for esophageal cancers treated on the radiation and chemotherapy arm of RTOG no. 85-01?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Streeter, O.E.; Martz, K.L.; Gaspar, L.E.; DelRowe, J.D.; Asbell, S.O.; Salter, M.M.

    1995-01-01

    Purpose/Objective: In reported retrospective and non-randomized trials for esophageal carcinoma, blacks have a lower survival than whites but the patient population, method, quality and time periods of treatment differ. We reviewed the patient database of the combined modality arm of RTOG-8501 esophageal carcinoma protocol to see if there were differences in overall survival between black and white patients receiving the same standard of care. Materials and Methods: The chemotherapy (CT) consisted of Cisplatin, 75 mg/m 2 during the first day of the first radiation treatment (RT) and then the first day of weeks, 5, 8, and 11. In addition, 5-fluorouracil, 1000 mg/m 2 was given also the first day of radiotherapy and over 4 days and this 4 day cycle was repeated weeks 5, 8, and 11. 50 Gy was given to the esophagus as follows: 2 Gy x 5 days/week x 3 weeks (30 Gy), followed by a local boost of 2 Gy x 5 days/week x 2 weeks (20 Gy). 139 patients were entered into the combined modality arm of RT+CT. Nine patients were not evaluated in the analysis because 7 were deemed ineligible and 2 had incomplete data. This left 130 patients analyzable: 61 were initially randomized to the RT+CT arm and 69 were later registered to this arm when the RT only arm was closed due to poor survival (10% RT only vs 36% RT+CT alive at 2 years). Five additional patients were not included because their racial background was classified as 'other' and six patients were scheduled for, but did not receive any chemotherapy, leaving 119 patients, 37 blacks and 82 whites, evaluated in this report. The following pretreatment characteristics were analyzed using the Cox regression model: Race (black vs white); Histology (squamous vs adenocarcinoma; Age ( 5 cm vs 77% for whites. When analyzing dysphagia, only 3% of blacks had unrestricted diets vs 33% of whites. Nearly half (49%) of blacks could tolerate liquids only, whereas only 30% of whites were liquid-restricted. Only 14% of blacks had less than a 10 lb

  10. Adding a PECS II block for proximal arm arteriovenous access - a randomised study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quek, K H; Low, E Y; Tan, Y R; Ong, A S C; Tang, T Y; Kam, J W; Kiew, A S C

    2018-05-01

    Brachial plexus block is often utilised for proximal arm arteriovenous access creation. However, the medial upper arm and axilla are often inadequately anaesthetised, requiring repeated, intraoperative local anaesthetic supplementation, or conversion into general anaesthesia. We hypothesised that the addition of a PECS II block would improve anaesthesia and analgesia for proximal arm arteriovenous access surgery. In this prospective, double-blinded, randomised proof-of-concept study, 36 consenting adults with end-stage renal disease aged between 21 and 90 years received either a combined supraclavicular and PECS II block (Group PECS, n = 18), or combined supraclavicular and sham block (Group SCB, n = 18) for proximal arm arteriovenous access surgery. Primary outcome was whether patients required intraoperative local anaesthetic supplementation by the surgeon. In Group PECS, 33.3% (6/18) needed local anaesthetic supplementation vs. 100% (18/18) in Group SCB. Group SCB had three times (RR 3.0, 95% CI 1.6-5.8; P PECS required lower volume of supplemental local anaesthetic compared to Group SCB (0.0 ml, IQR 0.0-6.3 ml vs. 15.0 ml, IQR 7.4-17.8 ml; P PECS II block to a supraclavicular block improves regional anaesthesia for patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing proximal arm arteriovenous access surgery. © 2018 The Acta Anaesthesiologica Scandinavica Foundation. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Heel Effect: Dose Mapping And Profiling For Mobile C-Arm Fluoroscopy Unit Toshiba SXT-1000A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Husaini Salleh; Mohd Khalid Matori; Muhammad Jamal Md Isa; Mohd Ramli Arshad; Shahrul Azlan Azizan; Mohd Firdaus Abdul Rahman; Md Khairusalih Md Zin

    2014-01-01

    Heel Effect is the well known phenomena in x-ray production. It contributes the effect to image formation and as well as scattered radiation. But there is paucity in the study related to heel effect. This study is for mapping and profiling the dose on the surface of water phantom by using mobile C-arm unit Toshiba SXT-1000A. Based on the result the dose profile is increasing up to about 57 % from anode to cathode bound of the irradiated area. This result and information can be used as a guide to manipulate these phenomena for better image quality and radiation safety for this specific and dedicated fluoroscopy unit. (author)

  12. Anti-PD-1 Blockade and Stereotactic Radiation Produce Long-Term Survival in Mice With Intracranial Gliomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, Jing; See, Alfred P.; Phallen, Jillian; Jackson, Christopher M.; Belcaid, Zineb; Ruzevick, Jacob; Durham, Nicholas; Meyer, Christian; Harris, Timothy J.; Albesiano, Emilia; Pradilla, Gustavo; Ford, Eric; Wong, John; Hammers, Hans-Joerg; Mathios, Dimitris; Tyler, Betty; Brem, Henry; Tran, Phuoc T.; Pardoll, Drew; Drake, Charles G.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and radiation is one of the main treatment modalities. However, cure rates remain low despite best available therapies. Immunotherapy is a promising modality that could work synergistically with radiation, which has been shown to increase antigen presentation and promote a proinflammatory tumor microenvironment. Programmed-death-1 (PD-1) is a surface receptor expressed on activated and exhausted T cells, which mediate T cell inhibition upon binding with its ligand PD-L1, expressed on many tumor types including human GBMs. We tested the combination of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy with stereotactic radiosurgery in a mouse orthotopic GBM model. Methods and Materials: We performed intracranial implantation of mouse glioma cell line GL261 transfected with luciferase into C57BL/6 mice. Mice were stratified into 4 treatment groups: (1) control; (2) radiation only; (3) anti-PD-1 antibody only; and (4) radiation plus anti-PD-1 antibody. Overall survival was quantified. The mice were killed on day 21 after implantation to assess immunologic parameters in the brain/tumor, cervical lymph nodes, and spleen. Results: Improved survival was demonstrated with combination anti-PD-1 therapy plus radiation compared with either modality alone: median survival was 25 days in the control arm, 27 days in the anti-PD-1 antibody arm, 28 days in the radiation arm, and 53 days in the radiation plus anti-PD-1 therapy arm (P<.05 by log-rank Mantle-Cox). Long-term survival was seen only in the combined treatment arm, with a fraction (15%-40%) of animals alive at day 180+ after treatment. Immunologic data on day 21 after implantation showed increased tumor infiltration by cytotoxic T cells (CD8+/interferon-γ+/tumor necrosis factor-α+) and decreased regulatory T cells (CD4+/FOXP3) in the combined treatment group compared with the single modality arms. Conclusions: The combination of PD-1 blockade and localized

  13. Anti-PD-1 Blockade and Stereotactic Radiation Produce Long-Term Survival in Mice With Intracranial Gliomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zeng, Jing [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); See, Alfred P.; Phallen, Jillian; Jackson, Christopher M.; Belcaid, Zineb; Ruzevick, Jacob [Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Durham, Nicholas [Department of Immunology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Meyer, Christian [Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Harris, Timothy J. [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Albesiano, Emilia; Pradilla, Gustavo [Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Ford, Eric; Wong, John [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Hammers, Hans-Joerg [Department of Immunology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Mathios, Dimitris; Tyler, Betty; Brem, Henry [Department of Neurosurgery, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Tran, Phuoc T. [Department of Radiation Oncology and Molecular Radiation Sciences, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Pardoll, Drew; Drake, Charles G. [Department of Immunology, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutes, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); and others

    2013-06-01

    Purpose: Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most common primary brain tumor in adults, and radiation is one of the main treatment modalities. However, cure rates remain low despite best available therapies. Immunotherapy is a promising modality that could work synergistically with radiation, which has been shown to increase antigen presentation and promote a proinflammatory tumor microenvironment. Programmed-death-1 (PD-1) is a surface receptor expressed on activated and exhausted T cells, which mediate T cell inhibition upon binding with its ligand PD-L1, expressed on many tumor types including human GBMs. We tested the combination of anti-PD-1 immunotherapy with stereotactic radiosurgery in a mouse orthotopic GBM model. Methods and Materials: We performed intracranial implantation of mouse glioma cell line GL261 transfected with luciferase into C57BL/6 mice. Mice were stratified into 4 treatment groups: (1) control; (2) radiation only; (3) anti-PD-1 antibody only; and (4) radiation plus anti-PD-1 antibody. Overall survival was quantified. The mice were killed on day 21 after implantation to assess immunologic parameters in the brain/tumor, cervical lymph nodes, and spleen. Results: Improved survival was demonstrated with combination anti-PD-1 therapy plus radiation compared with either modality alone: median survival was 25 days in the control arm, 27 days in the anti-PD-1 antibody arm, 28 days in the radiation arm, and 53 days in the radiation plus anti-PD-1 therapy arm (P<.05 by log-rank Mantle-Cox). Long-term survival was seen only in the combined treatment arm, with a fraction (15%-40%) of animals alive at day 180+ after treatment. Immunologic data on day 21 after implantation showed increased tumor infiltration by cytotoxic T cells (CD8+/interferon-γ+/tumor necrosis factor-α+) and decreased regulatory T cells (CD4+/FOXP3) in the combined treatment group compared with the single modality arms. Conclusions: The combination of PD-1 blockade and localized

  14. Isolated effects of peripheral arm and central body cooling on arm performance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giesbrecht, G G; Wu, M P; White, M D; Johnston, C E; Bristow, G K

    1995-10-01

    Whole body cooling impairs manual arm performance. The independent contributions of local (peripheral) and/or whole body (central) cooling are not known. Therefore, a protocol was developed in which the arm and the rest of the body could be independently cooled. Biceps temperature (Tmus), at a depth of 20 mm, and esophageal temperature (Tes) were measured. Six subjects were immersed to the clavicles in a tank (body tank) of water under 3 conditions: 1) cold body-cold arm (CB-CA); 2) warm body-cold arm (WB-CA); and 3) cold body-warm arm (CB-WA). In the latter two conditions, subjects placed their dominant arm in a separate (arm) tank. Water temperature (Tw) in each tank was independently controlled. In conditions requiring cold body and/or cold arm, Tw in the appropriate tanks was 8 degrees C. In conditions requiring warm body and/or warm arm, Tw in the appropriate tanks was adjusted between 29 and 38 degrees C to maintain body/arm temperature at baseline values. A battery of 6 tests, requiring fine or gross motor movements, were performed immediately before immersion and after 15, 45, and 70 minutes of immersion. In CB-CA, Tes decreased from an average of 37.2 to 35.6 degrees C and Tmus decreased from 34.6 to 22.0 degrees C. In WB-CA, Tmus decreased to 18.1 degrees C (Tes = 37.1 degrees C), and in CB-WA, Tes decreased to 35.8 degrees C (Tmus = 34.5 degrees C). By the end of immersion, there were significant decrements (43-85%) in the performance of all tests in CB-CA and WB-CA (p body and/or the arm elicits large decrements in finger, hand and arm performance. The decrements are due almost entirely to the local effects of arm tissue cooling.

  15. Phase-dependent organization of postural adjustments associated with arm movements while walking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nashner, L M; Forssberg, H

    1986-06-01

    This study examines the interactions between anteroposterior postural responses and the control of walking in human subjects. In the experimental paradigm, subjects walked upon a treadmill, gripping a rigid handle with one hand. Postural responses at different phases of stepping were elicited by rapid arm pulls or pushes against the handle. During arm movements, EMG's recorded the activity of representative arm, ankle, and thigh segment muscles. Strain gauges in the handle measured the force of the arm movement. A Selspot II system measured kinematics of the stepping movements. The duration of support and swing phases were marked by heel and toe switches in the soles of the subjects' shoes. In the first experiment, subjects were instructed to pull on the handle at their own pace. In these trials all subjects preferred to initiate pulls near heel strikes. Next, when instructed to pull as rapidly as possible in response to tone stimuli, reaction times were similar for all phases of the step cycle. Leg muscle responses associated with arm pulls and pushes, referred to as "postural activations," were directionally specific and preceded arm muscle activity. The temporal order and spatial distribution of postural activations in the muscles of the support leg were similar when arm pull movements occurred while the subject was standing in place and after heel strike while walking. Activations began in the ankle and radiated proximally to the thigh and then the arm. Activations of swing leg muscles were also directionally specific and involved flexion and forward or backward thrust of the limb. When arm movements were initiated during transitions from support by one leg to the other, patterns of postural activations were altered. Alterations usually occurred 10-20 ms before hell strikes and involved changes in the timing and sometimes the spatial structure of postural activations. Postural activation patterns are similar during in-place standing and during the support phase

  16. Performance of arm locking in LISA

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenzie, Kirk; Spero, Robert E.; Shaddock, Daniel A.

    2009-01-01

    For the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) to reach its design sensitivity, the coupling of the free-running laser frequency noise to the signal readout must be reduced by more than 14 orders of magnitude. One technique employed to reduce the laser frequency noise will be arm locking, where the laser frequency is locked to the LISA arm length. In this paper we detail an implementation of arm locking. We investigate orbital effects (changing arm lengths and Doppler frequencies), the impact of errors in the Doppler knowledge that can cause pulling of the laser frequency, and the noise limit of arm locking. Laser frequency pulling is examined in two regimes: at lock acquisition and in steady state. The noise performance of arm locking is calculated with the inclusion of the dominant expected noise sources: ultrastable oscillator (clock) noise, spacecraft motion, and shot noise. We find that clock noise and spacecraft motion limit the performance of dual arm locking in the LISA science band. Studying these issues reveals that although dual arm locking [A. Sutton and D. A. Shaddock, Phys. Rev. D 78, 082001 (2008)] has advantages over single (or common) arm locking in terms of allowing high gain, it has disadvantages in both laser frequency pulling and noise performance. We address this by proposing a modification to the dual arm-locking sensor, a hybrid of common and dual arm-locking sensors. This modified dual arm-locking sensor has the laser frequency pulling characteristics and low-frequency noise coupling of common arm locking, but retains the control system advantages of dual arm locking. We present a detailed design of an arm-locking controller and perform an analysis of the expected performance when used with and without laser prestabilization. We observe that the sensor phase changes beneficially near unity-gain frequencies of the arm-locking controller, allowing a factor of 10 more gain than previously believed, without degrading stability. With a time

  17. Inter-chromosomal heterogeneity in the formation of radiation induced chromosomal aberrations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Natarajan, A.T.; Vermeulen, S.; Boei, J.J.W.A.

    1997-01-01

    It is generally assumed that radiation induced chromosomal lesions are distributed randomly and repaired randomly among the genome. Recent studies using fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) and chromosome specific DNA libraries indicate that some chromosomes are more sensitive for radiation induced aberration formation than others. Chromosome No. 4 in human and chromosome No. 8 in Chinese hamster have been found to involve more in exchange aberrations than others, when calculated on the basis of their DNA content. Painting with arm specific chromosome libraries indicate that the frequencies of radiation induced intra-chromosome exchanges (i.e., between the arms of a chromosome, such as centric rings and inversions) are far in excess than one would expect on the basis of the frequencies of observed inter-chromosomal exchanges. The possible factors leading to the observed heterogeneity will be discussed

  18. Analytical study of the effects of the Low-Level Jet on moisture convergence and vertical motion fields at the Southern Great Plains Cloud and Radiation Testbed site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bian, X.; Zhong, S.; Whiteman, C.D.; Stage, S.A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab., Richland, WA (United States)

    1996-04-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) is located in a region that is strongly affected by a prominent meteorological phenomenon--the Great Plains Low-Level Jet (LLJ). Observations have shown that the LLJ plays a vital role in spring and summertime cloud formation and precipitation over the Great Plains. An improved understanding of the LLJ characteristics and its impact on the environment is necessary for addressing the fundamental issue of development and testing of radiational transfer and cloud parameterization schemes for the general circulation models (GCMs) using data from the SGP CART site. A climatological analysis of the summertime LLJ over the SGP has been carried out using hourly observations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Wind Profiler Demonstration Network and from the ARM June 1993 Intensive Observation Period (IOP). The hourly data provide an enhanced temporal and spatial resolution relative to earlier studies which used 6- and 12-hourly rawinsonde observations at fewer stations.

  19. Nuclear radiation in warfare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotblat, J.

    1986-01-01

    The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: introduction; digest of nuclear weaponry (characteristics of nuclear weapons; effects of nuclear weapons other than ionizing radiation (fire-ball, fall-out, thermal radiation, blast wave, electromagnetic pulse); the nuclear arms race; war scenarios; biological effects of radiations on man (radiation doses; natural sources of radiation; acute effects of radiation; long-term somatic effects; genetic effects; factors affecting the biological response to radiation; internal exposure; synergistic effects; protection against radiation effects); radiations from nuclear explosions (initial radiation; fall-out; effects of fall-out on animal and plant life; contamination of water and food supplies by fall-out); radiation casualties in a nuclear war; effectiveness of civil defence; other warlike uses of radiation (attacks on civilian nuclear power installations; radiological warfare; terrorist activities); conclusion. (orig./HP) [de

  20. Nuclear radiation in warfare

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rotblat, J.

    1981-01-01

    The subject is covered in chapters, entitled: introduction; digest of nuclear weaponry (characteristics of nuclear weapons; effects of nuclear weapons other than ionizing radiation (fire-ball, fall-out, thermal radiation, blast wave, electromagnetic pulse); the nuclear arms race; war scenarios); biological effects of radiations on man (radiation doses; natural sources of radiation; acute effects of radiation; long-term somatic effects; genetic effects; factors affecting the biological response to radiation; internal exposure; synergistic effects; protection against radiation effects); radiations from nuclear explosions (initial radiation; fall-out; effects of fall-out on animal and plant life; contamination of water and food supplies by fall-out); radiation casualties in a nuclear war; effectiveness of civil defence; other warlike uses of radiation (attacks on civilian nuclear power installations; radiological warfare; terrorist activities); conclusion. (U.K.)

  1. Have Third-World Arms Industries Reduced Arms Imports?

    OpenAIRE

    Looney, R.E.

    1989-01-01

    Current Research on Peace and Violence, no. 1, 1989. Refereed Journal Article In 1945 only Argentina, Brazil, India and South Africa in the Third World possessed domestic arms industries which produced weapons systems other than small arms and ammunition (SIPRI, 1987, 76).

  2. Comments and corrections on 3D modeling studies of locomotor muscle moment arms in archosaurs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karl Bates

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available In a number of recent studies we used computer modeling to investigate the evolution of muscle leverage (moment arms and function in extant and extinct archosaur lineages (crocodilians, dinosaurs including birds and pterosaurs. These studies sought to quantify the level of disparity and convergence in muscle moment arms during the evolution of bipedal and quadrupedal posture in various independent archosaur lineages, and in doing so further our understanding of changes in anatomy, locomotion and ecology during the group’s >250 million year evolutionary history. Subsequent work by others has led us to re-evaluate our models, which revealed a methodological error that impacted on the results obtained from the abduction–adduction and long-axis rotation moment arms in our published studies. In this paper we present corrected abduction–adduction and long axis rotation moment arms for all our models, and evaluate the impact of this new data on the conclusions of our previous studies. We find that, in general, our newly corrected data differed only slightly from that previously published, with very few qualitative changes in muscle moments (e.g., muscles originally identified as abductors remained abductors. As a result the majority of our previous conclusions regarding the functional evolution of key muscles in these archosaur groups are upheld.

  3. Development program of two-arm bilateral servomanipulator system for nuclear fuel cycle facilities in PNC

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kashihara, H.; Igarashi, M.; Maeda, M.; Nomizu, T.; Uematsu, K.

    1984-01-01

    PNC started the development program of a two-arm bilateral servomanipulator to improve remote maintenance in the planning of pilot plants for HLLW vitrification and FBR fuel reprocessing. In this paper, the development program of two-arm bilateral servomanipulators, signal and power transmissions, high performance viewing system, man-machine interface, and transporter system for manipulators will be presented. Also radiation tests for all components used in a hot cell are being performed to aid remote system design

  4. Portable Radiation Package (PRP) Instrument Handbook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reynolds, R Michael [Remote Measurements and Research Company, Seattle, WA (United States)

    2017-08-03

    The Portable Radiation Package (PRP) was developed to provide basic radiation information in locations such as ships at sea where proper exposure is remote and difficult, the platform is in motion, and azimuth alignment is not fixed. Development of the PRP began at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) in the mid-1990s and versions of it were deployed on ships in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Nauru-99 project. The PRP was deployed on ships in support of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Sensor Intercomparison for Marine Biological and Interdisciplinary Ocean Studies (SIMBIOS) program. Over the years the measurements have remained the same while the post-processing data analysis, especially for the FRSR, has evolved. This document describes the next-generation Portable Radiation Package (PRP2) that was developed for the DOE ARM Facility, under contract no. 9F-31462 from Argonne National Laboratory (ANL). The PRP2 has the same scientific principles that were well validated in prior studies, but has upgraded electronic hardware. The PRP2 approach is completely modular, both in hardware and software. Each sensor input is treated as a separate serial stream into the data collection computer. In this way the operator has complete access to each component of the system for purposes of error checking, calibration, and maintenance. The resulting system is more reliable, easier to install in complex situations, and more amenable to upgrade.

  5. Changes in arm-hand function and arm-hand skill performance in patients after stroke during and after rehabilitation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Franck, Johan Anton; Smeets, Rob Johannes Elise Marie; Seelen, Henk Alexander Maria

    2017-01-01

    Arm-hand rehabilitation programs applied in stroke rehabilitation frequently target specific populations and thus are less applicable in heterogeneous patient populations. Besides, changes in arm-hand function (AHF) and arm-hand skill performance (AHSP) during and after a specific and well-described rehabilitation treatment are often not well evaluated. This single-armed prospective cohort study featured three subgroups of stroke patients with either a severely, moderately or mildly impaired AHF. Rehabilitation treatment consisted of a Concise_Arm_and_hand_ Rehabilitation_Approach_in_Stroke (CARAS). Measurements at function and activity level were performed at admission, clinical discharge, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months after clinical discharge. Eighty-nine stroke patients (M/F:63/23; mean age:57.6yr (+/-10.6); post-stroke time:29.8 days (+/-20.1)) participated. All patients improved on AHF and arm-hand capacity during and after rehabilitation, except on grip strength in the severely affected subgroup. Largest gains occurred in patients with a moderately affected AHF. As to self-perceived AHSP, on average, all subgroups improved over time. A small percentage of patients declined regarding self-perceived AHSP post-rehabilitation. A majority of stroke patients across the whole arm-hand impairment severity spectrum significantly improved on AHF, arm-hand capacity and self-perceived AHSP. These were maintained up to one year post-rehabilitation. Results may serve as a control condition in future studies.

  6. Arm Pain

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... be a sign of a heart attack. Seek emergency treatment if you have: Arm, shoulder or back ... http://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/arm-pain/basics/definition/SYM-20050870 . Mayo Clinic Footer Legal Conditions and ...

  7. Using a second-order turbulence radiative-convective model to study the cloud/radiation interaction with the FIRE data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kao, C.Y.J.

    1992-01-01

    It is well recognized that extended sheets of low-level stratus and stratocumulus clouds are a persistent feature over the eastern parts of the major ocean basins associated with the quasipermanent subtropical high-pressure systems. These clouds exert a strong influence on climate through their high albedo, compared with the underlying surface, and their low altitude. The former leads to a reduction of the net incoming shortwave flux into the atmosphere and the latter leads to an infrared loss in a way essentially the same as the cloud-free conditions. Randall et al.[1984] estimated that an increase of a few percent of global low-level stratiform clouds may offset the warming caused by a doubling of the atmos-pheric CO 2 . The Atmospheric Radiation Measure-ment (ARM) Program, sponsored by the US Department of Energy, is envisioning a locale in the Eastern North Pacific for extensive measure-ments of stratiform boundary-layer clouds and their interaction with atmospheric radiation. Thus, a physically-based parameterization sheme for marine low-level stratiform clouds can be developed for general circulation models (GCMs). This paper is a modeling study with the current understanding of the important physical processes associated with a cloud-capped boundary layer. The numerical model is a high-resolution one-dimensional version of the second-order turbulence convective/radiative model developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory

  8. Multiyear Statistics of 2-D Shortwave Radiative Effects at Three ARM Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varnai, Tamas

    2010-01-01

    This study examines the importance of horizontal photon transport effects, which are not considered in the 1-D calculations of solar radiative heating used by most atmospheric dynamical models. In particular, the paper analyzes the difference between 2-D and 1-D radiative calculations for 2-D vertical cross-sections of clouds that were observed at three sites over 2- to 3-year periods. The results show that 2-D effects increase multiyear 24-hour average total solar absorption by about 4.1 W/sq m, 1.2 W/sq m, and 0.3 W/sq m at a tropical, mid-latitude, and arctic site, respectively. However, 2-D effects are often much larger than these average values, especially for high sun and for convective clouds. The results also reveal a somewhat unexpected behavior, that horizontal photon transport often enhances solar heating even for oblique sun. These findings underscore the need for fast radiation calculation methods that can allow atmospheric dynamical simulations to consider the inherently multidimensional nature of shortwave radiative processes.

  9. Improvements in AVHRR Daytime Cloud Detection Over the ARM NSA Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakrapani, V.; Spangenberg, D. A.; Doelling, D. R.; Minnis, P.; Trepte, Q. Z.; Arduini, R. F.

    2001-01-01

    Clouds play an important role in the radiation budget over Arctic and Antarctic. Because of limited surface observing capabilities, it is necessary to detect clouds over large areas using satellite imagery. At low and mid-latitudes, satellite-observed visible (VIS; 0.65 micrometers) and infrared (IR; 11 micrometers) radiance data are used to derive cloud fraction, temperature, and optical depth. However, the extreme variability in the VIS surface albedo makes the detection of clouds from satellite a difficult process in polar regions. The IR data often show that the surface is nearly the same temperature or even colder than clouds, further complicating cloud detection. Also, the boundary layer can have large areas of haze, thin fog, or diamond dust that are not seen in standard satellite imagery. Other spectral radiances measured by satellite imagers provide additional information that can be used to more accurately discriminate clouds from snow and ice. Most techniques currently use a fixed reflectance or temperature threshold to decide between clouds and clear snow. Using a subjective approach, Minnis et al. (2001) found that the clear snow radiance signatures vary as a function of viewing and illumination conditions as well as snow condition. To routinely process satellite imagery over polar regions with an automated algorithm, it is necessary to account for this angular variability and the change in the background reflectance as snow melts, vegetation grows over land, and melt ponds form on pack ice. This paper documents the initial satellite-based cloud product over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) North Slope of Alaska (NSA) site at Barrow for use by the modeling community. Cloud amount and height are determined subjectively using an adaptation of the methodology of Minnis et al. (2001) and the radiation fields arc determined following the methods of Doelling et al. (2001) as applied to data taken during the Surface Heat and Energy Budget of the

  10. Study on the crystallization of multiarm stars with a poly(ethyleneimine) core and poly(ϵ-caprolactone) arms of different length

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Díaz, Angélica; Bacaicoa, Anna; Casas, Maria Teresa; Franco, Lourdes [Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Av. Diagonal 647, Barcelona E-08028 (Spain); Serra, Angels [Departament de Química Analítica i Química Orgànica, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. C. Marcel.lí Domingo, s/n. Campus Sescelades, Tarragona 43007 (Spain); Puiggalí, Jordi, E-mail: Jordi.Puiggali@upc.edu [Departament d’Enginyeria Química, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, Av. Diagonal 647, Barcelona E-08028 (Spain)

    2015-05-10

    Highlights: • Isothermal crystallization kinetics of multiarm stars. • Influence of the length of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) arms on crystallization kinetics. • Influence of the length of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) arms on secondary nucleation constant. • Crystallization of mixtures of stars having different arm lengths. - Abstract: Crystallization of multiarm star systems constituted by a core of poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI) and arms of poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) was studied by transmission electron microscopy, calorimetry and optical microscopy techniques. Three systems differing on the degree of polymerization of PCL were studied as well as binary mixtures constituted by systems differing on the length of PCL arms. Samples were able to crystallize from both diluted solutions and the melt state giving rise to well-formed lamellae and spherulites, respectively. Lamellae of samples with large PCL arms were highly regular and corresponded to elongated hexagonal crystals with an aspect ratio that decreased with the length of PCL arms. A significant decrease on equilibrium melting temperatures, degree of crystallinity and glass transition temperature was detected for samples having short PCL arms. Crystallization kinetics were also highly influenced by the length of PCL arms, being both nucleation density and secondary nucleation constant increased as the length of PCL arms decreased. Crystallization of star mixtures having different PCL lengths was determined by the larger arms since they initiated the process and subsequently shorter arms were progressively incorporated. A thermal nucleation was characteristic of multiarm star mixtures due to the different crystallization temperature ranges of samples with large and short PCL arms, whereas samples with a homogeneous arm length rendered an athermal nucleation.

  11. ''VECTON-1'' two-arm spectrometer for rho--meson photoproduction study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anokhin, M.V.; Kanetsyan, A.R.; Kukarev, V.M.

    1977-01-01

    A two-arm spectrometer for registering p - mesons according to a charged pion and one of the neutral pion disintegration photons has been designed. The spectrometer arm which registers charged pion comprises a deflecting magnet, dual wide-gap spark chambers and dual scintillation counters. The spectrometer arm for registering the disintegration photon comprises a scintillation counter, a dual wide-gap spark chamber and a shower detector. The principal characteristics of the spectrometer components are listed. The functional diagram of the useful events selection unit is discussed. It is shown that the experimental results obtained with the aid of the ''VEKTON-1'' set-up are in good agreement with the earlier results: P - meson rest energy is 731+-30 MeV, the resonant range width is 195+-58 MeV

  12. Macroscopic Hematuria After Conventional or Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy: Results From a Prospective Phase 3 Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanguineti, Giuseppe, E-mail: sanguineti@ifo.it [Department of Radiation Oncology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Arcidiacono, Fabio [Department of Radiation Oncology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Landoni, Valeria [Department of Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Saracino, Bianca Maria; Farneti, Alessia; Arcangeli, Stefano; Petrongari, Maria Grazia; Gomellini, Sara [Department of Radiation Oncology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Strigari, Lidia [Department of Physics, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy); Arcangeli, Giorgio [Department of Radiation Oncology, Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome (Italy)

    2016-10-01

    Purpose: To assess the macroscopic hematuria rates within a single-institution randomized phase 3 trial comparing dose-escalated, conventionally fractionated radiation therapy (CFRT) and moderately hypofractionated radiation therapy (MHRT) for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Patients with intermediate- to high-risk localized prostate cancer were treated with conformal RT and short-course androgen deprivation. Both the prostate and the entire seminal vesicles were treated to 80 Gy in 40 fractions over 8 weeks (CFRT) or 62 Gy in 20 fractions over 5 weeks (MHRT). The endpoint of the present study was the development of any episode or grade of macroscopic hematuria. The median follow-up period was 93 months (range 6-143). Results: Macroscopic hematuria was reported by 25 of 168 patients (14.9%). The actuarial estimate of hematuria at 8 years was 17.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.7%-23.3%). The number of patients with hematuria was 6 and 19 in the CFRT and MHRT arms, respectively, for an actuarial 8-year estimate of 9.7% and 24.3%, respectively (hazard ratio 3.468, 95% CI 1.385-8.684; P=.008). Overall, 8 of 25 patients were found to have biopsy-proven urothelial carcinoma (3 in the CFRT arm and 5 in the MHRT arm; P=.27). Thus, the 8-year actuarial incidence of macroscopic hematuria (after censoring urothelial cancer–related episodes) was 4.1% and 18.2% after CFRT and MHRT, respectively (hazard ratio 4.961, 95% CI 1.426-17.263; P=.012). The results were confirmed by multivariate analysis after accounting for several patient-, treatment-, and tumor-related covariates. Conclusions: MHRT was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of macroscopic hematuria compared with CFRT.

  13. Macroscopic Hematuria After Conventional or Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy: Results From a Prospective Phase 3 Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanguineti, Giuseppe; Arcidiacono, Fabio; Landoni, Valeria; Saracino, Bianca Maria; Farneti, Alessia; Arcangeli, Stefano; Petrongari, Maria Grazia; Gomellini, Sara; Strigari, Lidia; Arcangeli, Giorgio

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To assess the macroscopic hematuria rates within a single-institution randomized phase 3 trial comparing dose-escalated, conventionally fractionated radiation therapy (CFRT) and moderately hypofractionated radiation therapy (MHRT) for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: Patients with intermediate- to high-risk localized prostate cancer were treated with conformal RT and short-course androgen deprivation. Both the prostate and the entire seminal vesicles were treated to 80 Gy in 40 fractions over 8 weeks (CFRT) or 62 Gy in 20 fractions over 5 weeks (MHRT). The endpoint of the present study was the development of any episode or grade of macroscopic hematuria. The median follow-up period was 93 months (range 6-143). Results: Macroscopic hematuria was reported by 25 of 168 patients (14.9%). The actuarial estimate of hematuria at 8 years was 17.0% (95% confidence interval [CI] 10.7%-23.3%). The number of patients with hematuria was 6 and 19 in the CFRT and MHRT arms, respectively, for an actuarial 8-year estimate of 9.7% and 24.3%, respectively (hazard ratio 3.468, 95% CI 1.385-8.684; P=.008). Overall, 8 of 25 patients were found to have biopsy-proven urothelial carcinoma (3 in the CFRT arm and 5 in the MHRT arm; P=.27). Thus, the 8-year actuarial incidence of macroscopic hematuria (after censoring urothelial cancer–related episodes) was 4.1% and 18.2% after CFRT and MHRT, respectively (hazard ratio 4.961, 95% CI 1.426-17.263; P=.012). The results were confirmed by multivariate analysis after accounting for several patient-, treatment-, and tumor-related covariates. Conclusions: MHRT was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of macroscopic hematuria compared with CFRT.

  14. [Measuring the blood pressure in both arms is of little use; longitudinal study into blood pressure differences between both arms and its reproducibility in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kleefstra, N; Houweling, S T; Meyboom-de Jong, B; Bilo, H J G

    2007-07-07

    To determine the prevalence of inter-arm blood pressure differences > 10 mmHg in patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (DM2) and to determine whether these differences are consistent over time. Descriptive. In an evaluation study of 169 DM2 patients from 5 general practices in 2003 and 2004, different methods of oscillatory measurement were used to investigate inter-arm blood pressure differences > 10 mmHg systolic or diastolic. These methods were: one measurement in each arm non-simultaneously (method A), one measurement simultaneously (B) and the mean of two simultaneous measurements (C). With method A an inter-arm blood pressure difference was found in 33% of patients. This percentage diminished to 9 with method C. In 44% (n = 7) of the patients in whom method C detected a relevant blood pressure difference, this difference was not found with method A. In 79% of patients the inter-arm blood pressure difference was not reproduced after one year. In daily practice, one non-simultaneous blood pressure measurement in each arm (method A) was of little value for identification of patients with inter-arm blood pressure differences. The reproducibility was poor one year later. Bilateral blood pressure measurement is therefore of little value.

  15. A study of longwave radiation codes for climate studies: Validation with ARM observations and tests in general circulation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ellingson, R.G.; Baer, F.

    1993-01-01

    This report summarizes the activities of our group to meet our stated objectives. The report is divided into sections entitled: Radiation Model Testing Activities, General Circulation Model Testing Activities, Science Team Activities, and Publications, Presentations and Meetings. The section on Science Team Activities summarizes our participation with the science team to further advance the observation and modeling programs. Appendix A lists graduate students supported, and post-doctoral appointments during the project. Reports on the activities during each of the first two years are included as Appendix B. Significant progress has been made in: determining the ability of line-by-line radiation models to calculate the downward longwave flux at the surface; determining the uncertainties in calculated the downwelling radiance and flux at the surface associated with the use of different proposed profiling techniques; intercomparing clear-sky radiance and flux observations with calculations from radiation codes from different climate models; determining the uncertainties associated with estimating N* from surface longwave flux observations; and determining the sensitivity of model calculations to different formulations of the effects of finite sized clouds

  16. Early Clinical Outcomes and Toxicity of Intensity Modulated Versus Conventional Pelvic Radiation Therapy for Locally Advanced Cervix Carcinoma: A Prospective Randomized Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gandhi, Ajeet Kumar, E-mail: ajeetgandhi23@gmail.com [Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India); Sharma, Daya Nand; Rath, Goura Kisor; Julka, Pramod Kumar; Subramani, Vellaiyan; Sharma, Seema; Manigandan, Durai; Laviraj, M.A. [Department of Radiation Oncology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India); Kumar, Sunesh [Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India); Thulkar, Sanjay [Department of Radiodiagnosis, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (India)

    2013-11-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the toxicity and clinical outcome in patients with locally advanced cervical cancer (LACC) treated with whole pelvic conventional radiation therapy (WP-CRT) versus intensity modulated radiation therapy (WP-IMRT). Methods and Materials: Between January 2010 and January 2012, 44 patients with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO 2009) stage IIB-IIIB squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix were randomized to receive 50.4 Gy in 28 fractions delivered via either WP-CRT or WP-IMRT with concurrent weekly cisplatin 40 mg/m{sup 2}. Acute toxicity was graded according to the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 3.0, and late toxicity was graded according to the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group system. The primary and secondary endpoints were acute gastrointestinal toxicity and disease-free survival, respectively. Results: Of 44 patients, 22 patients received WP-CRT and 22 received WP-IMRT. In the WP-CRT arm, 13 patients had stage IIB disease and 9 had stage IIIB disease; in the IMRT arm, 12 patients had stage IIB disease and 10 had stage IIIB disease. The median follow-up time in the WP-CRT arm was 21.7 months (range, 10.7-37.4 months), and in the WP-IMRT arm it was 21.6 months (range, 7.7-34.4 months). At 27 months, disease-free survival was 79.4% in the WP-CRT group versus 60% in the WP-IMRT group (P=.651), and overall survival was 76% in the WP-CRT group versus 85.7% in the WP-IMRT group (P=.645). Patients in the WP-IMRT arm experienced significantly fewer grade ≥2 acute gastrointestinal toxicities (31.8% vs 63.6%, P=.034) and grade ≥3 gastrointestinal toxicities (4.5% vs 27.3%, P=.047) than did patients receiving WP-CRT and had less chronic gastrointestinal toxicity (13.6% vs 50%, P=.011). Conclusion: WP-IMRT is associated with significantly less toxicity compared with WP-CRT and has a comparable clinical outcome. Further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up times are warranted to justify

  17. Rolling motions in an inner spiral arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strauss, F.M.; Poeppel, W.

    1976-01-01

    Hydrogen line observations made at low galactic latitudes for l=318degree, 326degree, 334degree, and 337degree show the presence of velocity gradients in latitude in the nearest inner spiral arm, similar to those found by other observations in different regions. Maximum velocity change is about 10 km s -1 for l=337degree. By generating synthetic line profiles constructed from a model spiral arm, several possible causes of these ''rolling motions'' were studied, such as a vertical displacement or a tilt of the arm (which failed to account for the observations) and rotation or shearing in the arm. It was futher shown that a typical arm can maintain such a motion (approx. =75 km s -1 kpc -1 ) with its own gravitational potential. The results are used to study the origin and tilt of Gould's Belt

  18. Level of Agreement Between Forearm and Upper Arm Blood Pressure Measurements in Patients With Large Arm Circumference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Sheri; Aguas, Marita; Colegrove, Pat; Foisy, Nancy; Jondahl, Bonnie; Anastas, Zoe

    2017-02-01

    The purpose of the study was to determine if forearm blood pressures (BPs) measured in three different locations agree with the recommended upper arm location for noninvasive BP measurement. A method-comparison design was used. In a convenience sample of postanesthesia care unit patients with large upper arm circumference, BP's were obtained in three different forearm locations (lower forearm, middle forearm, and upper forearm) and compared to upper arm BP using an automated BP measuring device. The level of agreement (bias ± precision) between each forearm location and the upper arm BP was calculated using standard formulas. Acceptable levels of agreement based on expert opinion were set a priori at bias and precision values of less than ±5 mm Hg (bias) and ±8 mm Hg (precision). Forty-eight postanesthesia patients participated in the study. Bias and precision values were found to exceed the acceptable level of agreement for all but one of the systolic and diastolic BP comparisons in the three forearm BP locations. Fifty-six percent of all patients studied had one or more BP difference of at least 10 mm Hg in each of the three forearm locations, with 10% having one or more differences of at least 20 mm Hg. The differences in forearm BP measurements observed in this study indicate that the clinical practice of using a forearm BP with a regular-sized BP cuff in place of a larger sized BP cuff placed on the upper arm in postanesthesia care unit patients with large arm circumferences is inappropriate. The BPs obtained at the forearm location are not equivalent to the BPs obtained at the upper arm location. Copyright © 2015 American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. ARM Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Experiment (ACAPEX) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leung, L Ruby [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2016-03-01

    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s ARM Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Experiment (ACAPEX) field campaign contributes to CalWater 2015, a multi-agency field campaign that aims to improve understanding of atmospheric rivers and aerosol sources and transport that influence cloud and precipitation processes. The ultimate goal is to reduce uncertainties in weather predictions and climate projections of droughts and floods in California. With the DOE G-1 aircraft and ARM Mobile Facility 2 (AMF2) well equipped for making aerosol and cloud measurements, ACAPEX focuses specifically on understanding how aerosols from local pollution and long-range transport affect the amount and phase of precipitation associated with atmospheric rivers. ACAPEX took place between January 12, 2015 and March 8, 2015 as part of CalWater 2015, which included four aircraft (DOE G-1, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] G-IV and P-3, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA] ER-2), the NOAA research ship Ron Brown, carrying onboard the AMF2, National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored aerosol and precipitation measurements at Bodega Bay, and the California Department of Water Resources extreme precipitation network.

  20. Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm muscle strength after stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrholz, Jan; Pohl, Marcus; Platz, Thomas; Kugler, Joachim; Elsner, Bernhard

    2015-11-07

    Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training devices are used in rehabilitation, and may help to improve arm function after stroke. To assess the effectiveness of electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for improving activities of daily living, arm function, and arm muscle strength in people after stroke. We also assessed the acceptability and safety of the therapy. We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group's Trials Register (last searched February 2015), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (the Cochrane Library 2015, Issue 3), MEDLINE (1950 to March 2015), EMBASE (1980 to March 2015), CINAHL (1982 to March 2015), AMED (1985 to March 2015), SPORTDiscus (1949 to March 2015), PEDro (searched April 2015), Compendex (1972 to March 2015), and Inspec (1969 to March 2015). We also handsearched relevant conference proceedings, searched trials and research registers, checked reference lists, and contacted trialists, experts, and researchers in our field, as well as manufacturers of commercial devices. Randomised controlled trials comparing electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training for recovery of arm function with other rehabilitation or placebo interventions, or no treatment, for people after stroke. Two review authors independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed trial quality and risk of bias, and extracted data. We contacted trialists for additional information. We analysed the results as standardised mean differences (SMDs) for continuous variables and risk differences (RDs) for dichotomous variables. We included 34 trials (involving 1160 participants) in this update of our review. Electromechanical and robot-assisted arm training improved activities of daily living scores (SMD 0.37, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.11 to 0.64, P = 0.005, I² = 62%), arm function (SMD 0.35, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.51, P arm muscle strength (SMD 0.36, 95% CI 0.01 to 0.70, P = 0.04, I² = 72%), but the quality of the evidence was low to very low

  1. Development of PIMAL: Mathematical Phantom with Moving Arms and Legs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akkurt, Hatice [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Eckerman, Keith F. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

    2007-05-01

    The computational model of the human anatomy (phantom) has gone through many revisions since its initial development in the 1970s. The computational phantom model currently used by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is based on a model published in 1974. Hence, the phantom model used by the NRC staff was missing some organs (e.g., neck, esophagus) and tissues. Further, locations of some organs were inappropriate (e.g., thyroid).Moreover, all the computational phantoms were assumed to be in the vertical-upright position. However, many occupational radiation exposures occur with the worker in other positions. In the first phase of this work, updates on the computational phantom models were reviewed and a revised phantom model, which includes the updates for the relevant organs and compositions, was identified. This revised model was adopted as the starting point for this development work, and hence a series of radiation transport computations, using the Monte Carlo code MCNP5, was performed. The computational results were compared against values reported by the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP) in Publication 74. For some of the organs (e.g., thyroid), there were discrepancies between the computed values and the results reported in ICRP-74. The reasons behind these discrepancies have been investigated and are discussed in this report.Additionally, sensitivity computations were performed to determine the sensitivity of the organ doses for certain parameters, including composition and cross sections used in the simulations. To assess the dose for more realistic exposure configurations, the phantom model was revised to enable flexible positioning of the arms and legs. Furthermore, to reduce the user time for analyses, a graphical user interface (GUI) was developed. The GUI can be used to visualize the positioning of the arms and legs as desired posture is achieved to generate the input file, invoke the computations, and extract the organ dose

  2. Time Demand and Radiation Dose in 3D-Fluoroscopy-based Navigation-assisted 3D-Fluoroscopy-controlled Pedicle Screw Instrumentations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balling, Horst

    2018-05-01

    Prospective single-center cohort study to record additional time requirements and radiation dose in navigation-assisted O-arm-controlled pedicle screw (PS) instrumentations. The aim of this study was to evaluate amount of extra-time and radiation dose for navigation-assisted PS instrumentations of the thoracolumbosacral spine using O-arm 3D-real-time-navigation (O3DN) compared to non-navigated spinal procedures (NNSPs) with a single C-arm and postoperative computed tomography (CT) scan for controlling PS positions. 3D-navigation is reported to enhance PS insertion accuracy. But time-consuming navigational steps and considerable additional radiation doses seem to limit this modern technique's attraction. A detailed analysis of additional time demand and extra-radiation dose in 3D-navigated spine surgery is not provided in literature, yet. From February 2011 through July 2015, 306 consecutive posterior instrumentations were performed in vertebral levels T10-S1 using O3DN for PS insertion. The duration of procedure-specific navigational steps of the overall collective (I) and the last cohort of 50 consecutive O3DN-surgeries (II) was compared to the average duration of analogous surgical steps in 100 consecutive NNSP using a single C-arm. 3D-radiation dose (dose-length-product, DLP) of navigational and postinstrumentation O-arm scans in group I and II was compared to the average DLP of 100 diagnostic lumbar CT scans. The average presurgical time from patient positioning on the operating table to skin incision was 46.2 ± 10.1 minutes (O3DN, I) and 40.6 ± 9.8 minutes (O3DN, II) versus 30.6 ± 8.3 minutes (NNSP) (P demand of 13.0 minutes compared to NNSP, and with a total DLP below that of a diagnostic lumbar CT scan (P ≈ 0.81). 4.

  3. Single-Column Modeling, GCM Parameterizations and Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Somerville, R.C.J.; Iacobellis, S.F.

