Some Results on Graded Generalized Local Cohomology Modules

OpenAIRE

F. Dehghani-Zadeh; H. Zakeri

2010-01-01

. Let R = ⊕n>0Rn be a graded Noetherian ring with local base ring R0 and let R+ = ⊕n>1Rn. Let M and N be finitely generated graded R-modules. In this paper we extend some of the known results about ordinary local cohomology modules Hi R+ (M) to generalized local cohomology modules Hi R+ (M, N). Indeed, among other things, we prove that certain submodules and factor modules of Hi R+ (M, N) are Artinian for some i. Also we obtain some results on the asymptoti...

Observing electron localization in a dissociating H2+ molecule in real time.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, H; Li, Zhichao; He, Feng; Wang, X; Atia-Tul-Noor, A; Kielpinski, D; Sang, R T; Litvinyuk, I V

2017-06-16

Dissociation of diatomic molecules with odd number of electrons always causes the unpaired electron to localize on one of the two resulting atomic fragments. In the simplest diatomic molecule H 2 + dissociation yields a hydrogen atom and a proton with the sole electron ending up on one of the two nuclei. That is equivalent to breaking of a chemical bond-the most fundamental chemical process. Here we observe such electron localization in real time by performing a pump-probe experiment. We demonstrate that in H 2 + electron localization is complete in just 15 fs when the molecule's internuclear distance reaches 8 atomic units. The measurement is supported by a theoretical simulation based on numerical solution of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation. This observation advances our understanding of detailed dynamics of molecular dissociation.

Automatic traveltime picking using local time-frequency maps

KAUST Repository

Saragiotis, Christos; Alkhalifah, Tariq Ali; Fomel, Sergey B.

2011-01-01

The arrival times of distinct and sufficiently concentrated signals can be computed using Fourier transforms. In real seis- mograms, however, signals are far from distinct. We use local time-frequency maps of the seismograms and its frequency

Time-dependent local-to-normal mode transition in triatomic molecules

Science.gov (United States)

Cruz, Hans; Bermúdez-Montaña, Marisol; Lemus, Renato

2018-01-01

Time-evolution of the vibrational states of two interacting harmonic oscillators in the local mode scheme is presented. A local-to-normal mode transition (LNT) is identified and studied from temporal perspective through time-dependent frequencies of the oscillators. The LNT is established as a polyad-breaking phenomenon from the local standpoint for the stretching degrees of freedom in a triatomic molecule. This study is carried out in the algebraic representation of bosonic operators. The dynamics of the states are determined via the solutions of the corresponding nonlinear Ermakov equation and a local time-dependent polyad is obtained as a tool to identify the LNT. Applications of this formalism to H2O, CO2, O3 and NO2 molecules in the adiabatic, sudden and linear regime are considered.

Impact localization on composite structures using time difference and MUSIC approach

Science.gov (United States)

Zhong, Yongteng; Xiang, Jiawei

2017-05-01

1-D uniform linear array (ULA) has the shortcoming of the half-plane mirror effect, which does not allow discriminating between a target placed above the array and a target placed below the array. This paper presents time difference (TD) and multiple signal classification (MUSIC) based omni-directional impact localization on a large stiffened composite structure using improved linear array, which is able to perform omni-directional 360° localization. This array contains 2M+3 PZT sensors, where 2M+1 PZT sensors are arranged as a uniform linear array, and the other two PZT sensors are placed above and below the array. Firstly, the arrival times of impact signals observed by the other two sensors are determined using the wavelet transform. Compared with each other, the direction range of impact source can be decided in general, 0°to 180° or 180°to 360°. And then, two dimensional multiple signal classification (2D-MUSIC) based spatial spectrum formula using the uniform linear array is applied for impact localization by the general direction range. When the arrival times of impact signals observed by upper PZT is equal to that of lower PZT, the direction can be located in x axis (0°or 180°). And time difference based MUSIC method is present to locate impact position. To verify the proposed approach, the proposed approach is applied to a composite structure. The localization results are in good agreement with the actual impact occurring positions.

From the Weyl theory to a theory of locally anisotropic space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogoslovsky, G.Yu.

1991-01-01

It is shown that Weyl ideas, pertaining to local conformal invariance, find natural embodiment within the framework of a relativistic theory based on a viable Finslerian model of space-time. This is associated with the peculiar property of the conformal invariant Finslerian metric which describes a locally anisotropic space of events. The local conformal transformations of the Riemannian metric tensor leave invariant rest masses as well as all observables and thus appear as local gauge transformations. The corresponding Finslerian theory of gravitation turns out, as a result, to be an Abelian gauge theory. It satisfies the principle of correspondence with Einstein theory and predicts a number of nontrivial physical effects accessible for experimental test under laboratory conditions. 13 refs

Moving source localization with a single hydrophone using multipath time delays in the deep ocean.

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Rui; Yang, Kunde; Ma, Yuanliang; Yang, Qiulong; Li, Hui

2014-08-01

Localizing a source of radial movement at moderate range using a single hydrophone can be achieved in the reliable acoustic path by tracking the time delays between the direct and surface-reflected arrivals (D-SR time delays). The problem is defined as a joint estimation of the depth, initial range, and speed of the source, which are the state parameters for the extended Kalman filter (EKF). The D-SR time delays extracted from the autocorrelation functions are the measurements for the EKF. Experimental results using pseudorandom signals show that accurate localization results are achieved by offline iteration of the EKF.

Time scales of tunneling decay of a localized state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ban, Yue; Muga, J. G.; Sherman, E. Ya.; Buettiker, M.

2010-01-01

Motivated by recent time-domain experiments on ultrafast atom ionization, we analyze the transients and time scales that characterize, aside from the relatively long lifetime, the decay of a localized state by tunneling. While the tunneling starts immediately, some time is required for the outgoing flux to develop. This short-term behavior depends strongly on the initial state. For the initial state, tightly localized so that the initial transients are dominated by over-the-barrier motion, the time scale for flux propagation through the barrier is close to the Buettiker-Landauer traversal time. Then a quasistationary, slow-decay process follows, which sets ideal conditions for observing diffraction in time at longer times and distances. To define operationally a tunneling time at the barrier edge, we extrapolate backward the propagation of the wave packet that escaped from the potential. This extrapolated time is considerably longer than the time scale of the flux and density buildup at the barrier edge.

Local Inflammation in Fracture Hematoma: Results from a Combined Trauma Model in Pigs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Horst

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Previous studies showed significant interaction between the local and systemic inflammatory response after severe trauma in small animal models. The purpose of this study was to establish a new combined trauma model in pigs to investigate fracture-associated local inflammation and gain information about the early inflammatory stages after polytrauma. Material and Methods. Combined trauma consisted of tibial fracture, lung contusion, liver laceration, and controlled hemorrhage. Animals were mechanically ventilated and under ICU-monitoring for 48 h. Blood and fracture hematoma samples were collected during the time course of the study. Local and systemic levels of serum cytokines and diverse alarmins were measured by ELISA kit. Results. A statistical significant difference in the systemic serum values of IL-6 and HMGB1 was observed when compared to the sham. Moreover, there was a statistical significant difference in the serum values of the fracture hematoma of IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and HMGB1 when compared to the systemic inflammatory response. However a decrease of local proinflammatory concentrations was observed while anti-inflammatory mediators increased. Conclusion. Our data showed a time-dependent activation of the local and systemic inflammatory response. Indeed it is the first study focusing on the local and systemic inflammatory response to multiple-trauma in a large animal model.

Time-dependent reflection at the localization transition

Science.gov (United States)

Skipetrov, Sergey E.; Sinha, Aritra

2018-03-01

A short quasimonochromatic wave packet incident on a semi-infinite disordered medium gives rise to a reflected wave. The intensity of the latter decays as a power law, 1 /tα , in the long-time limit. Using the one-dimensional Aubry-André model, we show that in the vicinity of the critical point of Anderson localization transition, the decay slows down, and the power-law exponent α becomes smaller than both α =2 found in the Anderson localization regime and α =3 /2 expected for a one-dimensional random walk of classical particles.

Local and nonlocal space-time singularities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konstantinov, M.Yu.

1985-01-01

The necessity to subdivide the singularities into two classes: local and nonlocal, each of them to be defined independently, is proved. Both classes of the singularities are defined, and the relation between the definitions introduced and the standard definition of singularities, based on space-time, incompleteness, is established. The relation between definitions introduced and theorems on the singularity existence is also established

Non-local effect in Brillouin optical time-domain analyzer based on Raman amplification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jia Xinhong; Rao Yunjiang; Wang Zinan; Zhang Weili; Ran Zengling; Deng Kun; Yang Zixin

2012-01-01

Compared with conventional Brillouin optical time-domain analyzer (BOTDA), the BOTDA based on Raman amplification allows longer sensing range, higher signal-to-noise ratio and higher measurement accuracy. However, the non-local effect induced by pump depletion significantly restricts the probe optical power injected to sensing fiber, thereby limiting the further extension for sensing distance. In this paper, the coupled equations including the interaction of probe light, Brillouin and Raman pumps are applied to the study on the non-local characteristics of BOTDA based on Raman amplification. The results show that, the system error induced by non-local effect worsens with increased powers of probe wave and Raman pump. The frequency-division-multiplexing (cascading the fibers with various Brillouin frequency shifts) and time-division-multiplexing (modulating both of the Brillouin pump and probe lights) technologies are efficient approaches to suppress the non-local effect, through shortening the effective interaction range between Brillouin pump and probe lights. (authors)

On timing and modality choice with local danger warnings for drivers

OpenAIRE

Cao, Y.; Castronovo, Sandro; Mahr, Angela; Müller, Christian

2009-01-01

We present an experimental study on the effectiveness of five modality variants (speech, text-only, icon-only, two combinations of text and icons) for presenting local danger warnings for drivers. Hereby, we focus on sudden appearing road obstacles within a maximum up-to-date scenario as it is envisaged in Car2Car communication research. The effectiveness is measured by the minimum time necessary for fully interpreting the content. Results show that text-only requires the most time while icon...

The detection of local irreversibility in time series based on segmentation

Science.gov (United States)

Teng, Yue; Shang, Pengjian

2018-06-01

We propose a strategy for the detection of local irreversibility in stationary time series based on multiple scale. The detection is beneficial to evaluate the displacement of irreversibility toward local skewness. By means of this method, we can availably discuss the local irreversible fluctuations of time series as the scale changes. The method was applied to simulated nonlinear signals generated by the ARFIMA process and logistic map to show how the irreversibility functions react to the increasing of the multiple scale. The method was applied also to series of financial markets i.e., American, Chinese and European markets. The local irreversibility for different markets demonstrate distinct characteristics. Simulations and real data support the need of exploring local irreversibility.

High-resolution seismic wave propagation using local time stepping

KAUST Repository

Peter, Daniel; Rietmann, Max; Galvez, Percy; Ampuero, Jean Paul

2017-01-01

High-resolution seismic wave simulations often require local refinements in numerical meshes to accurately capture e.g. steep topography or complex fault geometry. Together with explicit time schemes, this dramatically reduces the global time step

Real-time image dehazing using local adaptive neighborhoods and dark-channel-prior

Science.gov (United States)

Valderrama, Jesus A.; Díaz-Ramírez, Víctor H.; Kober, Vitaly; Hernandez, Enrique

2015-09-01

A real-time algorithm for single image dehazing is presented. The algorithm is based on calculation of local neighborhoods of a hazed image inside a moving window. The local neighborhoods are constructed by computing rank-order statistics. Next the dark-channel-prior approach is applied to the local neighborhoods to estimate the transmission function of the scene. By using the suggested approach there is no need for applying a refining algorithm to the estimated transmission such as the soft matting algorithm. To achieve high-rate signal processing the proposed algorithm is implemented exploiting massive parallelism on a graphics processing unit (GPU). Computer simulation results are carried out to test the performance of the proposed algorithm in terms of dehazing efficiency and speed of processing. These tests are performed using several synthetic and real images. The obtained results are analyzed and compared with those obtained with existing dehazing algorithms.

Energy–momentum localization in Marder space–time

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

January 2007 physics pp. 21–30. Energy–momentum localization in Marder space–time. S AYGÜN, M AYGÜN and I TARHAN. Department of Physics, Art and Science Faculty, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University,. 17020 Çanakkale, Turkey and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Astrophysics Research. Center, Çanakkale ...

A method for detecting crack wave arrival time and crack localization in a tunnel by using moving window technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Young Chul; Park, Tae Jin [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2016-05-15

Source localization in a dispersive medium has been carried out based on the time-of-arrival-differences (TOADs) method: a triangulation method and a circle intersection technique. Recent signal processing advances have led to calculation TOAD using a joint time-frequency analysis of the signal, where a short-time Fourier transform(STFT) and wavelet transform can be included as popular algorithms. The time-frequency analysis method is able to provide various information and more reliable results such as seismic-attenuation estimation, dispersive characteristics, a wave mode analysis, and temporal energy distribution of signals compared with previous methods. These algorithms, however, have their own limitations for signal processing. In this paper, the effective use of proposed algorithm in detecting crack wave arrival time and source localization in rock masses suggest that the evaluation and real-time monitoring on the intensity of damages related to the tunnels or other underground facilities is possible. Calculation of variances resulted from moving windows as a function of their size differentiates the signature from noise and from crack signal, which lead us to determine the crack wave arrival time. Then, the source localization is determined to be where the variance of crack wave velocities from real and virtual crack localization becomes a minimum. To validate our algorithm, we have performed experiments at the tunnel, which resulted in successful determination of the wave arrival time and crack localization.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

KAUST Repository

Rietmann, Max

2016-11-25

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100×). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

KAUST Repository

Rietmann, Max; Grote, Marcus; Peter, Daniel; Schenk, Olaf

2016-01-01

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100×). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Newmark local time stepping on high-performance computing architectures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rietmann, Max, E-mail: max.rietmann@erdw.ethz.ch [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland); Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Grote, Marcus, E-mail: marcus.grote@unibas.ch [Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Basel (Switzerland); Peter, Daniel, E-mail: daniel.peter@kaust.edu.sa [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland); Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich (Switzerland); Schenk, Olaf, E-mail: olaf.schenk@usi.ch [Institute for Computational Science, Università della Svizzera italiana, Lugano (Switzerland)

2017-04-01

In multi-scale complex media, finite element meshes often require areas of local refinement, creating small elements that can dramatically reduce the global time-step for wave-propagation problems due to the CFL condition. Local time stepping (LTS) algorithms allow an explicit time-stepping scheme to adapt the time-step to the element size, allowing near-optimal time-steps everywhere in the mesh. We develop an efficient multilevel LTS-Newmark scheme and implement it in a widely used continuous finite element seismic wave-propagation package. In particular, we extend the standard LTS formulation with adaptations to continuous finite element methods that can be implemented very efficiently with very strong element-size contrasts (more than 100x). Capable of running on large CPU and GPU clusters, we present both synthetic validation examples and large scale, realistic application examples to demonstrate the performance and applicability of the method and implementation on thousands of CPU cores and hundreds of GPUs.

Local Stability of AIDS Epidemic Model Through Treatment and Vertical Transmission with Time Delay

Science.gov (United States)

Novi W, Cascarilla; Lestari, Dwi

2016-02-01

This study aims to explain stability of the spread of AIDS through treatment and vertical transmission model. Human with HIV need a time to positively suffer AIDS. The existence of a time, human with HIV until positively suffer AIDS can be delayed for a time so that the model acquired is the model with time delay. The model form is a nonlinear differential equation with time delay, SIPTA (susceptible-infected-pre AIDS-treatment-AIDS). Based on SIPTA model analysis results the disease free equilibrium point and the endemic equilibrium point. The disease free equilibrium point with and without time delay are local asymptotically stable if the basic reproduction number is less than one. The endemic equilibrium point will be local asymptotically stable if the time delay is less than the critical value of delay, unstable if the time delay is more than the critical value of delay, and bifurcation occurs if the time delay is equal to the critical value of delay.

Prospective phase II study of image-guided local boost using a real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy (RTRT) system for locally advanced bladder cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishioka, Kentaro; Shimizu, Shinichi; Shinohara, Nobuo

2014-01-01

The real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system with fiducial markers has the advantage that it can be used to verify the localization of the markers during radiation delivery in real-time. We conducted a prospective Phase II study of image-guided local-boost radiotherapy for locally advanced bladder cancer using a real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system for positioning, and here we report the results regarding the safety and efficacy of the technique. Twenty patients with a T2-T4N0M0 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder who were clinically inoperable or refused surgery were enrolled. Transurethral tumor resection and 40 Gy irradiation to the whole bladder was followed by the transurethral endoscopic implantation of gold markers in the bladder wall around the primary tumor. A boost of 25 Gy in 10 fractions was made to the primary tumor while maintaining the displacement from the planned position at less than ±2 mm during radiation delivery using a real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system. The toxicity, local control and survival were evaluated. Among the 20 patients, 14 were treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The median follow-up period was 55.5 months. Urethral and bowel late toxicity (Grade 3) were each observed in one patient. The local-control rate, overall survival and cause-specific survival with the native bladder after 5 years were 64, 61 and 65%. Image-guided local-boost radiotherapy using a real-time tumor-tracking radiotherapy system can be safely accomplished, and the clinical outcome is encouraging. A larger prospective multi-institutional study is warranted for more precise evaluations of the technological efficacy and patients' quality of life. (author)

Characterizing Time Irreversibility in Disordered Fermionic Systems by the Effect of Local Perturbations

Science.gov (United States)

Vardhan, Shreya; De Tomasi, Giuseppe; Heyl, Markus; Heller, Eric J.; Pollmann, Frank

2017-07-01

We study the effects of local perturbations on the dynamics of disordered fermionic systems in order to characterize time irreversibility. We focus on three different systems: the noninteracting Anderson and Aubry-André-Harper (AAH) models and the interacting spinless disordered t -V chain. First, we consider the effect on the full many-body wave functions by measuring the Loschmidt echo (LE). We show that in the extended or ergodic phase the LE decays exponentially fast with time, while in the localized phase the decay is algebraic. We demonstrate that the exponent of the decay of the LE in the localized phase diverges proportionally to the single-particle localization length as we approach the metal-insulator transition in the AAH model. Second, we probe different phases of disordered systems by studying the time expectation value of local observables evolved with two Hamiltonians that differ by a spatially local perturbation. Remarkably, we find that many-body localized systems could lose memory of the initial state in the long-time limit, in contrast to the noninteracting localized phase where some memory is always preserved.

Augmented Lagrange Programming Neural Network for Localization Using Time-Difference-of-Arrival Measurements.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Zifa; Leung, Chi Sing; So, Hing Cheung; Constantinides, Anthony George

2017-08-15

A commonly used measurement model for locating a mobile source is time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA). As each TDOA measurement defines a hyperbola, it is not straightforward to compute the mobile source position due to the nonlinear relationship in the measurements. This brief exploits the Lagrange programming neural network (LPNN), which provides a general framework to solve nonlinear constrained optimization problems, for the TDOA-based localization. The local stability of the proposed LPNN solution is also analyzed. Simulation results are included to evaluate the localization accuracy of the LPNN scheme by comparing with the state-of-the-art methods and the optimality benchmark of Cramér-Rao lower bound.

Obtaining local reflectivity at two-way travel time by filtering acoustic reflection data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Slob, E.C.; Zhang, L.; Wapenaar, C.P.A.; Mihai Popovici, A.; Fomel, S.

2017-01-01

A modified implementation of Marchenko redatuming leads to a filter that removes internal multiples from reflection data. It produces local reflectivity at two-way travel time. The method creates new primary reflections resulting from emitted events that eliminate internal multiples. We call these

Effect of tumor dose, volume and overall treatment time on local control after radiochemotherapy including MRI guided brachytherapy of locally advanced cervical cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tanderup, Kari; Fokdal, Lars Ulrik; Sturdza, Alina

2016-01-01

-center patient series (retroEMBRACE). Materials and methods This study analyzed 488 locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with external beam radiotherapy ± chemotherapy combined with IGABT. Brachytherapy contouring and reporting was according to ICRU/GEC-ESTRO recommendations. The Cox Proportional...... Hazards model was applied to analyze the effect on local control of dose-volume metrics as well as overall treatment time (OTT), dose rate, chemotherapy, and tumor histology. Results With a median follow up of 46 months, 43 local failures were observed. Dose (D90) to the High Risk Clinical Target Volume...

Time signal filtering by relative neighborhood graph localized linear approximation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, John Aasted

1994-01-01

A time signal filtering algorithm based on the relative neighborhood graph (RNG) used for localization of linear filters is proposed. The filter is constructed from a training signal during two stages. During the first stage an RNG is constructed. During the second stage, localized linear filters...

Scrambling time from local perturbations of the eternal BTZ black hole

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caputa, Paweł [Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University,Roslagstullsbacken 23, Stockholm, SE-106 91 (Sweden); Simón, Joan; Štikonas, Andrius [School of Mathematics and Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences, University of Edinburgh,King’s Buildings, Edinburgh, EH9 3FD (United Kingdom); Takayanagi, Tadashi [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University,Kitashirakawa Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, The University of Tokyo,5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, 277-8583 (Japan); Watanabe, Kento [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics, Kyoto University,Kitashirakawa Oiwakecho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8502 (Japan)

2015-08-04

We compute the mutual information between finite intervals in two non-compact 2d CFTs in the thermofield double formulation after one of them has been locally perturbed by a primary operator at some time t{sub ω} in the large c limit. We determine the time scale, called the scrambling time, at which the mutual information vanishes and the original entanglement between the thermofield double gets destroyed by the perturbation. We provide a holographic description in terms of a free falling particle in the eternal BTZ black hole that exactly matches our CFT calculations. Our results hold for any time t{sub ω}. In particular, when the latter is large, they reproduce the bulk shock-wave propagation along the BTZ horizon description.

Local and global dynamics of Ramsey model: From continuous to discrete time.

Science.gov (United States)

Guzowska, Malgorzata; Michetti, Elisabetta

2018-05-01

The choice of time as a discrete or continuous variable may radically affect equilibrium stability in an endogenous growth model with durable consumption. In the continuous-time Ramsey model [F. P. Ramsey, Econ. J. 38(152), 543-559 (1928)], the steady state is locally saddle-path stable with monotonic convergence. However, in the discrete-time version, the steady state may be unstable or saddle-path stable with monotonic or oscillatory convergence or periodic solutions [see R.-A. Dana et al., Handbook on Optimal Growth 1 (Springer, 2006) and G. Sorger, Working Paper No. 1505 (2015)]. When this occurs, the discrete-time counterpart of the continuous-time model is not consistent with the initial framework. In order to obtain a discrete-time Ramsey model preserving the main properties of the continuous-time counterpart, we use a general backward and forward discretisation as initially proposed by Bosi and Ragot [Theor. Econ. Lett. 2(1), 10-15 (2012)]. The main result of the study here presented is that, with this hybrid discretisation method, fixed points and local dynamics do not change. For what it concerns global dynamics, i.e., long-run behavior for initial conditions taken on the state space, we mainly perform numerical analysis with the main scope of comparing both qualitative and quantitative evolution of the two systems, also varying some parameters of interest.

A Framework for Similarity Search with Space-Time Tradeoffs using Locality Sensitive Filtering

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiani, Tobias Lybecker

2017-01-01

that satisfies certain locality-sensitivity properties, we can construct a dynamic data structure that solves the approximate near neighbor problem in $d$-dimensional space with query time $dn^{\\rho_q + o(1)}$, update time $dn^{\\rho_u + o(1)}$, and space usage $dn + n^{1 + \\rho_u + o(1)}$ where $n$ denotes......We present a framework for similarity search based on Locality-Sensitive Filtering~(LSF),generalizing the Indyk-Motwani (STOC 1998) Locality-Sensitive Hashing~(LSH) framework to support space-time tradeoffs. Given a family of filters, defined as a distribution over pairs of subsets of space...... the number of points in the data structure.The space-time tradeoff is tied to the tradeoff between query time and update time (insertions/deletions), controlled by the exponents $\\rho_q, \\rho_u$ that are determined by the filter family. \\\\ Locality-sensitive filtering was introduced by Becker et al. (SODA...

A local-to-global singularity theorem for quantum field theory on curved space-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radzikowski, M.J.; York Univ.

1996-01-01

We prove that if a reference two-point distribution of positive type on a time orientable curved space-time (CST) satisfies a certain condition on its wave front set (the ''class P M,g condition'') and if any other two-point distribution (i) is of positive type, (ii) has the same antisymmetric part as the reference modulo smooth function and (iii) has the same local singularity structure, then it has the same global singularity structure. In the proof we use a smoothing, positivity-preserving pseudo-differential operator the support of whose symbol is restricted to a certain conic region which depends on the wave front set of the reference state. This local-to-global theorem, together with results published elsewhere, leads to a verification of a conjecture by Kay that for quasi-free states of the Klein-Gordon quantum field on a globally hyperbolic CST, the local Hadamard condition implies the global Hadamard condition. A counterexample to the local-to-global theorem on a strip in Minkowski space is given when the class P M,g condition is not assumed. (orig.)

Constructing pairs of dual bandlimited framelets with desired time localization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob

2009-01-01

combination of dilations of ψ with explicitly given coefficients. The result allows a simple construction procedure for pairs of dual wavelet frames whose generators have compact support in the Fourier domain and desired time localization. The construction is based on characteriszing equations for dual......For sufficiently small translation parameters, we prove that any bandlimited function ψ, for which the dilations of its Fourier transform form a partition of unity, generates a wavelet frame with a dual frame also having the wavelet structure. This dual frame is generated by a finite linear...

Constructing pairs of dual bandlimited framelets with desired time localization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemvig, Jakob

combination of dilations of ψ with explicitly given coefficients. The result allows a simple construction procedure for pairs of dual wavelet frames whose generators have compact support in the Fourier domain and desired time localization. The construction is based on characteriszing equations for dual......For sufficiently small translation parameters, we prove that any bandlimited function ψ, for which the dilations of its Fourier transform form a partition of unity, generates a wavelet frame with a dual frame also having the wavelet structure. This dual frame is generated by a finite linear...

Inference for local autocorrelations in locally stationary models.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Zhibiao

2015-04-01

For non-stationary processes, the time-varying correlation structure provides useful insights into the underlying model dynamics. We study estimation and inferences for local autocorrelation process in locally stationary time series. Our constructed simultaneous confidence band can be used to address important hypothesis testing problems, such as whether the local autocorrelation process is indeed time-varying and whether the local autocorrelation is zero. In particular, our result provides an important generalization of the R function acf() to locally stationary Gaussian processes. Simulation studies and two empirical applications are developed. For the global temperature series, we find that the local autocorrelations are time-varying and have a "V" shape during 1910-1960. For the S&P 500 index, we conclude that the returns satisfy the efficient-market hypothesis whereas the magnitudes of returns show significant local autocorrelations.

Digital Sequences and a Time Reversal-Based Impact Region Imaging and Localization Method

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Lei; Yuan, Shenfang; Mei, Hanfei; Qian, Weifeng

2013-01-01

To reduce time and cost of damage inspection, on-line impact monitoring of aircraft composite structures is needed. A digital monitor based on an array of piezoelectric transducers (PZTs) is developed to record the impact region of impacts on-line. It is small in size, lightweight and has low power consumption, but there are two problems with the impact alarm region localization method of the digital monitor at the current stage. The first one is that the accuracy rate of the impact alarm region localization is low, especially on complex composite structures. The second problem is that the area of impact alarm region is large when a large scale structure is monitored and the number of PZTs is limited which increases the time and cost of damage inspections. To solve the two problems, an impact alarm region imaging and localization method based on digital sequences and time reversal is proposed. In this method, the frequency band of impact response signals is estimated based on the digital sequences first. Then, characteristic signals of impact response signals are constructed by sinusoidal modulation signals. Finally, the phase synthesis time reversal impact imaging method is adopted to obtain the impact region image. Depending on the image, an error ellipse is generated to give out the final impact alarm region. A validation experiment is implemented on a complex composite wing box of a real aircraft. The validation results show that the accuracy rate of impact alarm region localization is approximately 100%. The area of impact alarm region can be reduced and the number of PZTs needed to cover the same impact monitoring region is reduced by more than a half. PMID:24084123

Relativistic time-dependent local-density approximation theory and applications to atomic physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parpia, F.Z.

1984-01-01

A time-dependent linear-response theory appropriate to the relativistic local-density approximation (RLDA) to quantum electrodynamics (QED) is developed. The resulting theory, the relativistic time-dependent local-density approximation (RTDLDA) is specialized to the treatment of electric excitations in closed-shell atoms. This formalism is applied to the calculation of atomic photoionization parameters in the dipole approximation. The static-field limit of the RTDLDA is applied to the calculation of dipole polarizabilities. Extensive numerical calculations of the photoionization parameters for the rare gases neon, argon, krypton, and xenon, and for mercury from the RTDLDA are presented and compared in detail with the results of other theories, in particular the relativistic random-phase approximation (RRPA), and with experimental measurements. The predictions of the RTDLDA are comparable with the RRPA calculations made to date. This is remarkable in that the RTDLDA entails appreciably less computational effort. Finally, the dipole polarizabilities predicted by the static-field RTDLDA are compared with other determinations of these quantities. In view of its simplicity, the static-field RTDLDA demonstrates itself to be one of the most powerful theories available for the calculation of dipole polarizabilities

A Novel Real-Time Coal Miner Localization and Tracking System Based on Self-Organized Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wang Yang

2010-01-01

Full Text Available With the development of information technology, we envision that the key of improving coal mine safety is how to get real-time positions of miners. In this paper, we propose a prototype system for real-time coal miner localization and tracking based on self-organized sensor networks. The system is composed of hardware and software platform. We develop a set of localization hardware devices with the Safety Certificate of Approval for Mining Products include miner node, wired fixed access station, and base with optical port. On the software side, we develop a layered software architecture of node application, server management, and information dissemination and broadcasting. We also develop three key localization technologies: an underground localization algorithm using received signal strength indication- (RSSI- verifying algorithm to reduce the influence of the severe environment in a coal mine; a robust fault-tolerant localization mechanism to improve the inherent defect of instability of RSSI localization; an accurate localization algorithm based on Monte Carlo localization (MCL to adapt to the underground tunnel structure. In addition, we conduct an experimental evaluation based on a real prototype implementation using MICA2 motes. The results show that our system is more accurate and more adaptive in general than traditional localization algorithms.

Iterated local search algorithm for solving the orienteering problem with soft time windows.

Science.gov (United States)

Aghezzaf, Brahim; Fahim, Hassan El

2016-01-01

In this paper we study the orienteering problem with time windows (OPTW) and the impact of relaxing the time windows on the profit collected by the vehicle. The way of relaxing time windows adopted in the orienteering problem with soft time windows (OPSTW) that we study in this research is a late service relaxation that allows linearly penalized late services to customers. We solve this problem heuristically by considering a hybrid iterated local search. The results of the computational study show that the proposed approach is able to achieve promising solutions on the OPTW test instances available in the literature, one new best solution is found. On the newly generated test instances of the OPSTW, the results show that the profit collected by the OPSTW is better than the profit collected by the OPTW.

SU-F-R-20: Image Texture Features Correlate with Time to Local Failure in Lung SBRT Patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andrews, M; Abazeed, M; Woody, N; Stephans, K; Videtic, G; Xia, P; Zhuang, T [The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To explore possible correlation between CT image-based texture and histogram features and time-to-local-failure in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).Methods and Materials: From an IRB-approved lung SBRT registry for patients treated between 2009–2013 we selected 48 (20 male, 28 female) patients with local failure. Median patient age was 72.3±10.3 years. Mean time to local failure was 15 ± 7.1 months. Physician-contoured gross tumor volumes (GTV) on the planning CT images were processed and 3D gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) based texture and histogram features were calculated in Matlab. Data were exported to R and a multiple linear regression model was used to examine the relationship between texture features and time-to-local-failure. Results: Multiple linear regression revealed that entropy (p=0.0233, multiple R2=0.60) from GLCM-based texture analysis and the standard deviation (p=0.0194, multiple R2=0.60) from the histogram-based features were statistically significantly correlated with the time-to-local-failure. Conclusion: Image-based texture analysis can be used to predict certain aspects of treatment outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with SBRT. We found entropy and standard deviation calculated for the GTV on the CT images displayed a statistically significant correlation with and time-to-local-failure in lung SBRT patients.

SU-F-R-20: Image Texture Features Correlate with Time to Local Failure in Lung SBRT Patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andrews, M; Abazeed, M; Woody, N; Stephans, K; Videtic, G; Xia, P; Zhuang, T

2016-01-01

Purpose: To explore possible correlation between CT image-based texture and histogram features and time-to-local-failure in early stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).Methods and Materials: From an IRB-approved lung SBRT registry for patients treated between 2009–2013 we selected 48 (20 male, 28 female) patients with local failure. Median patient age was 72.3±10.3 years. Mean time to local failure was 15 ± 7.1 months. Physician-contoured gross tumor volumes (GTV) on the planning CT images were processed and 3D gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) based texture and histogram features were calculated in Matlab. Data were exported to R and a multiple linear regression model was used to examine the relationship between texture features and time-to-local-failure. Results: Multiple linear regression revealed that entropy (p=0.0233, multiple R2=0.60) from GLCM-based texture analysis and the standard deviation (p=0.0194, multiple R2=0.60) from the histogram-based features were statistically significantly correlated with the time-to-local-failure. Conclusion: Image-based texture analysis can be used to predict certain aspects of treatment outcomes of NSCLC patients treated with SBRT. We found entropy and standard deviation calculated for the GTV on the CT images displayed a statistically significant correlation with and time-to-local-failure in lung SBRT patients.

Self-Intersection Local Times of Generalized Mixed Fractional Brownian Motion as White Noise Distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suryawan, Herry P.; Gunarso, Boby

2017-01-01

The generalized mixed fractional Brownian motion is defined by taking linear combinations of a finite number of independent fractional Brownian motions with different Hurst parameters. It is a Gaussian process with stationary increments, posseses self-similarity property, and, in general, is neither a Markov process nor a martingale. In this paper we study the generalized mixed fractional Brownian motion within white noise analysis framework. As a main result, we prove that for any spatial dimension and for arbitrary Hurst parameter the self-intersection local times of the generalized mixed fractional Brownian motions, after a suitable renormalization, are well-defined as Hida white noise distributions. The chaos expansions of the self-intersection local times in the terms of Wick powers of white noises are also presented. (paper)

TANDEM - French-German cooperation for local energy transition. 2014-2017 results, 2017-2019 prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turfin, Anne; Maurer, Christiane; Schilken, Peter; Mouchard, Claire; Coquio, Rozenn; Kynast, Helmi

2016-11-01

transition between French and German local authorities and involving local stakeholders (property developers, municipal companies, energy cooperatives, etc.) and businesses will be initiated and developed. A distinction is made between 'cooperation projects' involving 2 to 6 partners (via existing twinning programs or contacts) and 'cross-border projects' involving Alsace/Baden-Wuerttemberg or Lorraine/Saarland/Rhineland-Palatinate. Partner local authorities will benefit from information on support and cooperation programs as well as on existing financing schemes. Project progress and results will be disseminated on a continuous basis. An important part of the project will be dedicated to communicating its results to partner local authorities so as to arouse their interest in ongoing projects and, if possible, encourage them to join them. A closing seminar will be held to present the results of the project to a wider audience of local authorities and energy transition stakeholders from both countries. At the same time, and as part of the Covenant of Mayors, recommendations will be made to improve energy and climate policies at both national and European levels

Mercury localization in mouse kidney over time: autoradiography versus silver staining

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rodier, P.M.; Kates, B.; Simons, R.

1988-01-01

Several methods of silver staining have been employed to localize mercury in tissue, under the assumption that the techniques represent total Hg, but recent reports have suggested that these stains are specific for a limited fraction of the Hg present in some samples. Magos et al. hypothesized that the stains actually vary with inorganic mercury content. The purpose of the present study was to compare localization by radiolabeling to localization by one silver stain, the photoemulsion histochemical technique, in tissues prepared to contain a range of levels of total Hg and a range of levels of inorganic Hg. Mice dosed with 8 mg Hg/kg as MeHg were killed 24 hr, 1 week, or 2 weeks after exposure, to allow a decrease in total Hg and an increase in the proportion of demethylated Hg over time. Mice dosed with 4 mg Hg/kg as HgCl 2 provided samples in which all the Hg present was in the inorganic form. Atomic absorption of kidneys of mice dosed with MeHg showed that total Hg fell from 55 micrograms/g to 39 to 25 over 2 weeks, while the inorganic fraction climbed from about 2 to 27 to 35%. Grain counts from autoradiographs of 203 Hg-labeled sections correlated with total Hg content at +0.88, but silver staining was correlated with inorganic Hg content, appearing only at late termination times in MeHg-exposed animals, but soon after dosing in mice exposed to inorganic Hg. The photoemulsion histochemical technique revealed a substance strictly localized in the proximal tubules, while autoradiographs and grain counts showed total Hg to be present throughout the kidney tissue. These results support the contention that silver stains are selective for inorganic Hg

3D tumor localization through real-time volumetric x-ray imaging for lung cancer radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ruijiang; Lewis, John H; Jia, Xun; Gu, Xuejun; Folkerts, Michael; Men, Chunhua; Song, William Y; Jiang, Steve B

2011-05-01

To evaluate an algorithm for real-time 3D tumor localization from a single x-ray projection image for lung cancer radiotherapy. Recently, we have developed an algorithm for reconstructing volumetric images and extracting 3D tumor motion information from a single x-ray projection [Li et al., Med. Phys. 37, 2822-2826 (2010)]. We have demonstrated its feasibility using a digital respiratory phantom with regular breathing patterns. In this work, we present a detailed description and a comprehensive evaluation of the improved algorithm. The algorithm was improved by incorporating respiratory motion prediction. The accuracy and efficiency of using this algorithm for 3D tumor localization were then evaluated on (1) a digital respiratory phantom, (2) a physical respiratory phantom, and (3) five lung cancer patients. These evaluation cases include both regular and irregular breathing patterns that are different from the training dataset. For the digital respiratory phantom with regular and irregular breathing, the average 3D tumor localization error is less than 1 mm which does not seem to be affected by amplitude change, period change, or baseline shift. On an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 graphic processing unit (GPU) card, the average computation time for 3D tumor localization from each projection ranges between 0.19 and 0.26 s, for both regular and irregular breathing, which is about a 10% improvement over previously reported results. For the physical respiratory phantom, an average tumor localization error below 1 mm was achieved with an average computation time of 0.13 and 0.16 s on the same graphic processing unit (GPU) card, for regular and irregular breathing, respectively. For the five lung cancer patients, the average tumor localization error is below 2 mm in both the axial and tangential directions. The average computation time on the same GPU card ranges between 0.26 and 0.34 s. Through a comprehensive evaluation of our algorithm, we have established its accuracy in 3D

Mapping the results of local statistics: Using geographically weighted regression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen A. Matthews

2012-03-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND The application of geographically weighted regression (GWR - a local spatial statistical technique used to test for spatial nonstationarity - has grown rapidly in the social, health, and demographic sciences. GWR is a useful exploratory analytical tool that generates a set of location-specific parameter estimates which can be mapped and analysed to provide information on spatial nonstationarity in the relationships between predictors and the outcome variable. OBJECTIVE A major challenge to users of GWR methods is how best to present and synthesize the large number of mappable results, specifically the local parameter parameter estimates and local t-values, generated from local GWR models. We offer an elegant solution. METHODS This paper introduces a mapping technique to simultaneously display local parameter estimates and local t-values on one map based on the use of data selection and transparency techniques. We integrate GWR software and GIS software package (ArcGIS and adapt earlier work in cartography on bivariate mapping. We compare traditional mapping strategies (i.e., side-by-side comparison and isoline overlay maps with our method using an illustration focusing on US county infant mortality data. CONCLUSIONS The resultant map design is more elegant than methods used to date. This type of map presentation can facilitate the exploration and interpretation of nonstationarity, focusing map reader attention on the areas of primary interest.

Elastic scattering dynamics of cavity polaritons: Evidence for time-energy uncertainty and polariton localization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Langbein, Wolfgang Werner; Hvam, Jørn Märcher

2002-01-01

The directional dynamics of the resonant Rayleigh scattering from a semiconductor microcavity is investigated. When optically exciting the lower polariton branch, the strong dispersion results in a directional emission on a ring. The coherent emission ring shows a reduction of its angular width...... for increasing time after excitation, giving direct evidence for the time-energy uncertainty in the dynamics of the scattering by disorder. The ring width converges with time to a finite value, a direct measure of an intrinsic momentum broadening of the polariton states localized by multiple disorder scattering....

Intersection local times, loop soups and permanental Wick powers

CERN Document Server

Jan, Yves Le; Rosen, Jay

2017-01-01

Several stochastic processes related to transient Lévy processes with potential densities u(x,y)=u(y-x), that need not be symmetric nor bounded on the diagonal, are defined and studied. They are real valued processes on a space of measures \\mathcal{V} endowed with a metric d. Sufficient conditions are obtained for the continuity of these processes on (\\mathcal{V},d). The processes include n-fold self-intersection local times of transient Lévy processes and permanental chaoses, which are `loop soup n-fold self-intersection local times' constructed from the loop soup of the Lévy process. Loop soups are also used to define permanental Wick powers, which generalizes standard Wick powers, a class of n-th order Gaussian chaoses. Dynkin type isomorphism theorems are obtained that relate the various processes. Poisson chaos processes are defined and permanental Wick powers are shown to have a Poisson chaos decomposition. Additional properties of Poisson chaos processes are studied and a martingale extension is obt...

Local wavelet correlation: applicationto timing analysis of multi-satellite CLUSTER data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Soucek

2004-12-01

Full Text Available Multi-spacecraft space observations, such as those of CLUSTER, can be used to infer information about local plasma structures by exploiting the timing differences between subsequent encounters of these structures by individual satellites. We introduce a novel wavelet-based technique, the Local Wavelet Correlation (LWC, which allows one to match the corresponding signatures of large-scale structures in the data from multiple spacecraft and determine the relative time shifts between the crossings. The LWC is especially suitable for analysis of strongly non-stationary time series, where it enables one to estimate the time lags in a more robust and systematic way than ordinary cross-correlation techniques. The technique, together with its properties and some examples of its application to timing analysis of bow shock and magnetopause crossing observed by CLUSTER, are presented. We also compare the performance and reliability of the technique with classical discontinuity analysis methods. Key words. Radio science (signal processing – Space plasma physics (discontinuities; instruments and techniques

Robot Mapping With Real-Time Incremental Localization Using Expectation Maximization

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Owens, Kevin L

2005-01-01

This research effort explores and develops a real-time sonar-based robot mapping and localization algorithm that provides pose correction within the context of a singe room, to be combined with pre...

Local normalization: Uncovering correlations in non-stationary financial time series

Science.gov (United States)

Schäfer, Rudi; Guhr, Thomas

2010-09-01

The measurement of correlations between financial time series is of vital importance for risk management. In this paper we address an estimation error that stems from the non-stationarity of the time series. We put forward a method to rid the time series of local trends and variable volatility, while preserving cross-correlations. We test this method in a Monte Carlo simulation, and apply it to empirical data for the S&P 500 stocks.

Effect of overall treatment time on local control in radical radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajanti, Mikael; Kaleta, Remigiusz; Kankaanranta, Leena; Muhonen, Timo; Holsti, Lars

1995-01-01

Purpose: To analyze the effect of overall treatment time on local control in radical radiotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus. Methods and Materials: Three hundred and fifty-three patients with inoperable esophageal cancer (tumor length ≤ 10 cm in all cases) treated during 1963-1988 by radical radiotherapy alone either as continuous or split-course therapy. The overall treatment time varied from 35 to 55 days and the total dosage from 50 to 71 Gy in the continuous therapy group (n = 138), and in the split-course group (n = 215) with a planned 3-week rest interval in the middle of the treatment from 56 to 70 days and from 55 to 70 Gy, respectively. The logit method of the linear-quadratic formula for local control at 1 year was used to examine the effect of treatment time on local control. All patients were pooled to obtain a wide range of overall treatment times. Results: The 1-, 2-, and 5-year actuarial survival rates according to the T-stage in the continuous therapy group from the first day of the radiotherapy were: 57%, 32%, and 10% for the T1 tumors and 23%, 8%, and 5% for the T2 tumors. The corresponding figures for the split-course group were: 50%, 19%, and 4% for the T1 tumors and 17%, 6%, and 3% for the T2 tumors. The 1-year local control rate was 56% for the T1 tumors and 15% for the T2 tumors in the continuous therapy group and 48% for the T1 tumors and 10% for the T2 tumors in the split-course group. The results of the logit method did not fit well with the T1 tumors. For the T2 tumors, they showed Dprolif to be about 0.24 Gy/day for local control at 1 year. As a consequence, protraction of overall time by 1 week should be compensated by increasing the total dose by 1.8 Gy for 1 year local control. Conclusions: More attention should be focused on repopulation. Shortening of overall treatment time might be beneficial for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of esophagus

Motion and time study analysis of wooden locally manufactured ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Studies were carried out on time-and-motion-economy of wooden locally manufactured duplicating machines. Two versions of the machine were used for the study, viz: standard version and semi-mechanized version. Working with both auxiliary and routine operations, the standard duplicator produced printed paper at an ...

Real Time Indoor Robot Localization Using a Stationary Fisheye Camera

OpenAIRE

Delibasis , Konstantinos ,; Plagianakos , Vasilios ,; Maglogiannis , Ilias

2013-01-01

Part 7: Intelligent Signal and Image Processing; International audience; A core problem in robotics is the localization of a mobile robot (determination of the location or pose) in its environment, since the robot’s behavior depends on its position. In this work, we propose the use of a stationary fisheye camera for real time robot localization in indoor environments. We employ an image formation model for the fisheye camera, which is used for accelerating the segmentation of the robot’s top ...

Time-localized wavelet multiple regression and correlation

Science.gov (United States)

Fernández-Macho, Javier

2018-02-01

This paper extends wavelet methodology to handle comovement dynamics of multivariate time series via moving weighted regression on wavelet coefficients. The concept of wavelet local multiple correlation is used to produce one single set of multiscale correlations along time, in contrast with the large number of wavelet correlation maps that need to be compared when using standard pairwise wavelet correlations with rolling windows. Also, the spectral properties of weight functions are investigated and it is argued that some common time windows, such as the usual rectangular rolling window, are not satisfactory on these grounds. The method is illustrated with a multiscale analysis of the comovements of Eurozone stock markets during this century. It is shown how the evolution of the correlation structure in these markets has been far from homogeneous both along time and across timescales featuring an acute divide across timescales at about the quarterly scale. At longer scales, evidence from the long-term correlation structure can be interpreted as stable perfect integration among Euro stock markets. On the other hand, at intramonth and intraweek scales, the short-term correlation structure has been clearly evolving along time, experiencing a sharp increase during financial crises which may be interpreted as evidence of financial 'contagion'.

Local Progression among Men with Conservatively Treated Localized Prostate Cancer: Results from the Transatlantic Prostate Group

Science.gov (United States)

Eastham, James A.; Kattan, Michael W.; Fearn, Paul; Fisher, Gabrielle; Berney, Daniel M.; Oliver, Tim; Foster, Christopher S.; Møller, Henrik; Reuter, Victor; Cuzick, Jack; Scardino, Peter

2009-01-01

Objectives Men with clinically detected localized prostate cancer treated without curative intent are at risk of complications from local tumor growth. We investigated rates of local progression and need for local therapy among such men. Methods Men diagnosed with prostate cancer during 1990–1996 were identified from cancer registries throughout the United Kingdom. Inclusion criteria were age ≤76 yr at diagnosis, PSA level ≤100 ng/ml, and, within 6 mo after diagnosis, no radiation therapy, radical prostatectomy, evidence of metastatic disease, or death. Local progression was defined as increase in clinical stage from T1/2 to T3/T4 disease, T3 to T4 disease, and/or need for transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) to relieve symptoms >6 mo after cancer diagnosis. Results The study included 2333 men with median follow-up of 85 mo (range: 6–174). Diagnosis was by TURP in 1255 men (54%), needle biopsy in 1039 (45%), and unspecified in 39 (2%). Only 29% were treated with hormonal therapy within 6 mo of diagnosis. Local progression occurred in 335 men, including 212 undergoing TURP. Factors most predictive of local progression on multivariable analysis were PSA at diagnosis and Gleason score of the diagnostic tissue (detrimental), and early hormonal therapy (protective). We present a nomogram that predicts the likelihood of local progression within 120 mo after diagnosis. Conclusions Men with clinically detected localized prostate cancer managed without curative intent have an approximately 15% risk for local progression within 10 yr of diagnosis. Among those with progression, the need for treatment is common, even among men diagnosed by TURP. When counseling men who are candidates for management without curative intent, the likelihood of symptoms from local progression must be considered. PMID:17544572

A uniform law for convergence to the local times of linear fractional stable motions

OpenAIRE

Duffy, James A.

2016-01-01

We provide a uniform law for the weak convergence of additive functionals of partial sum processes to the local times of linear fractional stable motions, in a setting sufficiently general for statistical applications. Our results are fundamental to the analysis of the global properties of nonparametric estimators of nonlinear statistical models that involve such processes as covariates.

New Communication Technologies, Local Journalism and the Perception of Locality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ali ÖZCAN

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Studies on local journalism as an important element of participatory democracy generally focus on the history of the local press, the financial insufficiencies of local newspapers as well as technical/ technological incompetency that occurs as a result of these factors. This research analyzes local newspapers with a new scientific point of view by focusing on the perception of locality as a mental projection of geographical constraint. Perspectives regarding the transformations on perceptions of locality as a result of the disappearance of time and space constraints due to new communication technologies, and the opportunities that new communication environments offer to local newspapers will be provided. Moreover, the ways in which local newspapers reflect on locality with their printed versions under time and space constraints will be analyzed. The research scope of the study has been limited to 15 newspapers in Konya. Structured interviews and content analysis methods were used for data collection and analysis.

Locally-adaptive Myriad Filters for Processing ECG Signals in Real Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataliya Tulyakova

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The locally adaptive myriad filters to suppress noise in electrocardiographic (ECG signals in almost in real time are proposed. Statistical estimates of efficiency according to integral values of such criteria as mean square error (MSE and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR for the test ECG signals sampled at 400 Hz embedded in additive Gaussian noise with different values of variance are obtained. Comparative analysis of adaptive filters is carried out. High efficiency of ECG filtering and high quality of signal preservation are demonstrated. It is shown that locally adaptive myriad filters provide higher degree of suppressing additive Gaussian noise with possibility of real time implementation.

New prediction of chaotic time series based on local Lyapunov exponent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yong

2013-01-01

A new method of predicting chaotic time series is presented based on a local Lyapunov exponent, by quantitatively measuring the exponential rate of separation or attraction of two infinitely close trajectories in state space. After reconstructing state space from one-dimensional chaotic time series, neighboring multiple-state vectors of the predicting point are selected to deduce the prediction formula by using the definition of the local Lyapunov exponent. Numerical simulations are carried out to test its effectiveness and verify its higher precision over two older methods. The effects of the number of referential state vectors and added noise on forecasting accuracy are also studied numerically. (general)

Reliability of Interaural Time Difference-Based Localization Training in Elderly Individuals with Speech-in-Noise Perception Disorder

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maryam Delphi

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Background: Previous studies have shown that interaural-time-difference (ITD training can improve localization ability. Surprisingly little is, however, known about localization training vis-à-vis speech perception in noise based on interaural time difference in the envelope (ITD ENV. We sought to investigate the reliability of an ITD ENV-based training program in speech-in-noise perception among elderly individuals with normal hearing and speech-in-noise disorder. Methods: The present interventional study was performed during 2016. Sixteen elderly men between 55 and 65 years of age with the clinical diagnosis of normal hearing up to 2000 Hz and speech-in-noise perception disorder participated in this study. The training localization program was based on changes in ITD ENV. In order to evaluate the reliability of the training program, we performed speech-in-noise tests before the training program, immediately afterward, and then at 2 months’ follow-up. The reliability of the training program was analyzed using the Friedman test and the SPSS software. Results: Significant statistical differences were shown in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 3 time points (P=0.001. The results also indicated no difference in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 2 time points of immediately after the training program and 2 months’ follow-up (P=0.212. Conclusion: The present study showed the reliability of an ITD ENV-based localization training in elderly individuals with speech-in-noise perception disorder.

Localization in nonuniform media: Exponential decay of the late-time Ginzburg-Landau impulse response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, E.

