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At least 1,315 records · Page 73
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Development of a Standardized Method for Contouring the Lumbosacral Plexus: A Preliminary Dosimetric Analysis of this Organ at Risk Among 15 Patients Treated With Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Lower Gastrointestinal Cancers and the Incidence of Radiation-Induced Lumbosacral Plexopathy

Purpose: To generate a reproducible step-wise guideline for the delineation of the lumbosacral plexus (LSP) on axial computed tomography (CT) planning images and to provide a preliminary dosimetric analysis on 15 representative patients with rectal or anal cancers treated with an intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) technique. Methods and Materials: A standardized method for contouring the LSP on axial CT images was devised. The LSP was referenced to identifiable anatomic structures from the L4-5 interspace to the level of the sciatic nerve. It was then contoured retrospectively on 15 patients treated with IMRT for rectal or anal cancer. No dose limitations were placed on this organ at risk during initial treatment planning. Dosimetric parameters were evaluated. The incidence of radiation-induced lumbosacral plexopathy (RILSP) was calculated. Results: Total prescribed dose to 95% of the planned target volume ranged from 50.4 to 59.4 Gy (median 54 Gy). The mean ({+-}standard deviation [SD]) LSP volume for the 15 patients was 100 {+-} 22 cm{sup 3} (range, 71-138 cm{sup 3}). The mean maximal dose to the LSP was 52.6 {+-} 3.9 Gy (range, 44.5-58.6 Gy). The mean irradiated volumes of the LSP were V40Gy = 58% {+-} 19%, V50Gy = 22% {+-} 23%, and V55Gy = 0.5% {+-} 0.9%. One patient (7%) was found to have developed RILSP at 13 months after treatment. Conclusions: The true incidence of RILSP in the literature is likely underreported and is not a toxicity commonly assessed by radiation oncologists. In our analysis the LSP commonly received doses approaching the prescribed target dose, and 1 patient developed RILSP. Identification of the LSP during IMRT planning may reduce RILSP. We have provided a reproducible method for delineation of the LSP on CT images and a preliminary dosimetric analysis for potential future dose constraints.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Hypofractionated Versus Standard Radiation Therapy With or Without Temozolomide for Older Glioblastoma Patients

Purpose: Older patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma have poor outcomes, and optimal treatment is controversial. Hypofractionated radiation therapy (HRT) is frequently used but has not been compared to patients receiving standard fractionated radiation therapy (SRT) and temozolomide (TMZ). Methods and Materials: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients ≥65 years of age who received radiation for the treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma from 1994 to 2013. The distribution of clinical covariates across various radiation regimens was analyzed for possible selection bias. Survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Comparison of hypofractionated radiation (typically, 40 Gy/15 fractions) versus standard fractionation (typically, 60 Gy/30 fractions) in the setting of temozolomide was conducted using Cox regression and propensity score analysis. Results: Patients received SRT + TMZ (n=57), SRT (n=35), HRT + TMZ (n=34), or HRT (n=9). Patients receiving HRT were significantly older (median: 79 vs 69 years of age; P<.001) and had worse baseline performance status (P<.001) than those receiving SRT. On multivariate analysis, older age (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR]: 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.10, P=.01), lower Karnofsky performance status (AHR: 1.02; 95% CI: 1.01-1.03; P=.01), multifocal disease (AHR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.23-3.61, P=.007), and radiation alone (vs SRT + TMZ; SRT: AHR: 1.72; 95% CI: 1.06-2.79; P=.03; HRT: AHR: 3.92; 95% CI: 1.44-10.60, P=.007) were associated with decreased overall survival. After propensity score adjustment, patients receiving HRT with TMZ had similar overall survival compared with those receiving SRT with TMZ (AHR: 1.10, 95% CI: 0.50-2.4, P=.82). Conclusions: With no randomized data demonstrating equivalence between HRT and SRT in the setting of TMZ for glioblastoma, significant selection bias exists in the implementation of HRT. Controlling for this bias, we observed similar overall survival for HRT and SRT with concurrent TMZ among elderly patients, suggesting the need for a randomized trial to compare these regimens directly.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Trends and limits of CO 2 capture in solid and liquid sorbents at standard conditions

