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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: Metastasis-directed therapy with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the setting of oligometastatic disease is a rapidly evolving paradigm given ongoing improvements in systemic therapies and diagnostic modalities. However, SBRT to targets in the abdomen and pelvis is historically associated with concerns about toxicity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SBRT to the abdomen and pelvis for women with oligometastases from primary gynecological tumors. MATERIALS/METHODS: From our IRB-approved registry, all patients who were treated with SBRT between 2014 and 2020 were identified. Oligometastatic disease was defined as 1 to 5 discrete foci of clinical metastasis radiographically diagnosed by positron emission tomography (PET) and/or computerized tomography (CT) imaging. The primary endpoint was local control at 12 months. Local and distant control rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Time intervals for development of local progression and distant progression were calculated based on follow up visits with re-staging imaging. Acute and late toxicity outcomes were determined based on Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0. RESULTS: We identified 34 women with 43 treated lesions. Median age was 68 years (range 32-82), and median follow up time was 12 months (range 0.2-54.0). Most common primary tumor sites were ovarian (n=12), uterine (n=11), and cervical (n=7). Median number of previous lines of systemic therapy agents at time of SBRT was 2 (range 0-10). Overall, SBRT was delivered to 1 focus of oligometastasis in 29 cases, 2 foci in 2 cases, 3 foci in 2 cases, and 4 foci in 1 case. All patients were treated comprehensively with SBRT to all sites of oligometastasis. Median prescription dose was 24 Gy (range 18-54 Gy) in 3 fractions (range 3-6) to a median prescription isodose line of 83.5% (range 52-95). Local control by lesion at 12 and 24 months was 92.5% for both time points. Local failure was observed in three treated sites among two patients, two of which were at 11 months in one patient, and the other at 30 months. Systemic control rate was 60.2% at 12 months. Overall survival at 12 and 24 months was 85% and 70.2%, respectively. Acute grade 2 toxicities included nausea (n=3), and there were no grade > 3 acute toxicities. Late grade 1 toxicities included diarrhea (n=1) and fatigue (n=1), and there were no grade > 2 toxicities. CONCLUSION: SBRT to oligometastatic gynecologic malignancies in the abdomen and pelvis is feasible with encouraging preliminary safety and local control outcomes. This approach is associated with excellent local control and low rates of toxicity during our follow-up interval. Further investigations into technique, dose-escalation and utilization are warranted.

Purpose: To assess the optimal planning target volume (PTV) margins for stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of prostate cancer based on inter- and intra-fractional prostate motion determined from daily image guidance. Methods and Materials: Two hundred and five patients who were enrolled on two prospective studies of SBRT (8 Gy × 5 fractions) for localized prostate cancer treated at a single institution between 2012 and 2017 had complete inter- and intra-fractional shift data available. All patients had scheduled kilovoltage planar imaging during SBRT with rigid registration to intraprostatic fiducials prior to each of four half-arcs delivered per fraction, as well as cone beam CT verification of anatomy prior to each fraction. Inter- and intra- fractional shift data were obtained to estimate the required PTV margins based on the classic van Herk formula. Inter- and intra-fractional motion were compared between patients with and without severe toxicities using the independent two-sample Wilcoxon test. Results: The margins required to account for inter-fractional motion were estimated to be 0.99, 1.52, and 1.45 cm in lateral (LR), longitudinal (SI), and vertical (AP) directions, respectively. The margins required to account for intra-fractional motion were estimated to be 0.19, 0.27, and 0.31 cm in LR, SI and AP directions, respectively. Large intra-fractional shifts were mostly observed in the SI and AP directions, with 2.0 and 5.4% of patients experiencing average intra-fractional motion >3 mm in the SI and AP directions, respectively, compared with none experiencing mean shifts >3 mm in the LR direction. Six patients experienced grade 3 gastrointestinal or genitourinary toxicity. There were no significant differences in mean inter- or intra-fractional motion in any of the cardinal directions compared to patients without severe toxicity (inter-fractional p = 0.46-0.99, intra-fractional p = 0.10-0.84). Conclusion: The inter- and intra-fractional margins estimated from this study are in line with prior reported values. Intra-fractional prostate motion was generally small with larger margins required for the SI and AP directions, notably just slightly exceeding the commonly used 3 mm posterior PTV margin even with realignment between half-arcs. Development of severe toxicity was not significantly associated with the degree of inter- or intra-fractional motion.