1998-01-01

Instanton methods have been used, in the context of a classical Ginzburg-Landau field theory, to compute the averaged density of states and probability Green close-quote s function for electrons scattered by statistically uniform site energy perturbations. At tree level, all states below some critical energy appear localized, and all states above extended. The same methods are applied here to macroscopically nonuniform systems, for which it is shown that localized and extended states can be coupled through a tunneling barrier created by the instanton background. Both electronic and acoustic systems are considered. An incoherent exponential decay is predicted for the late-time impulse response in both cases, valid for long-wavelength nonuniformity, and scaling relations are derived for the decay time constant as a function of energy or frequency and spatial dimension. The acoustic results are found to lie within a range of scaling relations obtained empirically from measurements of seismic coda, suggesting a connection between the universal properties of localization and the robustness of the observed scaling. The relation of instantons to the acoustic coherent-potential approximation is demonstrated in the recovery of the uniform limit. copyright 1998 The American Physical Society

Contributed Review: Source-localization algorithms and applications using time of arrival and time difference of arrival measurements

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Xinya [Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA; Deng, Zhiqun Daniel [Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA; Rauchenstein, Lynn T. [Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA; Carlson, Thomas J. [Energy and Environment Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA

2016-04-01

Locating the position of fixed or mobile sources (i.e., transmitters) based on received measurements from sensors is an important research area that is attracting much research interest. In this paper, we present localization algorithms using time of arrivals (TOA) and time difference of arrivals (TDOA) to achieve high accuracy under line-of-sight conditions. The circular (TOA) and hyperbolic (TDOA) location systems both use nonlinear equations that relate the locations of the sensors and tracked objects. These nonlinear equations can develop accuracy challenges because of the existence of measurement errors and efficiency challenges that lead to high computational burdens. Least squares-based and maximum likelihood-based algorithms have become the most popular categories of location estimators. We also summarize the advantages and disadvantages of various positioning algorithms. By improving measurement techniques and localization algorithms, localization applications can be extended into the signal-processing-related domains of radar, sonar, the Global Positioning System, wireless sensor networks, underwater animal tracking, mobile communications, and multimedia.

Scheduled MAC in Beacon Overlay Networks for Underwater Localization and Time-Synchronization

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Kleunen, W.A.P.; Meratnia, Nirvana; Havinga, Paul J.M.

2011-01-01

In this article we introduce a MAC protocol designed for underwater localization and time-synchronisation. The MAC protocol assumes a network of static reference nodes and allows blind nodes to be localized by listening-only to the beacon messages. Such a system is known to be very scalable. We show

Effect of wave-function localization on the time delay in photoemission from surfaces

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, C.-H.; Thumm, U.

2011-01-01

We investigate streaking time delays in the photoemission from a solid model surface as a function of the degree of localization of the initial-state wave functions. We consider a one-dimensional slab with lattice constant a latt of attractive Gaussian-shaped core potentials of width σ. The parameter σ/a latt thus controls the overlap between adjacent core potentials and localization of the electronic eigenfunctions on the lattice points. Small values of σ/a latt latt > or approx 0.4. By numerically solving the time-dependent Schroedinger equation, we calculate photoemission spectra from which we deduce a characteristic bimodal shape of the band-averaged photoemission time delay: as the slab eigenfunctions become increasingly delocalized, the time delay quickly decreases near σ/a latt =0.3 from relatively large values below σ/a latt ∼0.2 to much smaller delays above σ/a latt ∼0.4. This change in wave-function localization facilitates the interpretation of a recently measured apparent relative time delay between the photoemission from core and conduction-band levels of a tungsten surface.

Time distributions of recurrences of immunogenic and nonimmunogenic tumors following local irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suit, H.D.; Sedlacek, R.; Fagundes, L.; Goitein, M.; Rothman, K.J.

1978-01-01

Three hundred and fourteen mice received single-dose irradiation of the right leg and thigh as treatment of an 8-mm mammary carcinoma isotransplant, and were then observed until death, usually by 1000 days. The time distributions of death due to local recurrence, radiation-induced sarcoma, distant metastasis in the absence of local regrowth, second primary, intercurrent disease, and unknown causes have been evaluated. The times for the transplant tumor inoculum to grow to an 8-mm tumor and the times of death due to local regrowth, distant metastasis, or induced tumor were all approximately log-normally distributed. Of the 128 recurrences, the latest-appearing 3 were at 300, 323, and 436 days; no recurrences were noted during the time period from 436 to 1000 days. These findings have been interpreted to mean that in some cases absolute cure of mice of the tumor in the leg was achieved by radiation alone at the dose levels employed. Radiation-induced sarcomas began to appear after 300 days. The time of appearance of the radiation-induced tumors was inversely related to radiation dose. Similar data for an immunogenic fibrosarcoma show that recurrences appeared earlier and were more closely bunched with respect to time than the recurrences of mammary carcinoma. The time distribution of the development of radiation-induced tumors in non-tumor-bearing animals was also approximately long-normally distributed; the slope of the time distribution curve was the same as that for radiation-induced tumors in mice which had been treated for tumor

Real-time prediction of respiratory motion based on local regression methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruan, D; Fessler, J A; Balter, J M

2007-01-01

Recent developments in modulation techniques enable conformal delivery of radiation doses to small, localized target volumes. One of the challenges in using these techniques is real-time tracking and predicting target motion, which is necessary to accommodate system latencies. For image-guided-radiotherapy systems, it is also desirable to minimize sampling rates to reduce imaging dose. This study focuses on predicting respiratory motion, which can significantly affect lung tumours. Predicting respiratory motion in real-time is challenging, due to the complexity of breathing patterns and the many sources of variability. We propose a prediction method based on local regression. There are three major ingredients of this approach: (1) forming an augmented state space to capture system dynamics, (2) local regression in the augmented space to train the predictor from previous observation data using semi-periodicity of respiratory motion, (3) local weighting adjustment to incorporate fading temporal correlations. To evaluate prediction accuracy, we computed the root mean square error between predicted tumor motion and its observed location for ten patients. For comparison, we also investigated commonly used predictive methods, namely linear prediction, neural networks and Kalman filtering to the same data. The proposed method reduced the prediction error for all imaging rates and latency lengths, particularly for long prediction lengths

Dynamical pruning of static localized basis sets in time-dependent quantum dynamics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McCormack, D.A.

2006-01-01

We investigate the viability of dynamical pruning of localized basis sets in time-dependent quantum wave packet methods. Basis functions that have a very small population at any given time are removed from the active set. The basis functions themselves are time independent, but the set of active

A multi-tiered time-series modelling approach to forecasting respiratory syncytial virus incidence at the local level.

Science.gov (United States)

Spaeder, M C; Fackler, J C

2012-04-01

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of documented viral respiratory infections, and the leading cause of hospitalization, in young children. We performed a retrospective time-series analysis of all patients aged Forecasting models of weekly RSV incidence for the local community, inpatient paediatric hospital and paediatric intensive-care unit (PICU) were created. Ninety-five percent confidence intervals calculated around our models' 2-week forecasts were accurate to ±9·3, ±7·5 and ±1·5 cases/week for the local community, inpatient hospital and PICU, respectively. Our results suggest that time-series models may be useful tools in forecasting the burden of RSV infection at the local and institutional levels, helping communities and institutions to optimize distribution of resources based on the changing burden and severity of illness in their respective communities.

Monitoring substrate enables real-time regulation of a protein localization pathway.

Science.gov (United States)

Ito, Koreaki; Mori, Hiroyuki; Chiba, Shinobu

2018-06-01

Protein localization machinery supports cell survival and physiology, suggesting the potential importance of its expression regulation. Here, we summarize a remarkable scheme of regulation, which allows real-time feedback regulation of the machinery expression. A class of regulatory nascent polypeptides, called monitoring substrates, undergoes force-sensitive translation arrest. The resulting ribosome stalling on the mRNA then affects mRNA folding to expose the ribosome-binding site of the downstream target gene and upregulate its translation. The target gene encodes a component of the localization machinery, whose physical action against the monitoring substrate leads to arrest cancellation. Thus, this scheme of feedback loop allows the cell to adjust the amount of the machinery to correlate inversely with the effectiveness of the process at a given moment. The system appears to have emerged late in evolution, in which a narrow range of organisms selected a distinct monitoring substrate-machinery combination. Currently, regulatory systems of SecM-SecA, VemP-SecDF2 and MifM-YidC2 are known to occur in different bacterial species.

Developing a local least-squares support vector machines-based neuro-fuzzy model for nonlinear and chaotic time series prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Miranian, A; Abdollahzade, M

2013-02-01

Local modeling approaches, owing to their ability to model different operating regimes of nonlinear systems and processes by independent local models, seem appealing for modeling, identification, and prediction applications. In this paper, we propose a local neuro-fuzzy (LNF) approach based on the least-squares support vector machines (LSSVMs). The proposed LNF approach employs LSSVMs, which are powerful in modeling and predicting time series, as local models and uses hierarchical binary tree (HBT) learning algorithm for fast and efficient estimation of its parameters. The HBT algorithm heuristically partitions the input space into smaller subdomains by axis-orthogonal splits. In each partitioning, the validity functions automatically form a unity partition and therefore normalization side effects, e.g., reactivation, are prevented. Integration of LSSVMs into the LNF network as local models, along with the HBT learning algorithm, yield a high-performance approach for modeling and prediction of complex nonlinear time series. The proposed approach is applied to modeling and predictions of different nonlinear and chaotic real-world and hand-designed systems and time series. Analysis of the prediction results and comparisons with recent and old studies demonstrate the promising performance of the proposed LNF approach with the HBT learning algorithm for modeling and prediction of nonlinear and chaotic systems and time series.

Local-time survey of plasma at low altitudes over the auroral zones.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, L. A.; Ackerson, K. L.

1972-01-01

Local-time survey of the low-energy proton and electron intensities precipitated into the earth's atmosphere over the auroral zones during periods of magnetic quiescence. This survey was constructed by selecting a typical individual satellite crossing of this region in each of eight local-time sectors from a large library of similar observations with the polar-orbiting satellite Injun 5. The trapping boundary for more-energetic electron intensities, E greater than 45 keV, was found to be a 'natural coordinate' for delineating the boundary between the two major types of lower-energy, 50 less than or equal to E less than or equal to 15,000 eV, electron precipitation commonly observed over the auroral zones at low altitudes. Poleward of this trapping boundary inverted 'V' electron precipitation bands are observed in all local-time sectors. These inverted 'V' electron bands in the evening and midnight sectors are typically more energetic and have greater latitudinal widths than their counterparts in the noon and morning sectors. In general, the main contributors to the electron energy influx into the earth's atmosphere over the auroral zones are the electron inverted 'V' precipitation poleward of the trapping boundary in late evening, the plasma-sheet electron intensities equatorward of this boundary in early morning, and both of these precipitation events near local midnight.

Problematic Results and Perspectives of the Local Self-Government Reform in Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey Nikolaevich Leonov

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The article examines the premises, problems of implementation and results of the local self-government reform that began 25 years ago in Russia. The incentive for resurrecting of local self-government was not political, but economic details of decentralizing the governing based on the ideas of territorial economic accounting and during the years of reform the role of local self-government in the political system of the country had changed – from the local state authorities to the local self-governing authorities, technically independent, but virtually heavily intervened by the government. The article identifies the unsolved problems of the reform over establishing the basics of finance and budgeting for local self-government, when municipalities (based on functions and main sources of budget income became removed from the development of economic base of corresponding territories, from the dynamics of investment, from the development of business. The actual results of the reform differ strongly from the goals declared. During these 25 years it was impossible to overcome low financial self-sufficiency of municipalities, the loss of population’s influence over formation and activity of local self-governing authorities, incorporation of local authorities into state authority, their particular ‘unitization’. The article substantiates the proposals of perfecting the socio-economic part of the reform in the framework of ‘evolutionary approach’

Repetitive transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) of liver metastases from gastric cancer: Local control and survival results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vogl, Thomas J., E-mail: T.Vogl@em.uni-frankfurt.de [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Gruber-Rouh, Tatjana; Eichler, Katrin [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Nour-Eldin, Nour-Eldin A. [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo (Egypt); Trojan, Jörg [Department of Internal Medicine I, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Zangos, Stephan [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Naguib, Nagy N.N. [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt (Germany); Radiology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria (Egypt)

2013-02-15

Objective: To evaluate the local tumor control and survival data after transarterial chemoembolization with different drug combinations in the palliative treatment of patients with liver metastases of gastric cancer. Materials and methods: The study was retrospectively performed. 56 patients (mean age, 52.4) with unresectable liver metastases of gastric cancer who did not respond to systemic chemotherapy were repeatedly treated with TACE in 4-week intervals. In total, 310 chemoembolization procedures were performed (mean, 5.5 sessions per patient). The local chemotherapy protocol consisted of mitomycin alone (30.4%), mitomycin and gemcitabine (33.9%), or mitomycin, gemcitabine and cisplatin (35.7%). Embolization was performed with lipiodol and starch microspheres. Local tumor response was evaluated by MRI according to RECIST. Survival data from first chemoembolization were calculated according to the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: The local tumor control was: complete response in 1.8% (n = 1), partial response in 1.8% (n = 1), stable disease in 51.8% (n = 29) and progressive disease in 44.6% (n = 25) of patients. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rate from the start of chemoembolization were 58%, 38%, and 23% respectively. The median and mean survival times were 13 and 27.1 months. A Statistically significant difference between patients treated with different chemotherapy protocols was noted (ρ = 0.045) with the best survival time in the mitomycin, gemcitabine and cisplatin group. Conclusion: Transarterial chemoembolization is a minimally invasive therapy option for palliative treatment of liver metastases in patients with gastric cancer.

The results of postoperative irradiation for locally advanced carcinoma of the larynx

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wieczorek, A.; Fijuth, J.; Michalski, W.

2002-01-01

The aim of the study was to conduct a retrospective analysis of advanced laryngeal cancer patients treated with postoperative radiotherapy in order to assess the clinical outcome and identify prognostic factors which may alter their prognosis. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 165 patients with advanced laryngeal carcinoma treated with postoperative radiotherapy between 1984 and 1996. Initially all patients underwent total laryngectomy combined, in 91 cases, with unilateral or bilateral neck dissection. Postoperative irradiation was initiated within 15 to 162 days after surgery (mean - 53 days). The total dose varied between 50-70 Gy with the fraction size of 2.0 Gy. The analysis of overall survival and local control was performed using the actuarial method according to Kaplan and Meier. Sex, age, performance status, T, N stages, primary tumor site, hemoglobin level, histological grade, involvement of lymph nodes, extracapsular lymph node extension, surgical margin status, presence of extension of the primary beyond larynx and/or thyroid cartilage invasion and/or subglottic extension and time from operation to start of radiotherapy were studied in multivariate analysis for the prognostic significance for both overall survival and local control. The actuarial survival for the entire group of postoperatively irradiated patients was 0.70, 0.56 and 0.43 at two, five and ten years respectively. The actuarial local control for the entire group of patients was 0.86, 0.78 and 0.75 at one, two and three years respectively and remained stable thereafter. For the overall survival - sex, positive lymph nodes and time interval between surgery and radiotherapy were found to be the significant prognostic factors. For the local control the extracapsular lymph node extension was found to be the only significant prognostic factor. Combined surgery and postoperative radiotherapy is an effective treatment modality in the management of locally advanced laryngeal cancer

Real-time approaches to the estimation of local wind velocity for a fixed-wing unmanned air vehicle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chan, W L; Lee, C S; Hsiao, F B

2011-01-01

Three real-time approaches to estimating local wind velocity for a fixed-wing unmanned air vehicle are presented in this study. All three methods work around the navigation equations with added wind components. The first approach calculates the local wind speed by substituting the ground speed and ascent rate data given by the Global Positioning System (GPS) into the navigation equations. The second and third approaches utilize the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), respectively. The results show that, despite the nonlinearity of the navigation equations, the EKF performance is proven to be on a par with the UKF. A time-varying noise estimation method based on the Wiener filter is also discussed. Results are compared with the average wind speed measured on the ground. All three approaches are proven to be reliable with stated advantages and disadvantages

Least-squares reverse time migration with local Radon-based preconditioning

KAUST Repository

Dutta, Gaurav

2017-03-08

Least-squares migration (LSM) can produce images with better balanced amplitudes and fewer artifacts than standard migration. The conventional objective function used for LSM minimizes the L2-norm of the data residual between the predicted and the observed data. However, for field-data applications in which the recorded data are noisy and undersampled, the conventional formulation of LSM fails to provide the desired uplift in the quality of the inverted image. We have developed a leastsquares reverse time migration (LSRTM) method using local Radon-based preconditioning to overcome the low signal-tonoise ratio (S/N) problem of noisy or severely undersampled data. A high-resolution local Radon transform of the reflectivity is used, and sparseness constraints are imposed on the inverted reflectivity in the local Radon domain. The sparseness constraint is that the inverted reflectivity is sparse in the Radon domain and each location of the subsurface is represented by a limited number of geologic dips. The forward and the inverse mapping of the reflectivity to the local Radon domain and vice versa is done through 3D Fourier-based discrete Radon transform operators. The weights for the preconditioning are chosen to be varying locally based on the relative amplitudes of the local dips or assigned using quantile measures. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data validate the effectiveness of our approach in producing images with good S/N and fewer aliasing artifacts when compared with standard RTM or standard LSRTM.

Local temperature fine-tunes the timing of spring migration in birds

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tøttrup, Anders P.; Rainio, Kalle; Coppack, Timothy

2010-01-01

and predict consequences of climatic change for migratory birds. In order to better understand migration phenology and adaptation in environmental changes, we here assess the scale at which weather affects timing of spring migration in passerine birds. We use three commonly used proxies of spring......-time climatic conditions: (1) vegetation "greenness" (NDVI) in Europe, (2) local spring temperatures in northern Europe, and (3) the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAO) as predictors of the phenology of avian migration as well as the strength of their effect on different subsets of populations...... breeding area. Local temperature was the best single predictor of phenology with the highest explanatory power achieved in combination with NAO. Furthermore, early individuals are more affected by climatic variation compared to individuals on later passage, indicating that climatic change affects subsets...

Reliability of Interaural Time Difference-Based Localization Training in Elderly Individuals with Speech-in-Noise Perception Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Delphi, Maryam; Lotfi, M-Yones; Moossavi, Abdollah; Bakhshi, Enayatollah; Banimostafa, Maryam

2017-09-01

Previous studies have shown that interaural-time-difference (ITD) training can improve localization ability. Surprisingly little is, however, known about localization training vis-à-vis speech perception in noise based on interaural time difference in the envelope (ITD ENV). We sought to investigate the reliability of an ITD ENV-based training program in speech-in-noise perception among elderly individuals with normal hearing and speech-in-noise disorder. The present interventional study was performed during 2016. Sixteen elderly men between 55 and 65 years of age with the clinical diagnosis of normal hearing up to 2000 Hz and speech-in-noise perception disorder participated in this study. The training localization program was based on changes in ITD ENV. In order to evaluate the reliability of the training program, we performed speech-in-noise tests before the training program, immediately afterward, and then at 2 months' follow-up. The reliability of the training program was analyzed using the Friedman test and the SPSS software. Significant statistical differences were shown in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 3 time points (P=0.001). The results also indicated no difference in the mean scores of speech-in-noise perception between the 2 time points of immediately after the training program and 2 months' follow-up (P=0.212). The present study showed the reliability of an ITD ENV-based localization training in elderly individuals with speech-in-noise perception disorder.

Assessment of externalities related to global and local air pollutants with the NEEDS-TIMES Italy model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pietrapertosa, F.; Cosmi, C.; Loperte, S.; Salvia, M.; Cuomo, V. [National Research Council, Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis, C.da S. Loja, I-85050 Tito Scalo (PZ) (Italy); Di Leo, S. [University of Basilicata, Dept. of Environmental Engineering and Physics, C.da Macchia Romana, I-85100 Potenza (Italy); Macchiato, M. [Federico II University, Dept. of Physical Sciences, Via Cintia, I-80126 Naples (Italy)

2010-01-15

This work is aimed to illustrate the potentiality of the multi-region NEEDS-TIMES modelling platform, in the economic evaluation of the environmental damages due to air pollution. In particular the effects of external costs on the least-cost optimised energy system configuration were analysed in a national case study with the NEEDS-TIMES Italy model, considering the externalities related to local and global air pollutants (NO{sub x}, SO{sub 2}, VOC, particulates and GHGs). Different scenarios were compared to emphasise the role of external costs in the achievement of strategic environmental targets. The main results obtained are discussed, focusing on the changes in energy fuel mix as well as in local air pollutants and GHG emissions, highlighting the main conclusions in terms of policy strategies. (author)

Solution of the two-dimensional space-time reactor kinetics equation by a locally one-dimensional method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, G.S.; Christenson, J.M.

1985-01-01

In this paper, the authors present some initial results from an investigation of the application of a locally one-dimensional (LOD) finite difference method to the solution of the two-dimensional, two-group reactor kinetics equations. Although the LOD method is relatively well known, it apparently has not been previously applied to the space-time kinetics equations. In this investigation, the LOD results were benchmarked against similar computational results (using the same computing environment, the same programming structure, and the same sample problems) obtained by the TWIGL program. For all of the problems considered, the LOD method provided accurate results in one-half to one-eight of the time required by the TWIGL program

CFD simulation of local and global mixing time in an agitated tank

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Liangchao; Xu, Bin

2017-01-01

The Issue of mixing efficiency in agitated tanks has drawn serious concern in many industrial processes. The turbulence model is very critical to predicting mixing process in agitated tanks. On the basis of computational fluid dynamics(CFD) software package Fluent 6.2, the mixing characteristics in a tank agitated by dual six-blade-Rushton-turbines(6-DT) are predicted using the detached eddy simulation(DES) method. A sliding mesh(SM) approach is adopted to solve the rotation of the impeller. The simulated flow patterns and liquid velocities in the agitated tank are verified by experimental data in the literature. The simulation results indicate that the DES method can obtain more flow details than Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes(RANS) model. Local and global mixing time in the agitated tank is predicted by solving a tracer concentration scalar transport equation. The simulated results show that feeding points have great influence on mixing process and mixing time. Mixing efficiency is the highest for the feeding point at location of midway of the two impellers. Two methods are used to determine global mixing time and get close result. Dimensionless global mixing time remains unchanged with increasing of impeller speed. Parallel, merging and diverging flow pattern form in the agitated tank, respectively, by changing the impeller spacing and clearance of lower impeller from the bottom of the tank. The global mixing time is the shortest for the merging flow, followed by diverging flow, and the longest for parallel flow. The research presents helpful references for design, optimization and scale-up of agitated tanks with multi-impeller.

Locally covariant quantum field theory and the problem of formulating the same physics in all space-times.

Science.gov (United States)

Fewster, Christopher J

2015-08-06

The framework of locally covariant quantum field theory is discussed, motivated in part using 'ignorance principles'. It is shown how theories can be represented by suitable functors, so that physical equivalence of theories may be expressed via natural isomorphisms between the corresponding functors. The inhomogeneous scalar field is used to illustrate the ideas. It is argued that there are two reasonable definitions of the local physical content associated with a locally covariant theory; when these coincide, the theory is said to be dynamically local. The status of the dynamical locality condition is reviewed, as are its applications in relation to (i) the foundational question of what it means for a theory to represent the same physics in different space-times and (ii) a no-go result on the existence of natural states. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Time to institutional review board approval with local versus central review in a multicenter pragmatic trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Neuman, Mark D; Gaskins, Lakisha J; Ziolek, Tracy

2018-02-01

Central institutional review board (IRB) review will be required for National Institutes of Health-funded multisite human subjects research as of January 2018, with similar requirements extending to most US multisite human research in 2020. Nonetheless, little is known regarding the relative efficiency of central versus local IRB review for multicenter studies. We compared the amount of time required for central versus local IRB review and approval for sites in one ongoing multicenter randomized trial. The REGAIN Trial (Regional versus General Anesthesia for Promoting Independence after Hip Fracture; clinicaltrials.gov number: NCT02507505) is an ongoing randomized trial comparing standard-care spinal anesthesia to standard-care general anesthesia for patients undergoing hip fracture surgery. After approval of the protocol by the sponsor IRB, each participating US site opted either to submit the protocol for local IRB review or to designate the sponsor IRB as the IRB of record (i.e. central IRB) via an authorization agreement after a limited local review. For each US REGAIN site approved through 18 April 2017, we assessed (1) the time in calendar days from protocol receipt to IRB submission, (2) the time in calendar days from IRB submission to IRB approval, and (3) the total time in calendar days from protocol receipt to IRB approval (i.e. time from protocol receipt to IRB submission plus time from IRB submission to IRB approval). The main study protocol was submitted to the sponsor IRB on 25 May 2015 and approved on 8 July 2015 (44 days). Out of 34 sites, 9 received initial approval from the central (sponsor) IRB; 25 sought initial approval via local review. The median time from protocol receipt to IRB submission was 39 days for sites approved by the central IRB (interquartile range: 35-134) versus 58 days for sites approved via local review (interquartile range: 41-105; p = 0.711). The median time from IRB submission to IRB approval for sites approved by

Covariance of time-ordered products implies local commutativity of fields

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenberg, O.W.

2006-01-01

We formulate Lorentz covariance of a quantum field theory in terms of covariance of time-ordered products (or other Green's functions). This formulation of Lorentz covariance implies spacelike local commutativity or anticommutativity of fields, sometimes called microscopic causality or microcausality. With this formulation microcausality does not have to be taken as a separate assumption

A time-localized response of wave growth process under turbulent winds

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Ge

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Very short time series (with lengths of approximately 40 s or 5~7 wave periods of wind velocity fluctuations and wave elevation were recorded simultaneously and investigated using the wavelet bispectral analysis. Rapid changes in the wave and wind spectra were detected, which were found to be intimately related to significant energy transfers through transient quadratic wind-wave and wave-wave interactions. A possible pattern of energy exchange between the wind and wave fields was further deduced. In particular, the generation and variation of the strong wave-induced perturbation velocity in the wind can be explained by the strengthening and diminishing of the associated quadratic interactions, which cannot be unveiled by linear theories. On small time scales, the wave-wave quadratic interactions were as active and effective in transferring energy as the wind-wave interactions. The results also showed that the wind turbulence was occasionally effective in transferring energy between the wind and the wave fields, so that the background turbulence in the wind cannot be completely neglected. Although these effects are all possibly significant over short times, the time-localized growth of the wave spectrum may not considerably affect the long-term process of wave development.

Optical eye tracking system for real-time noninvasive tumor localization in external beam radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Via, Riccardo; Fassi, Aurora; Fattori, Giovanni; Fontana, Giulia; Pella, Andrea; Tagaste, Barbara; Ciocca, Mario; Riboldi, Marco; Baroni, Guido; Orecchia, Roberto

2015-01-01

Purpose: External beam radiotherapy currently represents an important therapeutic strategy for the treatment of intraocular tumors. Accurate target localization and efficient compensation of involuntary eye movements are crucial to avoid deviations in dose distribution with respect to the treatment plan. This paper describes an eye tracking system (ETS) based on noninvasive infrared video imaging. The system was designed for capturing the tridimensional (3D) ocular motion and provides an on-line estimation of intraocular lesions position based on a priori knowledge coming from volumetric imaging. Methods: Eye tracking is performed by localizing cornea and pupil centers on stereo images captured by two calibrated video cameras, exploiting eye reflections produced by infrared illumination. Additionally, torsional eye movements are detected by template matching in the iris region of eye images. This information allows estimating the 3D position and orientation of the eye by means of an eye local reference system. By combining ETS measurements with volumetric imaging for treatment planning [computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR)], one is able to map the position of the lesion to be treated in local eye coordinates, thus enabling real-time tumor referencing during treatment setup and irradiation. Experimental tests on an eye phantom and seven healthy subjects were performed to assess ETS tracking accuracy. Results: Measurements on phantom showed an overall median accuracy within 0.16 mm and 0.40° for translations and rotations, respectively. Torsional movements were affected by 0.28° median uncertainty. On healthy subjects, the gaze direction error ranged between 0.19° and 0.82° at a median working distance of 29 cm. The median processing time of the eye tracking algorithm was 18.60 ms, thus allowing eye monitoring up to 50 Hz. Conclusions: A noninvasive ETS prototype was designed to perform real-time target localization and eye movement monitoring

Latitudinal dynamics of SAR-arcs relative to the local time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alekseev, V.N.; Ievenko, I.B.

1991-01-01

In November-December, 1988, January-April, 1989-1990, at the Maymaga station in Yakutia according to spectrophotometric data 47 events of the occurrence of red stable middle-latitudinal arcs (SAR-arcs) were recorded. On the basis of these data the latitudinal dynamics of SAR-arcs was studied depending on the local time and geomagnetic disturbance level. The uniform equatorial shift of SAR arcs in the night time is noticed, and a sharp increase of the speed of this motion can be caused by the nonstationary character of the magnetospheric activity

Including capabilities of local actors in regional economic development: Empirical results of local seaweed industries in Sulawesi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mark T.J. Vredegoor

2013-11-01

industries; Indonesia; Sulawesi; Community-based management, Local community. Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0cm; mso-para-margin-right:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0cm; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}

Seasonal and local time variability of ripples from airglow imager observations in US and Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Yue

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Ripples as seen in airglow imagers are small wavy structures with short horizontal wavelengths (<15 km. Ripples are thought to form as the result of local instabilities, which are believed to occur when the amplitude of gravity waves becomes large enough. We have investigated ripple formation based on years of airglow imager observations located at Fort Collins, Colorado (41° N, 105° W and Misato Observatory, Japan (34° N, 135° E/Shigaraki MU Observatory (35° N, 136° E. Na temperature-wind lidar observations are employed to detect convective and dynamic instabilities in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere (MLT region over Fort Collins, Colorado. Seasonal variation of the ripple occurrence in Colorado is compared to that of the lidar-measured instability. The occurrence frequency of ripples varies semiannually, with maxima occurring during solstices and minima during equinoxes in both Colorado and Japan. However, the probability of convective and dynamic instabilities varies annually with a peak in Colorado winter. The seasonal variation of the occurrence frequency of ripples correlates with that of the gravity wave variances in the MLT. Ripple occurrence over Colorado also shows strong local time dependence, but it bears little resemblance to the local time dependence of instability probability.

Dependence of ionospheric response on the local time of sudden commencement and the intensity of geomagnetic storms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balan, N.; Rao, P.B.

1990-01-01

A study has been designed specifically to investigate the dependence of the ionospheric response on the time of occurrence of sudden commencement (SC) and the intensity of the magnetic storms for a low- and a mid-latitude station by considering total electron content and peak electron density data for more than 60 SC-type geomagnetic storms. The nature of the response, whether positive or negative, is found to be determined largely by the local time of SC, although there is a local time shift of about six hours between low- and mid-latitudes. The time delays associated with the positive responses are low for daytime SCs and high for night-time SCs, whereas the opposite applies for negative responses. The time delays are significantly shorter for mid-latitudes than for low-latitudes and, at both latitudes, are inversely related to the intensity of the storm. There is a positive correlation between the intensity of the ionospheric response and that of the magnetic storm, the correlation being greater at mid-latitudes. The results are discussed in the light of the possible processes which might contribute to the storm-associated ionospheric variations. (author)

Tracking time-varying parameters with local regression

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Joensen, Alfred Karsten; Nielsen, Henrik Aalborg; Nielsen, Torben Skov

2000-01-01

This paper shows that the recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm with forgetting factor is a special case of a varying-coe\\$cient model, and a model which can easily be estimated via simple local regression. This observation allows us to formulate a new method which retains the RLS algorithm, bu......, but extends the algorithm by including polynomial approximations. Simulation results are provided, which indicates that this new method is superior to the classical RLS method, if the parameter variations are smooth....

Parallel local search for solving Constraint Problems on the Cell Broadband Engine (Preliminary Results

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Salvator Abreu

2009-10-01

Full Text Available We explore the use of the Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/BE for short for combinatorial optimization applications: we present a parallel version of a constraint-based local search algorithm that has been implemented on a multiprocessor BladeCenter machine with twin Cell/BE processors (total of 16 SPUs per blade. This algorithm was chosen because it fits very well the Cell/BE architecture and requires neither shared memory nor communication between processors, while retaining a compact memory footprint. We study the performance on several large optimization benchmarks and show that this achieves mostly linear time speedups, even sometimes super-linear. This is possible because the parallel implementation might explore simultaneously different parts of the search space and therefore converge faster towards the best sub-space and thus towards a solution. Besides getting speedups, the resulting times exhibit a much smaller variance, which benefits applications where a timely reply is critical.

Therapeutic Results of Concurrent Chemoradiation in Locally Advanced Uterine Cervical Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kang, Seung Hee; Suh, Hyun Suk; Yang, Kwang Mo; Lee, Eung Soo; Park, Sung Kwon

1995-01-01

Purpose : Despite a development for therapeutic machines and advance in modern radiation therapy techniques, locally advanced cervical carcinoma has shown high rate of local failure and poor survival rate. Combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy demonstrated benefit in improving local control and possibly the overall survival. Our study was performed to evaluate effect of concurrent chemoradiation on locally advanced uterine cervical cancer. Methods and Materials : Twenty six patients with locally advanced stage(FIGO stage IIB with ≥ 5 cm in diameter, III, IVA) were treated with combination of radiation therapy and concurrent cisplatinum between May of 1988 and September of 1993 at our hospital. Radiation therapy consisted of external irradiation and 1-2 sessions of intracavitary irradiation, Cisplatinum was administered in bolus injection of 25mg/m 2 at weekly intervals during the course of external radiation therapy. Results : Of the 26 patients, twenty-five patients were evaluable for estimation of response. Median follow-up period was 25 months with ranges from 3 to 73 months. Stage IIB, III, and IVA were 16, 5,4 patients, respectively. Twenty patients were squamous cell carcinoma. Response was noted in all 25 patients: complete response(CR) in 17/25(68%), partial response(PR) in 8/25(32%). Of the 24 patients except one who died of sepsis at 3 months follow-up, seventeen patients(70.8%) maintained local control in the pelvis: 16/17(94.1%) in CR, 1/17(14.3%) in PR. Fourteen of the 17 patients with CR are alive disease free on the completion of follow-up. Median survival is 28 months for CR and 15 months for PR. Analysis of 5-year survival by stage shows 11/16(59.8) in IIB, 3/5(60.6%) in III, and 1/4(25.0%) in IVA. Overall 5-year survival rate was 55.2%. Ten Patients recurred: 4 at locoregional, 3 in distant metastasis and 3 with locoregional and distant site. Toxicity by addition of cisplatinum was not excessive. Conclusion : Although the result of this

On monogamy of non-locality and macroscopic averages: examples and preliminary results

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Rui Soares Barbosa

2014-12-01

Full Text Available We explore a connection between monogamy of non-locality and a weak macroscopic locality condition: the locality of the average behaviour. These are revealed by our analysis as being two sides of the same coin. Moreover, we exhibit a structural reason for both in the case of Bell-type multipartite scenarios, shedding light on but also generalising the results in the literature [Ramanathan et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 060405 (2001; Pawlowski & Brukner, Phys. Rev. Lett. 102, 030403 (2009]. More specifically, we show that, provided the number of particles in each site is large enough compared to the number of allowed measurement settings, and whatever the microscopic state of the system, the macroscopic average behaviour is local realistic, or equivalently, general multipartite monogamy relations hold. This result relies on a classical mathematical theorem by Vorob'ev [Theory Probab. Appl. 7(2, 147-163 (1962] about extending compatible families of probability distributions defined on the faces of a simplicial complex – in the language of the sheaf-theoretic framework of Abramsky & Brandenburger [New J. Phys. 13, 113036 (2011], such families correspond to no-signalling empirical models, and the existence of an extension corresponds to locality or non-contextuality. Since Vorob'ev's theorem depends solely on the structure of the simplicial complex, which encodes the compatibility of the measurements, and not on the specific probability distributions (i.e. the empirical models, our result about monogamy relations and locality of macroscopic averages holds not just for quantum theory, but for any empirical model satisfying the no-signalling condition. In this extended abstract, we illustrate our approach by working out a couple of examples, which convey the intuition behind our analysis while keeping the discussion at an elementary level.

Linear Time Local Approximation Algorithm for Maximum Stable Marriage

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Zoltán Király

2013-08-01

Full Text Available We consider a two-sided market under incomplete preference lists with ties, where the goal is to find a maximum size stable matching. The problem is APX-hard, and a 3/2-approximation was given by McDermid [1]. This algorithm has a non-linear running time, and, more importantly needs global knowledge of all preference lists. We present a very natural, economically reasonable, local, linear time algorithm with the same ratio, using some ideas of Paluch [2]. In this algorithm every person make decisions using only their own list, and some information asked from members of these lists (as in the case of the famous algorithm of Gale and Shapley. Some consequences to the Hospitals/Residents problem are also discussed.

Concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced lung carcinoma: present results and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reboul, F.; Vincent, P.; Brewer, Y.; Taulelle, M.

1997-01-01

The prognosis of locally advanced lung cancer is reportedly poor in all histologic types. In non-small cell lung cancer, radiation therapy alone results in disappointing long-term survival. Three recent randomized trials, however, have shown a limited but significant improvement of survival with induction chemotherapy, though local control remained poor in these studies as well as in small-cell lung cancer treated with chemotherapy and late radiotherapy. Tow randomized trials focusing on small-cell lung cancer have recently shown significant benefit due to the combination of early concurrent mediastinal irradiation and chemotherapy, with major improvement in local control and a more than 40% 2-year survival rate. The concept of concurrent chemoradiotherapy has also been studied in non-small cell carcinoma with several pilot studies leading to both encouraging results and improved survival rate (up to 40% at 2 years). Ongoing phase III trials are comparing sequential versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy and will define the role of radical surgery after chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer. (authors)

Radiation therapy for T1,2 glottic carcinoma: impact of overall treatment time on local control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Yasumasa; Nagata, Yasushi; Okajima, Kaoru; Mitsumori, Michihide; Hiraoka, Masahiro; Masunaga, Shin-ichirou; Ono, Koji; Shoji, Kazuhiko; Kojima, Hisayosi

1996-01-01

Purpose: Local control probabilities of T1,2 glottic laryngeal cancer were evaluated in relation to dose and fractionation of radiation therapy (RT). Materials and methods: Between 1975 and 1993, 96 T1N0M0 glottic cancers and 32 T2N0M0 glottic cancers were treated with definitive RT. Total RT dose was 60-66 Gy/2 Gy for most of the T1 and T2 tumors, although 10 T2 tumors were treated with hyperfractionation (72-74.4 Gy/1.2 Gy bid). Of the 128 patients, 90 T1 glottic tumors and 30 T2 glottic tumors were followed for >2 years after treatment. Multivariate analyses using the Cox proportional hazards model and a logistic regression analysis were performed to evaluate the significance of prognostic variables on local control. Results: The 5-year local control probability for T1 tumors was 85%, whereas that for T2 tumors was 71%. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that only overall treatment time (OTT) was a significant variable for local control. Total RT dose, normalized total doses at a fraction size of 2 Gy, and fraction size were not significant. Local control probability of T1 tumors with an OTT of 42-49 days was significantly higher than that of tumors with an OTT of >49 days (P < 0.02). Only a 1-week interruption of RT, due to holidays, significantly reduced the 5-year local control probability of T1 glottic tumors from 89 to 74% (P < 0.05). Conclusions: These results indicate that OTT is a significant prognostic factor for local control of T1 glottic tumors

A Non-invasive Real-time Localization System for Enhanced Efficacy in Nasogastric Intubation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Zhenglong; Foong, Shaohui; Maréchal, Luc; Tan, U-Xuan; Teo, Tee Hui; Shabbir, Asim

2015-12-01

Nasogastric (NG) intubation is one of the most commonly performed clinical procedures. Real-time localization and tracking of the NG tube passage at the larynx region into the esophagus is crucial for safety, but is lacking in current practice. In this paper, we present the design, analysis and evaluation of a non-invasive real-time localization system using passive magnetic tracking techniques to improve efficacy of the clinical NG intubation process. By embedding a small permanent magnet at the insertion tip of the NG tube, a wearable system containing embedded sensors around the neck can determine the absolute position of the NG tube inside the body in real-time to assist in insertion. In order to validate the feasibility of the proposed system in detecting erroneous tube placement, typical reference intubation trajectories are first analyzed using anatomically correct models and localization accuracy of the system are evaluated using a precise robotic platform. It is found that the root-mean-squared tracking accuracy is within 5.3 mm for both the esophagus and trachea intubation pathways. Experiments were also designed and performed to demonstrate that the system is capable of tracking the NG tube accurately in biological environments even in presence of stationary ferromagnetic objects (such as clinical instruments). With minimal physical modification to the NG tube and clinical process, this system allows accurate and efficient localization and confirmation of correct NG tube placement without supplemental radiographic methods which is considered the current clinical standard.

Indoor Localization of a Quadrotor Based on WSN: A Real-Time Application

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Jose L. Rullan-Lara

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A real-time localization algorithm is presented in this paper. The algorithm presented here uses an extended Kalman filter and is based on Time Difference Of Arrivals (TDOA measurements of radio signal. The position and velocity of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV are successfully estimated in closed-loop in real-time, both in hover and path following flights. Relatively small position errors obtained from the experiments prove the good performance of the proposed algorithm.

Using a "time machine" to test for local adaptation of aquatic microbes to temporal and spatial environmental variation.

Science.gov (United States)

Fox, Jeremy W; Harder, Lawrence D

2015-01-01

Local adaptation occurs when different environments are dominated by different specialist genotypes, each of which is relatively fit in its local conditions and relatively unfit under other conditions. Analogously, ecological species sorting occurs when different environments are dominated by different competing species, each of which is relatively fit in its local conditions. The simplest theory predicts that spatial, but not temporal, environmental variation selects for local adaptation (or generates species sorting), but this prediction is difficult to test. Although organisms can be reciprocally transplanted among sites, doing so among times seems implausible. Here, we describe a reciprocal transplant experiment testing for local adaptation or species sorting of lake bacteria in response to both temporal and spatial variation in water chemistry. The experiment used a -80°C freezer as a "time machine." Bacterial isolates and water samples were frozen for later use, allowing transplantation of older isolates "forward in time" and newer isolates "backward in time." Surprisingly, local maladaptation predominated over local adaptation in both space and time. Such local maladaptation may indicate that adaptation, or the analogous species sorting process, fails to keep pace with temporal fluctuations in water chemistry. This hypothesis could be tested with more finely resolved temporal data. © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Influence of Time-Series Normalization, Number of Nodes, Connectivity and Graph Measure Selection on Seizure-Onset Zone Localization from Intracranial EEG.

Science.gov (United States)

van Mierlo, Pieter; Lie, Octavian; Staljanssens, Willeke; Coito, Ana; Vulliémoz, Serge

2018-04-26

We investigated the influence of processing steps in the estimation of multivariate directed functional connectivity during seizures recorded with intracranial EEG (iEEG) on seizure-onset zone (SOZ) localization. We studied the effect of (i) the number of nodes, (ii) time-series normalization, (iii) the choice of multivariate time-varying connectivity measure: Adaptive Directed Transfer Function (ADTF) or Adaptive Partial Directed Coherence (APDC) and (iv) graph theory measure: outdegree or shortest path length. First, simulations were performed to quantify the influence of the various processing steps on the accuracy to localize the SOZ. Afterwards, the SOZ was estimated from a 113-electrodes iEEG seizure recording and compared with the resection that rendered the patient seizure-free. The simulations revealed that ADTF is preferred over APDC to localize the SOZ from ictal iEEG recordings. Normalizing the time series before analysis resulted in an increase of 25-35% of correctly localized SOZ, while adding more nodes to the connectivity analysis led to a moderate decrease of 10%, when comparing 128 with 32 input nodes. The real-seizure connectivity estimates localized the SOZ inside the resection area using the ADTF coupled to outdegree or shortest path length. Our study showed that normalizing the time-series is an important pre-processing step, while adding nodes to the analysis did only marginally affect the SOZ localization. The study shows that directed multivariate Granger-based connectivity analysis is feasible with many input nodes (> 100) and that normalization of the time-series before connectivity analysis is preferred.

4-D imaging of seepage in earthen embankments with time-lapse inversion of self-potential data constrained by acoustic emissions localization

Science.gov (United States)

Rittgers, J. B.; Revil, A.; Planes, T.; Mooney, M. A.; Koelewijn, A. R.

2015-02-01

New methods are required to combine the information contained in the passive electrical and seismic signals to detect, localize and monitor hydromechanical disturbances in porous media. We propose a field experiment showing how passive seismic and electrical data can be combined together to detect a preferential flow path associated with internal erosion in a Earth dam. Continuous passive seismic and electrical (self-potential) monitoring data were recorded during a 7-d full-scale levee (earthen embankment) failure test, conducted in Booneschans, Netherlands in 2012. Spatially coherent acoustic emissions events and the development of a self-potential anomaly, associated with induced concentrated seepage and internal erosion phenomena, were identified and imaged near the downstream toe of the embankment, in an area that subsequently developed a series of concentrated water flows and sand boils, and where liquefaction of the embankment toe eventually developed. We present a new 4-D grid-search algorithm for acoustic emissions localization in both time and space, and the application of the localization results to add spatially varying constraints to time-lapse 3-D modelling of self-potential data in the terms of source current localization. Seismic signal localization results are utilized to build a set of time-invariant yet spatially varying model weights used for the inversion of the self-potential data. Results from the combination of these two passive techniques show results that are more consistent in terms of focused ground water flow with respect to visual observation on the embankment. This approach to geophysical monitoring of earthen embankments provides an improved approach for early detection and imaging of the development of embankment defects associated with concentrated seepage and internal erosion phenomena. The same approach can be used to detect various types of hydromechanical disturbances at larger scales.

Local Times of Galactic Cosmic Ray Intensity Maximum and Minimum in the Diurnal Variation

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Su Yeon Oh

2006-06-01

Full Text Available The Diurnal variation of galactic cosmic ray (GCR flux intensity observed by the ground Neutron Monitor (NM shows a sinusoidal pattern with the amplitude of 1sim 2 % of daily mean. We carried out a statistical study on tendencies of the local times of GCR intensity daily maximum and minimum. To test the influences of the solar activity and the location (cut-off rigidity on the distribution in the local times of maximum and minimum GCR intensity, we have examined the data of 1996 (solar minimum and 2000 (solar maximum at the low-latitude Haleakala (latitude: 20.72 N, cut-off rigidity: 12.91 GeV and the high-latitude Oulu (latitude: 65.05 N, cut-off rigidity: 0.81 GeV NM stations. The most frequent local times of the GCR intensity daily maximum and minimum come later about 2sim3 hours in the solar activity maximum year 2000 than in the solar activity minimum year 1996. Oulu NM station whose cut-off rigidity is smaller has the most frequent local times of the GCR intensity maximum and minimum later by 2sim3 hours from those of Haleakala station. This feature is more evident at the solar maximum. The phase of the daily variation in GCR is dependent upon the interplanetary magnetic field varying with the solar activity and the cut-off rigidity varying with the geographic latitude.

Radioguided occult lesion localization versus wire-guided localization for non-palpable breast lesions: randomized controlled trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ocal, Koray; Dag, Ahmet; Turkmenoglu, Ozgur; Yucel, Erdem; Gunay, Emel Ceylan; Duce, Meltem Nass

2011-01-01

Aim: this prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions. Methods: a total of 108 patients who were undergoing an excisional biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions requiring pathologic diagnosis were randomly assigned to the ROLL group (n 56) and wire-guided localization group (n 52). In the study, patients' characteristics, radiological abnormalities, radiological technique of localization, localization time, operation time, weight of the excised specimen, clearance margins, pathological diagnosis and perioperative complications were assessed. Results: there were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, radiological abnormalities and localization technique (p = non-significant for all). ROLL techniques resulted in 100% retrieval of the lesions; for the wire-guided localization technique, 98%. Both localization time and operation time were significantly reduced with the ROLL technique (p = significant for all). The weight of the specimen was significantly lower in the ROLL group than in the wire-guided localization group (p = significant). The overall complication rate and pathological diagnosis were similar for both groups (p = non-significant for all). Clear margins were achieved in 91% of ROLL patients and in 53% of wire-guided localization patients, and the difference was significant. Conclusions: the present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins. (author)

Radioguided occult lesion localization versus wire-guided localization for non-palpable breast lesions: randomized controlled trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ocal, Koray; Dag, Ahmet; Turkmenoglu, Ozgur; Yucel, Erdem [Mersin University (Turkey). Medical Faculty. Dept. of General Surgery; Gunay, Emel Ceylan [Mersin University (Turkey). Medical Faculty. Dept. of Nuclear Medicine; Duce, Meltem Nass [Mersin University (Turkey). Medical Faculty. Dept. of Radiology

2011-07-01

Aim: this prospective randomized clinical study was conducted to compare radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL) with wire-guided localization to evaluate optimum localization techniques for non-palpable breast lesions. Methods: a total of 108 patients who were undergoing an excisional biopsy for non-palpable breast lesions requiring pathologic diagnosis were randomly assigned to the ROLL group (n 56) and wire-guided localization group (n 52). In the study, patients' characteristics, radiological abnormalities, radiological technique of localization, localization time, operation time, weight of the excised specimen, clearance margins, pathological diagnosis and perioperative complications were assessed. Results: there were no differences between the two groups in terms of age, radiological abnormalities and localization technique (p = non-significant for all). ROLL techniques resulted in 100% retrieval of the lesions; for the wire-guided localization technique, 98%. Both localization time and operation time were significantly reduced with the ROLL technique (p = significant for all). The weight of the specimen was significantly lower in the ROLL group than in the wire-guided localization group (p = significant). The overall complication rate and pathological diagnosis were similar for both groups (p = non-significant for all). Clear margins were achieved in 91% of ROLL patients and in 53% of wire-guided localization patients, and the difference was significant. Conclusions: the present study indicated that the ROLL technique is as effective as wire-guided localization for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. In addition, ROLL improved the outcomes by reducing localization and operation time, preventing healthy tissue excision and achieving clearer margins. (author)

LHCb time-dependent results

OpenAIRE

Calvi, Marta

2011-01-01

This review reports preliminary results of time-dependent measurements of decays of $B^0$ mesons and $B^0_s$ mesons coming from the analysis of about 36 pb$^{-1}$ of data collected by the LHCb experiment during the 2010 run of the Large Hadron Collider at $\\sqrt{s}$ = 7 TeV.

LHCb time-dependent results

OpenAIRE

Calvi, Marta; Collaboration, for the LHCb

2011-01-01

This review reports preliminary results of time-dependent measurements of decays of B^0 mesons and B^0_s mesons coming from the analysis of about 36 pb^-1 of data collected by the LHCb experiment during the 2010 run of the Large Hadron Collider at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.

Impact of time-of-flight PET on whole-body oncologic studies: a human observer lesion detection and localization study.

Science.gov (United States)

Surti, Suleman; Scheuermann, Joshua; El Fakhri, Georges; Daube-Witherspoon, Margaret E; Lim, Ruth; Abi-Hatem, Nathalie; Moussallem, Elie; Benard, Francois; Mankoff, David; Karp, Joel S

2011-05-01

Phantom studies have shown improved lesion detection performance with time-of-flight (TOF) PET. In this study, we evaluate the benefit of fully 3-dimensional, TOF PET in clinical whole-body oncology using human observers to localize and detect lesions in realistic patient anatomic backgrounds. Our hypothesis is that with TOF imaging we achieve improved lesion detection and localization for clinically challenging tasks, with a bigger impact in large patients. One hundred patient studies with normal (18)F-FDG uptake were chosen. Spheres (diameter, 10 mm) were imaged in air at variable locations in the scanner field of view corresponding to lung and liver locations within each patient. Sphere data were corrected for attenuation and merged with patient data to produce fused list-mode data files with lesions added to normal-uptake scans. All list files were reconstructed with full corrections and with or without the TOF kernel using a list-mode iterative algorithm. The images were presented to readers to localize and report the presence or absence of a lesion and their confidence level. The interpretation results were then analyzed to calculate the probability of correct localization and detection, and the area under the localized receiver operating characteristic (LROC) curve. The results were analyzed as a function of scan time per bed position, patient body mass index (BMI patient sizes. With TOF imaging, there was a bigger increase in the area under the LROC curve for larger patients (BMI ≥ 26). Finally, we saw smaller differences in the area under the LROC curve for large and small patients when longer scan times were combined with TOF imaging. A combination of longer scan time (3 min in this study) and TOF imaging provides the best performance for imaging large patients or a low-uptake lesion in small or large patients. This imaging protocol also provides similar performance for all patient sizes for lesions in the same organ type with similar relative uptake

Influence of the timing of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy on treatment results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fietkau, R.

2000-01-01

Background: The timing of surgery and postoperative radiotherapy - especially if combined with chemotherapy - has been a subject of interest over the past years. Methods: This analysis was based on a literature review of mostly retrospective publications. Data concerning the interval between surgery and radiotherapy were correlated with the locoregional control, incidence of distant metastases and prognosis of breast cancer, lung carcinoma, and head and neck carcinomas. Results and Conclusions: The reviewed data did not show a clear relationship of the time interval between surgery and start of radiotherapy and locoregional control. However, evaluation of the data was difficult, because in most publications, retrospective analyses were performed and other prognostically more relevant parameters may influence locoregional control stronger than the time interval. In patients with head and neck carcinomas, there is a negative effect of time interval between surgery and radiotherapy on local control if unfavorable factors exist, i.e., close surgical margins, unfavorable pathohistological parameters and low radiation dose. In patients with breast cancer who do not receive chemotherapy, there are inconsistent reports in the literature. If additional chemotherapy is necessary, the sequence surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy seems adequate. Although some data suggest that delaying the initiation of radiotherapy due to chemotherapy may increase the risk of local recurrences, there may, on the other hand, be an increased likelihood of systemic metastases, if radiotherapy is applied before chemotherapy. Concerning lung cancer, only one retrospective analysis exists suggesting a better survival of patients with an interval of more than 36 days between surgery and radiotherapy as compared to patients with a shorter interval. (orig.) [de

Contributed Review: Source-localization algorithms and applications using time of arrival and time difference of arrival measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Xinya; Deng, Zhiqun Daniel; Rauchenstein, Lynn T.; Carlson, Thomas J.

