Interstitial round needles should not be used for cervical cancer patient treated with intracavitary/ interstitial brachytherapy using a Venezia applicator : a case report.

Background: Image-guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) demonstrates an excellent local control rate and low toxicity while treating cervical cancer. For intracavitary/interstitial (IC/IS) brachytherapy (BT), several applicators are commercially available. Venezia (Elekta, Sweden), an advanced gynecological applicator, is designed for IC/IS BT for treating locally advanced cervical cancer.

A novel intra pre-plan method of interstitial needle optimization for cervical cancer patients treated with Venezia applicator brachytherapy: a technical note.

Purpose: Novel hybrid Venezia applicator enables intracavitary and interstitial brachytherapy (BT) for locally advanced cervical cancer. However, the method to determine the optimal interstitial needle number, position, and depth using this applicator is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to establish a method for reliable needle optimization.

Mass Spectrometric Characterization of the Partial Oxidation Process of a Gasoline Surrogate Induced by a Dielectric Barrier Discharge.

Plasma-assisted combustion can improve the thermal efficiency and stability of internal combustion engines; based on this, among various types of discharge method, surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) induced partial oxidation of hydrocarbons was investigated in this study. To demonstrate the general mechanisms of SDBD-induced partial oxidation of gasoline, we used a five-component gasoline surrogate (S5R), which consisted of a mixture of alkanes (isooctane, -heptane, and methylcyclohexane), alkenes (trimethyl pentene isomers), and toluene, as the model. The detailed process of SDBD-induced partial oxidation of hydrocarbon was investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ion attachment mass spectrometry, and density functional theory calculation.

Real-time monitoring for reforming processes of liquid hydrocarbon fuel-air pre-mixtures by non-thermal plasmas using ion attachment mass spectrometry.

Plasma induced reforming processes of fuel-air mixtures were investigated to understand the mechanism of the plasma-assisted combustion technique, which can improve the thermal efficiency and stability of internal combustion engines. In this study, a mixture of air with isooctane or n-heptane fuels was reformed by non-thermal plasma in a flow reactor, generated by a dielectric barrier discharge, and then directly analyzed using ion attachment mass spectrometry. Plasma irradiation of an air/hydrocarbon mixture produced an oxygen atom which then reacted with a hydrocarbon, leading to hydroxyl and alkyl radicals.

Image Retrieval Method for Multiscale Objects from Optical Colonoscopy Images.

Optical colonoscopy is the most common approach to diagnosing bowel diseases through direct colon and rectum inspections. Periodic optical colonoscopy examinations are particularly important for detecting cancers at early stages while still treatable. However, diagnostic accuracy is highly dependent on both the experience and knowledge of the medical doctor.

Mantle dynamics inferred from the crystallographic preferred orientation of bridgmanite.

Seismic shear wave anisotropy is observed in Earth's uppermost lower mantle around several subducted slabs. The anisotropy caused by the deformation-induced crystallographic preferred orientation (CPO) of bridgmanite (perovskite-structured (Mg,Fe)SiO) is the most plausible explanation for these seismic observations. However, the rheological properties of bridgmanite are largely unknown.

Current status and its epidemiological consideration of Fasciola and Eurytrema infections in beef cattle of Japan.

To elucidate current status of fasciolosis and eurytremosis in beef cattle of Japan, inspection data of Tokyo Metropolitan Shibaura Slaughterhouse where beef cattle were shipped from all over Japan were analyzed, and questionnaire to farmers was conducted to assess the relationship between recognition of the disease occurrence in one's own farm and attention to the diseases. The occurrence of fasciolosis and eurytremosis in beef cattle gradually decreased from 18.6% to 0.

Breakdown plasma and vortex flow control for laser ignition using a combination of nano- and femto-second lasers.

The breakdown plasma and successive flow leading to combustion are controlled by the combination of a nano-second Nd:YAG laser and a femto-second Ti:Sapphire (TiS) laser. The behaviors are captured by an intensified charged coupled device (ICCD) camera and a high-speed schlieren optical system. The TiS laser determines the initial position of the breakdown by supplying the initial electrons in the optical axis of focusing YAG laser pulses.

