Efficient radiation treatment planning based on voxel importance.

Radiation treatment planning (RTP) involves optimization over a large number of voxels, many of which carry limited information about the clinical problem. We propose an approach to reduce the large optimization problem by only using a representative subset of informative voxels. This way, we drastically improve planning efficiency while maintaining the plan quality.

Simultaneous Reduction of Number of Spots and Energy Layers in Intensity Modulated Proton Therapy for Rapid Spot Scanning Delivery.

Reducing proton treatment time improves patient comfort and decreases the risk of error from intra-fractional motion, but must be balanced against clinical goals and treatment plan quality. We formulated the proton treatment planning problem as a convex optimization problem with a cost function consisting of a dosimetric plan quality term plus a weighted $l_1$ regularization term. We iteratively solved this problem and adaptively updated the regularization weights to promote the sparsity of both the spots and energy layers.

Simultaneous reduction of number of spots and energy layers in intensity modulated proton therapy for rapid spot scanning delivery.

Background: Reducing proton treatment time improves patient comfort and decreases the risk of error from intrafractional motion, but must be balanced against clinical goals and treatment plan quality.

Purpose: To improve the delivery efficiency of spot scanning proton therapy by simultaneously reducing the number of spots and energy layers using the reweighted regularization method.

Methods: We formulated the proton treatment planning problem as a convex optimization problem with a cost function consisting of a dosimetric plan quality term plus a weighted regularization term.

Efficient Quantum Private Comparison without Sharing a Key.

Quantum private comparison (QPC) allows at least two users to compare the equality of their secret information, for which the security is based on the properties of quantum mechanics. To improve the use of quantum resources and the efficiency of private comparison, a new QPC protocol based on GHZ-like states is proposed. The protocol adopts unitary operations to encode the secret information instead of performing quantum key distribution (QKD), which can reduce the amount of computation required to perform QKD and improve the utilization of quantum resources.

Reconstruction of Concha-Type Microtia Using a Delayed Postauricular Skin Flap.

Summary: Understanding how to remove and retain the relatively large residual auricle is important in concha-type microtia reconstruction. The authors present a method for concha-type microtia reconstruction using a delayed postauricular skin flap. A total of 40 patients with concha-type microtia who underwent ear reconstruction using a delayed postauricular skin flap were retrospectively examined.

Comparison of the Clinical Effect of Double Eyelid Blepharoplasty with the Orbital Septum Method and the Classical Method.

Objective: To observe the clinical effect between orbital septum incision and classical incision of double eyelid plasty.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 381 patients who underwent double eyelid blepharoplasty in the Department of Plastic and Laser Cosmetology of Hunan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2019. The patients were divided into two groups according to different surgical methods: group A (n = 146) received the classical method and group B (n = 235) received the orbital septum method.

Distributed and scalable optimization for robust proton treatment planning.

Background: The importance of robust proton treatment planning to mitigate the impact of uncertainty is well understood. However, its computational cost grows with the number of uncertainty scenarios, prolonging the treatment planning process.

Purpose: We developed a fast and scalable distributed optimization platform that parallelizes the robust proton treatment plan computation over the uncertainty scenarios.

Epicanthus correction with a modified asymmetric Z-plasty.

The study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of the modified asymmetric Z-plasty with a central axis from the point near the edge of the skin fold of the medial canthus to the point of the innermost palpebral edge of medial canthus for epicanthus correction. A total of 130 followed-up patients who received modified asymmetric Z-plasty for epicanthus correction in Hunan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2019 were included. All patients were followed up with at 1, 3, and 6 months after surgery, and the scarring and surgical outcomes were assessed.

Irx3 promotes gap junction communication between uterine stromal cells to regulate vascularization during embryo implantation†.

Appropriate embryo-uterine interactions are essential for implantation. Besides oocyte abnormalities, implantation failure is a major contributor to early pregnancy loss. Previously, we demonstrated that two members of the Iroquois homeobox transcription factor family, IRX3 and IRX5, exhibited distinct and dynamic expression profiles in the developing ovary to promote oocyte and follicle survival.

A Case of Parotid Gland Fistula After Microtia Reconstruction Successfully Treated With Botulinum Toxin Type A.

Parotid gland fistula after microtia reconstruction is relatively rare, with only 3 cases having been reported in the literature. It may be caused by the presence of an accessory parotid gland or surgical damage to parotid gland tissues. The principal treatment is dressing the wound.

Research on the Potential Mechanism of Gentiopicroside Against Gastric Cancer Based on Network Pharmacology.

Background: Gastric cancer was still one of the commonly diagnosed cancer types and the third-most common cause of cancer-related death in the world. Gentiopicroside, which is extracted from the , is commonly used in both traditional treatment and modern clinical care; therefore, its anticancer effects have been attracted more attention. However, the systematic analysis of action mechanism of Gentiopicroside on gastric cancer (GC) has not yet been carried out.

IRX3 and IRX5 collaborate during ovary development and follicle formation to establish responsive granulosa cells in the adult mouse†.

Healthy development of ovarian follicles depends on appropriate interactions and function between oocytes and their surrounding granulosa cells. Previously, we showed that double knockout of Irx3 and Irx5 (Irx3/5 DKO) in mice resulted in abnormal follicle morphology and follicle death. Further, female mouse models of individual Irx3 or Irx5 knockouts were both subfertile but with distinct defects.

A convex optimization approach to radiation treatment planning with dose constraints.

We present a method for handling dose constraints as part of a convex programming framework for inverse treatment planning. Our method uniformly handles mean dose, maximum dose, minimum dose, and dose-volume (i.e.

Dynamic expression patterns of Irx3 and Irx5 during germline nest breakdown and primordial follicle formation promote follicle survival in mouse ovaries.

Women and other mammalian females are born with a finite supply of oocytes that determine their reproductive lifespan. During fetal development, individual oocytes are enclosed by a protective layer of granulosa cells to form primordial follicles that will grow, mature, and eventually release the oocyte for potential fertilization. Despite the knowledge that follicles are dysfunctional and will die without granulosa cell-oocyte interactions, the mechanisms by which these cells establish communication is unknown.

Morphology and connectivity of parabrachial and cortical inputs to gustatory thalamus in rats.

The ventroposterior medialis parvocellularis (VPMpc) nucleus of the thalamus, the thalamic relay nucleus for gustatory sensation, receives primary input from the parabrachial nucleus, and projects to the insular cortex. To reveal the unique properties of the gustatory thalamus in comparison with archetypical sensory relay nuclei, this study examines the morphology of synaptic circuitry in the VPMpc, focusing on parabrachiothalamic driver input and corticothalamic feedback. Anterogradely visualized parabrachiothalamic fibers in the VPMpc bear large swellings.