    2005-01-01

    Our overall goal is identical to that of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program: the development of new and improved parameterizations of cloud-radiation effects and related processes, using ARM data at all three ARM sites, and the implementation and testing of these parameterizations in global and regional models. To test recently developed prognostic parameterizations based on detailed cloud microphysics, we have first compared single-column model (SCM) output with ARM observations at the Southern Great Plains (SGP), North Slope of Alaska (NSA) and Topical Western Pacific (TWP) sites. We focus on the predicted cloud amounts and on a suite of radiative quantities strongly dependent on clouds, such as downwelling surface shortwave radiation. Our results demonstrate the superiority of parameterizations based on comprehensive treatments of cloud microphysics and cloud-radiative interactions. At the SGP and NSA sites, the SCM results simulate the ARM measurements well and are demonstrably more realistic than typical parameterizations found in conventional operational forecasting models. At the TWP site, the model performance depends strongly on details of the scheme, and the results of our diagnostic tests suggest ways to develop improved parameterizations better suited to simulating cloud-radiation interactions in the tropics generally. These advances have made it possible to take the next step and build on this progress, by incorporating our parameterization schemes in state-of-the-art 3D atmospheric models, and diagnosing and evaluating the results using independent data. Because the improved cloud-radiation results have been obtained largely via implementing detailed and physically comprehensive cloud microphysics, we anticipate that improved predictions of hydrologic cycle components, and hence of precipitation, may also be achievable. We are currently testing the performance of our ARM-based parameterizations in state-of-the--art global and regional

  4. Laser-assisted lipolysis for arm contouring in Teimourian grades I and II: a prospective study of 45 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leclère, Franck Marie; Alcolea, Justo M; Vogt, Peter; Moreno-Moraga, Javier; Mordon, Serge; Casoli, Vincent; Trelles, Mario A

    2015-04-01

    Upper arm deformities secondary to weight loss or senile elastosis have led to an increased demand for aesthetic contouring procedures. We conducted this study to objectively assess if, in Teimourian low-grade upper arm remodelling, one session of laser-assisted lypolisis (LAL) could result in full patient satisfaction. Between 2011 and 2013, 45 patients were treated for unsightly fat arm Teimourian grade I (15 patients), grade IIa (15 patients) and grade IIb (15 patients) with one session of LAL. The laser used in this study was a 1470-nm diode laser (Alma Lasers, Cesarea, Israel) with the following parameters: continuous mode, 15 W power and transmission through a 600-μm optical fibre. Previous mathematical modelling suggested that 0.1 kJ was required in order to destroy 1 ml of fat. Treatment parameters and adverse effects were recorded.The arm circumference and skin pinch measurements were assessed pre and postoperatively. Patients were asked to file a satisfaction questionnaire. Pain during the anaesthesia and discomfort after the procedure were minimal. Complications included prolonged oedema in 11 patients. The average arm circumference decreased by 4.9 ± 0.4 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 4.7 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade I patients, 5.5 ± 0.6 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 5.2 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade IIa patients and 5.4 ± 0.5 cm in the right arm (p < 0.01) and 5.3 ± 0.5 cm in the left arm (p < 0.01) in grade IIB patients. The skin tightening effect was confirmed by the reduction of the skin calliper measurements in all three groups. Overall mean opinion of treatment was high for both patients and investigators. Of the 45 patients, all but one would recommend this treatment. A single session of LAL in upper arm remodelling for Teimourian grades I to IIb is a safe and reproducible technique. The procedure allows reduction in the amount of adipose deposits

  5. Preventing Interstate Armed Conflict : whose responsibility?

    OpenAIRE

    Otunba, Ganiyu

    2010-01-01

    This is a study of interstate armed conflict prevention. The concept of conflict, armed conflict and conflict prevention is defined and explained in order to be able to investigate if there is any single institution saddled with the responsibility of preventing interstate armed conflict and also to verify if adequate efforts are been put in this area which is of importance to mankind. The relationship between conflict prevention, conflict management and conflict resolution is also discussed s...

  6. Efficacy of Topical Alpha Ointment (Containing Natural Henna Compared to Topical Hydrocortisone (1% in the Healing of Radiation-Induced Dermatitis in Patients with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansour Ansari

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: This two-arm, randomized clinical study aimed to compare efficacy between topical Alpha ointment and topical hydrocortisone cream (1% in the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients. Methods: The inclusion criteria comprised newly pathologically proven, locally advanced breast cancer (treated with modified radical mastectomy followed by sequential adjuvant treatments, including chest wall radiotherapy [45-50.4 Gy] and grade 2 and/or 3 chest wall dermatitis. The exclusion criteria were comprised of any underlying disease or medications interfering with the wound healing process, previous history of chest wall radiotherapy, and concurrent use of chemotherapy. Sixty eligible patients were randomly assigned to use either topical Alpha ointment (study arm, n=30 or topical hydrocortisone cream (1% (control arm, n=30 immediately after receiving a total dose of 45-50 Gy chest wall radiotherapy. Results: The mean radiation dose was 49.1 Gy in the control arm and 48.8 Gy in the study arm. The mean dermatitis area was 13.54 cm2 in the control arm and 17.02 cm2 in the study arm. Topical Alpha ointment was more effective on the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis than was topical hydrocortisone cream (1% (P=0.001. This effect was significant in the second week (P=0.007. In addition, Alpha ointment decreased the patients’ complaints such as pain (P<0.001, pruritus (P=0.009, and discharge (P=0.010 effectively and meaningfully. Conclusion: Topical Alpha ointment was more effective on the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis than was topical hydrocortisone cream (1% in our patients with breast cancer. Trial Registration Numbers: IRCT201206099979N1 ACTRN12612000837820

  7. Efficacy of topical alpha ointment (containing natural henna) compared to topical hydrocortisone (1%) in the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis in patients with breast cancer: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ansari, Mansour; Farzin, Dehsara; Mosalaei, Ahmad; Omidvari, Shapour; Ahmadloo, Niloofar; Mohammadianpanah, Mohammad

    2013-12-01

    This two-arm, randomized clinical study aimed to compare efficacy between topical Alpha ointment and topical hydrocortisone cream (1%) in the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis in breast cancer patients. The inclusion criteria comprised newly pathologically proven, locally advanced breast cancer (treated with modified radical mastectomy followed by sequential adjuvant treatments, including chest wall radiotherapy [45-50.4 Gy]) and grade 2 and/or 3 chest wall dermatitis. The exclusion criteria were comprised of any underlying disease or medications interfering with the wound healing process, previous history of chest wall radiotherapy, and concurrent use of chemotherapy. Sixty eligible patients were randomly assigned to use either topical Alpha ointment (study arm, n=30) or topical hydrocortisone cream (1%) (control arm, n=30) immediately after receiving a total dose of 45-50 Gy chest wall radiotherapy. The mean radiation dose was 49.1 Gy in the control arm and 48.8 Gy in the study arm. The mean dermatitis area was 13.54 cm(2) in the control arm and 17.02 cm(2) in the study arm. Topical Alpha ointment was more effective on the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis than was topical hydrocortisone cream (1%) (P=0.001). This effect was significant in the second week (P=0.007). In addition, Alpha ointment decreased the patients' complaints such as pain (P<0.001), pruritus (P=0.009), and discharge (P=0.010) effectively and meaningfully. Topical Alpha ointment was more effective on the healing of radiation-induced dermatitis than was topical hydrocortisone cream (1%) in our patients with breast cancer. IRCT201206099979N1, ACTRN12612000837820.

  8. Early Contralateral Shoulder-Arm Morbidity in Breast Cancer Patients Enrolled in a Randomized Trial of Post-Surgery Radiation Therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nele Adriaenssens

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction Shoulder/arm morbidity is a common complication of breast cancer surgery and radiotherapy (RT, but little is known about acute contralateral morbidity. Methods Patients were 118 women enrolled in a RT trial. Arm volume and shoulder mobility were assessed before and 1–3 months after RT. Correlations and linear regression were used to analyze changes affecting ipsilateral and contralateral arms, and changes affecting relative interlimb differences (RID. Results Changes affecting one limb correlated with changes affecting the other limb. Arm volume between the two limbs correlated (R = 0.57. Risk factors were weight increase and axillary dissection. Contralateral and ipsilateral loss of abduction strongly correlated (R = 0.78. Changes of combined RID exceeding 10% affected the ipsilateral limb in 25% of patients, and the contralateral limb in 18%. Aromatase inhibitor therapy was significantly associated with contralateral loss of abduction. Conclusions High incidence of early contralateral arm morbidity warrants further investigations.

  9. Use of the mini C-arm for wrist fractures - Establishing a diagnostic reference level

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Love, G. J.; Pillai, A.; Gibson, S.

    2008-01-01

    The establishment of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for all typical radiological examinations became mandatory following the implementation of the Ionising Radiations (Medical Exposure) Regulations Act 2000. At present, there are no national dosage guidelines in the UK regarding use of fluoroscopy in orthopaedic trauma. The increasing popularity of the mini C-arm image intensifier amongst surgeons has led to concerns regarding use of ionizing radiation by personnel who have not been trained in radiation protection. It is therefore essential to have formal protocols for use of the mini C-arm to comply with the law and to maintain safe clinical practice. It is attempted to provide dose data for wrist fracture manipulations that may be used as a basis for setting a DRL for this procedure. Screening times were recorded for 80 wrist manipulations in a fracture clinic setting using a mini C-arm image intensifier. A DRL was set using the third quartile value for screening time. The median screening time for wrist fractures was 20 s with a range from 1 to 177 s. The third quartile value for screening time was 34 s. This value can be used as a provisional DRL for wrist fracture manipulations. The DRL is a quantitative guide for the optimisation of radiological protection. IR(ME)R 2000 states that if it is consistently exceeded by an individual operator or a piece of equipment, investigation and remedial action must be taken. We recommend that trauma units establish their own local DRLs for common procedures as made mandatory by legislation. (authors)

  10. An augmented reality C-arm for intraoperative assessment of the mechanical axis: a preclinical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fallavollita, Pascal; Brand, Alexander; Wang, Lejing; Euler, Ekkehard; Thaller, Peter; Navab, Nassir; Weidert, Simon

    2016-11-01

    Determination of lower limb alignment is a prerequisite for successful orthopedic surgical treatment. Traditional methods include the electrocautery cord, alignment rod, or axis board which rely solely on C-arm fluoroscopy navigation and are radiation intensive. To assess a new augmented reality technology in determining lower limb alignment. A camera-augmented mobile C-arm (CamC) technology was used to create a panorama image consisting of hip, knee, and ankle X-rays. Twenty-five human cadaver legs were used for validation with random varus or valgus deformations. Five clinicians performed experiments that consisted in achieving acceptable mechanical axis deviation. The applicability of the CamC technology was assessed with direct comparison to ground-truth CT. A t test, Pearson's correlation, and ANOVA were used to determine statistical significance. The value of Pearson's correlation coefficient R was 0.979 which demonstrates a strong positive correlation between the CamC and ground-truth CT data. The analysis of variance produced a p value equal to 0.911 signifying that clinician expertise differences were not significant with regard to the type of system used to assess mechanical axis deviation. All described measurements demonstrated valid measurement of lower limb alignment. With minimal effort, clinicians required only 3 X-ray image acquisitions using the augmented reality technology to achieve reliable mechanical axis deviation.

  11. CT dose modulation using automatic exposure control in whole-body PET/CT: effects of scout imaging direction and arm positioning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Yusuke; Nagahara, Kazunori; Kudo, Hiroko; Itoh, Hiroyasu

    2018-01-01

    Automatic exposure control (AEC) modulates tube current and consequently X-ray exposure in CT. We investigated the behavior of AEC systems in whole-body PET/CT. CT images of a whole-body phantom were acquired using AEC on two scanners from different manufactures. The effects of scout imaging direction and arm positioning on dose modulation were evaluated. Image noise was assessed in the chest and upper abdomen. On one scanner, AEC using two scout images in the posteroanterior (PA) and lateral (Lat) directions provided relatively constant image noise along the z-axis with the arms at the sides. Raising the arms increased tube current in the head and neck and decreased it in the body trunk. Image noise increased in the upper abdomen, suggesting excessive reduction in radiation exposure. AEC using the PA scout alone strikingly increased tube current and reduced image noise in the shoulder. Raising the arms did not substantially influence dose modulation and decreased noise in the abdomen. On the other scanner, AEC using the PA scout alone or Lat scout alone resulted in similar dose modulation. Raising the arms increased tube current in the head and neck and decreased it in the trunk. Image noise was higher in the upper abdomen than in the middle and lower chest, and was not influenced by arm positioning. CT dose modulation using AEC may vary greatly depending on scout direction. Raising the arms tended to decrease radiation exposure; however, the effect depends on scout direction and the AEC system.

  12. Powered manipulator control arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Mouee, Theodore; Vertut, Jean; Marchal, Paul; Germon, J.C.; Petit, Michel

    1975-01-01

    A remote operated control arm for powered manipulators is described. It includes an assembly allowing several movements with position sensors for each movement. The number of possible arm movements equals the number of possible manipulator movements. The control systems may be interrupted as required. One part of the arm is fitted with a system to lock it with respect to another part of the arm without affecting the other movements, so long as the positions of the manipulator and the arm have not been brought into complete coincidence. With this system the locking can be ended when complete concordance is achieved [fr

  13. Modeling of clouds and radiation for development of parameterizations for general circulation models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Westphal, D.; Toon, B.; Jensen, E.; Kinne, S.; Ackerman, A.; Bergstrom, R.; Walker, A.

    1994-01-01

    Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program research at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) includes radiative transfer modeling, cirrus cloud microphysics, and stratus cloud modeling. These efforts are designed to provide the basis for improving cloud and radiation parameterizations in our main effort: mesoscale cloud modeling. The range of non-convective cloud models used by the ARM modeling community can be crudely categorized based on the number of predicted hydrometers such as cloud water, ice water, rain, snow, graupel, etc. The simplest model has no predicted hydrometers and diagnoses the presence of clouds based on the predicted relative humidity. The vast majority of cloud models have two or more predictive bulk hydrometers and are termed either bulk water (BW) or size-resolving (SR) schemes. This study compares the various cloud models within the same dynamical framework, and compares results with observations rather than climate statistics

  14. Evaluation of radiation protection and technical procedures in Wad Madani Heart Diseases and Surgery Center (WHDSC) (cardiac catheterization laboratory)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gesmallah, A. H. A.

    2013-07-01

    The purpose of this study is conducted in order to evaluate the application of radiation protection program, evaluate the design of cardiac catheterization laboratory, evaluate the effectiveness of radiation protection devices, evaluate personal monitoring, usage of G-Arm x-ray machine, to evaluate the responsibilities of radiation protection officer (RPO), to assess monitoring devices if available, and to assess patient patient dose in Wad Madani hear disease and surgery center in a period from march 2013 to june 2013. The most data in this study was obtained from the results of the team of quality assurance and control of radiation safety institute when they visited hospital on 14/2/2011 for inspection and calibration for issue of registration and licenses, except the data of patients dose which obtained from exposure parameters and dosimetric information's in the archive of G-arm x-ray fluoroscopic machine (which were 110 of cardiac catheterization diagnostic and therapeutic cases, 60 of adult patients and 50 of children. The patient data included age, weight, kv, mAs, DAP, air kerma, and fluoro time. The results of this study show that there is radiation protection program need correction and partially applied, the design of cardiac catheterization laboratory is accepted according to radiation safety institute team of quality control. Also the study shows that the radiation protection program devices are available and good condition and enough in number. The study shows that there are no personal monitoring devices and services and the radiological technologist are well trained to dial with the G-arm x-ray machine and to apply the radiation protection program effectively. Also the study states that the radiation protection officer could apply his responsibilities partially. Finally the study shows that there is a direct linear relationship between the patient's weight and (DAP, air kerma, kv, and mAs) concludes that there is excessive radiation dose in cardiac

  15. Data management and scientific integration within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gracio, Deborah K.; Hatfield, Larry D.; Yates, Kenneth R.; Voyles, Jimmy W.; Tichler, Joyce L.; Cederwall, Richard T.; Laufersweiler, Mark J.; Leach, Martin J.; Singley, Paul

    1995-01-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program has been developed by the U.S. Department of Energy with the goal to improve the predictive capabilities of General Circulation Models (GCM's) in their treatment of clouds and radiative transfer effects. To achieve this goal, three experimental testbeds were designed for the deployment of instruments that will collect atmospheric data used to drive the GCM's. Each site, known as a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART), consists of a highly available, redundant data system for the collection of data from a variety of instrumentation. The first CART site was deployed in April 1992 in the Southern Great Plains (SGP), Lamont, Oklahoma, with the other two sites to follow in September 1995 in the Tropical Western Pacific and in 1997 on the North Slope of Alaska. Approximately 400 MB of data are transferred per day via the Internet from the SGP site to the ARM Experiment Center at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington. The Experiment Center is central to the ARM data path and provides for the collection, processing, analysis, and delivery of ARM data. Data are received from the CART sites from a variety of instrumentation, observational systems, amd external data sources. The Experiment Center processes these data streams on a continuous basis to provide derived data products to the ARM Science Team in near real-time while providing a three-month running archive of data. A primary requirement of the ARM Program is to preserve and protect all data produced or acquired. This function is performed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory where leading edge technology is employed for the long-term storage of ARM data. The ARM Archive provides access to data for participation outside of the ARM Program. The ARM Program involves a collaborative effort by teams from various DOE National Laboratories, providing multi-disciplinary areas of expertise. This paper will discuss the collaborative methods in which the ARM teams

  16. ARM Cloud Radar Simulator Package for Global Climate Models Value-Added Product

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yuying [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States); Xie, Shaocheng [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

    2017-05-01

    It has been challenging to directly compare U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility ground-based cloud radar measurements with climate model output because of limitations or features of the observing processes and the spatial gap between model and the single-point measurements. To facilitate the use of ARM radar data in numerical models, an ARM cloud radar simulator was developed to converts model data into pseudo-ARM cloud radar observations that mimic the instrument view of a narrow atmospheric column (as compared to a large global climate model [GCM] grid-cell), thus allowing meaningful comparison between model output and ARM cloud observations. The ARM cloud radar simulator value-added product (VAP) was developed based on the CloudSat simulator contained in the community satellite simulator package, the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP) (Bodas-Salcedo et al., 2011), which has been widely used in climate model evaluation with satellite data (Klein et al., 2013, Zhang et al., 2010). The essential part of the CloudSat simulator is the QuickBeam radar simulator that is used to produce CloudSat-like radar reflectivity, but is capable of simulating reflectivity for other radars (Marchand et al., 2009; Haynes et al., 2007). Adapting QuickBeam to the ARM cloud radar simulator within COSP required two primary changes: one was to set the frequency to 35 GHz for the ARM Ka-band cloud radar, as opposed to 94 GHz used for the CloudSat W-band radar, and the second was to invert the view from the ground to space so as to attenuate the beam correctly. In addition, the ARM cloud radar simulator uses a finer vertical resolution (100 m compared to 500 m for CloudSat) to resolve the more detailed structure of clouds captured by the ARM radars. The ARM simulator has been developed following the COSP workflow (Figure 1) and using the capabilities available in COSP

  17. The arms race control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nemo, J.

    2010-01-01

    Written in 1961, this paper presents the content of a book entitled 'The arms race control' where the author outlined the difference between disarmament and arms control, described the economic and moral role of arms race, the importance of force balance for international security. He wandered whether arms control could ensure this balance and whether nuclear balance meant force balance. Force balance then appears to be a precarious and unsteady component of international security. He commented the challenges of disarmament, recalled some arguments for a nuclear disarmament. Then he discussed what would be an arms control with or without disarmament (either nuclear or conventional)

  18. How do octopuses use their arms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mather, J A

    1998-09-01

    A taxonomy of the movement patterns of the 8 flexible arms of octopuses is constructed. Components consist of movements of the arm itself, the ventral suckers and their stalks, as well as the relative position of arms and the skin web between them. Within 1 arm, combinations of components result in a variety of behaviors. At the level of all arms, 1 group of behaviors is described as postures, on the basis of the spread of all arms and the web to make a 2-dimensional surface whose position differs in the 3rd dimension. Another group of arm behaviors is actions, more or less coordinated and involving several to all arms. Arm control appears to be based on radial symmetry, relative equipotentiality of all arms, relative independence of each arm, and separability of components within the arm. The types and coordination of arm behaviors are discussed with relationship to biomechanical limits, muscle structures, and neuronal programming.

  19. Picking Robot Arm Trajectory Planning Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Zhiyong

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The picking robot arm is scheduled to complete picking tasks in the working space, to overcome the shaking vibration to improve the picking stability, its movement should follow specific consistence trajectory points. Usually we should give definite multiple feature picking points, map their inverse kinematics to the joint space, establish motion equation for the corresponding point in the joint space, then follow these equations motion for the interpolation on the joint so that we can meet the movement requirements. Trajectory planning is decisive significance for accuracy and stability of controlling robot arm. The key issue that picking arm complete picking task will be come true by trajectory planning, namely, robot arm track the desired trajectory. which based on kinematics and statics picking analysis in a joint space according to the requirements of picking tasks, and obtain the position and orientation for picking robot arm, study and calculate the theory of trajectory parameters timely.

  20. Arm locking with Doppler estimation errors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu Yinan; Wand, Vinzenz; Mitryk, Shawn; Mueller, Guido, E-mail: yinan@phys.ufl.ed [Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States)

    2010-05-01

    At the University of Florida we developed the University of Florida LISA Interferometer Simulator (UFLIS) in order to study LISA interferometry with hardware in the loop at a system level. One of the proposed laser frequency stabilization techniques in LISA is arm locking. Arm locking uses an adequately filtered linear combination of the LISA arm signals as a frequency reference. We will report about experiments in which we demonstrated arm locking using UFLIS. During these experiments we also discovered a problem associated with the Doppler shift of the return beam. The initial arm locking publications assumed that this Doppler shift can perfectly be subtracted inside the phasemeter or adds an insignificant offset to the sensor signal. However, the remaining Doppler knowledge error will cause a constant change in the laser frequency if unaccounted for. Several ways to circumvent this problem have been identified. We performed detailed simulations and started preliminary experiments to verify the performance of the proposed new controller designs.

  1. Preventive arms control. Case study: plutonium disposition. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liebert, W.

    2001-01-01

    Plutonium stored in separated form poses a severe threat of nuclear weapons proliferation. While options for the disposition of military plutonium stockpiles have been studied for several years, similar work has hardly been undertaken for plutonium stockpiles in the civilian sector. In the framework of this project, the various options to dispose of stockpiles of separated plutonium in the civilian sector were to be investigated. The project was embedded in the FONAS-project network on Preventive Arms Control, and the findings of this study were to be considered for the development of a concept of Preventive Arms Control. As a first step, the internationally available information on different options for plutonium disposition (MOX-use, immobilization together with radioactive wastes, elimination) were collected and compiled to allow further assessment of the different options. For some of the options, technical questions were examined in more detail. For this purpose, neutron transport and fuel burnup calculations were performed. In particular, the analysis focused on concepts for the elimination of plutonium by the use of uranium-free fuel in existing light-water reactors, since they are particularly attractive from the point of view of non-proliferation. The calculations were performed for a reference fuel based on yttrium-stabilized zirconia, with parameters like the initial plutonium content or the use of burnable neutron poisons varying. A systematic and complete analysis of the performed calculations, however, could not be undertaken due to project time restrictions. On the basis of assessment criteria for Preventive Arms Control developed by the project network, a specific set of criteria for the assessment of the pros and cons of different plutonium disposition methods has been defined. These criteria may then be used as part of a concept of prospective technology assessment. The project findings present a starting base for a comprehensive assessment of the

  2. Protection against radiation-induced performance decrement in mice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukherjee, S.K.; Pant, Kanchan; Goel, H.C.; Jain, Viney

    1997-01-01

    Recognizing that there is lack of information on the effects of low-level ionizing radiations and the modifying role of radioprotectors, an attempt has been made in this study to explore the relationship between impairment of spatial learning and low level of radiation exposure. A radial arm maze was utilised to evaluate radiation-induced behavioural alterations and performance decrement in mice. Immediately after whole body exposure to gamma radiation (absorbed dose, 1 Gy) significant perturbations in the learned behaviour of the animals were observed. The regular control movement became irregular and the food consumption time was reduced appreciably (40%). Recovery took place in four days. If diltiazem (7 mg/kg b.w.), a Ca 2+ channel blocker and a radioprotector, was administered i.p. 20-30 min prior to irradiation, radiation-induced behavioural abnormalities were reduced. Mechanisms underlying protection by diltiazem against radiation-induced performance decrement observed in the present study need to be investigated. (author). 23 refs., 2 figs

  3. Preliminary Toxicity Analysis of 3-Dimensional Conformal Radiation Therapy Versus Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy on the High-Dose Arm of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0126 Prostate Cancer Trial

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Michalski, Jeff M., E-mail: jmichalski@radonc.wustl.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Yan, Yan [Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Statistical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Watkins-Bruner, Deborah [Emory University School of Nursing, Atlanta, Georgia (United States); Bosch, Walter R. [Department of Radiation Oncology Washington University Medical Center, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Winter, Kathryn [Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Statistical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Galvin, James M. [Department of Radiation Oncology Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Bahary, Jean-Paul [Department of Radiation Oncology Centre Hospitalier de l' Université de Montréal-Notre Dame, Montreal, QC (Canada); Morton, Gerard C. [Department of Radiation Oncology Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto, ON (Canada); Parliament, Matthew B. [Department of Oncology Cross Cancer Institute, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Sandler, Howard M. [Department of Radiation Oncology Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California (United States)

    2013-12-01

    Purpose: To give a preliminary report of clinical and treatment factors associated with toxicity in men receiving high-dose radiation therapy (RT) on a phase 3 dose-escalation trial. Methods and Materials: The trial was initiated with 3-dimensional conformal RT (3D-CRT) and amended after 1 year to allow intensity modulated RT (IMRT). Patients treated with 3D-CRT received 55.8 Gy to a planning target volume that included the prostate and seminal vesicles, then 23.4 Gy to prostate only. The IMRT patients were treated to the prostate and proximal seminal vesicles to 79.2 Gy. Common Toxicity Criteria, version 2.0, and Radiation Therapy Oncology Group/European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer late morbidity scores were used for acute and late effects. Results: Of 763 patients randomized to the 79.2-Gy arm of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 0126 protocol, 748 were eligible and evaluable: 491 and 257 were treated with 3D-CRT and IMRT, respectively. For both bladder and rectum, the volumes receiving 65, 70, and 75 Gy were significantly lower with IMRT (all P<.0001). For grade (G) 2+ acute gastrointestinal/genitourinary (GI/GU) toxicity, both univariate and multivariate analyses showed a statistically significant decrease in G2+ acute collective GI/GU toxicity for IMRT. There were no significant differences with 3D-CRT or IMRT for acute or late G2+ or 3+ GU toxicities. Univariate analysis showed a statistically significant decrease in late G2+ GI toxicity for IMRT (P=.039). On multivariate analysis, IMRT showed a 26% reduction in G2+ late GI toxicity (P=.099). Acute G2+ toxicity was associated with late G3+ toxicity (P=.005). With dose–volume histogram data in the multivariate analysis, RT modality was not significant, whereas white race (P=.001) and rectal V70 ≥15% were associated with G2+ rectal toxicity (P=.034). Conclusions: Intensity modulated RT is associated with a significant reduction in acute G2+ GI/GU toxicity. There is a trend for a

  4. CyARM: Haptic Sensing Device for Spatial Localization on Basis of Exploration by Arms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junichi Akita

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a new type of perception aid device based on user's exploration action, which is named as CyARM (acronym of “Cyber Arm”. The user holds this device in her/his arm, the extension of the arm is controlled by tension in wires, which are attached to her/his body according to the distance to the object. This user interface has unique characteristics that give users the illusion of an imaginary arm that extends to existing objects. The implementations of CyARM and our two experiments to investigate the efficiency and effectiveness of CyARM are described. The results show that we could confirm that CyARM can be used to recognize the presence of an object in front of the user and to measure the relative distance to the object.

  5. ARM Aerial Facility ArcticShark Unmanned Aerial System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schmid, B.; Hubbell, M.; Mei, F.; Carroll, P.; Mendoza, A.; Ireland, C.; Lewko, K.

    2017-12-01

    The TigerShark Block 3 XP-AR "ArcticShark" Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), developed and manufactured by Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation (NASC), is a single-prop, 60 hp rotary-engine platform with a wingspan of 6.5 m and Maximum Gross Takeoff Weight of 295 Kg. The ArcticShark is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and has been operated by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) since March 2017. The UAS will serve as an airborne atmospheric research observatory for DOE ARM, and, once fully operational, can be requested through ARM's annual call for proposals. The Arctic Shark is anticipated to measure a wide range of radiative, aerosol, and cloud properties using a variable instrument payload weighing up to 46 Kg. SATCOM-equipped, it is capable of taking measurements up to altitudes of 5.5 Km over ranges of up to 500 Km. The ArcticShark operates at airspeeds of 30 to 40 m/s, making it capable of slow sampling. With a full fuel load, its endurance exceeds 8 hours. The aircraft and its Mobile Operations Center (MOC) have been hardened specifically for operations in colder temperatures.ArcticShark's design facilitates rapid integration of various types of payloads. 2500 W of its 4000 W electrical systems is dedicated to payload servicing. It has an interior payload volume of almost 85 L and four wing-mounted pylons capable of carrying external probes. Its payload bay volume, electrical power, payload capacity, and flight characteristics enable the ArcticShark to accommodate multiple combinations of payloads in numerous configurations. Many instruments will be provided by the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF), but other organizations may eventually propose instrumentation for specific campaigns. AAF-provided measurement capabilities will include the following atmospheric state and thermodynamics: temperature, pressure, winds; gases: H2O and CO2; up- and down-welling broadband infrared and visible radiation; surface temperature; aerosol number concentration

  6. The possible direct use of satellite radiance measurements by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-03-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program is a major research program initiated by the Department of Energy to improve our understanding of radiative and cloud processes critical to predicting the Earth's climate and its changes. Central to this concept is the use of four to six intensively instrumented sites for long-term study and characterization of the processes of interest. The instrumentation suites will include ground-based, high-accuracy radiometers for measuring the short and longwave surface flux, as well as an extensive set of ground-and air-based instrumentation for characterizing the intervening atmospheric column. Satellite-based measurements are expected to play a very important role in providing top-of-the-atmosphere measurements. In this study, we examine the possibility of comparing ARM outputs directly with satellite measurements, thereby ensuring the independence of these two important data sets. Thus we focused on what do satellites really measure and how well do they measure it. On what can we do about the general lack of adequate visible channel calibration. On what is the best way for ARM to obtain near-real-time access to this unprocessed data. And on what is the optimum way for ARM to make use of satellite data

  7. Gaming and Conventional Exercises for Improvement of Arm Function After Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kottink, Anke I R; Prange, Gerdienke B; Krabben, Thijs; Rietman, Johan S; Buurke, Jaap H

    2014-06-01

    The use of new technologies in rehabilitation, such as virtual reality and/or computerized gaming exercises, may be useful to enable patients to practice intensively in a motivating way. The objective of the present randomized controlled pilot study was to compare the effect of reach training using a target group specific-designed rehabilitation game to time-matched standardized conventional reach training on arm function after stroke. Twenty chronic stroke patients were randomized to either the rehabilitation game group or the conventional training group. Both groups received three arm training sessions of 30 minutes each week, during a period of 6 weeks. Arm (the upper extremity part of Fugl-Meyer [FM] assessment) and hand (the Action Research Arm [ARA] test) functions were tested 1 week before (T0) and 1 week after (T1) training. A follow-up measurement was performed at 1 month after T1 (T2). ARA and FM scores improved significantly within both groups. Post hoc comparisons revealed significant increases in test scores between T0 and T1 and between T0 and T2 for both ARA and FM, but not for changes from T1 to T2. There were no significant differences between both groups for either clinical test. The present randomized controlled pilot study showed that both arm and hand function improved as much after training with a rehabilitation game as after time-matched conventional training.

  8. Radiation monitoring data representation for duty personnel

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gavrilov, S.L.; Kiselev, V.P.; Krasnoperov, S.N.; Kudeshov, E.V.; Maslov, S.Y.; Semin, N.N.; Sirotinskiy, S.E.; Yakovlev, V.Y. [Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (NSI RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation)

    2014-07-01

    Currently, Web-GIS technologies are widely used to generate a reliable and intuitive web-based interface to monitor the current radiation situation in various regions of the Russian Federation. The developed 'Server Web-Monitoring' web-application is intended for duty personnel and can operate not only on desktop computers but also on mobile devices. The subsystem of duty personnel notification about any Off-Normal Situation (ONS) (such as: critical threshold exceedances or failures in operation of monitoring systems) is also considered in the paper. Three types of Automated Radiation Monitoring Systems (ARMS) are available for monitoring: - regional ARMS; - facility-level ARMS; - ARMS of nuclear power plant surveillance areas. Google Maps and Google Maps API toolbox are used as the cartographic basis. In the general-monitoring window only general information on each of the local systems is available. Next, the operator can move to monitoring of local ARMS he is interested in. The operator can either view a list of Radiation Situation Monitoring Posts (RSMP) showing the current data in the right frame or hide it and use the map only. Viewing the log of critical threshold exceedances for 24 hours and a report on all RSMPs of a given system over the last 7 days is also possible. The report contains maximum values of measurements for every day and for each RSMP. The developed web-application includes: - monitoring of the radiation situation and its changes on the general map of the Russian Federation and on maps of local ARMS; - displaying 7-day reports for all RSMPs of the selected ARMS; - displaying the log of critical threshold exceedances recorded over the past day. The notification subsystem informs duty personnel on all ONS, namely, on critical threshold exceedances in the incoming data and failures in operation of monitoring systems. The key features of the notification subsystem are: - round-the-clock functioning; - automatic notification in case of

  9. Training the Unimpaired Arm Improves the Motion of the Impaired Arm and the Sitting Balance in Chronic Stroke Survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Luca, Alice; Giannoni, Psiche; Vernetti, Honore; Capra, Cristina; Lentino, Carmelo; Checchia, Giovanni Antonio; Casadio, Maura

    2017-07-01

    Robot-assisted rehabilitation of stroke survivors mainly focuses on the impaired side of the body while the role of the unimpaired side in the recovery after stroke is still controversial. The goal of this study is to investigate the influence on sitting balance and paretic arm functions of a training protocol based on movements of the unimpaired arm. Sixteen chronic stroke survivors underwent nineteen training sessions, in which they performed active movements with the unimpaired arm supported by a passive exoskeleton. Performance of the trunk and upper limbs was evaluated before treatment, after treatment and at six months follow up with clinical scales and an instrumented evaluation. A reaching test executed with the exoskeleton was used to assess changes in performance of both arms. The treatment based on the unimpaired arm's movements executed with a correct body posture led to benefits in control of the trunk and of both the trained and the untrained arm. The amount of impaired arm improvement in the Fugl-Meyer score was comparable to the outcome of robotic treatments focused directly on this arm. Our results highlight the importance of taking into account all body schema in the rehabilitation robotic program, instead of focusing only on the impaired side of the body.

  10. Data systems for science integration within the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gracio, D.K.; Hatfield, L.D.; Yates, K.R.; Voyles, J.W. [Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States); Tichler, J.L. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States); Cederwall, R.T.; Laufersweiler, M.J.; Leach, M.J. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States); Singley, P. [Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)

    1995-12-31

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program was developed by the US Department of Energy to support the goals and mission of the US Global Change Research Program. The purpose of the ARM program is to improve the predictive capabilities of General Circulation Models (GCMs) in their treatment of clouds and radiative transfer effects. Three experimental testbeds were designed for the deployment of instruments to collect atmospheric data used to drive the GCMs. Each site, known as a Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART), consists of a highly available, redundant data system for the collection of data from a variety of instrumentation. The first CART site was deployed in April 1992 in the Southern Great Plains (SGP), Lamont, Oklahoma, with the other two sites to follow in early 1996 in the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) and in 1997 on the North Slope of Alaska (NSA). Approximately 1.5 GB of data are transferred per day via the Internet from the CART sites, and external data sources to the ARM Experiment Center (EC) at Pacific Northwest Laboratory in Richland, Washington. The Experimental Center is central to the ARM data path and provides for the collection, processing, analysis and delivery of ARM data. Data from the CART sites from a variety of instrumentation, observational systems and from external data sources are transferred to the Experiment Center. The EC processes these data streams on a continuous basis to provide derived data products to the ARM Science Team in near real-time while maintaining a three-month running archive of data.

  11. The optical properties of equatorial cirrus in the pilot radiation observation experiment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Platt, C.M.R.; Young, S.A.; Manson, P.; Patterson, G.R. [CSIRO, Victoria (Australia)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    The development of a sensitive filter radiometer for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program has been reported. The aim was to develop a reliable and fast instrument that could be used alongside a lidar to obtain near realtime optical properties of clouds, particularly high ice clouds, as they drifted over an ARM Cloud and Radiation Testbed (CART) site allowing calculation of the radiation divergence in the atmosphere over the site. Obtaining cloud optical properties by the lidar/radiometer, or LIRAD, method was described by Platt et al.; the latter paper also describes a year`s data on mid-latitude cirrus. The optical properties of equatorial cirrus (i.e., cirrus within a few degrees of the equator) have hardly been studied at all. The same is true of tropical cirrus, although a few observations have been reported by Davis and Platt et al.This paper describes obersvations performed on cirrus clouds, analysis methods used, and results.

  12. Compact Dual-Band Dipole Antenna with Asymmetric Arms for WLAN Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chung-Hsiu Chiu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A dual-band dipole antenna that consists of a horn- and a C-shaped metallic arm is presented. Depending on the asymmetric arms, the antenna provides two −10 dB impedance bandwidths of 225 MHz (about 9.2% at 2.45 GHz and 1190 MHz (about 21.6% at 5.5 GHz, respectively. This feature enables it to cover the required bandwidths for wireless local area network (WLAN operation at the 2.4 GHz band and 5.2/5.8 GHz bands for IEEE 802.11 a/b/g standards. More importantly, the compact size (7 mm × 24 mm and good radiating performance of the antenna are profitable to be integrated with wireless communication devices on restricted RF-elements spaces.

  13. Armed conflict and child health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

    2012-01-01

    Armed conflict has a major impact on child health throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark contrast to the effect on children, the international arms trade results in huge profits for the large corporations involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions. Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important health issue that should be prevented.

  14. CO(J = 2 - 1) study of molecular clouds in the southwest arm of M31

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kutner, M.L.; Verter, F.; Rickard, L.J.

    1990-01-01

    The first map of M31 in the CO(J = 2 - 1) transition, covering a 3 arcmin by 3 arcmin section of the SW arm-interarm region, is presented. The CO spectra in the arm region defined by H II regions are characterized by strong, narrow features which are interpreted here to be giant molecular clouds with masses of a few 100,000 solar masses. The interarm emission is interpreted as an ensemble of small clouds with masses of a few 10,000 solar masses. On the arm about 70 percent of the emission comes from large clouds, while off the arm essentially all of it comes from small clouds. The mass surface density on this section of M31 is about that of a comparable section of the Scutum arm of the Galaxy. The velocities of the giant clouds in the arm are shifted with respect to the rest of the molecular and atomic gas by about 15 km/s. This may be due to cloud response to passage through the spiral arm potential. 49 refs

  15. ARM Tethered Balloon System & AALCO Activities at AMF3 Site at Oliktok Point, AK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hardesty, J.; Dexheimer, D.; Mei, F.; Roesler, E. L.; Longbottom, C.; Hillman, B. R.

    2017-12-01

    Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has operated the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's (ARM) third ARM Mobile Facility (AMF3) and the restricted airspace associated with it at Oliktok Point, Alaska, since October 2013. The site hosts ground-based instrumentation which collects a variety of continuous atmospheric measurements as well as user-conducted unmanned aircraft and tethered balloon campaigns. SNL has operated ARM's tethered balloon system (TBS) as part of the Inaugural Campaigns for ARM Research using Unmanned Systems (ICARUS) since 2016. AALCO (Aerial Assessment of Liquid in Clouds at Oliktok), is an ARM Intensive Operations Period conducted by SNL at the AMF3 since 2016. The operation of the TBS during ICARUS and AALCO to altitudes above 4,000' AGL in a variety of seasons and conditions is addressed. A Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) system and supercooled liquid water content (SLWC) sensors have been deployed under both campaigns. The performance of these sensors is discussed and results are presented. DTS measurements and their relationship to concurrent temperature measurements from unmanned aircraft and radiosondes are shown. SLWC sensor in situ measurements are compared with microwave radiometer and radiosonde-derived measurements. Preliminary analysis of using Large Eddy Simulations to compare with the SLWC measurements reveals three-dimensional properties of the observed clouds.

  16. Star distribution in the Orion spiral arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Basharina, T.S.; Pavlovskaya, E.D.; Filippova, A.A.

    1985-01-01

    The structure of the Orion spiral arm is studied by numerical experiments, assuming that in each direction considered the star distribution along the line of sight is a combination of two Gaussian laws. The corresponding parameters are evaluated for four Milky Way fields; the bimodal laws now fit the observations by the chi 2 criterion. In the Orion arm the line-of-sight star densities follow asymmetric curves, steeper at the outer edge of the arm

  17. Sensory-Feedback Exoskeletal Arm Controller

    Science.gov (United States)

    An, Bin; Massie, Thomas H.; Vayner, Vladimir

    2004-01-01

    An electromechanical exoskeletal arm apparatus has been designed for use in controlling a remote robotic manipulator arm. The apparatus, called a force-feedback exoskeleton arm master (F-EAM) is comfortable to wear and easy to don and doff. It provides control signals from the wearer s arm to a robot arm or a computer simulator (e.g., a virtual-reality system); it also provides force and torque feedback from sensors on the robot arm or from the computer simulator to the wearer s arm. The F-EAM enables the wearer to make the robot arm gently touch objects and finely manipulate them without exerting excessive forces. The F-EAM features a lightweight design in which the motors and gear heads that generate force and torque feedback are made smaller than they ordinarily would be: this is achieved by driving the motors to power levels greater than would ordinarily be used in order to obtain higher torques, and by providing active liquid cooling of the motors to prevent overheating at the high drive levels. The F-EAM (see figure) includes an assembly that resembles a backpack and is worn like a backpack, plus an exoskeletal arm mechanism. The FEAM has five degrees of freedom (DOFs) that correspond to those of the human arm: 1. The first DOF is that of the side-to-side rotation of the upper arm about the shoulder (rotation about axis 1). The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 1 via drum 1 and a planar four-bar linkage. 2. The second DOF is that of the up-and-down rotation of the arm about the shoulder. The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 2 via drum 2. 3. The third DOF is that of twisting of the upper arm about its longitudinal axis. This DOF is implemented in a cable remote-center mechanism (CRCM). The reflected torque for this DOF is provided by motor 3, which drives the upper-arm cuff and the mechanism below it. A bladder inflatable by gas or liquid is placed between the cuff and the wearer s upper arm to compensate for misalignment

  18. Atmospheric radiation measurement program facilities newsletter, June 2002.; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holdridge, D. J.

    2002-01-01

    ARM Intensive Operational Period Scheduled to Validate New NASA Satellite-Beginning in July, all three ARM sites (Southern Great Plains[SGP], North Slope of Alaska, and Tropical Western Pacific; Figure 1) will participate in the AIRS Validation IOP. This three-month intensive operational period (IOP) will validate data collected by the satellite-based Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) recently launched into space. On May 4, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Aqua, the second spacecraft in the Earth Observing System (EOS) series. The EOS satellites monitor Earth systems including land surfaces, oceans, the atmosphere, and ice cover. The first EOS satellite, named Terra, was launched in December 1999. The second EOS satellite is named Aqua because its primary focus is understanding Earth's water cycle through observation of atmospheric moisture, clouds, temperature, ocean surface, precipitation, and soil moisture. One of the instruments aboard Aqua is the AIRS, built by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a NASA agency. The AIRS Validation IOP complements the ARM mission to improve understanding of the interactions of clouds and atmospheric moisture with solar radiation and their influence on weather and climate. In support of satellite validation IOP, ARM will launch dedicated radiosondes at all three ARM sites while the Aqua satellite with the AIRS instrument is orbiting overhead. These radiosonde launches will occur 45 minutes and 5 minutes before selected satellite overpasses. In addition, visiting scientists from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will launch special radiosondes to measure ozone and humidity over the SGP site. All launches will generate ground-truth data to validate satellite data collected simultaneously. Data gathered daily by ARM meteorological and solar radiation instruments will complete the validation data sets. Data from Aqua-based instruments, including AIRS, will aid in weather forecasting, climate modeling, and

  19. [Determination of arm circumference for correct measurement of blood pressure. Results of an intervention study].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oliveras Puig, A; Dalfó-Pibernat, A; Jdid Rosàs, N; Mayor Isaac, E; Pérez-Romero, L; Gibert Llorach, E; Dalfó-Baqué, A

    2015-01-01

    To assess the effectiveness of an intervention to promote standardized arm circumference measurement as way to choose appropriate cuff size to measure blood pressure. A before-after intervention study was performed in a basic health care area in Barcelona. Doctors, nurses and pharmacy staff participated by filling out an anonymous self-administered questionnaire pre- and post-intervention (3m). Variables included: demographics, type of professional, years since they finished their studies, availability of different cuff sizes, if arm circumference measurement were obtained or not, knowledge about the cutoff values for each cuff size and type of blood pressure monitor. The written results were given to the participants and presented in sessions. Pre- and post-intervention: 74.3 and 67.3% answered the questionnaires (P=ns), respectively. Determination of arm circumference varied from 1.3 to 19.1% (P=.009). A total of 37.3% and 44.1% declared that they had 2 or more available cuff sizes (P=ns). Knowledge about the correct measurement of the cuffs was 2.7 to 33.8% regarding the standard cuff size (P=.0198) and 0 to 23.5% for obese subjects (P<.05). When more than one cuff was available, reasons for the choice went from: «making a rough guess» or «when velcro stops sticking» before and after the intervention. All blood pressure devices in our primary health care center were electronic and automatic as were those of the 9 pharmacies. The intervention increased the determination of arm circumference prior to the reading of the blood pressure and the knowledge about the cutoff interval for standard and obese cuff size after intervention. There was greater availability of different sized cuffs. Despite this, the choice of the appropriate cuff size was not made based on arm circumference. Copyright © 2014 SEHLELHA. Published by Elsevier Espana. All rights reserved.

  20. Analysis of emotionality and locomotion in radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation exposed rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narayanan, Sareesh Naduvil; Kumar, Raju Suresh; Paval, Jaijesh; Kedage, Vivekananda; Bhat, M Shankaranarayana; Nayak, Satheesha; Bhat, P Gopalakrishna

    2013-07-01

    In the current study the modulatory role of mobile phone radio-frequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on emotionality and locomotion was evaluated in adolescent rats. Male albino Wistar rats (6-8 weeks old) were randomly assigned into the following groups having 12 animals in each group. Group I (Control): they remained in the home cage throughout the experimental period. Group II (Sham exposed): they were exposed to mobile phone in switch-off mode for 28 days, and Group III (RF-EMR exposed): they were exposed to RF-EMR (900 MHz) from an active GSM (Global system for mobile communications) mobile phone with a peak power density of 146.60 μW/cm(2) for 28 days. On 29th day, the animals were tested for emotionality and locomotion. Elevated plus maze (EPM) test revealed that, percentage of entries into the open arm, percentage of time spent on the open arm and distance travelled on the open arm were significantly reduced in the RF-EMR exposed rats. Rearing frequency and grooming frequency were also decreased in the RF-EMR exposed rats. Defecation boli count during the EPM test was more with the RF-EMR group. No statistically significant difference was found in total distance travelled, total arm entries, percentage of closed arm entries and parallelism index in the RF-EMR exposed rats compared to controls. Results indicate that mobile phone radiation could affect the emotionality of rats without affecting the general locomotion.