Printed circuit board (PCB) layout is becoming high density, high performance, light, and short. In the automatic PCB defect detection system, image registration of PCB plays an important role. However, most of the traditional registration methods are inefficient, and cannot cope with the problems of image distortion, affine, noise, and so on. To address this issue, the authors propose an improved scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) feature extraction algorithm combined with particle swarm optimisation (PSO) to register the images of PCB which placed on a conveyor belt. The advantage of the presented approach is that the registration results are more robust and efficient by optimising the existing PCB image matching framework. The experimental results on the proposed PCB datasets show that the speed of the proposed method (improved SIFT-PSO) is faster than the traditional SIFT feature registration method, and the average computing time of processing single picture can be improved by 10 s, the registration accuracy can be improved by 3–4%. Compared with the experimental results of other algorithms, the root-mean-square error can be reduced to 0.5146 by using the proposed method. Thus, the proposed method (improved SIFT-PSO) is more accurate and robust in real-time inspection system of PCB.

Oil immersed power transformer is the most widely used large power transformer in power system and its insulation structure is mainly composed of oil, paper and other solid insulation materials. Partial discharge monitoring is an effective means to find dielectric faults of transformer in an early stage of development. Ultra-high frequency(UHF) partial discharge detection technology has high detection frequency and strong anti-interference ability, which is suitable for transformer online detection. In this paper, five typical transformer discharge models are built, and the discharge spectra of each model are measured by a UHF sensor. The test results show that the surface discharge and wedge discharge most occurs near the voltage peak, the discharge phase distribution of floating part discharge is very wide, the internal air gas discharge mostly occurs in the area where the absolute value of voltage increases, and the point-to-plane discharge has a typical polarity effect.

Purpose/objectives Metastasis-directed therapy with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in the setting of oligometastatic disease is a rapidly evolving paradigm given ongoing improvements in systemic therapies and diagnostic modalities. However, SBRT to targets in the abdomen and pelvis is historically associated with concerns about toxicity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of SBRT to the abdomen and pelvis for women with oligometastases from primary gynecological tumors. Materials/methods From our IRB-approved registry, all patients who were treated with SBRT between 2014 and 2020 were identified. Oligometastatic disease was defined as 1 to 5 discrete foci of clinical metastasis radiographically diagnosed by positron emission tomography (PET) and/or computerized tomography (CT) imaging. The primary endpoint was local control at 12 months. Local and distant control rates were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Time intervals for development of local progression and distant progression were calculated based on follow up visits with re-staging imaging. Acute and late toxicity outcomes were determined based on Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) version 5.0. Results We identified 34 women with 43 treated lesions. Median age was 68 years (range 32-82), and median follow up time was 12 months (range 0.2-54.0). Most common primary tumor sites were ovarian (n=12), uterine (n=11), and cervical (n=7). Median number of previous lines of systemic therapy agents at time of SBRT was 2 (range 0-10). Overall, SBRT was delivered to 1 focus of oligometastasis in 29 cases, 2 foci in 2 cases, 3 foci in 2 cases, and 4 foci in 1 case. All patients were treated comprehensively with SBRT to all sites of oligometastasis. Median prescription dose was 24 Gy (range 18-54 Gy) in 3 fractions (range 3-6) to a median prescription isodose line of 83.5% (range 52-95). Local control by lesion at 12 and 24 months was 92.5% for both time points. Local failure was observed in three treated sites among two patients, two of which were at 11 months in one patient, and the other at 30 months. Systemic control rate was 60.2% at 12 months. Overall survival at 12 and 24 months was 85% and 70.2%, respectively. Acute grade 2 toxicities included nausea (n=3), and there were no grade > 3 acute toxicities. Late grade 1 toxicities included diarrhea (n=1) and fatigue (n=1), and there were no grade > 2 toxicities. Conclusion SBRT to oligometastatic gynecologic malignancies in the abdomen and pelvis is feasible with encouraging preliminary safety and local control outcomes. This approach is associated with excellent local control and low rates of toxicity during our follow-up interval. Further investigations into technique, dose-escalation and utilization are warranted.

The coal storage yard of thermal power plants are exposed to the air, causing problems like polluting the environment, falling short of requirements of eco-protection and undermining safe production. It causes threats in three forms:coal dust, coal pile explosion, and coal pile spontaneous combustion. Wind and dust suppression walls, dry coal sheds, fully enclosed coal sheds and other measures can be used in these yards to prevent pollution in the yard. Pollution treatment in these yards can avoid static dusting of coal and reduce the spread of dynamic dusting. This study interpreted the necessity of environmental treatment of coal storage yards and the development of three main technologies, and conducted detailed analysis and discussion of various environmental treatment solutions for coal storage yards of thermal power plants. This study intends to provide experience and lessons for environmental treatment of coal storage yards.

