Process-driven and biological characterisation and mapping of seabed habitats sensitive to trawling.

The increase of anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment together with the necessity of a sustainable management of marine living resources have underlined the need to map and model coastal environments, particularly for the purposes of spatial planning and for the implementation of integrated ecosystem-based management approach. The present study compares outputs of a process-driven benthic habitat sensitivity (PDS) model to the structure, composition and distribution of benthic invertebrates in the Eastern English Channel and southern part of the North Sea. Trawl disturbance indicators (TDI) computed from species biological traits and benthic community composition were produced from samples collected with a bottom trawl.

[Training of medical physicists in radiation therapy at the International Educational Center of the Association of Medical Physicists in Russia].

The efficiency of radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients and use of the state-of-the-art accelerator facilities, in the first place, depends on the qualification and number of medical physicists. The need for the training and continuing professional development (CPD) of medical radiation physicists in Russia and CIS countries has dramatically increased today. The article considers the system of refresher training which should provide the continuing professional development and advance training of medical radiation physicists.

[Issues in oncologic radiation physics and the establishing of a nuclear medicine service in Russia].

The creation of a framework of federal and regional medico-physical agencies at key medical, research and educational establishments will help solve many problems of development of oncological radiation physics. The setting-up of a medico-physical service in Russia will be instrumental in providing effective radiation treatment to cancer patients and will prevent huge losses in resources.

[Current problems of medical physics in the radionuclide diagnosis].

The most important problems of medical physics in clinical radionuclide diagnosis are considered on the basis of the data available in the literature. The matter and trends in the development of investigations, into radiopharmaceutical, hard- and software, methodological, and algorithmic supports of radionuclide diagnosis, as well as those into its quality insurance and provision of radiation safety of patients and the personnel are also analyzed.

[Calculation of the parameters for teleradiotherapy procedures on the Iskra-226 computer].

The mentioned computes calculates parameters for treatment sessions of the following types of gamma teletherapy: multizonal rotation irradiation with open fields, multizonal static irradiation with open fields and with the use of protective units in case of using AGAT and ROKUS-M apparatus. The employment of computer programs makes it possible to cut down (on the average from 20 to 2 min) the time consumed for calculation of parameters of irradiation for each patient, to avoid casual errors made in calculations by hand and to simplify drawing up of documents.

[Computed tomography in pre-irradiation topometry applied to diseases of the thoracic organs].

The authors describe methods of pre-irradiation topometry in patients with thoracic tumors. They are based on patients' examination using an X-ray simulator and a computerized tomograph. The superiority of these methods over the previously used conventional methods was shown.