Development, Verification and Assessment of a Laser Profilometer and Analysis Algorithm for Microtexture Assessment of Runway Surfaces.

Runway surface friction is critically important to safe aircraft operations and mostly depends on the surface texture, which provides grip in the presence of contamination and directly affects the friction coefficient in general. Microtexture assessment is the most challenging part of texture assessment since there is no standardised pavement microtexture control method in runway maintenance and management practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a simple laser profilometer and analysis model and subsequent validation for use in runway friction surveys.

Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging- Guided Dose-Escalated Radiation Therapy for Localized Prostate Cancer: A Prospective Phase 2 Trial.

Purpose: This trial's purpose was to determine the late toxicity associated with dose escalation to Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) III-V lesions on multiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with an image guided combined IMRT-stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) approach in men with localized prostate cancer.

Methods And Materials: In this phase 2 trial patients with localized prostate cancer with clinical tumor stage T1-T3bN0 and at least one PIRADS III-V lesion were recruited to receive 45 Gy in 25 fractions to the prostate and seminal vesicles followed by a boost of 18 Gy in 3 fractions to the prostate with a simultaneous integrated boost 21 Gy in 3 fractions to the PI-RADS lesion(s). The primary endpoint was the cumulative incidence of late grade ≥3 genitourinary and gastrointestinal toxicity by 18 months (National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, version 4.

Comparing the Effect of Thermal-Oxidation and Photo-Oxidation of Asphalt Mixtures on the Rheological and Chemical Properties of Extracted Bituminous Binder.

The reliable and representative ageing of asphalt samples in the laboratory is critically important to research on asphalt durability, waste material recycling and rejuvenation treatments. However, standard laboratory ageing protocols omit ultraviolet radiation and moisture, and are also based on a universally applied oven temperature and ageing duration. The aim of this research was to demonstrate the importance of ultraviolet radiation in laboratory asphalt aging, motivated by the need for more realistic ageing protocols.

The Effect of Waste Plastics on the Ageing Phenomenon of Bituminous Binders and Asphalt Mixtures.

The push for environmental sustainability in the civil engineering industry has resulted in an increased interest in the use of recycled construction materials, with one example being the use of waste plastic for the modification of bituminous binder in asphalt mixtures. Existing research has associated waste plastics with various binder and asphalt mixture performance enhancing properties. However, there is a lack of research on the age-related durability of waste plastic-modified roads.

Laboratory Evaluation of the Performance of Stone Mastic Asphalt as an Ungrooved Runway Surface.

Many airports are surfaced with grooved Marshall-designed dense graded asphalt. Grooving is required to satisfy regulatory aircraft skid resistance requirements, but introduces the risk of groove-related distress, such as groove closure. Consequently, airports seek an ungrooved runway surface option that performs similarly to dense graded asphalt but allows grooving to be avoided.

The Effect of Two Attending Surgeons on the Outcomes of Posterior Spine Fusion in Children With Cerebral Palsy.

Background: Posterior spinal fusion (PSF) in children with cerebral palsy (CP) carries a high risk of complications and morbidity. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of using two attending surgeons on blood loss, operative time, and complications in this fragile population.

Methods: This was a prospective, matched cohort analysis of patients with CP who underwent PSF with two attending surgeons.

The Effect of Two Attending Surgeons on Patients With Large-Curve Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective, chart review.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of using two surgeons for posterior spinal fusion (PSF) in patients with AIS with large-magnitude curves (greater than 70°).

Summary Of Background Data: Previous studies have shown that intraoperative risk factors can be reduced by having two surgeons operate simultaneously.

Hip reconstruction is more painful than spine fusion in children with cerebral palsy.

Purpose: Concerns about pain control in patients with cerebral palsy (CP) are especially anxiety provoking for parents, given the fact that spasticity, communication issues, and postoperative muscle spasms are significant problems that make pain control difficult in these patients. A better understanding of the magnitude and quality of the pain these patients experience after our surgical procedures would better prepare the patients and their families. The purpose of this study is to quantify the amount of postoperative pain in children with CP undergoing hip reconstruction and spinal fusion.

Adjunctive Pain Control Methods Lower Narcotic Use and Pain Scores for Patients With Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Undergoing Posterior Spinal Fusion.