  1. Radiation Studies, Vol.10

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nadareishvili, K.; Tsitskishvili, M.; Chankseliani, Z.; Gelashvili, K.; Mtskhoetadze, A.; Oniani, T.; Todua, F.; Vepkhoadze, N.; Zaalishvili, T.

    2002-01-01

    'Radiation studies' - is a periodical edition of Scientific Research Center of Radiobiology and Radiation Ecology of Georgian Academy of Sciences, Problem Council of Radiobiology of Georgian Academy of Sciences and Georgian Academy of Ecological Sciences. The 10th volume of 'Radiation studies' reflects activities of above-mentioned institutions during previous two years and contains 26 articles, from which 17 are within the scope of INIS

  2. Armed conflict and child health

    OpenAIRE

    Rieder, Michael; Choonara, Imti

    2012-01-01

    Armed conflict has a major impact on child health\\ud throughout the world. One in six children worldwide lives\\ud in an area of armed conflict and civilians are more likely\\ud to die than soldiers as a result of the conflict. In stark\\ud contrast to the effect on children, the international arms\\ud trade results in huge profits for the large corporations\\ud involved in producing arms, weapons and munitions.\\ud Armed conflict is not inevitable but is an important\\ud health issue that should be...

  3. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program Plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-02-01

    In order to understand energy's role in anthropogenic global climate change, significant reliance is being placed on General Circulation Models (GCMs). A major goal of the Department is to foster the development of GCMs capable of predicting the timing and magnitude of greenhouse gas-induced global warming and the regional effects of such warming. DOE research has revealed that cloud radiative feedback is the single most important effect determining the magnitude of possible climate responses to human activity. However, cloud radiative forcing and feedbacks are not understood at the levels needed for reliable climate prediction. The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program will contribute to the DOE goal by improving the treatment of cloud radiative forcing and feedbacks in GCMs. Two issues will be addressed: the radiation budget and its spectral dependence and the radiative and other properties of clouds. Understanding cloud properties and how to predict them is critical because cloud properties may very well change as climate changes. The experimental objective of the ARM Program is to characterize empirically the radiative processes in the Earth's atmosphere with improved resolution and accuracy. A key to this characterization is the effective treatment of cloud formation and cloud properties in GCMs. Through this characterization of radiative properties, it will be possible to understand both the forcing and feedback effects. GCM modelers will then be able to better identify the best approaches to improved parameterizations of radiative transfer effects. This is expected to greatly improve the accuracy of long-term, GCM predictions and the efficacy of those predictions at the important regional scale, as the research community and DOE attempt to understand the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on the Earth's climate. 153 refs., 24 figs., 6 tabs

  4. On the need to revise the arm structure in stylized anthropomorphic phantoms in lateral photon irradiation geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Lee, Jai-Ki

    2006-01-01

    Distributions of radiation absorbed dose within human anatomy have been estimated through Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques implemented for two different classes of computational anthropomorphic phantoms: (1) mathematical equation-based stylized phantoms and (2) tomographic image-based voxel phantoms. Voxel phantoms constructed from tomographic images of real human anatomy have been actively developed since the late 1980s to overcome the anatomical approximations necessary with stylized phantoms, which themselves have been utilized since the mid 1960s. However, revisions of stylized phantoms have also been pursued in parallel to the development of voxel phantoms since voxel phantoms (1) are initially restricted to the individual-specific anatomy of the person originally imaged, (2) must be restructured on an organ-by-organ basis to conform to reference individual anatomy and (3) cannot easily represent very fine anatomical structures and tissue layers that are thinner than the voxel dimensions of the overall phantom. Although efforts have been made to improve the anatomic realism of stylized phantoms, most of these efforts have been limited to attempts to alter internal organ structures. Aside from the internal organs, the exterior shapes, and especially the arm structures, of stylized phantoms are also far from realistic descriptions of human anatomy, and may cause dosimetry errors in the calculation of organ-absorbed doses for external irradiation scenarios. The present study was intended to highlight the need to revise the existing arm structure within stylized phantoms by comparing organ doses of stylized adult phantoms with those from three adult voxel phantoms in the lateral photon irradiation geometry. The representative stylized phantom, the adult phantom of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) series and two adult male voxel phantoms, KTMAN-2 and VOXTISS8, were employed for Monte Carlo dose calculation, and data from another voxel phantom, VIP

  5. Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lewis, Ernie R. [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2016-12-01

    The Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign, which deployed the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) aboard the Horizon Lines cargo container ship Spirit as it ran its regular route between Los Angeles, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, measured properties of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, radiation, and atmospheric, meteorological, and oceanic conditions with the goal of obtaining statistics of these properties to achieve better understanding of the transition between stratocumulus and cumulus cloud regimes that occur in that region. This Sc-Cu transition is poorly represented in models, and a major reason for this is the lack of high-quality and comprehensive data that can be used to constrain, validate, and improve model representation of the transition. MAGIC consisted of 20 round trips between Los Angeles and Honolulu, and thus over three dozen transects through the transition, totaling nearly 200 days at sea between September, 2012 and October, 2013. During this time MAGIC collected a unique and unprecedented data set, including more than 550 successful radiosonde launches. An Intensive Observational Period (IOP) occurred in July, 2013 during which more detailed measurements of the atmospheric structure were made. MAGIC was very successful in its operations and overcame numerous logistical and technological challenges, clearly demonstrating the feasibility of a marine AMF2 deployment and the ability to make accurate measurements of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, and radiation while at sea.

  6. Randomized phase III study comparing best supportive care to biafine as a prophylactic agent for radiation-induced skin toxicity for women undergoing breast irradiation: Radiation therapy oncology group (RTOG) 97-13

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fisher, J.; Scott, Charles; Stevens, Randy; Marconi, Barbara; Champion, Lorraine; Freedman, Gary M.; Asrari, Fariba; Pilepich, M.V.; Gagnon, James D.; Wong, Gene

    2000-01-01

    Purpose: To determine if Biafine compared to Best Supportive Care (BSC) is effective in minimizing or preventing radiation-induced dermatitis in women undergoing breast irradiation. Methods and Materials: Patients were randomized between Biafine (n = 83) vs. BSC (n = 89). The institutions identified preference for BSC at the time of randomization. A no-treatment arm was allowed (16% received no treatment). Patients were instructed to apply randomized product three times a day, but not within 4 h of their daily RT session. Application began following their first radiation treatment and continued 2 weeks postradiation. Skin dermatitis was scored weekly utilizing the RTOG and ONS (Oncology Nursing Society) skin toxicity scales, a weekly patient satisfaction and quality-of-life questionnaire. Results: Using the RTOG toxicity scale there was no overall difference for maximum dermatitis during RT between Biafine and BSC (p = 0.77). There was no difference in maximum toxicity by arm or breast size. There was an interaction between breast size and toxicity, with large-breasted women exhibiting more toxicity. Large-breasted women receiving Biafine were more likely to have no toxicity 6 weeks post RT. Conclusion: There was no overall difference between BSC and Biafine in the prevention, time to, or duration of radiation-induced dermatitis.

  7. Nonspecific Arm Pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Moradi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Nonspecific activity-related arm pain is characterized by an absence of objective physical findings and symptoms that do not correspond with objective pathophysiology. Arm pain without strict diagnosis is often related to activity, work-related activity in particular, and is often seen in patients with physically demanding work. Psychological factors such as catastrophic thinking, symptoms of depression, and heightened illness concern determine a substantial percentage of the disability associated with puzzling hand and arm pains. Ergonomic modifications can help to control symptoms, but optimal health may require collaborative management incorporating psychosocial and psychological elements of illness.

  8. Nonspecific Arm Pain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ali Moradi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available   Nonspecific activity-related arm pain is characterized by an absence of objective physical findings and symptoms that do not correspond with objective pathophysiology. Arm pain without strict diagnosis is often related to activity, work-related activity in particular, and is often seen in patients with physically demanding work. Psychological factors such as catastrophic thinking, symptoms of depression, and heightened illness concern determine a substantial percentage of the disability associated with puzzling hand and arm pains. Ergonomic modifications can help to control symptoms, but optimal health may require collaborative management incorporating psychosocial and psychological elements of illness.

  9. Arms control and disarmament

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Acton, P.

    1992-01-01

    Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty commits each party to work towards nuclear disarmament and to negotiations to stop the nuclear arms race. All parties to the Treaty are included and a wide range of arms control and disarmament issues are covered. However the main focus at Treaty review conferences has been on nuclear disarmament by the nuclear weapon states which are party to the Treaty. This has led to bilateral United States - Soviet Union negotiations resulting in the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty in December 1987 and the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in July followed by unilateral arms control measures in September and October 1991. (UK)

  10. Estimating the effective radiation dose imparted to patients by intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography in thoracolumbar spinal surgery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, Jeffrey; Karellas, Andrew; Street, John; Eck, Jason C; Lapinsky, Anthony; Connolly, Patrick J; Dipaola, Christian P

    2013-03-01

    Observational. To estimate the radiation dose imparted to patients during typical thoracolumbar spinal surgical scenarios. Minimally invasive techniques continue to become more common in spine surgery. Computer-assisted navigation systems coupled with intraoperative cone-beam computed tomography (CT) represent one such method used to aid in instrumented spinal procedures. Some studies indicate that cone-beam CT technology delivers a relatively low dose of radiation to patients compared with other x-ray-based imaging modalities. The goal of this study was to estimate the radiation exposure to the patient imparted during typical posterior thoracolumbar instrumented spinal procedures, using intraoperative cone-beam CT and to place these values in the context of standard CT doses. Cone-beam CT scans were obtained using Medtronic O-arm (Medtronic, Minneapolis, MN). Thermoluminescence dosimeters were placed in a linear array on a foam-plastic thoracolumbar spine model centered above the radiation source for O-arm presets of lumbar scans for small or large patients. In-air dosimeter measurements were converted to skin surface measurements, using published conversion factors. Dose-length product was calculated from these values. Effective dose was estimated using published effective dose to dose-length product conversion factors. Calculated dosages for many full-length procedures using the small-patient setting fell within the range of published effective doses of abdominal CT scans (1-31 mSv). Calculated dosages for many full-length procedures using the large-patient setting fell within the range of published effective doses of abdominal CT scans when the number of scans did not exceed 3. We have demonstrated that single cone-beam CT scans and most full-length posterior instrumented spinal procedures using O-arm in standard mode would likely impart a radiation dose within the range of those imparted by a single standard CT scan of the abdomen. Radiation dose increases

  11. Decontamination trade study for the Light Duty Utility Arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rieck, R.H.

    1994-01-01

    Various methods were evaluated for decontaminating the Light Duty Utility Arm (LDUA). Physical capabilities of each method were compared with the constraints and requirements for the LDUA Decontamination System. Costs were compared and a referred alternative was chosen

  12. The effect of arm sling on balance in patients with hemiplegia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acar, Merve; Karatas, Gulcin Kaymak

    2010-10-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an arm sling on balance in patients with, hemiplegia following a stroke. Twenty-six patients with hemiplegia (11 men, 15 women) who had, shoulder subluxation were enrolled in the study. Balance was evaluated by the Berg Balance Scale, the, Functional Reach test, and a static balance index which was measured by the Kinesthetic Ability, Trainer 3000. Balance tests were performed twice, with arm sling and without arm sling use. Results of, this study show that the Berg Balance Scores and static balance index ameliorated with arm sling use (p=0.005 and p=0.004, respectively). Likewise, the Functional Reach test was better when performed with an arm sling (p=0.039). In conclusion, arm slings have a beneficial effect on balance in patients, with hemiplegia. An arm sling may be applied for its possible beneficial effect on balance especially in, the early phases of stroke rehabilitation while the upper extremity is still flaccid and arm swing is, reduced. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Randomized study of chemotherapy/radiation therapy combinations for favorable patients with locally advanced inoperable nonsmall cell lung cancer: radiation therapy oncology group (RTOG) 92-04

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komaki, Ritsuko; Scott, Charles; Ettinger, David; Lee, Jin S.; Fossella, Frank V.; Curran, Walter; Evans, R.F.; Rubin, Philip; Byhardt, Roger W.

    1997-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the severity and distribution of the toxicities associated with the two different combinations of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Methods and Materials: This prospective randomized trial studied toxicities associated with induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent treatment (Arm 1) vs. immediate concurrent chemotherapy/radiotherapy (CT/RT) (Arm 2). Arm 1 consisted of vinblastine (VB), 5 mg/M 2 IV bolus weekly, weeks 1-5 and cisplatin (DDP), 100 mg/M 2 days 1 and 29, DDP 75 mg/M 2 , days 50, 71, and 92. Daily RT started on day 50; a total dose of 63 Gy was given in 34 fractions in 7 weeks. In Arm 2 RT started day 1; a total dose of 69.6 Gy was given in 58 fractions of 1.2 Gy bid, 5 days per week for 6 weeks with DDP 50 mg/M 2 i.v. days 1 and 8, and oral VP-16 50 mg b.i.d. during the first 10 days of RT. DDP/VP-16 were repeated beginning day 29. Survival was used as the Phase II endpoint. Results: Between July 1992 and February 1994, 168 patients were randomized; 162 evaluable patients had minimum follow-up of 20 months. Eighty patients were registered to Arm 1 and 82 to Arm 2. Pretreatment characteristics were distributed evenly. Arm 1 had significantly more Grade 4 hematologic toxicity (62%) than Arm 2 (33%) (p = 0.021). Acute nonhematologic Grade 3+ toxicity was also greater (p = 0.018) in Arm 2 than Arm 1 due mainly to esophagitis (38 vs. 6%; p < 0.0001). Grade 3+ late esophageal toxicity was 12% on Arm 2 compared to 3% on Arm 1 (p = 0.006). There were no differences between the two arms in compliance with protocol specifications for either RT or CT. At 1 year, 31.7% of patients had in-field progression on Arm 1 compared to 19.8% on Arm 2 (p = 0.042), but overall progression-free survival rates were nearly identical; 50 and 49% for Arms I and II, respectively, at 12 months. One-year and median survivals were 65% and 15.5 months on Arm 1 compared to 58% and 14.4 months on Arm 2. Conclusion: Whereas hematologic

  14. Evaluation of arm-leg coordination in flat breaststroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chollet, D; Seifert, L; Leblanc, H; Boulesteix, L; Carter, M

    2004-10-01

    This study proposes a new method to evaluate arm-leg coordination in flat breaststroke. Five arm and leg stroke phases were defined with a velocity-video system. Five time gaps quantified the time between arm and leg actions during three paces of a race (200 m, 100 m and 50 m) in 16 top level swimmers. Based on these time gaps, effective glide, effective propulsion, effective leg insweep and effective recovery were used to identify the different stroke phases of the body. A faster pace corresponded to increased stroke rate, decreased stroke length, increased propulsive phases, shorter glide phases, and a shorter T1 time gap, which measured the effective body glide. The top level swimmers showed short time gaps (T2, T3, T4, measuring the timing of arm-leg recoveries), which reflected the continuity in arm and leg actions. The measurement of these time gaps thus provides a pertinent evaluation of swimmers' skill in adapting their arm-leg coordination to biomechanical constraints.

  15. Evidence for radiation-induced Bystander effects and relevance to radiotherapy and to radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Georgieva, R.

    2006-01-01

    Full text: There are two major arms of radiation science in which Bystander effects (ByEff) could be of practical importance: radiotherapy and risk assessment. Basic biological principles, including dose-response relationships that have become dogma in the context of targeted effects of IR must now be reconsidered. The direct effects of radiation and the bystander components had to be reinvestigated to show the difference between them. It may be necessary to introduce a factor for ByEff's when calculating dose to both normal tissues and tumor. Presumably the relative effects on normal or tumor tissues could be different and that difference may not be always predictable. In relation to radiation protection, the existence of RIByEff's raises important questions for the way radiation dose is measured and modeled. The biological effect of exposure to low-doses radiation is likely to vary between individuals and between organs in one the same individual. Further studies on non-targeted effects should contribute to the establishment of adequate environmental and occupational radiation protection standards. This lecture looks at the history, the current data and controversies that are now beginning to resolve the questions concerning the mechanisms underlying the induction and transmission of ByEff. Especially, effects on radiotherapy and radiation protection are discussed

  16. Planet-driven Spiral Arms in Protoplanetary Disks. II. Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

    2018-06-01

    We examine whether various characteristics of planet-driven spiral arms can be used to constrain the masses of unseen planets and their positions within their disks. By carrying out two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations varying planet mass and disk gas temperature, we find that a larger number of spiral arms form with a smaller planet mass and a lower disk temperature. A planet excites two or more spiral arms interior to its orbit for a range of disk temperatures characterized by the disk aspect ratio 0.04≤slant {(h/r)}p≤slant 0.15, whereas exterior to a planet’s orbit multiple spiral arms can form only in cold disks with {(h/r)}p≲ 0.06. Constraining the planet mass with the pitch angle of spiral arms requires accurate disk temperature measurements that might be challenging even with ALMA. However, the property that the pitch angle of planet-driven spiral arms decreases away from the planet can be a powerful diagnostic to determine whether the planet is located interior or exterior to the observed spirals. The arm-to-arm separations increase as a function of planet mass, consistent with previous studies; however, the exact slope depends on disk temperature as well as the radial location where the arm-to-arm separations are measured. We apply these diagnostics to the spiral arms seen in MWC 758 and Elias 2–27. As shown in Bae et al., planet-driven spiral arms can create concentric rings and gaps, which can produce a more dominant observable signature than spiral arms under certain circumstances. We discuss the observability of planet-driven spiral arms versus rings and gaps.

  17. Homosexuality in the Dutch Armed Forces 2006

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Anna Adolfsen; Saskia Keuzenkamp; m.m.v. Linda Mans

    2006-01-01

    Original title: Uniform uit de kast. This study looks at the attitudes of defence personnel to homosexuality. How do members of the military view homosexual colleagues? Can gays and lesbians working in the armed forces be open about their sexual preferences? Do they regard the armed forces as

  18. Rotating double arm spectrometer to study hard scattering interactions at Serpukhov accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abramov, V.V.; Baldin, B.Yu.; Buzulutskov, A.F.

    1991-01-01

    The double arm magnetic spectrometer designed to study high P T particle production with intense proton and pion beams is described. Particle trajectories are measured by the drift and proportional chambers. Particles are identified by Cherenkov ring spectrometer and muon identifier. The spectrometer can be rotated around the target up to 160 mrad. 2 tabs.; 13 figs

  19. The inter-arm blood pressure difference and peripheral vascular disease: cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Christopher E; Campbell, John L; Powell, Roy J; Thompson, John F

    2007-10-01

    A blood pressure (BP) difference between the upper limbs is often encountered in primary care. Knowledge of its prevalence and importance in the accurate measurement of BP is poor, representing a source of error. Current hypertension guidelines do not emphasize this. To establish the prevalence of an inter-arm blood pressure difference (IAD) and explore its association with other indicators of peripheral vascular disease (PVD) in a hypertensive primary care population. This was a cross-sectional study. Primary care, one rural general practice, was the setting of the study. The methods were controlled simultaneous measurement of brachial BPs, ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) and tiptoe stress testing in 94 subjects. In all, 18 of 94 [19%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 11-27%] subjects had mean systolic inter-arm difference (sIAD) > or =10 mmHg and seven of 94 (7%, 95% CI 2-12%) had mean diastolic inter-arm difference (dIAD) > or =10 mmHg. Nineteen of 91 (20%, 95% CI 12-28%) had a reduced ABPI pressure drop > or =20%. An IAD and asymptomatic PVD are common in a primary care hypertensive population. Magnitude of the IAD is inversely correlated with ABPI, supporting the hypotheses that IADs are causally linked to PVD, and that IAD is a useful marker for the presence of PVD. Consequently, detection of an IAD should prompt the clinician to screen subjects for other signs of vascular disease and target them for aggressive cardiovascular risk factor modification.

  20. Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibration Process for the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dooraghi, Michael [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

    2015-09-01

    The Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program (ARM) maintains a fleet of monitoring stations to aid in the improved scientific understanding of the basic physics related to radiative feedback processes in the atmosphere, particularly the interactions among clouds and aerosols. ARM obtains continuous measurements and conducts field campaigns to provide data products that aid in the improvement and further development of climate models. All of the measurement campaigns include a suite of solar measurements. The Solar Radiation Research Laboratory at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory supports ARM's full suite of stations in a number of ways, including troubleshooting issues that arise as part of the data-quality reviews; managing engineering changes to the standard setup; and providing calibration services and assistance to the full fleet of solar-related instruments, including pyranometers, pyrgeometers, pyrheliometers, as well as the temperature/relative humidity probes, multimeters, and data acquisition systems that are used in the calibrations performed at the Southern Great Plains Radiometer Calibration Facility. This paper discusses all aspects related to the support provided to the calibration of the instruments in the solar monitoring fleet.

  1. Improved Correction of IR Loss in Diffuse Shortwave Measurements: An ARM Value-Added Product

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Younkin, K; Long, CN

    2003-11-01

    Simple single black detector pyranometers, such as the Eppley Precision Spectral Pyranometer (PSP) used by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, are known to lose energy via infrared (IR) emission to the sky. This is especially a problem when making clear-sky diffuse shortwave (SW) measurements, which are inherently of low magnitude and suffer the greatest IR loss. Dutton et al. (2001) proposed a technique using information from collocated pyrgeometers to help compensate for this IR loss. The technique uses an empirically derived relationship between the pyrgeometer detector data (and alternatively the detector data plus the difference between the pyrgeometer case and dome temperatures) and the nighttime pyranometer IR loss data. This relationship is then used to apply a correction to the diffuse SW data during daylight hours. We developed an ARM value-added product (VAP) called the SW DIFF CORR 1DUTT VAP to apply the Dutton et al. correction technique to ARM PSP diffuse SW measurements.

  2. Understanding the conventional arms trade

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stohl, Rachel

    2017-11-01

    The global conventional arms trade is worth tens of billions of dollars every year and is engaged in by every country in the world. Yet, it is often difficult to control the legal trade in conventional arms and there is a thriving illicit market, willing to arm unscrupulous regimes and nefarious non-state actors. This chapter examines the international conventional arms trade, the range of tools that have been used to control it, and challenges to these international regimes.

  3. SU-F-207-03: Dosimetric Effect of the Position of Arms in Torso CT Scan with Tube Current Modulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, H; Gao, Y; Xu, X; Zhuo, W; Wu, J

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the patient organ dose differences between the arms-raised and arms-lowered postures in Torso multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scan protocols with tube current modulation (TCM). Methods: Patient CT organ doses were simulated using the Monte Carlo method with human phantoms and a validated CT scanner model. A set of adult human phantoms with arms raised and arms lowered postures were developed using advanced BREP-based mesh surface geometries. Organ doses from routine Torso scan protocols such as chest, abdomen-pelvis, and CAP scans were simulated. The organ doses differences caused by two different posutres were investigated when tube current modulation (TCM) were applied during the CT scan. Results: With TCM applied, organ doses of all the listed organs of arms-lowered posture phantom are larger than those of arms raised phantom. The dose difference for most of the organs or tissues are larger than 50%, and the skin doses difference for abdomen-pelvis scan even reaches 112.03%. This is due to the fact that the tube current for patient with arms-lowered is much higher than for the arms raised posture. Conclusion: Considering CT scan with TCM, which is commonly applied clinically, patients who could not raise their arms will receive higher radiation dose than the arms raised patient, with dose differences for some tissues such as the skin being larger than 100%. This is due to the additional tube current necessary to penetrate the arms while maintaining consistent image quality. National Nature Science Foundation of China(No.11475047)

  4. The ARM Cloud Radar Simulator for Global Climate Models: Bridging Field Data and Climate Models

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yuying [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; Xie, Shaocheng [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; Klein, Stephen A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; Marchand, Roger [University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Kollias, Pavlos [Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York; Clothiaux, Eugene E. [The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania; Lin, Wuyin [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York; Johnson, Karen [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York; Swales, Dustin [CIRES and NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado; Bodas-Salcedo, Alejandro [Met Office Hadley Centre, Exeter, United Kingdom; Tang, Shuaiqi [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California; Haynes, John M. [Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere/Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado; Collis, Scott [Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois; Jensen, Michael [Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York; Bharadwaj, Nitin [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Hardin, Joseph [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; Isom, Bradley [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington

    2018-01-01

    Clouds play an important role in Earth’s radiation budget and hydrological cycle. However, current global climate models (GCMs) have had difficulties in accurately simulating clouds and precipitation. To improve the representation of clouds in climate models, it is crucial to identify where simulated clouds differ from real world observations of them. This can be difficult, since significant differences exist between how a climate model represents clouds and what instruments observe, both in terms of spatial scale and the properties of the hydrometeors which are either modeled or observed. To address these issues and minimize impacts of instrument limitations, the concept of instrument “simulators”, which convert model variables into pseudo-instrument observations, has evolved with the goal to improve and to facilitate the comparison of modeled clouds with observations. Many simulators have (and continue to be developed) for a variety of instruments and purposes. A community satellite simulator package, the Cloud Feedback Model Intercomparison Project (CFMIP) Observation Simulator Package (COSP; Bodas-Salcedo et al. 2011), contains several independent satellite simulators and is being widely used in the global climate modeling community to exploit satellite observations for model cloud evaluation (e.g., Klein et al. 2013; Zhang et al. 2010). This article introduces a ground-based cloud radar simulator developed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program for comparing climate model clouds with ARM observations from its vertically pointing 35-GHz radars. As compared to CloudSat radar observations, ARM radar measurements occur with higher temporal resolution and finer vertical resolution. This enables users to investigate more fully the detailed vertical structures within clouds, resolve thin clouds, and quantify the diurnal variability of clouds. Particularly, ARM radars are sensitive to low-level clouds, which are

  5. NOTE: On the need to revise the arm structure in stylized anthropomorphic phantoms in lateral photon irradiation geometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Lee, Jai-Ki

    2006-11-01

    Distributions of radiation absorbed dose within human anatomy have been estimated through Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques implemented for two different classes of computational anthropomorphic phantoms: (1) mathematical equation-based stylized phantoms and (2) tomographic image-based voxel phantoms. Voxel phantoms constructed from tomographic images of real human anatomy have been actively developed since the late 1980s to overcome the anatomical approximations necessary with stylized phantoms, which themselves have been utilized since the mid 1960s. However, revisions of stylized phantoms have also been pursued in parallel to the development of voxel phantoms since voxel phantoms (1) are initially restricted to the individual-specific anatomy of the person originally imaged, (2) must be restructured on an organ-by-organ basis to conform to reference individual anatomy and (3) cannot easily represent very fine anatomical structures and tissue layers that are thinner than the voxel dimensions of the overall phantom. Although efforts have been made to improve the anatomic realism of stylized phantoms, most of these efforts have been limited to attempts to alter internal organ structures. Aside from the internal organs, the exterior shapes, and especially the arm structures, of stylized phantoms are also far from realistic descriptions of human anatomy, and may cause dosimetry errors in the calculation of organ-absorbed doses for external irradiation scenarios. The present study was intended to highlight the need to revise the existing arm structure within stylized phantoms by comparing organ doses of stylized adult phantoms with those from three adult voxel phantoms in the lateral photon irradiation geometry. The representative stylized phantom, the adult phantom of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) series and two adult male voxel phantoms, KTMAN-2 and VOXTISS8, were employed for Monte Carlo dose calculation, and data from another voxel phantom, VIP

  6. Borehole tool outrigger arm displacement control mechanism

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, A.G.

    1985-01-01

    As the outrigger arms of a borehole logging tool are flexed inwardly and outwardly according to the diameter of the borehole opening through which they pass, the corresponding axial displacements of the ends of the arms are controlled to determine the axial positions of the arms relative to the tool. Specifically, as the arm ends move, they are caused to rotate by a cam mechanism. The stiffness of the arms causes the arm ends to rotate in unison, and the exact positions of the arms on the tool are then controlled by the differential movements of the arm ends in the cams

  7. Radiation safety and inventory of sealed radiation sources in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ali, M.; Mannan, A.

    2001-01-01

    Sealed radiation sources (SRS) of various types and activities are widely used in industry, medicine, agriculture, research and teaching in Pakistan. The proper maintenance of records of SRS is mandatory for users/licensees. Since 1956, more than 2000 radiation sources of different isotopes having activities of Bq to TBq have been imported. Of these, several hundred sources have been disposed of and some have been exported/returned to the suppliers. To ensure the safety and security of the sources and to control and regulate the safe use of radiation sources in various disciplines, the Directorate of Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection (DNSRP), the implementing arm of the regulatory authority in the country, has introduced a system for notifying, registering and licensing the use of all types of SRS. In order to update the inventory of SRS used throughout the country, the DNSRP has developed a database. (author)

  8. AFRRI (Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute) reports, April, May, June 1987. Technical report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1987-07-01

    This document is a collection of reprinted technical reports. Partial contents include: Effect of ionizing radiation on prostaglandins and gastric secretion in rhesus monkeys; Characterization of rat prothymocyte with monoclonal antibodies recognizing rat lymphocyte membrane antigenic determinants; Effects of subdiaphragmatic vagotomy on the acquisition of a radiation-induced condition taste aversion; Ethanol-induced taste aversions; Lack of involvement of acetaldehyde and the area postrema; Dose and time relationships of the radioprotector WR-2721 on locomotor activity in mice; Purification and analysis of rat hematopoietic stem cells by flow cytometry, Plasma histamine and catecholamine levels during hypotension induced by morphine and compound 48/80; Effects of ionizing radiation on hippocampal excitability, Tumor necrosis factor/cachectin is a less-potent inducer of serum amyloid A synthesis than interleukin 1, Protection of mice against fission-neutron irradiation by WR-2721 or WR-151327, Induction of colony-stimulating factor in vivo by recombinant interleukin 1 a and recombinant tumor necrosis factor alpha; 16,16-Dimethyl prostaglandin E2 increases survival in mice following irradiation, Selenium pretreatment enhances the radioprotective effect and reduces the lethal toxicity of WR-2721; Rat phantom depth dose studies in electron, x-ray, gamma-ray, and reactor-radiation fields; Wall attenuation and scatter characteristics of ionization chambers at Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute.

  9. Air gamma spectrometry in the radiation monitoring situation of Army of the Czech Republic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pavlik, J.; Sladek, P.

    2011-01-01

    In this poster authors deal with aerial radiation monitoring of territory of the Czech Republic. Army Radiation Monitoring Network (ARMS) are selected folder whirlwind Army of the Czech Republic (ACR), that are destined for the tasks of the National Radiation Monitoring Network (CRMS).

  10. Calibration of extremity dosemeters for gamma radiation fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papadopulos, S.B.; Gregori, B.N.; Cruzate, J.A.

    1998-01-01

    In this work the kerma conversion factor are free in air, dose equivalent H(d,0 ) are presented, they were obtained theoretical and experimentally in finger and arm for gamma radiation fields. Extremity dosemeters put on surface finger and arm phantom have been irradiated. The finger phantom is a solid cylinder of PMMA polymethylmethacrylate 19 mm diameter and 300 mm height. The arm phantom is a 73 mm external diameter cylinder with PMMA walls 2.5 mm thick fill with water and 300 mm height. The radiation sources were cobalt 60 and cesium 137 from the Regional Center of Reference (CRR) of the National Commission of Atomic Energy (CNEA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Authority (ARN). Also in ISO wide X ray spectra W60, W110 and W200 have been irradiated. The results obtained show a good correlation with those published, they have a difference less than 7%. The factors will be applied to the evaluation of the equivalent doses coming from workers whose main irradiated zone is in the hands. (author)

  11. Nature of galaxy spiral arms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Efremov, Yu.N.

    1984-01-01

    The nature of galaxy spiral arms is discussed in a popular form. Two approaches in the theory of spiral arms are considered; they are related to the problem of differential galaxy rotation and the spiral structure wave theory. The example of Galaxy M31 is considered to compare the structural peculiarity of its spiral arms with the wave theory predictions. The situation in the central and south-eastern part of arm S4 in Galaxy M31 noted to be completely explained by the wave theory and modern concepts on the origin of massive stars

  12. Prospective Randomized Comparison of the Effectiveness of Radiation Therapy and Local Steroid Injection for the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Canyilmaz, Emine; Canyilmaz, Fatih; Aynaci, Ozlem; Colak, Fatma; Serdar, Lasif; Uslu, Gonca Hanedan; Aynaci, Osman; Yoney, Adnan

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial of radiation therapy for plantar fasciitis and to compare radiation therapy with local steroid injections. Methods and Materials: Between March 2013 and April 2014, 128 patients with plantar fasciitis were randomized to receive radiation therapy (total dose of 6.0 Gy applied in 6 fractions of 1.0 Gy three times a week) or local corticosteroid injections a 1 ml injection of 40 mg methylprednisolone and 0.5 ml 1% lidocaine under the guidance of palpation. The results were measured using a visual analog scale, a modified von Pannewitz scale, and a 5-level function score. The fundamental phase of the study was 3 months, with a follow-up period of up to 6 months. Results: The median follow-up period for all patients was 12.5 months (range, 6.5-18.6 months). For the radiation therapy patients, the median follow-up period was 13 months (range, 6.5-18.5 months), whereas in the palpation-guided (PG) steroid injection arm, it was 12.1 months (range, 6.5-18.6 months). After 3 months, results in the radiation therapy arm were significantly superior to those in the PG steroid injection arm (visual analog scale, P<.001; modified von Pannewitz scale, P<.001; 5-level function score, P<.001). Requirements for a second treatment did not significantly differ between the 2 groups, but the time interval for the second treatment was significantly shorter in the PG steroid injection group (P=.045). Conclusion: This study confirms the superior analgesic effect of radiation therapy compared to mean PG steroid injection on plantar fasciitis for at least 6 months after treatment

  13. Prospective Randomized Comparison of the Effectiveness of Radiation Therapy and Local Steroid Injection for the Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Canyilmaz, Emine, E-mail: dremocan@ktu.edu.tr [Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey); Canyilmaz, Fatih [Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Yavuz Selim Bone Disease and Rehabilitation Hospital, Trabzon (Turkey); Aynaci, Ozlem; Colak, Fatma; Serdar, Lasif [Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey); Uslu, Gonca Hanedan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Kanuni Research and Education Hospital, Trabzon (Turkey); Aynaci, Osman [Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey); Yoney, Adnan [Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon (Turkey)

    2015-07-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized trial of radiation therapy for plantar fasciitis and to compare radiation therapy with local steroid injections. Methods and Materials: Between March 2013 and April 2014, 128 patients with plantar fasciitis were randomized to receive radiation therapy (total dose of 6.0 Gy applied in 6 fractions of 1.0 Gy three times a week) or local corticosteroid injections a 1 ml injection of 40 mg methylprednisolone and 0.5 ml 1% lidocaine under the guidance of palpation. The results were measured using a visual analog scale, a modified von Pannewitz scale, and a 5-level function score. The fundamental phase of the study was 3 months, with a follow-up period of up to 6 months. Results: The median follow-up period for all patients was 12.5 months (range, 6.5-18.6 months). For the radiation therapy patients, the median follow-up period was 13 months (range, 6.5-18.5 months), whereas in the palpation-guided (PG) steroid injection arm, it was 12.1 months (range, 6.5-18.6 months). After 3 months, results in the radiation therapy arm were significantly superior to those in the PG steroid injection arm (visual analog scale, P<.001; modified von Pannewitz scale, P<.001; 5-level function score, P<.001). Requirements for a second treatment did not significantly differ between the 2 groups, but the time interval for the second treatment was significantly shorter in the PG steroid injection group (P=.045). Conclusion: This study confirms the superior analgesic effect of radiation therapy compared to mean PG steroid injection on plantar fasciitis for at least 6 months after treatment.

  14. Arms races between and within species.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawkins, R; Krebs, J R

    1979-09-21

    An adaptation in one lineage (e.g. predators) may change the selection pressure on another lineage (e.g. prey), giving rise to a counter-adaptation. If this occurs reciprocally, an unstable runaway escalation or 'arms race' may result. We discuss various factors which might give one side an advantage in an arms race. For example, a lineage under strong selection may out-evolve a weakly selected one (' the life-dinner principle'). We then classify arms races in two independent ways. They may be symmetric or asymmetric, and they may be interspecific or intraspecific. Our example of an asymmetric interspecific arms race is that between brood parasites and their hosts. The arms race concept may help to reduce the mystery of why cuckoo hosts are so good at detecting cuckoo eggs, but so bad at detecting cuckoo nestlings. The evolutionary contest between queen and worker ants over relative parental investment is a good example of an intraspecific asymmetric arms race. Such cases raise special problems because the participants share the same gene pool. Interspecific symmetric arms races are unlikely to be important, because competitors tend to diverge rather than escalate competitive adaptations. Intraspecific symmetric arms races, exemplified by adaptations for male-male competition, may underlie Cope's Rule and even the extinction of lineages. Finally we consider ways in which arms races can end. One lineage may drive the other to extinction; one may reach an optimum, thereby preventing the other from doing so; a particularly interesting possibility, exemplified by flower-bee coevolution, is that both sides may reach a mutual local optimum; lastly, arms races may have no stable and but may cycle continuously. We do not wish necessarily to suggest that all, or even most, evolutionary change results from arms races, but we do suggest that the arms race concept may help to resolve three long-standing questions in evolutionary theory.

  15. JPRS Report Arms Control

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1993-01-01

    Table of Contents: (1) COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES - (A) GENERAL Flaws in U.S.-Russian SSD Agreement Viewed, Khariton - Espionage Not Crucial in Soviet Nuclear Arms Development, Further on Espionage Role in Nuclear Arms Projects...

  16. Bilateral movements increase sustained extensor force in the paretic arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang, Nyeonju; Cauraugh, James H

    2018-04-01

    Muscle weakness in the extensors poststroke is a common motor impairment. Unfortunately, research is unclear on whether bilateral movements increase extensor force production in the paretic arm. This study investigated sustained force production while stroke individuals maximally extended their wrist and fingers on their paretic arm. Specifically, we determined isometric force production in three conditions: (a) unilateral paretic arm, (b) unilateral nonparetic arm, and (c) bilateral (both arms executing the same movement simultaneously). Seventeen chronic stroke patients produced isometric sustained force by executing wrist and fingers extension in unilateral and bilateral contraction conditions. Mean force, force variability (coefficient of variation), and signal-to-noise ratio were calculated for each contraction condition. Analysis of two-way (Arm × Type of Condition: 2 × 2; Paretic or Nonparetic Arm × Unilateral or Bilateral Conditions) within-subjects ANOVAs revealed that the bilateral condition increased sustained force in the paretic arm, but reduced sustained force in the nonparetic arm. Further, although the paretic arm exhibited more force variability and less signal-to-noise ratio than the nonparetic arm during a unilateral condition, there were no differences when participants simultaneously executed isometric contractions with both arms. Our unique findings indicate that bilateral contractions transiently increased extensor force in the paretic arm. Implications for Rehabilitation Bilateral movements increased isometric wrsit extensor force in paretic arms and redcued force in nonparetic arms versus unilateral movements. Both paretic and nonparetic arms produced similar force variability and signal-to-noise ratio during bilateral movements. Increased sustained force in the paretic arm during the bilateral condition indicates that rehabilitation protocols based on bilateral movements may be beneficial for functional recovery.

  17. High precision detector robot arm system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shu, Deming; Chu, Yong

    2017-01-31

    A method and high precision robot arm system are provided, for example, for X-ray nanodiffraction with an X-ray nanoprobe. The robot arm system includes duo-vertical-stages and a kinematic linkage system. A two-dimensional (2D) vertical plane ultra-precision robot arm supporting an X-ray detector provides positioning and manipulating of the X-ray detector. A vertical support for the 2D vertical plane robot arm includes spaced apart rails respectively engaging a first bearing structure and a second bearing structure carried by the 2D vertical plane robot arm.

  18. Algorithms for Unequal-Arm Michelson Interferometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giampieri, Giacomo; Hellings, Ronald W.; Tinto, Massimo; Bender, Peter L.; Faller, James E.

    1994-01-01

    A method of data acquisition and data analysis is described in which the performance of Michelson-type interferometers with unequal arms can be made nearly the same as interferometers with equal arms. The method requires a separate readout of the relative phase in each arm, made by interfering the returning beam in each arm with a fraction of the outgoing beam.

  19. The position of the arm during blood pressure measurement in sitting position.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adiyaman, Ahmet; Verhoeff, Rutger; Lenders, Jacques W M; Deinum, Jaap; Thien, Theo

    2006-12-01

    Determining the influence of the position of the arm on blood pressure measurement in the sitting position. Blood pressure of 128 individuals (the majority being treated hypertensive patients) visiting the outpatient clinic was measured simultaneously on both arms with arms in two different positions. First, both arms were placed at the chair support level and blood pressure was measured three times on both arms after 10 min of rest. Subsequently, while still remaining in the same sitting position, five blood pressure measurements were made simultaneously at both arms with one arm placed on the desk and one arm placed and supported at heart level (mid-sternal). The arm placed at heart level served as the reference arm. The choice of which arm was placed at desk level and which arm was placed at heart level was randomized. Both at desk level and at chair support level, mean (+/-SD) systolic and diastolic blood pressures were higher than blood pressure at heart level by 6.1/5.7+/-4.6/3.1 and 9.3/9.4+/-5.4/3.4 mmHg, respectively. The effect of the height differences between the arm positions on the blood pressure readings was smaller than predicted (0.49 mmHg/cm systolic and 0.47 mmHg/cm diastolic). No significant correlation was found between blood pressure difference in the different arm positions (desk and heart level) and age, sex, weight or baseline blood pressure. Different arm positions below heart level have significant effects on blood pressure readings. The leading guidelines about arm position during blood pressure measurement are not in accordance with the arm position used in the Framingham study, the most frequently used study for risk estimations.

  20. Hand-Arm vibration assessment among tiller operator

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Nassiri

    2013-08-01

    Result: Results of the present study indicated that in all measured situations, exposure to hand arm vibration was higher than the standard limit suggested by Iranian occupational health committee and there was risk of vibration-induced disorders. The maximum exposure to vibration is in plowing ground. Exposure to hand arm vibration in three modes of plowing, transmission and natural, were respectively 16.95, 14.16 and 8.65 meters per second squared. Additionally, in all situations, vibration exposure was highest in the X-axis in comparison with Z- and Y-axes. .Conclusion: This study emphasizes on the need to provide intervention and controlling and managing strategies in order to eliminate or reduce vibration transmitted from tiller to operators hand and arm and also prevent to serious problems including neurovascular disorders, discomfort and white finger syndrome. Meanwhile, more studies are necessary to identify the sources of vibration on different models of tiller.

  1. Studies on education for radiation and courses of study (2009)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sakuraba, Kazuhiro; Nakamura, Hideo; Ukai, Mitsuko

    2009-01-01

    The Courses of Study are provided as the standards for educational courses in all schools in Japan. The new Courses of Study have been started this year. In this research, we revealed the ways how to teach radiation using the Courses of Study (2009). Education for radiation was first opened for the third grade of secondary school children. The contents in terms of radiation education in this Courses of Study (2009) are the characterization and application of radiation. To promote this new study courses, the knowledge about radiation of young man and woman were also studied. We concluded it is necessary to start radiation education from elementary school. Furthermore to apply the Courses of Study effectively, we need the comments on radiation education from the researcher of radiation. After the comments, teachers are able to make precise educational materials for their own children. (author)

  2. Military radiation protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harrison, J.

    1993-01-01

    The Ministry of Defence and the military in particular have a very strong commitment to radiation protection of personnel in war and peace. MOD endeavours to do better all the time because it is essential that the armed forces have the confidence to fulfil their role and this is best achieved by providing them with the best possible protection irrespective of the hazard. (author)

  3. Comparison study of upper arm and forearm non-invasive blood pressures in adult Emergency Department patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimanski, Karen; Jull, Andrew; Mitchell, Nancy; McLay, Jessica

    2014-12-01

    Forearm blood pressures have been suggested as an alternative site to measure blood pressures when the upper arm is unavailable. However there is little evidence utilising clinical populations to support this substitution. To determine agreement between blood pressures measured in the left upper arm and forearm using a singular oscillometric non-invasive device in adult Emergency Department patients. The secondary objective was to explore the relationship of blood pressure differences with age, sex, ethnicity, smoking history and obesity. Single centre comparison study. Adult Emergency Department, Tertiary Trauma Centre. Forty-four participants who met inclusion/exclusion criteria selected sequentially from the Emergency Department arrival board. A random assignment of order of measurement for left upper arm and forearm blood pressures was utilised. Participants were eligible if they were aged 18 years or older, had been assigned an Australasian Triage Scale code of 2, 3, 4, or 5, were able to consent, and able to have blood pressures measured on their left arm whilst lying at a 45° angle. The Bland-Altman method of statistical analysis was used, with the level of agreement for clinical acceptability for the systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressure defined as ±10 mmHg. The forearm measure overestimated systolic (mean difference 2.2 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±19 mmHg), diastolic (mean difference 3.4 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±14.4 mmHg), and mean arterial pressures (mean difference 4.1 mmHg, 95% limits of agreement ±13.7 mmHg). The systolic measure was not significantly different from zero. Evidence of better agreement was found with upper arm/forearm systolic measures below 140 mmHg compared to systolic measures above 140 mmHg using the Levene's test (p=0.002, F-statistic=11.09). Blood pressure disparity was not associated with participant characteristics. Forearm measures cannot routinely replace upper arm measures for blood pressure measurement

  4. Randomized Phase II Study of Pemetrexed, Carboplatin, and Thoracic Radiation With or Without Cetuximab in Patients With Locally Advanced Unresectable Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer: Cancer and Leukemia Group B Trial 30407

    Science.gov (United States)

    Govindan, Ramaswamy; Bogart, Jeffrey; Stinchcombe, Thomas; Wang, Xiaofei; Hodgson, Lydia; Kratzke, Robert; Garst, Jennifer; Brotherton, Timothy; Vokes, Everett E.