2016-04-01

Locating the position of fixed or mobile sources (i.e., transmitters) based on measurements obtained from sensors (i.e., receivers) is an important research area that is attracting much interest. In this paper, we review several representative localization algorithms that use time of arrivals (TOAs) and time difference of arrivals (TDOAs) to achieve high signal source position estimation accuracy when a transmitter is in the line-of-sight of a receiver. Circular (TOA) and hyperbolic (TDOA) position estimation approaches both use nonlinear equations that relate the known locations of receivers and unknown locations of transmitters. Estimation of the location of transmitters using the standard nonlinear equations may not be very accurate because of receiver location errors, receiver measurement errors, and computational efficiency challenges that result in high computational burdens. Least squares and maximum likelihood based algorithms have become the most popular computational approaches to transmitter location estimation. In this paper, we summarize the computational characteristics and position estimation accuracies of various positioning algorithms. By improving methods for estimating the time-of-arrival of transmissions at receivers and transmitter location estimation algorithms, transmitter location estimation may be applied across a range of applications and technologies such as radar, sonar, the Global Positioning System, wireless sensor networks, underwater animal tracking, mobile communications, and multimedia.

Study and realization of a parallel plate avalanche counter used for time of flight and localization measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellegrin, P.O.

1985-01-01

A parallel Plates Avalanche Counter (P.P.A.C.) allowing high resolution training and localization is studied. It is designed to be placed on the beam trajectory-including the magnetic spectrometer of SARA accelerator at ISN Grenoble. Two purposes are searched: firstly to improve the time-of-flight measurement due to the very high intrinsic time resolution (it can be less than 150 ps), secondly to measure with accuracy the scattering angle of the particle on the target, due to its localization. The detector thickness has been reduced to set aside as unimportant the disturbance produced on the particle trajectory. The theoretical aspect of the detector operation and a quantitative study of the disturbances it causes on particle energy are presented. The set-up and its necessary surroundings are described with experimental results of its characteristics [fr

Influence of fractionation and time on local control of T1 and T2 glottic carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Quynh-Thu; Krieg, Richard M.; Quivey, Jeanne M.; Fu, Karen K.; Meyler, Thomas S.; Stuart, Alex A.; Phillips, Theodore L.

1996-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of fraction size and overall time on local control of T1 and T2 glottic carcinoma Methods and Materials: Between 1956 and 1995, 318 consecutive patients with early glottic carcinoma (250 T1, 68 T2) were treated with definitive megavoltage radiotherapy at UCSF. Treatment was delivered using conventional fractionation at one fraction/day, 5 days/week. Minimum tumor dose ranged from 50 to 81Gy (median: 61Gy). The fraction size was 200cGy. Conclusions: Risk of tumor recurrence increased with higher T-stage, smaller fraction size, and longer overall time. Our results suggest that for optimal local control, radiotherapy for early glottic carcinoma should be completed as soon as possible, preferably within 6 weeks, using a fraction size ≥ 225cGy. Our current policy is to treat T1 and T2 vocal cord carcinomas with 225cGy/fraction/day, 5 days/week to a total dose of 63-65Gy

Treatments Results and Prognostic Factors in Locally Advanced Hypopharyngeal Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoon, Mee-Sun; Chung, Woong-Ki; Ahn, Sung-Ja; Nam, Taek-Keun; Song, Ju-Young; Nah, Byung-Sik; Lim, Sang Cheol; Lee, Joon Kyoo

2007-01-01

The purpose of this study is to present the treatment results and to identify possible prognostic indicators in patients with locally advanced hypopharyngeal carcinoma. Materials and Methods: Between October 1985 to December 2000, 90 patients who had locally advanced stage IV hypopharyngeal carcinoma were studied retrospectively. Twelve patients were treated with radiotherapy alone, 65 patients were treated with a combination of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and 13 patients were treated with surgery and postoperative radiotherapy with or without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Total radiation dose ranged from 59.0 to 88.2 Gy (median 70 Gy) for radiotherapy alone. Most patients had ciplatin and 5-fluorouracil, and others had cisplatin and peplomycin or vincristin. Median follow-up period was 15 months. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival rate and Cox proportional hazard model for multivariate analysis of prognostic factors. Results: Overall 3- and 5-year survival rates were 27% and 17%, respectively. The 2-year locoregional control rates were 33% for radiotherapy alone, 32% for combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and 81% for combined surgery and radiotherapy (p=0.006). The prognostic factors affecting overall survival were T stage, concurrent chemo radiation and treatment response. Overall 3- and 5-year laryngeal preservation rates in combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy were 26% and 22%, respectively. Of these, the 5-year laryngeal preservation rates were 52% for concurrent chemo radiation group (n=11), and 16% for neoadjuvant chemotherapy and radiotherapy (n=54, p=0.012). Conclusion: Surgery and postoperative radiotherapy showed better results than radiotherapy alone or with chemotherapy. Radiotherapy combined with concurrent chemotherapy is an effective modality to achieve organ preservation in locally advanced hypopharyngeal cancer. Further prospective randomized studies will be required

On the Laws of Total Local Times for -Paths and Bridges of Symmetric Lévy Processes

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Masafumi Hayashi

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The joint law of the total local times at two levels for -paths of symmetric Lévy processes is shown to admit an explicit representation in terms of the laws of the squared Bessel processes of dimensions two and zero. The law of the total local time at a single level for bridges is also discussed.

Local time, substorm, and seasonal dependence of electron precipitation at L≅4 inferred from riometer measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberg, T.J.; Dudeney, J.R.

1986-01-01

We have examined the variations of electron precipitation at L≅4 as inferred from riometer measurements of cosmic radio noise absorption made during 1975 at Siple Station and Halley Bay, Antarctica. The results are presented in the form of annual and seasonal averages of 1/2-hourly values for two geomagnetic activity subsets, AE>140 nT (disturbed) and AE≤ 140 nT (quiet). Monthly quiet day curves were used to remove the diurnal and seasonal variations in the background noise levels. Generally, the local time characteristics of the absorption were the same at both stations; the highest absorption occurred in the 0400--1600 MLT sector during disturbed conditions and in the 1200--2000 MLT sector during quiet conditions. For high AE, the highest correlation was obtained at a lag equal to the magnetic local time difference (1.5 hours) between the two stations. On the other hand, for low AE, the highest correlation occurred for a lag of 3.0 hours, nearer the local solar time difference (3.8 hours). Consistently higher absorption was measured at Halley on the average during both levels of magnetic disturbance and in all seasons. At both locations, and for both geomagnetic activity subsets, more absorption was observed in summer and equinox than in winter. This is in contrast to earlier studies for L≥6, and suggests that a meridional reversal of seasonal behavior occurs between L = 4 and L = 6

Influence of tumor grade on time to progression after irradiation for localized ependymoma in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merchant, Thomas E.; Jenkins, Jesse J.; Burger, Peter C.; Sanford, Robert A.; Sherwood, Scot H.; Jones-Wallace, Dana; Heideman, Richard L.; Thompson, Stephen J.; Helton, Kathleen J.; Kun, Larry E.

2002-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the influence of histologic grade on progression-free survival (PFS) after irradiation (RT) for pediatric patients with localized ependymoma. Methods and Materials: Fifty patients with localized ependymoma (median age 3.6 years, range 1-18 years at the time of RT) were treated with RT between December 1982 and June 1999. Anaplastic features were identified in 14 of 50 patients. The extent of resection was characterized as gross-total in 36 patients, near-total in 5, and subtotal in 9. The median dose to the primary site was 54 Gy. Of the 50 patients, 23 received pre-RT chemotherapy. Results: Thirty-nine patients were alive at a median follow-up of 46 months (range 21-214) from diagnosis. Thirty-four patients remained progression free at a median follow-up of 35 months (range 13-183) after the initiation of RT. Progression occurred in 16 patients (12 local and 4 local and distant), with a median time to failure of 21.2 months (range 4.6-65.0). The tumor grade significantly influenced the PFS after RT (p<0.0005). The estimated 3-year PFS rate was 28%±14% for patients with anaplastic ependymoma compared with 84% ± 8% for patients with differentiated ependymoma. These results remained significant when corrected for age at diagnosis (<3 years), pre-RT chemotherapy, and extent of resection. Patients who received pre-RT chemotherapy had an inferior 3-year PFS estimate after RT (49±12%) compared with those who did not (84%±10%; p=0.056). Anaplastic ependymoma was found more frequently in the supratentorial brain (p=0.002). Six of 12 patients with supratentorial tumor developed recurrence; recurrence was restricted to patients with anaplastic ependymoma. Conclusion: Tumor grade influences outcome for patients with ependymoma independent of other factors and should be considered in the design and analysis of prospective trials involving pediatric patients treated with RT. Chemotherapy before RT influences the PFS and overall survival after RT. The

Local Social Services in Nordic countries in Times of Disaster

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eydal, Guðný Björk; Ómarsdóttir, Ingibjörg Lilja; Dahlberg, Rasmus

of such disasters is on the rise according to forecasts. In order to enhance resilience and preparedness of those most vulnerable in disasters, the involvement of local social services in the emergency management system is of vital importance. The literature shows how social services can enhance social and human......The project focused on the emergency management systems in the five Nordic countries. It investigated whether local social services have a formal role in the contingency planning of the systems. The project was part of The Nordic Welfare Watch research project during the Icelandic Presidency...... Program in the Nordic Council of Ministers 2014-2016. The council financed the project. The main findings show that Finland, Norway and Sweden specifically address the role of social services in times of disaster in their legal frameworks on emergency management. Finland and Norway also address the role...

Exact solutions to the time-fractional differential equations via local fractional derivatives

Science.gov (United States)

Guner, Ozkan; Bekir, Ahmet

2018-01-01

This article utilizes the local fractional derivative and the exp-function method to construct the exact solutions of nonlinear time-fractional differential equations (FDEs). For illustrating the validity of the method, it is applied to the time-fractional Camassa-Holm equation and the time-fractional-generalized fifth-order KdV equation. Moreover, the exact solutions are obtained for the equations which are formed by different parameter values related to the time-fractional-generalized fifth-order KdV equation. This method is an reliable and efficient mathematical tool for solving FDEs and it can be applied to other non-linear FDEs.

Transient local heat fluxes during the entire vapor bubble life time

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stephan, P.; Fuchs, T; Wagner, E.; Schweizer, N. [Technische Universitaet Darmstadt (Germany). Technical Thermodynamics], e-mail: pstephan@ttd.tu-darmstadt.de

2009-07-01

Recent experimental and numerical investigations of the nucleate boiling heat transfer process at a single active nucleation site are presented and used for an evaluation of the local heat fluxes during the entire life time of a vapor bubble from its nucleation to the rise through the thermal boundary layer. In a special boiling cell, vapor bubbles are generated at a single nucleation site on a 20 {mu}m thin stainless steel heating foil. An infrared camera captures the temperature distribution at the wall with high temporal and spatial resolution. The bubble shape is recorded with a high-speed camera. Measurements were conducted with the pure fluids FC-84 and FC-3284 and with its binary mixtures. For pure fluids, up to 50-60% of the latent heat flows through the three-phase-contact line region. For mixtures, this ratio is clearly reduced. These observations are in agreement with the numerical model of the author's group. The fully transient model contains a multi scale approach ranging from the nanometer to the millimeter scale for the detailed description of the relevant local and global phenomena. It describes the transient heat and fluid flow during the entire periodic cycle of a growing, detaching and rising bubble including the waiting time between two successive bubbles from a single nucleation site. The detailed analysis of the computed transient temperature profiles in wall and fluid give accurate information about the heat supply, temporal energy storage and local evaporation rates. (author)

Transient local heat fluxes during the entire vapor bubble life time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stephan, P.; Fuchs, T; Wagner, E.; Schweizer, N.

2009-01-01

Recent experimental and numerical investigations of the nucleate boiling heat transfer process at a single active nucleation site are presented and used for an evaluation of the local heat fluxes during the entire life time of a vapor bubble from its nucleation to the rise through the thermal boundary layer. In a special boiling cell, vapor bubbles are generated at a single nucleation site on a 20 μm thin stainless steel heating foil. An infrared camera captures the temperature distribution at the wall with high temporal and spatial resolution. The bubble shape is recorded with a high-speed camera. Measurements were conducted with the pure fluids FC-84 and FC-3284 and with its binary mixtures. For pure fluids, up to 50-60% of the latent heat flows through the three-phase-contact line region. For mixtures, this ratio is clearly reduced. These observations are in agreement with the numerical model of the author's group. The fully transient model contains a multi scale approach ranging from the nanometer to the millimeter scale for the detailed description of the relevant local and global phenomena. It describes the transient heat and fluid flow during the entire periodic cycle of a growing, detaching and rising bubble including the waiting time between two successive bubbles from a single nucleation site. The detailed analysis of the computed transient temperature profiles in wall and fluid give accurate information about the heat supply, temporal energy storage and local evaporation rates. (author)

The importance of including local correlation times in the calculation of inter-proton distances from NMR measurements: ignoring local correlation times leads to significant errors in the conformational analysis of the Glc alpha1-2Glc alpha linkage by NMR spectroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackeen, Mukram; Almond, Andrew; Cumpstey, Ian; Enis, Seth C; Kupce, Eriks; Butters, Terry D; Fairbanks, Antony J; Dwek, Raymond A; Wormald, Mark R

2006-06-07

The experimental determination of oligosaccharide conformations has traditionally used cross-linkage 1H-1H NOE/ROEs. As relatively few NOEs are observed, to provide sufficient conformational constraints this method relies on: accurate quantification of NOE intensities (positive constraints); analysis of absent NOEs (negative constraints); and hence calculation of inter-proton distances using the two-spin approximation. We have compared the results obtained by using 1H 2D NOESY, ROESY and T-ROESY experiments at 500 and 700 MHz to determine the conformation of the terminal Glc alpha1-2Glc alpha linkage in a dodecasaccharide and a related tetrasaccharide. For the tetrasaccharide, the NOESY and ROESY spectra produced the same qualitative pattern of linkage cross-peaks but the quantitative pattern, the relative peak intensities, was different. For the dodecasaccharide, the NOESY and ROESY spectra at 500 MHz produced a different qualitative pattern of linkage cross-peaks, with fewer peaks in the NOESY spectrum. At 700 MHz, the NOESY and ROESY spectra of the dodecasaccharide produced the same qualitative pattern of peaks, but again the relative peak intensities were different. These differences are due to very significant differences in the local correlation times for different proton pairs across this glycosidic linkage. The local correlation time for each proton pair was measured using the ratio of the NOESY and T-ROESY cross-relaxation rates, leaving the NOESY and ROESY as independent data sets for calculating the inter-proton distances. The inter-proton distances calculated including the effects of differences in local correlation times give much more consistent results.

Effects of Storage Time on the Quality of Local Chicken Meat ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

An experiment was carried out to investigate the proximate composition and effects of aging time on local chicken meat quality. For proximate analysis, 24 male and 24 female breast, thigh and drumstick samples from one half of the carcass were skinned, de-boned and frozen at -20oC. The samples were minced through a ...

Preoperative chemoradiotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and oxaliplatin for locally advanced rectal cancer: long-term results of a phase II trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Luying; Cao, Caineng; Zhu, Yuan; Li, Dechuan; Feng, Haiyang; Luo, Jialin; Tang, Zhongzhu; Liu, Peng; Lu, Ke; Ju, Haixing; Zhang, Na

2015-03-01

The aim of this study was to report long-term results of patients with locally advanced rectal cancer treated by neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy with fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin. From February 2002 to November 2006, a total of 58 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer were recruited. Secondary endpoints included the cumulative incidence of local and distant recurrences, disease-free survival, and overall survival. The median follow-up time was 138 months (109-151 months). The cumulative incidence of local recurrence at 10 years was 12.1%. The cumulative incidence of distant recurrence at 10 years was 53.4%. The overall survival in the intention-to-treat population was 39.5% at 10 years. Disease-free survival in the intention-to-treat population was 41.8% at 10 years. Univariate analysis revealed that pathologic complete response was associated with local recurrence, distant recurrence, disease-free survival, and overall survival (p rectal cancer after preoperative chemoradiotherapy and total mesorectal excision. Pathologic complete response is an independent prognostic factor for locally advanced rectal cancer after preoperative chemoradiotherapy.

Extended local similarity analysis (eLSA) of microbial community and other time series data with replicates.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Li C; Steele, Joshua A; Cram, Jacob A; Cardon, Zoe G; Simmons, Sheri L; Vallino, Joseph J; Fuhrman, Jed A; Sun, Fengzhu

2011-01-01

The increasing availability of time series microbial community data from metagenomics and other molecular biological studies has enabled the analysis of large-scale microbial co-occurrence and association networks. Among the many analytical techniques available, the Local Similarity Analysis (LSA) method is unique in that it captures local and potentially time-delayed co-occurrence and association patterns in time series data that cannot otherwise be identified by ordinary correlation analysis. However LSA, as originally developed, does not consider time series data with replicates, which hinders the full exploitation of available information. With replicates, it is possible to understand the variability of local similarity (LS) score and to obtain its confidence interval. We extended our LSA technique to time series data with replicates and termed it extended LSA, or eLSA. Simulations showed the capability of eLSA to capture subinterval and time-delayed associations. We implemented the eLSA technique into an easy-to-use analytic software package. The software pipeline integrates data normalization, statistical correlation calculation, statistical significance evaluation, and association network construction steps. We applied the eLSA technique to microbial community and gene expression datasets, where unique time-dependent associations were identified. The extended LSA analysis technique was demonstrated to reveal statistically significant local and potentially time-delayed association patterns in replicated time series data beyond that of ordinary correlation analysis. These statistically significant associations can provide insights to the real dynamics of biological systems. The newly designed eLSA software efficiently streamlines the analysis and is freely available from the eLSA homepage, which can be accessed at http://meta.usc.edu/softs/lsa.

Timing of Clinical Billing Reimbursement for a Local Health Department.

Science.gov (United States)

McCullough, J Mac

2016-01-01

A major responsibility of a local health department (LHD) is to assure public health service availability throughout its jurisdiction. Many LHDs face expanded service needs and declining budgets, making billing for services an increasingly important strategy for sustaining public health service provision. Yet, little practice-based data exist to guide practitioners on what to expect financially, especially regarding timing of reimbursement receipt. This study provides results from one LHD on the lag from service delivery to reimbursement receipt. Reimbursement records for all transactions at Maricopa County Department of Public Health immunization clinics from January 2013 through June 2014 were compiled and analyzed to determine the duration between service and reimbursement. Outcomes included daily and cumulative revenues received. Time to reimbursement for Medicaid and private payers was also compared. Reimbursement for immunization services was received a median of 68 days after service. Payments were sometimes taken back by payers through credit transactions that occurred a median of 333 days from service. No differences in time to reimbursement between Medicaid and private payers were found. Billing represents an important financial opportunity for LHDs to continue to sustainably assure population health. Yet, the lag from service provision to reimbursement may complicate budgeting, especially in initial years of new billing activities. Special consideration may be necessary to establish flexibility in the budget-setting processes for services with clinical billing revenues, because funds for services delivered in one budget period may not be received in the same period. LHDs may also benefit from exploring strategies used by other delivery organizations to streamline billing processes.

Deep Learning for Real-Time Capable Object Detection and Localization on Mobile Platforms

Science.gov (United States)

Particke, F.; Kolbenschlag, R.; Hiller, M.; Patiño-Studencki, L.; Thielecke, J.

2017-10-01

Industry 4.0 is one of the most formative terms in current times. Subject of research are particularly smart and autonomous mobile platforms, which enormously lighten the workload and optimize production processes. In order to interact with humans, the platforms need an in-depth knowledge of the environment. Hence, it is required to detect a variety of static and non-static objects. Goal of this paper is to propose an accurate and real-time capable object detection and localization approach for the use on mobile platforms. A method is introduced to use the powerful detection capabilities of a neural network for the localization of objects. Therefore, detection information of a neural network is combined with depth information from a RGB-D camera, which is mounted on a mobile platform. As detection network, YOLO Version 2 (YOLOv2) is used on a mobile robot. In order to find the detected object in the depth image, the bounding boxes, predicted by YOLOv2, are mapped to the corresponding regions in the depth image. This provides a powerful and extremely fast approach for establishing a real-time-capable Object Locator. In the evaluation part, the localization approach turns out to be very accurate. Nevertheless, it is dependent on the detected object itself and some additional parameters, which are analysed in this paper.

The brief time-reversibility of the local Lyapunov exponents for a small chaotic Hamiltonian system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Waldner, Franz; Hoover, William G.; Hoover, Carol G.

2014-01-01

Highlights: •We consider the local Lyapunov spectrum for a four-dimensional Hamilton system. •Its stable periodic motion can be reversed for long times. •In the chaotic motion, time reversal occurs only for a short time. •Perturbations will change this short unstable case into a different stable case. •These observations might relate chaos to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. - Abstract: We consider the local (instantaneous) Lyapunov spectrum for a four-dimensional Hamiltonian system. Its stable periodic motion can be reversed for long times. Its unstable chaotic motion, with two symmetric pairs of exponents, cannot. In the latter case reversal occurs for more than a thousand fourth-order Runge–Kutta time steps, followed by a transition to a new set of paired Lyapunov exponents, unrelated to those seen in the forward time direction. The relation of the observed chaotic dynamics to the Second Law of Thermodynamics is discussed

Lead-time reduction utilizing lean tools applied to healthcare: the inpatient pharmacy at a local hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Araidah, Omar; Momani, Amer; Khasawneh, Mohammad; Momani, Mohammed

2010-01-01

The healthcare arena, much like the manufacturing industry, benefits from many aspects of the Toyota lean principles. Lean thinking contributes to reducing or eliminating nonvalue-added time, money, and energy in healthcare. In this paper, we apply selected principles of lean management aiming at reducing the wasted time associated with drug dispensing at an inpatient pharmacy at a local hospital. Thorough investigation of the drug dispensing process revealed unnecessary complexities that contribute to delays in delivering medications to patients. We utilize DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) and 5S (Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) principles to identify and reduce wastes that contribute to increasing the lead-time in healthcare operations at the pharmacy understudy. The results obtained from the study revealed potential savings of > 45% in the drug dispensing cycle time.

Treatment results of incomplete chemoradiotherapy in locally advanced cervical cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gao Y

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Ying Gao,1,* Fei Gao,2,* Zi Liu,1 Li-ping Song1 1Department of Radiotherapy Oncology, First Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China; 2Second Affiliated Hospital of Medical College of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Objective: Regimens that combine chemotherapy and radiotherapy increase toxicity and compromise a patient’s ability to adhere to the treatment plan. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of a partially completed chemoradiation regimen prescribed for locally advanced carcinoma of the cervix. Methods: Medical records of 156 patients with locally advanced cervical cancer stage IIB–IVA who received chemoradiation with cisplatin (40 mg/m2 and 5-fluorouracil (500 mg/m2 from October 2006 to October 2008 were collected. The treatment protocol called for two cycles of chemotherapy. External beam radiation therapy was administered using a 10-MeV electron beam. Local control, disease free survival, overall survival, and toxicities were evaluated. Results: With a median follow-up of 37.5 months, 89 patients (57% completed the planned protocol. Sixty seven patients (43% completed fewer than two cycles. The 3-year local control rate was significantly better in the patient group that completed the prescribed plan (92.1% compared to 80.6%; P = 0.033. No statistical significance was observed between the groups that completed or did not complete the two cycle protocol with regard to disease free survival (80.9% and 73.2%, respectively; P = 0.250, overall survival (84.3% and 79.1%; P = 0.405, and progression survival (3.4% and 3.0%; P = 0.892. Differences in acute hematologic toxicity and subcutaneous toxicity were observed between the two groups. Conclusions: Completion of two cycles of 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin with radiotherapy was effective, safe, and responsible for better local control

Universal and local time components in Schumann resonance intensity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. P. Nickolaenko

2008-05-01

Full Text Available We extend the technique suggested by Sentman and Fraser (1991 and discussed by Pechony and Price (2006, the technique for separating the local and universal time variations in the Schumann resonance intensity. Initially, we simulate the resonance oscillations in a uniform Earth-ionosphere cavity with the distribution of lightning strokes based on the OTD satellite data. Different field components were used in the Dayside source model for the Moshiri (Japan, geographic coordinates: 44.365° N, 142.24° E and Lehta (Karelia, Russia, 64.427° N, 33.974° E observatories. We use the extended Fourier series for obtaining the modulating functions. Simulations show that the algorithm evaluates the impact of the source proximity in the resonance intensity. Our major goal was in estimating the universal alteration factors, which reflect changes in the global thunderstorm activity. It was achieved by compensating the local factors present in the initial data. The technique is introduced with the model Schumann resonance data and afterwards we use the long-term experimental records at the above sites for obtaining the diurnal/monthly variations of the global thunderstorms.

A Bayesian approach to real-time 3D tumor localization via monoscopic x-ray imaging during treatment delivery

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Ruijiang; Fahimian, Benjamin P.; Xing, Lei

2011-01-01

Purpose: Monoscopic x-ray imaging with on-board kV devices is an attractive approach for real-time image guidance in modern radiation therapy such as VMAT or IMRT, but it falls short in providing reliable information along the direction of imaging x-ray. By effectively taking consideration of projection data at prior times and/or angles through a Bayesian formalism, the authors develop an algorithm for real-time and full 3D tumor localization with a single x-ray imager during treatment delivery. Methods: First, a prior probability density function is constructed using the 2D tumor locations on the projection images acquired during patient setup. Whenever an x-ray image is acquired during the treatment delivery, the corresponding 2D tumor location on the imager is used to update the likelihood function. The unresolved third dimension is obtained by maximizing the posterior probability distribution. The algorithm can also be used in a retrospective fashion when all the projection images during the treatment delivery are used for 3D localization purposes. The algorithm does not involve complex optimization of any model parameter and therefore can be used in a ''plug-and-play'' fashion. The authors validated the algorithm using (1) simulated 3D linear and elliptic motion and (2) 3D tumor motion trajectories of a lung and a pancreas patient reproduced by a physical phantom. Continuous kV images were acquired over a full gantry rotation with the Varian TrueBeam on-board imaging system. Three scenarios were considered: fluoroscopic setup, cone beam CT setup, and retrospective analysis. Results: For the simulation study, the RMS 3D localization error is 1.2 and 2.4 mm for the linear and elliptic motions, respectively. For the phantom experiments, the 3D localization error is < 1 mm on average and < 1.5 mm at 95th percentile in the lung and pancreas cases for all three scenarios. The difference in 3D localization error for different scenarios is small and is not

The inner magnetosphere ion composition and local time distribution over a solar cycle

Science.gov (United States)

Kistler, L. M.; Mouikis, C. G.

2016-03-01

Using the Cluster/Composition and Distribution Function (CODIF) analyzer data set from 2001 to 2013, a full solar cycle, we determine the ion distributions for H+, He+, and O+ in the inner magnetosphere (L < 12) over the energy range 40 eV to 40 keV as a function magnetic local time, solar EUV (F10.7), and geomagnetic activity (Kp). Concentrating on L = 6-7 for comparison with previous studies at geosynchronous orbit, we determine both the average flux at 90° pitch angle and the pitch angle anisotropy as a function of energy and magnetic local time. We clearly see the minimum in the H+ spectrum that results from the competition between eastward and westward drifts. The feature is weaker in O+ and He+, leading to higher O+/H+ and He+/H+ ratios in the affected region, and also to a higher pitch angle anisotropy, both features expected from the long-term effects of charge exchange. We also determine how the nightside L = 6-7 densities and temperatures vary with geomagnetic activity (Kp) and solar EUV (F10.7). Consistent with other studies, we find that the O+ density and relative abundance increase significantly with both Kp and F10.7. He+ density increases with F10.7, but not significantly with Kp. The temperatures of all species decrease with increasing F10.7. The O+ and He+ densities increase from L = 12 to L ~ 3-4, both absolutely and relative to H+, and then drop off sharply. The results give a comprehensive view of the inner magnetosphere using a contiguous long-term data set that supports much of the earlier work from GEOS, ISEE, Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers, and Polar from previous solar cycles.

Energy-time entanglement, elements of reality, and local realism

Science.gov (United States)

Jogenfors, Jonathan; Larsson, Jan-Åke

2014-10-01

The Franson interferometer, proposed in 1989 (Franson 1989 Phys. Rev. Lett. 62 2205-08), beautifully shows the counter-intuitive nature of light. The quantum description predicts sinusoidal interference for specific outcomes of the experiment, and these predictions can be verified in experiment. In the spirit of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen it is possible to ask if the quantum-mechanical description (of this setup) can be considered complete. This question will be answered in detail in this paper, by delineating the quite complicated relation between energy-time entanglement experiments and Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) elements of reality. The mentioned sinusoidal interference pattern is the same as that giving a violation in the usual Bell experiment. Even so, depending on the precise requirements made on the local realist model, this can imply (a) no violation, (b) smaller violation than usual, or (c) full violation of the appropriate statistical bound. Alternatives include (a) using only the measurement outcomes as EPR elements of reality, (b) using the emission time as EPR element of reality, (c) using path realism, or (d) using a modified setup. This paper discusses the nature of these alternatives and how to choose between them. The subtleties of this discussion needs to be taken into account when designing and setting up experiments intended to test local realism. Furthermore, these considerations are also important for quantum communication, for example in Bell-inequality-based quantum cryptography, especially when aiming for device independence. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘50 years of Bell’s theorem’.

Energy-time entanglement, elements of reality, and local realism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jogenfors, Jonathan; Larsson, Jan-Åke

2014-01-01

The Franson interferometer, proposed in 1989 (Franson 1989 Phys. Rev. Lett. 62 2205–08), beautifully shows the counter-intuitive nature of light. The quantum description predicts sinusoidal interference for specific outcomes of the experiment, and these predictions can be verified in experiment. In the spirit of Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen it is possible to ask if the quantum-mechanical description (of this setup) can be considered complete. This question will be answered in detail in this paper, by delineating the quite complicated relation between energy-time entanglement experiments and Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) elements of reality. The mentioned sinusoidal interference pattern is the same as that giving a violation in the usual Bell experiment. Even so, depending on the precise requirements made on the local realist model, this can imply (a) no violation, (b) smaller violation than usual, or (c) full violation of the appropriate statistical bound. Alternatives include (a) using only the measurement outcomes as EPR elements of reality, (b) using the emission time as EPR element of reality, (c) using path realism, or (d) using a modified setup. This paper discusses the nature of these alternatives and how to choose between them. The subtleties of this discussion needs to be taken into account when designing and setting up experiments intended to test local realism. Furthermore, these considerations are also important for quantum communication, for example in Bell-inequality-based quantum cryptography, especially when aiming for device independence. This article is part of a special issue of Journal of Physics A: Mathematical and Theoretical devoted to ‘50 years of Bell’s theorem’. (paper)

Is the local linearity of space-time inherited from the linearity of probabilities?

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Markus P.; Carrozza, Sylvain; Höhn, Philipp A.

2017-02-01

The appearance of linear spaces, describing physical quantities by vectors and tensors, is ubiquitous in all of physics, from classical mechanics to the modern notion of local Lorentz invariance. However, as natural as this seems to the physicist, most computer scientists would argue that something like a ‘local linear tangent space’ is not very typical and in fact a quite surprising property of any conceivable world or algorithm. In this paper, we take the perspective of the computer scientist seriously, and ask whether there could be any inherently information-theoretic reason to expect this notion of linearity to appear in physics. We give a series of simple arguments, spanning quantum information theory, group representation theory, and renormalization in quantum gravity, that supports a surprising thesis: namely, that the local linearity of space-time might ultimately be a consequence of the linearity of probabilities. While our arguments involve a fair amount of speculation, they have the virtue of being independent of any detailed assumptions on quantum gravity, and they are in harmony with several independent recent ideas on emergent space-time in high-energy physics.

Is the local linearity of space-time inherited from the linearity of probabilities?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Müller, Markus P; Carrozza, Sylvain; Höhn, Philipp A

2017-01-01

The appearance of linear spaces, describing physical quantities by vectors and tensors, is ubiquitous in all of physics, from classical mechanics to the modern notion of local Lorentz invariance. However, as natural as this seems to the physicist, most computer scientists would argue that something like a ‘local linear tangent space’ is not very typical and in fact a quite surprising property of any conceivable world or algorithm. In this paper, we take the perspective of the computer scientist seriously, and ask whether there could be any inherently information-theoretic reason to expect this notion of linearity to appear in physics. We give a series of simple arguments, spanning quantum information theory, group representation theory, and renormalization in quantum gravity, that supports a surprising thesis: namely, that the local linearity of space-time might ultimately be a consequence of the linearity of probabilities. While our arguments involve a fair amount of speculation, they have the virtue of being independent of any detailed assumptions on quantum gravity, and they are in harmony with several independent recent ideas on emergent space-time in high-energy physics. (paper)

Very accelerated radiation therapy: preliminary results in locally unresectable head and neck carcinomas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bourhis, Jean; Fortin, Andre; Dupuis, Olivier; Domenge, Christian; Lusinchi, Antoine; Marandas, Patrick; Schwaab, Guy; Armand, Jean Pierre; Luboinski, Bernard; Malaise, Edmond; Eschwege, Francois; Wibault, Pierre

1995-06-15

Purpose: To report preliminary results of a very accelerated radiation therapy Phase I/II trial in locally advanced head and squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC). Methods and Materials: Between 01/92 and 06/93, 35 patients with an unresectable HNSCC were entered in this study. Thirty-two (91%) had Stage IV, and 3 had Stage III disease. The mean nodal diameter, in patients with clinically involved nodes (83%), was 6.3 cm. The median Karnovsky performance status was 70. The treatment consisted of a twice daily schedule (BID) giving 62 Gy in 20 days. Results: In all cases, confluent mucositis was observed, which started about day 15 and resolved within 6 to 10 weeks. Eighty percent of patients had enteral nutritional support. The nasogastric tube or gastrostomy was maintained in these patients for a mean duration of 51.8 days. Eighteen patients (53%) were hospitalized during the course of treatment due to a poor medical status or because they lived far from the center (mean 25 days). Nineteen patients (56%) (some of whom were initially in-patients) were hospitalized posttreatment for toxicity (mean 13 days). Five patients (15%) were never hospitalized. During the follow-up period, 12 local and/or regional failures were observed. The actuarial 18-month loco-regional control rate was 59% (95% confidence interval, 45-73%). Conclusions: The dramatic shortening of radiation therapy compared to conventional schedules in our series of very advanced HNSCC resulted in: (a) severe acute mucosal toxicity, which was manageable but required intensive nutritional support in all cases; and (b) high loco-regional response rates, strongly suggesting that the time factor is likely to be critical for tumor control in this type of cancer.

Wide variation of prostate-specific antigen doubling time of untreated, clinically localized, low-to-intermediate grade, prostate carcinoma.

Science.gov (United States)

Choo, Richard; Klotz, Laurence; Deboer, Gerrit; Danjoux, Cyril; Morton, Gerard C

2004-08-01

To assess the prostate specific antigen (PSA) doubling time of untreated, clinically localized, low-to-intermediate grade prostate carcinoma. A prospective single-arm cohort study has been in progress since November 1995 to assess the feasibility of a watchful-observation protocol with selective delayed intervention for clinically localized, low-to-intermediate grade prostate adenocarcinoma. The PSA doubling time was estimated from a linear regression of ln(PSA) against time, assuming a simple exponential growth model. As of March 2003, 231 patients had at least 6 months of follow-up (median 45) and at least three PSA measurements (median 8, range 3-21). The distribution of the doubling time was: 50 years, 56. The median doubling time was 7.0 years; 42% of men had a doubling time of >10 years. The doubling time of untreated clinically localized, low-to-intermediate grade prostate cancer varies widely.

Sibling Position and Marriage Timing in the Netherlands, 1840-1922: A Comparison across Social Classes, Local Contexts, and Time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Suanet, B.; Bras, H.

2014-01-01

Research on the effects of sibling position on marriage timing has produced ambivalent findings, suggesting that birth order effects were contingent on social, local, and historical contexts. Based on a large database of marriage certificates from five Dutch provinces between 1840 and 1922, we

Hitting times of local and global optima in genetic algorithms with very high selection pressure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eremeev Anton V.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The paper is devoted to upper bounds on the expected first hitting times of the sets of local or global optima for non-elitist genetic algorithms with very high selection pressure. The results of this paper extend the range of situations where the upper bounds on the expected runtime are known for genetic algorithms and apply, in particular, to the Canonical Genetic Algorithm. The obtained bounds do not require the probability of fitness-decreasing mutation to be bounded by a constant which is less than one.

Effect of time interval between capecitabine intake and radiotherapy on local recurrence-free survival in preoperative chemoradiation for locally advanced rectal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Yeon Joo; Kim, Jong Hoon; Yu, Chang Sik; Kim, Tae Won; Jang, Se Jin; Choi, Eun Kyung; Kim, Jin Cheon [Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Won Sik [University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Gangneung (Korea, Republic of)

2017-06-15

The concentration of capecitabine peaks at 1–2 hours after administration. We therefore assumed that proper timing of capecitabine administration and radiotherapy would maximize radiosensitization and influence survival among patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. We retrospectively reviewed 223 patients with locally advanced rectal cancer who underwent preoperative chemoradiation, followed by surgery from January 2002 to May 2006. All patients underwent pelvic radiotherapy (50 Gy/25 fractions) and received capecitabine twice daily at 12-hour intervals (1,650 mg/m2/day). Patients were divided into two groups according to the time interval between capecitabine intake and radiotherapy. Patients who took capecitabine 1 hour before radiotherapy were classified as Group A (n = 109); all others were classified as Group B (n = 114). The median follow-up period was 72 months (range, 7 to 149 months). Although Group A had a significantly higher rate of good responses (44% vs. 25%; p = 0.005), the 5-year local recurrence-free survival rates of 93% in Group A and 97% in Group B did not differ significantly (p = 0.519). The 5-year disease-free survival and overall survival rates were also comparable between the groups. Despite the better pathological response in Group A, the time interval between capecitabine and radiotherapy administration did not have a significant effect on survivals. Further evaluations are needed to clarify the interaction of these treatment modalities.

Emergence of Space-Time Localization and Cosmic Decoherence:. More on Irreversible Time, Dark Energy, Anti-Matter and Black-Holes

Science.gov (United States)

Magnon, Anne

2005-04-01

A non geometric cosmology is presented, based on logic of observability, where logical categories of our perception set frontiers to comprehensibility. The Big-Bang singularity finds here a substitute (comparable to a "quantum jump"): a logical process (tied to self-referent and divisible totality) by which information emerges, focalizes on events and recycles, providing a transition from incoherence to causal coherence. This jump manufactures causal order and space-time localization, as exact solutions to Einstein's equation, where the last step of the process disentangles complex Riemann spheres into real null-cones (a geometric overturning imposed by self-reference, reminding us of our ability to project the cosmos within our mental sphere). Concepts such as antimatter and dark energy (dual entities tied to bifurcations or broken symmetries, and their compensation), are presented as hidden in the virtual potentialities, while irreversible time appears with the recycling of information and related flow. Logical bifurcations (such as the "part-totality" category, a quantum of information which owes its recycling to non localizable logical separations, as anticipated by unstability or horizon dependence of the quantum vacuum) induce broken symmetries, at the (complex or real) geometric level [eg. the antiselfdual complex non linear graviton solutions, which break duality symmetry, provide a model for (hidden) anti-matter, itself compensated with dark-energy, and providing, with space-time localization, the radiative gravitational energy (Bondi flux and related bifurcations of the peeling off type), as well as mass of isolated bodies]. These bifurcations are compensated by inertial effects (non geometric precursors of the Coriolis forces) able to explain (on logical grounds) the cosmic expansion (a repulsion?) and critical equilibrium of the cosmic tissue. Space-time environment, itself, emerges through the jump, as a censor to totality, a screen to incoherence (as

Wide localized solutions of the parity-time-symmetric nonautonomous nonlinear Schrödinger equation

Science.gov (United States)

Meza, L. E. Arroyo; Dutra, A. de Souza; Hott, M. B.; Roy, P.

2015-01-01

By using canonical transformations we obtain localized (in space) exact solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with cubic and quintic space and time modulated nonlinearities and in the presence of time-dependent and inhomogeneous external potentials and amplification or absorption (source or drain) coefficients. We obtain a class of wide localized exact solutions of NLSE in the presence of a number of non-Hermitian parity-time (PT )-symmetric external potentials, which are constituted by a mixing of external potentials and source or drain terms. The exact solutions found here can be applied to theoretical studies of ultrashort pulse propagation in optical fibers with focusing and defocusing nonlinearities. We show that, even in the presence of gain or loss terms, stable solutions can be found and that the PT symmetry is an important feature to guarantee the conservation of the average energy of the system.

Results of external beam irradiation for rectal carcinomas locally recurrent after local excision or electrocoagulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shun Wong, C.; Cummings, B.J.; Keane, T.J.; O'Sullivan, Brian; Catton, C.N.

1991-01-01

The outcome of 42 patients who developed locally recurrent rectal carcinoma after initial local excision or electrocoagulation was presented. Five patients received combined surgery and radiotherapy (XRT). The remaining 37 patients were managed by XRT alone. The overall 5 years actuarial survival and local control rates were 21 and 22 percent, respectively. For patients who received XRT alone, the 5 year actuarial survival and local control rates were 20 and 15 percent, resp. The corresponding figures were 35 and 40 percent for patients who received a total XRT dose of 50 Gy or more. One patient who underwent combined treatment developed rectal and bladder incontinence requiring surgery. For patients with rectal recurrence after initial conservative surgery, XRT is an alternative to abdominoperipheral resection if major resection is contraindicated. (author). 13 refs.; 2 tabs

A systematic method for constructing time discretizations of integrable lattice systems: local equations of motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsuchida, Takayuki

2010-01-01

We propose a new method for discretizing the time variable in integrable lattice systems while maintaining the locality of the equations of motion. The method is based on the zero-curvature (Lax pair) representation and the lowest-order 'conservation laws'. In contrast to the pioneering work of Ablowitz and Ladik, our method allows the auxiliary dependent variables appearing in the stage of time discretization to be expressed locally in terms of the original dependent variables. The time-discretized lattice systems have the same set of conserved quantities and the same structures of the solutions as the continuous-time lattice systems; only the time evolution of the parameters in the solutions that correspond to the angle variables is discretized. The effectiveness of our method is illustrated using examples such as the Toda lattice, the Volterra lattice, the modified Volterra lattice, the Ablowitz-Ladik lattice (an integrable semi-discrete nonlinear Schroedinger system) and the lattice Heisenberg ferromagnet model. For the modified Volterra lattice, we also present its ultradiscrete analogue.

Continuity and change in local immigrant policies in times of austerity.

Science.gov (United States)

Schiller, Maria; Hackett, Sarah

2018-01-01

European cities are increasingly being recognised for the role they play in devising and implementing their own migration, integration and diversity policies. Yet very little is known about the local dimension of immigrant policymaking in crisis contexts. This introductory piece offers a rationale for analysing city-level immigrant policies in times of crisis and the salience of using crisis as a metaphor for the state of things, and outlines key scholarly works, debates, concepts and theories. It provides a range of historical and contemporary examples and considerations, and introduces an empirical city case study that is published as part of this mini-symposium. It argues that a crisis lens leads to a systematic understanding of local-level immigrant policymaking in recent and contemporary Western Europe. The mini-symposium's focus and findings should be relevant to both on-going academic and policy debates.

Real Time Vision System for Obstacle Detection and Localization on FPGA

OpenAIRE

Alhamwi , Ali; Vandeportaele , Bertrand; Piat , Jonathan

2015-01-01

International audience; Obstacle detection is a mandatory function for a robot navigating in an indoor environment especially when interaction with humans is done in a cluttered environment. Commonly used vision-based solutions like SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) or optical flow tend to be computation intensive and require powerful computation resources to meet low speed real-time constraints. Solutions using LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) sensors are more robust but not co...

Identification of spikes associated with local sources in continuous time series of atmospheric CO, CO2 and CH4

Science.gov (United States)

El Yazidi, Abdelhadi; Ramonet, Michel; Ciais, Philippe; Broquet, Gregoire; Pison, Isabelle; Abbaris, Amara; Brunner, Dominik; Conil, Sebastien; Delmotte, Marc; Gheusi, Francois; Guerin, Frederic; Hazan, Lynn; Kachroudi, Nesrine; Kouvarakis, Giorgos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; Rivier, Leonard; Serça, Dominique

2018-03-01

This study deals with the problem of identifying atmospheric data influenced by local emissions that can result in spikes in time series of greenhouse gases and long-lived tracer measurements. We considered three spike detection methods known as coefficient of variation (COV), robust extraction of baseline signal (REBS) and standard deviation of the background (SD) to detect and filter positive spikes in continuous greenhouse gas time series from four monitoring stations representative of the European ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System) Research Infrastructure network. The results of the different methods are compared to each other and against a manual detection performed by station managers. Four stations were selected as test cases to apply the spike detection methods: a continental rural tower of 100 m height in eastern France (OPE), a high-mountain observatory in the south-west of France (PDM), a regional marine background site in Crete (FKL) and a marine clean-air background site in the Southern Hemisphere on Amsterdam Island (AMS). This selection allows us to address spike detection problems in time series with different variability. Two years of continuous measurements of CO2, CH4 and CO were analysed. All methods were found to be able to detect short-term spikes (lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes) in the time series. Analysis of the results of each method leads us to exclude the COV method due to the requirement to arbitrarily specify an a priori percentage of rejected data in the time series, which may over- or underestimate the actual number of spikes. The two other methods freely determine the number of spikes for a given set of parameters, and the values of these parameters were calibrated to provide the best match with spikes known to reflect local emissions episodes that are well documented by the station managers. More than 96 % of the spikes manually identified by station managers were successfully detected both in the SD and the

Identification of spikes associated with local sources in continuous time series of atmospheric CO, CO2 and CH4

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. El Yazidi

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This study deals with the problem of identifying atmospheric data influenced by local emissions that can result in spikes in time series of greenhouse gases and long-lived tracer measurements. We considered three spike detection methods known as coefficient of variation (COV, robust extraction of baseline signal (REBS and standard deviation of the background (SD to detect and filter positive spikes in continuous greenhouse gas time series from four monitoring stations representative of the European ICOS (Integrated Carbon Observation System Research Infrastructure network. The results of the different methods are compared to each other and against a manual detection performed by station managers. Four stations were selected as test cases to apply the spike detection methods: a continental rural tower of 100 m height in eastern France (OPE, a high-mountain observatory in the south-west of France (PDM, a regional marine background site in Crete (FKL and a marine clean-air background site in the Southern Hemisphere on Amsterdam Island (AMS. This selection allows us to address spike detection problems in time series with different variability. Two years of continuous measurements of CO2, CH4 and CO were analysed. All methods were found to be able to detect short-term spikes (lasting from a few seconds to a few minutes in the time series. Analysis of the results of each method leads us to exclude the COV method due to the requirement to arbitrarily specify an a priori percentage of rejected data in the time series, which may over- or underestimate the actual number of spikes. The two other methods freely determine the number of spikes for a given set of parameters, and the values of these parameters were calibrated to provide the best match with spikes known to reflect local emissions episodes that are well documented by the station managers. More than 96 % of the spikes manually identified by station managers were successfully detected both in

Optical eye tracking system for real-time noninvasive tumor localization in external beam radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Via, Riccardo; Fassi, Aurora; Fattori, Giovanni; Fontana, Giulia; Pella, Andrea; Tagaste, Barbara; Riboldi, Marco; Ciocca, Mario; Orecchia, Roberto; Baroni, Guido

2015-05-01

External beam radiotherapy currently represents an important therapeutic strategy for the treatment of intraocular tumors. Accurate target localization and efficient compensation of involuntary eye movements are crucial to avoid deviations in dose distribution with respect to the treatment plan. This paper describes an eye tracking system (ETS) based on noninvasive infrared video imaging. The system was designed for capturing the tridimensional (3D) ocular motion and provides an on-line estimation of intraocular lesions position based on a priori knowledge coming from volumetric imaging. Eye tracking is performed by localizing cornea and pupil centers on stereo images captured by two calibrated video cameras, exploiting eye reflections produced by infrared illumination. Additionally, torsional eye movements are detected by template matching in the iris region of eye images. This information allows estimating the 3D position and orientation of the eye by means of an eye local reference system. By combining ETS measurements with volumetric imaging for treatment planning [computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR)], one is able to map the position of the lesion to be treated in local eye coordinates, thus enabling real-time tumor referencing during treatment setup and irradiation. Experimental tests on an eye phantom and seven healthy subjects were performed to assess ETS tracking accuracy. Measurements on phantom showed an overall median accuracy within 0.16 mm and 0.40° for translations and rotations, respectively. Torsional movements were affected by 0.28° median uncertainty. On healthy subjects, the gaze direction error ranged between 0.19° and 0.82° at a median working distance of 29 cm. The median processing time of the eye tracking algorithm was 18.60 ms, thus allowing eye monitoring up to 50 Hz. A noninvasive ETS prototype was designed to perform real-time target localization and eye movement monitoring during ocular radiotherapy treatments. The

Faster onset time of supraclavicular brachial plexus block using local anesthetic diluted with dextrose

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Jin Lim

Full Text Available Abstract Background and objectives: A high sodium concentration is known to antagonize local anesthetics when infiltrated around neural tissue. Thus, we hypothesized that the onset time for sensory and motor blockade, in supraclavicular brachial plexus block using ropivacaine diluted with dextrose would be shorter than with saline. Methods: Patients scheduled for upper limb surgery were randomized to receive ultrasound guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block with 0.5% ropivacaine. Evaluation of sensory and motor blockade was performed every 5 min for 60 min. Patients were followed-up on postoperative day 1, and between days 7 and 10 for the presence of any complications. Twenty-five patients in each group were analyzed. Results: Mean time for onset of analgesia for the dextrose group was 37.6 ± 12.9 min while the mean time for the saline group was 45.2 ± 13.9 min with a p-value of 0.05. The effect size was 0.567, which was moderate to large. No major complications were observed. Conclusion: We conclude that there was a decrease in onset time of analgesia when dextrose was used as a diluent instead of saline for ultrasound guided supraclavicular block.

Time dependency of local cerebral blood flow measurements caused by regional variations in tissue transit time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lear, J.L.; Kasliwal, R.; Feyerabend, A.

1990-01-01

Calculated values of local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) using the diffusible tracer model are assumed to be independent of time as long as experiments are brief enough to prevent tissue saturation. This paper investigates the effects of CTT variation on LCBF measurements. Using double-label quantitative digital autoradiography, we compared iodoantipyrine (IAP)-based LCBF measurements obtained with tracer infusions of different lengths of time. Lightly anesthetized rats were given simultaneous ramp infusions of C-14 IAP (45 seconds) and I-123 IAP (15 seconds) and immediately sacrificed. Two autoradiograms of each brain section, one representing I-123 and the other representing C-14, were produced, digitized, and converted into images of LCBF based on the 15- and 45-second infusion periods. The LCBF image pairs were compared on a pixel-by-pixel basis

Long-term results following multidisciplinary treatment of localized Ewing's sarcoma in children and adolescents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ullmann, C.; Sauer, R.; Grabenbauer, G.G.; Dunst, J.

2008-01-01

Purpose: To identify results and prognostic factors on long-term survival and local control following treatment of localized Ewing's sarcoma. Patients and Methods: Between 1979 and 2004, a total of 60 children and young adults with Ewing's sarcoma were treated. Patients with distant metastases at presentation (n = 6) and recurrent cases (n = 2) were excluded from this analysis. Patients were exclusively treated within ongoing national and international protocols CESS-81, CESS-86, EICESS-92, EURO-EWING-99. All patients received local irradiation with a total dose of 45-60 Gy; in addition, 41 (79%) of the patients had local surgical procedures, 27 (52%) of them with clear margins. Results: Overall survival rates at 5 and 10 years were 56% and 45%, respectively. Patients ≤ 14 years at diagnosis had overall survival rates of 66% and 61% at 5 and 10 years compared to older patients with corresponding survival rates of 47% and 31%, respectively (p = 0.05). Patients with tumors of lower volume (≤ 100 ml) had significantly better survival rates at 5 and 10 years: 82% and 60% versus 42% und 39% (p = 0.03). Seven of 52 (14%) patients experienced local failure; no significant impact was noted for any of the following factors: treatment protocol, radiation dose, surgery. Conclusion: Radiotherapy with and without surgery of Ewing's sarcoma is a highly effective local treatment option. It seems preferable to mutilating surgery. (orig.)

Estimating the Counterparty Risk Exposure by Using the Brownian Motion Local Time

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bonollo Michele

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the counterparty credit risk measure, namely the default risk in over-the-counter (OTC derivatives contracts, has received great attention by banking regulators, specifically within the frameworks of Basel II and Basel III. More explicitly, to obtain the related risk figures, one is first obliged to compute intermediate output functionals related to the mark-to-market position at a given time no exceeding a positive and finite time horizon. The latter implies an enormous amount of computational effort is needed, with related highly time consuming procedures to be carried out, turning out into significant costs. To overcome the latter issue, we propose a smart exploitation of the properties of the (local time spent by the Brownian motion close to a given value.

Real-Time and Accurate Indoor Localization with Fusion Model of Wi-Fi Fingerprint and Motion Particle Filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinlong Jiang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available As the development of Indoor Location Based Service (Indoor LBS, a timely localization and smooth tracking with high accuracy are desperately needed. Unfortunately, any single method cannot meet the requirement of both high accuracy and real-time ability at the same time. In this paper, we propose a fusion location framework with Particle Filter using Wi-Fi signals and motion sensors. In this framework, we use Extreme Learning Machine (ELM regression algorithm to predict position based on motion sensors and use Wi-Fi fingerprint location result to solve the error accumulation of motion sensors based location occasionally with Particle Filter. The experiments show that the trajectory is smoother as the real one than the traditional Wi-Fi fingerprint method.