Thermal self-compressing bonding (TSCB) is a new solid-state bonding method pioneered by the authors. With electron beam as the non-melted heat source, previous experimental study performed on titanium alloys has proved the feasibility of TSCB. However, the thermal stress–strain process during bonding, which is of very important significance in revealing the mechanism of TSCB, was not analysed. In this paper, finite element analysis method is adopted to numerically study the thermal elasto-plastic stress–strain cycle of thermal self-compressing bonding. It is found that due to the localized heating, a non-uniform temperature distribution is formed during bonding, with the highest temperature existed on the bond interface. The expansion of high temperature materials adjacent to the bond interface are restrained by surrounding cool materials and rigid restraints, and thus an internal elasto-plastic stress–strain field is developed by itself which makes the bond interface subjected to thermal compressive action. This thermal self-compressing action combined with the high temperature on the bond interface promotes the atom diffusion across the bond interface to produce solid-state joints. Due to the relatively large plastic deformation, rigid restraint TSCB obtains sound joints in relatively short time compared to diffusion bonding.

Inflammation plays an important role in nerve defects caused by intracerebral hemorrhage. Repairing brain damage by inhibiting the macrophage-inducible C-type lectin/spleen tyrosine kinase (Mincle/Syk) signaling pathway is a potential new target for treating cerebral hemorrhage. In this study, we aimed to determine whether acupuncture through Baihui (DU20) to Qubin (GB7) is an effective treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage through the Mincle/Syk signaling pathway. An intracerebral hemorrhage rat model was established by autologous blood infusion into the caudate nucleus. Acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin was performed for 30 minutes, once every 12 hours, for a total of three times. Piceatannol (34.62 mg/kg), a Syk inhibitor, was intraperitoneally injected as a control. Modified neurological severity score was used to assess neurological function. Brain water content was measured. Immunohistochemistry and western blot assay were used to detect immunoreactivity and protein expression levels of Mincle, Syk, and CARD9. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine interleukin-1β mRNA levels. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe histopathological changes. Our results showed that acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin remarkably improved neurological function and brain water content, and inhibited immunoreactivity and expression of Mincle, Syk, CARD9, and interkeukin-1β. Moreover, this effect was similar to piceatannol. These findings suggest that acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin can improve neurological impairment after cerebral hemorrhage by inhibiting the Mincle/Syk signaling pathway.

Two 1-D and 3-D Ag(I) complexes involving 2-(pyridin-4-yl)-1H-imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid (H3PIDC) have been characterized by infrared spectrum, elemental analysis, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [Ag2(HPIDC)]n (1), synthesized under hydrothermal conditions, gave a 3-D framework; [Ag2(HPIDC)(MBI)]n (2) (MBI = 2-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazole), with MBI as the second ligand, gave a 1-D zigzag chain and further formed a 3-D supramolecular structure through π···π interactions. The most interesting structural features of these complexes are the presence of C–H···Ag hydrogen bonding interactions and Ag···C weak interactions between the Ag centers and H3PIDC. Luminescence indicates that 2 has significantly stronger fluorescent emissions than 1 in the solid state at room temperature.

Inflammation plays an important role in nerve defects caused by intracerebral hemorrhage. Repairing brain damage by inhibiting the macrophage-inducible C-type lectin/spleen tyrosine kinase (Mincle/Syk) signaling pathway is a potential new target for treating cerebral hemorrhage. In this study, we aimed to determine whether acupuncture through Baihui (DU20) to Qubin (GB7) is an effective treatment for intracerebral hemorrhage through the Mincle/Syk signaling pathway. An intracerebral hemorrhage rat model was established by autologous blood infusion into the caudate nucleus. Acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin was performed for 30 minutes, once every 12 hours, for a total of three times. Piceatannol (34.62 mg/kg), a Syk inhibitor, was intraperitoneally injected as a control. Modified neurological severity score was used to assess neurological function. Brain water content was measured. Immunohistochemistry and western blot assay were used to detect immunoreactivity and protein expression levels of Mincle, Syk, and CARD9. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine interleukin-1β mRNA levels. Hematoxylin-eosin staining was performed to observe histopathological changes. Our results showed that acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin remarkably improved neurological function and brain water content, and inhibited immunoreactivity and expression of Mincle, Syk, CARD9, and interkeukin-1β. Moreover, this effect was similar to piceatannol. These findings suggest that acupuncture through Baihui to Qubin can improve neurological impairment after cerebral hemorrhage by inhibiting the Mincle/Syk signaling pathway.

The characteristics of temperature field have been studied numerically and experimentally for a titanium alloy sheet when welded with an improved gas tungsten arc welding method, in which a trailing spot heat sink is introduced to control the welding stress and distortion. The impinging jet model is employed to describe the intense heat transfer between the cooling media and the top surface of the workpiece. By comparing this improved technique to the conventional gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) process, the influence of the spot heat sink is investigated. Results show that a low temperature region exists where the heat sink is applied; a saddle backed temperature field, with the lowest temperature at the centre and higher temperatures at both sides, is formed during the improved welding method; and the time that the metal spends at high temperature is shortened in the improved welding process. Experimental measurements of the thermal histories compare well with the calculations, which prove the validity of the finite element model and the impinging jet heat transfer model in simulating the gas tungsten arc welding process with a trailing heat sink.