PSMA PET/CT patterns of recurrence after mono-brachytherapy in men with low and intermediate prostate cancer and subsequent management.

Purpose: Brachytherapy as monotherapy is a recommended treatment option for men with low to intermediate risk prostate cancer. Local recurrence is difficult to identify. This study investigated PSMA PET/CT for recurrence after brachytherapy, as well as their subsequent management when recurrence occurred only within the prostate.

Comprehensive comparison of three different workstations for accurate planning of endovascular stent implantation in patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms.

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic precision of three different workstations for measuring thoracic aortic aneurysms (TAAs) in vivo and ex vivo using either pre-interventional computed tomography angiography scans (CTA) or a specifically designed phantom model.

Methods: This retrospective study included 23 patients with confirmed TAA on routinely performed CTAs. In addition to phantom tube diameters, one experienced blinded radiologist evaluated the dimensions of TAAs on three different workstations in two separate rounds.

Intraprostatic Fiducials Compared with Bony Anatomy and Skin Marks for Image-Guided Radiation Therapy of Prostate Cancer.

Purpose Prostate motion occurs during radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. We evaluated the input of intraprostatic fiducials for image-guided radiation therapy and compared it with bony anatomy and skin marks. Methods Eleven patients were implanted with three fiducial markers in the prostate.

Delineation of the Prostate Bed: The "Invisible Target" Is Still an Issue?

For pathological high-risk prostate cancer, adjuvant irradiation has shown a survival benefit. Phase III studies have highlighted that half men would face biochemical relapse and would be candidate for radiotherapy at adjuvant or salvage times. Despite at least four published international contouring guidelines from different collaborative groups, discrepancies remain for volumes, delineation, and margins to be considered in order to optimize radiotherapy planning.

Restriction capillaries as an innovative mixing unit for intermediate mobile phase exchange in multidimensional analysis.

A novel mixing unit is proposed for the serial coupling of orthogonal columns to analyze polar and non-polar compounds in a single run. The principle relies on the isolation of unretained peaks eluting from a first dimension column in a sample loop, before directing them to a second column for separation. Since the mobile phases employed in highly orthogonal separations are not directly compatible, a mixing unit is required to alter the mobile phase composition before executing the second dimension separation.

[Partial delegation to radiation therapists of the control by cone beam CT of prostate positioning].

Purpose: Intensity modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer involves daily monitoring of the positioning of the prostate, possible with cone beam CT (CBCT). It allows increased accuracy compared to readjustments but induces an increase in the time dedicated to these medical checks. The aim of the study was to evaluate the possibility of delegation of this task to the radiation therapists by comparing their readjustments to the doctors.

Quantitative mass spectrometry methods for pharmaceutical analysis.

Quantitative pharmaceutical analysis is nowadays frequently executed using mass spectrometry. Electrospray ionization coupled to a (hybrid) triple quadrupole mass spectrometer is generally used in combination with solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography. Furthermore, isotopically labelled standards are often used to correct for ion suppression.

[Salvage concomitant chemoradiation therapy for non-metastatic inflammatory breast cancer after chemotherapy failure].

Purpose: To evaluate the surgical possibility following concomitant chemoradiotherapy for inflammatory breast cancer, after unsucessful neoadjuvant chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: The data from ten patients with inflammatory breast cancer treated between 1996 and 2010 by concomitant chemoradiotherapy after unsucessful neoadjuvant chemotherapy were analysed. All patients had an invasive carcinoma.

[Image-guided radiotherapy and partial delegation to radiotherapy technicians: Clermont-Ferrand experience].

The various image-guided radiotherapy techniques raise the question of how to achieve the control of patient positioning before irradiation session and sharing of tasks between radiation oncologists and radiotherapy technicians. We have put in place procedures and operating methods to make a partial delegation of tasks to radiotherapy technicians and secure the process in three situations: control by orthogonal kV imaging (kV-kV) of bony landmarks, control by kV-kV imaging of intraprostatic fiducial goldmarkers and control by cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging for prostate cancer. Significant medical overtime is required to control these three IGRT techniques.

[Delineation for oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers].