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) plays a critical role in achieving climate change mitigation targets, offering a pathway to decarbonize power generation, industrial processes, and heat production while addressing atmospheric CO 2 removal. While CCS technologies are technically advanced, the widespread adoption of 100 % CO 2 capture capacities such as 1 mol of CO 2 /mol of material and 1 g CO 2 /g storage (targeted by the DARPA, Defense Sciences Office, USA Govt.) has raised questions about the feasibility of achieving higher capture capacities. In the context of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, reaching 100 % CO 2 capture capacity is increasingly necessary, with residual emissions requiring complementary carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies. This review exclusively focuses on the CO 2 capture capacities of various sorbents under standard conditions, using different evaluation metrics. This study explores the performance of solid and liquid sorbents under standard conditions, analyzing factors including surface area, pore structure, solvent type, and functionalization to identify materials optimized for industrial-scale CCS applications. Emerging sorbents, including ILs, MOFs, COFs, POPs, DES, RCC, hybrid materials, and reactive sorbents, offer significant potential for enhanced selectivity and energy-efficient regeneration. Through a systematic assessment of gravimetric, volumetric, and molar capacities, the study provides insights into material efficiencies and trade-offs, offering guidance on optimizing sorbent selection for specific applications. The research advances understanding of scalable CCS technologies, contributing to global efforts to achieve net-zero emissions and address the pressing challenge of climate change.

Absorption↗
DOE OSTI2012

Comparative dosimetric and radiobiological assessment among a nonstandard RapidArc, standard RapidArc, classical intensity-modulated radiotherapy, and 3D brachytherapy for the treatment of the vaginal vault in patients affected by gynecologic cancer

To evaluate a nonstandard RapidArc (RA) modality as alternative to high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BRT) or IMRT treatments of the vaginal vault in patients with gynecological cancer (GC). Nonstandard (with vaginal applicator) and standard (without vaginal applicator) RapidArc plans for 27 women with GC were developed to compare with HDR-BRT and IMRT. Dosimetric and radiobiological comparison were performed by means of dose-volume histogram and equivalent uniform dose (EUD) for planning target volume (PTV) and organs at risk (OARs). In addition, the integral dose and the overall treatment times were evaluated. RA, as well as IMRT, results in a high uniform dose on PTV compared with HDR-BRT. However, the average of EUD for HDR-BRT was significantly higher than those with RA and IMRT. With respect to the OARs, standard RA was equivalent of IMRT but inferior to HDR-BRT. Furthermore, nonstandard RA was comparable with IMRT for bladder and sigmoid and better than HDR-BRT for the rectum because of a significant reduction of d{sub 2cc}, d{sub 1cc}, and d{sub max} (p < 0.01). Integral doses were always higher than HDR-BRT, although the values were very low. Delivery times were about the same and more than double for HDR-BRT compared with IMRT and RA, respectively. In conclusion, the boost of dose on vaginal vault in patients affected by GC delivered by a nonstandard RA technique was a reasonable alternative to the conventional HDR-BRT because of a reduction of delivery time and rectal dose at substantial comparable doses for the bladder and sigmoid. However HDR-BRT provides better performance in terms of PTV coverage as evidenced by a greater EUD.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Implant breast reconstruction followed by radiotherapy: Can helical tomotherapy become a standard irradiation treatment?

To evaluate the benefits and limitations of helical tomotherapy (HT) for loco-regional irradiation of patients after a mastectomy and immediate implant-based reconstruction. Ten breast cancer patients with retropectoral implants were randomly selected for this comparative study. Planning target volumes (PTVs) 1 (the volume between the skin and the implant, plus margin) and 2 (supraclavicular, infraclavicular, and internal mammary nodes, plus margin) were 50 Gy in 25 fractions using a standard technique and HT. The extracted dosimetric data were compared using a 2-tailed Wilcoxon matched-pair signed-rank test. Doses for PTV1 and PTV2 were significantly higher with HT (V95 of 98.91 and 97.91%, respectively) compared with the standard technique (77.46 and 72.91%, respectively). Similarly, the indexes of homogeneity were significantly greater with HT (p = 0.002). HT reduced ipsilateral lung volume that received {>=}20 Gy (16.7 vs. 35%), and bilateral lungs (p = 0.01) and neighboring organs received doses that remained well below tolerance levels. The heart volume, which received 25 Gy, was negligible with both techniques. HT can achieve full target coverage while decreasing high doses to the heart and ipsilateral lung. However, the low doses to normal tissue volumes need to be reduced in future studies.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
DOE OSTI2012