Local therapy in localized Ewing tumors: results of 1058 patients treated in the CESS 81, CESS 86, and EICESS 92 trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuck, Andreas; Ahrens, Susanne; Paulussen, Michael; Kuhlen, Michaela; Koenemann, Stefan; Ruebe, Christian; Winkelmann, Winfried; Kotz, Rainer; Dunst, Juergen; Willich, Normann; Juergens, Heribert

2003-01-01

Purpose: The impact of different local therapy approaches on local control, event-free survival, and secondary malignancies in the CESS 81, CESS 86, and EICESS 92 trials was investigated. Methods and Materials: The data of 1058 patients with localized Ewing tumors were analyzed. Wherever feasible, a surgical local therapy approach was used. In patients with a poor histologic response or with intralesional and marginal resections, this was to be followed by radiotherapy (RT). In EICESS 92, preoperative RT was introduced for patients with expected close resection margins. Definitive RT was used in cases in which surgical resection seemed impossible. In CESS 81, vincristine, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide, and actinomycin D was used. In CESS 86, vincristine, adriamycin, ifosfamide, and actinomycin D was introduced for patients with central tumors or primaries >100 cm 3 . In CESS 92, etoposide, vincristine, adriamycin, ifosfamide, and actinomycin D was randomized against vincristine, adriamycin, ifosfamide, and actinomycin D in patients with primaries >100 cm 3 . Results: The rate of local failure was 7.5% after surgery with or without postoperative RT, and was 5.3% after preoperative and 26.3% after definitive RT (p=0.001). Event-free survival was reduced after definitive RT (p=0.0001). Irradiated patients represented a negatively selected population with unfavorable tumor sites. Definitive RT showed comparable local control to that of postoperative RT after intralesional resections. Patients with postoperative RT had improved local control after intralesional resections and in tumors with wide resection and poor histologic response compared with patients receiving surgery alone. Patients with marginal resections with or without postoperative radiotherapy showed comparable local control, yet the number of patients with good histologic response was higher in the latter treatment group (72.2% vs. 38.5%). Conclusion: Patients with resectable tumors after initial

Local field at an irradiated adatom on jellium: exact microscopic results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feibelman, P.J.

1980-01-01

The first microscopic correction to the image theory of the local field at an irradiated adatom has been calculated in the limit that the adatom is far from a jellium surface. The result of the calculation is the frequency-dependent position of the effective image plane in terms of the properties of semi-infinite jellium. The image plane position is found to be a complex number, reflecting the fact that the response of the surface electrons is lossy. Numerical calculations for r/sub s/=2 jellium suggest that the imaginary component of the image plane position is large enough to prevent large image enhancement of the local field at an adatom, casting doubt on the idea that such enhancement is responsible for the recently observed surface-enhanced Raman effect

Real Time Localization for Mobile Robot

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Věchet, S.; Krejsa, Jiří

2005-01-01

Roč. 12, A 1 (2005), s. 3-10 ISSN 1210-2717. [Mechatronics, Robotics and Biomechanics 2005. Třešť, 26.09.2005-29.09.2005] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z20760514 Keywords : localization * mobile robot Subject RIV: JD - Computer Applications, Robotics

An innovative application of time-domain spectroscopy on localized surface plasmon resonance sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Meng-Chi; Chang, Ying-Feng; Wang, Huai-Yi; Lin, Yu-Xen; Kuo, Chien-Cheng; Annie Ho, Ja-An; Lee, Cheng-Chung; Su, Li-Chen

2017-03-01

White-light scanning interferometry (WLSI) is often used to study the surface profiles and properties of thin films because the strength of the technique lies in its ability to provide fast and high resolution measurements. An innovative attempt is made in this paper to apply WLSI as a time-domain spectroscopic system for localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) sensing. A WLSI-based spectrometer is constructed with a breadboard of WLSI in combination with a spectral centroid algorithm for noise reduction and performance improvement. Experimentally, the WLSI-based spectrometer exhibits a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.2 × 10-3 refractive index units (RIU), which is better than that obtained with a conventional UV-Vis spectrometer, by resolving the LSPR peak shift. Finally, the bio-applicability of the proposed spectrometer was investigated using the rs242557 tau gene, an Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease biomarker. The LOD was calculated as 15 pM. These results demonstrate that the proposed WLSI-based spectrometer could become a sensitive time-domain spectroscopic biosensing platform.

Effect of time, dose and fractionation on local control of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Anne W.M.; Chan, David K.K.; Poon, Y.F.; Foo, William; Law, Stephen C.K.; O, S.K.; Tung, Stewart Y.; Fowler, Jack F.; Chappell, Rick

1995-01-01

To study the effect of radiation factors on local control of nasopharyngeal carcinoma, 1008 patients with similarly staged T1N0-3M0 disease (Ho's classification) were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were treated by megavoltage irradiation alone using the same technique. Four different fractionation schedules had been used sequentially during 1976-1985: with total dose ranging from 45.6 to 60 Gy and fractional dose from 2.5 to 4.2 Gy. The median overall time was 39 days (range = 38-75 days). Both for the whole series and 763 patients with nodal control, total dose was the most important radiation factor. The hazard of local failure decreased by 9% per additional Gy (p < 0.01). Biological equivalents expressed in terms of Biologically Effective Dose or Nominal Standard Dose also showed strong correlation. Fractional dose had no significant impact. The effect of overall treatment time was insignificant for the whole series, but almost reached statistical significance for those with nodal control (p = 0.06). Further study is required for elucidation, as 85% of patients completed treatment within a very narrow range (38-42 days), and the possible hazard is clinically too significant to be ignored

String Chopping and Time-ordered Products of Linear String-localized Quantum Fields

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Lucas T.; Mund, Jens; Várilly, Joseph C.

2018-03-01

For a renormalizability proof of perturbative models in the Epstein-Glaser scheme with string-localized quantum fields, one needs to know what freedom one has in the definition of time-ordered products of the interaction Lagrangian. This paper provides a first step in that direction. The basic issue is the presence of an open set of n-tuples of strings which cannot be chronologically ordered. We resolve it by showing that almost all such string configurations can be dissected into finitely many pieces which can indeed be chronologically ordered. This fixes the time-ordered products of linear field factors outside a nullset of string configurations. (The extension across the nullset, as well as the definition of time-ordered products of Wick monomials, will be discussed elsewhere).

Local inertial oscillations in the surface ocean generated by time-varying winds

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Shengli; Polton, Jeff A.; Hu, Jianyu; Xing, Jiuxing

2015-12-01

A new relationship is presented to give a review study on the evolution of inertial oscillations in the surface ocean locally generated by time-varying wind stress. The inertial oscillation is expressed as the superposition of a previous oscillation and a newly generated oscillation, which depends upon the time-varying wind stress. This relationship is employed to investigate some idealized wind change events. For a wind series varying temporally with different rates, the induced inertial oscillation is dominated by the wind with the greatest variation. The resonant wind, which rotates anti-cyclonically at the local inertial frequency with time, produces maximal amplitude of inertial oscillations, which grows monotonically. For the wind rotating at non-inertial frequencies, the responses vary periodically, with wind injecting inertial energy when it is in phase with the currents, but removing inertial energy when it is out of phase. The wind rotating anti-cyclonically with time is much more favorable to generate inertial oscillations than the cyclonic rotating wind. The wind with a frequency closer to the inertial frequency generates stronger inertial oscillations. For a diurnal wind, the induced inertial oscillation is dependent on latitude and is most significant at 30 °. This relationship is also applied to examine idealized moving cyclones. The inertial oscillation is much stronger on the right-hand side of the cyclone path than on the left-hand side (in the northern hemisphere). This is due to the wind being anti-cyclonic with time on the right-hand side, but cyclonic on the other side. The inertial oscillation varies with the cyclone translation speed. The optimal translation speed generating the greatest inertial oscillations is 2 m/s at the latitude of 10 ° and gradually increases to 6 m/s at the latitude of 30 °.

Childhood familial pheochromocytoma. Conflicting results of localization techniques

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turner, M.C.; DeQuattro, V.; Falk, R.; Ansari, A.; Lieberman, E.

1986-01-01

Childhood familial pheochromocytoma was investigated in four patients by abdominal computed tomographic scan, [ 131 I]metaiodobenzylguanidine scan, and vena caval catecholamine sampling. Results conflicted with surgical findings. Computed tomographic scan identified all four adrenal tumors but missed two midline tumors in one patient. [ 131 I]metaiodobenzylguanidine scan identified two of three adrenal tumors but also suggested extra-adrenal tumors not confirmed at operation in two of three patients. Vena caval sampling for catecholamines confirmed all adrenal tumors but suggested additional tumors not verified at operation in two of three patients. All patients are asymptomatic and have normal urinary catecholamines 15 to 51 months after operation. Because of the frequency of multiple tumors in familial pheochromocytoma, different diagnostic techniques were employed. False-positive results were more frequent with [ 131 I]metaiodobenzylguanidine and vena caval sampling. Reinterpretation of the [ 131 I]metaiodobenzylguanidine scans at a later date led to less false-positive interpretation, although the false-negative rate remained unchanged. More pediatric experience with [ 131 I]metaiodobenzylguanidine scans and vena caval sampling in familial pheochromocytoma is needed. Confirmation of tumor and its localization rest with meticulous surgical exploration

Joint Testlet Cognitive Diagnosis Modeling for Paired Local Item Dependence in Response Times and Response Accuracy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peida Zhan

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In joint models for item response times (RTs and response accuracy (RA, local item dependence is composed of local RA dependence and local RT dependence. The two components are usually caused by the same common stimulus and emerge as pairs. Thus, the violation of local item independence in the joint models is called paired local item dependence. To address the issue of paired local item dependence while applying the joint cognitive diagnosis models (CDMs, this study proposed a joint testlet cognitive diagnosis modeling approach. The proposed approach is an extension of Zhan et al. (2017 and it incorporates two types of random testlet effect parameters (one for RA and the other for RTs to account for paired local item dependence. The model parameters were estimated using the full Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC method. The 2015 PISA computer-based mathematics data were analyzed to demonstrate the application of the proposed model. Further, a brief simulation study was conducted to demonstrate the acceptable parameter recovery and the consequence of ignoring paired local item dependence.

An approach to the damping of local modes of oscillations resulting from large hydraulic transients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dobrijevic, D.M.; Jankovic, M.V.

1999-09-01

A new method of damping of local modes of oscillations under large disturbance is presented in this paper. The digital governor controller is used. Controller operates in real time to improve the generating unit transients through the guide vane position and the runner blade position. The developed digital governor controller, whose control signals are adjusted using the on-line measurements, offers better damping effects for the generator oscillations under large disturbances than the conventional controller. Digital simulations of hydroelectric power plant equipped with low-head Kaplan turbine are performed and the comparisons between the digital governor control and the conventional governor control are presented. Simulation results show that the new controller offers better performances, than the conventional controller, when the system is subjected to large disturbances.

Hybridization among wild boars, local breeds and commercial breeds - preliminary results

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iacolina, Laura; Bakan, Jana; Cubric-Curik, Vlatka

. Hybridization with the domestic pig is known to occur in Europe, however the degree and extent of the phenomenon is not fully understood yet. Introgression is considered to be a treat to biodiversity and could lead to loss of local adaptation or introgression in the wild population of human selected genes....... A better understanding of the hybridization levels at European scale would provide an important tool for the development of management plans aimed at reducing human conflict but also at preserving biodiversity and genetic differentiation. Additionally, this information would provide new perspectives...... gradients in variability levels among the analysed wild and domestic populations. This preliminary results will be further investigated to address the possible presence of hybrid zone(s) in Europe and the possible implications for conservation and management of both wild populations and local pig breeds...

Constraint Programming based Local Search for the Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows

OpenAIRE

Sala Reixach, Joan

2012-01-01

El projecte es centra en el "Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows". Explora i testeja un mètode basat en una formulació del problema en termes de programació de restriccions. Implementa un mètode de cerca local amb la capacitat de fer grans moviments anomenat "Large Neighbourhood Search".

Treatment results of localized gastric lymphoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Tatsuyuki; Gomi, Hiromichi; Sakaino, Shinjiro; Nakajima, Yasuo

2008-01-01

Between 2000 and 2007, 17 patients with localized gastric lymphoma (10 mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas and 7 diffuse large B-cell lymphomas) were treated with radiotherapy alone or doxorubicin-based chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. Radiation dose of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma was 30 Gy with a daily fraction size of 1.5 Gy. Sixteen patients achieved complete remission and the 5-year overall survival of MALT lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) were 100% and 87%, respectively. No gastric perforation and hemorrhage were noticed. Using AP/LR 2-port radiotherapy markedly decreased the liver dose. (author)

Locally Rotationally Symmetric Bianchi Type-I Model with Time Varying Λ Term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tiwari, R. K.; Jha, Navin Kumar

2009-01-01

We investigate the locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) Bianchi type-I cosmological model for stiff matter and a vacuum solution with a cosmological term proportional to R −m (R is the scale factor and m is a positive constant). The cosmological term decreases with time. We obtain that for both the cases the present universe is accelerating with a large fraction of cosmological density in the form of a cosmological term

Time-division optical interconnects for local-area and micro-area networks

Science.gov (United States)

Krol, Mark F.; Boncek, Raymond K.; Johns, Steven T.; Stacy, John L.

1991-12-01

This report describes the development of an optical Time-Division Multiple-Access (TDMA) interconnect suitable for applications in local-area and micro-area networks. The advantages of using time-division techniques instead of frequency-division, wavelength-division, or code-division techniques in a shared-medium environment are discussed in detail. Furthermore, a detailed description of the TDMA architecture is presented along with various experiments pertaining to the actual components needed to implement the system. Finally, experimental data is presented for an actual optical TDMA test bed. The experimental data demonstrates the feasibility of the architecture, and shows that currently the system has the capability to accommodate up to 50 channels. The bit-error-rate per channel was measured to be less than 10(exp -9) for pseudo-random bit-sequences.

Local models violating Bell's inequality by time delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scalera, G.C.

1984-01-01

The performance of ensemble averages is neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition to avoid Bell's inequality violations characteristic of nonergodic systems. Slight modifications of a local nonergodic logical model violating Bell's inequality produce a stochastic model exactly fitting the quantum-mechanical correlation function. From these considerations is appears evident that the last experiments on the existence of local hidden variables are not conclusive

Conformal radiotherapy to 76 Gy in localized prostate cancer. Therapeutic modalities and preliminary results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pontvert, D.; Mammar, H.; Flam, T.; Debre, B.; Thiounn, N.; Gaboriaud, G.; Jourdan-Da Silvae, N.; Beuzeboc, P.

2008-01-01

Purpose: to describe therapeutic modalities for localized prostate cancer treated by conformal radiation to 76 Gy with or without androgen ablation. To evaluate the preliminary results in terms of survival, biological control and toxicity. Patients and method: between January 1998 and June 2001, 321 patients with localized prostate cancer were irradiated at Institut Curie. Tumors were stratified into the three Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center prognostic groups (1998) for analysis: favorable risk group (F.G.) 23%, intermediate risk group (I.G.) 36.5%, unfavorable risk group (U.G.) 40.5%. Androgen deprivation, mainly neo-adjuvant, less or equal to one year was prescribed to 93.8% of patients (72.6% less or equal to six months). Planning target volume prescription doses were: prostate: 76 Gy, seminal vesicles: 56 to 76 Gy, and pelvic lymph nodes: 44 Gy to 16.8% of patients. Results: the five-year actuarial overall survival was 94% (95% I.C.: 90-97%). The median post-therapeutic follow-up was 36 months (nine to 60 months). The 48-month actuarial rates of biochemical control for the three prognostic groups were statistically different according to both the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology consensus (A.S.T.R.O. 1997) and the Fox Chase Cancer Center definitions of biochemical failure (F.C.C.C. 2000) with respectively 87 and 94% for F.G., 78 and 84% for I.G., 54 and 58% for U.G. (P < 10-6 and P < 10-8). At time of our analysis, late post-treatment rectal and bladder bleedings were 17,4 and 13,6%, respectively. According to a 1-4 scale adapted from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center criteria: rectal bleedings were grade 1 (9.6%), grade 2 (6.2%) and grade 3 (1.6%). Bladder bleedings were grade 2 (13%) and grade 3 (0.6%). Analysis of rectal bleeding risk factors showed significant correlations with pelvic lymph nodes irradiation for grade 2 and 3, (P = 0.02), and for all grades, a correlation with smaller rectal wall volumes (P = 0.03), and greater

Accurate and Integrated Localization System for Indoor Environments Based on IEEE 802.11 Round-Trip Time Measurements

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonso Bahillo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The presence of (Non line of Sight NLOS propagation paths has been considered the main drawback for localization schemes to estimate the position of a (Mobile User MU in an indoor environment. This paper presents a comprehensive wireless localization system based on (Round-Trip Time RTT measurements in an unmodified IEEE 802.11 wireless network. It overcomes the NLOS impairment by implementing the (Prior NLOS Measurements Correction PNMC technique. At first, the RTT measurements are performed with a novel electronic circuit avoiding the need for time synchronization between wireless nodes. At second, the distance between the MU and each reference device is estimated by using a simple linear regression function that best relates the RTT to the distance in (Line of Sight LOS. Assuming that LOS in an indoor environment is a simplification of reality hence, the PNMC technique is applied to correct the NLOS effect. At third, assuming known the position of the reference devices, a multilateration technique is implemented to obtain the MU position. Finally, the localization system coupled with measurements demonstrates that the system outperforms the conventional time-based indoor localization schemes without using any tracking technique such as Kalman filters or Bayesian methods.

Time-localized projectors in string field theory with an E-field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maccaferri, C.; Scherer Santos, R.J.; Tolla, D.D.

2005-01-01

We extend the analysis of Bonora et al. [hep-th/0409063] to the case of a constant electric field turned on the world volume and on a transverse direction of a D-brane. We show that time localization is still obtained by inverting the discrete eigenvalues of the lump solution. The lifetime of the unstable soliton is shown to depend on two free parameters: the b parameter and the value of the electric field. As a by-product, we construct the normalized diagonal basis of the star algebra in the B μν -field background

Automated localization of the prostate at the time of treatment using implanted radiopaque markers: technical feasibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balter, James M.; Kwok, L. Lam; Sandler, Howard M.; Littles, J. Fred; Bree, Robert L.; Ten Haken, Randall K.

1995-01-01

Purpose: Prostate movement is a major consideration in the formation of target volumes for conformal radiation therapy of prostate cancer. The goal of this study was to determine the technical feasibility of using implanted radiopaque markers and digital imaging to localize the prostate at the time of treatment, thus allowing for reduction of the margin required for uncertainty in target position. Methods and Materials: Radiopaque markers implanted around the prostate prior to treatment are visible on electronic radiographs generated with a portal imager or diagnostic imaging device. The locations of the images of these markers on the digital radiographs were automatically determined by a template-matching algorithm. The coordinates of the markers were found by projecting rays through the marker locations on orthogonal radiographs using a three-dimensional (3D) point-matching algorithm. Prostate and/or patient movement was inferred from the marker displacements. Images generated from known movements of a phantom with implanted markers were tested with this algorithm. Locations of markers from daily images of patients with implanted markers were determined by both manual and automatic techniques to determine the efficacy of automated localization on typical clinical images. Results: Prostate movements can be automatically detected in a phantom using low-energy photons within 30 s after image acquisition and with a precision of better than 1 mm in translation and 1 deg. in rotation (indistinguishable from the uncertainty in measuring precision). Conclusion: The studies show that on-line repositioning of the patient based on localization of the markers at the time of treatment is feasible, and may reduce the uncertainty in prostate location when combined with practical on-line repositioning techniques

Numerical method for time-dependent localized corrosion analysis with moving boundaries by combining the finite volume method and voxel method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Yuki; Takiyasu, Jumpei; Amaya, Kenji; Yakuwa, Hiroshi; Hayabusa, Keisuke

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A novel numerical method to analyze time dependent localized corrosion is developed. ► It takes electromigration, mass diffusion, chemical reactions, and moving boundaries. ► Our method perfectly satisfies the conservation of mass and electroneutrality. ► The behavior of typical crevice corrosion is successfully simulated. ► Both verification and validation of our method are carried out. - Abstract: A novel numerical method for time-dependent localized corrosion analysis is presented. Electromigration, mass diffusion, chemical reactions, and moving boundaries are considered in the numerical simulation of localized corrosion of engineering alloys in an underwater environment. Our method combines the finite volume method (FVM) and the voxel method. The FVM is adopted in the corrosion rate calculation so that the conservation of mass is satisfied. A newly developed decoupled algorithm with a projection method is introduced in the FVM to decouple the multiphysics problem into the electrostatic, mass transport, and chemical reaction analyses with electroneutrality maintained. The polarization curves for the corroding metal are used as boundary conditions for the metal surfaces to calculate the corrosion rates. The voxel method is adopted in updating the moving boundaries of cavities without remeshing and mesh-to-mesh solution mapping. Some modifications of the standard voxel method, which represents the boundaries as zigzag-shaped surfaces, are introduced to generate smooth surfaces. Our method successfully reproduces the numerical and experimental results of a capillary electrophoresis problem. Furthermore, the numerical results are qualitatively consistent with the experimental results for several examples of crevice corrosion.

Local initiative extrapolated to nation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wittchen, Kim Bjarne; Kragh, Jesper; Brøgger, Morten

In the municipality of Sønderborg, in the southern part of Jutland, there is a shining example initiated in 2007, ProjectZero, of a local initiative that have resulted in extensive energy savings in residential buildings and at the same time created local workplaces. The intension with the pilot...

From localized to extended states in a time-dependent quantum model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jose, J.V.

1986-01-01

The problem of a particle inside a rigid box with one of the walls oscillating periodically in time is studied quantum mechanically. In the classical limit, this model was introduced by Fermi in the context of cosmic ray physics. The classical solutions can go from being quasiperiodic to chaotic, as a function of the amplitude of the wall oscillation. In the quantum case, the authors calculate the spectral properties of the corresponding evolution operator, i.e.: the quasi-energy eigenvalues and eigenvectors. The specific form of the wall oscillation, e.g. iota(t) = √ 1 + 2δabsolute value of t, with absolute value of t ≤ 1/2, and iota(t + 1) = iota(t), is essential to the solutions presented here. It is found that as h increases with δ fixed, the nearest neighbor separation between quasi-energy eigenvalues changes from showing no energy level repulsion to energy level repulsion. This transition, from Poisson-like statistics to Gaussian-Orthogonal-Ensemble-like statistics is tested by looking at the distribution of quasi-energy level nearest neighbor separations and the Δ/sub e/(L) statistics. these results are also correlated to a transition between localized to extended states in energy space. The possible relevance of the results presented here to experiments in quasi-one-dimensional atoms is also discussed

Assessing local outcomes in heterogeneous gliomas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dowson, Nicholas; Bourgeat, Pierrick; Salvado, Olivier; Rose, Stephen; Thomas, Paul; Fay, Michael; Jeffree, Rosalind L; Winter, Craig; Coulthard, Alan; Smith, Jye; Gal, Yaniv; Crozier, Stuart

2014-01-01

Tumours are known to be heterogeneous, yet typical treatment plans consider them as a single unit. This may influence treatment outcomes. However, treatment cannot be customised to intra-tumour variation without a method to establish outcomes at an intra-tumour scale. This work proposes a method to both assess and measure outcomes locally within tumours. Methods: Four patients were scanned at two post-surgery time points using contrast enhanced MRI and 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]-fluoro-L-phenylalanine (18F-DOPA) PET. The shell of active tumour tissue is divided into a set of small subregions at both time points. Local outcome is measured from changes in subregion volume over time. The utility of the proposed approach is evaluated by measuring the correlation between PET uptake and documented growth. Correlation with overall survival time was also examined. Results: Local outcomes were heterogeneous and evidence of a positive correlation between local 18F-DOPA uptake and local progression was observed. Conclusions: Given that intra-tumour outcomes are heterogeneous the consistently positive correlation between FDOPA uptake and progression, local analysis of tumours could prove useful for treatment planning.

Muscle-invasive bladder cancer treated with external beam radiation: influence of total dose, overall treatment time, and treatment interruption on local control

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moonen, L.; Voet, H. van der; Nijs, R. de; Horenblas, S.; Hart, A.A.M.; Bartelink, H.

1998-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate and eventually quantify a possible influence of tumor proliferation during the external radiation course on local control in muscle invasive bladder cancer. Methods and Materials: The influence of total dose, overall treatment time, and treatment interruption has retrospectively been analyzed in a series of 379 patients with nonmetastasized, muscle-invasive transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder. All patients received external beam radiotherapy at the Netherlands Cancer Institute between 1977 and 1990. Total dose varied between 50 and 75 Gy with a mean of 60.5 Gy and a median of 60.4 Gy. Overall treatment time varied between 20 and 270 days with a mean of 49 days and a median of 41 days. Number of fractions varied between 17 and 36 with a mean of 27 and a median of 26. Two hundred and forty-four patients had a continuous radiation course, whereas 135 had an intended split course or an unintended treatment interruption. Median follow-up was 22 months for all patients and 82 months for the 30 patients still alive at last follow-up. A stepwise procedure using proportional hazard regression has been used to identify prognostic treatment factors with respect to local recurrence as sole first recurrence. Results: One hundred and thirty-six patients experienced a local recurrence and 120 of these occurred before regional or distant metastases. The actuarial local control rate was 40.3% at 5 years and 32.3% at 10 years. In a multivariate analysis total dose showed a significant association with local control (p 0.0039), however in a markedly nonlinear way. In fact only those patients treated with a dose below 57.5 Gy had a significant higher bladder relapse rate, whereas no difference in relapse rate was found among patients treated with doses above 57.5 Gy. This remained the case even after adjustment for overall treatment time and all significant tumor and patient characteristics. The Normalized Tumor Dose (NTD) (α/β = 10) and NTD (�

Estrogen and progesterone receptor testing in breast carcinoma: concordance of results between local and reference laboratories in Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sheila Cristina Lordelo Wludarski

Full Text Available CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Breast cancer accounts for approximately one quarter of all cancers in females. Estrogen and progesterone receptor testing has become an essential part of the clinical evaluation of breast carcinoma patients, and accurate results are critical in identifying patients who may benefit from hormone therapy. The present study had the aim of investigating the concordance of the results from hormone receptor tests between a reference laboratory and local (or community laboratories in Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Retrospective study at a reference pathology laboratory. METHODS: The concordance in the results from hormone receptor tests between a reference laboratory and 146 local laboratories in Brazil was compared in relation to 500 invasive breast carcinoma cases, using immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: There was concordance in 89.4% (447/500 cases and 85.0% (425/500 cases of the results from estrogen (κ = 0.744, P < 0.001 and progesterone (κ = 0.688, P < 0.001 receptor tests, respectively, between local and reference laboratories. This was similar to findings in other countries. The false negative rates from estrogen and progesterone receptor tests in local laboratories were 8.7% and 14.4%, respectively. The false positive rates from estrogen and progesterone receptor tests in local laboratories were 15.5% and 16.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Technical and result interpretation issues may explain most of the discordances in hormone receptor testing in local laboratories. Validation of estrogen and progesterone receptor tests at local laboratories, with rigorous quality control measures, is strongly recommended in order to avoid erroneous treatment of breast cancer patients.

The Impact of The Quality of Financial Statements on Local Revenue Using Examination Opinion Results as Moderating Variable

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Arik - Susbiyani

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract   This study aimed to examine the influence of the financial statements on local revenue by using the results of the examination opinion as moderating variable. The study used Legitimacy Theory to explain and analyze the relationship between variables. The population in the study was all the districts and cities in Indonesia totaling 497 county and city governments. The sampling method used in the study was judgment sampling. Samples that met the criteria of the study were 116 local governments. The analytical tool used in this research was the analysis of MRA (Moderated Regression Analysis. The results showed that the effects of the partial test of the quality of financial reports to local revenues were not significant positive effects. While the partial test results stating the influence of audit opinion on local revenue having positive effects were not significant. Other results showed that the interaction between the results of the examination opinion to the quality of financial statements was  insignificant on the quality of financial statements. In other words, the results of the examination opinions moderated (strengthened the relationship between quality of financial report on local revenue of district and city governments in Indonesia.

Time domain localization technique with sparsity constraint for imaging acoustic sources

Science.gov (United States)

Padois, Thomas; Doutres, Olivier; Sgard, Franck; Berry, Alain

2017-09-01

This paper addresses source localization technique in time domain for broadband acoustic sources. The objective is to accurately and quickly detect the position and amplitude of noise sources in workplaces in order to propose adequate noise control options and prevent workers hearing loss or safety risk. First, the generalized cross correlation associated with a spherical microphone array is used to generate an initial noise source map. Then a linear inverse problem is defined to improve this initial map. Commonly, the linear inverse problem is solved with an l2 -regularization. In this study, two sparsity constraints are used to solve the inverse problem, the orthogonal matching pursuit and the truncated Newton interior-point method. Synthetic data are used to highlight the performances of the technique. High resolution imaging is achieved for various acoustic sources configurations. Moreover, the amplitudes of the acoustic sources are correctly estimated. A comparison of computation times shows that the technique is compatible with quasi real-time generation of noise source maps. Finally, the technique is tested with real data.

Updated results of high-dose rate brachytherapy and external beam radiotherapy for locally and locally advanced prostate cancer using the RTOG-ASTRO phoenix definition

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio C. Pellizzon

2008-06-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate the prognostic factors for patients with local or locally advanced prostate cancer treated with external beam radiotherapy (RT and high dose rate brachytherapy (HDR according to the RTOG-ASTRO Phoenix Consensus Conference. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The charts of 209 patients treated between 1997 and 2005 with localized RT and HDR as a boost at the Department of Radiation Oncology, AC Camargo Hospital, Sao Paulo, Brazil were reviewed. Clinical and treatment parameters i.e.: patient's age, Gleason score, clinical stage, initial PSA (iPSA, risk group (RG for biochemical failure, doses of RT and HDR were evaluated. Median age and median follow-up time were 68 and 5.3 years, respectively. Median RT and HDR doses were 45 Gy and 20 Gy. RESULTS: Disease specific survival (DSS at 3.3 year was 94.2%. Regarding RG, for the LR (low risk, IR (intermediate risk and HR (high risk, the DSS rates at 3.3 years were 91.5%, 90.2% and 88.5%, respectively. On univariate analysis prognostic factors related to DSS were RG (p = 0.040, Gleason score ≤ 6 ng/mL (p = 0.002, total dose of HDR ≥ 20 Gy (p < 0.001 On multivariate analysis the only statistical significant predictive factor for biochemical control (bNED was the RG, p < 0.001 (CI - 1.147-3.561. CONCLUSIONS: Although the radiation dose administered to the prostate is an important factor related to bNED, this could not be established with statistical significance in this group of patients. To date , in our own experience, HDR associated to RT could be considered a successful approach in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Local Identity in Times of Jurisdictional Consolidation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Sune Welling; Kjær, Ulrik

of a dataset which consists of large scale citizen surveys conducted in 2001, 2009 and 2013, combined with register data on the Danish municipalities (the two surveys in 2001 and 2009 even have a panel structure). Our paper contributes to the existing literature on local identity by examining the influence......Reforming the public sector has become increasingly popular. Some of the reforms have been jurisdictional consolidations of subnational authorities such as regions and municipalities. One question which remains unanswered is whether such consolidations affect citizens’ local identity? We take...... a first step towards providing an answer by examining whether citizens’ affective attachment to their municipality – and other administrative and geographical areas – declined or flourished in connection with a large-scale municipal reform implemented in Denmark in 2007. Empirically, we make use...

Using time-of-flight for WLAN localization: feasibility study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kavitha Muthukrishnan, K.; Koprinkov, G.T.; Meratnia, Nirvana; Lijding, M.E.M.

Although signal strength based techniques are widely employed for WLAN localization, they generally suffer from providing highly accurate location information. In this paper, we first present the general shortcomings of the signal strength based approaches used for WLANbased localization and then

Radiotherapy with or without hyperthermia in the treatment of superficial localized breast cancer: results from five randomized controlled trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vernon, Clare C.; Hand, Jeffrey W.; Field, Stanley B.; Machin, David; Whaley, Jill B.; Zee, Jacoba van der; Putten, Wim L.J. van; Rhoon, Gerard C. van; Dijk, Jan D.P. van; Gonzalez, Dionisio Gonzalez; Liu, F.-F.; Goodman, Phyllis; Sherar, Michael

1996-01-01

Purpose: Claims for the value of hyperthermia as an adjunct to radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer have mostly been based on small Phase I or II trials. To test the benefit of this form of treatment, randomized Phase III trials were needed. Methods and Materials: Five randomized trials addressing this question were started between 1988 and 1991. In these trials, patients were eligible if they had advanced primary or recurrent breast cancer, and local radiotherapy was indicated in preference to surgery. In addition, heating of the lesions and treatment with a prescribed (re)irradiation schedule had to be feasible and informed consent was obtained. The primary endpoint of all trials was local complete response. Slow recruitment led to a decision to collaborate and combine the trial results in one analysis, and report them simultaneously in one publication. Interim analyses were carried out and the trials were closed to recruitment when a previously agreed statistically significant difference in complete response rate was observed in the two larger trials. Results: We report on pretreatment characteristics, the treatments received, the local response observed, duration of response, time to local failure, distant progression and survival, and treatment toxicity of the 306 patients randomized. The overall CR rate for RT alone was 41% and for the combined treatment arm was 59%, giving, after stratification by trial, an odds ratio of 2.3. Not all trials demonstrated an advantage for the combined treatment, although the 95% confidence intervals of the different trials all contain the pooled odds ratio. The greatest effect was observed in patients with recurrent lesions in previously irradiated areas, where further irradiation was limited to low doses. Conclusion: The combined result of the five trials has demonstrated the efficacy of hyperthermia as an adjunct to radiotherapy for treatment of recurrent breast cancer. The implication of these encouraging results is that

Local Support Mechanisms for Entrepreneurship: The Approach of Local Development and Innovation Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katimertzopoulos, F.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The growth potential of SMEs entrepreneurship is examined at regional and local level, initially on a Global scale and then for the case of Greece. Additionally, the possibility of an economic development policy beyond the macroeconomic approach is examined, focusing on business growth and competitiveness in the light of meso and micro-economic policy approach. Design/methodology/approach: This research leads to the proposal of building knowledge mechanisms and direct and efficient systematic development and innovation at the local level, particularity during a time of economic crisis. The establishment of Institutes of Local Development and Innovation (ITAK is primarily geared towards promoting innovative entrepreneurship and extroversion of locally installed businesses. As part of the proposal for the establishment of ITAK, a questionnaire was developed - a tool to initially measure companies' opinions on the need for outside help in the macro, meso and micro environment, in order to demonstrate that ITAK local-level structures could be developed. Findings: The survey results were accrued via the analysis of questionnaires distributed to companies. The results of the questionnaires in the micro-environment in relation to those in the macro-environment shows a lower tendency to change business, which may be because managers perceive economics several times more in macroeconomic terms rather than in meso and micro economic (terms. Research limitations/implications: The restrictions of this particular research are the small sample of study of businesses in one country (Greece; this is because the approach of study, which is quantitative-qualitative, limits analysis to small data sets in the current phase. Originality/value: The results in the micro-environment, in relation to those at macro-environmental, shows a lower tendency to change business, something which may be because managers perceive economics several times more in

Targeting adults who provide alcohol to underage youth: results from a national survey of local law enforcement agencies.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones-Webb, Rhonda; Toomey, Traci L; Lenk, Kathleen M; Nelson, Toben F; Erickson, Darin J

2015-06-01

We investigated what local enforcement agencies are doing to target adults who provide alcohol to underage youth; what types of enforcement activities are being conducted to target adult providers; and factors that encourage enforcement activities that target adult providers. We surveyed 1,056 local law enforcement agencies in the US and measured whether or not the agency conducted enforcement activities that target adults who provide alcohol to underage youth. We also measured whether certain agency and jurisdiction characteristics were associated with enforcement activities that target adults who provide alcohol to underage youth. Less than half (42%) of local enforcement agencies conducted enforcement efforts targeting adults who provide alcohol to underage youth. Agencies that conducted the enforcement activities targeting adult providers were significantly more likely to have a full time officer specific to alcohol enforcement, a division specific to alcohol enforcement, a social host law, and to perceive underage drinking was very common. Results suggest that targeting social providers (i.e., adults over 21 years of age) will require greater law enforcement resources, implementation of underage drinking laws (e.g., social host policies), and changing perceptions among law enforcement regarding underage drinking. Future studies are needed to identify the most effective enforcement efforts and to examine how enforcement efforts are prospectively linked to alcohol consumption.

Quantum eraser and the decoherence time of a local measurement process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abranyos, Y.; Jakob, M.; Bergou, J.

1998-01-01

We propose an implementation of the quantum eraser, based on a recent experimental scheme by Eichmann et al. involving two four-level atoms. In our version a continuous broad band excitation field drives the two trapped atoms and information about which atom scattered the light is stored in the internal degrees of freedom of the atoms. Entanglement of the two atoms after the detection of the photon is intimately connected to the availability of this 'which path' information. We also show that the quantum eraser can be used to measure the decoherence time of a local measurement process. (author)

Localization Framework for Real-Time UAV Autonomous Landing: An On-Ground Deployed Visual Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Kong, Weiwei; Hu, Tianjiang; Zhang, Daibing; Shen, Lincheng; Zhang, Jianwei

2017-06-19

[-5]One of the greatest challenges for fixed-wing unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs) is safe landing. Hereafter, an on-ground deployed visual approach is developed in this paper. This approach is definitely suitable for landing within the global navigation satellite system (GNSS)-denied environments. As for applications, the deployed guidance system makes full use of the ground computing resource and feedbacks the aircraft's real-time localization to its on-board autopilot. Under such circumstances, a separate long baseline stereo architecture is proposed to possess an extendable baseline and wide-angle field of view (FOV) against the traditional fixed baseline schemes. Furthermore, accuracy evaluation of the new type of architecture is conducted by theoretical modeling and computational analysis. Dataset-driven experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed approach.

Localization Framework for Real-Time UAV Autonomous Landing: An On-Ground Deployed Visual Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weiwei Kong

2017-06-01

Full Text Available [-5]One of the greatest challenges for fixed-wing unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAVs is safe landing. Hereafter, an on-ground deployed visual approach is developed in this paper. This approach is definitely suitable for landing within the global navigation satellite system (GNSS-denied environments. As for applications, the deployed guidance system makes full use of the ground computing resource and feedbacks the aircraft’s real-time localization to its on-board autopilot. Under such circumstances, a separate long baseline stereo architecture is proposed to possess an extendable baseline and wide-angle field of view (FOV against the traditional fixed baseline schemes. Furthermore, accuracy evaluation of the new type of architecture is conducted by theoretical modeling and computational analysis. Dataset-driven experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the developed approach.

An Improved Approach for RSSI-Based only Calibration-Free Real-Time Indoor Localization on IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 Wireless Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Passafiume

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Assuming a reliable and responsive spatial contextualization service is a must-have in IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 wireless networks, a suitable approach consists of the implementation of localization capabilities, as an additional application layer to the communication protocol stack. Considering the applicative scenario where satellite-based positioning applications are denied, such as indoor environments, and excluding data packet arrivals time measurements due to lack of time resolution, received signal strength indicator (RSSI measurements, obtained according to IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 data access technologies, are the unique data sources suitable for indoor geo-referencing using COTS devices. In the existing literature, many RSSI based localization systems are introduced and experimentally validated, nevertheless they require periodic calibrations and significant information fusion from different sensors that dramatically decrease overall systems reliability and their effective availability. This motivates the work presented in this paper, which introduces an approach for an RSSI-based calibration-free and real-time indoor localization. While switched-beam array-based hardware (compliant with IEEE 802.15.4 router functionality has already been presented by the author, the focus of this paper is the creation of an algorithmic layer for use with the pre-existing hardware capable to enable full localization and data contextualization over a standard 802.15.4 wireless sensor network using only RSSI information without the need of lengthy offline calibration phase. System validation reports the localization results in a typical indoor site, where the system has shown high accuracy, leading to a sub-metrical overall mean error and an almost 100% site coverage within 1 m localization error.

An Improved Approach for RSSI-Based only Calibration-Free Real-Time Indoor Localization on IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 Wireless Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Passafiume, Marco; Maddio, Stefano; Cidronali, Alessandro

2017-03-29

Assuming a reliable and responsive spatial contextualization service is a must-have in IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 wireless networks, a suitable approach consists of the implementation of localization capabilities, as an additional application layer to the communication protocol stack. Considering the applicative scenario where satellite-based positioning applications are denied, such as indoor environments, and excluding data packet arrivals time measurements due to lack of time resolution, received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements, obtained according to IEEE 802.11 and 802.15.4 data access technologies, are the unique data sources suitable for indoor geo-referencing using COTS devices. In the existing literature, many RSSI based localization systems are introduced and experimentally validated, nevertheless they require periodic calibrations and significant information fusion from different sensors that dramatically decrease overall systems reliability and their effective availability. This motivates the work presented in this paper, which introduces an approach for an RSSI-based calibration-free and real-time indoor localization. While switched-beam array-based hardware (compliant with IEEE 802.15.4 router functionality) has already been presented by the author, the focus of this paper is the creation of an algorithmic layer for use with the pre-existing hardware capable to enable full localization and data contextualization over a standard 802.15.4 wireless sensor network using only RSSI information without the need of lengthy offline calibration phase. System validation reports the localization results in a typical indoor site, where the system has shown high accuracy, leading to a sub-metrical overall mean error and an almost 100% site coverage within 1 m localization error.

Results of external beam irradiation for rectal carcinomas locally recurrent after local excision or electrocoagulation; Short communication

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shun Wong, C.; Cummings, B.J.; Keane, T.J.; O' Sullivan, Brian; Catton, C.N. (Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, ON (Canada))

1991-10-01

The outcome of 42 patients who developed locally recurrent rectal carcinoma after initial local excision or electrocoagulation was presented. Five patients received combined surgery and radiotherapy (XRT). The remaining 37 patients were managed by XRT alone. The overall 5 years actuarial survival and local control rates were 21 and 22 percent, respectively. For patients who received XRT alone, the 5 year actuarial survival and local control rates were 20 and 15 percent, resp. The corresponding figures were 35 and 40 percent for patients who received a total XRT dose of 50 Gy or more. One patient who underwent combined treatment developed rectal and bladder incontinence requiring surgery. For patients with rectal recurrence after initial conservative surgery, XRT is an alternative to abdominoperipheral resection if major resection is contraindicated. (author). 13 refs.; 2 tabs.

Dosimetric and clinical results of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy for locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zheng Xiaokang; Ma Jun; Chen Longhua; Xia Yunfei; Shi Yusheng

2005-01-01

Purpose: To assess the dosimetric and clinical results of three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D CRT) for locally recurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). Methods: A total of 86 patients with locally recurrent NPC were retreated with 3D CRT. The median prescribed dose was 68 Gy with 2 Gy per fractionation. Dosimetric quality was evaluated with dose distribution in planning target volume (PTV) and specified organs at risk (OAR), dose conformity index (CI) and dose homogeneity index (HI). The actuarial rate of local failure-free (LFF), overall survival (OS) and major late toxicities (MLT) were estimated with Kaplan-Meier method. Multivariate analysis for prognosis was performed using the Cox regression proportional hazards model. Results: The mean dose to PTV averaged 66.8 Gy, and the dose to specified OAR was acceptable. The average value of CI and HI was 0.59 and 9.1%. The 5-year actuarial rate of LFF and OS was 71 and 40%, respectively. The 5-year actuarial incidence of MLT≥Grade 3 and ≥Grade 4 were 100 and 49%, respectively. The major prognostic factors were T stage and the size of gross tumor volume (GTV). Advanced T stage and large GTV volume were associated with poor LFF and OS and high risk of MLT. Conclusion: The dosimetric quality of 3D CRT for locally recurrent NPC is generally excellent. A relatively high local control was achieved with this technique. However, the incidence of late toxicities were not found to decrease as originally expected. Early diagnosis of the recurrence and reasonable definition of the target volume are crucial to achieve a better outcome

Local control and functional results after twice-daily radiotherapy for Ewing's sarcoma of the extremities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolek, Timothy W.; Marcus, Robert B.; Mendenhall, Nancy Price; Scarborough, Mark T.; Graham-Pole, John

1996-01-01

Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) has been the predominant local treatment for Ewing's sarcoma of bone at the University of Florida. Twice-daily hyperfractionated RT was initiated in 1982 to improve local control and functional outcome. This retrospective review compares the results of once-daily vs. twice-daily RT in patients with primary Ewing's sarcoma of an extremity, with emphasis on functional outcome. Methods and Materials: Between June 1971 and January 1990, 37 patients were treated at the University of Florida for nonmetastatic Ewing's sarcoma of bone with a primary lesion in an extremity. Three patients underwent amputation. Of 34 patients treated with RT, 31 had RT alone and 3 had a combination of RT and local excision. Before 1982, 14 patients received once-daily RT; since 1982, 17 patients have received twice-daily RT. Doses of once-daily RT varied from 47 to 61 Gy at 1.8-2 Gy per fraction. Doses of twice-daily RT varied, depending on the response of the soft-tissue component of the tumor to chemotherapy, and ranged from 50.4 to 60 Gy at 1.2 Gy per fraction. Some patients in the twice-daily RT group also received total body irradiation 1-3 months after local RT as part of a conditioning regimen before marrow-ablative therapy with stem cell rescue. They received either 8 Gy in two once-daily fractions or 12 Gy in six twice-daily fractions. The six patients who received surgery were excluded from local control analysis. Local control rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier (actuarial) method. Fifteen patients had a formal functional evaluation. Results: In the 31 patients treated with RT alone, the actuarial local control rate at 5 years was 81% for patients treated twice daily and 77% for those treated once daily (p = NS). No posttreatment pathologic fractures occurred in patients treated twice daily, whereas five fractures occurred in those treated once daily (p = 0.01). On functional evaluation, less loss in range of motion (15 deg. vs. 28 deg. of loss

Real-time ultrasound image classification for spine anesthesia using local directional Hadamard features.

Science.gov (United States)

Pesteie, Mehran; Abolmaesumi, Purang; Ashab, Hussam Al-Deen; Lessoway, Victoria A; Massey, Simon; Gunka, Vit; Rohling, Robert N

2015-06-01

Injection therapy is a commonly used solution for back pain management. This procedure typically involves percutaneous insertion of a needle between or around the vertebrae, to deliver anesthetics near nerve bundles. Most frequently, spinal injections are performed either blindly using palpation or under the guidance of fluoroscopy or computed tomography. Recently, due to the drawbacks of the ionizing radiation of such imaging modalities, there has been a growing interest in using ultrasound imaging as an alternative. However, the complex spinal anatomy with different wave-like structures, affected by speckle noise, makes the accurate identification of the appropriate injection plane difficult. The aim of this study was to propose an automated system that can identify the optimal plane for epidural steroid injections and facet joint injections. A multi-scale and multi-directional feature extraction system to provide automated identification of the appropriate plane is proposed. Local Hadamard coefficients are obtained using the sequency-ordered Hadamard transform at multiple scales. Directional features are extracted from local coefficients which correspond to different regions in the ultrasound images. An artificial neural network is trained based on the local directional Hadamard features for classification. The proposed method yields distinctive features for classification which successfully classified 1032 images out of 1090 for epidural steroid injection and 990 images out of 1052 for facet joint injection. In order to validate the proposed method, a leave-one-out cross-validation was performed. The average classification accuracy for leave-one-out validation was 94 % for epidural and 90 % for facet joint targets. Also, the feature extraction time for the proposed method was 20 ms for a native 2D ultrasound image. A real-time machine learning system based on the local directional Hadamard features extracted by the sequency-ordered Hadamard transform for

Results of Endoscopic Dacryocystorhinostomy under Local Anesthesia with Minimal Sedation

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Woong Chul Choi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose. We evaluated the tolerability and efficacy of endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (Endo-DCR in patients treated in the leaning position and under local anesthesia with minimal sedation (LAS. Study Design. Questionnaire to determine subjective success of Endo-DCR. Methods. From May 2013 to August 2014, a total of 95 eyes with epiphora presented to the Myoung Eye Plastic Surgery Clinic in Seoul, Korea, and were treated with Endo-DCR under LAS. Three nerve blocks were administered to achieve local anesthesia. Postoperatively, the wound site was packed with Nasopore to control bleeding and promote wound healing. Outcome measures included a patient questionnaire completed on postoperative day 7 to evaluate intraoperative and postoperative pain based on the VAS (0 to 10. Results. Mean intraoperative and postoperative pain scores were 1.03 and 1.64, respectively, for 95 eyes. Of the 95 eyes treated, the patients in 82 eyes (86.31% reported that they would prefer LAS over GA for a repeat Endo-DCR. The subjective and objective surgical success rates were 90.14% and 95.77%, respectively. Conclusions. Endo-DCR carried out under LAS with the patient in the leaning position is more useful, efficient, and feasible than Endo-DCR performed under GA with the patient in the supine position.

Statistical significance approximation in local trend analysis of high-throughput time-series data using the theory of Markov chains.

Science.gov (United States)

Xia, Li C; Ai, Dongmei; Cram, Jacob A; Liang, Xiaoyi; Fuhrman, Jed A; Sun, Fengzhu

2015-09-21

Local trend (i.e. shape) analysis of time series data reveals co-changing patterns in dynamics of biological systems. However, slow permutation procedures to evaluate the statistical significance of local trend scores have limited its applications to high-throughput time series data analysis, e.g., data from the next generation sequencing technology based studies. By extending the theories for the tail probability of the range of sum of Markovian random variables, we propose formulae for approximating the statistical significance of local trend scores. Using simulations and real data, we show that the approximate p-value is close to that obtained using a large number of permutations (starting at time points >20 with no delay and >30 with delay of at most three time steps) in that the non-zero decimals of the p-values obtained by the approximation and the permutations are mostly the same when the approximate p-value is less than 0.05. In addition, the approximate p-value is slightly larger than that based on permutations making hypothesis testing based on the approximate p-value conservative. The approximation enables efficient calculation of p-values for pairwise local trend analysis, making large scale all-versus-all comparisons possible. We also propose a hybrid approach by integrating the approximation and permutations to obtain accurate p-values for significantly associated pairs. We further demonstrate its use with the analysis of the Polymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) microbial community time series from high-throughput sequencing data and found interesting organism co-occurrence dynamic patterns. The software tool is integrated into the eLSA software package that now provides accelerated local trend and similarity analysis pipelines for time series data. The package is freely available from the eLSA website: http://bitbucket.org/charade/elsa.

Up-to-date, real-time localized ITS services provided on a mobile platform

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tadayoni, Reza; Kloch, Christian

2011-01-01

and connection to the mobile platform, the smart phone provides the technologies and power to become the platform to provide and access up-to-date, real time infor-mation as requested by the drivers and becomes a central point for networking and coordinated actions. The purpose of this paper is to provide......-to-date infrastructure technology and is carried by lay-mans, like the smart-phones (with GPS receiver, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, high speed cellular data connection and a large touch screen). With an 18 month replacement rate [1], and possibilities of combining navigational system, one-to-one communication, broadcast receiver...... in order to avoid local based solutions and to avoid proprietary solutions, a support that also shall be supported by political willingness above local level in order to realize the benefit of ITS....

A near-optimal low complexity sensor fusion technique for accurate indoor localization based on ultrasound time of arrival measurements from low-quality sensors

Science.gov (United States)

Mitilineos, Stelios A.; Argyreas, Nick D.; Thomopoulos, Stelios C. A.

2009-05-01

A fusion-based localization technique for location-based services in indoor environments is introduced herein, based on ultrasound time-of-arrival measurements from multiple off-the-shelf range estimating sensors which are used in a market-available localization system. In-situ field measurements results indicated that the respective off-the-shelf system was unable to estimate position in most of the cases, while the underlying sensors are of low-quality and yield highly inaccurate range and position estimates. An extensive analysis is performed and a model of the sensor-performance characteristics is established. A low-complexity but accurate sensor fusion and localization technique is then developed, which consists inof evaluating multiple sensor measurements and selecting the one that is considered most-accurate based on the underlying sensor model. Optimality, in the sense of a genie selecting the optimum sensor, is subsequently evaluated and compared to the proposed technique. The experimental results indicate that the proposed fusion method exhibits near-optimal performance and, albeit being theoretically suboptimal, it largely overcomes most flaws of the underlying single-sensor system resulting in a localization system of increased accuracy, robustness and availability.

Long-term oncologic results of salvage radical prostatectomy for locally recurrent prostate cancer after radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bianco, Fernando J.; Scardino, Peter T.; Stephenson, Andrew J.; DiBlasio, Christopher J.; Fearn, Paul A.; Eastham, James A.

