| 1. |
- Soffitta, Paolo, et al.
(författare)
-
XIPE : the X-ray imaging polarimetry explorer
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Experimental astronomy. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0922-6435 .- 1572-9508. ; 36:3, s. 523-567
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017. The proposal was, unfortunately, not selected. To be compliant with this schedule, we designed the payload mostly with existing items. The XIPE proposal takes advantage of the completed phase A of POLARIX for an ASI small mission program that was cancelled, but is different in many aspects: the detectors, the presence of a solar flare polarimeter and photometer and the use of a light platform derived by a mass production for a cluster of satellites. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus. Two additional GPDs filled with a 3-bar Ar-DME mixture always face the Sun to detect polarization from solar flares. The Minimum Detectable Polarization of a 1 mCrab source reaches 14 % in the 2-10 keV band in 10(5) s for pointed observations, and 0.6 % for an X10 class solar flare in the 15-35 keV energy band. The imaging capability is 24 arcsec Half Energy Width (HEW) in a Field of View of 14.7 arcmin x 14.7 arcmin. The spectral resolution is 20 % at 6 keV and the time resolution is 8 mu s. The imaging capabilities of the JET-X optics and of the GPD have been demonstrated by a recent calibration campaign at PANTER X-ray test facility of the Max-Planck-Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik (MPE, Germany). XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil). The data policy is organized with a Core Program that comprises three months of Science Verification Phase and 25 % of net observing time in the following 2 years. A competitive Guest Observer program covers the remaining 75 % of the net observing time.
|
|
| 2. |
- Tagliaferri, Luca, et al.
(författare)
-
ENT COBRA ONTOLOGY : the covariates classification system proposed by the Head & Neck and Skin GEC-ESTRO Working Group for interdisciplinary standardized data collection in head and neck patient cohorts treated with interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy)
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy. - : Termedia Publishing. - 1689-832X .- 2081-2841. ; 10:3, s. 260-266
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Clinical data collecting is expensive in terms of time and human resources. Data can be collected in different ways; therefore, performing multicentric research based on previously stored data is often difficult. The primary objective of the ENT COBRA (COnsortium for BRachytherapy data Analysis) ontology is to define a specific terminological system to standardized data collection for head and neck (H&N) cancer patients treated with interventional radiotherapy.Material and methods: ENT-COBRA is a consortium for standardized data collection for H&N patients treated with interventional radiotherapy. It is linked to H&N and Skin GEC-ESTRO Working Group and includes 11 centers from 6 countries. Its ontology was firstly defined by a multicentric working group, then evaluated by the consortium followed by a multi-professional technical commission involving a mathematician, an engineer, a physician with experience in data storage, a programmer, and a software expert.Results: Two hundred and forty variables were defined on 13 input forms. There are 3 levels, each offering a specific type of analysis: 1. Registry level (epidemiology analysis); 2. Procedures level (standard oncology analysis); 3. Research level (radiomics analysis). The ontology was approved by the consortium and technical commission; an ad-hoc software architecture ("broker") remaps the data present in already existing storage systems of the various centers according to the shared terminology system. The first data sharing was successfully performed using COBRA software and the ENT COBRA Ontology, automatically collecting data directly from 3 different hospital databases (Lubeck, Navarra, and Rome) in November 2017.Conclusions: The COBRA Ontology is a good response to the multi-dimensional criticalities of data collection, retrieval, and usability. It allows to create a software for large multicentric databases with implementation of specific remapping functions wherever necessary. This approach is well-received by all involved parties, primarily because it does not change a single center's storing technologies, procedures, and habits.
|
|
| 3. |
- Acharya, B. S., et al.
(författare)
-
Introducing the CTA concept
- 2013
-
Ingår i: Astroparticle physics. - : Elsevier BV. - 0927-6505 .- 1873-2852. ; 43, s. 3-18
-
Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is a new observatory for very high-energy (VHE) gamma rays. CTA has ambitions science goals, for which it is necessary to achieve full-sky coverage, to improve the sensitivity by about an order of magnitude, to span about four decades of energy, from a few tens of GeV to above 100 TeV with enhanced angular and energy resolutions over existing VHE gamma-ray observatories. An international collaboration has formed with more than 1000 members from 27 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and North and South America. In 2010 the CTA Consortium completed a Design Study and started a three-year Preparatory Phase which leads to production readiness of CTA in 2014. In this paper we introduce the science goals and the concept of CTA, and provide an overview of the project. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 4. |
- Amati, L., et al.