Search for the standard model Higgs boson in tau lepton final states

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson in final states with an electron or muon and a hadronically decaying tau lepton in association with zero, one, or two or more jets using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of up to 7.3 fb{sup -1} collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. The analysis is sensitive to Higgs boson production via gluon gluon fusion, associated vector boson production, and vector boson fusion, and to Higgs boson decays to tau lepton pairs or W boson pairs. Observed (expected) limits are set on the ratio of 95% C.L. upper limits on the cross section times branching ratio, relative to those predicted by the Standard Model, of 14 (22) at a Higgs boson mass of 115 GeV and 7.7 (6.8) at 165 GeV.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Standardized benchmarking in the quest for orthologs

Achieving high accuracy in orthology inference is essential for many comparative, evolutionary and functional genomic analyses, yet the true evolutionary history of genes is generally unknown and orthologs are used for very different applications across phyla, requiring different precision–recall trade-offs. As a result, it is difficult to assess the performance of orthology inference methods. Here, we present a community effort to establish standards and an automated web-based service to facilitate orthology benchmarking. Using this service, we characterize 15 well-established inference methods and resources on a battery of 20 different benchmarks. Standardized benchmarking provides a way for users to identify the most effective methods for the problem at hand, sets a minimum requirement for new tools and resources, and guides the development of more accurate orthology inference methods.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cohort-based learning for microbiome research community standards

Microbiome data standards are key to enabling data reuse, yet awareness and community adoption continue to be significant barriers to their broad implementation. The National Microbiome Data Collaborative launched an Ambassador Program based around a community learning model to broaden foundational knowledge and technical skills regarding microbiome metadata standards and best practices in data stewardship.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

The neutrino charge radius as a probe of physics beyond the standard model

In this paper, we review the search of possible physics effects beyond the standard model on the electromagnetic charge and anapole form factors, f{sub Q}(q{sup 2}) and f{sub A}(q{sup 2}), for a no massive Dirac neutrino, when these quantities are calculated in the frame of an effective electroweak Yang-Mills theory, which induces the most general SU{sub L}(2)-invariant Lorentz tensor structure of nonrenormalizable type for the WW{gamma} vertex. We found that in this frame, besides the standard model contribution, the additional contribution to f{sub Q}(q{sup 2}) and f{sub A}(q{sup 2}) (f{sub Q}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2}) and f{sub A}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2}), respectively) are gauge independent and finite functions of q{sup 2} after adopting a renormalization scheme. These form factors, f{sub Q}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2}) and f{sub A}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2}), get contribution at the one loop level only from the proper neutrino electromagnetic vertex. Besides, the relation f{sub Q}{sup eff}(q{sup 2}) = q{sup 2}f{sub A}{sup eff}(q{sup 2})(f{sub Q}{sup eff}(q{sup 2}) = f{sub Q}{sup SM}(q{sup 2})+f{sub Q}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2}),f{sub A}{sup eff}(q{sup 2}) = f{sub A}{sup SM}(q{sup 2})+f{sub A}{sup O{sub W}}(q{sup 2})) is still fulfilled and hence the relation a{sub v}{sup eff} = {sup eff}/6(a{sub v}{sup eff} = a{sub v}{sup SM}+a{sub v}{sup O{sub W}}, {sup eff} = {sup SM}+ {sup O{sub W}}) is obtained, just as in the SM. Using the experimental constraint on the anomalous WW{gamma} vertex, a value for the additional contribution to the charge radius of Double-Vertical-Line {sup O{sub W}} Double-Vertical-Line Less-Than-Or-Equivalent-To 10{sup -34} cm{sup 2} is gotten, which is one order of magnitude lower than the SM value.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Radiation thermometry standards at NMIJ from −30 °C to 2800 °C