2005-01-01

Purpose: Salvage radical prostatectomy (RP) may potentially cure patients who have isolated local prostate cancer recurrence after radiotherapy (RT). We report the long-term cancer control associated with salvage RP in a consecutive cohort of patients and identify the variables associated with disease progression and cancer survival. Methods and Materials: A total of 100 consecutive patients underwent salvage RP with curative intent for biopsy-confirmed, locally recurrent, prostate cancer after RT. Disease progression after salvage RP was defined as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level of ≥0.2 ng/mL or by initiation of androgen deprivation therapy. Cancer-specific mortality was defined as active clinical disease progression despite castration. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate these endpoints. The median follow-up from RT was 10 years (range, 3-27 years) and from salvage RP was 5 years (range, 1-20 years). Results: Overall, the 5-year progression-free probability was 55% (95% confidence interval, 46-64%), and the median progression-free interval was 6.4 years. The preoperative PSA level was the only significant pretreatment predictor of disease progression in the multivariate analysis (p = 0.01). The 5-year progression-free probability for patients with a preoperative PSA level of 10 ng/mL was 86%, 55%, and 37%, respectively. The 10-year and 15-year cancer-specific mortality after salvage RP was 27% and 40%, respectively. The median time from disease progression to cancer-specific death was 10.3 years (95% confidence interval, 7.6-12.9). After multivariate analysis, the preoperative serum PSA level and seminal vesicle or lymph node status correlated independently with disease progression. Conclusions: Greater preoperative PSA levels are associated with disease progression and cancer-specific death. Long-term control of locally recurrent prostate cancer after definitive RT is possible when salvage RP is performed early in the course of recurrent

Localized Unresectable Pancreatic Cancer Treated with High Energy Neutrons and Chemotherapy at Fermilab - Preliminary Results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Saroja, K. R. [Unlisted, US, IL; Cohen, Lionel [Unlisted, US, IL; Hendrickson, Frank R. [Unlisted, US, IL; Mansell, JoAnne [Fermilab

1990-01-01

Between January 1985 and July 1989 a total of thirty-eight patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer were treated with high energy neutrons at Fermilab. Twenty-one patients received only neutrons and seventeen were given chemotherapy in addition, either concurrently or subsequently following the completion of neutron irradiation. This is a retrospective study. Data were analyzed for tolerance, complications and survival. Three of the twenty-one (14%) patients who received only neutron beam therapy developed Grade ID or greater complications in the RTOG/EORTC scale. The median survival was 6.4 months. One of these patients is alive 10 months post treatment. Of seventeen patients who also received chemotherapy, five (29%) had severe complications. However, median survival was 13.5 months. Four of these seventeen patients are still alive at the time of this analysis. The preliminary results show that there is improvement in the survival of patients treated with combined neutron irradiation and chemotherapy. A pilot study to further evaluate these results in a larger group of patients is underway. Details of complications and chemotherapy regimen will be preseqted.

Efficient Iris Localization via Optimization Model

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Qi Wang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Iris localization is one of the most important processes in iris recognition. Because of different kinds of noises in iris image, the localization result may be wrong. Besides this, localization process is time-consuming. To solve these problems, this paper develops an efficient iris localization algorithm via optimization model. Firstly, the localization problem is modeled by an optimization model. Then SIFT feature is selected to represent the characteristic information of iris outer boundary and eyelid for localization. And SDM (Supervised Descent Method algorithm is employed to solve the final points of outer boundary and eyelids. Finally, IRLS (Iterative Reweighted Least-Square is used to obtain the parameters of outer boundary and upper and lower eyelids. Experimental result indicates that the proposed algorithm is efficient and effective.

Real-time prediction of respiratory motion based on a local dynamic model in an augmented space.

Science.gov (United States)

Hong, S-M; Jung, B-H; Ruan, D

2011-03-21

Motion-adaptive radiotherapy aims to deliver ablative radiation dose to the tumor target with minimal normal tissue exposure, by accounting for real-time target movement. In practice, prediction is usually necessary to compensate for system latency induced by measurement, communication and control. This work focuses on predicting respiratory motion, which is most dominant for thoracic and abdominal tumors. We develop and investigate the use of a local dynamic model in an augmented space, motivated by the observation that respiratory movement exhibits a locally circular pattern in a plane augmented with a delayed axis. By including the angular velocity as part of the system state, the proposed dynamic model effectively captures the natural evolution of respiratory motion. The first-order extended Kalman filter is used to propagate and update the state estimate. The target location is predicted by evaluating the local dynamic model equations at the required prediction length. This method is complementary to existing work in that (1) the local circular motion model characterizes 'turning', overcoming the limitation of linear motion models; (2) it uses a natural state representation including the local angular velocity and updates the state estimate systematically, offering explicit physical interpretations; (3) it relies on a parametric model and is much less data-satiate than the typical adaptive semiparametric or nonparametric method. We tested the performance of the proposed method with ten RPM traces, using the normalized root mean squared difference between the predicted value and the retrospective observation as the error metric. Its performance was compared with predictors based on the linear model, the interacting multiple linear models and the kernel density estimator for various combinations of prediction lengths and observation rates. The local dynamic model based approach provides the best performance for short to medium prediction lengths under relatively

The role of a local mammography workshop, considered from the results of reading examinations and associated questionnaires

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsunami, Nobuki; Tatsuta, Masayuki; Nishi, Toshio

2011-01-01

The mammography workshop group for the southern Osaka prefectural area (Hannan Mammography Workshop Group) started in April, 2001, and reading examinations have been carried out periodically since the 9th workshop held in April, 2004, in order to promote mammography breast cancer screening and improve quality control. Questionnaire studies were performed in association with the 3rd (December, 2006) and 4th (March, 2008) reading examinations in order to analyze the role of the local workshop. The questionnaires included items inquiring about the examinee's sex, age, institution location, type of occupation, attendance at mammography training courses provided by the Central Committee for Quality Control, the number of attendances at the local workshop, performance of breast cancer screening, experience of recall examinations, and the number of readings performed. In addition, the questions that yielded varied interpretations at reading examinations were carefully checked in order to better manage subsequent workshops. Examinees who had attended the workshops more than 6 times tended to have a high category sensitivity (62.2% at the 3rd reading examination, and 58.9% at the 4th). Test cases that showed a low conformity rate of category judgment were as follows: judgment of typically benign calcifications, distinction between amorphous or indistinct calcifications and pleomorphic or heterogeneous calcifications, judgment of focal asymmetric density (FAD) and architectural distortion. We intend to use these results to improve the quality control of breast cancer screening through our local mammography workshop activity. (author)

Time variations in the mechanical characteristics of local crustal segments according to seismic observations

Science.gov (United States)

Kocharyan, G. G.; Gamburtseva, N. G.; Sanina, I. A.; Danilova, T. V.; Nesterkina, M. A.; Gorbunova, E. M.; Ivanchenko, G. N.

2011-04-01

The results of the seismic observations made with two different experimental setups are presented. In the first case, the signals produced by underground nuclear explosions at the Semipalatinsk Test Site were measured on a linear profile, which allowed one to definitely outline the areas where the mechanical properties of rocks experienced considerable time variations. In the second case, the waves excited by the open-pit mine blasts recorded at a small-aperture seismic array at the Mikhnevo Geophysical Station (Institute of Geosphere Dynamics, Russian Academy of Sciences) on the East European Platform favored the estimation of variations in the integral characteristics of the seismic path. Measurements in aseismic regions characterized by diverse geological structure and different tectonic conditions revealed similar effects of the strong dependency of seismic parameters on the time of explosions. Here, the variations experienced by the maximum amplitudes of oscillations and irrelevant to seasonal changes or local conditions reached a factor of two. The generic periods of these variations including the distinct annual rhythm are probably the fragments of a lower-frequency process. The obtained results suggest that these variations are due to changes in the stressstrain state of active fault zones, which, in turn, can be associated with the macroscale motion of large blocks triggered by tidal strains, tectonic forces and, possibly, variations in the rate of the Earth's rotation.

On the impact of topography and building mask on time varying gravity due to local hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

Deville, S.; Jacob, T.; Chéry, J.; Champollion, C.

2013-01-01

We use 3 yr of surface absolute gravity measurements at three sites on the Larzac plateau (France) to quantify the changes induced by topography and the building on gravity time-series, with respect to an idealized infinite slab approximation. Indeed, local topography and buildings housing ground-based gravity measurement have an effect on the distribution of water storage changes, therefore affecting the associated gravity signal. We first calculate the effects of surrounding topography and building dimensions on the gravity attraction for a uniform layer of water. We show that a gravimetric interpretation of water storage change using an infinite slab, the so-called Bouguer approximation, is generally not suitable. We propose to split the time varying gravity signal in two parts (1) a surface component including topographic and building effects (2) a deep component associated to underground water transfer. A reservoir modelling scheme is herein presented to remove the local site effects and to invert for the effective hydrological properties of the unsaturated zone. We show that effective time constants associated to water transfer vary greatly from site to site. We propose that our modelling scheme can be used to correct for the local site effects on gravity at any site presenting a departure from a flat topography. Depending on sites, the corrected signal can exceed measured values by 5-15 μGal, corresponding to 120-380 mm of water using the Bouguer slab formula. Our approach only requires the knowledge of daily precipitation corrected for evapotranspiration. Therefore, it can be a useful tool to correct any kind of gravimetric time-series data.

Quadratic obstructions to small-time local controllability for scalar-input systems

Science.gov (United States)

Beauchard, Karine; Marbach, Frédéric

2018-03-01

We consider nonlinear finite-dimensional scalar-input control systems in the vicinity of an equilibrium. When the linearized system is controllable, the nonlinear system is smoothly small-time locally controllable: whatever m > 0 and T > 0, the state can reach a whole neighborhood of the equilibrium at time T with controls arbitrary small in Cm-norm. When the linearized system is not controllable, we prove that: either the state is constrained to live within a smooth strict manifold, up to a cubic residual, or the quadratic order adds a signed drift with respect to it. This drift holds along a Lie bracket of length (2 k + 1), is quantified in terms of an H-k-norm of the control, holds for controls small in W 2 k , ∞-norm and these spaces are optimal. Our proof requires only C3 regularity of the vector field. This work underlines the importance of the norm used in the smallness assumption on the control, even in finite dimension.

Enquiry time as part of turnaround time: when do our clinicians really consult our results?

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Borja, Enrique; Villalba-Martínez, C; Carratalá-Calvo, A

2014-07-01

Traditionally, laboratories' turnaround times (TAT) have been calculated by only considering analytical or intralaboratory steps. The measure of the postanalytical impact in TAT has barely been studied and, more specifically, the running time from when finalised results are available to when clinicians make their first enquiry with an electronic medical record. During May-June of 2013, two 'Times' were collected from our laboratory information system for all the priority requests coming from our day hospitals: 'Validation time' (TV), as the request report time with full verified results and 'Enquiry time' (TQ), as the time when the first consult was made via electronic medical record. We classified requests in groups depending on time results, and TQ-TV (percentiles) were calculated for each group. 654 (69%) requests were consulted by clinicians before 15 : 00 on the same day with available results. 191 (20%) were consulted after 15 : 00 and had complete results as well (p50 (TQ-TV): 5 days) while 61 (7%) were never consulted (up to 31/12/2013). 39 (4%) requests were finally consulted before 15 : 00 h with no available results, but the average time difference between validation and enquiry was 31 min. The results obtained lead us to reconsider the TAT established with our day hospitals in order to know if priority has to be reviewed or if there are failures in follow-up results. 'Enquiry time' appears to be a powerful tool in detecting these issues and shows that TATs are no longer just a 'laboratory problem'. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Magnetic local time dependence of geomagnetic disturbances contributing to the AU and AL indices

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tomita, S; Nose´, M; Iyemori, T

2010-01-01

activity in the auroral zone. In the present study, we examine magnetic local time (MLT) dependence of geomagnetic field variations contributing to the AU and AL indices. We use 1-min geomagnetic field data obtained in 2003. It is found that both AU and AL indices have two ranges of MLT (AU: 15:00-22:00MLT...

Reference results for time-like evolution up to

Science.gov (United States)

Bertone, Valerio; Carrazza, Stefano; Nocera, Emanuele R.

2015-03-01

We present high-precision numerical results for time-like Dokshitzer-Gribov-Lipatov-Altarelli-Parisi evolution in the factorisation scheme, for the first time up to next-to-next-to-leading order accuracy in quantum chromodynamics. First, we scrutinise the analytical expressions of the splitting functions available in the literature, in both x and N space, and check their mutual consistency. Second, we implement time-like evolution in two publicly available, entirely independent and conceptually different numerical codes, in x and N space respectively: the already existing APFEL code, which has been updated with time-like evolution, and the new MELA code, which has been specifically developed to perform the study in this work. Third, by means of a model for fragmentation functions, we provide results for the evolution in different factorisation schemes, for different ratios between renormalisation and factorisation scales and at different final scales. Our results are collected in the format of benchmark tables, which could be used as a reference for global determinations of fragmentation functions in the future.

Quantification of local morphodynamics and local GTPase activity by edge evolution tracking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuki Tsukada

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Advances in time-lapse fluorescence microscopy have enabled us to directly observe dynamic cellular phenomena. Although the techniques themselves have promoted the understanding of dynamic cellular functions, the vast number of images acquired has generated a need for automated processing tools to extract statistical information. A problem underlying the analysis of time-lapse cell images is the lack of rigorous methods to extract morphodynamic properties. Here, we propose an algorithm called edge evolution tracking (EET to quantify the relationship between local morphological changes and local fluorescence intensities around a cell edge using time-lapse microscopy images. This algorithm enables us to trace the local edge extension and contraction by defining subdivided edges and their corresponding positions in successive frames. Thus, this algorithm enables the investigation of cross-correlations between local morphological changes and local intensity of fluorescent signals by considering the time shifts. By applying EET to fluorescence resonance energy transfer images of the Rho-family GTPases Rac1, Cdc42, and RhoA, we examined the cross-correlation between the local area difference and GTPase activity. The calculated correlations changed with time-shifts as expected, but surprisingly, the peak of the correlation coefficients appeared with a 6-8 min time shift of morphological changes and preceded the Rac1 or Cdc42 activities. Our method enables the quantification of the dynamics of local morphological change and local protein activity and statistical investigation of the relationship between them by considering time shifts in the relationship. Thus, this algorithm extends the value of time-lapse imaging data to better understand dynamics of cellular function.

Correlation of carrier localization with relaxation time distribution and electrical conductivity relaxation in silver-nanoparticle-embedded moderately doped polypyrrole nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Biswas, Swarup; Dutta, Bula; Bhattacharya, Subhratanu

2014-02-01

The electrical conductivity relaxation in moderately doped polypyrrole and its nanocomposites reinforced with different proportion of silver nanoparticles was investigated in both frequency and time domain. An analytical distribution function of relaxation times is constructed from the results obtained in the frequency domain formalism and is used to evaluate the Kohlrausch-Williams-Watts (KWW) type decay function in the time domain. The thermal evolution of different relaxation parameters was analyzed. The temperature-dependent dc electrical conductivity, estimated from the average conductivity relaxation time is observed to depend strongly on the nanoparticle loading and follows Mott three-dimensional variable range hopping (VRH) conduction mechanism. The extent of charge carrier localization calculated from the VRH mechanism is well correlated to the evidences obtained from the structural characterizations of different nanostructured samples.

A Hidden Markov Model Approach for Simultaneously Estimating Local Ancestry and Admixture Time Using Next Generation Sequence Data in Samples of Arbitrary Ploidy.

Science.gov (United States)

Corbett-Detig, Russell; Nielsen, Rasmus

2017-01-01

Admixture-the mixing of genomes from divergent populations-is increasingly appreciated as a central process in evolution. To characterize and quantify patterns of admixture across the genome, a number of methods have been developed for local ancestry inference. However, existing approaches have a number of shortcomings. First, all local ancestry inference methods require some prior assumption about the expected ancestry tract lengths. Second, existing methods generally require genotypes, which is not feasible to obtain for many next-generation sequencing projects. Third, many methods assume samples are diploid, however a wide variety of sequencing applications will fail to meet this assumption. To address these issues, we introduce a novel hidden Markov model for estimating local ancestry that models the read pileup data, rather than genotypes, is generalized to arbitrary ploidy, and can estimate the time since admixture during local ancestry inference. We demonstrate that our method can simultaneously estimate the time since admixture and local ancestry with good accuracy, and that it performs well on samples of high ploidy-i.e. 100 or more chromosomes. As this method is very general, we expect it will be useful for local ancestry inference in a wider variety of populations than what previously has been possible. We then applied our method to pooled sequencing data derived from populations of Drosophila melanogaster on an ancestry cline on the east coast of North America. We find that regions of local recombination rates are negatively correlated with the proportion of African ancestry, suggesting that selection against foreign ancestry is the least efficient in low recombination regions. Finally we show that clinal outlier loci are enriched for genes associated with gene regulatory functions, consistent with a role of regulatory evolution in ecological adaptation of admixed D. melanogaster populations. Our results illustrate the potential of local ancestry

Strong Anderson localization in cold atom quantum quenches.

Science.gov (United States)

Micklitz, T; Müller, C A; Altland, A

2014-03-21

Signatures of Anderson localization in the momentum distribution of a cold atom cloud after a quantum quench are studied. We consider a quasi-one-dimensional cloud initially prepared in a well-defined momentum state, and expanding for some time in a disorder speckle potential. Quantum interference generates a peak in the forward scattering amplitude which, unlike the common weak localization backscattering peak, is a signature of strong Anderson localization. We present a nonperturbative, and fully time resolved description of the phenomenon, covering the entire diffusion-to-localization crossover. Our results should be observable by present day experiments.

Using CNLS-net [Connectionist Normalized Local Spline-network] to predict the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mead, W.C.; Jones, R.D.; Barnes, C.W.; Lee, L.A.; O'Rourke, M.K.; Lee, Y.C.; Flake, G.W.

1991-01-01

We use the Connectionist Normalized Local Spline (CNLS) network to learn the dynamics of the Mackey-Glass time-delay differential equation, for the case τ = 30. We show the optimum network operating mode and determine the accuracy and robustness of predictions. We obtain pedictions of varying accuracy using some 2--120 minutes of execution time on a Sun SPARC-1 workstation. CNLS-net is capable of very good performance in predicting the Mackey-Glass time series. 11 refs., 4 figs

The relative roles of local climate adaptation and phylogeny in determining leaf-out timing of temperate tree species

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elsa Desnoues

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Background Leaf out times of temperate forest trees are a prominent determinant of global carbon dynamics throughout the year. Abiotic cues of leaf emergence are well studied but investigation of the relative roles of shared evolutionary history (phylogeny and local adaptation to climate in determining the species-level responses to these cues is needed to better apprehend the effect of global change on leaf emergence. We explored the relative importance of phylogeny and climate in determining the innate leaf out phenology across the temperate biome. Methods We used an extensive dataset of leaf-out dates of 1126 temperate woody species grown in eight Northern Hemisphere common gardens. For these species, information on the native climate and phylogenetic position was collected. Using linear regression analyses, we examine the relative effect of climate variables and phylogeny on leaf out variation among species. Results Climate variables explained twice as much variation in leaf out timing as phylogenetic information, a process that was driven primarily by the complex interactive effects of multiple climate variables. Although the primary climate factors explaining species-level variation in leaf-out timing varied drastically across different families, our analyses reveal that local adaptation plays a stronger role than common evolutionary history in determining tree phenology across the temperate biome. Conclusions In the long-term, the direct effects of physiological adaptation to abiotic effects of climate change on forest phenology are likely to outweigh the indirect effects mediated through changes in tree species composition.

Prognostic Value of Triple-Negative Phenotype at the Time of Locally Recurrent, Conservatively Treated Breast Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parikh, Rahul R.; Housman, Douglas; Yang Qifeng; Toppmeyer, Deborah; Wilson, Lynn D.; Haffty, Bruce G.

2008-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the prognostic value of triple-negative (TN) ER, PR, Her2/neu basal-like carcinoma of the breast, at the time of ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence (IBTR) after conservative surgery and radiation treatment (RT). Methods and Materials: A tissue microarray was constructed of 47 IBTR specimens of patients who experienced an IBTR after conservative surgery and RT that were processed and stained for ER, PR, and HER2/neu. Results: At a median post-recurrence follow-up of 7.5 years, the 5-year overall survival (OS) and disease metastasis-free survival (DMFS) after IBTR were 91.4% and 83.0%, respectively. Median time to tumor recurrence (TTR) and IBTR was shorter in the TN phenotype (3.88 vs. 5.00 years; p = 0.09). The TN tumors were not associated with size of local recurrence or recurrence elsewhere in the breast. Despite administration of standard chemotherapy at the time of IBTR, the 5-year DMFS and 5-year OS for the TN cohort were 48.6% and 72.7%, respectively. The 5-year DMFS was 48.6% for TN tumors and 90.8% for non-TN tumors (p < 0.01). By univariate analysis, significant factors associated with poor 5-year DMFS and OS after IBTR included: TN phenotype (p < 0.01), TTR 3 years or less (p < 0.01), local recurrence at or near the original tumor site (p = 0.08). In multivariate analysis, TN was a significant independent predictor of poorer 5-year DMFS (relative risk, 5.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.83-19.01; p < 0.01) after IBTR. Conclusions: Although patients experiencing an IBTR have a relatively favorable prognosis, those with IBTR events of the TN phenotype had a rather poor prognosis despite receiving standard chemotherapy. Strategies with novel systemic therapies to improve outcomes in patients experiencing IBTR of the TN phenotype are warranted

Real time magnetic resonance guided endomyocardial local delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Corti, R; Badimon, J; Mizsei, G; Macaluso, F; Lee, M; Licato, P; Viles-Gonzalez, J F; Fuster, V; Sherman, W

2005-01-01

Objective: To investigate the feasibility of targeting various areas of left ventricle myocardium under real time magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with a customised injection catheter equipped with a miniaturised coil. Design: A needle injection catheter with a mounted resonant solenoid circuit (coil) at its tip was designed and constructed. A 1.5 T MR scanner with customised real time sequence combined with in-room scan running capabilities was used. With this system, various myocardial areas within the left ventricle were targeted and injected with a gadolinium-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and Indian ink mixture. Results: Real time sequencing at 10 frames/s allowed clear visualisation of the moving catheter and its transit through the aorta into the ventricle, as well as targeting of all ventricle wall segments without further image enhancement techniques. All injections were visualised by real time MR imaging and verified by gross pathology. Conclusion: The tracking device allowed real time in vivo visualisation of catheters in the aorta and left ventricle as well as precise targeting of myocardial areas. The use of this real time catheter tracking may enable precise and adequate delivery of agents for tissue regeneration. PMID:15710717

Socio-political structure of Mersin at the basis of the results of the local elections

OpenAIRE

D. Ali Arslan

2012-01-01

It was aimed to investigate the political structure of Mersin and its place in the general political structure of Turkey by using methods and techniques of political sociology. Structural-functionalist was used as the theoretical base. To achieve this goal, the results of the Turkish local elections in last 50 years (were examined. First of all, the formation of political power in Turkey and the overall operation and changing regularities at the bases of the local elections were evaluated. Se...

Identifying interactions in the time and frequency domains in local and global networks - A Granger Causality Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guo Shuixia

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Reverse-engineering approaches such as Bayesian network inference, ordinary differential equations (ODEs and information theory are widely applied to deriving causal relationships among different elements such as genes, proteins, metabolites, neurons, brain areas and so on, based upon multi-dimensional spatial and temporal data. There are several well-established reverse-engineering approaches to explore causal relationships in a dynamic network, such as ordinary differential equations (ODE, Bayesian networks, information theory and Granger Causality. Results Here we focused on Granger causality both in the time and frequency domain and in local and global networks, and applied our approach to experimental data (genes and proteins. For a small gene network, Granger causality outperformed all the other three approaches mentioned above. A global protein network of 812 proteins was reconstructed, using a novel approach. The obtained results fitted well with known experimental findings and predicted many experimentally testable results. In addition to interactions in the time domain, interactions in the frequency domain were also recovered. Conclusions The results on the proteomic data and gene data confirm that Granger causality is a simple and accurate approach to recover the network structure. Our approach is general and can be easily applied to other types of temporal data.

What affects local community hospitals' survival in turbulent times?

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, Hung-Che; Wang, Shiow-Ing

2015-06-01

Hospital closures became a prevalent phenomenon in Taiwan after the implementation of a national health insurance program. A wide range of causes contributes to the viability of hospitals, but little is known about the situation under universal coverage health systems. The purpose of present study is to recognize the factors that may contribute to hospital survival under the universal coverage health system. This is a retrospective case-control study. Local community hospitals that contracted with the Bureau of National Health Insurance in 1998 and remained open during the period 1998-2011 are the designated cases. Controls are local community hospitals that closed during the same period. Using longitudinal representative health claim data, 209 local community hospitals that closed during 1998-2011 were compared with 165 that remained open. Variables related to institutional characteristics, degree of competition, characteristics of patients and financial performance were analyzed by logistic regression models. Hospitals' survival was positively related to specialty hospital, the number of respiratory care beds, the physician to population ratio, the number of clinics in the same region, a highly competitive market and the occupancy rate of elderly patients in the hospital. Teaching hospitals, investor-owned hospitals, the provision of obstetrics services or home care, and the number of medical centers or other local community hospitals may jeopardize the chance of survival. Factors-enhanced local hospitals to survive under the universal coverage health system have been identified. Hospital managers could manipulate these findings and adapt strategies for subsistence. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

Robust performance results for discrete-time systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mahmoud Magdi S.

1997-01-01

Full Text Available The problems of robust performance and feedback control synthesis for a class of linear discrete-time systems with time-varying parametric uncertainties are addressed in this paper. The uncertainties are bound and have a linear matrix fractional form. Based on the concept of strongly robust H ∞ -performance criterion, results of robust stability and performance are developed and expressed in easily computable linear matrix inequalities. Synthesis of robust feedback controllers is carried out for several system models of interest.

Sound localization in common vampire bats: Acuity and use of the binaural time cue by a small mammal

Science.gov (United States)

Heffner, Rickye S.; Koay, Gimseong; Heffner, Henry E.

2015-01-01

Passive sound-localization acuity and the ability to use binaural time and intensity cues were determined for the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus). The bats were tested using a conditioned suppression/avoidance procedure in which they drank defibrinated blood from a spout in the presence of sounds from their right, but stopped drinking (i.e., broke contact with the spout) whenever a sound came from their left, thereby avoiding a mild shock. The mean minimum audible angle for three bats for a 100-ms noise burst was 13.1°—within the range of thresholds for other bats and near the mean for mammals. Common vampire bats readily localized pure tones of 20 kHz and higher, indicating they could use interaural intensity-differences. They could also localize pure tones of 5 kHz and lower, thereby demonstrating the use of interaural time-differences, despite their very small maximum interaural distance of 60 μs. A comparison of the use of locus cues among mammals suggests several implications for the evolution of sound localization and its underlying anatomical and physiological mechanisms. PMID:25618037

Imprecise results: Utilizing partial computations in real-time systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Kwei-Jay; Natarajan, Swaminathan; Liu, Jane W.-S.

1987-01-01

In real-time systems, a computation may not have time to complete its execution because of deadline requirements. In such cases, no result except the approximate results produced by the computations up to that point will be available. It is desirable to utilize these imprecise results if possible. Two approaches are proposed to enable computations to return imprecise results when executions cannot be completed normally. The milestone approach records results periodically, and if a deadline is reached, returns the last recorded result. The sieve approach demarcates sections of code which can be skipped if the time available is insufficient. By using these approaches, the system is able to produce imprecise results when deadlines are reached. The design of the Concord project is described which supports imprecise computations using these techniques. Also presented is a general model of imprecise computations using these techniques, as well as one which takes into account the influence of the environment, showing where the latter approach fits into this model.

Wi-Fi/MARG Integration for Indoor Pedestrian Localization.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Zengshan; Jin, Yue; Zhou, Mu; Wu, Zipeng; Li, Ze

2016-12-10

With the wide deployment of Wi-Fi networks, Wi-Fi based indoor localization systems that are deployed without any special hardware have caught significant attention and have become a currently practical technology. At the same time, the Magnetic, Angular Rate, and Gravity (MARG) sensors installed in commercial mobile devices can achieve highly-accurate localization in short time. Based on this, we design a novel indoor localization system by using built-in MARG sensors and a Wi-Fi module. The innovative contributions of this paper include the enhanced Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) and Wi-Fi localization approaches, and an Extended Kalman Particle Filter (EKPF) based fusion algorithm. A new Wi-Fi/MARG indoor localization system, including an Android based mobile client, a Web page for remote control, and a location server, is developed for real-time indoor pedestrian localization. The extensive experimental results show that the proposed system is featured with better localization performance, with the average error 0.85 m, than the one achieved by using the Wi-Fi module or MARG sensors solely.

Preliminary time-phased TWRS process model results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orme, R.M.

1995-01-01

This report documents the first phase of efforts to model the retrieval and processing of Hanford tank waste within the constraints of an assumed tank farm configuration. This time-phased approach simulates a first try at a retrieval sequence, the batching of waste through retrieval facilities, the batching of retrieved waste through enhanced sludge washing, the batching of liquids through pretreatment and low-level waste (LLW) vitrification, and the batching of pretreated solids through high-level waste (HLW) vitrification. The results reflect the outcome of an assumed retrieval sequence that has not been tailored with respect to accepted measures of performance. The batch data, composition variability, and final waste volume projects in this report should be regarded as tentative. Nevertheless, the results provide interesting insights into time-phased processing of the tank waste. Inspection of the composition variability, for example, suggests modifications to the retrieval sequence that will further improve the uniformity of feed to the vitrification facilities. This model will be a valuable tool for evaluating suggested retrieval sequences and establishing a time-phased processing baseline. An official recommendation on tank retrieval sequence will be made in September, 1995

Damage localization of marine risers using time series of vibration signals

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hao; Yang, Hezhen; Liu, Fushun

2014-10-01

Based on dynamic response signals a damage detection algorithm is developed for marine risers. Damage detection methods based on numerous modal properties have encountered issues in the researches in offshore oil community. For example, significant increase in structure mass due to marine plant/animal growth and changes in modal properties by equipment noise are not the result of damage for riser structures. In an attempt to eliminate the need to determine modal parameters, a data-based method is developed. The implementation of the method requires that vibration data are first standardized to remove the influence of different loading conditions and the autoregressive moving average (ARMA) model is used to fit vibration response signals. In addition, a damage feature factor is introduced based on the autoregressive (AR) parameters. After that, the Euclidean distance between ARMA models is subtracted as a damage indicator for damage detection and localization and a top tensioned riser simulation model with different damage scenarios is analyzed using the proposed method with dynamic acceleration responses of a marine riser as sensor data. Finally, the influence of measured noise is analyzed. According to the damage localization results, the proposed method provides accurate damage locations of risers and is robust to overcome noise effect.

Exploring Localization in Nuclear Spin Chains

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Ken Xuan; Ramanathan, Chandrasekhar; Cappellaro, Paola

2018-02-01

Characterizing out-of-equilibrium many-body dynamics is a complex but crucial task for quantum applications and understanding fundamental phenomena. A central question is the role of localization in quenching thermalization in many-body systems and whether such localization survives in the presence of interactions. Probing this question in real systems necessitates the development of an experimentally measurable metric that can distinguish between different types of localization. While it is known that the localized phase of interacting systems [many-body localization (MBL)] exhibits a long-time logarithmic growth in entanglement entropy that distinguishes it from the noninteracting case of Anderson localization (AL), entanglement entropy is difficult to measure experimentally. Here, we present a novel correlation metric, capable of distinguishing MBL from AL in high-temperature spin systems. We demonstrate the use of this metric to detect localization in a natural solid-state spin system using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We engineer the natural Hamiltonian to controllably introduce disorder and interactions, and observe the emergence of localization. In particular, while our correlation metric saturates for AL, it slowly keeps increasing for MBL, demonstrating analogous features to entanglement entropy, as we show in simulations. Our results show that our NMR techniques, akin to measuring out-of-time correlations, are well suited for studying localization in spin systems.

Results with Complementary Food Using Local Food Ingredients.

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmed, Tahmeed; Islam, Munirul; Choudhury, Nuzhat; Hossain, Iqbal; Huq, Sayeeda; Mahfuz, Mustafa; Sarker, Shafiqul Alam

2017-01-01

Appropriate complementary food is a must for optimum growth of infants and children. The food should be diverse and be given in sufficient quantities 2-4 times a day depending upon age. Poverty, food insecurity, and lack of awareness regarding the choice of nutritious food ingredients are deterrents to optimum complementary feeding. In Bangladesh, 77% of children do not receive appropriate complementary food and, hence, the high prevalence of childhood malnutrition. We developed ready-to-use complementary foods (RUCFs) using locally available food ingredients, rice/lentil and chickpea, which conform to standard specifications. These foods were found to be acceptable by children and their mothers compared to the Pushti packet, the cereal-based supplement used in the erstwhile National Nutrition Program of Bangladesh. In a cluster-randomized community-based trial in rural Bangladesh among more than 5,000 children, the efficacy of rice/lentil- and chickpea-based RUCFs was compared with another commonly used supplementary food called wheat-soy blend++ (WSB++) and a commercial product called Plumpy'doz. Deceleration in length for age was significantly lower (by 0.02-0.04/month) in the rice/lentil, Plumpy'doz, and chickpea groups compared to the control group at 18 months of age. Weight-for-length z-score decline was lower only in Plumpy'doz and chickpea groups. WSB++ was not different from the control group. In children who received chickpea RUCF or Plumpy'doz, the prevalence of stunting was 5-6% lower at 18 months. These foods can be used to prevent or treat malnutrition among children, particularly those from food-insecure households. © 2017 Nestec Ltd., Vevey/S. Karger AG, Basel.

Involvement of local stakeholders in the development of new information schemes for the displaying of environmental radiological monitoring results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rollinger, Francoise; Lebeau, Audrey; Petitfrere, Michael; Eimer, Michel; Ganay, Claude de; Gadbois, Serge; Leprieur, Fabrice; Vaillant, Ludovic

2008-01-01

process has allowed identifying the local expectations regarding the radiological quality of their environment. Identified key questions deal with the evolution with time of radionuclides concentration in the Loire river (mainly 3 H, 14 C and α-emitters), the issue of radionuclides accumulation in sediments, radionuclides pathways from the environment to human and the evolution of the environmental monitoring strategy. Such a project is also an opportunity for developing a scientific culture among local population representatives, which is needed to understand the evolution of radioactivity in the environment, its causes and consequences. A first report bringing together all the measurements made in the Loire Valley was produced by IRSN. A second report, prepared by LLC representatives and IRSN with the support of the facilitators, detail and explain the selected measurements. This presentation will detail the objectives, methodology and results of this project after having presented the Loire Valley context. (author)

Treatment Decision Regret Among Long-Term Survivors of Localized Prostate Cancer: Results From the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Richard M; Lo, Mary; Clark, Jack A; Albertsen, Peter C; Barry, Michael J; Goodman, Michael; Penson, David F; Stanford, Janet L; Stroup, Antoinette M; Hamilton, Ann S

2017-07-10

Purpose To determine the demographic, clinical, decision-making, and quality-of-life factors that are associated with treatment decision regret among long-term survivors of localized prostate cancer. Patients and Methods We evaluated men who were age ≤ 75 years when diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between October 1994 and October 1995 in one of six SEER tumor registries and who completed a 15-year follow-up survey. The survey obtained demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical data and measured treatment decision regret, informed decision making, general- and disease-specific quality of life, health worry, prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concern, and outlook on life. We used multivariable logistic regression analyses to identify factors associated with regret. Results We surveyed 934 participants, 69.3% of known survivors. Among the cohort, 59.1% had low-risk tumor characteristics (PSA decision regret: 8.2% of those whose disease was managed conservatively, 15.0% of those who received surgery, and 16.6% of those who underwent radiotherapy. Factors associated with regret on multivariable analysis included reporting moderate or big sexual function bother (reported by 39.0%; OR, 2.77; 95% CI, 1.51 to 5.0), moderate or big bowel function bother (reported by 7.7%; OR, 2.32; 95% CI, 1.04 to 5.15), and PSA concern (mean score 52.8; OR, 1.01 per point change; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.02). Increasing age at diagnosis and report of having made an informed treatment decision were inversely associated with regret. Conclusion Regret was a relatively infrequently reported outcome among long-term survivors of localized prostate cancer; however, our results suggest that better informing men about treatment options, in particular, conservative treatment, might help mitigate long-term regret. These findings are timely for men with low-risk cancers who are being encouraged to consider active surveillance.

Global processing takes time: A meta-analysis on local-global visual processing in ASD.

Science.gov (United States)

Van der Hallen, Ruth; Evers, Kris; Brewaeys, Katrien; Van den Noortgate, Wim; Wagemans, Johan

2015-05-01

What does an individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) perceive first: the forest or the trees? In spite of 30 years of research and influential theories like the weak central coherence (WCC) theory and the enhanced perceptual functioning (EPF) account, the interplay of local and global visual processing in ASD remains only partly understood. Research findings vary in indicating a local processing bias or a global processing deficit, and often contradict each other. We have applied a formal meta-analytic approach and combined 56 articles that tested about 1,000 ASD participants and used a wide range of stimuli and tasks to investigate local and global visual processing in ASD. Overall, results show no enhanced local visual processing nor a deficit in global visual processing. Detailed analysis reveals a difference in the temporal pattern of the local-global balance, that is, slow global processing in individuals with ASD. Whereas task-dependent interaction effects are obtained, gender, age, and IQ of either participant groups seem to have no direct influence on performance. Based on the overview of the literature, suggestions are made for future research. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

Preliminary results of endorectal surface coil magnetic resonance imaging for local staging of prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jager, G.H.; Barentsz, J.O.; Rosette, J.J.M.C.H. de la; Rosenbusch, G.

1994-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of endorectal surface coil (ERC) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the local staging of adenocarcinoma of the prostate (ACP). Materials and methods: A total of 23 patients who were considered candidates for radical prostatectomy because of clinically localized ACP were examined by ERC-MRI. All patients underwent laparoscopic or open lymph-node dissection prior to surgery. Four patients had positive lymph nodes at operation. A total of 19 underwant radical prostatectomy, allowing comparison of the MRI data with the surgical pathologic findings. Results: Twelve patients had extraglandular spread of ACP (T3) and 7 had locally confined ACP (T2). ERC-MRI predicted correctly a T3 tumor in 10 of 12 cases and a T2 tumor in 4 of 7 cases. ERC-MRI was 74% accurate in differentiating T2 from T3 tumor. Three cases of overestimation were in studies with poor image quality because of bowel movement motion artifacts. Conclusion: ERC-MRI was found to be a sensitive modality in staging clinically localized ACP. (orig.) [de

Identification of local myocardial repolarization time by bipolar electrode potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Namba, Tsunetoyo; Todo, Takahiro; Yao, Takenori; Ashihara, Takashi; Haraguchi, Ryo; Nakazawa, Kazuo; Ikeda, Takanori; Ohe, Tohru

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether bipolar electrode potentials (BEPs) reflect local myocardial repolarization dynamics, using computer simulation. Simulated action potential and BEP mapping of myocardial tissue during fibrillation was performed. The BEP was modified to make all the fluctuations have the same polarity. Then, the modified BEP (mBEP) was transformed to "dynamic relative amplitude" (DRA) designed to make all the fluctuations have the similar amplitude. The repolarization end point corresponded to the end of the repolarization-related small fluctuation that clearly appeared in the DRA of mBEP. Using the DRA of mBEP, we could reproduce the repolarization dynamics in the myocardial tissue during fibrillation. The BEP may facilitate identifying the repolarization time. Furthermore, BEP mapping has the possibility that it would be available for evaluating repolarization behavior in myocardial tissue even during fibrillation. The accuracy of activation-recovery interval was also reconfirmed.

Impact of overall treatment time on local control of slow growing human GL squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice treated by fractionated irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baumann, M.; Petersen, C.; Schulz, P.; Baisch, H.

1999-01-01

Background and purpose: The impact of overall treatment time of fractionated irradiation on local control of slow growing human GL squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) was determined. Materials and methods: Moderately well differentiated and keratinizing human GL SCC with a volume doubling time of 8 days were transplanted subcutaneously into the right hindleg of NMRI (nu/nu) mice and irradiated with 30 fractions under ambient conditions over 2, 3, 4.5, 6 and 10 weeks. Endpoint of the experiments was local tumor control at day 180 after end of treatment.Results: The tumor control dose 50% (TCD 50) increased from 40 to 57 Gy when the treatment time was extended from 2 to 10 weeks. The data can be well described by a linear increase in TCD 50 with time. The recovered dose per day (D r ) was 0.28 Gy (95% confidence interval 0.06; 0.48). The fit to the data was not significantly improved by assuming a biphasic (dog-leg) time course with constant TCD 50 values in the initial part of treatment followed by a more rapid increase of TCD 50 thereafter.Conclusions: D r in GL SCC was significantly less than the value of 1.0 Gy (0.7; 1.3 ) previously reported for poorly differentiated, non-keratinizing and fast growing human FaDu SCC (Baumann M, Liertz C, Baisch H, Wiegel T, Lorenzen J, Arps H. Impact of overall treatment time of fractionated irradiation on local control of human FaDu squamous cell carcinoma in nude mice. Radiother. Oncol. 1994;32:137-143), indicating important heterogeneity of the time factor between different tumors of the same histological type. (Copyright (c) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. All rights reserved.)

Initial results of local grid control using wind farms with grid support

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Soerensen, Poul; Hansen, Anca D.; Iov, F.; Blaabjerg, F.

2005-09-01

This report describes initial results with simulation of local grid control using wind farms with grid support. The focus is on simulation of the behaviour of the wind farms when they are isolated from the main grid and establish a local grid together with a few other grid components. The isolated subsystems used in the work presented in this report do not intend to simulate a specific subsystem, but they are extremely simplified single bus bar systems using only a few more components than the wind farm. This approach has been applied to make it easier to understand the dynamics of the subsystem. The main observation is that the fast dynamics of the wind turbines seem to be able to contribute significantly to the grid control, which can be useful where the wind farm is isolated with a subsystem from the main grid with surplus of generation. Thus, the fast down regulation of the wind farm using automatic frequency control can keep the subsystem in operation and thereby improve the reliability of the grid. (LN)

High-speed railway real-time localization auxiliary method based on deep neural network

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Dongjie; Zhang, Wensheng; Yang, Yang

2017-11-01

High-speed railway intelligent monitoring and management system is composed of schedule integration, geographic information, location services, and data mining technology for integration of time and space data. Assistant localization is a significant submodule of the intelligent monitoring system. In practical application, the general access is to capture the image sequences of the components by using a high-definition camera, digital image processing technique and target detection, tracking and even behavior analysis method. In this paper, we present an end-to-end character recognition method based on a deep CNN network called YOLO-toc for high-speed railway pillar plate number. Different from other deep CNNs, YOLO-toc is an end-to-end multi-target detection framework, furthermore, it exhibits a state-of-art performance on real-time detection with a nearly 50fps achieved on GPU (GTX960). Finally, we realize a real-time but high-accuracy pillar plate number recognition system and integrate natural scene OCR into a dedicated classification YOLO-toc model.

Investment timing under hybrid stochastic and local volatility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jeong-Hoon; Lee, Min-Ku; Sohn, So Young

2014-01-01

Highlights: • The effects of hybrid stochastic volatility on real option prices are studied. • The stochastic volatility consists of a fast mean-reverting component and a CEV type one. • A fast mean-reverting factor lowers real option prices and investment thresholds. • The increase of elasticity raises real option prices and investment thresholds. • The effects of the addition of a slowly varying factor depend upon the project value. - Abstract: We consider an investment timing problem under a real option model where the instantaneous volatility of the project value is given by a combination of a hidden stochastic process and the project value itself. The stochastic volatility part is given by a function of a fast mean-reverting process as well as a slowly varying process and the local volatility part is a power (the elasticity parameter) of the project value itself. The elasticity parameter controls directly the correlation between the project value and the volatility. Knowing that the project value represents the market price of a real asset in many applications and the value of the elasticity parameter depends on the asset, the elasticity parameter should be treated with caution for investment decision problems. Based on the hybrid structure of volatility, we investigate the simultaneous impact of the elasticity and the stochastic volatility on the real option value as well as the investment threshold

The prothrombin time/international normalised ratio (PT/INR) line: derivation of local INR with commercial thromboplastins and coagulometers – two independent studies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Poller, Leon; Ibrahim, S.; Keown, M.

2011-01-01

reagents, and from 7.0% to 2.6% with rabbit reagents. In the second study, deviation was reduced from 11.2% to 0.4% with human reagents by both local ISI calibration and the PT/INR Line. With rabbit reagents, 10.4% deviation was reduced to 1.1% with both procedures; 4.9% deviation was reduced to 0.5......Background: The WHO scheme for prothrombin time (PT) standardization has been limited in application, because of its difficulties in implementation, particularly the need for mandatory manual PT testing and for local provision of thromboplastin international reference preparations (IRP). Methods...... thromboplastins and coagulometers. INRs were compared with manual certified values with thromboplastin IRP from expert centres and in the second study also with INRs from local ISI calibrations. Results: In the first study with the PT/INR Line, 8.7% deviation from certified INRs was reduced to 1.1% with human...

Software for real-time localization of baleen whale calls using directional sonobuoys: A case study on Antarctic blue whales.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Brian S; Calderan, Susannah; Gillespie, Douglas; Weatherup, Graham; Leaper, Russell; Collins, Kym; Double, Michael C

2016-03-01

Directional frequency analysis and recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys can allow real-time acoustic localization of baleen whales for underwater tracking and remote sensing, but limited availability of hardware and software has prevented wider usage. These software limitations were addressed by developing a module in the open-source software PAMGuard. A case study is presented demonstrating that this software provides greater efficiency and accessibility than previous methods for detecting, localizing, and tracking Antarctic blue whales in real time. Additionally, this software can easily be extended to track other low and mid frequency sounds including those from other cetaceans, pinnipeds, icebergs, shipping, and seismic airguns.

Identifying interactions in the time and frequency domains in local and global networks - A Granger Causality Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Cunlu; Ladroue, Christophe; Guo, Shuixia; Feng, Jianfeng

2010-06-21

Reverse-engineering approaches such as Bayesian network inference, ordinary differential equations (ODEs) and information theory are widely applied to deriving causal relationships among different elements such as genes, proteins, metabolites, neurons, brain areas and so on, based upon multi-dimensional spatial and temporal data. There are several well-established reverse-engineering approaches to explore causal relationships in a dynamic network, such as ordinary differential equations (ODE), Bayesian networks, information theory and Granger Causality. Here we focused on Granger causality both in the time and frequency domain and in local and global networks, and applied our approach to experimental data (genes and proteins). For a small gene network, Granger causality outperformed all the other three approaches mentioned above. A global protein network of 812 proteins was reconstructed, using a novel approach. The obtained results fitted well with known experimental findings and predicted many experimentally testable results. In addition to interactions in the time domain, interactions in the frequency domain were also recovered. The results on the proteomic data and gene data confirm that Granger causality is a simple and accurate approach to recover the network structure. Our approach is general and can be easily applied to other types of temporal data.

Modulation of functionally localized right insular cortex activity using real-time fMRI-based neurofeedback

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian D Berman

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The capacity for subjects to learn to volitionally control localized brain activity using neurofeedback is actively being investigated. We aimed to investigate the ability of healthy volunteers to quickly learn to use visual feedback during real-time functional MRI (rtfMRI to modulate brain activity within their anterior right insular cortex (RIC localized during a blink suppression task, an approach of possible interest in the use of rtfMRI to reduce urges. The RIC region of interest (RIC-ROI was functionally localized using a blink suppression task, and BOLD signal changes within RIC-ROI used to create a constantly updating display fed back to the subject in the scanner. Subjects were instructed to use emotional imagery to try and increase activity within RIC-ROI during four feedback training runs (FB1–FB4. A ‘control’ run (CNTRL before training and a ‘transfer’ run (XSFR after training were performed without feedback to assess for baseline abilities and learning effects. Fourteen participants completed all neurofeedback training runs. At the group level, increased BOLD activity was seen in the anterior RIC during all the FB runs, but a significant increase in the functionally defined RIC-ROI was only attained during FB2. In atlas-defined insular cortex ROIs, significant increases were seen bilaterally during the CNTRL, FB1, FB2, and FB4 runs. Increased activity within the insular cortices did not show lateralization. Training did, however, result in a significant increase in functional connectivity between the RIC-ROI and the medial frontal gyrus when comparing FB4 to FB1. Since neurofeedback training did not lead to an increase in BOLD signal across all feedback runs, we suggest that learning to control one’s brain activity in this fashion may require longer or repeated rtfMRI training sessions.

Protocol-based image-guided salvage brachytherapy. Early results in patients with local failure of prostate cancer after radiation therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lahmer, G.; Lotter, M.; Kreppner, S.; Fietkau, R.; Strnad, V. [University Hospital Erlangen (Germany). Dept. of Radiation Oncology

2013-08-15

Purpose: To assess the overall clinical outcome of protocol-based image-guided salvage pulsed-dose-rate brachytherapy for locally recurrent prostate cancer after radiotherapy failure particularly regarding feasibility and side effects. Patients and methods: Eighteen consecutive patients with locally recurrent prostate cancer (median age, 69 years) were treated during 2005-2011 with interstitial PDR brachytherapy (PDR-BT) as salvage brachytherapy after radiotherapy failure. The treatment schedule was PDR-BT two times with 30 Gy (pulse dose 0.6 Gy/h, 24 h per day) corresponding to a total dose of 60 Gy. Dose volume adaptation was performed with the aim of optimal coverage of the whole prostate (V{sub 100} > 95 %) simultaneously respecting the protocol-based dose volume constraints for the urethra (D{sub 0.1} {sub cc} < 130 %) and the rectum (D{sub 2} {sub cc} < 50-60 %) taking into account the previous radiation therapy. Local relapse after radiotherapy (external beam irradiation, brachytherapy with J-125 seeds or combination) was confirmed mostly via choline-PET and increased PSA levels. The primary endpoint was treatment-related late toxicities - particularly proctitis, anal incontinence, cystitis, urinary incontinence, urinary frequency/urgency, and urinary retention according to the Common Toxicity Criteria. The secondary endpoint was PSA-recurrence-free survival. Results: We registered urinary toxicities only. Grade 2 and grade 3 toxicities were observed in up to 11.1 % (2/18) and 16.7 % (3/18) of patients, respectively. The most frequent late-event grade 3 toxicity was urinary retention in 17 % (3/18) of patients. No late gastrointestinal side effects occurred. The biochemical PSA-recurrence-free survival probability at 3 years was 57.1 %. The overall survival at 3 years was 88.9 %; 22 % (4/18) of patients developed metastases. The median follow-up time for all patients after salvage BT was 21 months (range, 8-77 months). Conclusion: Salvage PDR

Integration of FULLSWOF2D and PeanoClaw: Adaptivity and Local Time-Stepping for Complex Overland Flows

KAUST Repository

Unterweger, K.

2015-01-01

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015. We propose to couple our adaptive mesh refinement software PeanoClaw with existing solvers for complex overland flows that are tailored to regular Cartesian meshes. This allows us to augment them with spatial adaptivity and local time-stepping without altering the computational kernels. FullSWOF2D—Full Shallow Water Overland Flows—here is our software of choice though all paradigms hold for other solvers as well.We validate our hybrid simulation software in an artificial test scenario before we provide results for a large-scale flooding scenario of the Mecca region. The latter demonstrates that our coupling approach enables the simulation of complex “real-world” scenarios.

Energy decay of a variable-coefficient wave equation with nonlinear time-dependent localized damping

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jieqiong Wu

2015-09-01

Full Text Available We study the energy decay for the Cauchy problem of the wave equation with nonlinear time-dependent and space-dependent damping. The damping is localized in a bounded domain and near infinity, and the principal part of the wave equation has a variable-coefficient. We apply the multiplier method for variable-coefficient equations, and obtain an energy decay that depends on the property of the coefficient of the damping term.

Clinical and dosimetric results of three-dimensional image-guided and pulsed dose rate curie-therapy in locally advanced cervical cancers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazeron, R.; Gilmore, J.; Dumas, I.; Abrous-Anane, S.; Haberer, S.; Verstraet, R.; Champoudry, J.; Martinetti, F.; Morice, P.; Haie-Meller, C.

2011-01-01

The authors report a review of data obtained between 2004 and 2009 on 130 women who had been treated by optimized pulsed-rate curie-therapy for a locally advanced cervical cancer. Results are discussed in terms of cancer stage, treatment (with or without concomitant chemotherapy), planning method (MRI, scanography), delivered doses in the clinical target volumes, surgery, relapse occurrence and localizations, global survival probability, local control, undesirable side effects, occurrence of intestine or urinary toxicity. It appears that the association of a concomitant chemo-radiotherapy and optimized curie-therapy results in a good local-regional control and a low toxicity level. Short communication

Recent Timing Results for PSR B1259 - 63

Science.gov (United States)

Wex, N.; Johnston, S.

The binary pulsar PSR B1259 - 63 is in a highly eccentric 3.4 yr orbit around the Be star SS 2883. Timing observations of this pulsar, made over a 7 yr period using the Parkes 64 m radio-telescope, cover two periastron passages, in 1990 August and 1994 January. The timing observations of PSR B1259 - 63 clearly show evidence for timing noise which is domina ted by a cubic term. Unfortunately, the large amplitude timing noise and data over only two complete orbits make it difficult to produce a unique timing solution for this pulsar. However, if the long term behavior of timing noise is completely modeled by a cubic term, both dot ω and dot x terms are required in the timing model which could be a result of a precessing orbit caused by the quadrupole moment of the tilted companion star. In this paper we summarise the timing observations for the PSR B1259 - 63 system; full details are given in Wex et al. (1997).

