Search results for "Models"

Home-based HIV testing: Using different strategies among transgender women in Argentina.

2019

Background In Argentina, HIV prevalence among transgender women (TGW) has been reported at 34%. The stigma is one of the most important factors limiting their access to healthcare services. The aims of this study were to compare different HIV testing methodologies, to determine the factors associated with HIV diagnosis and to determine the feasibility of a home-based HIV testing service for TGW. Methods A multidisciplinary team performed home-based HIV testing interventions in four cities of Argentina. Participants self-identified as TGW, older than 14 years and with a negative or unknown HIV status. Blood samples were screened by two rapid tests (RT), one based on antibodies (Determine™ HI…

Radial Basis Functions for Electronic Devices Behavioral Modeling

2006

In this paper a black-box identification technique based on the radial basis functions is used in developing global dynamic behavioural models of electronic devices from measured transient responses. This approach allows to reproduce a non-linear dynamic model of the device under modelling automatically taking into account all the physical effects relating input and output data, from measured waveform only: no knowledge of the internal structure is needed. Original application related to a bipolar junction transistor is reported and validated by comparing simulation results with measured data.

The modulation transfer function and signal-to-noise ratio of different digital filters: a technical approach.

2011

The aim of this study was to illustrate the influence of digital filters on the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and modulation transfer function (MTF) of digital images. The article will address image pre-processing that may be beneficial for the production of clinically useful digital radiographs with lower radiation dose.Three filters, an arithmetic mean filter, a median filter and a Gaussian filter (standard deviation (SD) = 0.4), with kernel sizes of 3 × 3 pixels and 5 × 5 pixels were tested. Synthetic images with exactly increasing amounts of Gaussian noise were created to gather linear regression of SNR before and after application of digital filters. Artificial stripe patterns with defin…

TLM Nodes: A New Look at an Old Problem

2015

In this paper, an alternative perspective on the transmission line modeling (TLM) method concepts to unify previous work is presented. The procedure begins by discretizing Maxwell’s equations and proposing TLM equivalent models. Node voltage and mesh current definitions are provided in terms of link line contributions, compatible with stub currents and voltages. They allow obtaining an expression that relates incident and reflected pulses with no other condition required. With this unified approach, modeling of other situations is straightforward. 2-D cases, source implementation, and anisotropic media are described and numerically tested.

Dosimetric feasibility study for an extracorporeal BNCT application on liver metastases at the TRIGA Mainz

2010

This study investigates the dosimetric feasibility of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) of explanted livers in the thermal column of the research reactor in Mainz. The Monte Carlo code MCNP5 is used to calculate the biologically weighted dose for different ratios of the (10)B-concentration in tumour to normal liver tissue. The simulation results show that dosimetric goals are only partially met. To guarantee effective BNCT treatment the organ has to be better shielded from all gamma radiation.

Evaluation of Epigenetic and Radiomodifying Effects during Radiotherapy Treatments in Zebrafish

2021

Radiotherapy is still a long way from personalizing cancer treatment plans, and its effectiveness depends on the radiosensitivity of tumor cells. Indeed, therapies that are efficient and successful for some patients may be relatively ineffective for others. Based on this, radiobiological research is focusing on the ability of some reagents to make cancer cells more responsive to ionizing radiation, as well as to protect the surrounding healthy tissues from possible side effects. In this scenario, zebrafish emerged as an effective model system to test for radiation modifiers that can potentially be used for radiotherapeutic purposes in humans. The adoption of this experimental organism is fu…

The use of theranostic gadolinium-based nanoprobes to improve radiotherapy efficacy

2014

International audience; A new efficient type of gadolinium-based theranostic agent (AGuIX) has recently been developed for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided radiotherapy. These new particles consist of a polysiloxane network surrounded by a number of gadolinium chelates, usually 10. Due to their small size (<5 nm), AGuIX typically exhibit biodistributions that are almost ideal for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. For example, while a significant proportion of these particles accumulate in tumours, the remainder is rapidly eliminated by the renal route. In addition, these particles present no evidence of toxicity, in the absence of irradiation with up to 10 times the planned dose f…

The Influence of Diffusion of Inert Gases on the Determination of Blood Flow by the Clearance Method

1968

Fitted dosimetric parameters of high dose-rate 192Ir sources according to the AAPM TG43 formalism

2001

The purpose of this study is to find fitted functional forms to the anisotropy function, F(r,θ), and the radial dose function, g(r), in order to characterize dose-rate distributions around all the high-intensity 192 Ir sources currently in use. Dosimetry data are at present available as tables for: the microSelectron HDR (“classic” and “new” design models), the PDR source, and the VariSource HDR source, expressed in terms of the AAPM Task Group No. 43 recommendations. There is only one paper out which introduces a functional form to fit the anisotropy function, but only for symmetric sources with respect to the transverse axis. However, dosimetric data of the HDR and PDR sources mentioned a…

Joint image and motion reconstruction for PET using a B-spline motion model.

2012

We present a novel joint image and motion reconstruction method for PET. The method is based on gated data and reconstructs an image together with a motion function. The motion function can be used to transform the reconstructed image to any of the input gates. All available events (from all gates) are used in the reconstruction. The presented method uses a B-spline motion model, together with a novel motion regularization procedure that does not need a regularization parameter (which is usually extremely difficult to adjust). Several image and motion grid levels are used in order to reduce the reconstruction time. In a simulation study, the presented method is compared to a recently propos…