(författare)
-
The THESEUS space mission concept : science case, design and expected performances
- 2018
-
Ingår i: Advances in Space Research. - : ELSEVIER SCI LTD. - 0273-1177 .- 1879-1948. ; 62:1, s. 191-244
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- THESEUS is a space mission concept aimed at exploiting Gamma-Ray Bursts for investigating the early Universe and at providing a substantial advancement of multi-messenger and time-domain astrophysics. These goals will be achieved through a unique combination of instruments allowing GRB and X-ray transient detection over a broad field of view (more than 1 sr) with 0.5-1 arcmin localization, an energy band extending from several MeV down to 0.3 keV and high sensitivity to transient sources in the soft X-ray domain, as well as on-board prompt (few minutes) follow-up with a 0.7 m class IR telescope with both imaging and spectroscopic capabilities. THESEUS will be perfectly suited for addressing the main open issues in cosmology such as, e.g., star formation rate and metallicity evolution of the inter-stellar and intra-galactic medium up to redshift similar to 10, signatures of Pop III stars, sources and physics of re-ionization, and the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function. In addition, it will provide unprecedented capability to monitor the X-ray variable sky, thus detecting, localizing, and identifying the electromagnetic counterparts to sources of gravitational radiation, which may be routinely detected in the late '20s/early '30s by next generation facilities like aLIGO/ aVirgo, eLISA, KAGRA, and Einstein Telescope. THESEUS will also provide powerful synergies with the next generation of multi-wavelength observatories (e.g., LSST, ELT, SKA, CTA, ATHENA).
|
|
| 5. |
- Glatzer, Markus, et al.
(författare)
-
Role of Brachytherapy in the Postoperative Management of Endometrial Cancer : Decision-Making Analysis among Experienced European Radiation Oncologists
- 2022
-
Ingår i: Cancers. - : MDPI. - 2072-6694. ; 14:4
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: There are various society-specific guidelines addressing adjuvant brachytherapy (BT) after surgery for endometrial cancer (EC). However, these recommendations are not uniform. Against this background, clinicians need to make decisions despite gaps between best scientific evidence and clinical practice. We explored factors influencing decision-making for adjuvant BT in clinical routine among experienced European radiation oncologists in the field of gynaecological radiotherapy (RT). We also investigated the dose and technique of BT.METHODS: Nineteen European experts for gynaecological BT selected by the Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie and the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology provided their decision criteria and technique for postoperative RT in EC. The decision criteria were captured and converted into decision trees, and consensus and dissent were evaluated based on the objective consensus methodology.RESULTS: The decision criteria used by the experts were tumour extension, grading, nodal status, lymphovascular invasion, and cervical stroma/vaginal invasion (yes/no). No expert recommended adjuvant BT for pT1a G1-2 EC without substantial LVSI. Eighty-four percent of experts recommended BT for pT1a G3 EC without substantial LVSI. Up to 74% of experts used adjuvant BT for pT1b LVSI-negative and pT2 G1-2 LVSI-negative disease. For 74-84% of experts, EBRT + BT was the treatment of choice for nodal-positive pT2 disease and for pT3 EC with cervical/vaginal invasion. For all other tumour stages, there was no clear consensus for adjuvant treatment. Four experts already used molecular markers for decision-making. Sixty-five percent of experts recommended fractionation regimens of 3 × 7 Gy or 4 × 5 Gy for BT as monotherapy and 2 × 5 Gy for combination with EBRT. The most commonly used applicator for BT was a vaginal cylinder; 82% recommended image-guided BT.CONCLUSIONS: There was a clear trend towards adjuvant BT for stage IA G3, stage IB, and stage II G1-2 LVSI-negative EC. Likewise, there was a non-uniform pattern for BT dose prescription but a clear trend towards 3D image-based BT. Finally, molecular characteristics were already used in daily decision-making by some experts under the pretext that upcoming trials will bring more clarity to this topic.
|
|
| 6. |
|
|
| 7. |
- Tagliaferri, Luca, et al.
(författare)
-
ENT COBRA (Consortium for Brachytherapy Data Analysis) : interdisciplinary standardized data collection system for head and neck patients treated with interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy)
- 2016
-
Ingår i: Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy. - : Termedia Publishing House Ltd.. - 1689-832X .- 2081-2841. ; 8:4, s. 336-343
-
Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: Aim of the COBRA (Consortium for Brachytherapy Data Analysis) project is to create a multicenter group (consortium) and a web-based system for standardized data collection.Material and methods: GEC-ESTRO (Groupe Europeen de Curietherapie - European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology) Head and Neck (H&N) Working Group participated in the project and in the implementation of the consortium agreement, the ontology (data-set) and the necessary COBRA software services as well as the peer reviewing of the general anatomic site-specific COBRA protocol. The ontology was defined by a multicenter task-group.Results: Eleven centers from 6 countries signed an agreement and the consortium approved the ontology. We identified 3 tiers for the data set: Registry (epidemiology analysis), Procedures (prediction models and DSS), and Research (radiomics). The COBRA-Storage System (C-SS) is not time-consuming as, thanks to the use of "brokers", data can be extracted directly from the single center's storage systems through a connection with "structured query language database" (SQL-DB), Microsoft Access, FileMaker Pro, or Microsoft Excel. The system is also structured to perform automatic archiving directly from the treatment planning system or afterloading machine. The architecture is based on the concept of "on-purpose data projection". The C-SS architecture is privacy protecting because it will never make visible data that could identify an individual patient. This C-SS can also benefit from the so called "distributed learning" approaches, in which data never leave the collecting institution, while learning algorithms and proposed predictive models are commonly shared.Conclusions: Setting up a consortium is a feasible and practicable tool in the creation of an international and multi-system data sharing system. COBRA C-SS seems to be well accepted by all involved parties, primarily because it does not influence the center's own data storing technologies, procedures, and habits. Furthermore, the method preserves the privacy of all patients.
|
|
