Disease burden caused by respiratory syncytial virus compared with influenza among adults: a retrospective cohort study from Eastern Finland in 2017-2018.

Objectives: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the most important causes of lower respiratory tract illnesses. In this study, we examined the number and severity of RSV infections among adult patients. The underlying diseases and background information of patients with RSV were examined and compared with the patients with influenza.

Testing of an enhanced leaf model for improved dose calculation in a commercial treatment planning system.

Background: With the ever-increasing complexity of dynamic radiotherapy treatments, dose calculation algorithms are challenged to accurately calculate the dose resulting from small, on- and off-axis multileaf collimator (MLC) aperture movements. Although the currently available Eclipse (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto) dose calculation algorithms still use a simplified, binary MLC model, a more advanced and detailed modeling of the MLC could be beneficial for the dose calculation precision of high-end treatments.

Purpose: To improve the modeling of the MLC in the dose calculation algorithms of the Eclipse treatment planning system, an enhanced MLC attenuation model was constructed through ray tracing through the actual leaf designs for the most commonly used Varian MLC types.

Pollutant emissions released during sewage sludge combustion in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor.

The combustion of dry sewage sludge particles in a bubbling fluidized bed was studied in detail, analyzing the composition of the exhaust gases by means of a FTIR equipment. The operating conditions of the fluidized bed, i.e.

Experience in commissioning the halcyon linac.

Purpose: This manuscript describes the experience of two institutions in commissioning the new Halcyon platform. Its purpose is to: (a) validate the pre-defined beam data, (b) compare relevant commissioning data acquired independently by two separate institutions, and (c) report on any significant differences in commissioning between the Halcyon linear accelerator and other medical linear accelerators.

Methods: Extensive beam measurements, testing of mechanical and imaging systems, including the multi-leaf collimator (MLC), were performed at the two institutions independently.

Environmental variability and population dynamics: do European and North American ducks play by the same rules?

Density dependence, population regulation, and variability in population size are fundamental population processes, the manifestation and interrelationships of which are affected by environmental variability. However, there are surprisingly few empirical studies that distinguish the effect of environmental variability from the effects of population processes. We took advantage of a unique system, in which populations of the same duck species or close ecological counterparts live in highly variable (north American prairies) and in stable (north European lakes) environments, to distinguish the relative contributions of environmental variability (measured as between-year fluctuations in wetland numbers) and intraspecific interactions (density dependence) in driving population dynamics.