    2011-01-01

    Purpose Cancer and Leukemia Group B conducted a randomized phase II trial to investigate two novel chemotherapy regimens in combination with concurrent thoracic radiation therapy (TRT). Patients and Methods Patients with unresectable stage III non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were randomly assigned to carboplatin (area under the curve, 5) and pemetrexed (500 mg/m2) every 21 days for four cycles and TRT (70 Gy; arm A) or the same treatment with cetuximab administered concurrent only with TRT (arm B). Patients in both arms received up to four cycles of pemetrexed as consolidation therapy. The primary end point was the 18-month overall survival (OS) rate; if the 18-month OS rate was ≥ 55%, the regimen(s) would be considered for further study. Results Of the 101 eligible patients enrolled (48 in arm A and 53 in arm B), 60% were male; the median age was 66 years (range, 32 to 81 years); 44% and 35% had adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma, respectively; and more patients enrolled onto arm A compared with arm B had a performance status of 0 (58% v 34%, respectively; P = .04). The 18-month OS rate was 58% (95% CI, 46% to 74%) in arm A and 54% (95% CI, 42% to 70%) in arm B. No significant difference in OS between patients with squamous and nonsquamous NSCLC was observed (P = .667). The toxicities observed were consistent with toxicities associated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. Conclusion The combination of pemetrexed, carboplatin, and TRT met the prespecified criteria for further evaluation. This regimen should be studied further in patients with locally advanced unresectable nonsquamous NSCLC. PMID:21747084

  5. FY1995 development of artificial arm 'SMART ARM' by spherical ultrasonic motor; 1995 nendo kyumen choonpa motor wo mochiita jinko gishu smart arm no kaihatsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1997-03-01

    The project has an intention of development of new type artificial arm by spherical ultrasonic motor. We have succeeded in developing new type of spherical ultrasonic motor with three DOF. And we have succeeded in applying the motor to an artificial arm. This arm have advantages of small size, low weight torque comparing with conventional ones. We demonstrated them the new arm behaved well and it had good controlabilty. (NEDO)

  6. Radiation detector for use in nuclear reactors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cisco, T.C.; Grimaila, A.G.

    1981-01-01

    A multi-sensor radiation detection system for removable insertion into a nuclear reactor is described in which one conductor of all the sensors is a single, common element. This single common element is contained within a tubular metallic sheath and in crosssection comprises a multiple radial armed metallic conductor having a star shaped cross-section dimensioned to form wedgeshaped compartments throughout the active radiation detecting length of the metallic sheath

  7. Design and Simulation of 5-DOF Vision-Based Manipulator to Increase Radiation Safety for Industrial Cobalt-60 Irradiators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Solyman, A.E.; Keshk, A.B.; Sharshar, K.A.; Roman, M.R.

    2016-01-01

    Robotics has proved its efficiency in nuclear and radiation fields. Computer vision is one of the advanced approaches used to enhance robotic efficiency. The current work investigates the possibility of using a vision-based controlled arm robot to collect the fallen hot Cobalt-60 capsules inside wet storage pool of industrial irradiator. A 5-DOF arm robot is designed and vision algorithms are established to pick the fallen capsules on the bottom surface of the storage pool, read the information printed on its edge (cap) and move it to a safe storage place. Two object detection approaches are studied; RGB-based filter and background subtraction technique. Vision algorithms and camera calibration are done using MATLAB/SIMULINK program. Robot arm forward and inverse kinematics are developed and programmed using an embedded micro controller system. Experiments show the validity of the proposed system and prove its success. The collecting process will be done without interference of operators, hence radiation safety will be increased.

  8. Defining and comparing learning actions in two simulation modalities: students training on a latex arm and each other's arms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ravik, Monika; Havnes, Anton; Bjørk, Ida Torunn

    2017-12-01

    To explore, describe and compare learning actions that nursing students used during peripheral vein cannulation training on a latex arm or each other's arms in a clinical skills centre. Simulation-based training is thought to enhance learning and transfer of learning from simulation to the clinical setting and is commonly recommended in nursing education. What students actually are doing during simulation-based training is, however, less explored. The analysis of learning actions used during simulation-based training could contribute to development and improvement of simulation as a learning strategy in nursing education. A qualitative explorative and descriptive research design, involving content analysis of video recordings, was used. Video-supported observation of nine nursing students practicing vein cannulation was conducted in a clinical skills centre in late 2012. The students engaged in various learning actions. Students training on a latex arm used a considerably higher number of learning actions relative to those training on each other's arms. In both groups, students' learning actions consisted mainly of seeking and giving support. The teacher provided students training on each other's arms with detailed feedback regarding insertion of the cannula into the vein, while those training on a latex arm received sparse feedback from the teacher and fellow students. The teacher played an important role in facilitating nursing students' practical skill learning during simulation. The provision of support from both teachers and students should be emphasised to ensure that nursing students' learning needs are met. This study suggest that student nurses may be differently and inadequately prepared in peripheral vein cannulation in two simulation modalities used in the academic setting; training on a latex arm and on each other's arms. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Mechanical characterization of the Varian Exact-arm and R-arm support systems for eight aS500 electronic portal imaging devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grattan, Mark W. D.; McGarry, Conor K.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of this study is to compare the positioning accuracy at different gantry angles of two electronic portal imaging devices (EPIDs) support arm systems by using EPID difference images as a measure for displacement. This work presents a comparison of the mechanical performance of eight Varian aS500 (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) EPIDs, mounted using either the Varian Exact-arm or R-arm. Methods: The mechanical performance of the two arm systems was compared by investigating the variation in sensitivity with gantry angle, both before and after the EPID position was adjusted after gantry rotation. Positional errors were investigated by subtracting images from a reference image taken at gantry 0 deg., and the amplitude of the peaks and troughs at the field edges for longitudinal (radial) and lateral (transverse) profiles across the resulting image was related to the distance of displacement. Calibration curves based on a pixel-by-pixel shift were generated for each EPID and the Varian hand pendant accuracy was compared to the calibration data. Results: The response of the EPIDs was found to change with gantry rotation, with the largest difference at 180 deg. The Exact-arm was found to correct well for any displacement, while the R-arm tended to overcorrect following repositioning using the hand pendant. The calibration curves were consistent within each set of matched linacs, and the hand pendant accuracy was similar for both arm systems, although generally in different directions. With respect to gantry rotation effects, the mechanical performance of the Exact-arm systems was found to be much better than that of the R-arm systems. At gantry positions 90 deg., 270 deg., and 180 deg. the average misalignment in the longitudinal direction was +4.2±0.2, +1.8±1.6, and +7.4±0.5 mm for the R-arms, and +2.9±0.2, +2.1±0.8, and +4.9±0.7 mm for the Exact-arms. In the lateral direction the average positional errors were +2.1±0.4, -4.7±0.4, and -2.5

  10. Stellar complexes in spiral arms of galaxies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Efremov, Yu. N.

    The history of the introduction and development of the star complexes conception is briefly described. These large groups of stars were picked out and named as such ones in our Galaxy with argumentation and evidence for their physical unity (using the Cepheid variables the distances and ages of which are easy determined from their periods); anyway earlier the complexes were noted along the spiral arms of the Andromeda galaxy, but were not recognized as a new kind of star group. The chains of complexes along the spiral arms are observed quite rarely; their origin is explained by magneto- gravitational or purely gravitational instability developing along the arm. It is not clear why these chains are quite a rare phenomenon - and more so why sometimes the regular chain of complexes are observed in one arm only. Probably intergalactic magnetic field participated in formation of such chains. Apart from the complexes located along the arms, there are isolated giant complexes known (up to 700 pc in diameter) which look like super-gigantic but rather rarefied globular clusters. Until now only two of these formations are studied, in NGC 6946 and M51.

  11. Dose and Fractionation in Radiation Therapy of Curative Intent for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ramroth, Johanna; Cutter, David J.; Darby, Sarah C. [Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Higgins, Geoff S. [Department of Oncology, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); McGale, Paul [Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Partridge, Mike [CRUK/MRC Oxford Institute for Radiation Oncology, Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom); Taylor, Carolyn W., E-mail: carolyn.taylor@ndph.ox.ac.uk [Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, Oxfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2016-11-15

    Purpose: The optimum dose and fractionation in radiation therapy of curative intent for non-small cell lung cancer remains uncertain. We undertook a published data meta-analysis of randomized trials to examine whether radiation therapy regimens with higher time-corrected biologically equivalent doses resulted in longer survival, either when given alone or when given with chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: Eligible studies were randomized comparisons of 2 or more radiation therapy regimens, with other treatments identical. Median survival ratios were calculated for each comparison and pooled. Results: 3795 patients in 25 randomized comparisons of radiation therapy dose were studied. The median survival ratio, higher versus lower corrected dose, was 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.22) when radiation therapy was given alone and 0.83 (95% CI 0.71-0.97) when it was given with concurrent chemotherapy (P for difference=.001). In comparisons of radiation therapy given alone, the survival benefit increased with increasing dose difference between randomized treatment arms (P for trend=.004). The benefit increased with increasing dose in the lower-dose arm (P for trend=.01) without reaching a level beyond which no further survival benefit was achieved. The survival benefit did not differ significantly between randomized comparisons where the higher-dose arm was hyperfractionated and those where it was not. There was heterogeneity in the median survival ratio by geographic region (P<.001), average age at randomization (P<.001), and year trial started (P for trend=.004), but not for proportion of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (P=.2). Conclusions: In trials with concurrent chemotherapy, higher radiation therapy doses resulted in poorer survival, possibly caused, at least in part, by high levels of toxicity. Where radiation therapy was given without chemotherapy, progressively higher radiation therapy doses resulted in progressively longer survival, and no

  12. Dose and Fractionation in Radiation Therapy of Curative Intent for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Meta-Analysis of Randomized Trials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramroth, Johanna; Cutter, David J.; Darby, Sarah C.; Higgins, Geoff S.; McGale, Paul; Partridge, Mike; Taylor, Carolyn W.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The optimum dose and fractionation in radiation therapy of curative intent for non-small cell lung cancer remains uncertain. We undertook a published data meta-analysis of randomized trials to examine whether radiation therapy regimens with higher time-corrected biologically equivalent doses resulted in longer survival, either when given alone or when given with chemotherapy. Methods and Materials: Eligible studies were randomized comparisons of 2 or more radiation therapy regimens, with other treatments identical. Median survival ratios were calculated for each comparison and pooled. Results: 3795 patients in 25 randomized comparisons of radiation therapy dose were studied. The median survival ratio, higher versus lower corrected dose, was 1.13 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.22) when radiation therapy was given alone and 0.83 (95% CI 0.71-0.97) when it was given with concurrent chemotherapy (P for difference=.001). In comparisons of radiation therapy given alone, the survival benefit increased with increasing dose difference between randomized treatment arms (P for trend=.004). The benefit increased with increasing dose in the lower-dose arm (P for trend=.01) without reaching a level beyond which no further survival benefit was achieved. The survival benefit did not differ significantly between randomized comparisons where the higher-dose arm was hyperfractionated and those where it was not. There was heterogeneity in the median survival ratio by geographic region (P<.001), average age at randomization (P<.001), and year trial started (P for trend=.004), but not for proportion of patients with squamous cell carcinoma (P=.2). Conclusions: In trials with concurrent chemotherapy, higher radiation therapy doses resulted in poorer survival, possibly caused, at least in part, by high levels of toxicity. Where radiation therapy was given without chemotherapy, progressively higher radiation therapy doses resulted in progressively longer survival, and no

  13. Radiation doses in endoscopic interventional procedures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsapaki, V.; Paraskeva, K.; Mathou, N.; Aggelogiannopoulou, P.; Triantopoulou, C.; Karagianis, J.; Giannakopoulos, A.; Paspatis, G.; Voudoukis, E.; Athanasopoulos, N.; Lydakis, I.; Scotiniotis, H.; Georgopoulos, P.; Finou, P.; Kadiloru, E.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Extensive literature exists on patient radiation doses in various interventional procedures. This does not stand for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) where the literature is very limited. This study compares patient dose during ERCP procedures performed with different types of X-ray systems. Methods and Materials: Four hospitals participated in the study with the following X-ray systems: A) X-ray conventional system (X-ray tube over table), 137 pts, B) X-ray conventional system (X-ray tube under table), 114 pts, C) C-arm system, 79 pts, and D) angiography system, 57 pts. A single experienced endoscopist performed the ERCP in each hospital. Kerma Area Product (KAP), fluoroscopy time (T) and total number of X-ray films (F) were collected. Results: Median patient dose was 6.2 Gy.cm 2 (0.02-130.2 Gy.cm 2 ). Medium linear correlation between KAP and T (0.6) and F (0.4) were observed. Patient doses were 33 % higher than the reference value in UK (4.15 Gy.cm 2 with a sample of 6089 patients). Median KAP for each hospital was: A) 3.1, B) 9.2, C) 3.9 and D) 6.2 Gy.cm 2 . Median T was: A) 2.6, B) 4.1, C) 2.8 and D) 3.4 min. Median F was: A) 2, B) 7, C) 2 and D) 2 films. Conclusion: Patient radiation dose during ERCP depends on: a) fluoroscopy time and films taken, b) the type of the X-ray system used, with the C arm and the conventional over the couch systems carrying the lower patient radiation dose and the angiography system the higher. (authors)

  14. Calibration of personal dosemeters for extremities of fields of radiation gamma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Papadopulos, S.; Gregori, S.; Moreno, B.; Guillen, J.

    1998-01-01

    In this work the conversion factors are presented obtained experimentally of kerma in free air in equivalent dose H(d,O o ) in finger and in arm for fields of radiation gamma of normal incidence dosemeters of extremities was irradiated, based on detecting TL of LIF 7 (TLD-700, Harshaw), placed on the surface of the finger phantom and arm

  15. Evolution of radiation therapy: technology of today

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shrivastava, S.K.; Mishra, Shagun

    2013-01-01

    The three well established arms of treatment are surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. The management of cancer is multidisciplinary; Radiation Oncologists along with Surgical Oncologists and Medical Oncologists are responsible for cancer therapeutics. They all work in close collaboration with Pathologists and Radiologists for cancer diagnosis and staging and rely on Oncology Nurses, Physiotherapists, Occupational Therapists, Nutritionists and Social Workers for optimal treatment and rehabilitation of cancer patients. Therefore cancer management is a team work for getting the best results. Radiation therapy is one of the most effective methods of treating cancer

  16. Clinical effectiveness of decongestive treatments on excess arm volume and patient-centered outcomes in women with early breast cancer-related arm lymphedema: a systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeffs, Eunice; Ream, Emma; Taylor, Cath; Bick, Debra

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Objective: To identify the effect of decongestive lymphedema treatment on excess arm volume or patient-centered outcomes in women presenting within either 12 months or a mean nine months of developing arm lymphedema following breast cancer treatment. Introduction: Lymphedema is a common consequence of breast cancer treatment requiring life-long treatment to reduce symptoms and prevent complications. Currently, evidence to inform the optimal decongestive lymphedema treatment package is lacking. Inclusion criteria: The review included studies on women who received lymphedema treatment within either 12 months or a mean of nine months of developing unilateral breast cancer-related arm lymphedema. The intervention was any decongestive lymphedema treatment delivered with the purpose of reducing arm lymphedema, compared to another form of lymphedema treatment (whether self or practitioner-administered), placebo or no treatment. The clinical outcome was excess arm volume; patient-centered outcomes were health-related quality of life, arm heaviness, arm function, patient-perceived benefit and satisfaction with treatment. Experimental study designs were eligible, including randomized and non-randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental, prospective and retrospective before and after studies were considered. Methods: A three-step search strategy was utilized to find published and unpublished studies. The search identified studies published from the inception of each database to July 6, 2016. Reference lists were scanned to identify further eligible studies. Studies were critically appraised using appropriate standardized critical appraisal instruments from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Details describing each study and treatment results regarding outcomes of interest were extracted from papers included in the review using appropriate standardized data extraction tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute. Due to heterogeneity in included studies, results for similar

  17. AN OUTER ARM IN THE SECOND GALACTIC QUADRANT: STRUCTURE

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Du, Xinyu; Xu, Ye; Yang, Ji; Sun, Yan; Li, Facheng; Zhang, Shaobo; Zhou, Xin, E-mail: xydu@pmo.ac.cn, E-mail: xuye@pmo.ac.cn [Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Science, Nanjing 210008 (China)

    2016-05-01

    The lack of arm tracers, especially remote tracers, is one of the most difficult problems preventing us from studying the structure of the Milky Way. Fortunately, with its high-sensitivity CO survey, the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting (MWISP) project offers such an opportunity. Since completing about one-third of its mission, an area of l = [100, 150]°, b = [−3, 5]° has nearly been covered. The Outer arm of the Milky Way first clearly revealed its shape in the second galactic quadrant in the form of molecular gas—this is the first time that the Outer arm has been reported in such a large-scale mapping of molecular gas. Using the 115 GHz {sup 12}CO(1–0) data of MWISP at the LSR velocity ≃[−100, −60] km s{sup −1} and in the area mentioned above, we have detected 481 molecular clouds in total, and among them 332 (about 69%) are newly detected and 457 probably belong to the Outer arm. The total mass of the detected Outer arm clouds is ∼3.1 × 10{sup 6} M {sub ⊙}. Assuming that the spiral arm is a logarithmic spiral, the pitch angle is fitted as ∼13.°1. Besides combining both the CO data from MWISP and the 21 cm H i data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey (CGPS), the gas distribution, warp, and thickness of the Outer arm are also studied.

  18. ALICE Transition Radiation Detector

    CERN Multimedia

    Pachmayer, Y

    2013-01-01

    The Transition Radiation Detector (TRD) is the main electron detector in ALICE. In conduction with the TPC and the ITS, it provides the necessary electron identification capability to study: - Production of light and heavy vector mesons as well as the continuum in the di-electron channel, - Semi leptonic decays of hadrons with open charm and open beauty via the single-electron channel using the displaced vertex information provided by the ITS, - Correlated DD and BB pairs via coincidences of electrons in the central barrel and muons in the forward muon arm, - Jets with high Pτ tracks in one single TRD stack.

  19. Armed guards on vessels : insurance and liability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mišo Mudrić

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The Paper examines the insurance and liability issues resulting from the use of armed guards on board vessels. The study begins with an overview of the available data on key economic fi gures representing the projected overall annual costs of modern piracy. The focus is then shifted to the issue of public versus private security, where possible dangers of private-based security options are discussed in general. After explaining why the Somalia region deserves a closer attention when compared to other pirate-infested waters, a brief summary of the international effort to combat piracy threat is presented, followed by a structured overview of the use of private maritime security options in the maritime sector in general. One security option is the use of armed guards on board vessels. This option is explored both from the political (the acceptance by stakeholders and legal standpoint (legal issues arising from the use of armed guards. An important remedy for the shipping companies/ operators threatened by the piracy hazard is the existence of affordable and effective (specialized marine insurance. A study of available piracy insurance policies is presented, followed by an analysis of case law and other legal issues arising from piracy attacks, which could prove important when considering the legal implications of armed guards employment. Finally, a simplifi ed economic analysis of available security options is presented, followed by the final assessment of benefi ts derived from the use of armed guards.

  20. Admittance Control of a Multi-Finger Arm Based on Manipulability of Fingers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian Huang

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In the previous studies, admittance control and impedance control for a finger-arm robot using the manipulability of the finger were studied and methods of realizing the controls have been proposed. In this study, two 3-DOF fingers are attached to the end-effector of a 6-DOF arm to configure a multi-finger arm robot. Based on the previous methods, the authors have proposed an admittance control for a multi-finger arm robot using the manipulability of the fingers in this study. Algorithms of the averaging method and the mini-max method were introduced to establish a manipulability criterion of the two fingers in order to generate a cooperative movement of the arm. Comparison of the admittance controls combined with the top search method and local optimization method for the multi-finger arm robot was made and features of the control methods were also discussed. The stiffness control and damping control were experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

  1. The Effect of Armed Conflict on the Utilization of Maternal Health Services in Uganda: A Population-based Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Namasivayam, Amrita; Arcos González, Pedro; Castro Delgado, Rafael; Chi, Primus Che

    2017-10-03

    Maternal mortality rates can be adversely affected by armed conflict, implying a greater level of vulnerability among women, and is often linked to the lack of or limited access to maternal healthcare during conflict. Previous research in Uganda has shown that armed conflict negatively impacts women's utilization of maternal healthcare services for a multitude of reasons at the individual, health-system and political levels. This study compared aggregated Demographic and Health Surveys data from 13 districts in Northern Uganda, a conflict-affected region, with data from the rest of the country, for the use of maternal healthcare services for the years 1988, 1995, 2000, 2006 and 2011, using statistical analyses and logistic regression. Specific indicators for maternal healthcare utilization included contraceptive use, antenatal care, skilled assistance at birth and institutional delivery. Use of contraception and institutional deliveries among women in Northern Uganda was significantly lower compared to the rest of the country. However, skilled assistance at birth among women in Northern Uganda was significantly higher. The findings in this study show that armed conflict can have a negative impact on aspects of maternal healthcare such as contraceptive use and institutional deliveries; however, other indicators such as skilled assistance at birth were seen to be better among conflict-affected populations. This reiterates the complex nature of armed conflict and the interplay of different factors such as conflict intensity, existing health systems and services, and humanitarian interventions that could influence maternal healthcare utilization. Armed conflict, maternal health utilization, Northern Uganda, contraception, skilled assistance at birth, antenatal care, institutional delivery.

  2. Evaluation of the dose distribution of dynamic conical conformal therapy using a C-arm mounted accelerator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nakagawa, Keiichi; Aoki, Yukimasa; Ohtomo, Kuni

    2001-01-01

    Conformal radiation therapy, which is widely utilized in Japan as a standard, highly precise technique has limited advantage in dose confinement because of its coplanar beam entry. An improved form of conformal therapy is delivered by a linac mounted on a C-arm rotatable gantry. The linac head was designed to move along the C-arm with a maximum angle of 60 degrees. Simultaneous rotation of the gantry creates a Dynamic Conical irradiation technique. Dynamic Conical Conformal Therapy (Dyconic Therapy) was developed by combining the technique with continuous MLC motion based on beam's eye views of the target volume. Dose distributions were measured in a phantom using film densitometry and compared with conventional conformal radiation therapy. The measurements showed that the dose distribution conformed to the target shape identified by CT. In addition, the dose distribution for a cancer patient was evaluated through the use of DVHs generated by a treatment planning system. These measurements showed that the dose distribution along the patient's long axis conformed to the shape of the target volume. DVH analysis, however, did not indicate superiority of the present technique over the conventional technique. Angulation of the C-arm gantry allowed the primary beam to strike a larger area of the therapy room. This necessitated adding shielding to the walls and ceiling of the treatment room. It was confirmed that the leakage radiation was reduced to a negligible level by adding an iron plate 20 cm thick to several places on the side walls, by adding an iron plate 9 cm thick to several places on the ceiling, and by increasing the thickness of the concrete ceiling from 70 to 140 cm. The possible usefulness of Dyconic Therapy was confirmed. (author)

  3. Moral Disengagement Mechanisms and Armed Violence. A Comparative Study of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Cristina Villegas de Posada

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Moral disengagement mechanisms are strategies to make immoral actions appear moral. This study explores their us-age by two Colombian illegal armed groups (guerrillas and paramilitaries, as well as differences between the groups. The analysis covered 367 communiqués issued in 55 months. A deductive content analysis revealed that the most used mechanisms were: attribution of blame, euphemistic labeling, moral justification and labeling with undesirable names. Results showed differences between groups only in the number of press releases, but not in frequency or type of the mechanisms used. The findings are analyzed in the discussion section in relation to the theory of dissonance, extreme violence and motives for joining illegal armed groups.

  4. Radiation exposure during ureteroscopy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bagley, D.H.; Cubler-Goodman, A.

    1990-01-01

    Use of fluoroscopy during ureteroscopy increases the risk of radiation exposure to the urologist and patient. Radiation entrance dosages were measured at skin level in 37 patients, and at the neck, trunk and finger of the urologist, and neck and trunk of the circulating nurse. Radiation exposure time was measured in 79 patients, and was related to the purpose of the procedure and the type of ureteroscope used, whether rigid or flexible. Exposure could be minimized by decreasing the fluoroscopy time. A portable C-arm fluoroscopy unit with electronic imaging and last image hold mode should be used to minimize exposure time. Lead aprons and thyroid shields should be used by the urologist and other personnel in the endoscopy room

  5. Fractures of the humerus during arm wrestling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bumbaširević Marko Ž.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background/Aim. Humeral shaft fractures may occur as a result of arm wrestling. The aim of this study was to present our treatment of humerus fracture sustained during arm wrestling. Methods. A total of six patients, aged 22 to 48, were treated at our department form January 2008 to January 2010 with open reduction and internal fixation and with hanging arm casts. A review of all the relevant literature on the subject was also presented. Results. In all the cases, the fractures healed and function returned to normal. No patient had any neural or vascular compromise. Conclusion. Closed and operative treatments were equally successful in all reported cases. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175-095

  6. Security and arms control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kolodziej, E.A.; Morgan, P.M.

    1989-01-01

    This book attempts to clarify and define selected current issues and problems related to security and arms control from an international perspective. The chapters are organized under the following headings. Conflict and the international system, Nuclear deterrence, Conventional warfare, Subconventional conflict, Arms control and crisis management

  7. 3-year results of transvaginal cystocele repair with transobturator four-arm mesh: A prospective study of 105 patients

    OpenAIRE

    Kdous, Moez; Zhioua, Fethi

    2014-01-01

    Objectives To evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of transobturator four-arm mesh for treating cystoceles. Patients and methods In this prospective study, 105 patients had a cystocele corrected between January 2004 and December 2008. All patients had a symptomatic cystocele of stage ?2 according to the Baden?Walker halfway stratification. We used only the transobturator four-arm mesh kit (Surgimesh?, Aspide Medical, France). All surgical procedures were carried out by the same experien...

  8. Version of the galaxy spiral structure model with opposite-directed arms and inter-arm links

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dolidze, M V [AN Gruzinskoj SSR, Abastumani. Abastumanskaya Astrofizicheskaya Observatoriya

    1963-05-01

    An attempt is made to explain some peculiarities of the local spiral structure and large-scale distribution of HII regions in the Galaxy by coexistence of the trailing and leading arm systems of different power and development. The existence of opposite-directed arms and inter-arm links in the circular zone (5-15 kpc) is analysed from the point of view of different Galaxy models.

  9. Spiral-arm instability: giant clump formation via fragmentation of a galactic spiral arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inoue, Shigeki; Yoshida, Naoki

    2018-03-01

    Fragmentation of a spiral arm is thought to drive the formation of giant clumps in galaxies. Using linear perturbation analysis for self-gravitating spiral arms, we derive an instability parameter and define the conditions for clump formation. We extend our analysis to multicomponent systems that consist of gas and stars in an external potential. We then perform numerical simulations of isolated disc galaxies with isothermal gas, and compare the results with the prediction of our analytic model. Our model describes accurately the evolution of the spiral arms in our simulations, even when spiral arms dynamically interact with one another. We show that most of the giant clumps formed in the simulated disc galaxies satisfy the instability condition. The clump masses predicted by our model are in agreement with the simulation results, but the growth time-scale of unstable perturbations is overestimated by a factor of a few. We also apply our instability analysis to derive scaling relations of clump properties. The expected scaling relation between the clump size, velocity dispersion, and circular velocity is slightly different from that given by the Toomre instability analyses, but neither is inconsistent with currently available observations. We argue that the spiral-arm instability is a viable formation mechanism of giant clumps in gas-rich disc galaxies.

  10. Poly(glycolide multi-arm star polymers: Improved solubility via limited arm length

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florian K. Wolf

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Due to the low solubility of poly(glycolic acid (PGA, its use is generally limited to the synthesis of random copolyesters with other hydroxy acids, such as lactic acid, or to applications that permit direct processing from the polymer melt. Insolubility is generally observed for PGA when the degree of polymerization exceeds 20. Here we present a strategy that allows the preparation of PGA-based multi-arm structures which significantly exceed the molecular weight of processable oligomeric linear PGA (<1000 g/mol. This was achieved by the use of a multifunctional hyperbranched polyglycerol (PG macroinitiator and the tin(II-2-ethylhexanoate catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of glycolide in the melt. With this strategy it is possible to combine high molecular weight with good molecular weight control (up to 16,000 g/mol, PDI = 1.4–1.7, resulting in PGA multi-arm star block copolymers containing more than 90 wt % GA. The successful linkage of PGA arms and PG core via this core first/grafting from strategy was confirmed by detailed NMR and SEC characterization. Various PG/glycolide ratios were employed to vary the length of the PGA arms. Besides fluorinated solvents, the materials were soluble in DMF and DMSO up to an average arm length of 12 glycolic acid units. Reduction in the Tg and the melting temperature compared to the homopolymer PGA should lead to simplified processing conditions. The findings contribute to broadening the range of biomedical applications of PGA.

  11. ARM Radiosondes for National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System Preparatory Project Validation Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borg, Lori [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Tobin, David [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Reale, Anthony [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington, DC (United States); Knuteson, Robert [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Feltz, Michelle [Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Liu, Mark [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Washington, DC (United States); Holdridge, Donna J [Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States); Mather, James [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2017-06-01

    This IOP has been a coordinated effort involving the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation (ARM) Climate Research Facility, the University of Wisconsin (UW)-Madison, and the JPSS project to validate SNPP NOAA Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) temperature and moisture sounding products from the Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) and the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). In this arrangement, funding for radiosondes was provided by the JPSS project to ARM. These radiosondes were launched coincident with the SNPP satellite overpasses (OP) at four of the ARM field sites beginning in July 2012 and running through September 2017. Combined with other ARM data, an assessment of the radiosonde data quality was performed and post-processing corrections applied producing an ARM site Best Estimate (BE) product. The SNPP targeted radiosondes were integrated into the NOAA Products Validation System (NPROVS+) system, which collocated the radiosondes with satellite products (NOAA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites [EUMETSAT], Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite [GOES], Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate [COSMIC]) and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP forecasts for use in product assessment and algorithm development. This work was a fundamental, integral, and cost-effective part of the SNPP validation effort and provided critical accuracy assessments of the SNPP temperature and water vapor soundings.

  12. The profound effects of patient arm positioning on organ doses from CT procedures calculated using Monte Carlo simulations and deformable phantoms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Haikuan; Gao, Yiming; Ding, Aiping; Caracappa, Peter F.; George Xu, X.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the organ dose differences caused by the arms-raised and arms-lowered postures for multidetector computed tomography procedures. Organ doses were calculated using computational phantoms and Monte Carlo simulations. The arm position in two previously developed adult male and female human phantoms was adjusted to represent 'raised' and 'lowered' postures using advanced BREP-based mesh surface geometries. Organ doses from routine computed tomography (CT) scan protocols, including the chest, abdomen-pelvis, and chest-abdomen-pelvis scans, were simulated at various tube voltages and reported in the unit of mGy per 100 mAs. The CT scanner model was based on previously tested work. The differences in organ dose per unit tube current between raised and lowered arm postures were studied. Furthermore, the differences due to the tube current modulation (TCM) for these two different postures and their impact on organ doses were also investigated. For a given scan parameter, a patient having lowered arms received smaller doses to organs located within the chest, abdomen or pelvis when compared with the patient having raised arms. As expected, this is caused by the attenuation of the primary X rays by the arms. However, the skin doses and bone surface doses in the patient having lowered arms were found to be 3.97-32.12 % larger than those in a patient having raised arms due to the fact that more skin and spongiosa were covered in the scan range when the arms are lowered. This study also found that dose differences become smaller with the increase in tube voltage for most of organs or tissues except the skin. For example, the liver dose differences decreased from -15.01 to -11.33 % whereas the skin dose differences increased from 21.53 to 25.24 % with tube voltage increased from 80 to 140 kVp. With TCM applied, the organ doses of all the listed organs in patient having lowered arms are larger due to the additional tube

  13. Nudging Armed Groups: How Civilians Transmit Norms of Protection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oliver Kaplan

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available What are the varying roles that norms play to either enable or constrain violence in armed conflict settings? The article examines this question by drawing on experiences from communities and armed groups in Colombia and Syria. It begins by presenting an explanation of how norms of violence and nonviolence may arise within communities and influence the behavior of civilian residents, reducing the chances of them becoming involved with armed groups. It then considers how civilian communities can transmit those same norms, shared understandings, and patterns of interaction to the ranks of illegal armed groups and subsequently shape their decisions about the use of violence against civilians. The author argues that civilians may be better positioned to promote the principles codified in International Humanitarian Law than international humanitarian organizations because they have closer contact with irregular armed actors and are viewed with greater legitimacy. The analysis illustrates that to better understand civilian protection mechanisms it is essential to study the interactions between communities and armed actors.

  14. Riser configuration, Tank 241-A-105, light duty utility arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boucher, T.D.

    1994-01-01

    The light-duty utility arm (LDUA) is a seven-joint stainless steel robotic arm with a payload capacity of 75 lb. The robotic arm is deployed vertically with a maximum vertical reach of 63 ft. and a maximum horizontal reach of 13.5 ft. The functional requirements of the LDUA system are mapping and characterization of waste in Hanford single-shell tanks (SST) before and during waste retrieval. The LDUA system consists of a mobile deployment system (MDS), a vertical positioning mast (VPM), a tank riser interface confinement (TRIC), the LDUA, and a controller subsystem or support trailer. Currently, the system is in design and is subject to change; however, the LDUA or robotic arm will be deployed through a 12-in. riser above the tank dome. Field trips were performed to gather specifics for future deployment of the LDUA in Tank 241-A-105. The purpose of this report is to support two previous reports for the investigation of SSTs for deployment of the LDUA system. The first report identified the availability of risers while the second report identified the availability of Tanks 241-A-105, 241-A-S-109, 241-A-T-101, and 241-A-T-109 for deployment of the LDUA system. The second report also identified those 4- and 12-in. risers that could be used for deployment of the LDUA and camera system. This report addresses accessibility to the 241-A Tank Farm and the usability of the Tank 241-A-105 risers. The following information for assisting in the design and deployment of the LDUA will be discussed in this report: radiation survey; flange identification; high resolution video; computer simulated model; and field survey

  15. Are Elias 2-27's Spiral Arms Driven by Self-gravity, or by a Companion? A Comparative Spiral Morphology Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forgan, Duncan H.; Ilee, John D.; Meru, Farzana

    2018-06-01

    The spiral waves detected in the protostellar disk surrounding Elias 2-27 have been suggested as evidence of the disk being gravitationally unstable. However, previous work has shown that a massive, stable disk undergoing an encounter with a massive companion are also consistent with the observations. We compare the spiral morphology of smoothed particle hydrodynamic simulations modeling both cases. The gravitationally unstable disk produces symmetric, tightly wound spiral arms with constant pitch angle, as predicted by the literature. The companion disk’s arms are asymmetric, with pitch angles that increase with radius. However, these arms are not well-fitted by standard analytic expressions, due to the high disk mass and relatively low companion mass. We note that differences (or indeed similarities) in morphology between pairs of spirals is a crucial discriminant between scenarios for Elias 2-27, and hence future studies must fit spiral arms individually. If Elias 2-27 continues to show symmetric tightly wound spiral arms in future observations, then we posit that it is the first observed example of a gravitationally unstable protostellar disk.

  16. Admittance Control of a Multi-Finger Arm Based on Manipulability of Fingers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takayuki Hori

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available In the previous studies, admittance control and impedance control for a finger‐arm robot using the manipulability of the finger were studied and methods of realizing the controls have been proposed. In this study, two 3‐DOF fingers are attached to the end‐effector of a 6‐DOF arm to configure a multi‐finger arm robot. Based on the previous methods, the authors have proposed an admittance control for a multi‐finger arm robot using the manipulability of the fingers in this study. Algorithms of the averaging method and the mini‐max method were introduced to establish a manipulability criterion of the two fingers in order to generate a cooperative movement of the arm. Comparison of the admittance controls combined with the top search method and local optimization method for the multi‐finger arm robot was made and features of the control methods were also discussed. The stiffness control and damping control were experimentally evaluated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

  17. The compliance with and knowledge about radiation protection in operating room personnel: a cross-sectional study with a questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jentzsch, Thorsten; Pietsch, Christiane M; Stigler, Brigitte; Ramseier, Leonhard E; Seifert, Burkhardt; Werner, Clément M L

    2015-09-01

    Radiation protection is becoming more important with an ongoing increase in radiation exposure due to the use of X-rays in minimally invasive procedures in orthopaedic and trauma surgeries. However, sufficient education in medical physics and radiation protection can often be improved. A questionnaire consisting of four questions about personal data and ten questions about radiation protection was distributed to lead consultants, consultants, residents, medical students, and medical technical assistants at two institutions, a level 1 trauma center and a children's hospital. This study consisted of 83 participants. The compliance with radiation protection, i.e., usage of a dosimetry, an apron, and a thyroid shield on a regular basis was only seen in 54 %. Participants from the trauma center wore a dosimeter and thyroid shield significantly more often. The regular use of a thyroid shield differed significantly between job positions. It was observed in 80 % of students, but only 15 % of technical assistants. Only 65 % of all knowledge questions were answered correctly. There was a discrepancy between incorrectly answered knowledge questions (35 %) and those marked as uncertain (20 %). Different job positions did not have an impact on the answers to the questions in most instances. The compliance with and the knowledge about radiation protection seems to be unnecessarily low in trauma physicians and technical assistants. The discrepancy in falsely answered questions and those marked as uncertain may suggest that participants may overestimate their knowledge about radiation protection, which is potentially harmful due to the increased radiation exposure. Therefore, we advocate a quick and valuable training of trauma surgeons and medical staff addressing the important preventive measures, some of which are illustrated in the present study. These consist of wearing dosimetry and protection devices, reduction in X-ray duration, preferably antero-posterior C-arm positioning

  18. Changes in the bilateral pulse transit time difference with a moving arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Xinge; Wei, Shoushui; Zheng, Dingchang; Huang, Peng; Liu, Chengyu

    2018-04-20

    Changes of pulse transit time (PTT) induced by arm position were studied for unilateral arm. However, consistency of the PTT changes was not validated for both arm sides. We aimed to quantify the PTT changes between horizontal and non-horizontal positions from right arm and left arm in order to explore the consistency of both arms. Twenty-four normal subjects aged between 21 and 50 (14 male and 10 female) years were enrolled. Left and right radial artery pulses were synchronously recorded from 24 healthy subjects with one arm (left or right) at five angles (90∘, 45∘, 0∘, -45∘ and -90∘) and the other arm at the horizontal level (0∘) for reference. The overall mean PTT changes at the five angles (from 90∘ to -90∘) in the left arm (right as reference) were 16.1, 12.3, -0.5, -2.5 and -2.6 ms, respectively, and in the right arm (left as reference) were 18.0, 12.6, 1.6, -1.6 and -2.0 ms, respectively. Obvious differences were not found in the PTT changes between the two arms (left arm moving or right arm moving) under each of the five different positions (all P> 0.05).

  19. Project W-340 long reach arm retrieval system balance of plant instrumentation workshop engineering study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schneider, T.C.

    1994-01-01

    This engineering study documents the results of a workshop held to resolve Issue No. 26 generated at a Arm Based Retrieval Functional Analysis Value Engineering Session. The issue deals with the scope of the Balance of Plant Instrumentation needs for the LRARS

  20. Supportive use of megestrol acetate (Megace) with head/neck and lung cancer patients receiving radiation therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McQuellon, Richard P.; Moose, Dawn B.; Russell, Gregory B.; Case, L. Douglas; Greven, Katherine; Stevens, Michael; Shaw, Edward G.

    2002-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study was to measure the effect of megestrol acetate (MA) on weight loss and quality of life (QOL) in patients with cancer of the lung or head and neck undergoing curative radiation therapy. Methods and Materials: This was a Phase III, placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized study. Patients received either 800 mg/day of MA (20 milliliters po qAM) or placebo over a 12-week period. Patients received radiation of the head and neck or thorax using a dose of at least 50 Gy, either alone or with chemotherapy. Weight was assessed weekly, whereas QOL was assessed at baseline and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Results: Patient characteristics on the MA arm (16 lung, 12 head/neck; mean age: 60 years) were similar to those on the placebo arm (17 lung, 11 head/neck; mean age: 65.8 years). Patients in the MA group had a mean weight loss over 12 weeks of 2.7 pounds, whereas the placebo group had a mean weight loss of 10.6 pounds. There was a significant time by treatment interaction (p=0.001), with the difference in weight between treatment groups being most pronounced after 6 weeks. Although overall QOL was similar in both arms of the study, several QOL subscale items did differ significantly. Compared to the placebo-treated patients, head-and-neck cancer patients in the MA arm reported the ability to eat as much as they liked (p=0.02 at 12 weeks), and lung cancer patients in the MA arm reported significantly better appetite at 4 weeks (p=0.03) and 8 weeks (p=0.001). Conclusion: MA used prophylactically is useful as an appetite stimulant; it can help patients maintain weight over the course of curative radiotherapy of the head and neck or lung and can improve specific aspects of QOL

  1. Results of a prospective randomised trial comparing conventional radiotherapy to split course bifractionated radiation therapy in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daoud, Jamel; Toumi, Nabil; Siala, Wissem; Ghorbel, Abdelmonem; Drira, Mohamed Mokthar; Frikha, Mounir

    2007-01-01

    Background and purpose: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is generally responsive to radiation therapy. However therapeutic results after conventional radiotherapy remain relatively poor especially for patients with locoregional advanced NPC. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a split course bifractionated radiotherapy regimen in a phase III randomised trial. Patients and methods: From January 1997 to September 2003, 154 patients with M0 histologically proven NPC were treated in our institution. They were staged according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer - International Union Against Cancer (AJCC-UICC) 1986 TNM classification. Patients with locally advanced nodal disease (N2-N3) received induction chemotherapy. All patients were randomised to receive either conventional radiotherapy at 2 Gy/fraction/day, 5 days/week to 70 Gy/7 weeks or split course bifractionated radiotherapy at 1.6 Gy/fraction, twice daily, 5 days/week to 70.4 Gy/6 weeks. Response and toxicity were evaluated according to the WHO and RTOG criteria. Results: Patients were well balanced between the two arms. The complete remission rate was 91% in conventional radiotherapy arm and 93% in bifractionated radiotherapy arm (p = 0.3). There was more grade II-III skin fibrosis in experimental arm with a 5 year actuarial probability of 66% vs 52% (p = 0.04). Locoregional and distant relapses occurred in 34% of cases in conventional arm and 38% in experimental arm (p = 0.28). With a median follow-up of 56 months, the 5 year overall survival and the disease free survival rates were, respectively (71% and 61%), in conventional arm and (62% and 60%) in bifractionated arm, the difference being statistically non significant. Comments: The present trial comparing conventional radiotherapy to a split course bifractionated radiation therapy failed to demonstrate significant improvement in locoregional control and survival in experimental arm which was associated with more grade II-III skin

  2. Experimental radiation carcinogenesis is studies at NIRS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sado, Toshihiko

    1992-01-01

    Experimental radiation carcinogenesis studies conducted during the past decade at NIRS are briefly reviewed. They include the following: 1) Age dependency of susceptibility to radiation carcinogenesis. 2) Radiation-induced myeloid leukemia. 3) Mechanism of fractionated X-irradiation (FX) induced thymic lymphomas. 4) Significance of radiation-induced immunosuppression in radiation carcinogenesis in vivo. 5) Other ongoing studies. (author)

  3. Observational study comparing non-invasive blood pressure measurement at the arm and ankle during caesarean section.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Drake, M J P; Hill, J S

    2013-05-01

    Upper-arm non-invasive blood pressure measurement during caesarean section can be uncomfortable and unreliable because of movement artefact in the conscious parturient. We aimed to determine whether ankle blood pressure measurement could be used instead in this patient group by comparing concurrent arm and ankle blood pressure measured throughout elective caesarean section under regional anaesthesia in 64 term parturients. Bland-Altman analysis of mean difference (95% limits of agreement [range]) between the ankle and arm was 11.2 (-20.3 to +42.7 [-67 to +102]) mmHg for systolic arterial pressure, -0.5 (-21.0 to +19.9 [-44 to +91]) mmHg for mean arterial pressure and -3.8 (-25.3 to +17.8 [-41 to +94]) mmHg for diastolic arterial pressure. Although ankle blood pressure measurement is well tolerated and allows greater mobility of the arms than measurement from the arm, the degree of discrepancy between the two sites is unacceptable to allow routine use of ankle blood pressure measurement, especially for systolic arterial pressure. However, ankle blood pressure measurement may be a useful alternative in situations where arm blood pressure measurement is difficult or impossible. Anaesthesia © 2013 The Association of Anaesthetists of Great Britain and Ireland.

  4. Radiation studies on the microflora in a High-level radiation environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zahiera, T.S.

    1988-01-01

    Radiation sensitivities of microflora in the air environment of the irradiation room of the 60 CO industrial irradiation facility of NCRRT was studied. The isolated microflora was identified to be the Gram positive micrococci, and the gram positive bacilli: coagulans and laterosporous. The study of the dose-survival counts dependence of the colonies showed the existance of the combination of at least two groups of micro-organisms with different sensitivities to radiation. The value of the radiation resistant group was found to be 2.2 10kGy. A method is presented to estimate the amount of each group in the initial culture. A study of the dependence of radiation lethality on the dose rate of radiation on the aerobic dry microbes showed no significant effect in the dose-rate range from 330 down to 44 Gy.min

  5. [A Multi-arm Placebo-controlled Study with Glutamic Acid Conducted in Rostock in 1953/1954].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Häßler, Frank; Weirich, Steffen

    2017-09-01

    A Multi-arm Placebo-controlled Study with Glutamic Acid Conducted in Rostock in 1953/1954 Glutamic acid was commonly used in the treatment of intellectually disabled children in the 50s. Koch reported first results of an observation of 140 children treated with glutamic acid in 1952. In this line is the multi-arm placebo-controlled study reported here. The original study protocols were available. 58 children with speech problems who attending a school of special needs received glutamic acid, or vitamin B, or St.-John's-wort. The effect of glutamic acid was in few cases an improvement of attention. On the other hand restlessness and stutter increased. The majority of all reported a weight loss. The treatment with vitamin B showed a positive effect concerning concentration. The treatment with St.-John's wort was stopped caused by headache and vomiting in eight of nine cases. The results of the study reported here are unpublished. The reason may be that until the 60s the effects of glutamic acid in the treatment of intellectually disabled children were in generally overestimated.

  6. Climatology analysis of cirrus cloud in ARM site: South Great Plain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olayinka, K.