Study Design: This was a retrospective review of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) undergoing posterior spinal fusion (PSF).

Objectives: To determine whether the use of adjunctive pain medications (bupivacaine pump, dexmedetomidine, and ketorolac) will reduce the need for opioids, reduce postoperative pain, and shorten length of hospital stay in patients with AIS undergoing PSF.

Summary Of Background Data: Posterior spinal fusion and instrumentation for AIS can cause significant postoperative pain.

Are We Undermedicating Patients With Neuromuscular Scoliosis After Posterior Spinal Fusion?

Study Design: Retrospective, matched study of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and patients with cerebral palsy (CP) undergoing (PSF).

Objectives: To compare pain management, through measurement of the amount of narcotic used and pain scores, for patients with neuromuscular (NM) scoliosis undergoing PSF to a cohort of patients with AIS.

Summary Of Background Data: Posterior spinal fusion for children with severe NM scoliosis carries a high risk of complications.

Justifying reimbursement for Alzheimer's diagnostics and treatments: Seeking alignment on evidence.

The increasing cost of health care combined with expensive new drugs and diagnostics is leading to more frequent gaps between regulatory and subsequent reimbursement approval decisions. As a result, persons with Alzheimer's disease may have difficulty accessing the benefit of medical advances. In contrast to the long history and established structure for drug approval, payer decision making is dispersed, not standardized, and perspectives on necessary evidence and the evaluation of this evidence differ and are often poorly defined.

Pneumatic pressure bioreactor for cyclic hydrostatic stress application: mechanobiology effects on periodontal ligament cells.

A bioreactor system was developed to provide high-amplitude cyclic hydrostatic compressive stress (cHSC) using compressed air mixed commercially as needed to create partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide appropriate for the cells under investigation. Operating pressures as high as 300 psi are achievable in this system at cyclic speeds of up to 0.2 Hz.

Dosimetric comparison study between intensity modulated radiation therapy and three-dimensional conformal proton therapy for pelvic bone marrow sparing in the treatment of cervical cancer.

The objective was to compare intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with 3D conformal proton therapy (3DCPT) in the treatment of cervical cancer. In particular, each technique's ability to spare pelvic bone marrow (PBM) was of primary interest in this study. A total of six cervical cancer patients (3 postoperative and 3 intact) were planned and analyzed.

Evaluation of three APBI techniques under NSABP B-39 guidelines.

This work compares two accelerated partial breast irradiation modalities, MammoSite brachytherapy and three dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), to a new method, SAVI brachytherapy, following NSABP B-39 guidelines. A total of 21 patients treated at UC San Diego with the SAVI device were evaluated in this comparison. 9 of the 21 patients were eligible for all three modalities and were dosimetrically compared evaluating V90, V150, V200, total target volume, maximum skin, lung, and chestwall/rib dose.

Focal radiation therapy of brain metastases after complete surgical resection.

Brain metastases are a frequent occurrence in cancer patients and result in significant morbidity and mortality. The three main treatments for brain metastases include surgery, radiation, and/or chemotherapy, alone or in combination. After resection alone, local recurrence rates are high.

Temozolomide and radiation for aggressive pediatric central nervous system malignancies.

This study describes the outcomes of children treated with combinations of temozolomide and radiation therapy for various aggressive central nervous system malignancies. Their age at diagnosis ranged from 1 to 15 years. Patients with focal disease were treated with concomitant temozolomide (daily 75 mg/m) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy in a dose that ranged from 50 to 54 Gy, followed by temozolomide (200 mg/m/d x 5 days/month in three patients, 150 mg/m x 5 days/ month in one patient).

Ikaros family members from the agnathan Myxine glutinosa and the urochordate Oikopleura dioica: emergence of an essential transcription factor for adaptive immunity.

The Ikaros multigene family encodes a number of zinc finger transcription factors that play key roles in vertebrate hemopoietic stem cell differentiation and the generation of B, T, and NK cell lineages. In this study, we describe the identification and characterization of an Ikaros family-like (IFL) protein from the agnathan hagfish Myxine glutinosa and the marine urochordate Oikopleura dioica, both of which lie on the evolutionary boundary between the vertebrates and invertebrates. The IFL molecules identified in these animals displayed high conservation in the zinc finger motifs critical for DNA binding and dimerization in comparison with those of jawed vertebrates.