The aim of this article is to present the determination and the delineation of target volumes for oral cavity and oropharyngeal carcinomas treated with intensity-modulated irradiation. The delineation on the computerized tomography scanner (CT scan) requires a precise method because of the complexity of the head-and-neck anatomy. Different elements are necessary: clinical examination, diagram of the initial tumor, surgical and pathological reports and medical imaging (CT scan, magnetic resonance imaging and fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography).

[Partial delegation to radiation therapists of the control by onboard imaging of patient positioning].

Purpose: Daily set up of patients with prostate cancer using orthogonal kV/kV imaging and weekly set up control require 1h to 1h30 of off line revision by a radio-oncologist per day and per accelerator. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility to delegate this control to radiation therapists.

Material And Methods: The files of 33 patients (including 13 with prostate cancer) treated from November 2010 to February 2011 on a Varian™ Clinac IX accelerator with an OBI™ system were evaluated.

[Whole brain radiotherapy for brain metastases: the technique of irradiation influences the dose to parotid glands].

In the treatment of brain metastases, whole brain radiotherapy can be carried out according two distinct methods: one using multileaf collimator for field shaping and protection of organs at risk, and a second one is to make a rotation of the field to avoid the eyes. The aim of the study was to compare for 10 patients the dose distributions at organs at risk for each method. Patients received 30 Gy in 10 fractions.

Cardiac fibrillation risk of TASER X-26 dart mode application.

In view of reported fatalities there are still controversial discussions on whether electronic stun law enforcement weapons can cause cardiac fibrillation. Experimental data are contradictory. Simplified theoretical estimations led to a negligible low risk of 8.

Numerically simulated cardiac exposure to electric current densities induced by TASER X-26 pulses in adult men.

There is still an ongoing debate whether or not electronic stun devices (ESDs) induce cardiac fibrillation. To assess the ventricular fibrillation risk of law enforcing electronic control devices, quantitative estimates of cardiac electric current densities induced by delivered electric pulses are essential. Numerical simulations were performed with the finite integration technique and the anatomical model of a standardized European man (NORMAN) segmented into 2 mm voxels and 35 different tissues.

Gram-Charlier matched filter for Shack-Hartmann sensing at low light levels.

A study has been made of a Gram-Charlier matched filter for Shack-Hartmann sensing of wave-front slopes. The method is based on modeling the point-spread function by an expansion in terms of Gauss-Hermite polynomials. We present results for several subapertureycoherence area sizes both with and without CCD read noise.

Renewing governance.

Globalization's profound influence on social and political institutions need not be negative. Critics of globalization have often referred to the "Impossible Trinity" because decision-making must 1. respect national sovereignty, 2.

Trade policy and public goods.

The World Trade Organization (WTO) was formed in 1994 as the first multilateral trade organization with enforcement authority over national governments. A country's domestic standards cannot be more restrictive than international standards for trade. WTO seeks to "harmonize" individual domestic policies into uniform global standards and encompasses trade-related aspects of health, public safety, and environmental protection.

Information dissemination and use: critical components in occupational safety and health.

Background: Information dissemination is a mandated, but understudied, requirement of occupational and environmental health laws and voluntary initiatives. Research is needed on the factors that enhance and limit the development, transfer, and use of occupational safety and health information (OSH). Contemporary changes in the workforce, workplaces, and the nature of work will require new emphasis on the dissemination of information to foster prevention.

Changes in the association of low birth weight with socioeconomic status in Hawaii: 1970-1990.

This study examines rates of low birth weight (LBW) in the state of Hawaii and changes in the association of LBW with socioeconomic status from 1970 to 1990. The analysis is based on aggregate data for census tracts. Rates of low birth weight were calculated for each census tract.

Occupational safety and health training on the Internet. Developing quality instruction.

1. Training via the Internet (e-training) for adults must be based on the following principles: (1) learning is an active process wherein the learner constructs knowledge rather than acquires it and (2) instruction is a process of supporting this construction rather than communicating knowledge. E-training can successfully accommodate such features using available technologies.

Variational solution for modal wave-front projection functions of minimum-error norm.

Common wave-front sensors such as the Hartmann or curvature sensor provide measurements of the local gradient or Laplacian of the wave front. The expression of wave fronts in terms of a set of orthogonal basis functions thus generally leads to a linear wave-front-estimation problem in which modal cross coupling occurs. Auxiliary vector functions may be derived that effectively restore the orthogonality of the problem and enable the modes of a wave front to be independently and directly projected from slope measurements.