    2017-12-01

    Cirrus cloud play an important role in the atmospheric energy balance and hence in the earth's climate system. The properties of optically thin clouds can be determined from measurements of transmission of the direct solar beam. The accuracy of cloud optical properties determined in this way is compromised by contamination of the direct transmission by light that is scattered into the sensors field of view. With the forward scattering correction method developed by Min et al., (2004), the accuracy of thin cloud retrievals from MFRSR has been improved. Our result shows over 30% of cirrus cloud present in the atmosphere are within optical depth between (1-2). In this study, we do statistics studies on cirrus clouds properties based on multi-years cirrus cloud measurements from MFRSR at ARM site from the South Great Plain (SGP) site due to its relatively easy accessibility, wide variability of climate cloud types and surface flux properties, large seasonal variation in temperature and specific humidity. Through the statistic studies, temporal and spatial variations of cirrus clouds are investigated. Since the presence of cirrus cloud increases the effect of greenhouse gases, we will retrieve the aerosol optical depth in all the cirrus cloud regions using a radiative transfer model for atmospheric correction. Calculate thin clouds optical depth (COD), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) using a radiative transfer model algorithm, e.g.: MODTRAN (MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission)

  7. Arm Volumetry Versus Upper Extremity Lymphedema Index: Validity of Upper Extremity Lymphedema Index for Body-Type Corrected Arm Volume Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Nana; Yamamoto, Takumi; Hayashi, Nobuko; Hayashi, Akitatsu; Iida, Takuya; Koshima, Isao

    2016-06-01

    Volumetry, measurement of extremity volume, is a commonly used method for upper extremity lymphedema (UEL) evaluation. However, comparison between different patients with different physiques is difficult with volumetry, because body-type difference greatly affects arm volume. Seventy arms of 35 participants who had no history of arm edema or breast cancer were evaluated. Arm volume was calculated using a summed truncated cone model, and UEL index was calculated using circumferences and body mass index (BMI). Examinees' BMI was classified into 3 groups, namely, low BMI (BMI, 25 kg/m). Arm volume and UEL index were compared with corresponding BMI groups. Mean (SD) arm volume was 1090.9 (205.5) mL, and UEL index 96.9 (5.6). There were significant differences in arm volume between BMI groups [low BMI vs middle BMI vs high BMI, 945.2 (107.4) vs 1045.2 (87.5) vs 1443.1 (244.4) mL, P 0.5]. Arm volume significantly increased with increase of BMI, whereas UEL index stayed constant regardless of BMI. Upper extremity lymphedema index would allow better body-type corrected arm volume evaluation compared with arm volumetry.

  8. Arm to leg coordination in elite butterfly swimmers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chollet, D; Seifert, L; Boulesteix, L; Carter, M

    2006-04-01

    This study proposed the use of four time gaps to assess arm-to-leg coordination in the butterfly stroke at increasing race paces. Fourteen elite male swimmers swam at four velocities corresponding to the appropriate paces for, respectively, the 400-m, 200-m, 100-m, and 50-m events. The different stroke phases of the arm and leg were identified by video analysis and then used to calculate four time gaps (T1: time gap between entry of the hands in the water and the high break-even point of the first undulation; T2: time gap between the beginning of the hands' backward movement and the low break-even point of the first undulation; T3: time gap between the hands' arrival in a vertical plane to the shoulders and the high break-even point of the second undulation; T4: time gap between the hands' release from the water and the low break-even point of the second undulation), the values of which described the changing relationship of arm to leg movements over an entire stroke cycle. With increases in pace, elite swimmers increased the stroke rate, the relative duration of the arm pull, the recovery and the first downward movement of the legs, and decreased the stroke length, the relative duration of the arm catch phase and the body glide with arms forward (measured by T2), until continuity in the propulsive actions was achieved. Whatever the paces, the T1, T3, and T4 values were close to zero and revealed a high degree of synchronisation at key motor points of the arm and leg actions. This new method to assess butterfly coordination could facilitate learning and coaching by situating the place of the leg undulation in relation with the arm stroke.

  9. Inter-arm blood pressure differences in pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poon, L C Y; Kametas, N; Strobl, I; Pachoumi, C; Nicolaides, K H

    2008-08-01

    To determine the prevalence of blood pressure inter-arm difference (IAD) in early pregnancy and to investigate its possible association with maternal characteristics. A cross-sectional observational study. Routine antenatal visit in a university hospital. A total of 5435 pregnant women at 11-14 weeks of gestation. Blood pressure was taken from both arms simultaneously with a validated automated device. The presence of inter-arm blood pressure difference of 10 mmHg or more. The IAD in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was 10 mmHg or more in 8.3 and 2.3% of the women, respectively. Systolic IAD was found to be significantly related to systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure, and diastolic IAD was found to be significantly related to maternal age, diastolic blood pressure and pulse pressure. The systolic and diastolic IAD were higher in the hypertensive group compared with the normotensive group and absolute IAD increased with increasing blood pressure. About 31.0 and 23.9% of cases of hypertension would have been underreported if the left arm and the right arm were used, respectively, in measuring the blood pressure. There is a blood pressure IAD in a significant proportion of the pregnant population, and its prevalence increases with increasing blood pressure. By measuring blood pressure only on one arm, there is a one in three chance of underreporting hypertension. Therefore, it would be prudent that during the booking visit blood pressure should be taken in both arms and thus provide guidance for subsequent blood pressure measurements during the course of pregnancy.

  10. Co-Simulation Control of Robot Arm Dynamics in ADAMS and MATLAB

    OpenAIRE

    Luo Haitao; Liu Yuwang; Chen Zhengcang; Leng Yuquan

    2013-01-01

    The main objective of this study is how to quickly establish the virtual prototyping model of robot arm system and effectively solve trajectory tracking control for a given signal. Taking the 2-DOF robot arm as an example, a co-simulation control method is introduced to research multi-body dynamics. Using Newton-Euler and Lagrange method, respectively establish the dynamics model of robot arm and verify the correctness of equations. Firstly, the physical model of robot arm was built by PROE a...

  11. Comparison of C-arm computed tomography and on-site quick cortisol assay for adrenal venous sampling: A retrospective study of 178 patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chin-Chen; Lee, Bo-Ching; Chang, Yeun-Chung; Wu, Vin-Cent; Huang, Kuo-How; Liu, Kao-Lang

    2017-12-01

    To compare the performance of on-site quick cortisol assay (QCA) and C-arm computed tomography (CT) assistance on adrenal venous sampling (AVS) without adrenocorticotropic hormone stimulation. The institutional review board at our hospital approved this retrospective study, which included 178 consecutive patients with primary aldosteronism. During AVS, we used C-arm CT to confirm right adrenal cannulation between May 2012 and June 2015 (n = 100) and QCA for bilateral adrenal cannulation between July 2015 and September 2016 (n = 78). Successful AVS required a selectivity index (cortisol adrenal vein /cortisol peripheral ) of ≥ 2.0 bilaterally. The overall success rate of C-arm CT-assisted AVS was 87%, which increased to 97.4% under QCA (P = .013). The procedure time (C-arm CT, 49.5 ± 21.3 min; QCA, 37.5 ± 15.6 min; P AVS. • Adrenal venous sampling (AVS) is a technically challenging procedure. • C-arm CT and quick cortisol assay (QCA) are efficient for assisting AVS. • QCA might outperform C-arm CT in enhancing AVS performance.

  12. Grand-design Spiral Arms in a Young Forming Circumstellar Disk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tomida, Kengo; Lin, Chia Hui [Department of Earth and Space Science, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-0043 (Japan); Machida, Masahiro N. [Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, Kyushu University, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395 (Japan); Hosokawa, Takashi [Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Sakurai, Yuya, E-mail: tomida@vega.ess.sci.osaka-u.ac.jp [Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033 (Japan)

    2017-01-20

    We study formation and long-term evolution of a circumstellar disk in a collapsing molecular cloud core using a resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulation. While the formed circumstellar disk is initially small, it grows as accretion continues, and its radius becomes as large as 200 au toward the end of the Class-I phase. A pair of grand-design spiral arms form due to gravitational instability in the disk, and they transfer angular momentum in the highly resistive disk. Although the spiral arms disappear in a few rotations as expected in a classical theory, new spiral arms form recurrently as the disk, soon becoming unstable again by gas accretion. Such recurrent spiral arms persist throughout the Class-0 and I phases. We then perform synthetic observations and compare our model with a recent high-resolution observation of a young stellar object Elias 2–27, whose circumstellar disk has grand-design spiral arms. We find good agreement between our theoretical model and the observation. Our model suggests that the grand-design spiral arms around Elias 2–27 are consistent with material arms formed by gravitational instability. If such spiral arms commonly exist in young circumstellar disks, it implies that young circumstellar disks are considerably massive and gravitational instability is the key process of angular momentum transport.

  13. Grand-design Spiral Arms in a Young Forming Circumstellar Disk

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomida, Kengo; Lin, Chia Hui; Machida, Masahiro N.; Hosokawa, Takashi; Sakurai, Yuya

    2017-01-01

    We study formation and long-term evolution of a circumstellar disk in a collapsing molecular cloud core using a resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulation. While the formed circumstellar disk is initially small, it grows as accretion continues, and its radius becomes as large as 200 au toward the end of the Class-I phase. A pair of grand-design spiral arms form due to gravitational instability in the disk, and they transfer angular momentum in the highly resistive disk. Although the spiral arms disappear in a few rotations as expected in a classical theory, new spiral arms form recurrently as the disk, soon becoming unstable again by gas accretion. Such recurrent spiral arms persist throughout the Class-0 and I phases. We then perform synthetic observations and compare our model with a recent high-resolution observation of a young stellar object Elias 2–27, whose circumstellar disk has grand-design spiral arms. We find good agreement between our theoretical model and the observation. Our model suggests that the grand-design spiral arms around Elias 2–27 are consistent with material arms formed by gravitational instability. If such spiral arms commonly exist in young circumstellar disks, it implies that young circumstellar disks are considerably massive and gravitational instability is the key process of angular momentum transport.

  14. Modernization of African Armed Forces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mandrup, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    Concept paper framing the debate at the Dakar Forum Workshop on Modernization of Armed forces in Africa.......Concept paper framing the debate at the Dakar Forum Workshop on Modernization of Armed forces in Africa....

  15. Optimization on robot arm machining by using genetic algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Tung-Kuan; Chen, Chiu-Hung; Tsai, Shang-En

    2007-12-01

    In this study, an optimization problem on the robot arm machining is formulated and solved by using genetic algorithms (GAs). The proposed approach adopts direct kinematics model and utilizes GA's global search ability to find the optimum solution. The direct kinematics equations of the robot arm are formulated and can be used to compute the end-effector coordinates. Based on these, the objective of optimum machining along a set of points can be evolutionarily evaluated with the distance between machining points and end-effector positions. Besides, a 3D CAD application, CATIA, is used to build up the 3D models of the robot arm, work-pieces and their components. A simulated experiment in CATIA is used to verify the computation results first and a practical control on the robot arm through the RS232 port is also performed. From the results, this approach is proved to be robust and can be suitable for most machining needs when robot arms are adopted as the machining tools.

  16. 21 CFR 890.3640 - Arm sling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... arm sling is a device intended for medical purposes to immobilize the arm, by means of a fabric band... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Arm sling. 890.3640 Section 890.3640 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES...

  17. Blood pressure measurement: one arm or both arm?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulkarni, Prasad K; Shekhar, Susheela; Reddy, B N; Nirmala, B C

    2011-09-01

    Guidelines for measuring blood pressure includes measurement of blood pressure on both arms but it is often ignored. Our case report aims at highlighting the need follow the guidelines. A 60 year old 59 kg weighing male asymptomatic patient without any comobidities was posted for bilateral inguinal hernia repair. The interarm blood pressure difference was discovered incidentally during his preanaesthetic evalution. On further evaluation patient was found to be having subclavian stenosis on left side which was asymptomatic. Intraoperative and post operative period was uneventful. Blood pressure measurement should be done in accordance with the stipulated guidelines. Inter arm blood pressure difference should be noted in all patients as not only for diagnosis and treatment of hypertension but also as a tool to diagnose asymptomatic peripheral vascular disesase.

  18. ARM assembly language with hardware experiments

    CERN Document Server

    Elahi, Ata

    2015-01-01

    This book provides a hands-on approach to learning ARM assembly language with the use of a TI microcontroller. The book starts with an introduction to computer architecture and then discusses number systems and digital logic. The text covers ARM Assembly Language, ARM Cortex Architecture and its components, and Hardware Experiments using TILM3S1968. Written for those interested in learning embedded programming using an ARM Microcontroller. ·         Introduces number systems and signal transmission methods   ·         Reviews logic gates, registers, multiplexers, decoders and memory   ·         Provides an overview and examples of ARM instruction set   ·         Uses using Keil development tools for writing and debugging ARM assembly language Programs   ·         Hardware experiments using a Mbed NXP LPC1768 microcontroller; including General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) configuration, real time clock configuration, binary input to 7-segment display, creating ...

  19. The Influences of Arm Resist Motion on a CAR Crash Test Using Hybrid III Dummy with Human-Like Arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yongchul; Youm, Youngil; Bae, Hanil; Choi, Hyeonki

    Safety of the occupant during the crash is very essential design element. Many researches have been investigated in reducing the fatal injury of occupant. They are focusing on the development of a dummy in order to obtain the real human-like motion. However, they have not considered the arm resist motion during the car accident. In this study, we would like to suggest the importance of the reactive force of the arm in a car crash. The influences of reactive force acting on the human upper extremity were investigated using the impedance experimental method with lumped mass model of hand system and a Hybrid III dummy with human-like arm. Impedance parameters (e.g. inertia, spring constant and damping coefficient) of the elbow joint in maximum activation level were measured by free oscillation test using single axis robot. The results showed that without seat belt, the reactive force of human arm reduced the head, chest, and femur injury, and the flexion moment of the neck is higher than that of the conventional dummy.

  20. Predictors of retention and attrition in a study of an advanced upper limb prosthesis: implications for adoption of the DEKA Arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Resnik, Linda; Cancio, Jill; Klinger, Shana; Latlief, Gail; Sasson, Nicole; Smurr-Walters, Lisa

    2018-02-01

    The purpose was to identify factors associated with completion of the VA home study of the DEKA Arm. Design and methodological procedures used: Differences between groups were examined using chi-square and t-tests. A multivariable logistic regression model predicting completion was generated and odds ratios (OR) for significant variables calculated. Post-hoc analysis was performed to plot the receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Participants who completed were more likely to be prosthesis users at study onset (p = .03), and less likely to have a history of musculoskeletal problems (p = .047). There were no statistically significant differences between groups who completed and those who did not in gender, race, veteran status, age, body mass index (BMI), weight, height, musculoskeletal pain at baseline, satisfaction with current prosthesis, type of prosthesis, or months of prosthesis use. Two variables, prosthesis use and history of musculoskeletal problems were significant at p study a reasonable proxy for participant willingness to adopt the device; and believe that findings can be extrapolated to guide DEKA Arm prescription recommendations. Participants most likely to complete the study were already using a personal prosthesis, and without pre-existing musculoskeletal problems. Implications for rehabilitation Data from the VA Study of the DEKA Arm were analysed to determine which factors were associated with likely successful adoption of the DEKA Arm. Participants most likely to complete the study were those who already using a personal prosthesis, and those without pre-existing chronic or re-occurring musculoskeletal problems. This information may be useful when attempting to identify and target the most appropriate candidates for DEKA Arm prescription.

  1. Intraoperative imaging for patient safety and QA: detection of intracranial hemorrhage using C-arm cone-beam CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schafer, Sebastian; Wang, Adam; Otake, Yoshito; Stayman, J. W.; Zbijewski, Wojciech; Kleinszig, Gerhard; Xia, Xuewei; Gallia, Gary L.; Siewerdsen, Jeffrey H.

    2013-03-01

    Intraoperative imaging could improve patient safety and quality assurance (QA) via the detection of subtle complications that might otherwise only be found hours after surgery. Such capability could therefore reduce morbidity and the need for additional intervention. Among the severe adverse events that could be more quickly detected by high-quality intraoperative imaging is acute intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), conventionally assessed using post-operative CT. A mobile C-arm capable of high-quality cone-beam CT (CBCT) in combination with advanced image reconstruction techniques is reported as a means of detecting ICH in the operating room. The system employs an isocentric C-arm with a flat-panel detector in dual gain mode, correction of x-ray scatter and beam-hardening, and a penalized likelihood (PL) iterative reconstruction method. Performance in ICH detection was investigated using a quantitative phantom focusing on (non-contrast-enhanced) blood-brain contrast, an anthropomorphic head phantom, and a porcine model with injection of fresh blood bolus. The visibility of ICH was characterized in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and qualitative evaluation of images by a neurosurgeon. Across a range of size and contrast of the ICH as well as radiation dose from the CBCT scan, the CNR was found to increase from ~2.2-3.7 for conventional filtered backprojection (FBP) to ~3.9-5.4 for PL at equivalent spatial resolution. The porcine model demonstrated superior ICH detectability for PL. The results support the role of high-quality mobile C-arm CBCT employing advanced reconstruction algorithms for detecting subtle complications in the operating room at lower radiation dose and lower cost than intraoperative CT scanners and/or fixedroom C-arms. Such capability could present a potentially valuable aid to patient safety and QA.

  2. Studies on application of radiation and radioisotopes -Studies on radiation processing-

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jin, Joon Hah; Yoon, Byung Mok; Kim, Kee Yub; Noh, Yung Chang; Lee, Yung Keun; Lee, Myun Joo; Park, Soon Chul; Nah, Bong Joo; Kim, Jae Hoh; Byun, Hyung Jik [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Taejon (Korea, Republic of)

    1995-07-01

    Using {gamma}-ray and electron beam, acrylic acid was grafted on polyethylene film in the presence of additives such as acid and metallic salts. The effect of metal salts and acid on the graft yield was evaluated. The graft mechanism and the physical property of grafted films were also examined. Radiation sensitivities of pathogenic microbes in waste sludges were determined to get theoretical radiation dose for disinfection. Experimental radiation dose for disinfection was investigated using real activated and digestive sludge. Feasibility of the method was studied from the experimental results. Virgin, waste and regenerated activated carbon were irradiated with electron beam with and without steam. Micropore distribution, BET surface area and sorption capacity were measured before and after irradiation. The residence time distributions of flue gas in the irradiation chamber of an electron beam flue gas treatment plant to study the effect of baffles were measured. The flow rates of gaseous material in the propylene production plant were measured to identify the origin of it`s malfunction. The equipment for column scanning were designed for production. 45 figs, 10 tabs, 30 refs. (Author).

  3. Studies on application of radiation and radioisotopes -Studies on radiation processing-

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Joon Hah; Yoon, Byung Mok; Kim, Kee Yub; Noh, Yung Chang; Lee, Yung Keun; Lee, Myun Joo; Park, Soon Chul; Nah, Bong Joo; Kim, Jae Hoh; Byun, Hyung Jik

    1995-07-01

    Using γ-ray and electron beam, acrylic acid was grafted on polyethylene film in the presence of additives such as acid and metallic salts. The effect of metal salts and acid on the graft yield was evaluated. The graft mechanism and the physical property of grafted films were also examined. Radiation sensitivities of pathogenic microbes in waste sludges were determined to get theoretical radiation dose for disinfection. Experimental radiation dose for disinfection was investigated using real activated and digestive sludge. Feasibility of the method was studied from the experimental results. Virgin, waste and regenerated activated carbon were irradiated with electron beam with and without steam. Micropore distribution, BET surface area and sorption capacity were measured before and after irradiation. The residence time distributions of flue gas in the irradiation chamber of an electron beam flue gas treatment plant to study the effect of baffles were measured. The flow rates of gaseous material in the propylene production plant were measured to identify the origin of it's malfunction. The equipment for column scanning were designed for production. 45 figs, 10 tabs, 30 refs. (Author)

  4. Phase I trial of aflibercept (VEGF trap) with radiation therapy and concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide in patients with high-grade gliomas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nayak, Lakshmi; de Groot, John; Wefel, Jeffrey S; Cloughesy, Timothy F; Lieberman, Frank; Chang, Susan M; Omuro, Antonio; Drappatz, Jan; Batchelor, Tracy T; DeAngelis, Lisa M; Gilbert, Mark R; Aldape, Kenneth D; Yung, Alfred W K; Fisher, Joy; Ye, Xiaobu; Chen, Alice; Grossman, Stuart; Prados, Michael; Wen, Patrick Y

    2017-03-01

    Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) therapy has shown promise in the treatment of high-grade gliomas (HGG). Aflibercept is a recombinant human fusion protein that acts as a soluble decoy receptor for VEGF-A, VEGF-B and placental growth factor, depleting circulating levels of these growth factors. The Adult Brain Tumor Consortium conducted a phase I trial of aflibercept and temozolomide (TMZ) in patients with newly diagnosed HGG with 2 dose levels and a 3+3 design. Three arms using aflibercept were examined; with radiation and concomitant temozolomide; with adjuvant temozolomide using the 5/28 regimen; and with adjuvant temozolomide using the 21/28 day regimen. Fifty-nine patients were enrolled, 21 in arm 1, 20 in arm 2 and 18 in arm 3. Median age was 56 years (24-69); median KPS 90 (60-100). The maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of aflibercept for all 3 arms was 4 mg/kg every 2 weeks. Dose limiting toxicities at the MTD were: Arm 1: 0/21 patients; Arm 2: 2/20 patients (G3 deep vein thrombosis, G4 neutropenia; Arm 3: 3/18 patients) (G4 biopsy-confirmed thrombotic microangiopathy, G3 rash, G4 thrombocytopenia). The median number of cycles of aflibercept was 5 (range, 1-16). All patients stopped treatment; 28 (47%) for disease progression, 21 (36%) for toxicities, 8 (14%) for other reasons, and 2 (3%) patients completed the full treatment course. This study met its primary endpoint and the MTD of aflibercept with radiation and concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide is 4 mg/kg every 2 weeks.

  5. PHENIX Muon Arms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akikawa, H.; Al-Jamel, A.; Archuleta, J.B.; Archuleta, J.R.; Armendariz, R.; Armijo, V.; Awes, T.C.; Baldisseri, A.; Barker, A.B.; Barnes, P.D.; Bassalleck, B.; Batsouli, S.; Behrendt, J.; Bellaiche, F.G.; Bland, A.W.; Bobrek, M.; Boissevain, J.G.; Borel, H.; Brooks, M.L.; Brown, A.W.; Brown, D.S.; Bruner, N.; Cafferty, M.M.; Carey, T.A.; Chai, J.-S.; Chavez, L.L.; Chollet, S.; Choudhury, R.K.; Chung, M.S.; Cianciolo, V.; Clark, D.J.; Cobigo, Y.; Dabrowski, C.M.; Debraine, A.; DeMoss, J.; Dinesh, B.V.; Drachenberg, J.L.; Drapier, O.; Echave, M.A.; Efremenko, Y.V.; En'yo, H.; Fields, D.E.; Fleuret, F.; Fried, J.; Fujisawa, E.; Funahashi, H.; Gadrat, S.; Gastaldi, F.; Gee, T.F.; Glenn, A.; Gogiberidze, G.; Gonin, M.; Gosset, J.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Hance, R.H.; Hart, G.W.; Hayashi, N.; Held, S.; Hicks, J.S.; Hill, J.C.; Hoade, R.; Hong, B.; Hoover, A.; Horaguchi, T.; Hunter, C.T.; Hurst, D.E.; Ichihara, T.; Imai, K.; Isenhower, L.D.L. Davis; Isenhower, L.D.L. Donald; Ishihara, M.; Jang, W.Y.; Johnson, J.; Jouan, D.; Kamihara, N.; Kamyshkov, Y.; Kang, J.H.; Kapoor, S.S.; Kim, D.J.; Kim, D.-W.; Kim, G.-B.; Kinnison, W.W.; Klinksiek, S.; Kluberg, L.; Kobayashi, H.; Koehler, D.; Kotchenda, L.; Kuberg, C.H.; Kurita, K.; Kweon, M.J.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G.S.; LaBounty, J.J.; Lajoie, J.G.; Lee, D.M.; Lee, S.; Leitch, M.J.; Li, Z.; Liu, M.X.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Lockner, E.; Lopez, J.D.; Mao, Y.; Martinez, X.B.; McCain, M.C.; McGaughey, P.L.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mischke, R.E.; Mohanty, A.K.; Montoya, B.C.; Moss, J.M.; Murata, J.; Murray, M.M.; Nagle, J.L.; Nakada, Y.; Newby, J.; Obenshain, F.; Palounek, A.P.T.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S.F.; Plasil, F.; Pope, K.; Qualls, J.M.; Rao, G.; Read, K.F.; Robinson, S.H.; Roche, G.; Romana, A.; Rosnet, P.; Roth, R.; Saito, N.; Sakuma, T.; Sandhoff, W.F.; Sanfratello, L.; Sato, H.D.; Savino, R.; Sekimoto, M.; Shaw, M.R.; Shibata, T.-A.; Sim, K.S.; Skank, H.D.; Smith, D.E.; Smith, G.D.; Sondheim, W.E.; Sorensen, S.; Staley, F.; Stankus, P.W.; Steffens, S.; Stein, E.M.; Stepanov, M.; Stokes, W.; Sugioka, M.; Sun, Z.; Taketani, A.; Taniguchi, E.; Tepe, J.D.; Thornton, G.W.; Tian, W.; Tojo, J.; Torii, H.; Towell, R.S.; Tradeski, J.; Vassent, M.; Velissaris, C.; Villatte, L.; Wan, Y.; Watanabe, Y.; Watkins, L.C.; Whitus, B.R.; Williams, C.; Willis, P.S.; Wong-Swanson, B.G.; Yang, Y.; Yoneyama, S.; Young, G.R.; Zhou, S.

    2003-01-01

    The PHENIX Muon Arms detect muons at rapidities of |y|=(1.2-2.4) with full azimuthal acceptance. Each muon arm must track and identify muons and provide good rejection of pions and kaons (∼10 -3 ). In order to accomplish this we employ a radial field magnetic spectrometer with precision tracking (Muon Tracker) followed by a stack of absorber/low resolution tracking layers (Muon Identifier). The design, construction, testing and expected run parameters of both the muon tracker and the muon identifier are described

  6. PHENIX Muon Arms

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Akikawa, H.; Al-Jamel, A.; Archuleta, J.B.; Archuleta, J.R.; Armendariz, R.; Armijo, V.; Awes, T.C.; Baldisseri, A.; Barker, A.B.; Barnes, P.D.; Bassalleck, B.; Batsouli, S.; Behrendt, J.; Bellaiche, F.G.; Bland, A.W.; Bobrek, M.; Boissevain, J.G.; Borel, H.; Brooks, M.L.; Brown, A.W.; Brown, D.S.; Bruner, N.; Cafferty, M.M.; Carey, T.A.; Chai, J.-S.; Chavez, L.L.; Chollet, S.; Choudhury, R.K.; Chung, M.S.; Cianciolo, V.; Clark, D.J.; Cobigo, Y.; Dabrowski, C.M.; Debraine, A.; DeMoss, J.; Dinesh, B.V.; Drachenberg, J.L.; Drapier, O.; Echave, M.A.; Efremenko, Y.V.; En' yo, H.; Fields, D.E.; Fleuret, F.; Fried, J.; Fujisawa, E.; Funahashi, H.; Gadrat, S.; Gastaldi, F.; Gee, T.F.; Glenn, A.; Gogiberidze, G.; Gonin, M.; Gosset, J.; Goto, Y.; Granier de Cassagnac, R.; Hance, R.H.; Hart, G.W.; Hayashi, N.; Held, S.; Hicks, J.S.; Hill, J.C.; Hoade, R.; Hong, B.; Hoover, A.; Horaguchi, T.; Hunter, C.T.; Hurst, D.E.; Ichihara, T.; Imai, K.; Isenhower, L.D.L. Davis; Isenhower, L.D.L. Donald; Ishihara, M.; Jang, W.Y.; Johnson, J.; Jouan, D.; Kamihara, N.; Kamyshkov, Y.; Kang, J.H.; Kapoor, S.S.; Kim, D.J.; Kim, D.-W.; Kim, G.-B.; Kinnison, W.W.; Klinksiek, S.; Kluberg, L.; Kobayashi, H.; Koehler, D.; Kotchenda, L.; Kuberg, C.H.; Kurita, K.; Kweon, M.J.; Kwon, Y.; Kyle, G.S.; LaBounty, J.J.; Lajoie, J.G.; Lee, D.M.; Lee, S.; Leitch, M.J.; Li, Z.; Liu, M.X.; Liu, X.; Liu, Y.; Lockner, E.; Lopez, J.D.; Mao, Y.; Martinez, X.B.; McCain, M.C.; McGaughey, P.L.; Mioduszewski, S.; Mischke, R.E.; Mohanty, A.K.; Montoya, B.C.; Moss, J.M.; Murata, J.; Murray, M.M.; Nagle, J.L.; Nakada, Y.; Newby, J.; Obenshain, F.; Palounek, A.P.T.; Papavassiliou, V.; Pate, S.F.; Plasil, F.; Pope, K.; Qualls, J.M.; Rao, G.; Read, K.F. E-mail: readkf@ornl.gov; Robinson, S.H.; Roche, G.; Romana, A.; Rosnet, P.; Roth, R.; Saito, N.; Sakuma, T.; Sandhoff, W.F.; Sanfratello, L.; Sato, H.D.; Savino, R.; Sekimoto, M.; Shaw, M.R.; Shibata, T.-A.; Sim, K.S.; Skank, H.D.; Smith, D.E.; Smith, G.D. [and others

    2003-03-01

    The PHENIX Muon Arms detect muons at rapidities of |y|=(1.2-2.4) with full azimuthal acceptance. Each muon arm must track and identify muons and provide good rejection of pions and kaons ({approx}10{sup -3}). In order to accomplish this we employ a radial field magnetic spectrometer with precision tracking (Muon Tracker) followed by a stack of absorber/low resolution tracking layers (Muon Identifier). The design, construction, testing and expected run parameters of both the muon tracker and the muon identifier are described.

  7. Kootenay Lake Fertilization Experiment, Year 15 (North Arm) and Year 3 (South Arm) (2006) Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schindler, E.U.; Sebastian, D.; Andrusak, G.F. [Fish and Wildlife Science and Allocation, Ministry of Environment, Province of British Columbia

    2009-07-01

    This report summarizes results from the fifteenth year (2006) of nutrient additions to the North Arm of Kootenay Lake and three years of nutrient additions to the South Arm. Experimental fertilization of the lake has been conducted using an adaptive management approach in an effort to restore lake productivity lost as a result of nutrient uptake in upstream reservoirs. The primary objective of the experiment is to restore kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) populations, which are the main food source for Gerrard rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus). The quantity of agricultural grade liquid fertilizer (10-34-0, ammonium polyphosphate and 28-0-0, urea ammonium nitrate) added to the North Arm in 2006 was 44.7 tonnes of P and 248.4 tonnes of N. The total fertilizer load added to the South Arm was 257 tonnes of nitrogen; no P was added. Kootenay Lake has an area of 395 km{sup 2}, a maximum depth of 150 m, a mean depth of 94 m, and a water renewal time of approximately two years. Kootenay Lake is a monomictic lake, generally mixing from late fall to early spring and stratifying during the summer. Surface water temperatures generally exceed 20 C for only a few weeks in July. Results of oxygen profiles were similar to previous years with the lake being well oxygenated from the surface to the bottom depths at all stations. Similar to past years, Secchi disc measurements at all stations in 2006 indicate a typical seasonal pattern of decreasing depths associated with the spring phytoplankton bloom, followed by increasing depths as the bloom gradually decreases by the late summer and fall. Total phosphorus (TP) ranged from 2-7 {micro}g/L and tended to decrease as summer advanced. Over the sampling season dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentrations decreased, with the decline corresponding to nitrate (the dominant component of DIN) being utilized by phytoplankton during summer stratification. Owing to the importance of epilimnetic nitrate

  8. Association between intramuscular fat in the arm following arm training and INSIG2

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Popadic Gacesa, J Z; Secher, N H; Momcilovic, M

    2014-01-01

    ) ; mean ± standard deviation) carried out a 12-week two-arm elbow extensor training (10 maximal extensions with 1 min recovery between bouts) five times per day, five times per week. For 17 volunteers, upper arm muscle and adipose tissue [subcutaneous (SCAT) and intramuscular (IMAT)] volumes were.......0 ± 0.9%; GC/CC: %IMAT 0.6 ± 0.5% (P > 0.05). However, in the year following the training, accumulation of upper arm IMAT was twice as large in participants homozygous for the G allele (GG: Δ%IMAT +2.5 ± 0.8%; GC/CC: Δ%IMAT +1.1 ± 0.7%; P 

  9. Inter-arm blood pressure differences in young, healthy patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grossman, Alon; Prokupetz, Alex; Gordon, Barak; Morag-Koren, Nira; Grossman, Ehud

    2013-08-01

    The prevalence and magnitude of inter-arm BP difference (IAD) in young healthy patients is not well characterized. Flight academy applicants and designated aviators undergo annual evaluation that includes blood pressure (BP) measurement on both arms. All BP measurements performed from January 1, 2012, to April 30, 2012, were recorded and IAD was calculated. Results were compared between patients in whom BP was initially measured in the right arm (group 1), those in whom BP was initially measured in the left arm (group 2), and those in whom the arm in which BP was initially measured was not recorded (group 3). A total of 877 healthy patients had BP measured during the study period. In the entire group, mean systolic BP was the same in both arms. Absolute IAD was 5.6±5.5 mm Hg for systolic and 4.7±4.5 mm Hg for diastolic BP. IAD >10 mm Hg was recorded in 111 (12.6%) and 77 (8.8%) patients for systolic and diastolic BP, respectively. IAD was the same in the 3 groups and was unrelated to age, body mass index, and heart rate, but was related to systolic BP. IAD is common in young healthy patients, is not dependent on which arm was measured first, and unrelated to age, body mass index, and heart rate. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Design of a biomimetic robotic octopus arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laschi, C; Mazzolai, B; Mattoli, V; Cianchetti, M; Dario, P

    2009-03-01

    This paper reports the rationale and design of a robotic arm, as inspired by an octopus arm. The octopus arm shows peculiar features, such as the ability to bend in all directions, to produce fast elongations, and to vary its stiffness. The octopus achieves these unique motor skills, thanks to its peculiar muscular structure, named muscular hydrostat. Different muscles arranged on orthogonal planes generate an antagonistic action on each other in the muscular hydrostat, which does not change its volume during muscle contractions, and allow bending and elongation of the arm and stiffness variation. By drawing inspiration from natural skills of octopus, and by analysing the geometry and mechanics of the muscular structure of its arm, we propose the design of a robot arm consisting of an artificial muscular hydrostat structure, which is completely soft and compliant, but also able to stiffen. In this paper, we discuss the design criteria of the robotic arm and how this design and the special arrangement of its muscular structure may bring the building of a robotic arm into being, by showing the results obtained by mathematical models and prototypical mock-ups.

  11. Design of a biomimetic robotic octopus arm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Laschi, C; Cianchetti, M [Advanced Robotics Technology and Systems Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Pisa (Italy); Mazzolai, B; Dario, P [Italian Institute of Technology, Genova (Italy); Mattoli, V [Centre of Research in Microengineering Laboratory, Scuola Superiore Sant' Anna, Pisa (Italy)], E-mail: cecilia.laschi@sssup.it

    2009-03-01

    This paper reports the rationale and design of a robotic arm, as inspired by an octopus arm. The octopus arm shows peculiar features, such as the ability to bend in all directions, to produce fast elongations, and to vary its stiffness. The octopus achieves these unique motor skills, thanks to its peculiar muscular structure, named muscular hydrostat. Different muscles arranged on orthogonal planes generate an antagonistic action on each other in the muscular hydrostat, which does not change its volume during muscle contractions, and allow bending and elongation of the arm and stiffness variation. By drawing inspiration from natural skills of octopus, and by analysing the geometry and mechanics of the muscular structure of its arm, we propose the design of a robot arm consisting of an artificial muscular hydrostat structure, which is completely soft and compliant, but also able to stiffen. In this paper, we discuss the design criteria of the robotic arm and how this design and the special arrangement of its muscular structure may bring the building of a robotic arm into being, by showing the results obtained by mathematical models and prototypical mock-ups.

  12. Design of a biomimetic robotic octopus arm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laschi, C; Cianchetti, M; Mazzolai, B; Dario, P; Mattoli, V

    2009-01-01

    This paper reports the rationale and design of a robotic arm, as inspired by an octopus arm. The octopus arm shows peculiar features, such as the ability to bend in all directions, to produce fast elongations, and to vary its stiffness. The octopus achieves these unique motor skills, thanks to its peculiar muscular structure, named muscular hydrostat. Different muscles arranged on orthogonal planes generate an antagonistic action on each other in the muscular hydrostat, which does not change its volume during muscle contractions, and allow bending and elongation of the arm and stiffness variation. By drawing inspiration from natural skills of octopus, and by analysing the geometry and mechanics of the muscular structure of its arm, we propose the design of a robot arm consisting of an artificial muscular hydrostat structure, which is completely soft and compliant, but also able to stiffen. In this paper, we discuss the design criteria of the robotic arm and how this design and the special arrangement of its muscular structure may bring the building of a robotic arm into being, by showing the results obtained by mathematical models and prototypical mock-ups

  13. A long-term study of aerosol–cloud interactions and their radiative effect at the Southern Great Plains using ground-based measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. T. Sena

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Empirical estimates of the microphysical response of cloud droplet size distribution to aerosol perturbations are commonly used to constrain aerosol–cloud interactions in climate models. Instead of empirical microphysical estimates, here macroscopic variables are analyzed to address the influence of aerosol particles and meteorological descriptors on instantaneous cloud albedo and the radiative effect of shallow liquid water clouds. Long-term ground-based measurements from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM program over the Southern Great Plains are used. A broad statistical analysis was performed on 14 years of coincident measurements of low clouds, aerosol, and meteorological properties. Two cases representing conflicting results regarding the relationship between the aerosol and the cloud radiative effect were selected and studied in greater detail. Microphysical estimates are shown to be very uncertain and to depend strongly on the methodology, retrieval technique and averaging scale. For this continental site, the results indicate that the influence of the aerosol on the shallow cloud radiative effect and albedo is weak and that macroscopic cloud properties and dynamics play a much larger role in determining the instantaneous cloud radiative effect compared to microphysical effects. On a daily basis, aerosol shows no correlation with cloud radiative properties (correlation = −0.01 ± 0.03, whereas the liquid water path shows a clear signal (correlation = 0.56 ± 0.02.

  14. Arm-in-Arm Response Regulator Dimers Promote Intermolecular Signal Transduction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baker, Anna W.; Satyshur, Kenneth A.; Morales, Neydis Moreno; Forest, Katrina T. (UW)

    2016-02-01

    ABSTRACT

    Bacteriophytochrome photoreceptors (BphPs) and their cognate response regulators make up two-component signal transduction systems which direct bacteria to mount phenotypic responses to changes in environmental light quality. Most of these systems utilize single-domain response regulators to transduce signals through unknown pathways and mechanisms. Here we describe the photocycle and autophosphorylation kinetics of RtBphP1, a red light-regulated histidine kinase from the desert bacteriumRamlibacter tataouinensis. RtBphP1 undergoes red to far-red photoconversion with rapid thermal reversion to the dark state. RtBphP1 is autophosphorylated in the dark; this activity is inhibited under red light. The RtBphP1 cognate response regulator, theR. tataouinensisbacteriophytochrome response regulator (RtBRR), and a homolog, AtBRR fromAgrobacterium tumefaciens, crystallize unexpectedly as arm-in-arm dimers, reliant on a conserved hydrophobic motif, hFWAhL (where h is a hydrophobic M, V, L, or I residue). RtBRR and AtBRR dimerize distinctly from four structurally characterized phytochrome response regulators found in photosynthetic organisms and from all other receiver domain homodimers in the Protein Data Bank. A unique cacodylate-zinc-histidine tag metal organic framework yielded single-wavelength anomalous diffraction phases and may be of general interest. Examination of the effect of the BRR stoichiometry on signal transduction showed that phosphorylated RtBRR is accumulated more efficiently than the engineered monomeric RtBRR (RtBRRmon) in phosphotransfer reactions. Thus, we conclude that arm-in-arm dimers are a relevant signaling intermediate in this class of two-component regulatory systems.

  15. How does a planet excite multiple spiral arms?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

    2018-01-01

    Protoplanetary disk simulations show that a single planet excites multiple spiral arms in the background disk, potentially supported by the multi-armed spirals revealed with recent high-resolution observations in some disks. The existence of multiple spiral arms is of importance in many aspects. It is empirically found that the arm-to-arm separation increases as a function of the planetary mass, so one can use the morphology of observed spiral arms to infer the mass of unseen planets. In addition, a spiral arm opens a radial gap as it steepens into a shock, so when a planet excites multiple spiral arms it can open multiple gaps in the disk. Despite the important implications, however, the formation mechanism of multiple spiral arms has not been fully understood by far.In this talk, we explain how a planet excites multiple spiral arms. The gravitational potential of a planet can be decomposed into a Fourier series, a sum of individual azimuthal modes having different azimuthal wavenumbers. Using a linear wave theory, we first demonstrate that appropriate sets of Fourier decomposed waves can be in phase, raising a possibility that constructive interference among the waves can produce coherent structures - spiral arms. More than one spiral arm can form since such constructive interference can occur at different positions in the disk for different sets of waves. We then verify this hypothesis using a suite of two-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations. Finally, we present non-linear behavior in the formation of multiple spiral arms.

  16. Managing new arms races

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Segal, G.

    1992-01-01

    The management of new arms races in the region of Asia-Pacific includes considerations of weapons trade and transfer in the region, with an emphasis on nuclear weapons proliferation. It deals with the problem of controlling the arms trade and the efforts to control conventional weapons and underlines the possible role and influence of Conference on Cooperation and Security in Europe (CSCE)

  17. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Madden-Julian Oscillation Investigation Experiment Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Long, Chuck [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, CO (United States). Earth System Research Lab.

    2016-07-01

    Every 30–90 days during the Northern Hemisphere winter, the equatorial tropical atmosphere experiences pulses of extraordinarily strong deep convection and rainfall. This phenomenon is referred to as the Madden–Julian Oscillation, or MJO, named after the scientists who identified this cycle. The MJO significantly affects weather and rainfall patterns around the world (Zhang 2013). To improve predictions of the MJO—especially about how it forms and evolves throughout its lifecycle—an international group of scientists collected an unprecedented set of observations from the Indian Ocean and western Pacific region from October 2011 through March 2012 through several coordinated efforts. The coordinated field campaigns captured six distinct MJO cycles in the Indian Ocean. The rich set of observations capturing several MJO events from these efforts will be used for many years to study the physics of the MJO. Here we highlight early research results using data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Madden-Julian Oscillation Investigation Experiment (AMIE), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility.

  18. [Study for lung sound acquisition module based on ARM and Linux].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Qiang; Li, Wenfeng; Zhang, Xixue; Li, Junmin; Liu, Longqing

    2011-07-01

    A acquisition module with ARM and Linux as a core was developed. This paper presents the hardware configuration and the software design. It is shown that the module can extract human lung sound reliably and effectively.

  19. Intrastate Dynamics in the Context of Hegemonic Decline: A Case Study of China’s Arms Transfer Regime

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhifan Luo

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The decline of a hegemon can create openings for lesser powers to expand their influence in the world-system. Is this what China is currently attempting to do? This paper contributes to this on-going debate by examining China’s arms transfer activities from a historical perspective. Using data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute arms transfer database and the World Military Expenditures and Arms Transfers database, I argue that the Chinese arms transfer regime has evolved through three phases. In Phase One, China used gifts of arms to compete with the Soviet Union and to expand influence among Third World countries. In Phase Two, China used arms exports mainly to assist national developmental projects. Only evidence in Phase Three supports the emergence of a global strategy that attempts to extend China’s economic, political, and possibly military outreach. This paper suggests that though China has not yet become a contender for world hegemony as Arrighi argues (2007, China has formulated a globally-focused agenda which, in the medium-term, could extend its influence in regions where U.S. domination is relatively weak.

  20. Joint ARM/GCSS/SPARC TWP-ICE CRM Intercomparison Study: Description, Preliminary Results, and Invitation to Participate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fridlind, A. M.; Ackerman, A. S.; Allen, G.; Beringer, J.; Comstock, J. M.; Field, P. R.; Gallagher, M.; Hacker, J. M.; Hume, T.; Jakob, C.; Liu, G.; Long, C. N.; Mather, J. H.; May, P. T.; McCoy, R. F.; McFarlane, S. A.; McFarquhar, G. M.; Minnis, P.; Petch, J. C.; Schumacher, C.; Turner, D. D.; Whiteway, J. A.; Williams, C. R.; Williams, P. I.; Xie, S.; Zhang, M.

    2008-12-01

    The 2006 Tropical Warm Pool - International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) is 'the first field program in the tropics that attempted to describe the evolution of tropical convection, including the large-scale heat, moisture, and momentum budgets at 3-hourly time resolution, while at the same time obtaining detailed observations of cloud properties and the impact of the clouds on the environment' [May et al., 2008]. A cloud- resolving model (CRM) intercomparison based on TWP-ICE is now being undertaken by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM), GEWEX Cloud Systems Study (GCSS), and Stratospheric Processes And their Role in Climate (SPARC) programs. We summarize the 16-day case study and the wealth of data being used to provide initial and boundary conditions, and evaluate some preliminary findings in the context of existing theories of moisture evolution in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). Overall, simulated cloud fields evolve realistically by many measures. Budgets indicate that simulated convective flux convergence of water vapor is always positive or near zero at TTL elevations, except locally at lower levels during the driest suppressed monsoon conditions, while simulated water vapor deposition to hydrometeors always exceeds sublimation on average at all TTL elevations over 24-hour timescales. The next largest water vapor budget term is generally the nudging required to keep domain averages consistent with observations, which is at least partly attributable to large-scale forcing terms that cannot be derived from measurements. We discuss the primary uncertainties.

  1. Comparison of upper arm and forearm blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Domiano, Kathy L; Hinck, Susan M; Savinske, Debra L; Hope, Kathryn L

    2008-11-01

    The upper arm is the primary site used to obtain a blood pressure measurement (BPM); however, when it is not possible to use the upper arm, the forearm is a commonly used alternate site. This study determines if there is a significant difference between upper arm and forearm BPMs among adults and examines the relationship of participant characteristics to the BPM difference. A convenience sample was recruited from a low-income, independent-living, 104-apartment complex in the Midwest. Of the 106 participants, 64% were female and 89% were White. Ages ranged from 20 to 85 years (M = 50.7). The investigators calculated the BMIs (range = 18 to 42, M = 29.3, SD = 5.4) for the 89% (n = 94) of participants who reported their weight. The forearm tended to have higher BPMs than the upper arm (M difference = 4.0 mm Hg systolic, 2.3 mm Hg diastolic). However, site differences were greatest for men, obese adults, and middle aged (36 to 65) adults.

  2. A feasiblity study of an ultrasonic test phantom arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Philip

    This thesis is a feasibility study for the creation of a test phantom that replicates the physiological features, from an acoustic and mechanical standpoint, of that of a human arm. Physiological feature set includes; Heart, Arteries, Veins, Bone, Muscle, Fat, Skin, and Dermotographic Features (finger prints). Mechanical Aspects include, vascular compression and distention, elasticity of tissue layers, mechanics of human heart. The end goal of which to have a working understanding of each component in order to create a controllable, real time, physiologically accurate, test phantom for a wide range of ultrasonic based applications. These applications can range from devices like wearable technologies to medical training, to biometric "Liveness" detection methods. The proposed phantom would allow for a number of natural bodily functions to be measured including but not limited to vascular mapping, blood pressure, heart rate, subdermal imaging, and general ultrasonic imaging.

