Potential improvements in the therapeutic ratio of prostate cancer irradiation: dose escalation of pathologically identified tumour nodules using intensity modulated radiotherapy.

The potential of intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to improve the therapeutic ratio in prostate cancer by dose escalation of intraprostatic tumour nodules (IPTNs) was investigated using a simultaneous integrated boost technique. The prostate and organs-at-risk were outlined on CT images from six prostate cancer patients. Positions of IPTNs were transferred onto the CT images from prostate maps derived from sequential large block sections of whole prostatectomy specimens. Inverse planned IMRT dose distributions were created to irradiate the prostate to 70 Gy and all the IPTNs to 90 Gy. A second plan was produced to escalate only the dominant IPTN (DIPTN) to 90 Gy, mimicking current imaging techniques. These plans were compared with homogeneous prostate irradiation to 70 Gy using dose–volume histograms, tumour control probability (TCP) and normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) for the rectum. The mean dose to IPTNs was increased from 69.8 Gy to 89.1 Gy if all the IPTNs were dose escalated (p=0.0003). This corresponded to a mean increase in TCP of 8.7–31.2% depending on the /ß ratio of prostate cancer (p

Improving f(MAX)/f(T) ratio in FinFETs using source/drain extension region engineering

A design methodology to optimise the ratio of maximum oscillation frequency to cutoff frequency, f(MAX)/f(T), in 60 nm FinFETs is presented. Results show that 25 to 60% improvement in f(MAX)/f(T) at drain currents of 20-300 mu A/mu m can be achieved in a non-overlap gate-source/drain architecture. The reported work provides new insights into the design and optimisation of nanoscale FinFETs for RF applications.

A novel application of ratio spectra derivative spectroscopy for the determination of amphotericin in highly icteric plasma.

Derivative spectroscopy has been utilised for the determination of amphotericin in various biological matrices including plasma, serum, urine and brain tissue. Whilst these methods have all been shown to be suitable for the determination of the drug in these matrices it has been reported that the application fails in the case of highly icteric plasma, this being due to the presence of high concentrations (>50 mu M) of bilirubin. This paper details the application of ratio spectra derivative spectroscopy to overcome the interference of bilirubin with amphotericin in such situations.

Ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet line ratio diagnostics for O IV.

Aims: We generate theoretical ultraviolet and extreme-ultraviolet emission line ratios for O IV and show their strong versatility as electron temperature and density diagnostics for astrophysical plasmas.
Methods: Recent fully relativistic calculations of radiative rates and electron impact excitation cross sections for O IV, supplemented with earlier data for A-values and proton excitation rates, are used to derive theoretical O IV line intensity ratios for a wide range of electron temperatures and densities.
Results: Diagnostic line ratios involving ultraviolet or extreme-ultraviolet transitions in O IV are presented, that are applicable to a wide variety of astrophysical plasmas ranging from low density gaseous nebulae to the densest solar and stellar flares. Comparisons with observational data, where available, show good agreement between theory and experiment, providing support for the accuracy of the diagnostics. However, diagnostics are also presented involving lines that are blended in existing astronomical spectra, in the hope this might encourage further observational studies at higher spectral resolution.

Towards variance-matrix characterization of complementarity relations in a continuous variable system

We discuss complementarity relations in a bipartite continuous variable system. Building up from the work done on discrete d-dimensional systems, we prove that for symmetric two-mode states, quantum complementarity relations can be put in a simple relation with the elements of the variance matrix. When this condition is not satisfied, such a connection becomes non-trivial. Our investigation is the first step towards an operative characterization of the complementarity in a scenario that has not been investigated so far.