Asymptotic behavior of local times of compound Poisson processes with drift in the infinite variance case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lambert, A.; Simatos, F.

2015-01-01

Consider compound Poisson processes with negative drift and no negative jumps, which converge to some spectrally positive Lévy process with nonzero Lévy measure. In this paper, we study the asymptotic behavior of the local time process, in the spatial variable, of these processes killed at two

Asymptotic behavior of local times of compound Poisson processes with drift in the infinite variance case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lambert, A.; Simatos, F.

2012-01-01

Consider compound Poisson processes with negative drift and no negative jumps, which converge to some spectrally positive L\\'evy process with non-zero L\\'evy measure. In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of the local time process, in the spatial variable, of these processes killed at two

Properties of transit-time interactions in magnetized plasmas: Analytic and numerical results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melatos, A.; Robinson, P.A.

1993-01-01

The recently developed perturbation theory of transit-time interactions between particles and coherent wave packets in magnetized plasmas is applied to particular field structures. Limits of validity are determined by comparison with test-particle simulations, showing that the theory is accurate everywhere except near certain well-determined resonances, for wave fields exceeding a characteristic threshold, and for particles below a particular velocity. The properties of transit-time interactions in magnetized plasmas are investigated in detail to determine their dependence on the fields and parameters of the particle motion. Resonant particle scattering is found to occur at low particle velocities when the frequency of the coherent wave packet is an integer multiple of the gyrofrequency. Two different types of resonant transit-time dissipation are also observed: one arises from transient cyclotron acceleration in the localized wave packet, the other from beating between the gyration of the particles and the oscillation of the wave packet field. Both effects involve an interplay between the field geometry and resonant oscillations

Detection of Local Temperature Change on HTS Cables via Time-Frequency Domain Reflectometry

Science.gov (United States)

Bang, Su Sik; Lee, Geon Seok; Kwon, Gu-Young; Lee, Yeong Ho; Ji, Gyeong Hwan; Sohn, Songho; Park, Kijun; Shin, Yong-June

2017-07-01

High temperature superconducting (HTS) cables are drawing attention as transmission and distribution cables in future grid, and related researches on HTS cables have been conducted actively. As HTS cables have come to the demonstration stage, failures of cooling systems inducing quench phenomenon of the HTS cables have become significant. Several diagnosis of the HTS cables have been developed but there are still some limitations of the experimental setup. In this paper, a non-destructive diagnostic technique for the detection of the local temperature change point is proposed. Also, a simulation model of HTS cables with a local temperature change point is suggested to verify the proposed diagnosis. The performance of the diagnosis is checked by comparative analysis between the proposed simulation results and experiment results of a real-world HTS cable. It is expected that the suggested simulation model and diagnosis will contribute to the commercialization of HTS cables in the power grid.

[Localized scleroderma (morphea) in childhood].

Science.gov (United States)

Weibel, L

2012-02-01

Localized scleroderma or morphea is a sclerosing connective tissue disease of the skin, which may affect underlying tissues such as subcutis, muscle and bone. Many patients show extracutaneous symptoms and antinuclear antibodies, however, secondary transformation into systemic sclerosis does not occur. Localized scleroderma usually begins in childhood with a wide variation in its clinical spectrum. The linear variant is the most common subtype in children, associated with a progressive course and increased risk of complications. The disease may progress over years and result in severe functional and cosmetic disability. The etiology of localized scleroderma remains unknown. A genetic background is suspected, while triggers such as trauma, vaccinations and infections may lead to secondary immunologic phenomena. Localized scleroderma often remains unrecognized for a long time, resulting in substantial delay in treatment. The combination of systemic corticosteroids and methotrexate has been established as first-line therapy for progressive (usually linear) disease, whereas phototherapy (UVA-1 or UVB-narrow band) is suitable for adolescents with superficial circumscribed subtypes.

Regional Lymph Node Uptake of [{sup 18}F]Fluorodeoxyglucose After Definitive Chemoradiation Therapy Predicts Local-Regional Failure of Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Markovina, Stephanie [Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Duan, Fenghai [Department of Biostatistics and Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island (United States); Snyder, Bradley S. [Center for Statistical Sciences, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island (United States); Siegel, Barry A. [Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (United States); Machtay, Mitchell [Department of Radiation Oncology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio (United States); Bradley, Jeffrey D., E-mail: jbradley@radonc.wustl.edu [Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri (United States)

2015-11-01

Purpose: The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) 6668/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0235 study demonstrated that standardized uptake values (SUV) on post-treatment [{sup 18}F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) correlated with survival in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This secondary analysis determined whether SUV of regional lymph nodes (RLNs) on post-treatment FDG-PET correlated with patient outcomes. Methods and Materials: Included for analysis were patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy, using radiation doses ≥60 Gy, with identifiable FDG-avid RLNs (distinct from primary tumor) on pretreatment FDG-PET, and post-treatment FDG-PET data. ACRIN core laboratory SUV measurements were used. Event time was calculated from the date of post-treatment FDG-PET. Local-regional failure was defined as failure within the treated RT volume and reported by the treating institution. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed rank test, Kaplan-Meier curves (log rank test), and Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. Results: Of 234 trial-eligible patients, 139 (59%) had uptake in both primary tumor and RLNs on pretreatment FDG-PET and had SUV data from post-treatment FDG-PET. Maximum SUV was greater for primary tumor than for RLNs before treatment (P<.001) but not different post-treatment (P=.320). Post-treatment SUV of RLNs was not associated with overall survival. However, elevated post-treatment SUV of RLNs, both the absolute value and the percentage of residual activity compared to the pretreatment SUV were associated with inferior local-regional control (P<.001). Conclusions: High residual metabolic activity in RLNs on post-treatment FDG-PET is associated with worse local-regional control. Based on these data, future trials evaluating a radiation therapy boost should consider inclusion of both primary tumor and FDG-avid RLNs in the boost volume to maximize local

Regional Lymph Node Uptake of ["1"8F]Fluorodeoxyglucose After Definitive Chemoradiation Therapy Predicts Local-Regional Failure of Locally Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of ACRIN 6668/RTOG 0235

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markovina, Stephanie; Duan, Fenghai; Snyder, Bradley S.; Siegel, Barry A.; Machtay, Mitchell; Bradley, Jeffrey D.

2015-01-01

Purpose: The American College of Radiology Imaging Network (ACRIN) 6668/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) 0235 study demonstrated that standardized uptake values (SUV) on post-treatment ["1"8F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) correlated with survival in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This secondary analysis determined whether SUV of regional lymph nodes (RLNs) on post-treatment FDG-PET correlated with patient outcomes. Methods and Materials: Included for analysis were patients treated with concurrent chemoradiation therapy, using radiation doses ≥60 Gy, with identifiable FDG-avid RLNs (distinct from primary tumor) on pretreatment FDG-PET, and post-treatment FDG-PET data. ACRIN core laboratory SUV measurements were used. Event time was calculated from the date of post-treatment FDG-PET. Local-regional failure was defined as failure within the treated RT volume and reported by the treating institution. Statistical analyses included Wilcoxon signed rank test, Kaplan-Meier curves (log rank test), and Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. Results: Of 234 trial-eligible patients, 139 (59%) had uptake in both primary tumor and RLNs on pretreatment FDG-PET and had SUV data from post-treatment FDG-PET. Maximum SUV was greater for primary tumor than for RLNs before treatment (P<.001) but not different post-treatment (P=.320). Post-treatment SUV of RLNs was not associated with overall survival. However, elevated post-treatment SUV of RLNs, both the absolute value and the percentage of residual activity compared to the pretreatment SUV were associated with inferior local-regional control (P<.001). Conclusions: High residual metabolic activity in RLNs on post-treatment FDG-PET is associated with worse local-regional control. Based on these data, future trials evaluating a radiation therapy boost should consider inclusion of both primary tumor and FDG-avid RLNs in the boost volume to maximize local-regional control.

SU-G-BRA-01: A Real-Time Tumor Localization and Guidance Platform for Radiotherapy Using US and MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bednarz, B; Culberson, W; Bassetti, M; McMillan, A; Matrosic, C; Shepard, A; Zagzebski, J; Smith, S; Lee, W; Mills, D; Cao, K; Wang, B; Fiveland, E; Darrow, R; Foo, T

2016-01-01

Purpose: To develop and validate a real-time motion management platform for radiotherapy that directly tracks tumor motion using ultrasound and MRI. This will be a cost-effective and non-invasive real-time platform combining the excellent temporal resolution of ultrasound with the excellent soft-tissue contrast of MRI. Methods: A 4D planar ultrasound acquisition during the treatment that is coupled to a pre-treatment calibration training image set consisting of a simultaneous 4D ultrasound and 4D MRI acquisition. The image sets will be rapidly matched using advanced image and signal processing algorithms, allowing the display of virtual MR images of the tumor/organ motion in real-time from an ultrasound acquisition. Results: The completion of this work will result in several innovations including: a (2D) patch-like, MR and LINAC compatible 4D planar ultrasound transducer that is electronically steerable for hands-free operation to provide real-time virtual MR and ultrasound imaging for motion management during radiation therapy; a multi- modal tumor localization strategy that uses ultrasound and MRI; and fast and accurate image processing algorithms that provide real-time information about the motion and location of tumor or related soft-tissue structures within the patient. Conclusion: If successful, the proposed approach will provide real-time guidance for radiation therapy without degrading image or treatment plan quality. The approach would be equally suitable for image-guided proton beam or heavy ion-beam therapy. This work is partially funded by NIH grant R01CA190298

SU-G-BRA-01: A Real-Time Tumor Localization and Guidance Platform for Radiotherapy Using US and MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bednarz, B; Culberson, W; Bassetti, M; McMillan, A; Matrosic, C; Shepard, A; Zagzebski, J [University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI (United States); Smith, S; Lee, W; Mills, D; Cao, K; Wang, B; Fiveland, E; Darrow, R; Foo, T [GE Global Research Center, Niskayuna, NY (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To develop and validate a real-time motion management platform for radiotherapy that directly tracks tumor motion using ultrasound and MRI. This will be a cost-effective and non-invasive real-time platform combining the excellent temporal resolution of ultrasound with the excellent soft-tissue contrast of MRI. Methods: A 4D planar ultrasound acquisition during the treatment that is coupled to a pre-treatment calibration training image set consisting of a simultaneous 4D ultrasound and 4D MRI acquisition. The image sets will be rapidly matched using advanced image and signal processing algorithms, allowing the display of virtual MR images of the tumor/organ motion in real-time from an ultrasound acquisition. Results: The completion of this work will result in several innovations including: a (2D) patch-like, MR and LINAC compatible 4D planar ultrasound transducer that is electronically steerable for hands-free operation to provide real-time virtual MR and ultrasound imaging for motion management during radiation therapy; a multi- modal tumor localization strategy that uses ultrasound and MRI; and fast and accurate image processing algorithms that provide real-time information about the motion and location of tumor or related soft-tissue structures within the patient. Conclusion: If successful, the proposed approach will provide real-time guidance for radiation therapy without degrading image or treatment plan quality. The approach would be equally suitable for image-guided proton beam or heavy ion-beam therapy. This work is partially funded by NIH grant R01CA190298.

Oscillatory dynamics of vasoconstriction and vasodilation identified by time-localized phase coherence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheppard, L W; McClintock, P V E; Stefanovska, A; Vuksanovic, V

2011-01-01

We apply wavelet-based time-localized phase coherence to investigate the relationship between blood flow and skin temperature, and between blood flow and instantaneous heart rate (IHR), during vasoconstriction and vasodilation provoked by local cooling or heating of the skin. A temperature-controlled metal plate (∼10 cm 2 ) placed on the volar side of the left arm was used to provide the heating and cooling. Beneath the plate, the blood flow was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry and the adjacent skin temperature by a thermistor. Two 1 h datasets were collected from each of the ten subjects. In each case a 30 min basal recording was followed by a step change in plate temperature, to either 24 deg. C or 42 deg. C. The IHR was derived from simultaneously recorded ECG. We confirm the changes in the energy and frequency of blood flow oscillations during cooling and heating reported earlier. That is, during cooling, there was a significant decrease in the average frequency of myogenic blood flow oscillations (p < 0.05) and the myogenic spectral peak became more prominent. During heating, there was a significant (p < 0.05) general increase in spectral energy, associated with vasodilation, except in the myogenic interval. Weak phase coherence between temperature and blood flow was observed for unperturbed skin, but it increased in all frequency intervals as a result of heating. It was not significantly affected by cooling. We also show that significant (p < 0.05) phase coherence exists between blood flow and IHR in the respiratory and myogenic frequency intervals. Cooling did not affect this phase coherence in any of the frequency intervals, whereas heating enhanced the phase coherence in the respiratory and myogenic intervals. This can be explained by the reduction in vascular resistance produced by heating, a process where myogenic mechanisms play a key role. We conclude that the mechanisms of vasodilation and vasoconstriction, in response to temperature change, are

Time resolved X-ray micro-diffraction measurements of the dynamic local layer response to electric field in antiferroelectric liquid crystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takahashi, Yumiko; Iida, Atuso E-mail: atsuo.iida@kek.jp; Takanishi, Yoichi; Ogasawara, Toyokazu; Takezoe, Hideo

2001-07-21

The time-resolved synchrotron X-ray microbeam diffraction experiment has been carried out to reveal the local layer response to the electric field in the antiferroelectric liquid crystal. The X-ray microbeam of a few {mu}m spatial resolution was obtained with Kirkpatrick-Baez optics. The time-resolved small angle diffraction experiment was performed with a time resolution ranging from 10 {mu}s to a few ms. The reversible local layer change between the horizontal chevron and the quasi-bookshelf structure was confirmed by the triangular wave form. The transient layer response for the step form electric field was observed. The layer response closely related with an electric field induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition.

Time resolved X-ray micro-diffraction measurements of the dynamic local layer response to electric field in antiferroelectric liquid crystals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, Yumiko; Iida, Atuso; Takanishi, Yoichi; Ogasawara, Toyokazu; Takezoe, Hideo

2001-01-01

The time-resolved synchrotron X-ray microbeam diffraction experiment has been carried out to reveal the local layer response to the electric field in the antiferroelectric liquid crystal. The X-ray microbeam of a few μm spatial resolution was obtained with Kirkpatrick-Baez optics. The time-resolved small angle diffraction experiment was performed with a time resolution ranging from 10 μs to a few ms. The reversible local layer change between the horizontal chevron and the quasi-bookshelf structure was confirmed by the triangular wave form. The transient layer response for the step form electric field was observed. The layer response closely related with an electric field induced antiferroelectric to ferroelectric phase transition

Visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) methods applied to indoor 3D topographical and radiological mapping in real-time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hautot, F.; Dubart, P.; Chagneau, B.; Bacri, C.O.; Abou-Khalil, R.

2017-01-01

New developments in the field of robotics and computer vision enable to merge sensors to allow fast real-time localization of radiological measurements in the space/volume with near real-time radioactive sources identification and characterization. These capabilities lead nuclear investigations to a more efficient way for operators' dosimetry evaluation, intervention scenarios and risks mitigation and simulations, such as accidents in unknown potentially contaminated areas or during dismantling operations. This paper will present new progresses in merging RGB-D camera based on SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) systems and nuclear measurement in motion methods in order to detect, locate, and evaluate the activity of radioactive sources in 3-dimensions

Local Adaptive Control of Solar Photovoltaics and Electric Water Heaters for Real-time Grid Support

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bhattarai, Bishnu Prasad; Mendaza, Iker Diaz de Cerio; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte

2016-01-01

Overvoltage (OV) in a low voltage distribution network is one of the foremost issues observed even under moderate penetration of rooftop solar photovoltaics (PVs). Similarly, grid under-voltage (UV) is foreseen as a potential issue resulting from increased integration of large flexible loads......, such as electric vehicles, electric water heaters (EWHs) etc. An adaptive control using only local measurements for the EWHs and PVs is proposed in this study to alleviate OV as well as UV issues. The adaptive control is designed such that it monitors the voltage at the point of connection and adjusts active...... and reactive power injection/consumptions of the EWHs and PVs following the voltage violations. To effectively support the network in real-time, the controller allows EWHs to operate prior to PVs in OV and after the PVs in UV violations. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is demonstrated...

Nociceptive Effects of Locally Treated Metoprolol

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nursima Cukadar

2015-06-01

Results: Metoprolol, an antagonist, significantly decreased the thermal latency and mechanical thresholds with dose and time dependent manner. However, dobutamine, an agonist, enhanced the latency and thresholds dose and time dependent. Conclusions: This results suggest that in contrast to dobutamine, locally treated metoprolol may cause hyperalgesic and allodynic actions. In addition, our results can demonstrate that peripheral beta-adrenergic receptors can play important roles in nociceptive process. [Cukurova Med J 2015; 40(2.000: 258-266

Top-level design and local-level paralysis: Local politics in times of political centralisation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Stepan, M.; Ahlers, A.L.; Heilmann, S.; Stepan, M.

2016-01-01

China’s leadership under Xi has reinforced the party’s hierarchical command structures, demonstrated through its top-down campaigns, focusing on austerity, anti-corruption efforts and party discipline. It has reinvigorated sanctioning and incentive mechanisms for local cadres, with unknown effects

The time frame of Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein-1 gene to disappear in nasopharyngeal swabs after initiation of primary radiotherapy is an independently significant prognostic factor predicting local control for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, S.-Y.; Chang, K.-P.; Hsieh, M.-S.; Ueng, S.-H.; Hao, S.-P.; Tseng, C.-K.; Pai, P.-C.; Chang, F.-T.; Tsai, M.-H.; Tsang, N.-M.

2005-01-01

Purpose: The presence of Epstein-Barr virus latent membrane protein-1 (LMP-1) gene in nasopharyngeal swabs indicates the presence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) mucosal tumor cells. This study was undertaken to investigate whether the time taken for LMP-1 to disappear after initiation of primary radiotherapy (RT) was inversely associated with NPC local control. Methods and Materials: During July 1999 and October 2002, there were 127 nondisseminated NPC patients receiving serial examinations of nasopharyngeal swabbing with detection of LMP-1 during the RT course. The time for LMP-1 regression was defined as the number of days after initiation of RT for LMP-1 results to turn negative. The primary outcome was local control, which was represented by freedom from local recurrence. Results: The time for LMP-1 regression showed a statistically significant influence on NPC local control both univariately (p < 0.0001) and multivariately (p = 0.004). In multivariate analysis, the administration of chemotherapy conferred a significantly more favorable local control (p = 0.03). Advanced T status (≥ T2b), overall treatment time of external photon radiotherapy longer than 55 days, and older age showed trends toward being poor prognosticators. The time for LMP-1 regression was very heterogeneous. According to the quartiles of the time for LMP-1 regression, we defined the pattern of LMP-1 regression as late regression if it required 40 days or more. Kaplan-Meier plots indicated that the patients with late regression had a significantly worse local control than those with intermediate or early regression (p 0.0129). Conclusion: Among the potential prognostic factors examined in this study, the time for LMP-1 regression was the most independently significant factor that was inversely associated with NPC local control

Localized diffusive motion on two different time scales in solid alkane nanoparticles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, S.-K.; Mamontov, Eugene; Bai, M.; Hansen, F.Y.; Taub, H.; Copley, J.R.D.; Garcia Sakai, V.; Gasparovic, Goran; Jenkins, Timothy; Tyagi, M.; Herwig, Kenneth W.; Neumann, D.A.; Montfrooij, W.; Volkmann, U.G.

2010-01-01

High-energy-resolution quasielastic neutron scattering on three complementary spectrometers has been used to investigate molecular diffusive motion in solid nano- to bulk-sized particles of the alkane n-C32H66. The crystalline-to-plastic and plastic-to-fluid phase transition temperatures are observed to decrease as the particle size decreases. In all samples, localized molecular diffusive motion in the plastic phase occurs on two different time scales: a 'fast' motion corresponding to uniaxial rotation about the long molecular axis; and a 'slow' motion attributed to conformational changes of the molecule. Contrary to the conventional interpretation in bulk alkanes, the fast uniaxial rotation begins in the low-temperature crystalline phase.

Stereotactic hypofractionated accurate radiotherapy of the prostate (SHARP), 33.5 Gy in five fractions for localized disease: First clinical trial results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Madsen, Berit L.; Hsi, R. Alex; Pham, Huong T.; Fowler, Jack F.; Esagui, Laura C.; Corman, John

2007-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and toxicity of stereotactic hypofractionated accurate radiotherapy (SHARP) for localized prostate cancer. Methods and Materials: A Phase I/II trial of SHARP performed for localized prostate cancer using 33.5 Gy in 5 fractions, calculated to be biologically equivalent to 78 Gy in 2 Gy fractions (α/β ratio of 1.5 Gy). Noncoplanar conformal fields and daily stereotactic localization of implanted fiducials were used for treatment. Genitourinary (GU) and gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity were evaluated by American Urologic Association (AUA) score and Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC). Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) values and self-reported sexual function were recorded at specified follow-up intervals. Results: The study includes 40 patients. The median follow-up is 41 months (range, 21-60 months). Acute toxicity Grade 1-2 was 48.5% (GU) and 39% (GI); 1 acute Grade 3 GU toxicity. Late Grade 1-2 toxicity was 45% (GU) and 37% (GI). No late Grade 3 or higher toxicity was reported. Twenty-six patients reported potency before therapy; 6 (23%) have developed impotence. Median time to PSA nadir was 18 months with the majority of nadirs less than 1.0 ng/mL. The actuarial 48-month biochemical freedom from relapse is 70% for the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology definition and 90% by the alternative nadir + 2 ng/mL failure definition. Conclusions: SHARP for localized prostate cancer is feasible with minimal acute or late toxicity. Dose escalation should be possible

Long-term results from a randomized phase II trial of neoadjuvant combined-modality therapy for locally advanced rectal cancer

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oblak Irena

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background This study evaluated the effectiveness and safety of preoperative chemoradiotherapy with capecitabine in patients with locally advanced resectable rectal cancer. This report summarizes the results of the phase II study together with long-term (5-year follow-up. Methods Between June 2004 and January 2005, 57 patients with operable, clinical stage II-III adenocarcinoma of the rectum entered the study. Radiation dose was 45 Gy delivered as 25 fractions of 1.8 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy with oral capecitabine 825 mg/m2 twice daily was administered during radiotherapy and at weekends. Surgery was scheduled 6 weeks after the completion of the chemoradiotherapy. Patients received four cycles of postoperative chemotherapy comprising either capecitabine 1250 mg/m2 bid days 1-14 every 3 weeks or bolus i.v. 5-fluorouracil 425 mg/m2/day and leucovorin 20 mg/m2/day days 1-5 every 4 weeks (choice was at the oncologist's discretion. Study endpoints included complete pathological remission, proportion of R0 resections and sphincter-sparing procedures, toxicity, survival parameters and long-term (5-year rectal and urogenital morbidity assessment. Results One patient died after receiving 27 Gy because of a pulmonary embolism. Fifty-six patients completed radiochemotherapy and had surgery. Median follow-up time was 62 months. No patients were lost to follow-up. R0 resection was achieved in 55 patients. A complete pathological response was observed in 5 patients (9.1%; T-, N- and overall downstaging rates were 40%, 52.9% and 49.1%, respectively. The 5-year overall survival rate, recurrence-free survival, and local control was 61.4% (95% CI: 48.9-73.9%, 52.4% (95% CI: 39.3-65.5%, and 87.4% (95% CI: 75.0-99.8%, respectively. In 5 patients local relapse has occurred; dissemination was observed in 19 patients and secondary malignancies have occurred in 2 patients. The most frequent side-effect of the preoperative combined therapy was dermatitis

Results of postoperative radiation therapy of rectal cancers: with the emphasis of the overall treatment time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Joo Young; Lee, Myung Hag; Lee, Kyu Chan

1998-01-01

To evaluate the results of the treatment of locally advanced but resectable rectal cancers and to analyze prognostic factors, especially with the emphasis on the treatment time factor. There were 71 patients with rectal cancer who had been treated by curative surgical procedure and postoperative radiotherapy from August 1989 to December 1993. The minimum follow up period was 24 months and the median follow-up was 35 months. Radiation therapy had been given by 6 MV linear accelerator by parallel opposing or four-box portals. Whole pelvis was treated up to 5040 cGy in most cases. Systemic chemotherapy had been given in 94% of the patients, mostly with 5-FU/ACNU regimen. Assessment for the overall and disease-free survival rates were done by life-table method and prognostic factors by Log-Rank tests. Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival were 58.8% and 57%, respectively. Two-year local control rate was 76.6%. Stage according to Modified Astler-Coller (MAC) system, over 4 positive lymph nodes, over 6 weeks interval between definitive surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy and over 7 days of interruption during radiotherapy period were statistically significant, or borderline significant prognostic factors. The treatment results of patients with rectal cancers are comparable to those of other large institutes. The treatment results for the patients with bowel wall penetration and/or positive regional lymph nodes were still discouraging for their high local recurrence rate for the patients with MAC 'C' stage diseases and high distant metastases rate even for the patients with node-negative diseases. Maybe more effective regimen of chemotherapy would be needed with proper route and schedule. To maximize postoperative adjuvant treatment, radiotherapy should be started at least within 6 weeks after surgery and preferably as soon as wound healing is completed. Interruption of treatment during radiotherapy course affects disease-free survival badly, especially if

Spike-timing-based computation in sound localization.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dan F M Goodman

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Spike timing is precise in the auditory system and it has been argued that it conveys information about auditory stimuli, in particular about the location of a sound source. However, beyond simple time differences, the way in which neurons might extract this information is unclear and the potential computational advantages are unknown. The computational difficulty of this task for an animal is to locate the source of an unexpected sound from two monaural signals that are highly dependent on the unknown source signal. In neuron models consisting of spectro-temporal filtering and spiking nonlinearity, we found that the binaural structure induced by spatialized sounds is mapped to synchrony patterns that depend on source location rather than on source signal. Location-specific synchrony patterns would then result in the activation of location-specific assemblies of postsynaptic neurons. We designed a spiking neuron model which exploited this principle to locate a variety of sound sources in a virtual acoustic environment using measured human head-related transfer functions. The model was able to accurately estimate the location of previously unknown sounds in both azimuth and elevation (including front/back discrimination in a known acoustic environment. We found that multiple representations of different acoustic environments could coexist as sets of overlapping neural assemblies which could be associated with spatial locations by Hebbian learning. The model demonstrates the computational relevance of relative spike timing to extract spatial information about sources independently of the source signal.

Search for light-induced intrinsic localized modes: negative result

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kempa, Martin; Ondrejkovič, Petr; Ollivier, J.; Rols, S.; Kulda, J.; Margueron, S.; Fernandez, M.; Hlinka, Jiří

2012-01-01

Roč. 440, č. 1 (2012), 42-46 ISSN 0015-0193 R&D Projects: GA ČR GPP204/11/P404 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100520 Keywords : alkali halides * intrinsic localized modes * phonon density of states * inelastic neutron scattering Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 0.415, year: 2012

Real-time volumetric image reconstruction and 3D tumor localization based on a single x-ray projection image for lung cancer radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ruijiang; Jia, Xun; Lewis, John H; Gu, Xuejun; Folkerts, Michael; Men, Chunhua; Jiang, Steve B

2010-06-01

To develop an algorithm for real-time volumetric image reconstruction and 3D tumor localization based on a single x-ray projection image for lung cancer radiotherapy. Given a set of volumetric images of a patient at N breathing phases as the training data, deformable image registration was performed between a reference phase and the other N-1 phases, resulting in N-1 deformation vector fields (DVFs). These DVFs can be represented efficiently by a few eigenvectors and coefficients obtained from principal component analysis (PCA). By varying the PCA coefficients, new DVFs can be generated, which, when applied on the reference image, lead to new volumetric images. A volumetric image can then be reconstructed from a single projection image by optimizing the PCA coefficients such that its computed projection matches the measured one. The 3D location of the tumor can be derived by applying the inverted DVF on its position in the reference image. The algorithm was implemented on graphics processing units (GPUs) to achieve real-time efficiency. The training data were generated using a realistic and dynamic mathematical phantom with ten breathing phases. The testing data were 360 cone beam projections corresponding to one gantry rotation, simulated using the same phantom with a 50% increase in breathing amplitude. The average relative image intensity error of the reconstructed volumetric images is 6.9% +/- 2.4%. The average 3D tumor localization error is 0.8 +/- 0.5 mm. On an NVIDIA Tesla C1060 GPU card, the average computation time for reconstructing a volumetric image from each projection is 0.24 s (range: 0.17 and 0.35 s). The authors have shown the feasibility of reconstructing volumetric images and localizing tumor positions in 3D in near real-time from a single x-ray image.

Hypoxic Prostate/Muscle PO2 Ratio Predicts for Outcome in Patients With Localized Prostate Cancer: Long-Term Results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turaka, Aruna; Buyyounouski, Mark K.; Hanlon, Alexandra L.; Horwitz, Eric M.; Greenberg, Richard E.; Movsas, Benjamin

2012-01-01

Purpose: To correlate tumor oxygenation status with long-term biochemical outcome after prostate brachytherapy. Methods and Materials: Custom-made Eppendorf PO 2 microelectrodes were used to obtain PO 2 measurements from the prostate (P), focused on positive biopsy locations, and normal muscle tissue (M), as a control. A total of 11,516 measurements were obtained in 57 men with localized prostate cancer immediately before prostate brachytherapy was given. The Eppendorf histograms provided the median PO 2 , mean PO 2 , and % 2 ratio on BF. Results: With a median follow-up time of 8 years, 12 men had ASTRO BF and 8 had Phoenix BF. On multivariate analysis, P/M PO 2 ratio 2 ratio 2 ratio) significantly predicts for poor long-term biochemical outcome, suggesting that novel hypoxic strategies should be investigated.

Protocol and result of neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced esophageal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Isono, Kaichi; Koide, Yoshio

1996-01-01

The protocol and result were described of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for locally advanced esophageal carcinoma, especially for A3 stage one with metastasis at neighboring tissues such as aorta, trachea and bronchia. Chemotherapy was done with 5-FU and CDDP and radiotherapy, with 30 Gy/15 fx/3 wk. Double contrast roentgenography, dynamic CT and MRI were performed to follow the process. The efficacy rate was 55.0% with 4 CR and 7 PR in 20 cases. Three CR patients survived at present. Major adverse effects were leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, of which grade 4 were found in 14 and 12% cases, respectively. Low-dose FP therapy might be useful for lowering the adverse effects and for elevating the efficacy rates. (K.H.)

Non-local energy density functionals: models plus some exact general results

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

March, N.H.

2001-02-01

Holas and March (Phys. Rev. A51, 2040, 1995) gave a formally exact expression for the force - δV xc (r-tilde)/δr-tilde associated with the exchange-correlation potential V xc (r-tilde) of density functional theory. This forged a precise link between first- and second-order density matrices and V xc (r-tilde). Here models are presented in which these low-order matrices can be related to the ground-state electron density. This allows non-local energy density functionals to be constructed within the framework of such models. Finally, results emerging from these models have led to the derivation of some exact 'nuclear cusp' relations for exchange and correlation energy densities in molecules, clusters and condensed phases. (author)

Effects of strain differences and vehicles on results of local lymph node assays.

Science.gov (United States)

Anzai, Takayuki; Ullmann, Ludwig G; Hayashi, Daisuke; Satoh, Tetsuo; Kumazawa, Takeshi; Sato, Keizo

2010-01-01

The Local Lymph Node Assay (LLNA) is now regarded as the worldwide standard. The analysis of accumulated LLNA data reveals that the animal strains and vehicles employed are likely to affect LLNA results. Here we show that an obvious strain difference in the local lymph node response was observed between DMSO-treated CBA/CaOlaHsd and CBA/CaHsdRcc mice. We also show that a vehicle difference in the response was observed when CBA/CaHsdRcc mice were exposed to 6 vehicles; 4:1 v/v acetone/olive oil (AOO), ethanol/water (70% EtOH), N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), 2-butanone (BN), propylene glycol (PG), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The dpm/LN level was lowest in the 70% EtOH group and highest in the DMSO group. When alpha-hexylcinnamaldehyde (HCA) was used as a sensitizer for the LLNA, HCA was a weak sensitizer when AOO or DMSO was used as a vehicle, but a moderate sensitizer when the other 4 vehicles were used. This study showed that there are vehicle differences in the local lymph node response (dpm/LN level) in the LLNA and that the sensitization potency of HCA may be classified in different categories when using different vehicles. This suggests that careful consideration should be exercised in selecting a vehicle for the LLNA. A further comprehensive study will be needed to investigate why vehicle differences are observed in the LLNA.

Real-Time Ligand Binding Pocket Database Search Using Local Surface Descriptors

Science.gov (United States)

Chikhi, Rayan; Sael, Lee; Kihara, Daisuke

2010-01-01

Due to the increasing number of structures of unknown function accumulated by ongoing structural genomics projects, there is an urgent need for computational methods for characterizing protein tertiary structures. As functions of many of these proteins are not easily predicted by conventional sequence database searches, a legitimate strategy is to utilize structure information in function characterization. Of a particular interest is prediction of ligand binding to a protein, as ligand molecule recognition is a major part of molecular function of proteins. Predicting whether a ligand molecule binds a protein is a complex problem due to the physical nature of protein-ligand interactions and the flexibility of both binding sites and ligand molecules. However, geometric and physicochemical complementarity is observed between the ligand and its binding site in many cases. Therefore, ligand molecules which bind to a local surface site in a protein can be predicted by finding similar local pockets of known binding ligands in the structure database. Here, we present two representations of ligand binding pockets and utilize them for ligand binding prediction by pocket shape comparison. These representations are based on mapping of surface properties of binding pockets, which are compactly described either by the two dimensional pseudo-Zernike moments or the 3D Zernike descriptors. These compact representations allow a fast real-time pocket searching against a database. Thorough benchmark study employing two different datasets show that our representations are competitive with the other existing methods. Limitations and potentials of the shape-based methods as well as possible improvements are discussed. PMID:20455259

Astrometric and Timing Effects of Gravitational Waves from Localized Sources

OpenAIRE

Kopeikin, Sergei M.; Schafer, Gerhard; Gwinn, Carl R.; Eubanks, T. Marshall

1998-01-01

A consistent approach for an exhaustive solution of the problem of propagation of light rays in the field of gravitational waves emitted by a localized source of gravitational radiation is developed in the first post-Minkowskian and quadrupole approximation of General Relativity. We demonstrate that the equations of light propagation in the retarded gravitational field of an arbitrary localized source emitting quadrupolar gravitational waves can be integrated exactly. The influence of the gra...

Does the Strategic Planning of Local Development Result from the Motives Indicated in Literature? Contemporary Motivation of Polish Small Towns’ Authorities for Strategic Planning of Local Development

OpenAIRE

Andrzej SZTANDO

2017-01-01

The international literature offers a numberof motives which should incline local authoritiestoward strategic planning of local development;it also emphasizes that they should be stronglymotivated to do that. Meanwhile, their actualmotivation for such planning can remain low anddominated by motives so far unrecognized in theliterature. The article presents research confi rmingthis assumption, conducted in 2014 amongthe authorities of Polish small towns.The results reveal that the general moti...

Differential evolution to enhance localization of mobile robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lisowski, Michal; Fan, Zhun; Ravn, Ole

2011-01-01

. In addition, a novel mechanism for effective robot kidnap detection was proposed. Experiments were performed using computer simulations based on the odometer data and laser range finder measurements collected in advance by a robot in real-life. Experimental results showed that integrating DE enables MCL...... to provide more accurate robot pose estimations in shorter time while using fewer particles.......This paper focuses on the mobile robot localization problems: pose tracking, global localization and robot kidnap. Differential Evolution (DE) applied to extend Monte Carlo Localization (MCL) was investigated to better solve localization problem by increasing localization reliability and speed...

SLE local martingales, reversibility and duality

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kytoelae, Kalle; Kemppainen, Antti [Department of Mathematics and Statistics, PO Box 68, FIN-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland)

2006-11-17

We study Schramm-Loewner evolutions (SLEs) reversibility and duality using the Virasoro structure of the space of local martingales. For both problems we formulate a setup where the questions boil down to comparing two processes at a stopping time. We state algebraic results showing that local martingales for the processes have enough in common. When one has in addition integrability, the method gives reversibility and duality for any polynomial expected value. (letter to the editor)

SLE local martingales, reversibility and duality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kytoelae, Kalle; Kemppainen, Antti

2006-01-01

We study Schramm-Loewner evolutions (SLEs) reversibility and duality using the Virasoro structure of the space of local martingales. For both problems we formulate a setup where the questions boil down to comparing two processes at a stopping time. We state algebraic results showing that local martingales for the processes have enough in common. When one has in addition integrability, the method gives reversibility and duality for any polynomial expected value. (letter to the editor)

Local activation time sampling density for atrial tachycardia contact mapping: how much is enough?

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Steven E; Harrison, James L; Chubb, Henry; Whitaker, John; Kiedrowicz, Radek; Rinaldi, Christopher A; Cooklin, Michael; Wright, Matthew; Niederer, Steven; O'Neill, Mark D

2018-02-01

Local activation time (LAT) mapping forms the cornerstone of atrial tachycardia diagnosis. Although anatomic and positional accuracy of electroanatomic mapping (EAM) systems have been validated, the effect of electrode sampling density on LAT map reconstruction is not known. Here, we study the effect of chamber geometry and activation complexity on optimal LAT sampling density using a combined in silico and in vivo approach. In vivo 21 atrial tachycardia maps were studied in three groups: (1) focal activation, (2) macro-re-entry, and (3) localized re-entry. In silico activation was simulated on a 4×4cm atrial monolayer, sampled randomly at 0.25-10 points/cm2 and used to re-interpolate LAT maps. Activation patterns were studied in the geometrically simple porcine right atrium (RA) and complex human left atrium (LA). Activation complexity was introduced into the porcine RA by incomplete inter-caval linear ablation. In all cases, optimal sampling density was defined as the highest density resulting in minimal further error reduction in the re-interpolated maps. Optimal sampling densities for LA tachycardias were 0.67 ± 0.17 points/cm2 (focal activation), 1.05 ± 0.32 points/cm2 (macro-re-entry) and 1.23 ± 0.26 points/cm2 (localized re-entry), P = 0.0031. Increasing activation complexity was associated with increased optimal sampling density both in silico (focal activation 1.09 ± 0.14 points/cm2; re-entry 1.44 ± 0.49 points/cm2; spiral-wave 1.50 ± 0.34 points/cm2, P density (0.61 ± 0.22 points/cm2 vs. 1.0 ± 0.34 points/cm2, P = 0.0015). Optimal sampling densities can be identified to maximize diagnostic yield of LAT maps. Greater sampling density is required to correctly reveal complex activation and represent activation across complex geometries. Overall, the optimal sampling density for LAT map interpolation defined in this study was ∼1.0-1.5 points/cm2. Published on behalf of the European Society of

Local time distribution of the SSC-associated HF-Doppler frequency shifts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, T.; Sugiuchi, H.; Ishimine, T.

1985-01-01

The HF-Doppler frequency shift observed at the storm's sudden commencement is composed of a frequency increase (+) and decrease (-), and classified into four types, SCF(+ -), SCF(- +), SCF(+) and SCF(-). Since the latter two types are special cases of the former two types, two different kinds of electrical field exist in the F region and cause the ExB drift motion of plasma. HUANG (1976) interpreted the frequency increase of SCF(+ -) as due to the westward induction electric field proportional to delta H/ delta t and the succeeding frequency decrease due to the eastward conduction electric field which produces ionospheric currents responsible for the magnetic increase on the ground. In spite of his success in interpreting the SCF(+ -), some other interpretations are needed for the explanation of the whole set of SCF's, particularly SCF(- +). Local time distributions of the SCF's are derived from 41 SCF's which are observed on the HF standard signal (JJY) as received in Okinawa (path length =1600 km) and Kokubunji (60 km). It is shown that the SCF(+ -) appears mainly during the day, whereas the SCF(- +) is observed during the night. The results indicate that the preliminary frequency shift (+) of SCF(+ -) and (-) of SCF(- +) is caused by a westward electric field in the dayside hemisphere, while by an eastward electric field in the nightside hemisphere. The main frequency shift (-) of SCF(+ -) and (+) of SCF(- +) is caused by the reversed electric field. Consequently, the preliminary frequency shift is caused by the dusk-to-dawn electric field, while the main frequency shift by the dawn-to-dusk electric field

Local time distribution of the SSC-associated HF-Doppler frequency shifts

Science.gov (United States)

Kikuchi, T.; Sugiuchi, H.; Ishimine, T.

1985-01-01

The HF-Doppler frequency shift observed at the storm's sudden commencement is composed of a frequency increase (+) and decrease (-), and classified into four types, SCF(+ -), SCF(- +), SCF(+) and SCF(-). Since the latter two types are special cases of the former two types, two different kinds of electrical field exist in the F region and cause the ExB drift motion of plasma. HUANG (1976) interpreted the frequency increase of SCF(+ -) as due to the westward induction electric field proportional to delta H/ delta t and the succeeding frequency decrease due to the eastward conduction electric field which produces ionospheric currents responsible for the magnetic increase on the ground. In spite of his success in interpreting the SCF(+ -), some other interpretations are needed for the explanation of the whole set of SCF's, particularly SCF(- +). Local time distributions of the SCF's are derived from 41 SCF's which are observed on the HF standard signal (JJY) as received in Okinawa (path length =1600 km) and Kokubunji (60 km). It is shown that the SCF(+ -) appears mainly during the day, whereas the SCF(- +) is observed during the night. The results indicate that the preliminary frequency shift (+) of SCF(+ -) and (-) of SCF(- +) is caused by a westward electric field in the dayside hemisphere, while by an eastward electric field in the nightside hemisphere. The main frequency shift (-) of SCF(+ -) and (+) of SCF(- +) is caused by the reversed electric field. Consequently, the preliminary frequency shift is caused by the dusk-to-dawn electric field, while the main frequency shift by the dawn-to-dusk electric field.

Detecting many-body-localization lengths with cold atoms

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Xuefei; Li, Xiaopeng

2018-03-01

Considering ultracold atoms in optical lattices, we propose experimental protocols to study many-body-localization (MBL) length and criticality in quench dynamics. Through numerical simulations with exact diagonalization, we show that in the MBL phase the perturbed density profile following a local quench remains exponentially localized in postquench dynamics. The size of this density profile after long-time-dynamics defines a localization length, which tends to diverge at the MBL-to-ergodic transition as we increase the system size. The determined localization transition point agrees with previous exact diagonalization calculations using other diagnostics. Our numerical results provide evidence for violation of the Harris-Chayes bound for the MBL criticality. The critical exponent ν can be extracted from our proposed dynamical procedure, which can then be used directly in experiments to determine whether the Harris-Chayes-bound holds for the MBL transition. These proposed protocols to detect localization criticality are justified by benchmarking to the well-established results for the noninteracting three-dimensional Anderson localization.

Out-of-equilibrium dynamics driven by localized time-dependent perturbations at quantum phase transitions

Science.gov (United States)

Pelissetto, Andrea; Rossini, Davide; Vicari, Ettore

2018-03-01

We investigate the quantum dynamics of many-body systems subject to local (i.e., restricted to a limited space region) time-dependent perturbations. If the system crosses a quantum phase transition, an off-equilibrium behavior is observed, even for a very slow driving. We show that, close to the transition, time-dependent quantities obey scaling laws. In first-order transitions, the scaling behavior is universal, and some scaling functions can be computed exactly. For continuous transitions, the scaling laws are controlled by the standard critical exponents and by the renormalization-group dimension of the perturbation at the transition. Our protocol can be implemented in existing relatively small quantum simulators, paving the way for a quantitative probe of the universal off-equilibrium scaling behavior, without the need to manipulate systems close to the thermodynamic limit.

Long-time Luminescence Kinetics of Localized excitons and conduction Band Edges Smearing in ZnSe(1-c)Tec Solid Solutions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klochikhin, O.; Ogloblin, S. G.; Permogorov, S.

2000-01-01

It is shown that the integrated luminescence intensity of localized excitons in solid solutions ZnSe(1 - c)Tec has a component slowly decaying with time. After the excitation above the mobility threshold, the long-time intensity decreases exponentially, with a fractional exponent changing from...

Real-Time Localization of Moving Dipole Sources for Tracking Multiple Free-Swimming Weakly Electric Fish

Science.gov (United States)

Jun, James Jaeyoon; Longtin, André; Maler, Leonard

2013-01-01

In order to survive, animals must quickly and accurately locate prey, predators, and conspecifics using the signals they generate. The signal source location can be estimated using multiple detectors and the inverse relationship between the received signal intensity (RSI) and the distance, but difficulty of the source localization increases if there is an additional dependence on the orientation of a signal source. In such cases, the signal source could be approximated as an ideal dipole for simplification. Based on a theoretical model, the RSI can be directly predicted from a known dipole location; but estimating a dipole location from RSIs has no direct analytical solution. Here, we propose an efficient solution to the dipole localization problem by using a lookup table (LUT) to store RSIs predicted by our theoretically derived dipole model at many possible dipole positions and orientations. For a given set of RSIs measured at multiple detectors, our algorithm found a dipole location having the closest matching normalized RSIs from the LUT, and further refined the location at higher resolution. Studying the natural behavior of weakly electric fish (WEF) requires efficiently computing their location and the temporal pattern of their electric signals over extended periods. Our dipole localization method was successfully applied to track single or multiple freely swimming WEF in shallow water in real-time, as each fish could be closely approximated by an ideal current dipole in two dimensions. Our optimized search algorithm found the animal’s positions, orientations, and tail-bending angles quickly and accurately under various conditions, without the need for calibrating individual-specific parameters. Our dipole localization method is directly applicable to studying the role of active sensing during spatial navigation, or social interactions between multiple WEF. Furthermore, our method could be extended to other application areas involving dipole source

Real-Time Localization of Moving Dipole Sources for Tracking Multiple Free-Swimming Weakly Electric Fish.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Jaeyoon Jun

Full Text Available In order to survive, animals must quickly and accurately locate prey, predators, and conspecifics using the signals they generate. The signal source location can be estimated using multiple detectors and the inverse relationship between the received signal intensity (RSI and the distance, but difficulty of the source localization increases if there is an additional dependence on the orientation of a signal source. In such cases, the signal source could be approximated as an ideal dipole for simplification. Based on a theoretical model, the RSI can be directly predicted from a known dipole location; but estimating a dipole location from RSIs has no direct analytical solution. Here, we propose an efficient solution to the dipole localization problem by using a lookup table (LUT to store RSIs predicted by our theoretically derived dipole model at many possible dipole positions and orientations. For a given set of RSIs measured at multiple detectors, our algorithm found a dipole location having the closest matching normalized RSIs from the LUT, and further refined the location at higher resolution. Studying the natural behavior of weakly electric fish (WEF requires efficiently computing their location and the temporal pattern of their electric signals over extended periods. Our dipole localization method was successfully applied to track single or multiple freely swimming WEF in shallow water in real-time, as each fish could be closely approximated by an ideal current dipole in two dimensions. Our optimized search algorithm found the animal's positions, orientations, and tail-bending angles quickly and accurately under various conditions, without the need for calibrating individual-specific parameters. Our dipole localization method is directly applicable to studying the role of active sensing during spatial navigation, or social interactions between multiple WEF. Furthermore, our method could be extended to other application areas involving dipole

Multivariate Local Polynomial Regression with Application to Shenzhen Component Index

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liyun Su

2011-01-01

Full Text Available This study attempts to characterize and predict stock index series in Shenzhen stock market using the concepts of multivariate local polynomial regression. Based on nonlinearity and chaos of the stock index time series, multivariate local polynomial prediction methods and univariate local polynomial prediction method, all of which use the concept of phase space reconstruction according to Takens' Theorem, are considered. To fit the stock index series, the single series changes into bivariate series. To evaluate the results, the multivariate predictor for bivariate time series based on multivariate local polynomial model is compared with univariate predictor with the same Shenzhen stock index data. The numerical results obtained by Shenzhen component index show that the prediction mean squared error of the multivariate predictor is much smaller than the univariate one and is much better than the existed three methods. Even if the last half of the training data are used in the multivariate predictor, the prediction mean squared error is smaller than the univariate predictor. Multivariate local polynomial prediction model for nonsingle time series is a useful tool for stock market price prediction.

New Results on Timed Specifications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bourke, Timothy; David, Alexandre; Larsen, Kim Guldstrand

2010-01-01

Recently, we have proposed a new design theory for timed systems. This theory, building on Timed I/O Automata with game semantics, includes clas- sical operators like satisfaction, consistency, logical composition and structural composition. This paper presents a new efficient algorithm for check...

The TAIGA timing array HiSCORE - first results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tluczykont M.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Observations of gamma rays up to several 100 TeV are particularly important to spectrally resolve the cutoff regime of the long-sought Pevatrons, the cosmic-ray PeV accelerators. One component of the TAIGA hybrid detector is the TAIGA-HiSCORE timing array, which currently consists of 28 wide angle (0.6 sr air Cherenkov timing stations distributed on an area of 0.25 km2. The HiSCORE concept is based on (non-imaging air shower front sampling with Cherenkov light. First results are presented.

GALACTIC COSMIC RAYS IN THE LOCAL INTERSTELLAR MEDIUM: VOYAGER 1 OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL RESULTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cummings, A. C.; Stone, E. C. [California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Heikkila, B. C.; Lal, N. [Goddard Space Flight Center. Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States); Webber, W. R. [New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM 88003 (United States); Jóhannesson, G. [University of Iceland, Reykjavik (Iceland); Moskalenko, I. V.; Orlando, E.; Porter, T. A. [HEPL and KIPAC, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 (United States)

2016-11-01

Since 2012 August Voyager 1 has been observing the local interstellar energy spectra of Galactic cosmic-ray nuclei down to 3 MeV nuc{sup -1} and electrons down to 2.7 MeV. The H and He spectra have the same energy dependence between 3 and 346 MeV nuc{sup -1}, with a broad maximum in the 10–50 MeV nuc{sup -1} range and a H/He ratio of 12.2 ± 0.9. The peak H intensity is ∼15 times that observed at 1 AU, and the observed local interstellar gradient of 3–346 MeV H is -0.009 ± 0.055% AU{sup -1}, consistent with models having no local interstellar gradient. The energy spectrum of electrons ( e {sup -} + e {sup +}) with 2.7–74 MeV is consistent with E {sup -1.30±0.05} and exceeds the H intensity at energies below ∼50 MeV. Propagation model fits to the observed spectra indicate that the energy density of cosmic-ray nuclei with >3 MeV nuc{sup -1} and electrons with >3 MeV is 0.83–1.02 eV cm{sup -3} and the ionization rate of atomic H is in the range of 1.51–1.64 × 10{sup -17} s{sup -1}. This rate is a factor >10 lower than the ionization rate in diffuse interstellar clouds, suggesting significant spatial inhomogeneity in low-energy cosmic rays or the presence of a suprathermal tail on the energy spectrum at much lower energies. The propagation model fits also provide improved estimates of the elemental abundances in the source of Galactic cosmic rays.

The meshless local Petrov-Galerkin method based on moving Kriging interpolation for solving the time fractional Navier-Stokes equations.

Science.gov (United States)

Thamareerat, N; Luadsong, A; Aschariyaphotha, N

2016-01-01

In this paper, we present a numerical scheme used to solve the nonlinear time fractional Navier-Stokes equations in two dimensions. We first employ the meshless local Petrov-Galerkin (MLPG) method based on a local weak formulation to form the system of discretized equations and then we will approximate the time fractional derivative interpreted in the sense of Caputo by a simple quadrature formula. The moving Kriging interpolation which possesses the Kronecker delta property is applied to construct shape functions. This research aims to extend and develop further the applicability of the truly MLPG method to the generalized incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. Two numerical examples are provided to illustrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed algorithm. Very good agreement between the numerically and analytically computed solutions can be observed in the verification. The present MLPG method has proved its efficiency and reliability for solving the two-dimensional time fractional Navier-Stokes equations arising in fluid dynamics as well as several other problems in science and engineering.

The time-local view of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. I. Linear theory of transport and relaxation

Science.gov (United States)

der, R.

1987-01-01

The various approaches to nonequilibrium statistical mechanics may be subdivided into convolution and convolutionless (time-local) ones. While the former, put forward by Zwanzig, Mori, and others, are used most commonly, the latter are less well developed, but have proven very useful in recent applications. The aim of the present series of papers is to develop the time-local picture (TLP) of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics on a new footing and to consider its physical implications for topics such as the formulation of irreversible thermodynamics. The most natural approach to TLP is seen to derive from the Fourier-Laplace transformwidetilde{C}(z)) of pertinent time correlation functions, which on the physical sheet typically displays an essential singularity at z=∞ and a number of macroscopic and microscopic poles in the lower half-plane corresponding to long- and short-lived modes, respectively, the former giving rise to the autonomous macrodynamics, whereas the latter are interpreted as doorway modes mediating the transfer of information from relevant to irrelevant channels. Possible implications of this doorway mode concept for socalled extended irreversible thermodynamics are briefly discussed. The pole structure is used for deriving new kinds of generalized Green-Kubo relations expressing macroscopic quantities, transport coefficients, e.g., by contour integrals over current-current correlation functions obeying Hamiltonian dynamics, the contour integration replacing projection. The conventional Green-Kubo relations valid for conserved quantities only are rederived for illustration. Moreover,widetilde{C}(z) may be expressed by a Laurent series expansion in positive and negative powers of z, from which a rigorous, general, and straightforward method is developed for extracting all macroscopic quantities from so-called secularly divergent expansions ofwidetilde{C}(z) as obtained from the application of conventional many-body techniques to the calculation

Administration of time-expired yellow fever vaccine: public health response and results of a serological investigation.