  3. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility Operations Quarterly Report October 1-December 31, 2016

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Voyles, Jimmy [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Individual datastreams from instrumentation at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility fixed and mobile research observatories (sites) are collected and routed to the ARM Data Center (ADC). The Data Management Facility (DMF), a component of the ADC, executes datastream processing in near-real time. Processed data are then delivered approximately daily to the ARM Data Archive, also a component of the ADC, where they are made freely available to the research community. For each instrument, ARM calculates the ratio of the actual number of processed data records received daily at the ARM Data Archive to the expected number of data records. DOE requires national user facilities to report time-based operating data.

  4. Study on New Smart Transformer Terminal Unit Based on ARM and GPRS Network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Na Wu

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Distribution transformer is one of the most important power equipments in distribution network, whose running state exercises a great influence on the stability of the network. Transformer Terminal Unit (TTU is an effective device to monitor the running state of transformers in the distribution automation system. In this paper, we study a new smart TTU which uses ARM7 series chip as processor, equipped with ATT7022B based electric meter module and GPRS module for remote data transmission control. We focus on the corresponding hardware, software design and the measurement principle of harmonics of TTU. The new TTU can measure the electric parameters of the distribution transformer precisely. Taking advantage of the powerful ARM processor, it can analyze harmonic of the power line effectively. Due to the always-on-line feature of GPRS, TTU can achieve reliable communication with the remote terminal and the master station. Compared with other similar units, the new unit outperforms in terms of real-time, precision and reliability, which can fully meet with the high-speed development of distribution automation system.

  5. Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, Luo-Luo, E-mail: jiangluoluo@gmail.com [College of Physics and Electronic Information Engineering, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou 325035 (China); College of Physics and Technology, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi 541004 (China); Wang, Wen-Xu [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Department of Physics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Lai, Ying-Cheng [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Department of Physics, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States); Ni, Xuan [School of Electrical, Computer and Energy Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287 (United States)

    2012-07-09

    We study the formation of multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games with mobile individuals. We discover a set of seed distributions of species, which is able to produce multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals with a finite number of arms and pairs based on stochastic processes. The joint spiral waves are also predicted by a theoretical model based on partial differential equations associated with specific initial conditions. The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced to differentiate the multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals. For the given mobility, the spatial entropy of multi-armed spirals is higher than that of single armed spirals. The stability of the waves is explored with respect to individual mobility. Particularly, we find that both two armed spirals and one pair antispirals transform to the single armed spirals. Furthermore, multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable than those with higher numbers of arms and pairs. In addition, comparing to large amount of previous work, we employ the no flux boundary conditions which enables quantitative studies of pattern formation and stability in the system of stochastic interactions in the absence of excitable media. -- Highlights: ► Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are observed. ► Patterns are predicted by computer simulations and partial differential equations. ► The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced. ► Patterns are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. ► The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable.

  6. Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Luo-Luo; Wang, Wen-Xu; Lai, Ying-Cheng; Ni, Xuan

    2012-01-01

    We study the formation of multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals in spatial rock–paper–scissors games with mobile individuals. We discover a set of seed distributions of species, which is able to produce multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals with a finite number of arms and pairs based on stochastic processes. The joint spiral waves are also predicted by a theoretical model based on partial differential equations associated with specific initial conditions. The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced to differentiate the multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals. For the given mobility, the spatial entropy of multi-armed spirals is higher than that of single armed spirals. The stability of the waves is explored with respect to individual mobility. Particularly, we find that both two armed spirals and one pair antispirals transform to the single armed spirals. Furthermore, multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable than those with higher numbers of arms and pairs. In addition, comparing to large amount of previous work, we employ the no flux boundary conditions which enables quantitative studies of pattern formation and stability in the system of stochastic interactions in the absence of excitable media. -- Highlights: ► Multi-armed spirals and multi-pairs antispirals are observed. ► Patterns are predicted by computer simulations and partial differential equations. ► The spatial entropy of patterns is introduced. ► Patterns are relatively stable for intermediate mobility. ► The joint spirals with lower numbers of arms and pairs are relatively more stable.

  7. AN M DWARF COMPANION AND ITS INDUCED SPIRAL ARMS IN THE HD 100453 PROTOPLANETARY DISK

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dong, Ruobing [Nuclear Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Zhu, Zhaohuan [Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544 (United States); Fung, Jeffrey; Chiang, Eugene [Department of Astronomy, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Rafikov, Roman [Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ 08540 (United States); Wagner, Kevin, E-mail: rdong2013@berkeley.edu [Department of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, The University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Recent VLT/SPHERE near-infrared imaging observations revealed two spiral arms with a near m = 2 rotational symmetry in the protoplanetary disk around the ∼1.7 M{sub ⊙} Herbig star HD 100453. A ∼0.3 M{sub ⊙} M dwarf companion, HD 100453 B, was also identified at a projected separation of 120 AU from the primary. In this Letter, we carry out hydrodynamic and radiative transfer simulations to examine the scattered light morphology of the HD 100453 disk as perturbed by the companion on a circular and coplanar orbit. We find that the companion truncates the disk at ∼45 AU in scattered light images, and excites two spiral arms in the remaining (circumprimary) disk with a near m = 2 rotational symmetry. Both the truncated disk size and the morphology of the spirals are in excellent agreement with the SPHERE observations at Y, J, H, and K1-bands, suggesting that the M dwarf companion is indeed responsible for the observed double-spiral-arm pattern. Our model suggests that the disk is close to face on (inclination angle ∼5°), and that the entire disk-companion system rotates counterclockwise on the sky. The HD 100453 observations, along with our modeling work, demonstrate that double spiral arm patterns in near-infrared scattered light images can be generically produced by companions, and support future observations to identify the companions responsible for the arms observed in the MWC 758 and SAO 206462 systems.

  8. Influence of arm positioning on tomographic thallium-201 myocardial perfusion imaging and the effect of attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prvulovich, E.M.; Jarritt, P.H.; Vorontsova, E.; Bomanji, J.B.; Ell, P.J.

    2000-01-01

    Lateral attenuation in single-photon emission tomography (SPET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has been attributed to the left arm if it is held by the patient's side during data acquisition. As a result MPI data are conventionally acquired with the arms held above the head. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of imaging arms down on reconstructed tomographic images depicting regional myocardial thallium-201 distribution and to assess whether attenuation-corrected (AC) myocardial perfusion images acquired arms down could replace uncorrected (NC) images acquired arms up for routine clinical service. Twenty-eight patients referred for routine MPI underwent sequential 180 emission/transmission imaging for attenuation correction using an L-shaped dual-headed gamma camera (GE Optima) fitted with two gadolinium-153 scanning line sources. Delay data were acquired twice: once supine with the arms up and then supine with the arms down. Detector radius of rotation (ROR) for arms up and arms-down studies was recorded. For each data set, count density was measured in 17 segments of a polar plot and segmental uptake expressed relative to study maximum. Oblique images were assessed qualitatively by two observers blinded to study type for tracer distribution and overall quality. Transmission maps were assessed for truncation. Mean detector ROR was 190 mm for arms-up studies and 232 mm for arms-down studies (P 201 Tl distribution, particularly anterolaterally. There is lateral undercorrection in approximately 10% of AC arms-down studies, possibly because of attenuation map truncation. Image quality is reduced in about one-third of AC arms-down studies compared with NC arms-up studies. These data suggest that this attenuation correction method is not sufficiently robust to allow routine acquisition of MPI data with the arms down. (orig.)

  9. Effect of arm swing strategy on local dynamic stability of human gait.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Punt, Michiel; Bruijn, Sjoerd M; Wittink, Harriet; van Dieën, Jaap H

    2015-02-01

    Falling causes long term disability and can even lead to death. Most falls occur during gait. Therefore improving gait stability might be beneficial for people at risk of falling. Recently arm swing has been shown to influence gait stability. However at present it remains unknown which mode of arm swing creates the most stable gait. To examine how different modes of arm swing affect gait stability. Ten healthy young male subjects volunteered for this study. All subjects walked with four different arm swing instructions at seven different gait speeds. The Xsens motion capture suit was used to capture gait kinematics. Basic gait parameters, variability and stability measures were calculated. We found an increased stability in the medio-lateral direction with excessive arm swing in comparison to normal arm swing at all gait speeds. Moreover, excessive arm swing increased stability in the anterior-posterior and vertical direction at low gait speeds. Ipsilateral and inphase arm swing did not differ compared to a normal arm swing. Excessive arm swing is a promising gait manipulation to improve local dynamic stability. For excessive arm swing in the ML direction there appears to be converging evidence. The effect of excessive arm swing on more clinically relevant groups like the more fall prone elderly or stroke survivors is worth further investigating. Excessive arm swing significantly increases local dynamic stability of human gait. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Dual Arm Work Module Development and Appplications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Noakes, M.W.

    1999-04-25

    The dual arm work module (DAWM) was developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) by the Robotics Technology Development Program (RTDP) as a development test bed to study issues related to dual arm manipulation, including platform cotilguration, controls, automation, operations, and tooling. The original platform was based on two Schilling Titan II manipulators mounted to a 5-degree-of- freedom (DOF) base fabricated by RedZone Robotics, Inc. The 5-DOF articulation provided a center torso rotation, linear actuation to change the separation between the arms, and arm base rotation joints to provide "elbows up," elbows down," or "elbows out" orientation. A series of tests were conducted on operations, tooling, and task space scene analysis (TSSA)-driven robotics for overhead transporter- mounted and crane hook-deployed scenarios. A concept was developed for DAWM deployment from a large remote work vehicle, but the project was redirected to support dismantlement of the Chicago Pile #5 (CP-5) reactor at Argonne National Laboratory in fiscal year (FY) 1997. Support of CP-5 required a change in focus of the dual arm technology from that of a development test bed to a system focussed for a specific end user. ORNL teamed with the Idaho National Environmental ,Engineering Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratory, and the Savannah River Technology Center to deliver a crane-deployed derivative of the DAWM, designated the dual arm work platform (DAWP). RTDP staff supported DAWP at CP-5 for one FY; Argonne staff continued operation through to dismantlement of the reactor internals. Lessons learned from this interaction were extensive. Beginning in FY 1999, dual arm development activities are again being pursued in the context of those lessons learned. This paper describes the progression of philosophy of the DAWM from initial test bed to lessons learned through interaction at CP-5 and to the present investigation of telerobotic assist of teleoperation and TSSA- driven robotics.

  11. A study of mid-arm and chest circumferences as predictors of low birthweight.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rogo, K; Nyagudi, O; Ferguson, A

    1991-02-01

    Nine hundred ninety-nine newborns were examined in order to determine the relationship between birthweight and mid-arm and chest circumstances. An early neonatal mortality rate of 51/1000 was recorded, being much higher for preterm (301/1000) than term babies (2.5/1000). Both mid-arm and chest circumference showed highly significant correlations with birthweight (r = 0.872, P less than 0.0001 and r = 0.918, P less than 0.0001, respectively). The correlation between weight and chest circumstances was upheld even for very small babies.

  12. Arm circumference: its importance for dialysis patients in the obesity era.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akpolat, Tekin; Kaya, Coşkun; Utaş, Cengiz; Arinsoy, Turgay; Taşkapan, Hülya; Erdem, Emre; Yilmaz, M Emin; Ataman, Rezzan; Bozfakioğlu, Semra; Özener, Çetin; Karayaylali, Ibrahim; Kazancioğlu, Rümeyza; Çamsari, Taner; Yavuz, Mahmut; Ersoy, Fevzi; Duman, Soner; Ateş, Kenan

    2013-08-01

    The purposes of this study were to investigate the association between arm circumference and body mass index (BMI) and to discuss problems, mainly arm circumference and cuff size mismatch, that could affect the reliability of home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) among peritoneal dialysis (PD) and hemodialysis (HD) patients. 525 PD and 502 HD patients from 16 centers were included in the study. A two-part questionnaire was used to gather information from the participants. Arm circumferences were categorized into four groups according to the British Hypertension Society cuff size recommendations. Mean BMI and arm circumference of all participants were 25.0 kg/m(2) and 27.6 cm, respectively. There was a significant correlation between BMI and arm circumference. The mean BMI and arm circumference values were higher in PD patients than in HD patients. Requirement of a large-sized adult cuff was more common among PD patients compared to HD patients (14 % vs 8 %, p = 0.002). Since HBPM is a useful tool for clinicians to improve BP control, nephrologists should be aware of the problems related to HBPM in dialysis patients and take an active role to increase the reliability of HBPM.

  13. Captive spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) arm-raise to solicit allo-grooming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheel, Matthew H; Edwards, Dori

    2012-03-01

    Old World monkeys solicit allo-grooming from conspecifics. However, there are relatively few studies of allo-grooming among spider monkeys, and descriptions of allo-grooming solicitation among spider monkeys are anecdotal. In this study, eighty-one hours of video, shot over eight weeks, captured 271 allo-grooming bouts among small groups of captive spider monkeys. Six of eight monkeys made heretofore unreported arm-raises that solicited higher than normal rates of allo-grooming. Allo-grooming bout durations following arm-raises also tended to be longer than bouts not preceded by arm-raises. The efficacy of the arm-raise at soliciting allo-grooming suggests spider monkeys are capable of intentional communication. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Radiation and environment - impact studies awareness

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boniface Ekechukwu; Mohd. Zohadie Bardaie

    2005-01-01

    Radiation, which is simply defined as energy, that travels in the form of waves or particles has both positive and negative effects on humans. This has necessitated a careful study on how to create awareness on the 'two-edge sword'. Since radiation cannot be removed from our environment we, however, reduce our risks by controlling our exposure to it through various ways. Understanding radiation and radioactivity will help us make informed decisions about our exposure. Many difference types of radiation have range of energy that form electromagnetic spectrum. Their sources include nuclear power plants, nuclear weapons, and medicine. Others include, microwaves, radar, electrical power lines, cellular phones, and sunlight' and so on. However, the radiation used in nuclear power, nuclear weapons, and medicine has enough energy to break chemical bonds, and is referred to as 'ionizing radiation', which is dangerous to life. Because of this negative effect of radiation there is common fear and myths related to radiation, radioactivity, uranium mining and milling, and the nuclear industry. This radiation education and energy-environmental education attempt to dispel the common fears and myths relating to them in so far as there is perfect protection from harmful exposure and abuse. The design of an integrated unit of study radiation and environmental energy uses arts of language, life skills, skill designs, social studies and mathematical skills in creating understanding and abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry by the students without abuse or danger. The education unit is designed to assess materials for, factual information and appropriate language and identification of potential bias in environmental education materials and evaluate materials in perspective of cultural and ethnic upbringing. (author)

  15. CHARACTERISTICS OF SPIRAL ARMS IN LATE-TYPE GALAXIES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Honig, Z. N.; Reid, M. J.

    2015-01-01

    We have measured the positions of large numbers of H II regions in four nearly face-on, late-type, spiral galaxies: NGC 628 (M74), NGC 1232, NGC 3184, and NGC 5194 (M51). Fitting log-periodic spiral models to segments of each arm yields local estimates of spiral pitch angle and arm width. While pitch angles vary considerably along individual arms, among arms within a galaxy, and among galaxies, we find no systematic trend with galactocentric distance. We estimate the widths of the arm segments from the scatter in the distances of the H II regions from the spiral model. All major arms in these galaxies show spiral arm width increasing with distance from the galactic center, similar to the trend seen in the Milky Way. However, in the outermost parts of the galaxies, where massive star formation declines, some arms reverse this trend and narrow. We find that spiral arms often appear to be composed of segments of ∼5 kpc length, which join to form kinks and abrupt changes in pitch angle and arm width; these characteristics are consistent with properties seen in the large N-body simulations of D'Onghia et al. and others

  16. Systematic medical data collection of intentional injuries during armed conflicts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helweg-Larsen, Karin; Abdel-Jabbar Al-Qadi, Ashraf Hasan; Al-Jabriri, Jalal

    2004-01-01

    A study was undertaken on implementing medical data collection as a tool to assess the relative number and character of intentional injuries before and during an armed conflict.......A study was undertaken on implementing medical data collection as a tool to assess the relative number and character of intentional injuries before and during an armed conflict....

  17. One arm exercise induces significant interarm diastolic blood pressure difference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Dezhi; Wang, Jiwei; Su, Hai; Xu, Jingsong; Liu, Yanna; Peng, Qiang; Wang, Lijuan

    2011-06-01

    This study is designed to investigate the inducing effect of one arm exercise on interarm difference (IAD) in the blood pressure (BP). Fifty healthy young participants were included in the study. Three-minute exercises of the right arm elbow flexion and extension were performed. The bilateral brachial BP was simultaneously measured with two automatic BP measurement devices before (basic) and immediately 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 min after exercise. The absolute difference in the systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP) between the left and right BP of at least 10 mmHg was recognized as sIAD and dIAD. The baseline data of the SBP and DBP in left and right arms revealed no significant difference (SBP: 110 ± 10 vs. 111 ± 11 mmHg; DBP: 66 ± 8 vs. 66 ± 9 mmHg, both not significant). The prevalence of dIAD was 2% at the baseline. However, this prevalence increased to 80% at 0 min, as right arm exercise induced the right DBP decrease and left DBP increase, and then the prevalence decreased gradually within a 30-min recovery period. The prevalence of sIAD was zero at the baseline and the maximal prevalence was 8% during the 20-min postexercise period. One arm exercise can lead to a significant IAD in DBP. Any arm exercise should be avoided before BP measurement.

  18. Prevalence of inter-arm blood pressure difference among clinical out-patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Balkishan; Ramawat, Pramila

    2016-04-01

    An increased inter-arm blood pressure difference is an easily determined physical finding, may use as an indicator of cardio vascular event and other sever diseases. Authors evaluated 477 patients to determine the prevalence and significance of inter-arm blood pressure difference. 477 routine outdoor patients selected to observe the inter-arm blood pressure difference. Age, height, weight, body mass index, history of disease and blood pressure recorded. The prevalence of ≥10 mmHg systolic inter-arm blood pressure difference was 5.0% was more as compared to 3.8% had diastolic inter-arm blood pressure difference. The prevalence of systolic and diastolic inter-arm difference between 6 to 10 mmHg was 31.4% and 27.9% respectively. Mean systolic inter-arm blood pressure difference was significantly higher among those patients had a multisystem disorder (10.57±0.98 mmHg) and followed by patients with cardiovascular disease (10.22±0.67 mmHg) as compared to healthy patients (2.71±0.96 mmHg). Various diseases highly influenced the increase in blood pressure irrespective of systolic or diastolic was confirmed strongly significant (pdifferent inter arm blood pressure difference levels. This study supports the view of inter-arm blood pressure difference as an alarming stage of increased disease risk that incorporated to investigate potential problems at an early diagnostic stage. A significant mean difference between left and right arm blood pressure recorded for many diseases.

  19. The effect of unilateral arm swing motion on lower extremity running mechanics associated with injury risk.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agresta, Cristine; Ward, Christian R; Wright, W Geoffrey; Tucker, Carole A

    2018-06-01

    Many field sports involve equipment that restricts one or both arms from moving while running. Arm swing during running has been examined from a biomechanical and physiologic perspective but not from an injury perspective. Moreover, only bilateral arm swing suppression has been studied with respect to running. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of running with one arm restrained on lower extremity mechanics associated with running or sport-related injury. Fifteen healthy participants ran at a self-selected speed with typical arm swing, with one arm restrained and with both arms restrained. Lower extremity kinematics and spatiotemporal measures were analysed for all arm swing conditions. Running with one arm restrained resulted in increased frontal plane knee and hip angles, decreased foot strike angle, and decreased centre of mass vertical displacement compared to typical arm swing or bilateral arm swing restriction. Stride length was decreased and step frequency increased when running with one or both arms restrained. Unilateral arm swing restriction induces changes in lower extremity kinematics that are not similar to running with bilateral arm swing restriction or typical arm swing motion. Running with one arm restrained increases frontal plane mechanics associated with risk of knee injury.

  20. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE ARMED FORCES IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY CASE STUDIES OF NEW DEMOCRACIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florina Cristiana (Cris MATEI

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this article is to contribute to a better understanding of thecontemporary value for democracy of the relationship between elected leadersand the armed forces. Hence, it focuses on the military effectiveness dimension ofthe CMR. It discusses why it is important and what newer democracies can do tosuccessfully develop effective armed forces. The article provides “lessons learned/best practices” of achieving effectiveness from three developing democracies - Chile,Hungary, and, Mongolia.

  1. Registration of 2D C-Arm and 3D CT Images for a C-Arm Image-Assisted Navigation System for Spinal Surgery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chih-Ju Chang

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available C-Arm image-assisted surgical navigation system has been broadly applied to spinal surgery. However, accurate path planning on the C-Arm AP-view image is difficult. This research studies 2D-3D image registration methods to obtain the optimum transformation matrix between C-Arm and CT image frames. Through the transformation matrix, the surgical path planned on preoperative CT images can be transformed and displayed on the C-Arm images for surgical guidance. The positions of surgical instruments will also be displayed on both CT and C-Arm in the real time. Five similarity measure methods of 2D-3D image registration including Normalized Cross-Correlation, Gradient Correlation, Pattern Intensity, Gradient Difference Correlation, and Mutual Information combined with three optimization methods including Powell’s method, Downhill simplex algorithm, and genetic algorithm are applied to evaluate their performance in converge range, efficiency, and accuracy. Experimental results show that the combination of Normalized Cross-Correlation measure method with Downhill simplex algorithm obtains maximum correlation and similarity in C-Arm and Digital Reconstructed Radiograph (DRR images. Spine saw bones are used in the experiment to evaluate 2D-3D image registration accuracy. The average error in displacement is 0.22 mm. The success rate is approximately 90% and average registration time takes 16 seconds.

  2. Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Processed Ultra Emu Oil Versus Placebo in the Prevention of Radiation Dermatitis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rollmann, Denise C. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Novotny, Paul J. [Division of Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Petersen, Ivy A.; Garces, Yolanda I.; Bauer, Heather J.; Yan, Elizabeth S. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Wahner-Roedler, Dietlind; Vincent, Ann [Department of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Sloan, Jeff A. [Division of Biomedical Informatics and Biostatistics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Issa Laack, Nadia N., E-mail: laack.nadia@mayo.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States)

    2015-07-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this single-institution pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of an oil-based skin agent, Ultra Emu Oil, on skin-related toxicity in patients undergoing radiation therapy to the breast or chest wall. Methods and Materials: Patients were randomized 2:1 in a double-blind fashion and were instructed to apply processed Ultra Emu Oil or placebo (cottonseed oil) twice daily during the course of radiation therapy. The oils were applied before the third fraction and continued for 6 weeks after completion of treatment. The primary endpoint was the area under the curve (AUC) of Skindex-16 scale scores over time. Secondary outcomes included maximum grade of radiation dermatitis using the Common Terminology Criteria (CTC) for Adverse Events (CTCAE 3.0), the Skin Toxicity Assessment Tool, quality of life (QOL) measured by Linear Analogue Self-Assessment, and a symptom experience diary (SED). Results: In all, 42 of 45 patients completed the study and were evaluable. The median times to peak rash, skin redness, peeling, and skin swelling were weeks 6, 6, 7, and 7, respectively as measured by the SED. The Skindex AUC scores tended to be lower in emu oil patients than in placebo patients (mean total AUC 7.2 vs 10.4, respectively). This trend was also seen in all the Skindex subdomains. The overall QOL was slightly better in the emu oil group but remained stable throughout the study for both arms. Peak CTC toxicity occurred at week 6. Patients using emu oil appeared slightly worse on maximum CTC grade, but the difference was not significant. Conclusions: This pilot study confirmed the safety of oil-based skin treatments during radiation therapy and suggests a trend for reduced skin toxicity for patients receiving emu oil. A larger study is needed to evaluate the efficacy of emu oil in reducing radiation dermatitis in patients receiving breast radiation.

  3. Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Processed Ultra Emu Oil Versus Placebo in the Prevention of Radiation Dermatitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rollmann, Denise C; Novotny, Paul J; Petersen, Ivy A; Garces, Yolanda I; Bauer, Heather J; Yan, Elizabeth S; Wahner-Roedler, Dietlind; Vincent, Ann; Sloan, Jeff A; Issa Laack, Nadia N

    2015-07-01

    The purpose of this single-institution pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of an oil-based skin agent, Ultra Emu Oil, on skin-related toxicity in patients undergoing radiation therapy to the breast or chest wall. Patients were randomized 2:1 in a double-blind fashion and were instructed to apply processed Ultra Emu Oil or placebo (cottonseed oil) twice daily during the course of radiation therapy. The oils were applied before the third fraction and continued for 6 weeks after completion of treatment. The primary endpoint was the area under the curve (AUC) of Skindex-16 scale scores over time. Secondary outcomes included maximum grade of radiation dermatitis using the Common Terminology Criteria (CTC) for Adverse Events (CTCAE 3.0), the Skin Toxicity Assessment Tool, quality of life (QOL) measured by Linear Analogue Self-Assessment, and a symptom experience diary (SED). In all, 42 of 45 patients completed the study and were evaluable. The median times to peak rash, skin redness, peeling, and skin swelling were weeks 6, 6, 7, and 7, respectively as measured by the SED. The Skindex AUC scores tended to be lower in emu oil patients than in placebo patients (mean total AUC 7.2 vs 10.4, respectively). This trend was also seen in all the Skindex subdomains. The overall QOL was slightly better in the emu oil group but remained stable throughout the study for both arms. Peak CTC toxicity occurred at week 6. Patients using emu oil appeared slightly worse on maximum CTC grade, but the difference was not significant. This pilot study confirmed the safety of oil-based skin treatments during radiation therapy and suggests a trend for reduced skin toxicity for patients receiving emu oil. A larger study is needed to evaluate the efficacy of emu oil in reducing radiation dermatitis in patients receiving breast radiation. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Pilot Study of Processed Ultra Emu Oil Versus Placebo in the Prevention of Radiation Dermatitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rollmann, Denise C.; Novotny, Paul J.; Petersen, Ivy A.; Garces, Yolanda I.; Bauer, Heather J.; Yan, Elizabeth S.; Wahner-Roedler, Dietlind; Vincent, Ann; Sloan, Jeff A.; Issa Laack, Nadia N.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this single-institution pilot study was to evaluate the feasibility and safety of an oil-based skin agent, Ultra Emu Oil, on skin-related toxicity in patients undergoing radiation therapy to the breast or chest wall. Methods and Materials: Patients were randomized 2:1 in a double-blind fashion and were instructed to apply processed Ultra Emu Oil or placebo (cottonseed oil) twice daily during the course of radiation therapy. The oils were applied before the third fraction and continued for 6 weeks after completion of treatment. The primary endpoint was the area under the curve (AUC) of Skindex-16 scale scores over time. Secondary outcomes included maximum grade of radiation dermatitis using the Common Terminology Criteria (CTC) for Adverse Events (CTCAE 3.0), the Skin Toxicity Assessment Tool, quality of life (QOL) measured by Linear Analogue Self-Assessment, and a symptom experience diary (SED). Results: In all, 42 of 45 patients completed the study and were evaluable. The median times to peak rash, skin redness, peeling, and skin swelling were weeks 6, 6, 7, and 7, respectively as measured by the SED. The Skindex AUC scores tended to be lower in emu oil patients than in placebo patients (mean total AUC 7.2 vs 10.4, respectively). This trend was also seen in all the Skindex subdomains. The overall QOL was slightly better in the emu oil group but remained stable throughout the study for both arms. Peak CTC toxicity occurred at week 6. Patients using emu oil appeared slightly worse on maximum CTC grade, but the difference was not significant. Conclusions: This pilot study confirmed the safety of oil-based skin treatments during radiation therapy and suggests a trend for reduced skin toxicity for patients receiving emu oil. A larger study is needed to evaluate the efficacy of emu oil in reducing radiation dermatitis in patients receiving breast radiation

  5. A research program on radiative transfer model development in support of the ARM program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clough, S.A.

    1991-01-01

    The main research effort at AER on this project has been focused on the development of a rapid line-by-line multiple scattering code for availability to ARM in the September 1991 time frame. The first phase of the effort has been to consider the many approaches that have been developed to treat the multiple scattering problem. One of the important decisions that had to be resolved was the choice of line-by- line code. This report efforts to devise a code to address the scattering problem

  6. CHARACTERIZING SPIRAL ARM AND INTERARM STAR FORMATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kreckel, K.; Schinnerer, E.; Meidt, S. [Max Planck Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Blanc, G. A. [Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile, Camino del Observatorio 1515, Las Condes, Santiago (Chile); Groves, B. [Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2611 (Australia); Adamo, A. [Department of Astronomy, The Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, AlbaNova University Centre, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Hughes, A., E-mail: kreckel@mpia.de [CNRS, IRAP, 9 Av. du Colonel Roche, BP 44346, F-31028 Toulouse cedex 4 (France)

    2016-08-20

    Interarm star formation contributes significantly to a galaxy’s star formation budget and provides an opportunity to study stellar birthplaces unperturbed by spiral arm dynamics. Using optical integral field spectroscopy of the nearby galaxy NGC 628 with VLT/MUSE, we construct H α maps including detailed corrections for dust extinction and stellar absorption to identify 391 H ii regions at 35 pc resolution over 12 kpc{sup 2}. Using tracers sensitive to the underlying gravitational potential, we associate H ii regions with either arm (271) or interarm (120) environments. Using our full spectral coverage of each region, we find that most physical properties (luminosity, size, metallicity, ionization parameter) of H ii regions are independent of environment. We calculate the fraction of H α luminosity due to the background of diffuse ionized gas (DIG) contaminating each H ii region, and find the DIG surface brightness to be higher within H ii regions than in the surroundings, and slightly higher within arm H ii regions. Use of the temperature-sensitive [S ii]/H α line ratio instead of the H α surface brightness to identify the boundaries of H ii regions does not change this result. Using the dust attenuation as a tracer of the gas, we find depletion times consistent with previous work (2 × 10{sup 9} yr) with no differences between the arm and interarm, but this is very sensitive to the DIG correction. Unlike molecular clouds, which can be dynamically affected by the galactic environment, we see fairly consistent properties of H ii regions in both arm and interarm environments. This suggests either a difference in star formation and feedback in arms or a decoupling of dense star-forming clumps from the more extended surrounding molecular gas.

  7. Supporting the President's Arms Control and Nonproliferation Agenda: Transparency and Verification for Nuclear Arms Reductions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doyle, James E.; Meek, Elizabeth

    2009-01-01

    The President's arms control and nonproliferation agenda is still evolving and the details of initiatives supporting it remain undefined. This means that DOE, NNSA, NA-20, NA-24 and the national laboratories can help define the agenda, and the policies and the initiatives to support it. This will require effective internal and interagency coordination. The arms control and nonproliferation agenda is broad and includes the path-breaking goal of creating conditions for the elimination of nuclear weapons. Responsibility for various elements of the agenda will be widely scattered across the interagency. Therefore an interagency mapping exercise should be performed to identify the key points of engagement within NNSA and other agencies for creating effective policy coordination mechanisms. These can include informal networks, working groups, coordinating committees, interagency task forces, etc. It will be important for NA-20 and NA-24 to get a seat at the table and a functional role in many of these coordinating bodies. The arms control and nonproliferation agenda comprises both mature and developing policy initiatives. The more mature elements such as CTBT ratification and a follow-on strategic nuclear arms treaty with Russia have defined milestones. However, recent press reports indicate that even the START follow-on strategic arms pact that is planned to be complete by the end of 2009 may take significantly longer and be more expansive in scope. The Russians called for proposals to count non-deployed as well as deployed warheads. Other elements of the agenda such as FMCT, future bilateral nuclear arms reductions following a START follow-on treaty, nuclear posture changes, preparations for an international nuclear security summit, strengthened international safeguards and multilateral verification are in much earlier stages of development. For this reason any survey of arms control capabilities within the USG should be structured to address potential needs across the

  8. The Impact of Cultural Distance on Bilateral Arm's Length Exports An International Business Perspective

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Slangen, Arjen H. L.; Beugelsdijk, Sjoerd; Hennart, Jean-Francois

    2011-01-01

    Prior studies have argued and regularly found that cultural distance is negatively related to bilateral export flows, which are the sum of arm's length and intra-firm exports. However, these macro-level studies overlook the firm-level insights that arm's length exports are a substitute for arm's

  9. Simulation of Octopus Arm Based on Coupled CPGs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Tian

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The octopus arm has attracted many researchers’ interests and became a research hot spot because of its amazing features. Several dynamic models inspired by an octopus arm are presented to realize the structure with a large number of degrees of freedom. The octopus arm is made of a soft material introducing high-dimensionality, nonlinearity, and elasticity, which makes the octopus arm difficult to control. In this paper, three coupled central pattern generators (CPGs are built and a 2-dimensional dynamic model of the octopus arm is presented to explore possible strategies of the octopus movement control. And the CPGs’ signals treated as activation are added on the ventral, dorsal, and transversal sides, respectively. The effects of the octopus arm are discussed when the parameters of the CPGs are changed. Simulations show that the octopus arm movements are mainly determined by the shapes of three CPGs’ phase diagrams. Therefore, some locomotion modes are supposed to be embedded in the neuromuscular system of the octopus arm. And the octopus arm movements can be achieved by modulating the parameters of the CPGs. The results are beneficial for researchers to understand the octopus movement further.

  10. Occupational radiation exposure and mortality study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Coppock, E.; Dobson, D.; Fair, M.

    1992-06-01

    An epidemiological cohort study of some 300,000 Canadians enrolled in the National Dose Registry (NDR) is being undertaken to determine if there is excess cancer or other causes of mortality among those workers who are occupationally exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation. The results of this study may provide better understanding of the dose-response relationship for low doses of ionizing radiation and aid in the verification of risk estimates for radiation-induced cancer mortality. The Department of National Health and Welfare (DNHW) is responsible for the Registry; this study is being carried out by the Bureau of Radiation and Medical Devices (BRMD) with financial assistance and co-operation of various agencies including Statistics Canada and the Atomic Energy Control Board

  11. Cloud properties derived from two lidars over the ARM SGP site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dupont, Jean-Charles; Haeffelin, Martial; Morille, Y.; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Flynn, Connor J.; Long, Charles N.; Sivaraman, Chitra; Newsom, Rob K.

    2011-02-16

    [1] Active remote sensors such as lidars or radars can be used with other data to quantify the cloud properties at regional scale and at global scale (Dupont et al., 2009). Relative to radar, lidar remote sensing is sensitive to very thin and high clouds but has a significant limitation due to signal attenuation in the ability to precisely quantify the properties of clouds with a 20 cloud optical thickness larger than 3. In this study, 10-years of backscatter lidar signal data are analysed by a unique algorithm called STRucture of ATmosphere (STRAT, Morille et al., 2007). We apply the STRAT algorithm to data from both the collocated Micropulse lidar (MPL) and a Raman lidar (RL) at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site between 1998 and 2009. Raw backscatter lidar signal is processed and 25 corrections for detector deadtime, afterpulse, and overlap are applied. (Campbell et al.) The cloud properties for all levels of clouds are derived and distributions of cloud base height (CBH), top height (CTH), physical cloud thickness (CT), and optical thickness (COT) from local statistics are compared. The goal of this study is (1) to establish a climatology of macrophysical and optical properties for all levels of clouds observed over the ARM SGP site 30 and (2) to estimate the discrepancies induced by the two remote sensing systems (pulse energy, sampling, resolution, etc.). Our first results tend to show that the MPLs, which are the primary ARM lidars, have a distinctly limited range where all of these cloud properties are detectable, especially cloud top and cloud thickness, but even actual cloud base especially during summer daytime period. According to the comparisons between RL and MPL, almost 50% of situations show a signal to noise ratio too low (smaller than 3) for the MPL in order to detect clouds higher than 7km during daytime period in summer. Consequently, the MPLderived annual cycle of cirrus cloud base (top) altitude is

  12. Radiation carcinogenesis, laboratory studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shellabarger, C.J.

    1974-01-01

    Laboratory studies on radioinduced carcinogenesis are reviewed. Some topics discussed are: radioinduced neoplasia in relation to life shortening; dose-response relationships; induction of skin tumors in rats by alpha particles and electrons; effects of hormones on tumor response; effects of low LET radiations delivered at low dose-rates; effects of fractionated neutron radiation; interaction of RBE and dose rate effects; and estimates of risks for humans from animal data. (U.S.)

  13. Broken Arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... of falling — including football, soccer, gymnastics, skiing and skateboarding — also increases the risk of a broken arm. ... for high-risk activities, such as in-line skating, snowboarding, rugby and football. Don't smoke. Smoking ...

  14. 49 CFR 236.810 - Spectacle, semaphore arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Spectacle, semaphore arm. 236.810 Section 236.810 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation (Continued) FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION... Spectacle, semaphore arm. That part of a semaphore arm which holds the roundels and to which the blade is...

  15. Arming shoes of the fifteenth century

    OpenAIRE

    Volken Marquita

    2017-01-01

    Military footwear for the fifteenth century includes arming shoes worn under sabatons. Written sources suggest arming shoes and footwear used for fighting were ordinary shoes adapted for the purpose. Archaeological footwear was examined for signs of such modifications. Medieval shoe technology is presented, showing the range of footwear and its uses and gait biomechanics. Based on experiences from re-enactors wearing armours, medieval shoe styles are discussed for appropriateness as arming sh...

  16. Studies on application of radiation and radioisotope. Studies on radiation processing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nho, Young Chang; Jin, J. H.; Kim, K. Y.; Lee, Y. K.; Lee, M. Z.; Jung, S. H.; Park, S. C.; Na, B. Z.; Kim, J. H.; Park, J. S.; Kwon, O. H.

    1997-09-01

    An attempt was made to synthesize adsorbent by radiation grafting of monomers onto polypropylene fabric, and then introducing functional groups such as cation-exchange and anion-exchange. The capacities of the synthesized adsorbents having the cationic and anionic exchange groups were evaluated by determining the degree to adsorb the basic and acidic gas, respectively. Software for RTD analysis was made to analyze data from radiotracer experiments. A pilot plant for practicing tracer experiments was designed and constructed, and experimental procedures for several tracer techniques were established. Radiation source holder, detector collimator, driver unit and software to control them were designed and constructed for column scanning technique. Basic studies for sea sand movement were performed and some tracer experiments were executed to support local industry as well as to gain field experiences. Cellulosic agricultural waste was observed by SEM for structural changes and analysed by thermal gravity analysis and water holding capacity test for the physical characteristics as a function of radiation dose. The number and kind of microorganisms in cellulosic agricultural waste were determined and sterilized by the reasonable radiation dose. The optimal fermentable microorganism is evaluated by the fermentation experiments of various useful strains. (author). 20 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs.

  17. Studies on application of radiation and radioisotope. Studies on radiation processing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nho, Young Chang; Jin, J. H.; Kim, K. Y.; Lee, Y. K.; Lee, M. Z.; Jung, S. H.; Park, S. C.; Na, B. Z.; Kim, J. H.; Park, J. S.; Kwon, O. H.

    1997-09-01

    An attempt was made to synthesize adsorbent by radiation grafting of monomers onto polypropylene fabric, and then introducing functional groups such as cation-exchange and anion-exchange. The capacities of the synthesized adsorbents having the cationic and anionic exchange groups were evaluated by determining the degree to adsorb the basic and acidic gas, respectively. Software for RTD analysis was made to analyze data from radiotracer experiments. A pilot plant for practicing tracer experiments was designed and constructed, and experimental procedures for several tracer techniques were established. Radiation source holder, detector collimator, driver unit and software to control them were designed and constructed for column scanning technique. Basic studies for sea sand movement were performed and some tracer experiments were executed to support local industry as well as to gain field experiences. Cellulosic agricultural waste was observed by SEM for structural changes and analysed by thermal gravity analysis and water holding capacity test for the physical characteristics as a function of radiation dose. The number and kind of microorganisms in cellulosic agricultural waste were determined and sterilized by the reasonable radiation dose. The optimal fermentable microorganism is evaluated by the fermentation experiments of various useful strains. (author). 20 refs., 4 tabs., 39 figs

  18. The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) during the atmospheric radiation measurement (ARM) intensive observation period (IOP)-4 and simulations of land use pattern effect on the LLJ

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wu, Y.; Raman, S. [North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC (United States)

    1996-04-01

    The Great Plains low-level jet (LLJ) is an important element of the low-level atmospheric circulation. It transports water vapor from the Gulf of Mexico, which in turn affects the development of weather over the Great Plains of the central United States. The LLJ is generally recognized as a complex response of the atmospheric boundary layer to the diurnal cycle of thermal forcing. Early studies have attributed the Great Plains LLJ to the diurnal oscillations of frictional effect, buoyancy over sloping terrain, and the blocking effects of the Rocky Mountains. Recent investigations show that the speed of the LLJ is also affected by the soil type and soil moisture. Some studies also suggest that synoptic patterns may play an important role in the development of the LLJ. Land surface heterogeneties significantly affect mesoscale circulations by generating strong contrasts in surface thermal fluxes. Thus one would expect that the land use pattern should have effects on the LLJ`s development and structure. In this study, we try to determine the relative roles of the synoptic forcing, planetary boundary layers (PBL) processes, and the land use pattern in the formation of the LLJ using the observations from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Intensive Operation Period (IOP)-4 and numerical sensitivity tests.

  19. Arm-trunk coordination in wheelchair initiation displacement: A study of anticipatory and compensatory postural adjustments during different speeds and directions of propulsion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chikh, Soufien; Garnier, Cyril; Faupin, Arnaud; Pinti, Antonio; Boudet, Samuel; Azaiez, Fairouz; Watelain, Eric

    2018-03-13

    Arm-trunk coordination during the initiation of displacement in manual wheelchair is a complex task. The objective of this work is to study the arm-trunk coordination by measuring anticipatory and compensatory postural adjustments. Nine healthy subjects participated in the study after being trained in manual wheelchair. They were asked to initiate a displacement in manual wheelchair in three directions (forward vs. left vs. right), with two speeds (spontaneous vs. maximum) and with two initial hand's positions (hands on thighs vs. hands on handrails). Muscular activities in the trunk (postural component) and the arms (focal component) were recorded bilaterally. The results show two strategies for trunk control: An anticipatory adjustment strategy and a compensatory adjustment strategy with a dominance of compensation. These two strategies are influenced by the finalities of displacement in terms of speed and direction depending on the hands positions. Arm-trunk coordination is characterized by an adaptability of anticipatory and compensatory postural adjustments. The study of this type of coordination for subjects with different levels of spinal cord injury could be used to predict the forthcoming displacement and thus assist the user in a complex task. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Facilitated pronociceptive pain mechanisms in radiating back pain compared with localized back pain

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vaegter, Henrik Bjarke; Palsson, Thorvaldur Skuli; Graven-Nielsen, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    Facilitated pain mechanisms and impaired pain inhibition are often found in chronic pain patients. This study compared clinical pain profiles, pain sensitivity, as well as pro-nociceptive and anti-nociceptive mechanisms in patients with localized low back pain (n=18), localized neck pain (n=17......), low back and radiating leg pain (n=18), or neck and radiating arm pain (n=17). It was hypothesized that patients with radiating pain had facilitated pain mechanisms and impaired pain inhibition compared with localized pain patients. Cuff algometry was performed on the non-painful lower leg to assess...... threshold (HPT) at the non-painful hand were also assessed. Clinical pain intensity, psychological distress, and disability were assessed with questionnaires. TSP was increased in patients with radiating back pain compared with localized back pain (Ppain or localized low...

  1. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Park, Hae Jun; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-15

    Radiation-inducible genes of E. coli, which is a model strain for bacterial study, and Salmonella, which is a typical strain for pathogenic bacteria were compared through omic analysis. Heat shock response genes and prophage genes were induced by radiation in Salmonella, not in E. coli. Among prophage genes tested, STM2628 showed the highest activation by radiation, and approximately 1 kb promoter region was turned out to be necessary for radiation response. To screen an artificial promoter showing activation by 2 Gy, the high-throughput screening method using fluorescent MUG substrate was established. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. To do this, a tumor-targeting hfq Salmonella mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the signal peptide of SspH1 was determined and the signal peptide was proven to be able to secrete an anticancer protein. Tumor xenograft mouse model was secured, which can be used for efficiency evaluation of bacterial tumor therapy.

  2. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Park, Hae Jun; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-01

    Radiation-inducible genes of E. coli, which is a model strain for bacterial study, and Salmonella, which is a typical strain for pathogenic bacteria were compared through omic analysis. Heat shock response genes and prophage genes were induced by radiation in Salmonella, not in E. coli. Among prophage genes tested, STM2628 showed the highest activation by radiation, and approximately 1 kb promoter region was turned out to be necessary for radiation response. To screen an artificial promoter showing activation by 2 Gy, the high-throughput screening method using fluorescent MUG substrate was established. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. To do this, a tumor-targeting hfq Salmonella mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the signal peptide of SspH1 was determined and the signal peptide was proven to be able to secrete an anticancer protein. Tumor xenograft mouse model was secured, which can be used for efficiency evaluation of bacterial tumor therapy

  3. International security and arms control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ekeus, R.

    2000-01-01

    The end of the cold war also ended the focus on the bilateral approach to arms control and disarmament. Key concepts of security needed to be revisited, along with their implications for the disarmament and arms control agenda. Though there is currently a unipolar global security environment, there remain important tasks on the multilateral arms control agenda. The major task is that of reducing and eliminating weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. The author contends that maintaining reliance on the nuclear-weapons option makes little sense in a time when the major Powers are strengthening their partnerships in economics, trade, peacemaking and building. (author)

  4. A prognostic scoring system for arm exercise stress testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Yan; Xian, Hong; Chandiramani, Pooja; Bainter, Emily; Wan, Leping; Martin, Wade H

    2016-01-01

    Arm exercise stress testing may be an equivalent or better predictor of mortality outcome than pharmacological stress imaging for the ≥50% for patients unable to perform leg exercise. Thus, our objective was to develop an arm exercise ECG stress test scoring system, analogous to the Duke Treadmill Score, for predicting outcome in these individuals. In this retrospective observational cohort study, arm exercise ECG stress tests were performed in 443 consecutive veterans aged 64.1 (11.1) years. (mean (SD)) between 1997 and 2002. From multivariate Cox models, arm exercise scores were developed for prediction of 5-year and 12-year all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and 5-year cardiovascular mortality or myocardial infarction (MI). Arm exercise capacity in resting metabolic equivalents (METs), 1 min heart rate recovery (HRR) and ST segment depression ≥1 mm were the stress test variables independently associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality by step-wise Cox analysis (all pstatistic of 0.81 before and 0.88 after adjustment for significant demographic and clinical covariates. Arm exercise scores for the other outcome end points yielded C-statistic values of 0.77-0.79 before and 0.82-0.86 after adjustment for significant covariates versus 0.64-0.72 for best fit pharmacological myocardial perfusion imaging models in a cohort of 1730 veterans who were evaluated over the same time period. Arm exercise scores, analogous to the Duke Treadmill Score, have good power for prediction of mortality or MI in patients who cannot perform leg exercise.