NMIJ has established a national standard scale in radiation thermometry from −30 °C to 2800 °C. At low temperatures from 160 °C down to −30 °C large aperture fluid-bath blackbodies have been constructed for the calibration of thermal infrared thermometers. In the range from 160 °C to 420 °C, the standard scale has been realized on 1.6 μm thermometers calibrated against In, Sn, and Zn blackbodies. A variable temperature blackbody using an air-bath furnace has recently been developed for direct comparison measurements of a 10 μm thermometer with a 1.6 μm thermometers up to 500 °C. In the higher range of the temperature scale, dissemination consists of three schemes: the range from 400 °C to 1100 °C by Zn, Al, Ag and Cu fixed-point blackbodies: above the Ag point by 0.9 μm and 0.65 μm thermometers: and above the Cu point by metal-carbon high-temperature fixed points.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2014

Production and characterization of a nitrogen-implanted Fe standard to calibrate PIGE measurements

Three calibration standard was produced by ion implantation of nitrogen in samples of Armco iron (99.7% iron). The samples was irradiated with nitrogen ion beams at several different energies (between 4 keV and 40 keV), and the ion doses were adjusted to obtain an uniform depth profile, using simulations with SRIM code. Two standards, one thick and other a foil (1.62mg/cm{sup 2}), was irradiated at same time with total nominal dose of 6.6×10{sup −16} atoms/cm{sup 2} distributed in a region of 100 nm in depth, with an average concentration of 9.0% nitrogen in iron. The third sample uses the same profile, but with a small dose, 1.1×10{sup −16} atoms/cm{sup 2} and average concentration of 1.5% nitrogen. The characterization of the implanted samples was done using RBS and NRA techniques to quantification of nitrogen.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Penguin-like diagrams from the standard model

The Standard Model is highly successful in describing the interactions of leptons and quarks. There are, however, rare processes that involve higher order effects in electroweak interactions. One specific class of processes is the penguin-like diagram. Such class of diagrams involves the neutral change of quark flavours accompanied by the emission of a gluon (gluon penguin), a photon (photon penguin), a gluon and a photon (gluon-photon penguin), a Z-boson (Z penguin), or a Higgs-boson (Higgs penguin). Such diagrams do not arise at the tree level in the Standard Model. They are, however, induced by one-loop effects. In this paper, we present an exact calculation of the penguin diagram vertices in the ‘tHooft-Feynman gauge. Renormalization of the vertex is effected by a prescription by Chia and Chong which gives an expression for the counter term identical to that obtained by employing Ward-Takahashi identity. The on-shell vertex functions for the penguin diagram vertices are obtained. The various penguin diagram vertex functions are related to one another via Ward-Takahashi identity. From these, a set of relations is obtained connecting the vertex form factors of various penguin diagrams. Explicit expressions for the gluon-photon penguin vertex form factors are obtained, and their contributions to the flavor changing processes estimated.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Validation of galvanomagnetic and thermomagnetic transport measurements using Standard Reference Material 3451

In the “method of four coefficients,” electrical resistivity (ρ), Seebeck coefficient (S), Hall coefficient (RH), and Nernst coefficient (Q) of a material are measured and typically fit or modeled with theoretical expressions based on Boltzmann transport theory to glean experimental insights into features of electronic structure and/or charge carrier scattering mechanisms in materials. Although well-defined and readily available reference materials exist for validating measurements of ρ and S, none currently exists for R H or Q. We show that measurements of all four transport coefficients—ρ, S, R H , and Q—can be validated using a single reference sample, namely, the low-temperature Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Material® (SRM) 3451 (composition Bi 2 Te 3+x ) available from the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) without the need for inter-laboratory sample exchange. Here, R H and Q data for NIST SRM 3451 reported here for the temperature range 80–400 K complement the data already available for ρ and S and will therefore be of interest to researchers desiring to validate new or existing galvanomagnetic and thermomagnetic transport properties measurement systems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Review of Remote Welding and Nondestructive Examination Technologies for the DOE Standard Canister