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, K W; Nguyen-Van-Tam, J S; Howells, J

1999-06-01

The discovery that a local travel clinic had administered 101 doses of time-expired yellow fever vaccine over a six month period prompted an immediate investigation in order to advise vaccinees about to travel to areas where yellow fever is endemic. No data were available to provide adequate reassurance about the potential efficacy of time-expired vaccine, so a rapid serological investigation was conducted, which provided evidence that the yellow fever vaccine had remained potent beyond its expiry date.

Does the Strategic Planning of Local Development Result from the Motives Indicated in Literature? Contemporary Motivation of Polish Small Towns’ Authorities for Strategic Planning of Local Development

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Andrzej SZTANDO

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The international literature offers a numberof motives which should incline local authoritiestoward strategic planning of local development;it also emphasizes that they should be stronglymotivated to do that. Meanwhile, their actualmotivation for such planning can remain low anddominated by motives so far unrecognized in theliterature. The article presents research confi rmingthis assumption, conducted in 2014 amongthe authorities of Polish small towns.The results reveal that the general motivationfor strategic planning of local developmentamong 37.7% of the authorities of Polish smalltowns is low. It also disclosed that the motivefor obtaining means from the EU funds (so farunrecognized in literature was and is motivatingstrongly at least 68.6% of these authorities forthe discussed planning and, moreover, that it is ashort-lived motive. The article indicates that thissituation may also refer to other local authorities,not just the Polish ones. It also indicates that itis an unintended effect of the dependence ofmunicipal development projects’ support by themeans from the EU funds on including them inthe local development strategy. The fi nal part ofthe article presents recommendations of actionsto rectify such an unfavorable situation and forfurther studies of planning motives followed bylocal authorities.

Results of preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Choi, Sang Gyu; Kim, Su Ssan; Bae, Hoon Sik [Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, Anyang (Korea, Republic of)

2007-03-15

We performed a retrospective non-randomized clinical study of locally advanced rectal cancer, to evaluate the anal sphincter preservation rates, down staging rates and survival rates of preoperative chemoradiotherapy. From January 2002 to December 2005, patients with pathologically confirmed rectal cancer with clinical stage T2 or higher, or patients with lymph node metastasis were enrolled in this study. A preoperative staging work-up was conducted in 36 patients. All patients were treated with preoperative chemoradiotherapy, and curative resection was performed for 26 patients at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. Radiotherapy treatment planning was conducted with the use of planning CT for all patients. A total dose of 45.0 {approx} 52.2 Gy conventionally fractionated three-dimensional radiotherapy was delivered to the whole pelvis. Chemotherapy was given at the first and fifth week of radiation therapy with continuous infusion i.v. 5-FU (Fluorouracil) and LV (Leucovorine). Surgical resection was performed 2 to 4 weeks after the completion of the chemoradiotherapy regimen. The complete resection rate with negative resection margin was 100% (26/26). However, a pathologically complete response was not seen after curative resection. Surgery was done by LAR (low anterior resection) in 23 patients and APR (abdomino-perineal resection) in 3 patients. The sphincter preservation rate was 88.5% (23/26), down staging of the tumor occurred in 12 patients (46.2%) and down-sizing of the tumor occurred in 19 patients (73%). Local recurrence after surgical resection developed in 1 patient, and distant metastasis developed in 3 patients. The local recurrence free survival rate, distant metastasis free survival rate, and progression free survival rate were 96.7%, 87% and 83.1%, respectively. Treatment related toxicity was minimal except for one grade 3, one grade 4 anemia, one grade 3 leukopenia, and one grade 3 ileus. Preoperative concurrent chemoradiotherapy for locally

STAR: a local network system for real-time management of imagery data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chuan-lin Wu; Tse-yun Feng; Min-chang Lin

1982-10-01

Overall architecture of a local computer network, STAR, is described. The objective is to accomplish a cost-effective system which provides multiple users a real-time service of manipulating very large volume imagery information and data. STAR consists of a reconfigurable communication subnet (starnet), heterogeneous resource units, and distributed-control software entities. Architectural aspects of a fault-tolerant communication subnet, distributed database management, and a distributed scheduling strategy for configuring desirable computation topology are exploited. A model for comparing cost-effectiveness among starnet, crossbar, and multiple buses is included. It is concluded that starnet outperforms the other two when the number of units to be connected is larger than 64. This project serves as a research tool for using current and projected technology to innovate better schemes for parallel image processing. 30 references.

Evaluation of ANSYS time history analysis results according to the input type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, In Yong; Kim, Tae Wan; Nam, Kung In; Park, Keun Bae

1996-04-01

This report discusses and analyzes the analysis reliability of dynamic analysis according to the type of input time history when using commercial FEM analysis code ANSYS. The dynamic analysis using ANSYS with displacement time history, and GT/STRUDL with displacement time history for the same model were carried out and compared. The ANSYS results with displacement time history were more conservative than that with acceleration time history, and showed an unstable characteristic depending on the input directions. The results of analysis using ANSYS with acceleration time history. To review the effect on the analysis for the NSSS structures, CEDM seismic analysis using ANSYS was done. The input time history is comprised of SSE, OBE, and BLPB cases. The comparisons are made by the acceleration floor response spectra of each case obtained after postprocessing of analysis results. The seismic analysis with displacement time history exhibited more conservative results than those with acceleration time history. In conclusion, a time history analysis using ANSYS with displacement time history may give overly conservative results. Hence displacement time history option in ANSYS requires a careful consideration, and it is recommended to use the acceleration time history option if possible. 6 tabs., 22 figs., 7 refs. (Author) .new

Value of overall treatment time on the effect of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Su Shengfa; Lu Taixiang; Zhao Chong; Han Fei; Xiao Weiwei; Li Jiaxin; Chen Chunyan

2010-01-01

Objective: To investigate the prognostic value of overall treatment time (OTT) for locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) treated with intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT). Methods: From May 2001 to April 2007, 376 patients with locally advanced NPC treated with IMRT were retrospectively analyzed. All patients were divided into OTT≤45 days group and OTT >45 days group. The treatment outcomes between the two groups were analyzed. Results: Between the groups with OTT≤45 days and OTT > 45 days, the 2-year local control rate (LCR) was 94.9% and 93.1% (χ 2 = 2.83, P > 0.05) for all patients, 96.3% and 98.7% (χ 2 =2.83, P>0.05) for patients with T 3 disease, 92.2% and 83.1%(χ 2 = 6.30, P 4 , and 93.1% and 97.5% (χ 2 = 4.69, P = 0.030) when chemotherapy was concurrently administered.The 2-year LCR was 98%, 96% and 93% (χ 2 = 2.20, P = 0.531) for patients with treatment interruption before, within and after the 3rd week of IMRT, The Cox regression analysis found that OTT was an independent prognostic factor for LCR in T 4 disease.The Linear regression showed that the 2-year LCR was decreased by 2.7% per day of delay. Between the groups with OTT≤45 days and OTT >45 days, the 2-year estimated disease-specific survival (DSS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) and overall survival (OS) were 84.1% vs.78.7% (χ 2 = 0.02, P = 0.881), 87.0% vs.86.1% (χ 2 = 0.85, P = 0.358), and 91.7% vs. 92.2% (χ 2 = 0.06, P = 0.806), respectively.The further stratified analysis found that the DSS, DMFS and OS were similar between the two groups in T 3 (83.7% vs. 83.2%, χ 2 =0.07, P=0.798; 86.6% vs. 85.7%, χ 2 =0.02, P = 0.898 ; and 93.7% vs. 94.8%, χ 2 =0.03, P=0.862) and T 4 disease (81.4% vs. 72.3%, χ 2 = 0.16, P = 0.687; 82.6% vs. 86.9%, χ 2 = 1.78, P =0.182; and 88.3% vs. 87.5%, χ 2 =0.60, P =0.438).In multivariate analysis, T-stage and N-stage were the independent prognostic factors for both DFS and OS, and N-stage was the independent prognostic

Local temperatures predict breeding phenology but do not result in breeding synchrony among a community of resident cavity-nesting birds.

Science.gov (United States)

Drake, Anna; Martin, Kathy

2018-02-09

Weather and ecological factors are known to influence breeding phenology and thus individual fitness. We predicted concordance between weather conditions and annual variation in phenology within a community of eight resident, cavity-nesting bird species over a 17-year period. We show that, although clutch initiation dates for six of our eight species are correlated with local daily maximum temperatures, this common driver does not produce a high degree of breeding synchrony due to species-specific responses to conditions during different periods of the preceding winter or spring. These "critical temperature periods" were positively associated with average lay date for each species, although the interval between critical periods and clutch initiation varied from 4-78 days. The ecological factors we examined (cavity availability and a food pulse) had an additional influence on timing in only one of our eight focal species. Our results have strong implications for understanding heterogeneous wildlife responses to climate change: divergent responses would be expected within communities where species respond to local conditions within different temporal windows, due to differing warming trends between winter and spring. Our system therefore indicates that climate change could alter relative breeding phenology among sympatric species in temperate ecosystems.

Double Lacunary Density and Some Inclusion Results in Locally Solid Riesz Spaces

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S. A. Mohiuddine

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We define the notions of double statistically convergent and double lacunary statistically convergent sequences in locally solid Riesz space and establish some inclusion relations between them. We also prove an extension of a decomposition theorem in this setup. Further, we introduce the concepts of double θ-summable and double statistically lacunary summable in locally solid Riesz space and establish a relationship between these notions.

Large-Deviation Results for Discriminant Statistics of Gaussian Locally Stationary Processes

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Junichi Hirukawa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper discusses the large-deviation principle of discriminant statistics for Gaussian locally stationary processes. First, large-deviation theorems for quadratic forms and the log-likelihood ratio for a Gaussian locally stationary process with a mean function are proved. Their asymptotics are described by the large deviation rate functions. Second, we consider the situations where processes are misspecified to be stationary. In these misspecified cases, we formally make the log-likelihood ratio discriminant statistics and derive the large deviation theorems of them. Since they are complicated, they are evaluated and illustrated by numerical examples. We realize the misspecification of the process to be stationary seriously affecting our discrimination.

Source localization with an advanced gravitational wave detector network

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fairhurst, Stephen

2011-01-01

We derive an expression for the accuracy with which sources can be localized using a network of gravitational wave detectors. The result is obtained via triangulation, using timing accuracies at each detector and is applicable to a network with any number of detectors. We use this result to investigate the ability of advanced gravitational wave detector networks to accurately localize signals from compact binary coalescences. We demonstrate that additional detectors can significantly improve localization results and illustrate our findings with networks comprised of the advanced LIGO, advanced Virgo and LCGT. In addition, we evaluate the benefits of relocating one of the advanced LIGO detectors to Australia.

Time-resolved cathodoluminescence microscopy with sub-nanosecond beam blanking for direct evaluation of the local density of states

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Moerland, R.J.; Weppelman, I.G.C.; Garming, M.W.H.; Kruit, P.; Hoogenboom, J.P.

2016-01-01

We show cathodoluminescence-based time-resolved electron beam spectroscopy in order to directly probe the spontaneous emission decay rate that is modified by the local density of states in a nanoscale environment. In contrast to dedicated laser-triggered electron-microscopy setups, we use commercial

Regularity results for the minimum time function with Hörmander vector fields

Science.gov (United States)

Albano, Paolo; Cannarsa, Piermarco; Scarinci, Teresa

2018-03-01

In a bounded domain of Rn with boundary given by a smooth (n - 1)-dimensional manifold, we consider the homogeneous Dirichlet problem for the eikonal equation associated with a family of smooth vector fields {X1 , … ,XN } subject to Hörmander's bracket generating condition. We investigate the regularity of the viscosity solution T of such problem. Due to the presence of characteristic boundary points, singular trajectories may occur. First, we characterize these trajectories as the closed set of all points at which the solution loses point-wise Lipschitz continuity. Then, we prove that the local Lipschitz continuity of T, the local semiconcavity of T, and the absence of singular trajectories are equivalent properties. Finally, we show that the last condition is satisfied whenever the characteristic set of {X1 , … ,XN } is a symplectic manifold. We apply our results to several examples.

One-Stop Clinic Utilization in Plastic Surgery: Our Local Experience and the Results of a UK-Wide National Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Gorman, Mark; Coelho, James; Gujral, Sameer; McKay, Alastair

2015-01-01

Introduction. “See and treat” one-stop clinics (OSCs) are an advocated NHS initiative to modernise care, reducing cancer treatment waiting times. Little studied in plastic surgery, the existing evidence suggests that though they improve care, they are rarely implemented. We present our experience setting up a plastic surgery OSC for minor skin surgery and survey their use across the UK. Methods. The OSC was evaluated by 18-week wait target compliance, measures of departmental capacity, and patient satisfaction. Data was obtained from 32 of the 47 UK plastic surgery departments to investigate the prevalence of OSCs for minor skin cancer surgery. Results. The OSC improved 18-week waiting times, from a noncompliant mean of 80% to a compliant 95% average. Department capacity increased 15%. 95% of patients were highly satisfied with and preferred the OSC to a conventional service. Only 25% of UK plastic surgery units run OSCs, offering varying reasons for not doing so, 42% having not considered their use. Conclusions. OSCs are underutilised within UK plastic surgery, where a significant proportion of units have not even considered their benefit. This is despite associated improvements in waiting times, department capacity, and levels of high patient satisfaction. We offer our considerations and local experience instituting an OSC service. PMID:26236502

MR-based source localization for MR-guided HDR brachytherapy

Science.gov (United States)

Beld, E.; Moerland, M. A.; Zijlstra, F.; Viergever, M. A.; Lagendijk, J. J. W.; Seevinck, P. R.

2018-04-01

For the purpose of MR-guided high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, a method for real-time localization of an HDR brachytherapy source was developed, which requires high spatial and temporal resolutions. MR-based localization of an HDR source serves two main aims. First, it enables real-time treatment verification by determination of the HDR source positions during treatment. Second, when using a dummy source, MR-based source localization provides an automatic detection of the source dwell positions after catheter insertion, allowing elimination of the catheter reconstruction procedure. Localization of the HDR source was conducted by simulation of the MR artifacts, followed by a phase correlation localization algorithm applied to the MR images and the simulated images, to determine the position of the HDR source in the MR images. To increase the temporal resolution of the MR acquisition, the spatial resolution was decreased, and a subpixel localization operation was introduced. Furthermore, parallel imaging (sensitivity encoding) was applied to further decrease the MR scan time. The localization method was validated by a comparison with CT, and the accuracy and precision were investigated. The results demonstrated that the described method could be used to determine the HDR source position with a high accuracy (0.4–0.6 mm) and a high precision (⩽0.1 mm), at high temporal resolutions (0.15–1.2 s per slice). This would enable real-time treatment verification as well as an automatic detection of the source dwell positions.

Restructuration de l’appareil productif local, articulations spatio-temporelles, identité et capacité collective d’agir Restructuring the local system of production, articulating time-and-space, identities and the collective ability to act

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacques Garnier

2009-07-01

Full Text Available La restructuration industrielle du Bassin minier de Provence est une transition complexe au cours de laquelle, pendant 25 ans, ont coexisté et interagi deux systèmes spatio-temporels respectivement associés à l’ancien appareil productif minier en déclin et au nouvel appareil productif de micro-électronique en expansion. Depuis longtemps soumise et stabilisée dans la continuité, la durée, les rythmes et les isochronies du temps industriel dominant associé à l’appareil minier, la société locale tend à se segmenter et se désintégrer désormais selon des discordances temporelles et spatiales nombreuses fortement associées aux stratégies et aux formes organisationnelles de l’appareil productif de micro-électronique. En analysant quelques-uns des effets de la coexistence et de la tension entre les deux systèmes spatio-temporels, l’article débouche sur une autre tension : celle qui s’instaure entre l’efficacité économique collective, l’identité sociale locale et la capacité collective à agir localement.The industrial restructuring of the Provence mining country (France represents a complex transition during which two time-and-space systems have coexisted and interacted for 25 years, the first being associated with the declining mining industry, the second with the new and expanding micro-electronics industry. For many years, dominated by the mine, local society remained stable and integrated according to the old industry’s continuity, rhythm and time, whereas now, it is on its way to fragmentation, destabilization and disintegration as discontinuity, short duration, erratic processes and the variety of time-and-space associated with micro-electronics take over. By analyzing some of the effects of the coexistence and tensions between the two systems, we discover in fact another source of tension, the one that exists between a local economic efficiency, a local social identity and a local collective ability to

Exeresis and Brachytherapy as Salvage Treatment for Local Recurrence After Conservative Treatment for Breast Cancer: Results of a Ten-Year Pilot Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guix, Benjamin; Lejarcegui, Jose Antonio; Tello, Jose Ignacio; Zanon, Gabriel; Henriquez, Ivan; Finestres, Fernando; Martinez, Antonio; Fernandez-Ibiza, Jaume; Quinzanos, Luis; Palombo, Pau; Encinas, Xavier; Guix, Ines

2010-01-01

Purpose: To analyze the long-term results of a pilot study assessing excision and brachytherapy as salvage treatment for local recurrence after conservative treatment of breast cancer. Methods and Materials: Between December 1990 and March 2001, 36 patients with breast-only recurrence less than 3 cm in diameter after conservative treatment for Stage I or II breast carcinoma were treated with local excision followed by high-dose rate brachytherapy implants (30 Gy in 12 fractions over a period of 5 days). No patient was lost to follow-up. Special attention was paid to local, regional, or distant recurrences; survival; cosmesis; and early and late side effects. Results: All patients completed treatment. During follow-up (range, 1-13 years), 8 patients presented metastases (2 regional and 6 distant) as their first site of failure, 1 had a differed local recurrence, and 1 died of the disease. Actuarial results at 10 years were as follows: local control, 89.4%; disease-free survival, 64.4%; and survival, 96.7%. Cosmetic results were satisfactory in 90.4%. No patient had Grade 3 or 4 early or late complications. Of the 11 patients followed up for at least 10 years, all but 1 still had their breast in place at the 10-year stage. Conclusions: High-dose rate brachytherapy is a safe, effective treatment for small-size, low-risk local recurrence after local excision in conservatively treated patients. The dose of 30 Gy of high-dose rate brachytherapy (12 fractions over a period of 5 days twice daily) was well tolerated. The excellent results support the use of breast preservation as salvage treatment in selected patients with local recurrence after conservative treatment for breast cancer.

Quantum entanglement of localized excited states at finite temperature

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caputa, Paweł [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP), Kyoto University,Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Nordita, KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stockholm University,Roslagstullsbacken 23, SE-106 91 Stockholm (Sweden); Simón, Joan; Štikonas, Andrius [School of Mathematics and Maxwell Institute for Mathematical Sciences,University of Edinburgh,King’s Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3FD (United Kingdom); Takayanagi, Tadashi [Yukawa Institute for Theoretical Physics (YITP), Kyoto University,Kyoto 606-8502 (Japan); Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU),University of Tokyo,Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8582 (Japan)

2015-01-20

In this work we study the time evolutions of (Renyi) entanglement entropy of locally excited states in two dimensional conformal field theories (CFTs) at finite temperature. We consider excited states created by acting with local operators on thermal states and give both field theoretic and holographic calculations. In free field CFTs, we find that the growth of Renyi entanglement entropy at finite temperature is reduced compared to the zero temperature result by a small quantity proportional to the width of the localized excitations. On the other hand, in finite temperature CFTs with classical gravity duals, we find that the entanglement entropy approaches a characteristic value at late time. This behaviour does not occur at zero temperature. We also study the mutual information between the two CFTs in the thermofield double (TFD) formulation and give physical interpretations of our results.

An Open Localization and Local Communication Embodied Sensor

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Alvaro Gutiérrez

2008-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper we describe a localization and local communication system which allows situated agents to communicate locally, obtaining at the same time both the range and the bearing of the emitter without the need of any centralized control or any external reference. The system relies on infrared communications with frequency modulation and is composed of two interconnected modules for data and power measurement. Thanks to the open hardware license under which it is released, the research community can easily replicate the system at a low cost and/or adapt it for applications in sensor networks and in robotics.

Real-time network traffic classification technique for wireless local area networks based on compressed sensing

Science.gov (United States)

Balouchestani, Mohammadreza

2017-05-01

Network traffic or data traffic in a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) is the amount of network packets moving across a wireless network from each wireless node to another wireless node, which provide the load of sampling in a wireless network. WLAN's Network traffic is the main component for network traffic measurement, network traffic control and simulation. Traffic classification technique is an essential tool for improving the Quality of Service (QoS) in different wireless networks in the complex applications such as local area networks, wireless local area networks, wireless personal area networks, wireless metropolitan area networks, and wide area networks. Network traffic classification is also an essential component in the products for QoS control in different wireless network systems and applications. Classifying network traffic in a WLAN allows to see what kinds of traffic we have in each part of the network, organize the various kinds of network traffic in each path into different classes in each path, and generate network traffic matrix in order to Identify and organize network traffic which is an important key for improving the QoS feature. To achieve effective network traffic classification, Real-time Network Traffic Classification (RNTC) algorithm for WLANs based on Compressed Sensing (CS) is presented in this paper. The fundamental goal of this algorithm is to solve difficult wireless network management problems. The proposed architecture allows reducing False Detection Rate (FDR) to 25% and Packet Delay (PD) to 15 %. The proposed architecture is also increased 10 % accuracy of wireless transmission, which provides a good background for establishing high quality wireless local area networks.

Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber : Recent R&D Results

Science.gov (United States)

Battat, J. B. R.; Ahlen, S.; Chernicoff, M.; Deaconu, C.; Dujmic, D.; Dushkin, A.; Fisher, P.; Henderson, S.; Inglis, A.; Kaboth, A.; Kirsch, L.; Lopez, J. P.; Monroe, J.; Ouyang, H.; Sciolla, G.; Tomita, H.; Wellenstein, H.

2012-02-01

The Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber collaboration recently reported a dark matter limit obtained with a 10 liter time projection chamber filled with CF4 gas. The 10 liter detector was capable of 2D tracking (perpendicular to the drift direction) and 2D fiducialization, and only used information from two CCD cameras when identifying tracks and rejecting backgrounds. Since that time, the collaboration has explored the potential benefits of photomultiplier tube and electronic charge readout to achieve 3D tracking, and particle identification for background rejection. The latest results of this effort is described here.

Integrating Conflict Driven Clause Learning to Local Search

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilles Audenard

2009-10-01

Full Text Available This article introduces SatHyS (SAT HYbrid Solver, a novel hybrid approach for propositional satisfiability. It combines local search and conflict driven clause learning (CDCL scheme. Each time the local search part reaches a local minimum, the CDCL is launched. For SAT problems it behaves like a tabu list, whereas for UNSAT ones, the CDCL part tries to focus on minimum unsatisfiable sub-formula (MUS. Experimental results show good performances on many classes of SAT instances from the last SAT competitions.

Noise Reduction and Gap Filling of fAPAR Time Series Using an Adapted Local Regression Filter

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Álvaro Moreno

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Time series of remotely sensed data are an important source of information for understanding land cover dynamics. In particular, the fraction of absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (fAPAR is a key variable in the assessment of vegetation primary production over time. However, the fAPAR series derived from polar orbit satellites are not continuous and consistent in space and time. Filtering methods are thus required to fill in gaps and produce high-quality time series. This study proposes an adapted (iteratively reweighted local regression filter (LOESS and performs a benchmarking intercomparison with four popular and generally applicable smoothing methods: Double Logistic (DLOG, smoothing spline (SSP, Interpolation for Data Reconstruction (IDR and adaptive Savitzky-Golay (ASG. This paper evaluates the main advantages and drawbacks of the considered techniques. The results have shown that ASG and the adapted LOESS perform better in recovering fAPAR time series over multiple controlled noisy scenarios. Both methods can robustly reconstruct the fAPAR trajectories, reducing the noise up to 80% in the worst simulation scenario, which might be attributed to the quality control (QC MODIS information incorporated into these filtering algorithms, their flexibility and adaptation to the upper envelope. The adapted LOESS is particularly resistant to outliers. This method clearly outperforms the other considered methods to deal with the high presence of gaps and noise in satellite data records. The low RMSE and biases obtained with the LOESS method (|rMBE| < 8%; rRMSE < 20% reveals an optimal reconstruction even in most extreme situations with long seasonal gaps. An example of application of the LOESS method to fill in invalid values in real MODIS images presenting persistent cloud and snow coverage is also shown. The LOESS approach is recommended in most remote sensing applications, such as gap-filling, cloud-replacement, and observing temporal

The Progenitors of Local Ultra-massive Galaxies Across Cosmic Time

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marchesini, Danilo; Muzzin, Adam; Stefanon, Mauro

2014-01-01

in age of $z=0$ UMGs as derived from their fossil records. The progenitors of local UMGs, including the star-forming ones, never lived on the blue cloud since $z=3$. We propose an alternative path for the formation of local UMGs that refines previously proposed pictures and that is fully consistent......-forming galaxies progressively increases, with the progenitors at $2z 1$, whereas the remaining was assembled via merging from $z\\sim 1$ to the present. Most of the quenching of the star-forming progenitors happened between $z=2.75$ and $z=1.25$, in good agreement with the typical formation redshift and scatter...

When Gravity Fails: Local Search Topology

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, Jeremy; Cheeseman, Peter; Stutz, John; Lau, Sonie (Technical Monitor)

1997-01-01

Local search algorithms for combinatorial search problems frequently encounter a sequence of states in which it is impossible to improve the value of the objective function; moves through these regions, called {\\em plateau moves), dominate the time spent in local search. We analyze and characterize {\\em plateaus) for three different classes of randomly generated Boolean Satisfiability problems. We identify several interesting features of plateaus that impact the performance of local search algorithms. We show that local minima tend to be small but occasionally may be very large. We also show that local minima can be escaped without unsatisfying a large number of clauses, but that systematically searching for an escape route may be computationally expensive if the local minimum is large. We show that plateaus with exits, called benches, tend to be much larger than minima, and that some benches have very few exit states which local search can use to escape. We show that the solutions (i.e. global minima) of randomly generated problem instances form clusters, which behave similarly to local minima. We revisit several enhancements of local search algorithms and explain their performance in light of our results. Finally we discuss strategies for creating the next generation of local search algorithms.

Large volume unresectable locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer: acute toxicity and initial outcome results with rapid arc

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fogliata Antonella

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background To report acute toxicity, initial outcome results and planning therapeutic parameters in radiation treatment of advanced lung cancer (stage III with volumetric modulated arcs using RapidArc (RA. Methods Twenty-four consecutive patients were treated with RA. All showed locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer with stage IIIA-IIIB and with large volumes (GTV:299 ± 175 cm3, PTV:818 ± 206 cm3. Dose prescription was 66Gy in 33 fractions to mean PTV. Delivery was performed with two partial arcs with a 6 MV photon beam. Results From a dosimetric point of view, RA allowed us to respect most planning objectives on target volumes and organs at risk. In particular: for GTV D1% = 105.6 ± 1.7%, D99% = 96.7 ± 1.8%, D5%-D95% = 6.3 ± 1.4%; contra-lateral lung mean dose resulted in 13.7 ± 3.9Gy, for spinal cord D1% = 39.5 ± 4.0Gy, for heart V45Gy = 9.0 ± 7.0Gy, for esophagus D1% = 67.4 ± 2.2Gy. Delivery time was 133 ± 7s. At three months partial remission > 50% was observed in 56% of patients. Acute toxicities at 3 months showed 91% with grade 1 and 9% with grade 2 esophageal toxicity; 18% presented grade 1 and 9% with grade 2 pneumonia; no grade 3 acute toxicity was observed. The short follow-up does not allow assessment of local control and progression free survival. Conclusions RA proved to be a safe and advantageous treatment modality for NSCLC with large volumes. Long term observation of patients is needed to assess outcome and late toxicity.

Efficient Topological Localization Using Global and Local Feature Matching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junqiu Wang

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We present an efficient vision-based global topological localization approach in which different image features are used in a coarse-to-fine matching framework. Orientation Adjacency Coherence Histogram (OACH, a novel image feature, is proposed to improve the coarse localization. The coarse localization results are taken as inputs for the fine localization which is carried out by matching Harris-Laplace interest points characterized by the SIFT descriptor. The computation of OACHs and interest points is efficient due to the fact that these features are computed in an integrated process. The matching of local features is improved by using approximate nearest neighbor searching technique. We have implemented and tested the localization system in real environments. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach is efficient and reliable in both indoor and outdoor environments. This work has also been compared with previous works. The comparison results show that our approach has better performance with higher correct ratio and lower computational complexity.

Faster onset time of supraclavicular brachial plexus block using local anesthetic diluted with dextrose.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Hong Jin; Hasan, Mohd Shahnaz; Chinna, Karuthan

2016-01-01

A high sodium concentration is known to antagonize local anesthetics when infiltrated around neural tissue. Thus, we hypothesized that the onset time for sensory and motor blockade, in supraclavicular brachial plexus block using ropivacaine diluted with dextrose would be shorter than with saline. Patients scheduled for upper limb surgery were randomized to receive ultrasound guided supraclavicular brachial plexus block with 0.5% ropivacaine. Evaluation of sensory and motor blockade was performed every 5min for 60min. Patients were followed-up on postoperative day 1, and between days 7 and 10 for the presence of any complications. Twenty-five patients in each group were analyzed. Mean time for onset of analgesia for the dextrose group was 37.6±12.9min while the mean time for the saline group was 45.2±13.9min with a p-value of 0.05. The effect size was 0.567, which was moderate to large. No major complications were observed. We conclude that there was a decrease in onset time of analgesia when dextrose was used as a diluent instead of saline for ultrasound guided supraclavicular block. Copyright © 2015 Sociedade Brasileira de Anestesiologia. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.

A new method to detect transitory signatures and local time/space variability structures in the climate system: the scale-dependent correlation analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Rodó, Xavier; Rodríguez-Arias, Miquel-Àngel

2006-10-01

The study of transitory signals and local variability structures in both/either time and space and their role as sources of climatic memory, is an important but often neglected topic in climate research despite its obvious importance and extensive coverage in the literature. Transitory signals arise either from non-linearities, in the climate system, transitory atmosphere-ocean couplings, and other processes in the climate system evolving after a critical threshold is crossed. These temporary interactions that, though intense, may not last long, can be responsible for a large amount of unexplained variability but are normally considered of limited relevance and often, discarded. With most of the current techniques at hand these typology of signatures are difficult to isolate because the low signal-to-noise ratio in midlatitudes, the limited recurrence of the transitory signals during a customary interval of data considered. Also, there is often a serious problem arising from the smoothing of local or transitory processes if statistical techniques are applied, that consider all the length of data available, rather than taking into account the size of the specific variability structure under investigation. Scale-dependent correlation (SDC) analysis is a new statistical method capable of highlighting the presence of transitory processes, these former being understood as temporary significant lag-dependent autocovariance in a single series, or covariance structures between two series. This approach, therefore, complements other approaches such as those resulting from the families of wavelet analysis, singular-spectrum analysis and recurrence plots. A main feature of SDC is its high-performance for short time series, its ability to characterize phase-relationships and thresholds in the bivariate domain. Ultimately, SDC helps tracking short-lagged relationships among processes that locally or temporarily couple and uncouple. The use of SDC is illustrated in the present

Enhanced localized fluorescence in plasmonic nanoantennae

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bakker, R.M.; Yuan, H.-K.; Liu, Z.

2008-01-01

in fluorescence that reaches 100 times enhancement. Near-field excitation shows enhanced fluorescence from a single nanoantenna localized in a subwavelength area of similar to 0.15 mu m(2). The polarization of enhanced emission is along the main antenna axis. These observed experimental results are important...

A variable-order time-dependent neutron transport method for nuclear reactor kinetics using analytically-integrated space-time characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, A. J.; Lee, J. C.

2013-01-01

A new time-dependent neutron transport method based on the method of characteristics (MOC) has been developed. Whereas most spatial kinetics methods treat time dependence through temporal discretization, this new method treats time dependence by defining the characteristics to span space and time. In this implementation regions are defined in space-time where the thickness of the region in time fulfills an analogous role to the time step in discretized methods. The time dependence of the local source is approximated using a truncated Taylor series expansion with high order derivatives approximated using backward differences, permitting the solution of the resulting space-time characteristic equation. To avoid a drastic increase in computational expense and memory requirements due to solving many discrete characteristics in the space-time planes, the temporal variation of the boundary source is similarly approximated. This allows the characteristics in the space-time plane to be represented analytically rather than discretely, resulting in an algorithm comparable in implementation and expense to one that arises from conventional time integration techniques. Furthermore, by defining the boundary flux time derivative in terms of the preceding local source time derivative and boundary flux time derivative, the need to store angularly-dependent data is avoided without approximating the angular dependence of the angular flux time derivative. The accuracy of this method is assessed through implementation in the neutron transport code DeCART. The method is employed with variable-order local source representation to model a TWIGL transient. The results demonstrate that this method is accurate and more efficient than the discretized method. (authors)

High dose rate interstitial brachytherapy with external beam irradiation for localized prostate cancer. Preliminary results

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hiratsuka, Junichi; Jo, Yoshimasa; Yoden, Eisaku; Tanaka, Hiroyoshi; Imajo, Yoshinari [Kawasaki Medical School, Kurashiki, Okayama (Japan); Nagase, Naomi; Narihiro, Naomasa; Kubota, Juichi

2000-12-01

This study was undertaken to assess the biochemical and pathological results of combined external beam radiotherapy and high dose rate Ir-192 brachytherapy (HDR-Ir192) for clinically localized prostate cancer. Between October 1997 and August 1999, 39 evaluable patients with adenocarcinoma of prostate diagnosed by biopsy were treated with interstitial and external beam irradiation. Patients ranged in age from 58-82 years, with a mean of 69.7 years. T1c, T2 and T3 tumors, according to the UICC classification system (1997), were found in 7, 21 and 11 cases respectively. The mean initial pre-treatment PSA was 35.9 ng/ml (median 13.2), with 77% of the patients having had a pre-treatment PSA greater than 10 ng/ml. Of all patients, 17 had received pre-treatment hormonal therapy. Hormonal pretreatment was stopped at the beginning of radiotherapy in all cases. External beam four-field box irradiation was given to the small pelvis to a dose of 45 Gy/25 fractions. Three HDR-Ir192 treatments were given over a 30-h period, with 5.5 Gy per fraction at the circumference of the prostate gland over the course of this study. Biochemical failure was defined as a PSA level >1.5 ng/ml and rising on three consecutive values. If serial post-treatment PSA levels showed a continuous downward trend, failure was not scored. The patient with clinical evidence of progression was classified as a clinical failure. The median follow-up at the time of evaluation was 19.6 months. A post-treatment PSA level {<=}1.0 ng/ml was seen in 26 (67%) patients, and values from >1.0 to {<=}2.0 ng/ml were seen in 10 (26%) patients. Biochemical failure was not seen in 38 patients except for one patient who developed a distant bone metastasis with negative prostatic biopsy 15 months after treatment. Biochemical control rate was 100% (38/38) except for the patient with bone metastasis classified as clinical failure. Negative biopsies 18 months after treatment were found in 93% (14/15) of patients. Only one patient

Universal corrections to entanglement entropy of local quantum quenches

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

David, Justin R.; Khetrapal, Surbhi [Centre for High Energy Physics, Indian Institute of Science,C.V. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 560012 (India); Kumar, S. Prem [Department of Physics, Swansea University,Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP (United Kingdom)

2016-08-22

We study the time evolution of single interval Rényi and entanglement entropies following local quantum quenches in two dimensional conformal field theories at finite temperature for which the locally excited states have a finite temporal width ϵ. We show that, for local quenches produced by the action of a conformal primary field, the time dependence of Rényi and entanglement entropies at order ϵ{sup 2} is universal. It is determined by the expectation value of the stress tensor in the replica geometry and proportional to the conformal dimension of the primary field generating the local excitation. We also show that in CFTs with a gravity dual, the ϵ{sup 2} correction to the holographic entanglement entropy following a local quench precisely agrees with the CFT prediction. We then consider CFTs admitting a higher spin symmetry and turn on a higher spin chemical potential μ. We calculate the time dependence of the order ϵ{sup 2} correction to the entanglement entropy for small μ, and show that the contribution at order μ{sup 2} is universal. We verify our arguments against exact results for minimal models and the free fermion theory.

Local time variations of the middle atmosphere of Venus: Solar-related structures

Science.gov (United States)

Zasova, L.; Khatountsev, I. V.; Ignatiev, N. I.; Moroz, V. I.

Three-dimensional fields (latitude — altitude — local time) of temperature and aerosol in the upper clouds, obtained from the Venera-15 IR spectrometry data, were studied to search for the solar-related structures. The temperature variation at the isobaric levels vs. solar longitude was presented as a superposition of the cosines with periods of 1, 1/2, 1/3 and 1/4 Venusian days. At low latitudes the diurnal tidal component reaches a maximum above 0.2 mb (92km) level. At high latitudes it dominates at P> 50 mb (68 km) in the cold collar, being roughly twice as much as the semidiurnal one and passing through the maximum of 13 K at 400 mb (57 km). The semidiurnal tidal amplitude exceeds the diurnal one below 90 km (where its maximum locates near 83 km), and also in the upper clouds, above 58 km. At low latitudes the 1/3 days component predominates at 10 - 50 mb (68-76 km). In the upper clouds, where most of the solar energy, absorbed in the middle atmosphere, deposits, all four tidal components, including wavenumbers 3 and 4, have significant amplitudes. A position of the upper boundary of the clouds depends on local time in such a way that the lowest height of the clouds is observed in the morning at all selected latitude ranges. At low latitudes the highest position of the upper boundary of the clouds (at 1218 cm -1) is found at 8 - 9 PM, whereas the lowest one is near the morning terminator. At high latitudes the lowest position of the upper boundary of the clouds shifts towards the dayside being at 10:30 AM at 75° in the cold collar and the highest one shifts to 4 PM. The zonal mean altitude of the upper boundary of the clouds decreases from 69 km at 15° to 59 km at 75°. The diurnal tidal component has the highest amplitude in the cold collar (1.5 km). At low latitudes both amplitudes, diurnal and semidiurnal, reach the values 0.8 - 1 km.

Detailed Dayside Auroral Morphology as a Function of Local Time for southeast IMF Orientation: Implications for Solar Wind-Magnetosphere Coupling

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Sandholt, P. E; Farrugia, C. J; Denig, W. F

2004-01-01

...:00 magnetic local time (MLT) and discuss the relationship of this structure to solar wind-magnetosphere interconnection topology and the different stages of evolution of open field lines in the Dungey convection cycle...

Effective representation of amide III, II, I, and A modes on local vibrational modes: Analysis of ab initio quantum calculation results.

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Seungsoo

2016-10-28

The Hamiltonian matrix for the first excited vibrational states of a protein can be effectively represented by local vibrational modes constituting amide III, II, I, and A modes to simulate various vibrational spectra. Methods for obtaining the Hamiltonian matrix from ab initio quantum calculation results are discussed, where the methods consist of three steps: selection of local vibrational mode coordinates, calculation of a reduced Hessian matrix, and extraction of the Hamiltonian matrix from the Hessian matrix. We introduce several methods for each step. The methods were assessed based on the density functional theory calculation results of 24 oligopeptides with four different peptide lengths and six different secondary structures. The completeness of a Hamiltonian matrix represented in the reduced local mode space is improved by adopting a specific atom group for each amide mode and reducing the effect of ignored local modes. The calculation results are also compared to previous models using C=O stretching vibration and transition dipole couplings. We found that local electric transition dipole moments of the amide modes are mainly bound on the local peptide planes. Their direction and magnitude are well conserved except amide A modes, which show large variation. Contrary to amide I modes, the vibrational coupling constants of amide III, II, and A modes obtained by analysis of a dipeptide are not transferable to oligopeptides with the same secondary conformation because coupling constants are affected by the surrounding atomic environment.

Local Sabahans’ Satisfaction with Level of Access to Mount Kinabalu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bidder Christy

2014-01-01

Full Text Available This study analyzes the local Sabahans’ satisfaction with the level of access to Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Specifically, it examines the number of complaints by local Sabahans regarding access and their perception of changes in accessibility to the mountain. Interviews with Sabah Parks and Sutera Sanctuary Lodges were conducted and questionnaires were distributed to local residents to collect data. The results show that there were intense complaints regarding the climbing cost and extensive waiting time to secure a confirmed booking at the outset of price increases. However, the researchers could not locate any recently published complaints. Respondents who have previously climbed Mount Kinabalu perceive the mountain to be less accessible for local Sabahans now due to a less affordable cost and a longer waiting time. Those who have not climbed Mount Kinabalu also think the climbing cost has become less affordable for local Sabahans, but they do not perceive that to be causing the mountain less accessible for local Sabahans.

Application of empirical mode decomposition with local linear quantile regression in financial time series forecasting.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaber, Abobaker M; Ismail, Mohd Tahir; Altaher, Alsaidi M

2014-01-01

This paper mainly forecasts the daily closing price of stock markets. We propose a two-stage technique that combines the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) with nonparametric methods of local linear quantile (LLQ). We use the proposed technique, EMD-LLQ, to forecast two stock index time series. Detailed experiments are implemented for the proposed method, in which EMD-LPQ, EMD, and Holt-Winter methods are compared. The proposed EMD-LPQ model is determined to be superior to the EMD and Holt-Winter methods in predicting the stock closing prices.

A method to derive fixed budget results from expected optimisation times

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Doerr, Benjamin; Jansen, Thomas; Witt, Carsten

2013-01-01

At last year's GECCO a novel perspective for theoretical performance analysis of evolutionary algorithms and other randomised search heuristics was introduced that concentrates on the expected function value after a pre-defined number of steps, called budget. This is significantly different from...... the common perspective where the expected optimisation time is analysed. While there is a huge body of work and a large collection of tools for the analysis of the expected optimisation time the new fixed budget perspective introduces new analytical challenges. Here it is shown how results on the expected...... optimisation time that are strengthened by deviation bounds can be systematically turned into fixed budget results. We demonstrate our approach by considering the (1+1) EA on LeadingOnes and significantly improving previous results. We prove that deviating from the expected time by an additive term of ω(n3...

Effect of incubation time of sago (metroxylon sago) waste by local microorganism ″ginta″ on ph, crude protein, and crude fiber content

Science.gov (United States)

Ginting, Nurzainah; Pase, E.

2018-03-01

This study aims to examine the effect of incubation times of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” to the crude protein and crude fiber content in relation to finding a cheap and good quality ruminants feed alternative. Incubation times were 0 hours to 144 hours. The data obtained were analyzed using Completely Randomize Design consisting of seven treatments and three replications. The result showed that the duration of incubation of sago waste by local microorganism (MOL) “Ginta” caused pH reduction, improved crude protein and crude fiber content. pH reduction was from 7.03 at 0 hour to 4.05 at 144 hours incubation. The highest increased in crude protein was H6U3 (5.58%) : 144 hours incubation and the lowest was H0U2 (3.22%) : 0 hour incubation while the highest crude fiber was H0U1 (19.99%) : 0 hour incubation and the lowest was H6U3 (18.23%) : 144 hours incubation. It can be concluded that incubation of sago waste triggered lower pH, higher crude protein and lower crude fiber than uninoculated. A recommendation could be given on using MOL ‘Ginta” in order to produce a cheap and good quality ruminans feed alternative.

Advanced design of local ventilation systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kulmala, I. [VTT Manufacturing Technology, Espoo (Finland). Safety Technology

1997-12-31

Local ventilation is widely used in industry for controlling airborne contaminants. However, the present design practices of local ventilation systems are mainly based on empirical equations and do not take quantitatively into account the various factors affecting the performance of these systems. The aim of this study was to determine the applicability and limitations of more advanced fluid mechanical methods to the design and development of local ventilation systems. The most important factors affecting the performance of local ventilation systems were determined and their effect was studied in a systematic manner. The numerical calculations were made with the FLUENT computer code and they were verified by laboratory experiments, previous measurements or analytical solutions. The results proved that the numerical calculations can provide a realistic simulation of exhaust openings, effects of ambient air flows and wake regions. The experiences with the low-velocity local supply air showed that these systems can also be modelled fairly well. The results were used to improve the efficiency and thermal comfort of a local ventilation unit and to increase the effective control range of exhaust hoods. In the simulation of the interaction of a hot buoyant source and local exhaust, the predicted capture efficiencies were clearly higher than those observed experimentally. The deviations between measurements and non-isothermal flow calculations may have partly been caused by the inability to achieve grid independent solutions. CFD simulations is an advanced and flexible tool for designing and developing local ventilation. The simulations can provide insight into the time-averaged flow field which may assist us in understanding the observed phenomena and to explain experimental results. However, for successful calculations the applicability and limitations of the models must be known. (orig.) 78 refs.

A non-contact time-domain scanning brain imaging system: first in-vivo results

Science.gov (United States)

Mazurenka, M.; Di Sieno, L.; Boso, G.; Contini, D.; Pifferi, A.; Dalla Mora, A.; Tosi, A.; Wabnitz, H.; Macdonald, R.

2013-06-01

We present results of first in-vivo tests of an optical non-contact scanning imaging system, intended to study oxidative metabolism related processes in biological tissue by means of time-resolved near-infrared spectroscopy. Our method is a novel realization of the short source-detector separation approach and based on a fast-gated single-photon avalanche diode to detect late photons only. The scanning system is built in quasi-confocal configuration and utilizes polarizationsensitive detection. It scans an area of 4×4 cm2, recording images with 32×32 pixels, thus creating a high density of source-detector pairs. To test the system we performed a range of in vivo measurements of hemodynamic changes in several types of biological tissues, i.e. skin (Valsalva maneuver), muscle (venous and arterial occlusions) and brain (motor and cognitive tasks). Task-related changes in hemoglobin concentrations were clearly detected in skin and muscle. The brain activation shows weaker, but yet detectable changes. These changes were localized in pixels near the motor cortex area (C3). However, it was found that even very short hair substantially impairs the measurement. Thus the applicability of the scanner is limited to hairless parts of body. The results of our first in-vivo tests prove the feasibility of non-contact scanning imaging as a first step towards development of a prototype for biological tissue imaging for various medical applications.

Search-free license plate localization based on saliency and local variance estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Safaei, Amin; Tang, H. L.; Sanei, S.

2015-02-01

In recent years, the performance and accuracy of automatic license plate number recognition (ALPR) systems have greatly improved, however the increasing number of applications for such systems have made ALPR research more challenging than ever. The inherent computational complexity of search dependent algorithms remains a major problem for current ALPR systems. This paper proposes a novel search-free method of localization based on the estimation of saliency and local variance. Gabor functions are then used to validate the choice of candidate license plate. The algorithm was applied to three image datasets with different levels of complexity and the results compared with a number of benchmark methods, particularly in terms of speed. The proposed method outperforms the state of the art methods and can be used for real time applications.

A New Local Bipolar Autoassociative Memory Based on External Inputs of Discrete Recurrent Neural Networks With Time Delay.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Caigen; Zeng, Xiaoqin; Luo, Chaomin; Zhang, Huaguang

In this paper, local bipolar auto-associative memories are presented based on discrete recurrent neural networks with a class of gain type activation function. The weight parameters of neural networks are acquired by a set of inequalities without the learning procedure. The global exponential stability criteria are established to ensure the accuracy of the restored patterns by considering time delays and external inputs. The proposed methodology is capable of effectively overcoming spurious memory patterns and achieving memory capacity. The effectiveness, robustness, and fault-tolerant capability are validated by simulated experiments.In this paper, local bipolar auto-associative memories are presented based on discrete recurrent neural networks with a class of gain type activation function. The weight parameters of neural networks are acquired by a set of inequalities without the learning procedure. The global exponential stability criteria are established to ensure the accuracy of the restored patterns by considering time delays and external inputs. The proposed methodology is capable of effectively overcoming spurious memory patterns and achieving memory capacity. The effectiveness, robustness, and fault-tolerant capability are validated by simulated experiments.

The Surface Energy Balance at Local and Regional Scales-A Comparison of General Circulation Model Results with Observations.

Science.gov (United States)

Garratt, J. R.; Krummel, P. B.; Kowalczyk, E. A.

1993-06-01

Aspects of the mean monthly energy balance at continental surfaces are examined by appeal to the results of general circulation model (GCM) simulations, climatological maps of surface fluxes, and direct observations. Emphasis is placed on net radiation and evaporation for (i) five continental regions (each approximately 20°×150°) within Africa, Australia, Eurasia, South America, and the United States; (ii) a number of continental sites in both hemispheres. Both the mean monthly values of the local and regional fluxes and the mean monthly diurnal cycles of the local fluxes are described. Mostly, GCMs tend to overestimate the mean monthly levels of net radiation by about 15% -20% on an annual basis, for observed annual values in the range 50 to 100 Wm2. This is probably the result of several deficiencies, including (i) continental surface albedos being undervalued in a number of the models, resulting in overestimates of the net shortwave flux at the surface (though this deficiency is steadily being addressed by modelers); (ii) incoming shortwave fluxes being overestimated due to uncertainties in cloud schemes and clear-sky absorption; (iii) land-surface temperatures being under-estimated resulting in an underestimate of the outgoing longwave flux. In contrast, and even allowing for the poor observational base for evaporation, there is no obvious overall bias in mean monthly levels of evaporation determined in GCMS, with one or two exceptions. Rather, and far more so than with net radiation, there is a wide range in values of evaporation for all regions investigated. For continental regions and at times of the year of low to moderate rainfall, there is a tendency for the simulated evaporation to be closely related to the precipitation-this is not surprising. In contrast, for regions where there is sufficient or excessive rainfall, the evaporation tends to follow the behavior of the net radiation. Again, this is not surprising given the close relation between

Performance Analysis of Local Ensemble Kalman Filter

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Xin T.

2018-03-01

Ensemble Kalman filter (EnKF) is an important data assimilation method for high-dimensional geophysical systems. Efficient implementation of EnKF in practice often involves the localization technique, which updates each component using only information within a local radius. This paper rigorously analyzes the local EnKF (LEnKF) for linear systems and shows that the filter error can be dominated by the ensemble covariance, as long as (1) the sample size exceeds the logarithmic of state dimension and a constant that depends only on the local radius; (2) the forecast covariance matrix admits a stable localized structure. In particular, this indicates that with small system and observation noises, the filter error will be accurate in long time even if the initialization is not. The analysis also reveals an intrinsic inconsistency caused by the localization technique, and a stable localized structure is necessary to control this inconsistency. While this structure is usually taken for granted for the operation of LEnKF, it can also be rigorously proved for linear systems with sparse local observations and weak local interactions. These theoretical results are also validated by numerical implementation of LEnKF on a simple stochastic turbulence in two dynamical regimes.

Carbon ion radiotherapy for localized primary sarcoma of the extremities: Results of a phase I/II trial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugahara, Shinji; Kamada, Tadashi; Imai, Reiko; Tsuji, Hiroshi; Kameda, Noriaki; Okada, Tohru; Tsujii, Hirohiko; Tatezaki, Shinichirou

2012-01-01

Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of carbon ion radiotherapy (CIRT) for localized primary sarcomas of the extremities in a prospective study. Patients and materials: From April 2000 to May 2010, 17 (male/female: 12/5) patients with localized primary sarcoma of the extremities received CIRT. The median age was 53 years (range: 14–87 years). Nine patients had primary diseases and eight had recurrent diseases. Of the 17 patients, eight refused amputation, and the remaining nine refused surgical resection. Tumors were located in the upper limbs in four patients and lower limbs in 13. Histological diagnosis was osteosarcoma in three patients, liposarcoma in two, synovial sarcoma in two, rhabdomyosarcoma in two, pleomorphic sarcoma in two, and miscellaneous in six. The CIRT dose to the limb was 52.8 GyE for one patient, 64 GyE for three, 70.4 GyE for 13 in 16 fixed fractions over 4 weeks. Records were reviewed and outcomes including radiologic response, local control (progression-free), and survival were analyzed. Results: The median follow-up was 37 months (range: 11–97 months). Radiological response rate was 65% (PR in 11, SD in 5, and PD in 1). The local control rate at 5 years was 76%. The overall survival rate at 5 years was 56%. Of the 17 patients, 10 survived without disease progression. Four patients had local recurrences, one was salvaged by repeated CIRT and the other three died due to systemic diseases. Distant failure was observed in six patients. One patient suffered from femoral fracture (grade 3) and received surgical fixation 27 months after CIRT. No other severe reactions (grade 3) were observed. Conclusions: CIRT is suggested to be an effective and safe treatment for patients who refuse surgery for localized primary sarcomas of the extremities.