  5. ARM West Antarctic Radiation Experiment (AWARE) Science Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lubin, D [National Science Foundation; Bromwich, DH [Ohio State University; Russell, LM [Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Verlinde, J [The Pennsylvania State University; Vogelmann, AM [Brookhaven National Laboratory

    2015-10-01

    West Antarctica is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth, and this warming is closely connected with global sea level rise. The discovery of rapid climate change on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) has challenged previous explanations of Antarctic climate change that focused on strengthening of circumpolar westerlies in response to the positive polarity trend in the Southern Annular Mode. West Antarctic warming does not yet have a comprehensive explanation: dynamical mechanisms may vary from one season to the next, and these mechanisms very likely involve complex teleconnections with subtropical and tropical latitudes. The prime motivation for this proposal is that there has been no substantial atmospheric science or climatological field work on West Antarctica since the 1957 International Geophysical Year and that research continued for only a few years. Direct meteorological information on the WAIS has been limited to a few automatic weather stations for several decades, yet satellite imagery and meteorological reanalyses indicate that West Antarctica is highly susceptible to advection of warm and moist maritime air with related cloud cover, depending on the location and strength of low pressure cells in the Amundsen, Ross, and Bellingshausen Seas. There is a need to quantify the role of these changing air masses on the surface energy balance, including all surface energy components and cloud-radiative forcing. More generally, global climate model simulations are known to perform poorly over the Antarctic and Southern Oceans, and the marked scarcity of cloud information at southern high latitudes has so far inhibited significant progress. Fortunately, McMurdo Station, where the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Facility’s (ARM’s) most advanced cloud and aerosol instrumentation is situated, has a meteorological relationship with the WAIS via circulation patterns in the Ross and Amundsen Seas. We can therefore gather sophisticated data with cloud

  6. Strategic arms limitation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen Greb, G.; Johnson, Gerald W.

    1983-10-01

    Following World War II, American scientists and politicians proposed in the Baruch plan a radical solution to the problem of nuclear weapons: to eliminate them forever under the auspices of an international nuclear development authority. The Soviets, who as yet did not possess the bomb, rejected this plan. Another approach suggested by Secretary of War Henry Stimson to negotiate directly with the Soviet Union was not accepted by the American leadership. These initial arms limitation failures both reflected and exacerbated the hostile political relationship of the superpowers in the 1950s and 1960s. Since 1969, the more modest focus of the Soviet-American arms control process has been on limiting the numbers and sizes of both defensive and offensive strategic systems. The format for this effort has been the Strategic Arms Limitatins Talks (Salt) and more recently the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START). Both sides came to these negotiations convinced that nuclear arsenals had grown so large that some for of mutual restraint was needed. Although the SALT/START process has been slow and ponderous, it has produced several concrete the agreements and collateral benefits. The 1972 ABM Treaty restricts the deployment of ballistic missile defense systems, the 1972 Interim Agreement places a quantitative freeze on each side's land based and sea based strategic launchers, and the as yet unratified 1979 SALT II Treaty sets numerical limits on all offensive strategic systems and sublimits on MIRVed systems. Collateral benefits include improved verification procedures, working definitions and counting rules, and permanent bureaucratic apparatus which enhance stability and increase the chances for achieving additional agreements.

  7. Robot-assisted reaching exercise promotes arm movement recovery in chronic hemiparetic stroke: a randomized controlled pilot study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rymer W Zev

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background and purpose Providing active assistance to complete desired arm movements is a common technique in upper extremity rehabilitation after stroke. Such active assistance may improve recovery by affecting somatosensory input, motor planning, spasticity or soft tissue properties, but it is labor intensive and has not been validated in controlled trials. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of robotically administered active-assistive exercise and compare those with free reaching voluntary exercise in improving arm movement ability after chronic stroke. Methods Nineteen individuals at least one year post-stroke were randomized into one of two groups. One group performed 24 sessions of active-assistive reaching exercise with a simple robotic device, while a second group performed a task-matched amount of unassisted reaching. The main outcome measures were range and speed of supported arm movement, range, straightness and smoothness of unsupported reaching, and the Rancho Los Amigos Functional Test of Upper Extremity Function. Results and discussion There were significant improvements with training for range of motion and velocity of supported reaching, straightness of unsupported reaching, and functional movement ability. These improvements were not significantly different between the two training groups. The group that performed unassisted reaching exercise improved the smoothness of their reaching movements more than the robot-assisted group. Conclusion Improvements with both forms of exercise confirmed that repeated, task-related voluntary activation of the damaged motor system is a key stimulus to motor recovery following chronic stroke. Robotically assisting in reaching successfully improved arm movement ability, although it did not provide any detectable, additional value beyond the movement practice that occurred concurrently with it. The inability to detect any additional value of robot-assisted reaching

  8. Radiation proctopathy in the treatment of prostate cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garg, Amit K.; Mai Weiyan; McGary, John E.; Grant, Walter H.; Butler, E. Brian; Teh, B.S.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To compile and review data on radiation proctopathy in the treatment of prostate cancer with respect to epidemiology, clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, risk factors, and treatment. Methods: Medical literature databases including PubMed and Medline were screened for pertinent reports, and critically analyzed for relevance in the scope of our purpose. Results: Rectal toxicity as a complication of radiotherapy has received attention over the past decade, especially with the advent of dose-escalation in prostate cancer treatment. A number of clinical criteria help to define acute and chronic radiation proctopathy, but lack of a unified grading scale makes comparing studies difficult. A variety of risk factors, related to either radiation delivery or patient, are the subject of intense study. Also, a variety of treatment options, including medical therapy, endoscopic treatments, and surgery have shown varied results, but a lack of large randomized trials evaluating their efficacy prevents forming concrete recommendations. Conclusion: Radiation proctopathy should be an important consideration for the clinician in the treatment of prostate cancer especially with dose escalation. With further study of possible risk factors, the advent of a standardized grading scale, and more randomized trials to evaluate treatments, patients and physicians will be better armed to make appropriate management decisions

  9. A Randomized Phase 2 Study Comparing 2 Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy Schedules for Medically Inoperable Patients With Stage I Peripheral Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: NRG Oncology RTOG 0915 (NCCTG N0927)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Videtic, Gregory M.M., E-mail: videtig@ccf.org [The Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio (United States); Hu, Chen [NRG Oncology Statistics and Data Management Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (United States); Singh, Anurag K. [Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York (United States); Chang, Joe Y. [MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Parker, William [McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Québec (Canada); Olivier, Kenneth R. [Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (United States); Schild, Steven E. [Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona (United States); Komaki, Ritsuko [MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas (United States); Urbanic, James J. [Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina (United States); Choy, Hak [The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, Texas (United States)

    2015-11-15

    Purpose: To compare 2 stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) schedules for medically inoperable early-stage lung cancer to determine which produces the lowest rate of grade ≥3 protocol-specified adverse events (psAEs) at 1 year. Methods and Materials: Patients with biopsy-proven peripheral (≥2 cm from the central bronchial tree) T1 or T2, N0 (clinically node negative by positron emission tomography), M0 tumors were eligible. Patients were randomized to receive either 34 Gy in 1 fraction (arm 1) or 48 Gy in 4 consecutive daily fractions (arm 2). Rigorous central accreditation and quality assurance confirmed treatment per protocol guidelines. This study was designed to detect a psAEs rate >17% at a 10% significance level (1-sided) and 90% power. Secondary endpoints included rates of primary tumor control (PC), overall survival (OS), and disease-free survival (DFS) at 1 year. Designating the better of the 2 regimens was based on prespecified rules of psAEs and PC for each arm. Results: Ninety-four patients were accrued between September 2009 and March 2011. The median follow-up time was 30.2 months. Of 84 analyzable patients, 39 were in arm 1 and 45 in arm 2. Patient and tumor characteristics were balanced between arms. Four (10.3%) patients on arm 1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.9%-24.2%) and 6 (13.3%) patients on arm 2 (95% CI 5.1%-26.8%) experienced psAEs. The 2-year OS rate was 61.3% (95% CI 44.2%-74.6%) for arm 1 patients and 77.7% (95% CI 62.5%-87.3%) for arm 2. The 2-year DFS was 56.4% (95% CI 39.6%-70.2%) for arm 1 and 71.1% (95% CI 55.5%-82.1%) for arm 2. The 1-year PC rate was 97.0% (95% CI 84.2%-99.9%) for arm 1 and 92.7% (95% CI 80.1%-98.5%) for arm 2. Conclusions: 34 Gy in 1 fraction met the prespecified criteria and, of the 2 schedules, warrants further clinical research.

  10. ARMED CONFLICT IN CHECHNYA IN EUROPEAN (NON ENGLISH HISTORIOGRAPHY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Николай Николаевич Малишевский

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the problems of historiography of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic. The activephase of themilitary operationsofthe armed conflictin Chechnyawas completedin2001. At that timehistorians, analysts andjournalists created awide range of theoretical worksconcerningthe conflict.Inthese publications there were discussed a number of commonfeaturesofthe use ofbasicresources. The degree ofaccessibilityof the sourceswhichfocus onthe descriptionof the conflictand itssocio-political assessment is of great importance for researchersand their objectives. The author analyzes Western (European historiography of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic. It considers the publications and specialized monographs of European (French, German and Polish authors on the subjects under research. There areput forward the ideas of the consequences of the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic, articulated in the works of European researchers.For the first time within the study of the Western historiography of the war in Chechnya the author analyzes the main blocks of the supposed and factual consequences of the conflict for both the Russian and Chechen sides. The European historiography, dedicated tothe armed conflictin Chechnya, is just being developedand thestate ofitsdocumentarycomplexis characterized bya number ofqualitative changes.

  11. Inter-Arm Difference in Brachial Blood Pressure in the General Population of Koreans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Bo Mi; Kim, Hyeon Chang; Shim, Jee-Seon; Lee, Myung Ha; Choi, Dong Phil

    2016-05-01

    We investigated the inter-arm difference in blood pressure of the general Korean population to identify associated factors. A total of 806 participants aged 30 to 64 years without history of major cardiovascular disease were analyzed in this cross-sectional study. They participated in the Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease Etiology Research Center cohort study that began in 2013. Brachial blood pressure was measured simultaneously for both arms using an automated oscillometric device equipped with two cuffs in seated position. After five minutes of rest, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured three times. The average of the three measurements was used for analysis. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with inter-arm differences in blood pressure. The mean inter-arm difference was 3.3 mmHg for SBP and 2.0 mmHg for DBP. Large inter-arm differences (≥10 mmHg) in SBP and in DBP were found in 3.7% and 0.9% of subjects, respectively. A large inter-arm difference in SBP was associated with mean SBP (p=0.002) and C-reactive protein (p=0.014) while a large inter-arm different in DBP was only associated with body mass index (p=0.015). Sex, age, and anti-hypertensive medication use were not associated with differences in inter-arm blood pressure. Large inter-arm difference in blood pressure is only present in a small portion of healthy Korean adults. Our findings suggest that high SBP, chronic inflammation, and obesity may be associated with larger difference in inter-arm blood pressure.

  12. Immunohistological studies in radiation proctitis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Honke, Yoshifumi; Katsuta, Shizutomo; Haruma, Ken

    1985-01-01

    Immunohistological studies of radiation proctitis were performed in comparison with those in control subjects, with special reference to the number of immunoglobulin bearing cells in the rectal mucosa. The results obtained were as follows: 1) The rates of distribution of immunoglobulin bearing cells were 16.9% in IgG, 71.7% in IgA, and 11.4% in IgM in control subjects. 2) The number of IgG bearing cells in acute and late radiation proctitis markedly decreased in comparison with those in control subjects. 3) The number of IgA bearing cells in the patients with acute radiation proctitis decreased slightly and recovere 1 in late phase. 4) The number of IgM bearing cells markedly decreased in 11 Gy to 30 Gy radiation group with acute phase. 5) No significant difference could be found in the number of immunoglobulin bearing cells in late radiation proctitis with and without rectal bleeding. 6) Serum immunoglobulin levels of patients with acute radiation proctitis decreased and were well correlated with change the number of immunoglobulin bearing cells. (author)

  13. On-chip micromachined dipole antenna with parasitic radiator for mm-wave wireless systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sallam, Mai O.; Serry, Mohamed; Shamim, Atif; Sedky, Sherif; Soliman, Ezzeldin A.

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we present a micromachined dipole antenna with parasitic radiator. The antenna is designed for operation at 60 GHz. It consists of two Ig/2 dipole radiators fed by coplanar strips waveguide. Two slightly shorter dipoles are placed in proximity to the main radiators. They act as parasitic dipole arms which increase the bandwidth of the antenna. Two versions of the same antenna topology are presented in this paper in which one uses a high resistivity silicon substrate while the other uses a low resistivity one. The proposed antenna was optimized using HFSS and the final design was simulated using both HFSS and CST for verifying the obtained results. Both simulators are in good agreement. They show that the antenna has very good radiation characteristics where its directivity is around 7.5 dBi. The addition of the parasitic arms increased the bandwidth of the antenna from 1.3 GHz (3.62 GHz) to 4.3 GHz (7.44 GHz) when designed on high (low) resistivity silicon substrate.

  14. On-chip micromachined dipole antenna with parasitic radiator for mm-wave wireless systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sallam, Mai O.

    2016-12-19

    In this paper, we present a micromachined dipole antenna with parasitic radiator. The antenna is designed for operation at 60 GHz. It consists of two Ig/2 dipole radiators fed by coplanar strips waveguide. Two slightly shorter dipoles are placed in proximity to the main radiators. They act as parasitic dipole arms which increase the bandwidth of the antenna. Two versions of the same antenna topology are presented in this paper in which one uses a high resistivity silicon substrate while the other uses a low resistivity one. The proposed antenna was optimized using HFSS and the final design was simulated using both HFSS and CST for verifying the obtained results. Both simulators are in good agreement. They show that the antenna has very good radiation characteristics where its directivity is around 7.5 dBi. The addition of the parasitic arms increased the bandwidth of the antenna from 1.3 GHz (3.62 GHz) to 4.3 GHz (7.44 GHz) when designed on high (low) resistivity silicon substrate.

  15. Difference in Understanding of the Need for Using Radiation in Various Fields between Students Majoring in Radiation and Non-Radiation Related Studies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Han, Eun Ok [Dept. of Radiological Tecknology, Daegu Health College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

    2011-12-15

    As a way of improving social receptivity of using radiation, this study looked into the difference of understanding the need of using radiation in various fields between students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies, who will influence public opinion in the long term. This study also provides data needed for developing efficient strategies for projects promoting the public's awareness of using radiation. Of the students in the 79 schools sampled, 24%(177) were in 4 year colleges and 146 were junior colleges in educational statistics service (http://cesi.kedi.re.kr) In November 2010 1,945 students were selected as a sample, and they were given surveys on the need of using radiation in different fields. As a result, both between students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies showed a high level of understanding the need for radiation in the medical field and showed a low level of understanding of the need for radiation in the agricultural field. In all 6 fields of radiation use, students majoring in radiation related studies showed higher levels of understanding for the need to use radiation than students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies. In each field, male students and those who have experience medical radiation and relevant education had higher level of understanding. This shows we need to improve the understanding of the cases of female students and those who have not had experiences with medical radiation and to provide relevant education through various kinds of information. The characteristics of the groups that are shown in the results of this study are considered to be helpful for efficiently for project promoting the public's awareness of using radiation.

  16. Difference in Understanding of the Need for Using Radiation in Various Fields between Students Majoring in Radiation and Non-Radiation Related Studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, Eun Ok

    2011-01-01

    As a way of improving social receptivity of using radiation, this study looked into the difference of understanding the need of using radiation in various fields between students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies, who will influence public opinion in the long term. This study also provides data needed for developing efficient strategies for projects promoting the public's awareness of using radiation. Of the students in the 79 schools sampled, 24%(177) were in 4 year colleges and 146 were junior colleges in educational statistics service (http://cesi.kedi.re.kr) In November 2010 1,945 students were selected as a sample, and they were given surveys on the need of using radiation in different fields. As a result, both between students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies showed a high level of understanding the need for radiation in the medical field and showed a low level of understanding of the need for radiation in the agricultural field. In all 6 fields of radiation use, students majoring in radiation related studies showed higher levels of understanding for the need to use radiation than students majoring in radiation and non-radiation related studies. In each field, male students and those who have experience medical radiation and relevant education had higher level of understanding. This shows we need to improve the understanding of the cases of female students and those who have not had experiences with medical radiation and to provide relevant education through various kinds of information. The characteristics of the groups that are shown in the results of this study are considered to be helpful for efficiently for project promoting the public's awareness of using radiation.

  17. Arms Production in Venezuela.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1987-12-01

    studied engineering in the United States. Cardoen produces a wide spectrum of munitions, security equipment and especially armored vehicles, and has...capabilities are: a. The amount of capital available for investment. Arms industry development requires enormous amounts of capital, especially if the...Naval Postgraduate School Monterey, CA 93943-5100 5. Director de Educacion de La Armada 1 Comandancia General de La Armada Av. Vollmer, Urb. San

  18. Controlling robot arm with the mind

    National Science Foundation

    2017-05-31

    Full Text Available Research test subjects at the University of Minnesota who were fitted with a specialized noninvasive brain cap were able to move a robotic arm just by imagining moving their own arms.

  19. Difference in blood pressure measurements between arms: methodological and clinical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clark, Christopher E

    2015-01-01

    Differences in blood pressure measurements between arms are commonly encountered in clinical practice. If such differences are not excluded they can delay the diagnosis of hypertension and can lead to poorer control of blood pressure levels. Differences in blood pressure measurements between arms are associated cross sectionally with other signs of vascular disease such as peripheral arterial disease or cerebrovascular disease. Differences are also associated prospectively with increased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and all cause mortality. Numbers of publications on inter-arm difference are rising year on year, indicating a growing interest in the phenomenon. The prevalence of an inter-arm difference varies widely between reports, and is correlated with the underlying cardiovascular risk of the population studied. Prevalence is also sensitive to the method of measurement used. This review discusses the prevalence of an inter-arm difference in different populations and addresses current best practice for the detection and the measurement of a difference. The evidence for clinical and for vascular associations of an inter-arm difference is presented in considering the emerging role of an inter-arm blood pressure difference as a novel risk factor for increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Competing aetiological explanations for an inter-arm difference are explored, and gaps in our current understanding of this sign, along with areas in need of further research, are considered.

  20. Radiation studies in the antiproton source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Church, M.

    1990-01-01

    Experiment E760 has a lead glass (Pb-G) calorimeter situated in the antiproton source tunnel in the accumulator ring at location A50. This location is exposed to radiation from several sources during antiproton stacking operations. A series of radiation studies has been performed over the last two years to determine the sources of this radiation and as a result, some shielding has been installed in the antiproton source in order to protect the lead glass from radiation damage

  1. The importance of domestic law to international arms control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehman, R.F. II.

    1993-11-01

    Studies of arms control and disarmament tend to focus on political, military, and diplomatic processes. Recently, in the context of the conversion of defense activities to civilian use, the economic aspects of arms control have also received renewed interest. The legal dimension, however, is in need of fresh examination. Both international and domestic law are sailing increasingly in uncharted waters. Recent arms control agreements and related developments in international peacekeeping have expanded the scope of international law and altered how one perceives certain fundamentals, including the principle of national sovereignty. Still, the nation state is largely unchallenged as the primary actor in international affairs. National governments retain near absolute sovereign rights and responsibilities even in an age of trans-national economic integration and codified international norms for human rights, freedom of the press, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Indeed, the role of domestic law in arms control and disarmament may be more significant now than ever before. A brief review of relationships between arms control and domestic law should illustrate ways in which ones thinking has been underestimating the importance of domestic law. Hopefully, this survey will set the stage properly for the excellent, more detailed case studies by Elinor Hammarskjold and Alan Crawford. Toward that end, this paper will highlight a number of more general, and sometimes provocative, themes. These themes should be kept in mind when those two complementary presentations are considered

  2. The importance of domestic law to international arms control

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehman, R.F. II

    1993-11-01

    Studies of arms control and disarmament tend to focus on political, military, and diplomatic processes. Recently, in the context of the conversion of defense activities to civilian use, the economic aspects of arms control have also received renewed interest. The legal dimension, however, is in need of fresh examination. Both international and domestic law are sailing increasingly in uncharted waters. Recent arms control agreements and related developments in international peacekeeping have expanded the scope of international law and altered how one perceives certain fundamentals, including the principle of national sovereignty. Still, the nation state is largely unchallenged as the primary actor in international affairs. National governments retain near absolute sovereign rights and responsibilities even in an age of trans-national economic integration and codified international norms for human rights, freedom of the press, and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Indeed, the role of domestic law in arms control and disarmament may be more significant now than ever before. A brief review of relationships between arms control and domestic law should illustrate ways in which ones thinking has been underestimating the importance of domestic law. Hopefully, this survey will set the stage properly for the excellent, more detailed case studies by Elinor Hammarskjold and Alan Crawford. Toward that end, this paper will highlight a number of more general, and sometimes provocative, themes. These themes should be kept in mind when those two complementary presentations are considered.

  3. An evaluation of the effect of armed robbery on Nigerian economy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study revealed that unemployment is responsible for the largest proportion of armed robbery causes in Nigeria. It also found that the relatively high rate of inflation, which eroded real incomes, also has some impact on the armed robbery in Nigeria. The study concluded that criminal justice system in Nigeria does not do ...

  4. Limited consensus around ARM information protection practices ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    An existing enterprise IP SoP was adapted to ARM through literature analysis and produced a draft ARM SoP. The draft ARM SoP was applied in a rote fashion to a small sample of government-operated archives to identify likely areas of consensus and lack of consensus surrounding the various elements of the SoP.

  5. The difference in blood pressure readings between arms and survival: primary care cohort study

    OpenAIRE

    Clark, Christopher E; Taylor, Rod S; Shore, Angela C; Campbell, John L

    2012-01-01

    Objective To determine whether a difference in systolic blood pressure readings between arms can predict a reduced event free survival after 10 years. Design Cohort study. Setting Rural general practice in Devon, United Kingdom. Participants 230 people receiving treatment for hypertension in primary care. Intervention Bilateral blood pressure measurements recorded at three successive surgery attendances. Main outcome measures Cardiovascular events and deaths from all causes during a median fo...

  6. SU-E-J-114: Towards Integrated CT and Ultrasound Guided Radiation Therapy Using A Robotic Arm with Virtual Springs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ding, K; Zhang, Y; Sen, H; Lediju Bell, M; Goldstein, S; Kazanzides, P; Iordachita, I; Wong, J [Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: Currently there is an urgent need in Radiation Therapy for noninvasive and nonionizing soft tissue target guidance such as localization before treatment and continuous monitoring during treatment. Ultrasound is a portable, low cost option that can be easily integrated with the LINAC room. We are developing a cooperatively controlled robot arm that has high intrafraction reproducibility with repositioning of the ultrasound probe. In this study, we introduce virtual springs (VS) to assist with interfraction probe repositioning and we compare the soft tissue deformation introduced by VS to the deformation that would exist without them. Methods: Three metal markers were surgically implanted in the kidney of one dog. The dog was anesthetized and immobilized supine in an alpha cradle. The reference ultrasound probe position and force to ideally visualize the kidney was defined by an experienced ultrasonographer using the Clarity ultrasound system and robot sensor. For each interfraction study, the dog was removed from the cradle and re-setup based on CBCT with bony anatomy alignment to mimic regular patient setup. The ultrasound probe was automatically returned to the reference position using the robot. To accommodate the soft tissue anatomy changes between each setup the operator used the VS feature to adjust the probe and obtain an ultrasound image that matched the reference image. CBCT images were acquired and each interfraction marker location was compared with the first interfraction Result. Results: Analysis of the marker positions revealed that the kidney was displaced by 18.8 ± 6.4 mm without VS and 19.9 ± 10.5 mm with VS. No statistically significant differences were found between two procedures. Conclusion: The VS feature is necessary to obtain matching ultrasound images, and they do not introduce further changes to the tissue deformation. Future work will focus on automatic VS based on ultrasound feedback. Supported in part by: NCI R01 CA161613

  7. SU-E-J-114: Towards Integrated CT and Ultrasound Guided Radiation Therapy Using A Robotic Arm with Virtual Springs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ding, K; Zhang, Y; Sen, H; Lediju Bell, M; Goldstein, S; Kazanzides, P; Iordachita, I; Wong, J

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Currently there is an urgent need in Radiation Therapy for noninvasive and nonionizing soft tissue target guidance such as localization before treatment and continuous monitoring during treatment. Ultrasound is a portable, low cost option that can be easily integrated with the LINAC room. We are developing a cooperatively controlled robot arm that has high intrafraction reproducibility with repositioning of the ultrasound probe. In this study, we introduce virtual springs (VS) to assist with interfraction probe repositioning and we compare the soft tissue deformation introduced by VS to the deformation that would exist without them. Methods: Three metal markers were surgically implanted in the kidney of one dog. The dog was anesthetized and immobilized supine in an alpha cradle. The reference ultrasound probe position and force to ideally visualize the kidney was defined by an experienced ultrasonographer using the Clarity ultrasound system and robot sensor. For each interfraction study, the dog was removed from the cradle and re-setup based on CBCT with bony anatomy alignment to mimic regular patient setup. The ultrasound probe was automatically returned to the reference position using the robot. To accommodate the soft tissue anatomy changes between each setup the operator used the VS feature to adjust the probe and obtain an ultrasound image that matched the reference image. CBCT images were acquired and each interfraction marker location was compared with the first interfraction Result. Results: Analysis of the marker positions revealed that the kidney was displaced by 18.8 ± 6.4 mm without VS and 19.9 ± 10.5 mm with VS. No statistically significant differences were found between two procedures. Conclusion: The VS feature is necessary to obtain matching ultrasound images, and they do not introduce further changes to the tissue deformation. Future work will focus on automatic VS based on ultrasound feedback. Supported in part by: NCI R01 CA161613

  8. Arms Races and Negotiations

    OpenAIRE

    Sandeep Baliga; Tomas Sjostrom

    2003-01-01

    Two players simultaneously decide whether or not to acquire new weapons in an arms race game. Each player's type determines his propensity to arm. Types are private information, and are independently drawn from a continuous distribution. With probability close to one, the best outcome for each player is for neither to acquire new weapons (although each prefers to acquire new weapons if he thinks the opponent will). There is a small probability that a player is a dominant strategy type who alw...

  9. Safety of natural radiation exposure. A meta-analysis of epidemiological studies on natural radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Osaki, S.

    2000-01-01

    People have been exposed every time and everywhere to natural radiation and ''intuitively'' know the safety of this radiation exposure. On the other hand the theory of no threshold value on radiological carcinogenesis is known widely, and many people feel danger with even a smallest dose of radiation exposure. The safety of natural radiation exposure can be used for the risk communication with the public. For this communication, the safety of natural radiation exposure should be proved ''scientifically''. Safety is often discussed scientifically as the risks of the mortality from many practices, and the absolute risks of safe practices on the public are 1E-5 to 1E-6. The risks based on the difference of natural radiation exposure on carcinogenesis have been analyzed by epidemiological studies. Much of the epidemiological studies have been focused on the relationship between radiation doses and cancer mortalities, and their results have been described as relative risks or correlation factors. In respect to the safety, however, absolute risks are necessary for the discussion. Cancer mortalities depend not only on radiation exposure, but also on ethnic groups, sexes, ages, social classes, foods, smoking, environmental chemicals, medical radiation, etc. In order to control these confounding factors, the data are collected from restricted groups or/and localities, but any these ecological studies can not perfectly compensate the confounding factors. So positive or negative values of relative risks or the meaningful correlation factors can not be confirmed that their values are derived originally from the difference of their exposure doses. The absolute risks on these epidemiological studies are also affected by many factors containing radiation exposure. The absolute risk or the upper value of the confidence limit obtained from the epidemiological study which is well regulated confounding factors is possible to be a maximum risk on the difference of the exposure doses

  10. Delayed radiation neuropathy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nagashima, T.; Miyamoto, K.; Beppu, H.; Hirose, K.; Yamada, K. (Tokyo Metropolitan Neurological Hospital (Japan))

    1981-07-01

    A case of cervical plexus neuropathy was reported in association with chronic radio-dermatitis, myxedema with thyroid adenoma and epiglottic tumor. A 38-year-old man has noticed muscle weakness and wasting of the right shoulder girdle since age 33. A detailed history taking revealed a previous irradiation to the neck because of the cervical lymphadenopathy at age 10 (X-ray 3,000 rads), keroid skin change at age 19, obesity and edema since 26, and hoarseness at 34. Laryngoscopic examination revealed a tumor on the right vocal cord, diagnosed as benign papilloma by histological study. In addition, there were chronic radio-dermatitis around the neck, primary hypothyroidism with a benign functioning adenoma on the right lobe of the thyroid, the right phrenic nerve palsy and the right recurrent nerve palsy. All these lesions were considered to be the late sequellae of radiation to the neck in childhood. Other neurological signs were weakness and amyotrophy of the right shoulder girdle with patchy sensory loss, and areflexia of the right arm. Gross power was fairly well preserved in the right hand. EMG showed neurogenic changes in the tested muscles, suggesting a peripheral nerve lesion. Nerve conduction velocities were normal. No abnormal findings were revealed by myelography and spinal CT. The neurological findings of the patient were compatible with the diagnosis of middle cervical plexus palsy apparently due to late radiation effect. In the literature eight cases of post-radiation neuropathy with a long latency have been reported. The present case with the longest latency after the radiation should be included in the series of the reported cases of ''delayed radiation neuropathy.'' (author).

  11. Delayed radiation neuropathy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nagashima, Toshiko; Miyamoto, Kazuto; Beppu, Hirokuni; Hirose, Kazuhiko; Yamada, Katsuhiro

    1981-01-01

    A case of cervical plexus neuropathy was reported in association with chronic radio-dermatitis, myxedema with thyroid adenoma and epiglottic tumor. A 38-year-old man has noticed muscle weakness and wasting of the right shoulder girdle since age 33. A detailed history taking revealed a previous irradiation to the neck because of the cervical lymphadenopathy at age 10 (X-ray 3,000 rads), keroid skin change at age 19, obesity and edema since 26, and hoarseness at 34. Laryngoscopic examination revealed a tumor on the right vocal cord, diagnosed as benign papilloma by histological study. In addition, there were chronic radio-dermatitis around the neck, primary hypothyroidism with a benign functioning adenoma on the right lobe of the thyroid, the right phrenic nerve palsy and the right recurrent nerve palsy. All these lesions were considered to be the late sequellae of radiation to the neck in childhood. Other neurological signs were weakness and amyotrophy of the right shoulder girdle with patchy sensory loss, and areflexia of the right arm. Gross power was fairly well preserved in the right hand. EMG showed neurogenic changes in the tested muscles, suggesting a peripheral nerve lesion. Nerve conduction velocities were normal. No abnormal findings were revealed by myelography and spinal CT. The neurological findings of the patient were compatible with the diagnosis of middle cervical plexus palsy apparently due to late radiation effect. In the literature eight cases of post-radiation neuropathy with a long latency have been reported. The present case with the longest latency after the radiation should be included in the series of the reported cases of ''delayed radiation neuropathy.'' (author)

  12. Study of radiation detectors response in standard X, gamma and beta radiation standard beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nonato, Fernanda Beatrice Conceicao

    2010-01-01

    The response of 76 Geiger-Mueller detectors, 4 semiconductor detectors and 34 ionization chambers were studied. Many of them were calibrated with gamma radiation beams ( 37 Cs and 60 Co), and some of them were tested in beta radiation ( 90 Sr+ 9' 0Y e 204 Tl) and X radiation (N-60, N-80, N-100, N-150) beams. For all three types of radiation, the calibration factors of the instruments were obtained, and the energy and angular dependences were studied. For beta and gamma radiation, the angular dependence was studied for incident radiation angles of 0 deg and +- 45 deg. The curves of the response of the instruments were obtained over an angle interval of 0 deg to +- 90 deg, for gamma, beta and X radiations. The calibration factors obtained for beta radiation were compared to those obtained for gamma radiation. For gamma radiation, 24 of the 66 tested Geiger-Mueller detectors presented results for the energy dependence according to international recommendation of ISO 4037-2 and 56 were in accordance with the Brazilian ABNT 10011 recommendation. The ionization chambers and semiconductors were in accordance to national and international recommendations. All instruments showed angular dependence less than 40%. For beta radiation, the instruments showed unsatisfactory results for the energy dependence and angular dependence. For X radiation, the ionization chambers presented results for energy dependence according to the national recommendation, and the angular dependence was less than 40%. (author)

  13. Study of biological effect of radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Guisheng

    1992-01-01

    The some progress on the study of biological effect for protract exposure to low dose rate radiation is reported, and it is indicated that the potential risk of this exposure for the human health and the importance of the routine monitoring of radiation dose for various nuclear installations. The potential exposure to the low dose rate radiation would attract people's extra attention

  14. Ground reaction forces produced by two different hockey skating arm swing techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hayward-Ellis, Julie; Alexander, Marion J L; Glazebrook, Cheryl M; Leiter, Jeff

    2017-10-01

    The arm swing in hockey skating can have a positive effect on the forces produced by each skate, and the resulting velocity from each push off. The main purpose of this study was to measure the differences in ground reaction forces (GRFs) produced from an anteroposterior versus a mediolateral style hockey skating arm swing. Twenty-four elite-level female hockey players performed each technique while standing on a ground-mounted force platform, and all trials were filmed using two video cameras. Force data was assessed for peak scaled GRFs in the frontal and sagittal planes, and resultant GRF magnitude and direction. Upper limb kinematics were assessed from the video using Dartfish video analysis software, confirming that the subjects successfully performed two distinct arm swing techniques. The mediolateral arm swing used a mean of 18.38° of glenohumeral flexion/extension and 183.68° of glenohumeral abduction/adduction while the anteroposterior technique used 214.17° and 28.97° respectively. The results of this study confirmed that the mediolateral arm swing produced 37% greater frontal plane and 33% less sagittal plane GRFs than the anteroposterior arm swing. The magnitudes of the resultant GRFs were not significantly different between the two techniques; however, the mediolateral technique produced a resultant GRF with a significantly larger angle from the direction of travel (44.44°) as compared to the anteroposterior technique (31.60°). The results of this study suggest that the direction of GRFs produced by the mediolateral arm swing more closely mimic the direction of lower limb propulsion during the skating stride.

  15. Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program facilities newsletter, February 2001.; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Holdridge, D. J.

    2001-01-01

    This newsletter consists of the following: (1) ARM Science Team Meeting Scheduled-The 11th Annual ARM Science Team meeting is scheduled for March 19-23, 2001, in Atlanta, Georgia. Members of the science team will exchange research results achieved by using ARM data. The science team is composed of working groups that investigate four topics: instantaneous radiative flux, cloud parameterizations and modeling, cloud properties, and aerosols. The annual meeting brings together the science team's 150 members to discuss issues related to ARM and its research. The members represent universities, government laboratories and research facilities, and independent research companies. (2) Communications to Extended Facilities Upgraded-New communications equipment has been installed at all of the SGP extended facilities. Shelters were installed to house the new equipment used to transfer data from instruments via the Internet to the site data system at the central facility. This upgrade has improved data availability from the extended facilities to 100% and reduced telephone costs greatly. (3) SGP Goes ''Buggy''-Steve Sekelsky, a researcher from the University of Massachusetts, is planning to bring a 95-GHz radar to the SGP central facility for deployment in March-October 2001. The radar will help to identify signals due to insects flying in the air. The ARM millimeter cloud radar, which operates at 35 GHz, is sensitive to such insect interference. Testing will also be performed by using a second 35-GHz radar with a polarized radar beam, which can differentiate signals from insects versus cloud droplets. (4) Winter Fog-Fog can add to hazards already associated with winter weather. Common types of fog formation include advection, radiation, and steam. Advection fog: An advection fog is a dense fog that forms when a warm, moist air mass moves into an area with cooler ground below. For example, fog can form in winter when warmer, water-saturated air from the south (associated with

  16. Statistical trend of radiation chemical studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Hiroshi

    1980-01-01

    In the field of radiation chemistry, over 1,000 reports are published year after year. Attempt has been made to review the trends in this field for more than five years, by looking through the lists of papers statistically. As for the period from 1974 to 1978, Annual Cumulation with Keyword and Author Indexes in the Biweekly List of Papers on Radiation Chemistry was referred to. For 1979, because of the unavailability of the Cumulation, Chemical Abstracts Search by Japan Information Center of Science and Technology was referred to. The contents are as follows: how far radiation chemistry is studied, what the trends of radiation chemistry is in recent years, who contributes to the advance of radiation chemistry, and where, the trend radiation chemistry takes in 1979. (J.P.N.)

  17. Verifying Operational and Developmental Air Force Weather Cloud Analysis and Forecast Products Using Lidar Data from Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Sites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildebrand, E. P.

    2017-12-01

    Air Force Weather has developed various cloud analysis and forecast products designed to support global Department of Defense (DoD) missions. A World-Wide Merged Cloud Analysis (WWMCA) and short term Advected Cloud (ADVCLD) forecast is generated hourly using data from 16 geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites. Additionally, WWMCA and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) data are used in a statistical long-term (out to five days) cloud forecast model known as the Diagnostic Cloud Forecast (DCF). The WWMCA and ADVCLD are generated on the same polar stereographic 24 km grid for each hemisphere, whereas the DCF is generated on the same grid as its parent NWP model. When verifying the cloud forecast models, the goal is to understand not only the ability to detect cloud, but also the ability to assign it to the correct vertical layer. ADVCLD and DCF forecasts traditionally have been verified using WWMCA data as truth, but this might over-inflate the performance of those models because WWMCA also is a primary input dataset for those models. Because of this, in recent years, a WWMCA Reanalysis product has been developed, but this too is not a fully independent dataset. This year, work has been done to incorporate data from external, independent sources to verify not only the cloud forecast products, but the WWMCA data itself. One such dataset that has been useful for examining the 3-D performance of the cloud analysis and forecast models is Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) data from various sites around the globe. This presentation will focus on the use of the Department of Energy (DoE) ARM data to verify Air Force Weather cloud analysis and forecast products. Results will be presented to show relative strengths and weaknesses of the analyses and forecasts.

  18. Arm reduced robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy with transvaginal cuff closure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bodur, Serkan; Dede, Murat; Fidan, Ulas; Firatligil, Burcin F; Ulubay, Mustafa; Ozturk, Mustafa; Yenen, Mufit C

    2017-09-01

    The use of robotics for benign etiology in gynecology has not proven to be more beneficial when compared to traditional laparoscopy. The major concern regarding robotic hysterectomy stems from its high cost. To evaluate the clinical utility and effectiveness of one-arm reduced robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy as a cost-effective surgical option for total robotic hysterectomy. A sample population of 54 women who underwent robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery for benign gynecologic indications was evaluated, and two groups were identified: (1) the two-armed robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery group (n = 38 patients), and (2) the three-armed robotic-assisted laparoscopic surgery group (n = 16 patients). An increased cost was observed when three-armed robotic surgery was employed for benign gynecologic surgery (p < 0.001). The cost reduction observed in the study group was primarily derived from one robotic arm reduction and vaginal closure of the cuff. This cost reduction was achieved without an increase in complication rates or undesirable postoperative outcomes. An estimated profit between $399.5 and $421.5 was made for each patient depending on the suture material chosen for cuff closure. Two-armed surgery resulted in an 18.6% reduction in procedure-specific costs for robotic hysterectomy. Two-armed robotic-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy appears to be a cost-effective solution for robotic gynecologic surgery. This surgical solution can be performed as effectively as classical three-armed robotic hysterectomies for benign indications without the risk of increased surgical-related morbidities. This approach has the potential to be a widely preferred surgical approach in medical communities where cost reduction is one of the primary determinants of surgery type.

  19. Uncertainties of Large-Scale Forcing Caused by Surface Turbulence Flux Measurements and the Impacts on Cloud Simulations at the ARM SGP Site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, S.; Xie, S.; Tang, Q.; Zhang, Y.

    2017-12-01

    Two types of instruments, the eddy correlation flux measurement system (ECOR) and the energy balance Bowen ratio system (EBBR), are used at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program Southern Great Plains (SGP) site to measure surface latent and sensible fluxes. ECOR and EBBR typically sample different land surface types, and the domain-mean surface fluxes derived from ECOR and EBBR are not always consistent. The uncertainties of the surface fluxes will have impacts on the derived large-scale forcing data and further affect the simulations of single-column models (SCM), cloud-resolving models (CRM) and large-eddy simulation models (LES), especially for the shallow-cumulus clouds which are mainly driven by surface forcing. This study aims to quantify the uncertainties of the large-scale forcing caused by surface turbulence flux measurements and investigate the impacts on cloud simulations using long-term observations from the ARM SGP site.

  20. Arming shoes of the fifteenth century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Volken Marquita

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Military footwear for the fifteenth century includes arming shoes worn under sabatons. Written sources suggest arming shoes and footwear used for fighting were ordinary shoes adapted for the purpose. Archaeological footwear was examined for signs of such modifications. Medieval shoe technology is presented, showing the range of footwear and its uses and gait biomechanics. Based on experiences from re-enactors wearing armours, medieval shoe styles are discussed for appropriateness as arming shoes. The question of why medieval military footwear shows no purposed development is addressed.

  1. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-15

    Transcription of previously identified radiation-inducible genes, uscA and cyoA, was examined responding to radiation. The putative promoter regions of both genes were cloned into pRS415 vector containing lacZ, and the core promoter region necessary for radiation response were determined through promoter deletion method. To investigate the role of uscA, which is assumed to be small RNA related with radiation response, a deletion mutant strain of uscA was constructed. However, uscA deletion did not affect bacterial survival against radiation exposure. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the N-terminal 140 amino acid of SspH1 was found to function as a secretion signal peptide. To create an attenuated tumor-targeting bacteria, Salmonella ptsI mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. Finally, the tumor-targeting ability of ptsI mutant was verified by the use of in-vivo imaging analysis.

  2. Study on radiation-inducible genes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Sang Yong; Kim, Dong Ho; Joe, Min Ho; Song, Hyu Npa

    2012-01-01

    Transcription of previously identified radiation-inducible genes, uscA and cyoA, was examined responding to radiation. The putative promoter regions of both genes were cloned into pRS415 vector containing lacZ, and the core promoter region necessary for radiation response were determined through promoter deletion method. To investigate the role of uscA, which is assumed to be small RNA related with radiation response, a deletion mutant strain of uscA was constructed. However, uscA deletion did not affect bacterial survival against radiation exposure. The use of bacteria as anticancer agents has attracted interest. In this study, we tried to develop tumor targeting bacteria in which the radiation-inducible promoter activate a transgene encoding a cytotoxic protein. For outward secretion of anticancer protein produced inside bacteria, the N-terminal 140 amino acid of SspH1 was found to function as a secretion signal peptide. To create an attenuated tumor-targeting bacteria, Salmonella ptsI mutant strain was constructed, and we found that its virulence decreased. Finally, the tumor-targeting ability of ptsI mutant was verified by the use of in-vivo imaging analysis

  3. Rock Moved by Mars Lander Arm

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-01-01

    The robotic arm on NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander slid a rock out of the way during the mission's 117th Martian day (Sept. 22, 2008) to gain access to soil that had been underneath the rock.The lander's Surface Stereo Imager took the two images for this stereo view later the same day, showing the rock, called 'Headless,' after the arm pushed it about 40 centimeters (16 inches) from its previous location. 'The rock ended up exactly where we intended it to,' said Matt Robinson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, robotic arm flight software lead for the Phoenix team. The arm had enlarged the trench near Headless two days earlier in preparation for sliding the rock into the trench. The trench was dug to about 3 centimeters (1.2 inches) deep. The ground surface between the rock's prior position and the lip of the trench had a slope of about 3 degrees downward toward the trench. Headless is about the size and shape of a VHS videotape. The Phoenix science team sought to move the rock in order to study the soil and the depth to subsurface ice underneath where the rock had been. This image was taken at about 12:30 p.m., local solar time on Mars. The view is to the north northeast of the lander. The Phoenix Mission is led by the University of Arizona, Tucson, on behalf of NASA. Project management of the mission is by JPL, Pasadena, Calif. Spacecraft development was by Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver.

  4. Loss of productivity due to neck/shoulder symptoms and hand/arm symptoms: Results from the PROMO-study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Heuvel, S.G. van den; IJmker, S.; Blatter, B.M.; Korte, E.M. de

    2007-01-01

    Introduction: The objective of the present study is to describe the extent of productivity loss among computer workers with neck/shoulder symptoms and hand/arm symptoms, and to examine associations between pain intensity, various physical and psychosocial factors and productivity loss in computer

  5. The first symposium of Research Center for Radiation Safety, NIRS. Perspective of future studies of radiation safety

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shimo, Michikuni

    2002-03-01

    This paper summarizes presentations given in the title symposium, held at the Conference Room of National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) on November 29 and 30, 2001. Contained are Introductory remarks: Basic presentations concerning exposure dose in man; Environmental levels of radiation and radioactivity, environmental radon level and exposure dose, and radiation levels in the specific environment (like in the aircraft): Special lecture (biological effects given by space environment) concerning various needs for studies of radiation safety; Requirement for open investigations, from the view of utilization, research and development of atomic energy, from the clinical aspect, and from the epidemiological aspect: Special lecture (safety in utilization of atomic energy and radiation-Activities of Nuclear Safety Commission of Japan) concerning present state and perspective of studies of radiation safety; Safety of radiation and studies of biological effects of radiation-perspective, and radiation protection and radiation safety studies: Studies in the Research Center for Radiation Safety; Summary of studies in the center, studies of the biological effects of neutron beam, carcinogenesis by radiation and living environmental factors-complicated effects, and studies of hereditary effects: Panel discussion (future direction of studies of radiation safety for the purpose of the center's direction): and concluding remarks. (N.I.)

  6. Prostate implant reconstruction from C-arm images with motion-compensated tomosynthesis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dehghan, Ehsan; Moradi, Mehdi; Wen, Xu; French, Danny; Lobo, Julio; Morris, W. James; Salcudean, Septimiu E.; Fichtinger, Gabor

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: Accurate localization of prostate implants from several C-arm images is necessary for ultrasound-fluoroscopy fusion and intraoperative dosimetry. The authors propose a computational motion compensation method for tomosynthesis-based reconstruction that enables 3D localization of prostate implants from C-arm images despite C-arm oscillation and sagging. Methods: Five C-arm images are captured by rotating the C-arm around its primary axis, while measuring its rotation angle using a protractor or the C-arm joint encoder. The C-arm images are processed to obtain binary seed-only images from which a volume of interest is reconstructed. The motion compensation algorithm, iteratively, compensates for 2D translational motion of the C-arm by maximizing the number of voxels that project on a seed projection in all of the images. This obviates the need for C-arm full pose tracking traditionally implemented using radio-opaque fiducials or external trackers. The proposed reconstruction method is tested in simulations, in a phantom study and on ten patient data sets. Results: In a phantom implanted with 136 dummy seeds, the seed detection rate was 100% with a localization error of 0.86 ± 0.44 mm (Mean ± STD) compared to CT. For patient data sets, a detection rate of 99.5% was achieved in approximately 1 min per patient. The reconstruction results for patient data sets were compared against an available matching-based reconstruction method and showed relative localization difference of 0.5 ± 0.4 mm. Conclusions: The motion compensation method can successfully compensate for large C-arm motion without using radio-opaque fiducial or external trackers. Considering the efficacy of the algorithm, its successful reconstruction rate and low computational burden, the algorithm is feasible for clinical use.