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) manages a wide variety of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) that poses a unique management challenge. To help address this challenge, the DOE Standard Canister (DOESC), designed to remain sealed during handling, storage, transportation, and disposal, was conceptualized as a standardized containment vessel to accommodate DOE-managed SNF. Since 1999, several welding and examination processes have been independently developed for the DOESC’s closure welds. However, neither the DOESC nor these processes have been realized in an operational capacity. This review paper seeks to present and compare previously developed DOESC closure weld, nondestructive examination, and repair processes and technologies. Specific processes developed for the Idaho Spent Fuel Facility, in preparation for the Yucca Mountain geological repository, and the recent Road-Ready Demonstration Project are discussed. Further, specific focus is given to how different operating constraints and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) have driven certain welding and nondestructive examination requirements. Historical DOESC welding and examination strategies are assessed against current regulatory and BPVC requirements. The comparison of welding processes, technologies, and DOESC designs presented in this review paper will inform further construction efforts for other commercial and DOE-managed SNF containments, including the DOESC.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

Electric currents in flare ribbons: Observations and three-dimensional standard model

We present for the first time the evolution of the photospheric electric currents during an eruptive X-class flare, accurately predicted by the standard three-dimensional (3D) flare model. We analyze this evolution for the 2011 February 15 flare using Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager/Solar Dynamics Observatory magnetic observations and find that localized currents in J-shaped ribbons increase to double their pre-flare intensity. Our 3D flare model, developed with the OHM code, suggests that these current ribbons, which develop at the location of extreme ultraviolet brightenings seen with Atmospheric Imaging Assembly imagery, are driven by the collapse of the flare's coronal current layer. These findings of increased currents restricted in localized ribbons are consistent with the overall free energy decrease during a flare, and the shapes of these ribbons also give an indication of how twisted the erupting flux rope is. Finally, this study further enhances the close correspondence obtained between the theoretical predictions of the standard 3D model and flare observations, indicating that the main key physical elements are incorporated in the model.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Searching for long-lived particles beyond the Standard Model at the Large Hadron Collider

Particles beyond the Standard Model (SM) can generically have lifetimes that are long compared to SM particles at the weak scale. When produced at experiments such as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, these long-lived particles (LLPs) can decay far from the interaction vertex of the primary proton–proton collision. Such LLP signatures are distinct from those of promptly decaying particles that are targeted by the majority of searches for new physics at the LHC, often requiring customized techniques to identify, for example, significantly displaced decay vertices, tracks with atypical properties, and short track segments. Given their non-standard nature, a comprehensive overview of LLP signatures at the LHC is beneficial to ensure that possible avenues of the discovery of new physics are not overlooked. Here we report on the joint work of a community of theorists and experimentalists with the ATLAS, CMS, and LHCb experiments—as well as those working on dedicated experiments such as MoEDAL, milliQan, MATHUSLA, CODEX-b, and FASER—to survey the current state of LLP searches at the LHC, and to chart a path for the development of LLP searches into the future, both in the upcoming Run 3 and at the high-luminosity LHC. The work is organized around the current and future potential capabilities of LHC experiments to generally discover new LLPs, and takes a signature-based approach to surveying classes of models that give rise to LLPs rather than emphasizing any particular theory motivation. We develop a set of simplified models; assess the coverage of current searches; document known, often unexpected backgrounds; explore the capabilities of proposed detector upgrades; provide recommendations for the presentation of search results; and look towards the newest frontiers, namely high-multiplicity 'dark showers', highlighting opportunities for expanding the LHC reach for these signals.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Non-Gaussianities from the Standard Model Higgs

We have recently proposed that the Standard Model Higgs might be responsible for generating the cosmological perturbations of the universe by acting as an isocurvature mode during a de Sitter inflationary stage. In this paper we study the level of non-Gaussianity in the cosmological perturbations which are inevitably generated due to the non-linearities of the Standard Model Higgs potential. In particular, for the current central value of the top mass, we find that a future detection of non-Gaussianity would exclude the detection of tensor modes by the PLANCK satellite.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Domain walls and gravitational waves in the Standard Model

We study domain walls which can be created in the Standard Model under the assumption that it is valid up to very high energy scales. We focus on domain walls interpolating between the physical electroweak vacuum and the global minimum appearing at very high field strengths. The creation of the network which ends up in the electroweak vacuum percolating through the Universe is not as difficult to obtain as one may expect, although it requires certain tuning of initial conditions. Our numerical simulations confirm that such domain walls would swiftly decay and thus cannot dominate the Universe. We discuss the possibility of detection of gravitational waves produced in this scenario. We have found that for the standard cosmology the energy density of these gravitational waves is too small to be observed in present and planned detectors.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