Results of clinical approbation of new local treatment method in the complex therapy of inflammatory parodontium diseases

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu. G. Romanova

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Treatment and prevention of inflammatory diseases of parodontium are one of the most difficult problems in stomatology today. Purpose of research: estimation of clinical efficiency of local combined application of developed agent apigel for oral cavity care and low-frequency electromagnetic field magnetotherapy at treatment of inflammatory diseases of parodontium. Materials and methods: 46 patients with chronic generalized catarrhal gingivitis and chronic generalized periodontitis of 1st degree were included into the study. Patients were divided into 2 groups depending on treatment management: basic (n = 23 and control (n = 23. Conventional treatment with the local use of the dental gel with camomile was used in the control group. Patients of the basic group were treated with local combined application of apigel and magnetotherapy. Efficiency was estimated with clinical, laboratory, microbiological and functional (ultrasonic Doppler examination methods of examination. Results: The application of the apigel and pulsating electromagnetic field in the complex medical treatment of patients with chronic generalized periodontitis (GhGP caused positive changes in clinical symptom and condition of parodontal tissues, that was accompanied by decline of hygienic and parodontal indexes. As compared with patients who had traditional anti-inflammatory therapy, patients who were treated with local application of apigel and magnetoterapy had decline of edema incidence. It was revealed that decrease of the pain correlated with improvement of hygienic condition of oral cavity and promoted prevention of bacterial contamination of damaged mucous membranes. Estimation of microvasculatory blood stream with the method of ultrasonic doppler flowmetry revealed more rapid normalization of volume and linear high systole, speed of blood stream in the parodontal tissues in case of use of new complex local method. Conclusions: Effect of the developed local agent in patients

Global/local methods for probabilistic structural analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Millwater, H. R.; Wu, Y.-T.

1993-04-01

A probabilistic global/local method is proposed to reduce the computational requirements of probabilistic structural analysis. A coarser global model is used for most of the computations with a local more refined model used only at key probabilistic conditions. The global model is used to establish the cumulative distribution function (cdf) and the Most Probable Point (MPP). The local model then uses the predicted MPP to adjust the cdf value. The global/local method is used within the advanced mean value probabilistic algorithm. The local model can be more refined with respect to the g1obal model in terms of finer mesh, smaller time step, tighter tolerances, etc. and can be used with linear or nonlinear models. The basis for this approach is described in terms of the correlation between the global and local models which can be estimated from the global and local MPPs. A numerical example is presented using the NESSUS probabilistic structural analysis program with the finite element method used for the structural modeling. The results clearly indicate a significant computer savings with minimal loss in accuracy.

Gamma-Ray Burst Arrival Time Localizations: Simultaneous Observations by Pioneer Venus Orbiter, Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory, and Ulysses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laros, J.G.; Hurley, K.C.; Fenimore, E.E.; Klebesadel, R.W.; Briggs, M.S.; Kouveliotou, C.; McCollough, M.L.; Fishman, G.J.; Meegan, C.A.; Cline, T.L.; Boer, M.; Niel, M.

1998-01-01

Between the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory (CGRO) launch in 1991 April and the Pioneer Venus Orbiter (PVO) demise in 1992 October, concurrent coverage by CGRO, PVO, and Ulysses was obtained for several hundred gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). Although most of these were below the PVO and Ulysses thresholds, 37 were positively detected by all three spacecraft, with data quality adequate for quantitative localization analysis. All were localized independently to ∼2 degree accuracy by the CGRO Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), and three were also localized by COMPTEL. We computed arrival-time error boxes, whose larger dimensions range from about 2' to several degrees and whose smaller dimensions are in the arcminute range. Twelve have areas less than 10 arcmin 2 , and only four have areas greater than 1 deg 2 . The area of the smallest box is 0.44 arcmin 2 . We find that the overall BATSE localization accuracy for these events is consistent with the most recent stated uncertainties. This work indicates that the ROSAT soft X-ray source found within a preliminary IPN error box for GB920501 (Trig 1576) (Hurley et al.) is less likely to be the GRB counterpart than previously reported. copyright copyright 1998. The American Astronomical Society

Localized surface plasmon resonance in silver nanoparticles: Atomistic first-principles time-dependent density-functional theory calculations

OpenAIRE

Kuisma, Mikael; Sakko, Arto; Rossi, Tuomas P.; Larsen, Ask H.; Enkovaara, Jussi; Lehtovaara, Lauri; Rantala, Tapio T.

2015-01-01

We observe using ab initio methods that localized surface plasmon resonances in icosahedral silver nanoparticles enter the asymptotic region already between diameters of 1 and 2 nm, converging close to the classical quasistatic limit around 3.4 eV. We base the observation on time-dependent density-functional theory simulations of the icosahedral silver clusters Ag$_{55}$ (1.06 nm), Ag$_{147}$ (1.60 nm), Ag$_{309}$ (2.14 nm), and Ag$_{561}$ (2.68 nm). The simulation method combines the adiabat...

Disturbance alters local-regional richness relationships in appalachian forests

Science.gov (United States)

Belote, R.T.; Sanders, N.J.; Jones, R.H.

2009-01-01

Whether biological diversity within communities is limited by local interactions or regional species pools remains an important question in ecology. In this paper, we investigate how an experimentally applied tree-harvesting disturbance gradient influenced local-regional richness relationships. Plant species richness was measured at three spatial scales (2 ha = regional; 576 m2 and 1 m2 = local) on three occasions (one year pre-disturbance, one year post-disturbance, and 10 years post-disturbance) across five disturbance treatments (uncut control through clearcut) replicated throughout the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA. We investigated whether species richness in 576-m2 plots and 1-m2 subplots depended on species richness in 2-ha experimental units and whether this relationship changed through time before and after canopy disturbance. We found that, before disturbance, the relationship between local and regional richness was weak or nonexistent. One year after disturbance local richness was a positive function of regional richness, because local sites were colonized from the regional species pool. Ten years after disturbance, the positive relationship persisted, but the slope had decreased by half. These results suggest that disturbance can set the stage for strong influences of regional species pools on local community assembly in temperate forests. However, as time since disturbance increases, local controls on community assembly decouple the relationships between regional and local diversity. ?? 2009 by the Ecological Society of America.

Strategy for Developing Local Chicken

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sofjan Iskandar

2006-12-01

Full Text Available Chicken industry in Indonesia offer jobs for people in the village areas . The balance in development industry of selected and local chicken has to be anticipated as there has been threat of reducing importation of grand parent stock of selected chicken due to global avian influenza . In the mean time, high appreciation to the local chicken has been shown by the existence of local chicken farms in the size of business scale . For local chicken business, the government has been built programs, projects, and infrastructures, although the programs and projects were dropped scattered in to several institutions, which were end up with less significant impact to the people. Therefore, it is the time that the government should put more efforts to integrate various sources . focusing in enhancing local chicken industry .

Travel time tomography with local image regularization by sparsity constrained dictionary learning

Science.gov (United States)

Bianco, M.; Gerstoft, P.

2017-12-01

We propose a regularization approach for 2D seismic travel time tomography which models small rectangular groups of slowness pixels, within an overall or `global' slowness image, as sparse linear combinations of atoms from a dictionary. The groups of slowness pixels are referred to as patches and a dictionary corresponds to a collection of functions or `atoms' describing the slowness in each patch. These functions could for example be wavelets.The patch regularization is incorporated into the global slowness image. The global image models the broad features, while the local patch images incorporate prior information from the dictionary. Further, high resolution slowness within patches is permitted if the travel times from the global estimates support it. The proposed approach is formulated as an algorithm, which is repeated until convergence is achieved: 1) From travel times, find the global slowness image with a minimum energy constraint on the pixel variance relative to a reference. 2) Find the patch level solutions to fit the global estimate as a sparse linear combination of dictionary atoms.3) Update the reference as the weighted average of the patch level solutions.This approach relies on the redundancy of the patches in the seismic image. Redundancy means that the patches are repetitions of a finite number of patterns, which are described by the dictionary atoms. Redundancy in the earth's structure was demonstrated in previous works in seismics where dictionaries of wavelet functions regularized inversion. We further exploit redundancy of the patches by using dictionary learning algorithms, a form of unsupervised machine learning, to estimate optimal dictionaries from the data in parallel with the inversion. We demonstrate our approach on densely, but irregularly sampled synthetic seismic images.

On the more accurate channel model and positioning based on time-of-arrival for visible light localization

Science.gov (United States)

Amini, Changeez; Taherpour, Abbas; Khattab, Tamer; Gazor, Saeed

2017-01-01

This paper presents an improved propagation channel model for the visible light in indoor environments. We employ this model to derive an enhanced positioning algorithm using on the relation between the time-of-arrivals (TOAs) and the distances for two cases either by assuming known or unknown transmitter and receiver vertical distances. We propose two estimators, namely the maximum likelihood estimator and an estimator by employing the method of moments. To have an evaluation basis for these methods, we calculate the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for the performance of the estimations. We show that the proposed model and estimations result in a superior performance in positioning when the transmitter and receiver are perfectly synchronized in comparison to the existing state-of-the-art counterparts. Moreover, the corresponding CRLB of the proposed model represents almost about 20 dB reduction in the localization error bound in comparison with the previous model for some practical scenarios.

Approach of simultaneous localization and mapping based on local maps for robot

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

CHEN Bai-fan; CAI Zi-xing; HU De-wen

2006-01-01

An extended Kalman filter approach of simultaneous localization and mapping(SLAM) was proposed based on local maps.A local frame of reference was established periodically at the position of the robot, and then the observations of the robot and landmarks were fused into the global frame of reference. Because of the independence of the local map, the approach does not cumulate the estimate and calculation errors which are produced by SLAM using Kalman filter directly. At the same time, it reduces the computational complexity. This method is proven correct and feasible in simulation experiments.

The impact of treatment time and smoking on local control and complications in T1 glottic cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voet, Johannes C.M. van der; Keus, Ronald B.; Hart, Augustinus A.M.; Hilgers, Frans J.M.; Bartelink, Harry

1998-01-01

Purpose: To define the optimal treatment regimen, patients with T1N0M0 glottic larynx carcinoma were treated with six different radiotherapy (RT) schedules. To assess the influence of patient characteristics, complication rates, and to evaluate the overall larynx preservation. Methods and Materials: Out of a consecutive series of 383 patients treated for T1N0M0 glottic larynx carcinoma between 1965 and 1992, 352 evaluable patients were treated with six different 'standard' fractionation schedules: 65 Gy (20 x 3.25 Gy), 62 Gy (20 x 3.1 Gy), 61.6 Gy (22 x 2.8 Gy), 60 Gy (25 x 2.4 Gy), 66 Gy (33 x 2 Gy) and 60 Gy (30 x 2 Gy). The median follow-up of all patients was 89 months. Patient factors analyzed included: age, sex, concurrent illness, smoking habits, tumor localization and extension, tumor differentiation, the effect of tumor biopsy or stripping of the vocal cord, and the presence of visible tumor at the start of radiotherapy. Treatment parameters evaluated were: year of treatment, beam energy, treatment planning, field size, fractionation schedule, fraction size, number of fractions, total dose, treatment time and treatment gap, the use of wedges, and neck diameter. Results: The overall 5-year actuarial locoregional control was 89%, varying between 83 and 93% for the different schedules. Univariately, local control decreased with increasing treatment time. This could not be explained by the confounding variables sex, tumor extension, and field length (p = 0.0065). Adjusted for these variables, 5-year local control percentage decreased from 95% (SE 2%) for 22-29 days to 79% (SE 6%) for treatment time ≥ 40 days. The overall complication rate (grade I-IV) at 5 years was 15.3%, and varied between the different schedules, from 7 to 17%. No relation was found between complications and treatment factors. Patients who continued smoking had a higher complication rate than those who never smoked or stopped smoking, univariately as well as adjusted for tumor extension

Time-dependent fiber bundles with local load sharing. II. General Weibull fibers.

Science.gov (United States)

Phoenix, S Leigh; Newman, William I

2009-12-01

Fiber bundle models (FBMs) are useful tools in understanding failure processes in a variety of material systems. While the fibers and load sharing assumptions are easily described, FBM analysis is typically difficult. Monte Carlo methods are also hampered by the severe computational demands of large bundle sizes, which overwhelm just as behavior relevant to real materials starts to emerge. For large size scales, interest continues in idealized FBMs that assume either equal load sharing (ELS) or local load sharing (LLS) among fibers, rules that reflect features of real load redistribution in elastic lattices. The present work focuses on a one-dimensional bundle of N fibers under LLS where life consumption in a fiber follows a power law in its load, with exponent rho , and integrated over time. This life consumption function is further embodied in a functional form resulting in a Weibull distribution for lifetime under constant fiber stress and with Weibull exponent, beta. Thus the failure rate of a fiber depends on its past load history, except for beta=1 . We develop asymptotic results validated by Monte Carlo simulation using a computational algorithm developed in our previous work [Phys. Rev. E 63, 021507 (2001)] that greatly increases the size, N , of treatable bundles (e.g., 10(6) fibers in 10(3) realizations). In particular, our algorithm is O(N ln N) in contrast with former algorithms which were O(N2) making this investigation possible. Regimes are found for (beta,rho) pairs that yield contrasting behavior for large N. For rho>1 and large N, brittle weakest volume behavior emerges in terms of characteristic elements (groupings of fibers) derived from critical cluster formation, and the lifetime eventually goes to zero as N-->infinity , unlike ELS, which yields a finite limiting mean. For 1/21 but with 0

Local supercluster phenomenon and its interpretation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fesenko, B.I.

1987-01-01

A mechanism by which even a small nonuniform interstellar extinction has an appreciable influence on the space covariance function of galaxies is described for the first time. The conjecture that the interstellar extinction is reduced at the equator of the Local Supercluster is tested. Although a negative result is obtained, there is evidence that at b ≥ 45 0 the influence of interstellar extinction on the distribution of the nearest galaxies is large. On the other hand, data on the distribution of the galaxies with respect to the Hubble distances and angular diameters do not indicate the existence of the Local Supercluster

Local duality for 2-dimensional local ring

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

dimensional complete local ring whose residue field is an n-dimensional local field in the sense of. Kato–Parshin. Our results generalize the Saito works in the case n = 0 and are applied to study the Bloch–Ogus complex for such rings in various cases.

Coherent density fluctuation model as a local-scale limit to ATDHF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antonov, A.N.; Petkov, I.Zh.; Stoitsov, M.V.

1985-04-01

The local scale transformation method is used for the construction of an Adiabatic Time-Dependent Hartree-Fock approach in terms of the local density distribution. The coherent density fluctuation relations of the model result in a particular case when the ''flucton'' local density is connected with the plane wave determinant model function be means of the local-scale coordinate transformation. The collective potential energy expression is obtained and its relation to the nuclear matter energy saturation curve is revealed. (author)

TreeMAC: Localized TDMA MAC protocol for real-time high-data-rate sensor networks

Science.gov (United States)

Song, W.-Z.; Huang, R.; Shirazi, B.; Husent, R.L.

2009-01-01

Earlier sensor network MAC protocols focus on energy conservation in low-duty cycle applications, while some recent applications involve real-time high-data-rate signals. This motivates us to design an innovative localized TDMA MAC protocol to achieve high throughput and low congestion in data collection sensor networks, besides energy conservation. TreeMAC divides a time cycle into frames and frame into slots. Parent determines children's frame assigmnent based on their relative bandwidth demand, and each node calculates its own slot assignment based on its hop-count to the sink. This innovative 2-dimensional frame-slot assignment algorithm has the following nice theory properties. Firstly, given any node, at any time slot, there is at most one active sender in its neighborhood (includ ing itself). Secondly, the packet scheduling with TreelMAC is bufferless, which therefore minimizes the probability of network congestion. Thirdly, the data throughput to gateway is at least 1/3 of the optimum assuming reliable links. Our experiments on a 24 node test bed demonstrate that TreeMAC protocol significantly improves network throughput and energy efficiency, by comparing to the TinyOS's default CSMA MAC protocol and a recent TDMA MAC protocol Funneling-MAC[8]. ?? 2009 IEEE.

Local/regional policies: Acting globally by thinking locally

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hillsman, E.L.

1991-01-01

Policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from present levels will require changes in local and regional decision making as well as decisions made at national and multinational scales. A number of cities and states have taken action to reduce emissions either directly or as a byproduct of solving local problems such as air quality. These initiatives represent a potential resource to be mobilized in national policy. A series of case studies is under way to understand the decision making involved and its implications, and to identify ways that national policy might support and benefit from local efforts. Preliminary results from the first of these case studies indicate that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may be greater when set as a direct target than when resulting as a byproduct of other local problem solving

Using Distant Sources in Local Seismic Tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Julian, Bruce; Foulgr, Gillian

2014-05-01

Seismic tomography methods such as the 'ACH' method of Aki, Christoffersson & Husebye (1976, 1977) are subject to significant bias caused by the unknown wave-speed structure outside the study volume, whose effects are mathematically of the same order as the local-structure effects being studied. Computational experiments using whole-mantle wave-speed models show that the effects are also of comparable numerical magnitude (Masson & Trampert, 1997). Failure to correct for these effects will significantly corrupt computed local structures. This bias can be greatly reduced by solving for additional parameters defining the shapes, orientations, and arrival times of the incident wavefronts. The procedure is exactly analogous to solving for hypocentral locations in local-earthquake tomography. For planar incident wavefronts, each event adds three free parameters and the forward problem is surprisingly simple: The first-order change in the theoretical arrival time at observation point B resulting from perturbations in the incident-wave time t0 and slowness vector s is δtB ≡ δt0 + δs · rA = δtA, the change in the time of the plane wave at the point A where the un-perturbed ray enters the study volume (Julian and Foulger, submitted). This consequence of Fermat's principle apparently has not previously been recognized. In addition to eliminating the biasing effect of structure outside the study volume, this formalism enables us to combine data from local and distant events in studies of local structure, significantly improving resolution of deeper structure, particularly in places such as volcanic and geothermal areas where seismicity is confined to shallow depths. Many published models that were derived using ACH and similar methods probably contain significant artifacts and are in need of re-evaluation.

Oscillator strengths, first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for local ADC(2)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schütz, Martin, E-mail: martin.schuetz@chemie.uni-regensburg.de [Institute of Physical and Theoretical Chemistry, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, D-93040 Regensburg (Germany)

2015-06-07

We describe theory and implementation of oscillator strengths, orbital-relaxed first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for the local algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme through second order. The formalism is derived via time-dependent linear response theory based on a second-order unitary coupled cluster model. The implementation presented here is a modification of our previously developed algorithms for Laplace transform based local time-dependent coupled cluster linear response (CC2LR); the local approximations thus are state specific and adaptive. The symmetry of the Jacobian leads to considerable simplifications relative to the local CC2LR method; as a result, a gradient evaluation is about four times less expensive. Test calculations show that in geometry optimizations, usually very similar geometries are obtained as with the local CC2LR method (provided that a second-order method is applicable). As an exemplary application, we performed geometry optimizations on the low-lying singlet states of chlorophyllide a.

Oscillator strengths, first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for local ADC(2).

Science.gov (United States)

Schütz, Martin

2015-06-07

We describe theory and implementation of oscillator strengths, orbital-relaxed first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for the local algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme through second order. The formalism is derived via time-dependent linear response theory based on a second-order unitary coupled cluster model. The implementation presented here is a modification of our previously developed algorithms for Laplace transform based local time-dependent coupled cluster linear response (CC2LR); the local approximations thus are state specific and adaptive. The symmetry of the Jacobian leads to considerable simplifications relative to the local CC2LR method; as a result, a gradient evaluation is about four times less expensive. Test calculations show that in geometry optimizations, usually very similar geometries are obtained as with the local CC2LR method (provided that a second-order method is applicable). As an exemplary application, we performed geometry optimizations on the low-lying singlet states of chlorophyllide a.

Oscillator strengths, first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for local ADC(2)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schütz, Martin

2015-01-01

We describe theory and implementation of oscillator strengths, orbital-relaxed first-order properties, and nuclear gradients for the local algebraic diagrammatic construction scheme through second order. The formalism is derived via time-dependent linear response theory based on a second-order unitary coupled cluster model. The implementation presented here is a modification of our previously developed algorithms for Laplace transform based local time-dependent coupled cluster linear response (CC2LR); the local approximations thus are state specific and adaptive. The symmetry of the Jacobian leads to considerable simplifications relative to the local CC2LR method; as a result, a gradient evaluation is about four times less expensive. Test calculations show that in geometry optimizations, usually very similar geometries are obtained as with the local CC2LR method (provided that a second-order method is applicable). As an exemplary application, we performed geometry optimizations on the low-lying singlet states of chlorophyllide a

Sound localization and occupational noise

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pedro de Lemos Menezes

2014-02-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the effects of occupational noise on sound localization in different spatial planes and frequencies among normal hearing firefighters. METHOD: A total of 29 adults with pure-tone hearing thresholds below 25 dB took part in the study. The participants were divided into a group of 19 firefighters exposed to occupational noise and a control group of 10 adults who were not exposed to such noise. All subjects were assigned a sound localization task involving 117 stimuli from 13 sound sources that were spatially distributed in horizontal, vertical, midsagittal and transverse planes. The three stimuli, which were square waves with fundamental frequencies of 500, 2,000 and 4,000 Hz, were presented at a sound level of 70 dB and were randomly repeated three times from each sound source. The angle between the speaker's axis in the same plane was 45°, and the distance to the subject was 1 m. RESULT: The results demonstrate that the sound localization ability of the firefighters was significantly lower (p<0.01 than that of the control group. CONCLUSION: Exposure to occupational noise, even when not resulting in hearing loss, may lead to a diminished ability to locate a sound source.

Optimization of Acquisition time of 68Ga-PSMA-Ligand PET/MRI in Patients with Local and Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Lütje, Susanne; Blex, Sebastian; Gomez, Benedikt; Schaarschmidt, Benedikt M; Umutlu, Lale; Forsting, Michael; Jentzen, Walter; Bockisch, Andreas; Poeppel, Thorsten D; Wetter, Axel

2016-01-01

The aim of this optimization study was to minimize the acquisition time of 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) in patients with local and metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) to obtain a sufficient image quality and quantification accuracy without any appreciable loss. Twenty patients with PCa were administered intravenously with the 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA ligand (mean activity 99 MBq/patient, range 76-148 MBq) and subsequently underwent PET/MRI at, on average, 168 min (range 77-320 min) after injection. PET and MR imaging data were acquired simultaneously. PET acquisition was performed in list mode and PET images were reconstructed at different time intervals (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 min). Data were analyzed regarding radiotracer uptake in tumors and muscle tissue and PET image quality. Tumor uptake was quantified in terms of the maximum and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmax, SUVmean) within a spherical volume of interest (VOI). Reference VOIs were drawn in the gluteus maximus muscle on the right side. PET image quality was evaluated by experienced nuclear physicians/radiologists using a five-point ordinal scale from 5-1 (excellent-insufficient). Lesion detectability linearly increased with increasing acquisition times, reaching its maximum at PET acquisition times of 4 min. At this image acquisition time, tumor lesions in 19/20 (95%) patients were detected. PET image quality showed a positive correlation with increasing acquisition time, reaching a plateau at 4-6 min image acquisition. Both SUVmax and SUVmean correlated inversely with acquisition time and reached a plateau at acquisition times after 4 min. In the applied image acquisition settings, the optimal acquisition time of 68Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/MRI in patients with local and metastatic PCa was identified to be 4 min per bed position. At this acquisition time, PET image quality and lesion detectability reach a maximum while SUVmax and SUVmean do not change

Optimization of Acquisition time of 68Ga-PSMA-Ligand PET/MRI in Patients with Local and Metastatic Prostate Cancer.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susanne Lütje

Full Text Available The aim of this optimization study was to minimize the acquisition time of 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI in patients with local and metastatic prostate cancer (PCa to obtain a sufficient image quality and quantification accuracy without any appreciable loss.Twenty patients with PCa were administered intravenously with the 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA ligand (mean activity 99 MBq/patient, range 76-148 MBq and subsequently underwent PET/MRI at, on average, 168 min (range 77-320 min after injection. PET and MR imaging data were acquired simultaneously. PET acquisition was performed in list mode and PET images were reconstructed at different time intervals (1, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10 min. Data were analyzed regarding radiotracer uptake in tumors and muscle tissue and PET image quality. Tumor uptake was quantified in terms of the maximum and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmax, SUVmean within a spherical volume of interest (VOI. Reference VOIs were drawn in the gluteus maximus muscle on the right side. PET image quality was evaluated by experienced nuclear physicians/radiologists using a five-point ordinal scale from 5-1 (excellent-insufficient.Lesion detectability linearly increased with increasing acquisition times, reaching its maximum at PET acquisition times of 4 min. At this image acquisition time, tumor lesions in 19/20 (95% patients were detected. PET image quality showed a positive correlation with increasing acquisition time, reaching a plateau at 4-6 min image acquisition. Both SUVmax and SUVmean correlated inversely with acquisition time and reached a plateau at acquisition times after 4 min.In the applied image acquisition settings, the optimal acquisition time of 68Ga-PSMA-ligand PET/MRI in patients with local and metastatic PCa was identified to be 4 min per bed position. At this acquisition time, PET image quality and lesion detectability reach a maximum while SUVmax and SUVmean do not change

Consensus states of local majority rule in stochastic process

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luo, Yu-Pin [Department of Electronic Engineering, National Formosa University, Huwei, 63201, Taiwan (China); Tang, Chia-Wei; Xu, Hong-Yuan [Department of Physics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China); Wu, Jinn-Wen [Department of Applied Mathematics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China); Huang, Ming-Chang, E-mail: mchuang@cycu.edu.tw [Center for Theoretical Science and Department of Physics, Chung-Yuan Christian University, Chungli, 32023, Taiwan (China)

2015-04-03

A sufficient condition for a network system to reach a consensus state of the local majority rule is shown. The influence of interpersonal environment on the occurrence probability of consensus states for Watts–Strogatz and scale-free networks with random initial states is analyzed by numerical method. We also propose a stochastic local majority rule to study the mean first passage time from a random state to a consensus and the escape rate from a consensus state for systems in a noisy environment. Our numerical results show that there exists a window of fluctuation strengths for which the mean first passage time from a random to a consensus state reduces greatly, and the escape rate of consensus states obeys the Arrhenius equation in the window. - Highlights: • A sufficient condition for reaching a consensus. • The relation between the geometry of networks and the reachability of a consensus. • Stochastic local majority rule. • The mean first-passage time and the escape rate of consensus states.

Consensus states of local majority rule in stochastic process

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luo, Yu-Pin; Tang, Chia-Wei; Xu, Hong-Yuan; Wu, Jinn-Wen; Huang, Ming-Chang

2015-01-01

A sufficient condition for a network system to reach a consensus state of the local majority rule is shown. The influence of interpersonal environment on the occurrence probability of consensus states for Watts–Strogatz and scale-free networks with random initial states is analyzed by numerical method. We also propose a stochastic local majority rule to study the mean first passage time from a random state to a consensus and the escape rate from a consensus state for systems in a noisy environment. Our numerical results show that there exists a window of fluctuation strengths for which the mean first passage time from a random to a consensus state reduces greatly, and the escape rate of consensus states obeys the Arrhenius equation in the window. - Highlights: • A sufficient condition for reaching a consensus. • The relation between the geometry of networks and the reachability of a consensus. • Stochastic local majority rule. • The mean first-passage time and the escape rate of consensus states

Forest, Trees, Dynamics: Results from a novel Wisconsin Card Sorting Test variant Protocol for Studying Global-Local Attention and Complex Cognitive Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Benjamin eCowley

2016-02-01

Full Text Available BackgroundRecognition of objects and their context relies heavily on the integrated functioning of global and local visual processing. In a realistic setting such as work, this processing becomes a sustained activity, implying a consequent interaction with executive functions.MotivationThere have been many studies of either global-local attention or executive functions; however it is relatively novel to combine these processes to study a more ecological form of attention. We aim to explore the phenomenon of global-local processing during a task requiring sustained attention and working memory.MethodsWe develop and test a novel protocol for global-local dissociation, with task structure including phases of divided ('rule search' and selective ('rule found' attention, based on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task.We test it in a laboratory study with 25 participants, and report on behaviour measures (physiological data was also gathered, but not reported here. We develop novel stimuli with more naturalistic levels of information and noise, based primarily on face photographs, with consequently more ecological validity.ResultsWe report behavioural results indicating that sustained difficulty when participants test their hypotheses impacts matching-task performance, and diminishes the global precedence effect. Results also show a dissociation between subjectively experienced difficulty and objective dimension of performance, and establish the internal validity of the protocol.ContributionWe contribute an advance in the state of the art for testing global-local attention processes in concert with complex cognition. With three results we establish a connection between global-local dissociation and aspects of complex cognition. Our protocol also improves ecological validity and opens options for testing additional interactions in future work.

Least-squares reverse time migration with local Radon-based preconditioning

KAUST Repository

Dutta, Gaurav; Giboli, Matteo; Agut, Cyril; Williamson, Paul; Schuster, Gerard T.

2017-01-01

amplitudes of the local dips or assigned using quantile measures. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data validate the effectiveness of our approach in producing images with good S/N and fewer aliasing artifacts when compared with standard RTM or standard

The Storm Time Evolution of the Ionospheric Disturbance Plasma Drifts

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ruilong; Liu, Libo; Le, Huijun; Chen, Yiding; Kuai, Jiawei

2017-11-01

In this paper, we use the C/NOFS and ROCSAT-1 satellites observations to analyze the storm time evolution of the disturbance plasma drifts in a 24 h local time scale during three magnetic storms driven by long-lasting southward IMF Bz. The disturbance plasma drifts during the three storms present some common features in the periods dominated by the disturbance dynamo. The newly formed disturbance plasma drifts are upward and westward at night, and downward and eastward during daytime. Further, the disturbance plasma drifts are gradually evolved to present significant local time shifts. The westward disturbance plasma drifts gradually migrate from nightside to dayside. Meanwhile, the dayside downward disturbance plasma drifts become enhanced and shift to later local time. The local time shifts in disturbance plasma drifts are suggested to be mainly attributed to the evolution of the disturbance winds. The strong disturbance winds arisen around midnight can constantly corotate to later local time. At dayside the westward and equatorward disturbance winds can drive the F region dynamo to produce the poleward and westward polarization electric fields (or the westward and downward disturbance drifts). The present results indicate that the disturbance winds corotated to later local time can affect the local time features of the disturbance dynamo electric field.

Many-body localization dynamics from a one-particle perspective

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lezama Mergold Love, Talia; Bera, Soumya; Bardarson, Jens Hjorleifur [Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden (Germany)

2016-07-01

Systems exhibiting many-body localization (Anderson insulators in the presence of interactions) present a novel class of nonergodic phases of matter. The study of entanglement, in terms of both exact eigenstates and its time evolution after quenches, has been useful to reveal the salient signatures of these systems. Similarly to the entanglement entropy of exact eigenstates, the one-particle density matrix can be used as a tool to characterize the many-body localization transition with its eigenvalues showing a Fermi-liquid like step discontinuity in the localized phase. However, this analysis distinguishes the Fock-space structure of the eigenstates from the real space. Here, we present numerical evidence for dynamical signatures of the many-body localized phase for a closed fermionic system, using the one-particle density matrix and its time evolution after a global quench. We discuss and compare our results with the well-known logarithmic spreading of entanglement (a dynamical signature of this phase, absent in the Anderson insulator).

New results for time reversed symplectic dynamic systems and quadratic functionals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Simon Hilscher

2012-05-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we examine time scale symplectic (or Hamiltonian systems and the associated quadratic functionals which contain a forward shift in the time variable. Such systems and functionals have a close connection to Jacobi systems for calculus of variations and optimal control problems on time scales. Our results, among which we consider the Reid roundabout theorem, generalize the corresponding classical theory for time reversed discrete symplectic systems, as well as they complete the recently developed theory of time scale symplectic systems.

Transient localization in the kicked Rydberg atom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Persson, Emil; Fuerthauer, S.; Burgdoerfer, J.; Wimberger, S.

2006-01-01

We investigate the long-time limit of quantum localization of the kicked Rydberg atom. The kicked Rydberg atom is shown to possess in addition to the quantum localization time τ L a second crossover time t D where quantum dynamics diverges from classical dynamics towards increased instability. The quantum localization is shown to vanish as either the strength of the kicks at fixed principal quantum number or the quantum number at fixed kick strength increases. The survival probability as a function of frequency in the transient localization regime τ L D is characterized by highly irregular, fractal-like fluctuations

A local-world evolving hypernetwork model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Guang-Yong; Liu Jian-Guo

2014-01-01

Complex hypernetworks are ubiquitous in the real system. It is very important to investigate the evolution mechanisms. In this paper, we present a local-world evolving hypernetwork model by taking into account the hyperedge growth and local-world hyperedge preferential attachment mechanisms. At each time step, a newly added hyperedge encircles a new coming node and a number of nodes from a randomly selected local world. The number of the selected nodes from the local world obeys the uniform distribution and its mean value is m. The analytical and simulation results show that the hyperdegree approximately obeys the power-law form and the exponent of hyperdegree distribution is γ = 2 + 1/m. Furthermore, we numerically investigate the node degree, hyperedge degree, clustering coefficient, as well as the average distance, and find that the hypernetwork model shares the scale-free and small-world properties, which shed some light for deeply understanding the evolution mechanism of the real systems. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Local and Community History: Some Cautionary Remarks on an Idea Whose Time Has Returned.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerber, David A.

1979-01-01

Analyzes past local history movements and addresses benefits and problems for historical studies and history teaching in the current upsurge of interest in local and community history. Concludes that local history must transcend parochialism in order to see the larger picture. (KC)

Floor Covering and Surface Identification for Assistive Mobile Robotic Real-Time Room Localization Application

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Gillham

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Assistive robotic applications require systems capable of interaction in the human world, a workspace which is highly dynamic and not always predictable. Mobile assistive devices face the additional and complex problem of when and if intervention should occur; therefore before any trajectory assistance is given, the robotic device must know where it is in real-time, without unnecessary disruption or delay to the user requirements. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel robust method for determining room identification from floor features in a real-time computational frame for autonomous and assistive robotics in the human environment. We utilize two inexpensive sensors: an optical mouse sensor for straightforward and rapid, texture or pattern sampling, and a four color photodiode light sensor for fast color determination. We show how data relating floor texture and color obtained from typical dynamic human environments, using these two sensors, compares favorably with data obtained from a standard webcam. We show that suitable data can be extracted from these two sensors at a rate 16 times faster than a standard webcam, and that these data are in a form which can be rapidly processed using readily available classification techniques, suitable for real-time system application. We achieved a 95% correct classification accuracy identifying 133 rooms’ flooring from 35 classes, suitable for fast coarse global room localization application, boundary crossing detection, and additionally some degree of surface type identification.

Localization and (semi-)quantification of fluorescent beads of 2 sizes in chickens over time after simultaneous intratracheal and cloacal administration

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Berghof, T.V.L.; Lai, T.L.H.; Lammers, A.; Vries Reilingh, de G.; Nieuwland, M.G.B.; Aarnink, A.J.A.; Parmentier, H.K.

2013-01-01

Environmental particles enter the chicken via several routes. Entry via the respiratory and cloacal routes likely activates immune responses. We studied the localization of simultaneous intratracheally and cloacally applied beads of 2 sizes in the chicken body in time, and when possible,

Topographical Variation of Human Femoral Articular Cartilage Thickness, T1rho and T2 Relaxation Times Is Related to Local Loading during Walking.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Rossom, Sam; Wesseling, Mariska; Van Assche, Dieter; Jonkers, Ilse

2018-01-01

Objective Early detection of degenerative changes in the cartilage matrix composition is essential for evaluating early interventions that slow down osteoarthritis (OA) initiation. T1rho and T2 relaxation times were found to be effective for detecting early changes in proteoglycan and collagen content. To use these magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) methods, it is important to document the topographical variation in cartilage thickness, T1rho and T2 relaxation times in a healthy population. As OA is partially mechanically driven, the relation between these MRI-based parameters and localized mechanical loading during walking was investigated. Design MR images were acquired in 14 healthy adults and cartilage thickness and T1rho and T2 relaxation times were determined. Experimental gait data was collected and processed using musculoskeletal modeling to identify weight-bearing zones and estimate the contact force impulse during gait. Variation of the cartilage properties (i.e., thickness, T1rho, and T2) over the femoral cartilage was analyzed and compared between the weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing zone of the medial and lateral condyle as well as the trochlea. Results Medial condyle cartilage thickness was correlated to the contact force impulse ( r = 0.78). Lower T1rho, indicating increased proteoglycan content, was found in the medial weight-bearing zone. T2 was higher in all weight-bearing zones compared with the non-weight-bearing zones, indicating lower relative collagen content. Conclusions The current results suggest that medial condyle cartilage is adapted as a long-term protective response to localized loading during a frequently performed task and that the weight-bearing zone of the medial condyle has superior weight bearing capacities compared with the non-weight-bearing zones.

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations reveal localization and time evolution dynamics of an excess electron in heterogeneous CO2-H2O systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ping; Zhao, Jing; Liu, Jinxiang; Zhang, Meng; Bu, Yuxiang

2014-01-28

In view of the important implications of excess electrons (EEs) interacting with CO2-H2O clusters in many fields, using ab initio molecular dynamics simulation technique, we reveal the structures and dynamics of an EE associated with its localization and subsequent time evolution in heterogeneous CO2-H2O mixed media. Our results indicate that although hydration can increase the electron-binding ability of a CO2 molecule, it only plays an assisting role. Instead, it is the bending vibrations that play the major role in localizing the EE. Due to enhanced attraction of CO2, an EE can stably reside in the empty, low-lying π(*) orbital of a CO2 molecule via a localization process arising from its initial binding state. The localization is completed within a few tens of femtoseconds. After EE trapping, the ∠OCO angle of the core CO2 (-) oscillates in the range of 127°∼142°, with an oscillation period of about 48 fs. The corresponding vertical detachment energy of the EE is about 4.0 eV, which indicates extreme stability of such a CO2-bound solvated EE in [CO2(H2O)n](-) systems. Interestingly, hydration occurs not only on the O atoms of the core CO2 (-) through formation of O⋯H-O H-bond(s), but also on the C atom, through formation of a C⋯H-O H-bond. In the latter binding mode, the EE cloud exhibits considerable penetration to the solvent water molecules, and its IR characteristic peak is relatively red-shifted compared with the former. Hydration on the C site can increase the EE distribution at the C atom and thus reduce the C⋯H distance in the C⋯H-O H-bonds, and vice versa. The number of water molecules associated with the CO2 (-) anion in the first hydration shell is about 4∼7. No dimer-core (C2O4 (-)) and core-switching were observed in the double CO2 aqueous media. This work provides molecular dynamics insights into the localization and time evolution dynamics of an EE in heterogeneous CO2-H2O media.

The effect of local control on metastatic dissemination in carcinoma of the prostate: Long-term results in patients treated with 125I implantation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuks, Z.; Leibel, S.A.; Wallner, K.E.; Begg, C.B.; Fair, W.R.; Anderson, L.L.; Hilaris, B.S.; Whitmore, W.F.

1991-01-01

The study evaluates the effect of the locally recurring tumor on the incidence of metastatic disease in early stage carcinoma of the prostate. The probability of distant metastases was studied in 679 patients with Stage B-C/N0 carcinoma of the prostate treated at MSKCC between 1970 and 1985 (median follow-up of 97 months). Patients were staged with pelvic lymph node dissection and treated with retropubic 125I implantation. The actuarial distant metastases free survival (DMFS) for patients at risk at 15 years after initial therapy was 37%. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis of covariates affecting the metastatic outcome showed that local failure, used in the model as a time dependent variable, was the most significant covariate, although stage, grade, and implant volume were also found to be independent variables. The relative risk of metastatic spread subsequent to local failure was 4-fold increased compared to the risk without evidence of local relapse. The 15-year actuarial DMFS in 351 patients with local control was 77% compared to 24% in 328 patients who developed local relapses (p less than 0.00001). The relation of distant spread to the local outcome was observed regardless of stage, grade, or implant dose. Even stage B1/N0-Grade I patient with local control showed a 15-year actuarial DMFS of 82%, compared to 22% in patients with local relapse (p less than 0.00001). The median local relapse-free survival (LRFS) in the 268 patients with local recurrences who did not receive hormonal therapy before distant metastases were detected was 51 months, compared to a median of 71 months for DMFS in the same patients (p less than 0.001), consistent with the possibility that distant dissemination may develop secondary to local failure

The relationship of the local food environment with obesity: A systematic review of methods, study quality and results

Science.gov (United States)

Cobb, Laura K; Appel, Lawrence J; Franco, Manuel; Jones-Smith, Jessica C; Nur, Alana; Anderson, Cheryl AM

2015-01-01

Objective To examine the relationship between local food environments and obesity and assess the quality of studies reviewed. Methods Systematic keyword searches identified studies from US and Canada that assessed the relationship of obesity to local food environments. We applied a quality metric based on design, exposure and outcome measurement, and analysis. Results We identified 71 studies representing 65 cohorts. Overall, study quality was low; 60 studies were cross-sectional. Associations between food outlet availability and obesity were predominantly null. Among non-null associations, we saw a trend toward inverse associations between supermarket availability and obesity (22 negative, 4 positive, 67 null) and direct associations between fast food and obesity (29 positive, 6 negative, 71 null) in adults. We saw direct associations between fast food availability and obesity in lower income children (12 positive, 7 null). Indices including multiple food outlets were most consistently associated with obesity in adults (18 expected, 1 not expected, 17 null). Limiting to higher quality studies did not affect results. Conclusions Despite the large number of studies, we found limited evidence for associations between local food environments and obesity. The predominantly null associations should be interpreted cautiously due to the low quality of available studies. PMID:26096983

Do nuclear collisions create a locally equilibrated quark-gluon plasma?

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Romatschke, P. [University of Colorado at Boulder, Department of Physics, 390 UCB, Boulder, CO (United States); University of Colorado, Center for Theory of Quantum Matter, Boulder, CO (United States)

2017-01-15

Experimental results on azimuthal correlations in high energy nuclear collisions (nucleus-nucleus, proton-nucleus, and proton-proton) seem to be well described by viscous hydrodynamics. It is often argued that this agreement implies either local thermal equilibrium or at least local isotropy. In this note, I present arguments why this is not the case. Neither local near-equilibrium nor near-isotropy are required in order for hydrodynamics to offer a successful and accurate description of experimental results. However, I predict the breakdown of hydrodynamics at momenta of order seven times the temperature, corresponding to a smallest possible QCD liquid drop size of 0.15 fm. (orig.)

SHORT COMMUNICATION: Time measurement device with four femtosecond stability

Science.gov (United States)

Panek, Petr; Prochazka, Ivan; Kodet, Jan

2010-10-01

We present the experimental results of extremely precise timing in the sense of time-of-arrival measurements in a local time scale. The timing device designed and constructed in our laboratory is based on a new concept using a surface acoustic wave filter as a time interpolator. Construction of the device is briefly described. The experiments described were focused on evaluating the timing precision and stability. Low-jitter test pulses with a repetition frequency of 763 Hz were generated synchronously to the local time base and their times of arrival were measured. The resulting precision of a single measurement was typically 900 fs RMS, and a timing stability TDEV of 4 fs was achieved for time intervals in the range from 300 s to 2 h. To our knowledge this is the best value reported to date for the stability of a timing device. The experimental results are discussed and possible improvements are proposed.

Long-Term Results of a Randomized Trial in Locally Advanced Rectal Cancer: No Benefit From Adding a Brachytherapy Boost

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Appelt, Ane L.; Vogelius, Ivan R.; Pløen, John; Rafaelsen, Søren R.; Lindebjerg, Jan; Havelund, Birgitte M.; Bentzen, Søren M.; Jakobsen, Anders

2014-01-01

Purpose/Objective(s): Mature data on tumor control and survival are presented from a randomized trial of the addition of a brachytherapy boost to long-course neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (CRT) for locally advanced rectal cancer. Methods and Materials: Between March 2005 and November 2008, 248 patients with T3-4N0-2M0 rectal cancer were prospectively randomized to either long-course preoperative CRT (50.4 Gy in 28 fractions, per oral tegafur-uracil and L-leucovorin) alone or the same CRT schedule plus a brachytherapy boost (10 Gy in 2 fractions). The primary trial endpoint was pathologic complete response (pCR) at the time of surgery; secondary endpoints included overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), and freedom from locoregional failure. Results: Results for the primary endpoint have previously been reported. This analysis presents survival data for the 224 patients in the Danish part of the trial. In all, 221 patients (111 control arm, 110 brachytherapy boost arm) had data available for analysis, with a median follow-up time of 5.4 years. Despite a significant increase in tumor response at the time of surgery, no differences in 5-year OS (70.6% vs 63.6%, hazard ratio [HR] = 1.24, P=.34) and PFS (63.9% vs 52.0%, HR=1.22, P=.32) were observed. Freedom from locoregional failure at 5 years were 93.9% and 85.7% (HR=2.60, P=.06) in the standard and in the brachytherapy arms, respectively. There was no difference in the prevalence of stoma. Explorative analysis based on stratification for tumor regression grade and resection margin status indicated the presence of response migration. Conclusions: Despite increased pathologic tumor regression at the time of surgery, we observed no benefit on late outcome. Improved tumor regression does not necessarily lead to a relevant clinical benefit when the neoadjuvant treatment is followed by high-quality surgery

Local recurrence after microwave thermosphere ablation of malignant liver tumors: results of a surgical series.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Hideo; Kahramangil, Bora; Berber, Eren

2018-04-01

Microwave thermosphere ablation is a new treatment modality that creates spherical ablation zones using a single antenna. This study aims to analyze local recurrence associated with this new treatment modality in patients with malignant liver tumors. This is a prospective clinical study of patients who underwent microwave thermosphere ablation of malignant liver tumors between September 2014 and March 2017. Clinical, operative, and oncologic parameters were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazards model. One hundred patients underwent 301 ablations. Ablations were performed laparoscopically in 87 and open in 13 patients. Pathology included neuroendocrine liver metastasis (n = 115), colorectal liver metastasis (n = 100), hepatocellular cancer (n = 21), and other tumor types (n = 65). Ninety-day morbidity was 7% with one not procedure-related mortality. Median follow-up was 16 months with 65% of patients completing at least 12 months of follow-up. The rate of local tumor recurrence rate per lesion was 6.6% (20/301). Local tumor, new hepatic, and extrahepatic recurrences were detected in 15%, 40%, and 40% of patients, respectively. Local recurrence rate per pathology was 12% for both colorectal liver metastasis (12/100) and other metastatic tumors (8/65). No local recurrence was observed to date in the neuroendocrine liver metastasis and in the limited number of patients with hepatocellular cancers. Tumor size >3 cm and tumor type were independent predictors of local recurrence. This is the first study to analyze local recurrence after microwave thermosphere ablation of malignant liver tumors. Short-term local tumor control rate compares favorably with that reported for radiofrequency and other microwave technologies in the literature. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Transient localization in the kicked Rydberg atom

OpenAIRE

Persson, E.; Fürthauer, S.; Wimberger, S.; Burgdörfer, J.

2006-01-01

We investigate the long-time limit of quantum localization of the kicked Rydberg atom. The kicked Rydberg atom is shown to possess in addition to the quantum localization time $\\tau_L$ a second cross-over time $t_D$ where quantum dynamics diverges from classical dynamics towards increased instability. The quantum localization is shown to vanish as either the strength of the kicks at fixed principal quantum number or the quantum number at fixed kick strength increases. The survival probability...

On local search for bi-objective knapsack problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Liefooghe, Arnaud; Paquete, Luís; Figueira, José Rui

2013-01-01

In this article, a local search approach is proposed for three variants of the bi-objective binary knapsack problem, with the aim of maximizing the total profit and minimizing the total weight. First, an experimental study on a given structural property of connectedness of the efficient set is conducted. Based on this property, a local search algorithm is proposed and its performance is compared to exact algorithms in terms of runtime and quality metrics. The experimental results indicate that this simple local search algorithm is able to find a representative set of optimal solutions in most of the cases, and in much less time than exact algorithms.

Exponential stability result for discrete-time stochastic fuzzy uncertain neural networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mathiyalagan, K.; Sakthivel, R.; Marshal Anthoni, S.

2012-01-01

This Letter addresses the stability analysis problem for a class of uncertain discrete-time stochastic fuzzy neural networks (DSFNNs) with time-varying delays. By constructing a new Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional combined with the free weighting matrix technique, a new set of delay-dependent sufficient conditions for the robust exponential stability of the considered DSFNNs is established in terms of Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs). Finally, numerical examples with simulation results are provided to illustrate the applicability and usefulness of the obtained theory. -- Highlights: ► Applications of neural networks require the knowledge of dynamic behaviors. ► Exponential stability of discrete-time stochastic fuzzy neural networks is studied. ► Linear matrix inequality optimization approach is used to obtain the result. ► Delay-dependent stability criterion is established in terms of LMIs. ► Examples with simulation are provided to show the effectiveness of the result.

Local time asymmetry of Pc 4--5 pulsations and associated particle modulations at synchronous orbit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kokubun, S.; Erickson, K.N.; Fritz, T.A.; McPherron, R.L.

1989-01-01

Magnetic field and particle flux observations on board ATS 6 at synchronous altitude are used to examine the dawn-dusk asymmetry of characteristics of Pc 4--5 waves and associated particle flux modulation. Most waves at synchronous orbit having ground correlations are polarized in the azimuthal direction (A class) and are usually detected in the dawn sector. Waves with a radially oriented polarization ellipse (R-class) are almost never observed near the subsatellite point on the ground, except for the regular pulsations known as giant pulsation Pg, observed in the early morning. R class Pc 4 waves occur at all local times and have an occurrence peak in the afternoon

Theory of many-body localization in periodically driven systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abanin, Dmitry A.; De Roeck, Wojciech; Huveneers, François

2016-01-01

We present a theory of periodically driven, many-body localized (MBL) systems. We argue that MBL persists under periodic driving at high enough driving frequency: The Floquet operator (evolution operator over one driving period) can be represented as an exponential of an effective time-independent Hamiltonian, which is a sum of quasi-local terms and is itself fully MBL. We derive this result by constructing a sequence of canonical transformations to remove the time-dependence from the original Hamiltonian. When the driving evolves smoothly in time, the theory can be sharpened by estimating the probability of adiabatic Landau–Zener transitions at many-body level crossings. In all cases, we argue that there is delocalization at sufficiently low frequency. We propose a phase diagram of driven MBL systems.

Localized superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, M.; Lee, P.A.

1985-01-01

We study the effects of Anderson localization on superconductivity by using a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS)-type trial wave function which pairs electrons in exact time-reversed eigenstates of the single-particle Hamiltonian. Within this approximation, and neglecting localization effects on the effective Coulomb repulsion and the electron-phonon coupling, we find that superconductivity persists below the mobility edge. In fact, Anderson's theorem is valid in the localized phase as long as rhoΔ 0 L/sup d/ > 1 (rho is the density of states averaged over +- Δ 0 of the Fermi energy, Δ 0 the BCS gap parameter, and L the localization length). Hence the gap order parameter Δ(r) remains uniform in space at the BCS value Δ 0 . The superfluid density and response to electromagnetic perturbations, however, show marked differences from the ''dirty superconductor'' regime. For rhoΔ 0 L/sup d/ < 1, Δ(r) fluctuates spatially and eventually drops to zero. In the limit when states are site localized, the system crosses over into the ''Anderson negative-U glass.'' Considerations beyond the trial wave-function approximation will speed up the destruction of superconductivity. The superconductor formed from localized states has the property that its quasiparticle excitations are also localized. Such excitations can be probed by observing the normal current in a tunneling junction

On the Efficiency of Local and Global Communication in Modular Robots

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Garcia, Ricardo Franco Mendoza; Schultz, Ulrik Pagh; Støy, Kasper

2009-01-01

use parameters to describe the topology of modular robots, develop a probabilistic model of local communication using these parameters and, using a model of global communication from literature, compare the transmission times of local and global communication in different robots. Based on our results......As exchange of information is essential to modular robots, deciding between local or global communication is a common design choice. This choice, however, still lacks theoretical support. In this paper we analyse the efficiency of local and global communication in modular robots. To this end, we...

Non-local quasi-linear parabolic equations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amann, H

2005-01-01

This is a survey of the most common approaches to quasi-linear parabolic evolution equations, a discussion of their advantages and drawbacks, and a presentation of an entirely new approach based on maximal L p regularity. The general results here apply, above all, to parabolic initial-boundary value problems that are non-local in time. This is illustrated by indicating their relevance for quasi-linear parabolic equations with memory and, in particular, for time-regularized versions of the Perona-Malik equation of image processing

Determining if pretreatment PSA doubling time predicts PSA trajectories after radiation therapy for localized prostate cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Soto, Daniel E.; Andridge, Rebecca R.; Pan, Charlie C.; Williams, Scott G.; Taylor, Jeremy M.G.; Sandler, Howard M.

2009-01-01

Introduction: To determine if pretreatment PSA doubling time (PSA-DT) can predict post-radiation therapy (RT) PSA trajectories for localized prostate cancer. Materials and methods: Three hundred and seventy-five prostate cancer patients treated with external beam RT without androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) were identified with an adequate number of PSA values. We utilized a linear mixed model (LMM) analysis to model longitudinal PSA data sets after definitive treatment. Post-treatment PSA trajectories were allowed to depend on the pre-RT PSA-DT, pre-RT PSA (iPSA), Gleason score (GS), and T-stage. Results: Pre-RT PSA-DT had a borderline impact on predicting the rate of PSA rise after nadir (p = 0.08). For a typical low risk patient (T1, GS ≤ 6, iPSA 10), the predicted PSA-DT post-nadir was 21% shorter for pre-RT PSA-DT 24 month (19 month vs. 24 month). Additional significant predictors of post-RT PSA rate of rise included GS (p < 0.0001), iPSA (p < 0.0001), and T-stage (p = 0.02). Conclusions: We observed a trend between rapidly rising pre-RT PSA and the post-RT post-nadir PSA rise. This effect appeared to be independent of iPSA, GS, or T-stage. The results presented suggest that pretreatment PSA-DT may help predict post-RT PSA trajectories