  7. Prostate implant reconstruction from C-arm images with motion-compensated tomosynthesis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dehghan, Ehsan; Moradi, Mehdi; Wen, Xu; French, Danny; Lobo, Julio; Morris, W. James; Salcudean, Septimiu E.; Fichtinger, Gabor [School of Computing, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L-3N6 (Canada); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T-1Z4 (Canada); Vancouver Cancer Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z-1E6 (Canada); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T-1Z4 (Canada); School of Computing, Queen' s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L-3N6 (Canada)

    2011-10-15

    Purpose: Accurate localization of prostate implants from several C-arm images is necessary for ultrasound-fluoroscopy fusion and intraoperative dosimetry. The authors propose a computational motion compensation method for tomosynthesis-based reconstruction that enables 3D localization of prostate implants from C-arm images despite C-arm oscillation and sagging. Methods: Five C-arm images are captured by rotating the C-arm around its primary axis, while measuring its rotation angle using a protractor or the C-arm joint encoder. The C-arm images are processed to obtain binary seed-only images from which a volume of interest is reconstructed. The motion compensation algorithm, iteratively, compensates for 2D translational motion of the C-arm by maximizing the number of voxels that project on a seed projection in all of the images. This obviates the need for C-arm full pose tracking traditionally implemented using radio-opaque fiducials or external trackers. The proposed reconstruction method is tested in simulations, in a phantom study and on ten patient data sets. Results: In a phantom implanted with 136 dummy seeds, the seed detection rate was 100% with a localization error of 0.86 {+-} 0.44 mm (Mean {+-} STD) compared to CT. For patient data sets, a detection rate of 99.5% was achieved in approximately 1 min per patient. The reconstruction results for patient data sets were compared against an available matching-based reconstruction method and showed relative localization difference of 0.5 {+-} 0.4 mm. Conclusions: The motion compensation method can successfully compensate for large C-arm motion without using radio-opaque fiducial or external trackers. Considering the efficacy of the algorithm, its successful reconstruction rate and low computational burden, the algorithm is feasible for clinical use.

  8. Radiation-induced heart injury. Radiopathological study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Suzuki, Y; Niibe, H [Gunma Univ., Maebashi (Japan). School of Medicine

    1975-11-01

    In order to identify radiation-induced heart injury and to differentiate it from heart disease, an attempt was made to clarify post-irradiation heart injury by investigating the histological changes which occur during the interval between the irradiation and the time of demonstrable histological changes. A study was made of 83 autopsies in which most of the primary neoplasms were breast cancers, lung cancers and mediastinal tumors. In 43 of these autopsies the heart had been irradiated. Sixty eight dd-strain mice were also used for microautoradiographic study. Histological changes in the heart were observed in 27 of the 43 cases receiving irradiation. The limit of the tolerance dose to the heart for indicating histological changes was 1220 ret in humans. The latent period without histological changes was 2.7 months after initiation of radiation therapy. Greater heart injury was observed after re-irradiation or after the combined therapy of radiation and chemotherapy especially mitomycin (MMC). The histological findings after treatment with MMC were similar to those of radiation-induced heart injury. Results of the study indicate that the damage is secondary to radiation-induced changes of the vascula connective tissue.

  9. Stereotypical reaching movements of the octopus involve both bend propagation and arm elongation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanassy, S; Botvinnik, A; Flash, T; Hochner, B

    2015-05-13

    The bend propagation involved in the stereotypical reaching movement of the octopus arm has been extensively studied. While these studies have analyzed the kinematics of bend propagation along the arm during its extension, possible length changes have been ignored. Here, the elongation profiles of the reaching movements of Octopus vulgaris were assessed using three-dimensional reconstructions. The analysis revealed that, in addition to bend propagation, arm extension movements involve elongation of the proximal part of the arm, i.e., the section from the base of the arm to the propagating bend. The elongations are quite substantial and highly variable, ranging from an average strain along the arm of -0.12 (i.e. shortening) up to 1.8 at the end of the movement (0.57 ± 0.41, n = 64 movements, four animals). Less variability was discovered in an additional set of experiments on reaching movements (0.64 ± 0.28, n = 30 movements, two animals), where target and octopus positions were kept more stationary. Visual observation and subsequent kinematic analysis suggest that the reaching movements can be broadly segregated into two groups. The first group involves bend propagation beginning at the base of the arm and propagating towards the arm tip. In the second, the bend is formed or present more distally and reaching is achieved mainly by elongation and straightening of the segment proximal to the bend. Only in the second type of movements is elongation significantly positively correlated with the distance of the bend from the target. We suggest that reaching towards a target is generated by a combination of both propagation of a bend along the arm and arm elongation. These two motor primitives may be combined to create a broad spectrum of reaching movements. The dynamical model, which recapitulates the biomechanics of the octopus muscular hydrostatic arm, suggests that achieving the observed elongation requires an extremely low ratio of longitudinal to transverse muscle

  10. Study of factors controlling exposure dose and image quality of C-arm in operation room according to detector size of it (Mainly L-Spine AP study)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chui, Sung Hyun; Jo, Hwang Woo [Dept. of Radiology, Kyung Hee University Hospital at Gangdong, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chun, Woon Kwan; Song, Ha Jin [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Dong, Kyung Rae [Dept. of Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health University, Gwangju (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Eun Jin [Dept. of Public Health and Medicine, Dongshin University, Naju (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-02-15

    Time of operation has been reduced and accuracy of operation has been improved since C-arm, which offer real-time image of patient, was introduced in operation room. However, because of the contamination of patient, C-arm could not be used more appropriately. Therefore, this study is to know factors of controlling exposure dose, image quality and the exposed dose of health professional in operation room. Height of Wilson frame (bed for operation) was fixed at 130 cm. Then, Model 76-2 Phantom, which was set by assembling manual of Fluke Company, was set on the bed. Head/Spine Fluoroscopy AEC mode was set for exposure condition. According to detector size of C-arm, the absorbed dose per min was measured in the 7 steps OFD (cm) from 10 cm to 40 cm (10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 cm). In each step of OFD, the absorbed dose per min of same diameter of collimation was measured. Moreover, using Nero MAX Model 8000, exposure dose per min was measured according to 3 step of distance from detector (20 cm, 60 cm, 100 cm). Finally, resolution was measured by CDRH Disc Phantom and magnification of each OFD was measured by aluminum stick bar. According to detector size of C-arm, difference of absorbed dose shows that the dose of 20 cm OFD is 1.750 times higher than the dose of 40 cm OFD. It means that the C-arm, which has smaller size of detector, shows the bigger difference of absorbed dose per min (p<0.05). In the difference of absorbed dose in the same step of OFD (from 20 cm to 40 cm), the absorbed dose of 9 inch detect or C-arm was 1.370 times higher than 12 inch' s (p<0.05). When OFD was set to 20 cm OFD, the absorbed dose of non-collimation case was approximately 0.816 times lower than the absorbed dose of collimation cases (p<0.05). When the distance was 20 cm from detector, exposed does includes first-ray and scatter-ray. When the distance was 60 cm and 100 cm from detector, exposed does includes just scatter-ray. So, there was the 2.200 times difference of absorbed

  11. Analysis of reaching movements of upper arm in robot assisted exercises. Kinematic assessment of robot assisted upper arm reaching single-joint movements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iuppariello, Luigi; D'Addio, Giovanni; Romano, Maria; Bifulco, Paolo; Lanzillo, Bernardo; Pappone, Nicola; Cesarelli, Mario

    2016-01-01

    Robot-mediated therapy (RMT) has been a very dynamic area of research in recent years. Robotics devices are in fact capable to quantify the performances of a rehabilitation task in treatments of several disorders of the arm and the shoulder of various central and peripheral etiology. Different systems for robot-aided neuro-rehabilitation are available for upper limb rehabilitation but the biomechanical parameters proposed until today, to evaluate the quality of the movement, are related to the specific robot used and to the type of exercise performed. Besides, none study indicated a standardized quantitative evaluation of robot assisted upper arm reaching movements, so the RMT is still far to be considered a standardised tool. In this paper a quantitative kinematic assessment of robot assisted upper arm reaching movements, considering also the effect of gravity on the quality of the movements, is proposed. We studied a group of 10 healthy subjects and results indicate that our advised protocol can be useful for characterising normal pattern in reaching movements.

  12. A study of the free vibration of suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism by using computer simulation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melnychuk S.V.

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available We analyze the current state of the prospects and problems of using computer technology to determine the operating parameters of movement of the vehicle. Scientific works related to the study of the properties of the vehicle smooth ride are studied. The following example shows that the modern researches of smooth ride do not pay enough attention to issues associated with the processes that occur in the suspension rod of a vehicle. Scientific works related to the choice of the optimal and simple CAD system for conducting computer simulation tests are overviewed. We developed an animating model of experimental car in SOLIDWORKS environment with the staff suspension rod and the suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism, which allows a wide range of tests of components of the vehicle. Methodology and hardware-software complex for testing a car are developed. A test of a vehicle of category N1 is conducted. A computer simulation of the motion of the smooth ride of the car with suspension rod based on four-stage arm mechanism is conducted. The comparative analysis of suspension rod performance based on four-stage arm mechanism is conducted.

  13. Radiation Detection Center on the Front Lines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hazi, A

    2005-01-01

    Many of today's radiation detection tools were developed in the 1960s. For years, the Laboratory's expertise in radiation detection resided mostly within its nuclear test program. When nuclear testing was halted in the 1990s, many of Livermore's radiation detection experts were dispersed to other parts of the Laboratory, including the directorates of Chemistry and Materials Science (CMS); Physics and Advanced Technologies (PAT); Defense and Nuclear Technologies (DNT); and Nonproliferation, Arms Control, and International Security (NAI). The RDC-- was formed to maximize the benefit of radiation detection technologies being developed in 15 to 20 research and development (R and D) programs. These efforts involve more than 200 Laboratory employees across eight directorates, in areas that range from electronics to computer simulations. The RDC's primary focus is the detection, identification, and analysis of nuclear materials and weapons. A newly formed outreach program within the RDC-- is responsible for conducting radiation detection workshops and seminars across the country and for coordinating university student internships. Simon Labov, director of the RDC, says, ''Virtually all of the Laboratory's programs use radiation detection devices in some way. For example, DNT uses radiation detection to create radiographs for their work in stockpile stewardship and in diagnosing explosives; CMS uses it to develop technology for advancing the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer; and the Energy and Environment Directorate uses radiation detection in the Marshall Islands to monitor the aftermath of nuclear testing in the Pacific. In the future, the National Ignition Facility will use radiation detection to probe laser targets and study shock dynamics.''

  14. Development of an Arm Phantom for Testing Non-Invasive Blood Pressure Monitors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson-Jackson, LaTecia D.

    Approximately one in every three adults age 20 older are diagnosed with high blood pressure or hypertension. It is estimated that hypertension affects 78 million people in the United States, is equally prevalent in both men and woman (Crabtree, Stuart-Shor, & McAllister, 2013). In the United States, around 78% of people suffering from hypertension are aware of their condition, with only 68% using hypertensive medications to control their blood pressure (Writing Group et al., 2010). Clinically, blood pressure measurements may lack accuracy, which can be attributed to various factors, including device limitations, cuff mis-sizing and misplacement, white-coat effect, masked hypertension, and lifestyle factors. The development of an arm phantom to simulate physiologic properties of a human arm and arterial BP waveforms may allow us to better assess the accuracy of non-invasive blood pressure (NIBP) monitors. The objective of this study are to: (1) Develop an arm phantom to replicate physiological properties of the human arm, and (2) Incorporate the arm phantom into a mock circulatory flow loop to simulate different physiological blood pressure readings on the bench. A tissue mimicking material, styrene-ethylene-butylene-styrene (SEBS), a co-block polymer was used to develop the arm phantom for in-vitro testing. To determine the optimal mechanical properties for the arm phantom, individual arm components were isolated and tested. A protocol was developed to evaluate various components for optimal arm phantom development. Mechanical testing was conducted on 10%, 15%, and 20% SEBS gel samples for modulus of elasticity measurements in order to simulate physiological properties of the human arm. As a result of the SEBS polymer being a new material for this application, this investigation will contribute to resolving the limitations that occurred during experimentation. In this study, we demonstrated that although SEBS polymer may be an ideal material to use for simulating

  15. The impact of arm position on the measurement of orthostatic blood pressure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guss, David A; Abdelnur, Diego; Hemingway, Thomas J

    2008-05-01

    Blood pressure is a standard vital sign in patients evaluated in an Emergency Department. The American Heart Association has recommended a preferred position of the arm and cuff when measuring blood pressure. There is no formal recommendation for arm position when measuring orthostatic blood pressure. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of different arm positions on the measurement of postural changes in blood pressure. This was a prospective, unblinded, convenience study involving Emergency Department patients with complaints unrelated to cardiovascular instability. Repeated blood pressure measurements were obtained using an automatic non-invasive device with each subject in a supine and standing position and with the arm parallel and perpendicular to the torso. Orthostatic hypotension was defined as a difference of >or= 20 mm Hg systolic or >or= 10 mm Hg diastolic when subtracting standing from supine measurements. There were four comparisons made: group W, arm perpendicular supine and standing; group X, arm parallel supine and standing; group Y, arm parallel supine and perpendicular standing; and group Z, arm perpendicular supine and parallel standing. There were 100 patients enrolled, 55 men, mean age 44 years. Four blood pressure measurements were obtained on each patient. The percentage of patients meeting orthostatic hypotension criteria in each group was: W systolic 6% (95% CI 1%, 11%), diastolic 4% (95% CI 0%, 8%), X systolic 8% (95% CI 3%, 13%), diastolic 9% (95% CI 3%, 13%), Y systolic 19% (95% CI 11%, 27%), diastolic 30% (95% CI 21%, 39%), Z systolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%), diastolic 2% (95% CI 0%, 5%). Comparison of Group Y vs. X, Z, and W was statistically significant (p postural changes in blood pressure. The combination of the arm parallel when supine and perpendicular when standing may significantly overestimate the orthostatic change. Arm position should be held constant in supine and standing positions when assessing for orthostatic

  16. Studies on application of radiation and radioisotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jae Rok; Lee, Ji Bok; Lee, Yeong Iil; Jin, Joon Ha; Beon, Myeong Uh; Park, Kyeong Bae; Han, Heon Soo; Jeong, Yong Sam; Uh, Jong Seop; Kang, Kyeong Cheol; Cho, Han Ok; Song, Hui Seop; Yoon, Byeong Mok; Jeon, Byeong Jin; Park, Hong Sik; Kim, Jae Seong; Jeong, Un Soo; Baek, Sam Tae; Cho, Seong Won; Jeon, Yeong Keon; Kim, Joon Yeon; Kwon, Joong Ho; Kim, Ki Yeop; Yang, Jae Seung; No, Yeong Chang; Lee, Yeong Keun; Shin, Byeong Cheol; Park, Sang Joon; Hong, Kwang Pyo; Cho, Seung Yeon; Kang, Iil Joon; Cho, Seong Ki; Jeong, Yeong Joo; Park, Chun Deuk; Lee, Yeong Koo; Seo, Chun Ha; Han, Kwang Hui; Shin, Hyeon Young; Kim, Jong Kuk; Park, Soon Chul; Shin, In Cheol; Lee, Sang Jae; Lee, Ki Un; Lim, Yong Taek; Park, Eung Uh; Kim, Dong Soo; Jeon, Sang Soo

    1993-05-01

    With the completion of construction of KMRR, the facility and technology of radiation application will be greatly improved. This study was performed as follows; (1) Studies on the production and application of radioisotopes. (2) The development of radiation processing technology. (3) The application of Irradiation techniques for food preservation and process improvement. (4) Studies on the radiation application for the development of genetic resources (5) Development of the radioisotope (RI) production facilities for Korea Multipurpose Research Reactor (KMRR)

  17. Two-Armed, Mobile, Sensate Research Robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engelberger, J. F.; Roberts, W. Nelson; Ryan, David J.; Silverthorne, Andrew

    2004-01-01

    The Anthropomorphic Robotic Testbed (ART) is an experimental prototype of a partly anthropomorphic, humanoid-size, mobile robot. The basic ART design concept provides for a combination of two-armed coordination, tactility, stereoscopic vision, mobility with navigation and avoidance of obstacles, and natural-language communication, so that the ART could emulate humans in many activities. The ART could be developed into a variety of highly capable robotic assistants for general or specific applications. There is especially great potential for the development of ART-based robots as substitutes for live-in health-care aides for home-bound persons who are aged, infirm, or physically handicapped; these robots could greatly reduce the cost of home health care and extend the term of independent living. The ART is a fully autonomous and untethered system. It includes a mobile base on which is mounted an extensible torso topped by a head, shoulders, and two arms. All subsystems of the ART are powered by a rechargeable, removable battery pack. The mobile base is a differentially- driven, nonholonomic vehicle capable of a speed >1 m/s and can handle a payload >100 kg. The base can be controlled manually, in forward/backward and/or simultaneous rotational motion, by use of a joystick. Alternatively, the motion of the base can be controlled autonomously by an onboard navigational computer. By retraction or extension of the torso, the head height of the ART can be adjusted from 5 ft (1.5 m) to 6 1/2 ft (2 m), so that the arms can reach either the floor or high shelves, or some ceilings. The arms are symmetrical. Each arm (including the wrist) has a total of six rotary axes like those of the human shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints. The arms are actuated by electric motors in combination with brakes and gas-spring assists on the shoulder and elbow joints. The arms are operated under closed-loop digital control. A receptacle for an end effector is mounted on the tip of the wrist and

  18. Simulation of Octopus Arm Based on Coupled CPGs

    OpenAIRE

    Juan Tian; Qiang Lu

    2015-01-01

    The octopus arm has attracted many researchers’ interests and became a research hot spot because of its amazing features. Several dynamic models inspired by an octopus arm are presented to realize the structure with a large number of degrees of freedom. The octopus arm is made of a soft material introducing high-dimensionality, nonlinearity, and elasticity, which makes the octopus arm difficult to control. In this paper, three coupled central pattern generators (CPGs) are built and a 2-dimens...

  19. Kinematic decomposition and classification of octopus arm movements

    OpenAIRE

    Zelman, Ido; Titon, Myriam; Yekutieli, Yoram; Hanassy, Shlomi; Hochner, Binyamin; Flash, Tamar

    2013-01-01

    The octopus arm is a muscular hydrostat and due to its deformable and highly flexible structure it is capable of a rich repertoire of motor behaviors. Its motor control system uses planning principles and control strategies unique to muscular hydrostats. We previously reconstructed a data set of octopus arm movements from records of natural movements using a sequence of 3D curves describing the virtual backbone of arm configurations. Here we describe a novel representation of octopus arm move...

  20. Arm and leg substrate utilization and muscle adaptation after prolonged low-intensity training

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Helge, Jørn Wulff

    2010-01-01

    This review will focus on current data where substrate metabolism in arm and leg muscle is investigated and discuss the presence of higher carbohydrate oxidation and lactate release observed during arm compared with leg exercise. Furthermore, a basis for a possible difference in substrate partiti...... at comparable workloads. Finally, the influence and capacity of low-intensity training to influence metabolic fitness in the face of a limited effect on aerobic fitness will be challenged....... partitioning between endogenous and exogenous substrate during arm and leg exercise will be debated. Moreover the review will probe if differences between arm and leg muscle are merely a result of different training status rather than a qualitative difference in limb substrate regulation. Along this line...... the review will address the available studies on low-intensity training performed separately with arm or legs or as whole-body training to evaluate if this leads to different adaptations in arm and leg muscle resulting in different substrate utilization patterns during separate arm or leg exercise...

  1. Overview of the 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Zaveri

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available Substantial uncertainties still exist in the scientific understanding of the possible interactions between urban and natural (biogenic emissions in the production and transformation of atmospheric aerosol and the resulting impact on climate change. The US Department of Energy (DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM program's Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES carried out in June 2010 in Central Valley, California, was a comprehensive effort designed to improve this understanding. The primary objective of the field study was to investigate the evolution of secondary organic and black carbon aerosols and their climate-related properties in the Sacramento urban plume as it was routinely transported into the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Urban aerosols and trace gases experienced significant physical and chemical transformations as they mixed with the reactive biogenic hydrocarbons emitted from the forest. Two heavily-instrumented ground sites – one within the Sacramento urban area and another about 40 km to the northeast in the foothills area – were set up to characterize the evolution of meteorological variables, trace gases, aerosol precursors, aerosol size, composition, and climate-related properties in freshly polluted and "aged" urban air. On selected days, the DOE G-1 aircraft was deployed to make similar measurements upwind and across the evolving Sacramento plume in the morning and again in the afternoon. The NASA B-200 aircraft, carrying remote sensing instruments, was also deployed to characterize the vertical and horizontal distribution of aerosols and aerosol optical properties within and around the plume. This overview provides: (a the scientific background and motivation for the study, (b the operational and logistical information pertinent to the execution of the study, (c an overview of key observations and initial findings from the aircraft and ground-based sampling platforms, and (d a roadmap

  2. Overview of the 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zaveri, R. A.; Shaw, W. J.; Cziczo, D. J.; Schmid, B.; Ferrare, R. A.; Alexander, M. L.; Alexandrov, M.; Alvarez, R. J.; Arnott, W. P.; Atkinson, D. B.; Baidar, S.; Banta, R. M.; Barnard, J. C.; Beranek, J.; Berg, L. K.; Brechtel, F.; Brewer, W. A.; Cahill, J. F.; Cairns, B.; Cappa, C. D.; Chand, D.; China, S.; Comstock, J. M.; Dubey, M. K.; Easter, R. C.; Erickson, M. H.; Fast, J. D.; Floerchinger, C.; Flowers, B. A.; Fortner, E.; Gaffney, J. S.; Gilles, M. K.; Gorkowski, K.; Gustafson, W. I.; Gyawali, M.; Hair, J.; Hardesty, R. M.; Harworth, J. W.; Herndon, S.; Hiranuma, N.; Hostetler, C.; Hubbe, J. M.; Jayne, J. T.; Jeong, H.; Jobson, B. T.; Kassianov, E. I.; Kleinman, L. I.; Kluzek, C.; Knighton, B.; Kolesar, K. R.; Kuang, C.; Kubátová, A.; Langford, A. O.; Laskin, A.; Laulainen, N.; Marchbanks, R. D.; Mazzoleni, C.; Mei, F.; Moffet, R. C.; Nelson, D.; Obland, M. D.; Oetjen, H.; Onasch, T. B.; Ortega, I.; Ottaviani, M.; Pekour, M.; Prather, K. A.; Radney, J. G.; Rogers, R. R.; Sandberg, S. P.; Sedlacek, A.; Senff, C. J.; Senum, G.; Setyan, A.; Shilling, J. E.; Shrivastava, M.; Song, C.; Springston, S. R.; Subramanian, R.; Suski, K.; Tomlinson, J.; Volkamer, R.; Wallace, H. W.; Wang, J.; Weickmann, A. M.; Worsnop, D. R.; Yu, X. -Y.; Zelenyuk, A.; Zhang, Q.

    2012-01-01

    Substantial uncertainties still exist in the scientific understanding of the possible interactions between urban and natural (biogenic) emissions in the production and transformation of atmospheric aerosol and the resulting impact on climate change. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) carried out in June 2010 in Central Valley, California, was a comprehensive effort designed to improve this understanding. The primary objective of the field study was to investigate the evolution of secondary organic and black carbon aerosols and their climate-related properties in the Sacramento urban plume as it was routinely transported into the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Urban aerosols and trace gases experienced significant physical and chemical transformations as they mixed with the reactive biogenic hydrocarbons emitted from the forest. Two heavily-instrumented ground sites – one within the Sacramento urban area and another about 40 km to the northeast in the foothills area – were set up to characterize the evolution of meteorological variables, trace gases, aerosol precursors, aerosol size, composition, and climate-related properties in freshly polluted and “aged” urban air. On selected days, the DOE G-1 aircraft was deployed to make similar measurements upwind and across the evolving Sacramento plume in the morning and again in the afternoon. The NASA B-200 aircraft, carrying remote sensing instruments, was also deployed to characterize the vertical and horizontal distribution of aerosols and aerosol optical properties within and around the plume. This overview provides: a) the scientific background and motivation for the study, b) the operational and logistical information pertinent to the execution of the study, c) an overview of key observations and initial findings from the aircraft and ground-based sampling platforms, and d) a roadmap of

  3. The inter-arm diastolic blood pressure difference induced by one arm ischemia: a new approach to assess vascular endothelia function.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weitong; Li, Juxiang; Su, Hai; Wang, Jiwei; Xu, Jinsong; Liu, Yanna; Huang, Ming; Cheng, Xiaoshu

    2014-01-01

    To evaluate whether inter-arm diastolic blood pressure difference (DBPl-r) induced by one arm ischemia correlates with flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Bilateral arm BPs were simultaneously measured with two automatic devices and right brachial artery diameter (D) was measured by ultrasound technique in 108 subjects (56 hypertensives and 52 normotensives). Following baseline diameter (D0) and BP measurement, right brachial artery was occluded for 5 minutes. The diameter was measured at 1, 1.5 and 2 min, and bilateral BPs measured at 3, 4 and 5 min after occlusion release. Their averages were recorded as post-D and post-BP, respectively. The difference between post-D and D0 (ΔD) was calculated as the percentage increase of artery diameter (ΔD/D0). The BP difference between left and right arms was calculated as BPl-r, and the difference of post- BPl-r and baseline BPl-r was recorded as the net change of BPl-r (ΔBPl-r). At baseline, bilateral SBPs and DBPs were similar. Right arm ischemia induced significant DBP decline only in the right arm (68.8±12.7 vs 72.6±12.0 mmHg, Parm DBP difference induced by one arm ischemia may be a potential index for clinical evaluation of vascular endothelial function.

  4. Robust coordinated control of a dual-arm space robot

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Lingling; Kayastha, Sharmila; Katupitiya, Jay

    2017-09-01

    Dual-arm space robots are more capable of implementing complex space tasks compared with single arm space robots. However, the dynamic coupling between the arms and the base will have a serious impact on the spacecraft attitude and the hand motion of each arm. Instead of considering one arm as the mission arm and the other as the balance arm, in this work two arms of the space robot perform as mission arms aimed at accomplishing secure capture of a floating target. The paper investigates coordinated control of the base's attitude and the arms' motion in the task space in the presence of system uncertainties. Two types of controllers, i.e. a Sliding Mode Controller (SMC) and a nonlinear Model Predictive Controller (MPC) are verified and compared with a conventional Computed-Torque Controller (CTC) through numerical simulations in terms of control accuracy and system robustness. Both controllers eliminate the need to linearly parameterize the dynamic equations. The MPC has been shown to achieve performance with higher accuracy than CTC and SMC in the absence of system uncertainties under the condition that they consume comparable energy. When the system uncertainties are included, SMC and CTC present advantageous robustness than MPC. Specifically, in a case where system inertia increases, SMC delivers higher accuracy than CTC and costs the least amount of energy.

  5. Maintaining confidentiality in prospective studies: anonymous repeated measurements via email (ARME) procedure.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carli, Vladimir; Hadlaczky, Gergö; Wasserman, Camilla; Stingelin-Giles, Nicola; Reiter-Theil, Stella; Wasserman, Danuta

    2012-02-01

    Respecting and protecting the confidentiality of data and the privacy of individuals regarding the information that they have given as participants in a research project is a cornerstone of complying with accepted research standards. However, in longitudinal studies, establishing and maintaining privacy is often challenging because of the necessity of repeated contact with participants. A novel internet-based solution is introduced here, which maintains privacy while at the same time ensures linkage of data to individual participants in a repeated measures design. With the use of the anonymous repeated measurements via email (ARME) procedure, two separate one-way communication systems are established through ad hoc email accounts and a secure study website. Strengths and limitations of the approach are discussed.

  6. Prognostic significance of between-arm blood pressure differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Rajiv; Bunaye, Zerihun; Bekele, Dagim M

    2008-03-01

    Blood pressure (BP) recordings often differ between arms, but the extent to which these differences are reproducible and whether the differences have prognostic importance is unknown. We enrolled 421 consecutive patients from a medicine and a renal clinic at a veterans' hospital. Three BP recordings were obtained in each arm using an oscillometric device in a sequential manner and repeated in 1 week. Patients were followed for all-cause mortality arm had 5.1-mm Hg higher systolic BP that attenuated by approximately 2.2 mm Hg a week later. Systolic BP dropped 6.9 mm Hg over 1 week and by an additional 5.3 mm Hg in patients with chronic kidney disease. Accounting for the visit and arm effect improved the reproducibility of the BP measurements. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.74, which improved to 0.88 after accounting for visit and 0.93 after accounting for arm. The crude mortality rate was 6.33 per 100 patient-years. Every 10-mm Hg difference in systolic BP between the arms conferred a mortality hazard of 1.24 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.52) after adjusting for average systolic BP and chronic kidney disease. BP differences between arms are reproducible and carry prognostic information. Patients should have evaluation of BP in both arms at the screening visit.

  7. Phase 2 Randomized Controlled Trial of Radiation Therapy Plus Concurrent Interferon-Alpha and Retinoic Acid Versus Cisplatin for Stage III Cervical Carcinoma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Basu, Partha, E-mail: BasuP@iarc.fr [Screening Group, Early Detection and Prevention Section, International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon (France); Jenson, Alfred Bennett [James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky (United States); Majhi, Tapas; Choudhury, Prabir [Department of Radiation Oncology, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata (India); Mandal, Ranajit; Banerjee, Dipanwita [Department of Gynecological Oncology, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata (India); Biswas, Jaydip [Department of Surgical Oncology, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata (India); Pan, Jianmin; Rai, Shesh Nath; Ghim, Shin je; Miller, Donald [James Graham Brown Cancer Center, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Because a combination of retinoic acid, interferon-alpha, and radiation therapy demonstrated synergistic action and effectiveness to treat advanced cervical cancers in earlier studies, we designed this randomized phase 2 open-label trial to assess efficacy and safety of interferon alpha-2b (IFN) and 13-cis-retinoic acid (RA) administered concomitantly with radiation therapy (IFN-RA-radiation) to treat stage III cervical cancer. Methods and Materials: Stage III cervical cancer patients were randomized to study and control groups in a 1:1 ratio. All patients were treated with radiation therapy; study arm patients received IFN (3 × 10{sup 6} IU subcutaneously) 3 times a week for 4 weeks and daily RA (40 mg orally) for 30 days starting on day 1 of radiation, whereas control arm patients received weekly cisplatinum (40 mg/m{sup 2}) for 5 weeks during radiation. Patients were followed for 3 years. The primary endpoint was overall survival at 3 years. Results: Patients in the study (n=104) and control (n=105) groups were comparable for clinicopathological characteristics, radiation therapy–related variables and treatment response. Proportions of disease-free patients in the study and control groups were 38.5% and 44.8%, respectively, after median follow-up of 29.2 months. Hazard ratios were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.44-1.01) and 0.69 (95% CI: 0.44-1.06) for overall and disease-fee survival, respectively, comparing the study group to control, and demonstrated an inferior outcome with RA-IFN-radiation, although differences were statistically nonsignificant. Kaplan-Meier curves of disease-free and overall survival probabilities also showed inferior survival in the study group compared to those in the control. Acute toxicities of chemoradiation were significantly higher with 2 acute toxicity-related deaths. Conclusions: Treatment with RA-IFN-radiation did not demonstrate survival advantage over chemoradiation despite being less toxic. The

  8. Morphological analysis of the hindlimb in apes and humans. II. Moment arms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Payne, R C; Crompton, R H; Isler, K; Savage, R; Vereecke, E E; Günther, M M; Thorpe, S K S; D'Août, K

    2006-01-01

    Flexion/extension moment arms were obtained for the major muscles crossing the hip, knee and ankle joints in the orang-utan, gibbon, gorilla (Eastern and Western lowland) and bonobo. Moment arms varied with joint motion and were generally longer in proximal limb muscles than distal limb muscles. The shape of the moment arm curves (i.e. the plots of moment arm against joint angle) differed in different hindlimb muscles and in the same muscle in different subjects (both in the same and in different ape species). Most moment arms increased with increasing joint flexion, a finding which may be understood in the context of the employment of flexed postures by most non-human apes (except orang-utans) during both terrestrial and arboreal locomotion. When compared with humans, non-human great apes tended to have muscles better designed for moving the joints through large ranges. This was particularly true of the pedal digital flexors in orang-utans. In gibbons, the only lesser ape studied here, many of the moment arms measured were relatively short compared with those of great apes. This study was performed on a small sample of apes and thus differences noted here warrant further investigation in larger populations. PMID:16761974

  9. Nuclear Arms Race and Environment

    OpenAIRE

    Li, Anpeng

    2012-01-01

    This paper introduces a new factor, environment, into nuclear arms race model. In this model, nuclear weapons produce larger defense power compared with conventional arms, but hurt the environment meanwhile. In the global welfare maximum level, both conventional and nuclear weapons budget are zero. However, the competitive equilibrium may not achieve the optimum. I give the condition to jump out of the prisoner's dilemma.

  10. Experience of medical service of the Armed Forces during elimination of consequences of Chernobyl's disaster

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chizh, I.M.

    1996-01-01

    The article analyzes ten-years experience (1986-1996) of the Armed Forces medical service participation in elimination of consequences of Chernobyl's accidents. The system of medical supply created soon after accidents (management and interaction, forces and means, peculiarities of sanitary-hygienic, antiepidemic, treatment-and-prophylactic supply) has been described in breaf, its positive sides and main deficiencies and also the ways of there elimination, the place of military-medical service in modern sate system of disaster medical supply have been discussed. The results of prolonged dynamic observation of rescuers by the All-Army medical-and-dosimetric register materials, the main directions, results and prospects of scientific study about problems of radiative disaster have been analyzed. 32 refs., 4 figs., 1 tab

  11. Epidemiological studies on radiation workers in Korea

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soo Yong Choi; Hai Won Chung

    2007-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. Objectives: The aim of this study is to analyze the occupational exposure for external radiation and to evaluate radiation effects on Korean radiation workers. Methods: The National Dose Registry contains radiation exposure records for all monitored radiation workers since its creation in 1983. We are carrying out epidemiological survey for radiation workers. The items of information included personal identification, employment and dose data. The frequencies of various types of chromosome aberrations in radiation workers were compared with controls. The data were analyzed according to year, sex, age, duration of occupation, exposure dose, etc. using SPSS statistical package(version 15.0). The goodness-of-fit test for Poisson assumption and dispersion test for detecting heterogeneity for Poisson distribution were done with chromosomal aberrations among study subjects. Results: The total number of workers registered from 1983 to 2005 was 61,610. The number of workers steadily increased and the accumulated dose somewhat increased. The collective annual dose of radiation workers was 345.823 man Sv and the mean annual dose was 1.34mSv. The frequencies of chromosome aberrations in 102 workers were compared with those in 42 controls. The frequencies of all types of chromosome aberrations in the exposed subjects were higher than those in the control group. Poisson regression analysis showed that there was significant association of chromosome aberrations with radiation dose, duration of work, age and alcohol intake. We started to survey radiation workers in order to evaluate radiation effects, collected epidemiological data for 9,157 workers at present and analyzed their lifetime radiation exposure doses. Follow-up is carrying out using the Korean Mortality Data, Cancer Registry and individual investigation. Among study patients, 11 of 38 deaths were identified with cancer. Conclusions: The data on occupational doses shows that

  12. Association of hand and arm disinfection with asthma control in US nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumas, Orianne; Varraso, Raphäelle; Boggs, Krislyn M; Descatha, Alexis; Henneberger, Paul K; Quinot, Catherine; Speizer, Frank E; Zock, Jan-Paul; Le Moual, Nicole; Camargo, Carlos A

    2018-05-01

    To investigate the association between occupational exposure to disinfectants/antiseptics used for hand hygiene and asthma control in nurses. In 2014, we invited female nurses with asthma drawn from the Nurses' Health Study II to complete two supplemental questionnaires on their occupation and asthma (cross-sectional study, response rate: 80%). Among 4055 nurses (mean age: 59 years) with physician-diagnosed asthma and asthma medication use in the past year, we examined asthma control, as defined by the Asthma Control Test (ACT). Nurses were asked about the daily frequency of hand hygiene tasks: 'wash/scrub hands with disinfectants/hand sanitizers' (hand hygiene) and 'wash/scrub arms with disinfecting products' (surrogate of surgical hand/arm antisepsis). Analyses were adjusted for age, race, ethnicity, smoking status and body mass index. Nurses with partly controlled asthma (ACT: 20-24, 50%) and poorly controlled asthma (ACT ≤19, 18%) were compared with nurses with controlled asthma (ACT=25, 32%). In separate models, both hand and arm hygiene were associated with poorly controlled asthma. After mutual adjustment, only arm hygiene was associated with poorly controlled asthma: OR (95% CI) for arm hygiene tasks (never to >10 times/day) and poor asthma control. Associations persisted after further adjustment for surfaces/instruments disinfection tasks. Frequency of hand/arm hygiene tasks in nurses was associated with poor asthma control. The results suggest an adverse effect of products used for surgical hand/arm antisepsis. This potential new occupational risk factor for asthma warrants further study. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2018. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  13. Planet-driven Spiral Arms in Protoplanetary Disks. I. Formation Mechanism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Jaehan; Zhu, Zhaohuan

    2018-06-01

    Protoplanetary disk simulations show that a single planet can excite more than one spiral arm, possibly explaining the recent observations of multiple spiral arms in some systems. In this paper, we explain the mechanism by which a planet excites multiple spiral arms in a protoplanetary disk. Contrary to previous speculations, the formation of both primary and additional arms can be understood as a linear process when the planet mass is sufficiently small. A planet resonantly interacts with epicyclic oscillations in the disk, launching spiral wave modes around the Lindblad resonances. When a set of wave modes is in phase, they can constructively interfere with each other and create a spiral arm. More than one spiral arm can form because such constructive interference can occur for different sets of wave modes, with the exact number and launching position of the spiral arms being dependent on the planet mass as well as the disk temperature profile. Nonlinear effects become increasingly important as the planet mass increases, resulting in spiral arms with stronger shocks and thus larger pitch angles. This is found to be common for both primary and additional arms. When a planet has a sufficiently large mass (≳3 thermal masses for (h/r) p = 0.1), only two spiral arms form interior to its orbit. The wave modes that would form a tertiary arm for smaller mass planets merge with the primary arm. Improvements in our understanding of the formation of spiral arms can provide crucial insights into the origin of observed spiral arms in protoplanetary disks.

  14. Validation of PIMAL 3.0-phantom with moving arms and legs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Griffin, Keith T.; Bellamy, Michael B.

    2017-01-01

    When it comes to determining radiation protection measurements, complex geometries often require the use of computational modeling to solve the problems; the human body is no exception. However, both old and new phantom models have almost always been rigidly created in the vertical upright position. Oak Ridge National Laboratory solved this issue in 2007 by developing a piece of software named 'Phantom with Moving Arms and Legs (PIMAL)', which creates a flexible phantom model for computer simulations. Though the initial hermaphrodite phantom is validated, new gender-specific models need validation against generally accepted values. Thus, the purpose of this study was to compare the dose coefficients from PIMAL against known values in Federal Guidance Report 12 for water submersion. Of 21 organ-tissue doses, all but 2 matched to within 15% for photon energies above 1 MeV. For plots with notable discrepancies at multiple energies, including bone surface and effective dose, explanations are given to justify differences. (authors)

  15. A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY TO FIND THE DIFFERENCE IN SYSTOLIC BLOOD PRESSURE BETWEEN ARMS AS A RISK MARKER FOR DIABETIC NEPHROPATHY IN PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Uday Subhash Bande

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Diabetic nephropathy is the commonest cause of end-stage renal disease in the developed world. Recent studies have demonstrated that a difference in systolic blood pressure between arms is associated with cardiovascular disease and microalbuminuria. It is considered a predictor for cardiovascular disease and a surrogate marker for early kidney damage among patients with both type 2 diabetes and hypertension. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The aim was to investigate an association between arm difference in systolic blood pressure and microalbuminuria which can serve as a marker for diabetic nephropathy. MATERIALS AND METHOD This study was conducted on 200 patients with diabetes mellitus and an inter-arm difference in systolic blood pressure was present in 35.7% of the study population. Presence of systolic blood pressure difference of more than 10 mmHg between arms correlated with microalbuminuria and duration of diabetes mellitus with a p value of <0.001. We also found a correlation between arm difference in blood pressure and duration of diabetes mellitus, presence of hypertension and body mass index. CONCLUSION The inter-arm difference in blood pressure could serve as a risk marker for renal damage in diabetes mellitus.

  16. Aerosol properties and their impacts on surface CCN at the ARM Southern Great Plains site during the 2011 Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Logan, Timothy; Dong, Xiquan; Xi, Baike

    2018-02-01

    Aerosol particles are of particular importance because of their impacts on cloud development and precipitation processes over land and ocean. Aerosol properties as well as meteorological observations from the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) platform situated in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) are utilized in this study to illustrate the dependence of continental cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration ( N CCN) on aerosol type and transport pathways. ARM-SGP observations from the 2011 Midlatitude Continental Convective Clouds Experiment field campaign are presented in this study and compared with our previous work during the 2009-10 Clouds, Aerosol, and Precipitation in the Marine Boundary Layer field campaign over the current ARM Eastern North Atlantic site. Northerly winds over the SGP reflect clean, continental conditions with aerosol scattering coefficient ( σ sp) values less than 20 Mm-1 and N CCN values less than 100 cm-3. However, southerly winds over the SGP are responsible for the observed moderate to high correlation ( R) among aerosol loading ( σ sp moisture via the Gulf of Mexico, indicating a strong dependence on air mass type. NASA MERRA-2 reanalysis aerosol and chemical data are moderately to highly correlated with surface ARM-SGP data, suggesting that this facility can represent surface aerosol conditions in the SGP, especially during strong aerosol loading events that transport via the Gulf of Mexico. Future long-term investigations will help to understand the seasonal influences of air masses on aerosol, CCN, and cloud properties over land in comparison to over ocean.

  17. Keeping nuclear hazards at arm's length

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    As national and international regulations are tightened, the permitted radiation dose limits for nuclear workers are being lowered. But sharing the same dose among more people is raising nuclear industry costs. At the same time tasks such as refurbishment and decommissioning are multiplying as the nuclear industry matures. As a result of these trends, work in the nuclear power sector is increasingly having to be done under remote control. European and American progress in the technology was reported recently at a two-day international conference held in London and is reported here. In France 'Frastar' carries out tours of inspection inside reactor buildings under remote control and 'Suzy' is a finger walker robot carrying an arm which is a 3-actuator manipulator. Anglo-American advances are reported; robots with manipulator, cameras, audio signalling and the ability to climb stairs and ramps. A European Community research programme called Teleman was started in 1989 to develop advanced teleoperators for the nuclear industry. The projects underway in this programme are listed. (UK)

  18. Monitoring the radiation dose to a multiprogrammable pacemaker during radical radiation therapy: A case report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muller-Runkel, R.; Orsolini, G.; Kalokhe, U.P.

    1990-01-01

    Multiprogrammable pacemakers, using complimentary metaloxide semiconductor (CMOS) circuitry, may fail during radiation therapy. We report about a patient who received 6,400 cGy for unresectable carcinoma of the left lung. In supine treatment position, arms raised above the head, the pacemaker was outside the treated area by a margin of at least 1 cm, shielded by cerrobend blocking mounted on a tray. From thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD) measurements, we estimate that the pacemaker received 620 cGy in scatter doses. Its function was monitored before, during, and after completion of radiation therapy. The pacemaker was functioning normally until the patient's death 5 months after completion of treatment. The relevant electrocardiograms (ECGs) are presented

  19. Patterns of motor activity in the isolated nerve cord of the octopus arm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutfreund, Yoram; Matzner, Henry; Flash, Tamar; Hochner, Binyamin

    2006-12-01

    The extremely flexible octopus arm provides a unique opportunity for studying movement control in a highly redundant motor system. We describe a novel preparation that allows analysis of the peripheral nervous system of the octopus arm and its interaction with the muscular and mechanosensory elements of the arm's intrinsic muscular system. First we examined the synaptic responses in muscle fibers to identify the motor pathways from the axial nerve cord of the arm to the surrounding musculature. We show that the motor axons project to the muscles via nerve roots originating laterally from the arm nerve cord. The motor field of each nerve is limited to the region where the nerve enters the arm musculature. The same roots also carry afferent mechanosensory information from the intrinsic muscle to the axial nerve cord. Next, we characterized the pattern of activity generated in the dorsal roots by electrically stimulating the axial nerve cord. The evoked activity, although far reaching and long lasting, cannot alone account for the arm extension movements generated by similar electrical stimulation. The mismatch between patterns of activity in the isolated cord and in an intact arm may stem from the involvement of mechanosensory feedback in natural arm extension.

  20. [Evaluation of radiation exposure of personnel in an orthopaedic and trauma operation theatre using the new real-time dosimetry system "dose aware"].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, M C; Strauss, A; Pflugmacher, R; Nähle, C P; Pennekamp, P H; Burger, C; Wirtz, D C

    2014-08-01

    There is a positive correlation between operation time and staff exposure to radiation during intraoperative use of C-arm fluoroscopy. Due to harmful effects of exposure to long-term low-dose radiation for both the patient and the operating team it should be kept to a minimum. AIM of this study was to evaluate a novel dosimeter system called Dose Aware® (DA) enabling radiation exposure feedback of the personal in an orthopaedic and trauma operation theatre in real-time. Within a prospective study over a period of four month, DA was applied by the operation team during 104 orthopaedic and trauma operations in which the C-arm fluoroscope was used in 2D-mode. During ten operation techniques, radiation exposure of the surgeon, the first assistant, the theatre nurse and the anaesthesiologist was evaluated. Seventy-three operations were analysed. The surgeon achieved the highest radiation exposure during dorsolumbar spinal osteosynthesis, kyphoplasty and screw fixation of sacral fractures. The first assistant received a higher radiation exposure compared to the surgeon during plate osteosynthesis of distal radius fractures (157 %), intramedullary nailing of pertrochanteric fractures (143 %) and dorsolumbar spinal osteosynthesis (240 %). During external fixation of ankle fractures (68 %) and screw fixation of sacral fractures (66 %) radiation exposure of the theatre nurse exceeded 50 % of the surgeon's radiation exposure. During plate osteosynthesis of distal radius fractures (157 %) and intramedullary splinting of clavicular fractures (115 %), the anaesthesiologist received a higher radiation exposure than the surgeon. The novel dosimeter system DA provides real-time radiation exposure feedback of the personnel in an orthopaedic and trauma operation theatre for the first time. Data of this study demonstrate that radiation exposure of the personnel depends on the operation type. The first assistant, the theatre nurse and the anaesthesiologist might be