Percolation simulation of laser-guided electrical discharges.

A three-dimensional simulation of laser-guided discharges based on percolation is presented. The model includes both local growth of a streamer due to the enhanced electric field at the streamer's tip and propagation of a leader by remote ionization such as that caused by runaway electrons. The stochastic behavior of the discharge through a preformed plasma channel is reproduced by the calculation, which shows complex path with detouring and bifurcation.

SHP2-mediated signaling cascade through gp130 is essential for LIF-dependent I CaL, [Ca2+]i transient, and APD increase in cardiomyocytes.

Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a cardiac hypertrophic cytokine, increases L-type Ca(2+) current (I(CaL)) via ERK-dependent and PKA-independent phosphorylation of serine 1829 in the Cav(1.2) subunit. The signaling cascade through gp130 is involved in this augmentation.

Ultra broadband UV generation by stimulated Raman scattering of two-color KrF laser in deuterium confined in a hollow fiber.

Broad Raman-multi-frequency spectra were generated from the resonant two-color excitation of the deuterium molecule rotational Raman transition (J=0?2), using ultraviolet bi-harmonic lasers with a quartz hollow fiber. Fifty pure rotational Raman spectral lines (34 lines that have intensity within 10% of the strongest spectral line) from 230 to 290 nm were generated at a gas pressure of 30 kPa. Furthermore, vibrational-rotational Raman spectral lines of almost 300 lines from 220 to 600 nm were also generated by increasing the gas pressure to 60 kPa.

Volcanism in response to plate flexure.

Volcanism on Earth is known to occur in three tectonic settings: divergent plate boundaries (such as mid-ocean ridges), convergent plate boundaries (such as island arcs), and hot spots. We report volcanism on the 135 million-year-old Pacific Plate not belonging to any of these categories. Small alkalic volcanoes form from small percent melts and originate in the asthenosphere, as implied by their trace element geochemistry and noble gas isotopic compositions.

The chemical structure of the Hawaiian mantle plume.

The Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic island and seamount chain is usually attributed to a hot mantle plume, located beneath the Pacific lithosphere, that delivers material sourced from deep in the mantle to the surface. The shield volcanoes of the Hawaiian islands are distributed in two curvilinear, parallel trends (termed 'Kea' and 'Loa'), whose rocks are characterized by general geochemical differences. This has led to the proposition that Hawaiian volcanoes sample compositionally distinct, concentrically zoned, regions of the underlying mantle plume.

Leukemia inhibitory factor activates cardiac L-Type Ca2+ channels via phosphorylation of serine 1829 in the rabbit Cav1.2 subunit.

We have previously reported that leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) gradually increased cardiac L-type Ca2+ channel current (I(CaL)), which peaked at 15 minutes in both adult and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, and this increase was blocked by the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase inhibitor PD98059. This study investigated the molecular basis of LIF-induced augmentation of I(CaL) in rodent cardiomyocytes. LIF induced phosphorylation of a serine residue in the alpha(1c) subunit (Ca(v)1.

Selective involvement of p130Cas/Crk/Pyk2/c-Src in endothelin-1-induced JNK activation.

Both integrin-based focal adhesion complexes and receptor tyrosine kinases have been proposed as scaffolds on which the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-induced signaling complex might assemble. We have recently reported that Ca2+-sensitive tyrosine kinase, Pyk2, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) act as independently regulated scaffolds in cardiomyocytes. In this report, we investigated the activation and regulation of p130Cas, Crk, Pyk2, and c-Src by a well-known hypertrophic agonist, endothelin-1 (ET), and determined their contributions to the activation of c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in cardiomyocytes.

Disruption of a long-range cis-acting regulator for Shh causes preaxial polydactyly.

Preaxial polydactyly (PPD) is a common limb malformation in human. A number of polydactylous mouse mutants indicate that misexpression of Shh is a common requirement for generating extra digits. Here we identify a translocation breakpoint in a PPD patient and a transgenic insertion site in the polydactylous mouse mutant sasquatch (Ssq).