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- Das, Indra J., et al.
(författare)
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Accelerator beam data commissioning equipment and procedures : report of the TG-106 of the Therapy Physics Committee of the AAPM
- 2008
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Ingår i: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : Wiley. - 0094-2405. ; 35:9, s. 4186-4215
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- For commissioning a linear accelerator for clinical use, medical physicists are faced with many challenges including the need for precision, a variety of testing methods, data validation, the lack of standards, and time constraints. Since commissioning beam data are treated as a reference and ultimately used by treatment planning systems, it is vitally important that the collected data are of the highest quality to avoid dosimetric and patient treatment errors that may subsequently lead to a poor radiation outcome. Beam data commissioning should be performed with appropriate knowledge and proper tools and should be independent of the person collecting the data. To achieve this goal, Task Group 106 (TG-106) of the Therapy Physics Committee of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine was formed to review the practical aspects as well as the physics of linear accelerator commissioning. The report provides guidelines and recommendations on the proper selection of phantoms and detectors, setting up of a phantom for data acquisition (both scanning and no-scanning data), procedures for acquiring specific photon and electron beam parameters and methods to reduce measurement errors (<1%), beam data processing and detector size convolution for accurate profiles. The TG-106 also provides a brief.discussion on the emerging trend in Monte Carlo simulation techniques in photon and electron beam commissioning. The procedures described in this report should assist a qualified medical physicist in either measuring a complete set of beam data, or in verifying a subset of data before initial use or for periodic quality assurance measurements. By combining practical experience with theoretical discussion, this document sets a new standard for beam data commissioning.
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- de Savigny, Don, et al.
(författare)
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Integrating community-based verbal autopsy into civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) : system-level considerations
- 2017
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Ingår i: Global Health Action. - : Informa UK Limited. - 1654-9716 .- 1654-9880. ; 10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Reliable and representative cause of death (COD) statistics are essential to inform public health policy, respond to emerging health needs, and document progress towards Sustainable Development Goals. However, less than one-third of deaths worldwide are assigned a cause. Civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS) systems in low-and lowermiddle-income countries are failing to provide timely, complete and accurate vital statistics, and it will still be some time before they can provide physician-certified COD for every death.Proposals: Verbal autopsy (VA) is a method to ascertain the probable COD and, although imperfect, it is the best alternative in the absence of medical certification. There is extensive experience with VA in research settings but only a few examples of its use on a large scale. Data collection using electronic questionnaires on mobile devices and computer algorithms to analyse responses and estimate probable COD have increased the potential for VA to be routinely applied in CRVS systems. However, a number of CRVS and health system integration issues should be considered in planning, piloting and implementing a system-wide intervention such as VA. These include addressing the multiplicity of stakeholders and sub-systems involved, integration with existing CRVS work processes and information flows, linking VA results to civil registration records, information technology requirements and data quality assurance.Conclusions: Integrating VA within CRVS systems is not simply a technical undertaking. It will have profound system-wide effects that should be carefully considered when planning for an effective implementation. This paper identifies and discusses the major system-level issues and emerging practices, provides a planning checklist of system-level considerations and proposes an overview for how VA can be integrated into routine CRVS systems.
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- Mitra, Kalyan, et al.
(författare)
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Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) from Photo-Oxidation of Toluene: 1 Influence of Reactive Nitrogen, Acidity and Water Vapours on Optical Properties
- 2022
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Ingår i: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 13:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many climate models treat the light-absorbing SOA component called “brown carbon” (BrC) as non-light absorbing because its formation and transformations are poorly understood. We therefore investigated the influence of reactive nitrogen (NOx, NH3)-, acidity (H2SO4)-, and water-mediated chemistry on SOA formed by the photo-oxidation of toluene, the subsequent formation and transformation of BrC, and its optical properties. We discovered that nitrogen-poor (NP) SOA is formed when the molar ratio of NOx to reacted toluene (henceforth, [NOx/ΔHC]) is 0.15 or less, whereas nitrogen-rich (NR) SOA is formed when [NOx/ΔHC] > 0.15. NR and NP SOA have markedly different characteristics. The light absorption coefficient (Babs) and mass absorption cross-section (MAC) of the SOA increased with [NOx/ΔHC] under both the NP and NR regimes. For NP SOA, the MAC increased with [NOx/ΔHC] independently of the relative humidity (RH). However, the MAC of NR SOA was RH-dependent. Under both NP and NR regimes, acidity promoted SOA browning while NH3 increased Babs and MAC at 80% RH. The highest MAC was observed at the lowest RH (20%) for acidic NR SOA, and it was postulated that the MAC of SOA depends mainly on the pH and the [H+]free/[SOA mass] ratio of the aqueous SOA phase.
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- Prakash, Jai, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization of Propane Fueled Flames: A Significant Source of Brown Carbon
- 2022
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Ingår i: Atmosphere. - : MDPI AG. - 2073-4433. ; 13:8
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this study, we developed a framework for interpreting the in situ morphological properties of black carbon (BC, also referred to as “soot” due to combustion relevance) mixed with primary organic aerosol. Integration of the experiment considering primary organic aerosol (POA) evaporation from the soot particles was examined using a Differential mass–mobility analyzer (DMA) and showed the untold story of the mixing of BC and POA. We also hypothesize that morphological transformation of soots and determined such as (i) the evaporation of externally and internally mixed POA led to a decline in the particle number and size of monodisperse aerosol; (ii) presence of externally mixed BC was interpreted from the occurrence of two peaks of soot upon heating; (iii) heat-induced collapse of the BC core possibly resulted from the evaporation of material from the voids and effect of heat; (iv) volume equivalent to changes in the mobility diameter represented evaporation of POA from the surface and collapse upon heating. POA constituted a high fraction (20–40% by mass) of aerosol mass from these flames and was predominantly (i.e., 92–97% by mass) internally mixed with BC. POA was found to be highly light absorptive, i.e., an Ångström absorption exponent (AAE) value of (in general) >1.5 was estimated for BC + POA at 405/781 nm wavelengths. Interestingly, a much more highly absorptive POA [mass absorption cross-section (MAC)-5 m2 g−1] at 405 nm was discovered under a specific flame setting, which was comparable to MACs of BC particles (8–9 m2 g−1).
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- Prakash, Jai, et al.
(författare)
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Characterization, sources, and atmospheric transformation of a few key short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) at a rural super-site in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of India
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Science: Atmospheres. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 2634-3606. ; 2, s. 517-538
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region of India faces some of the most severe air pollution problems on Earth that threaten human health, food security, ecosystems, environmental sustainability, and the climate. The aim of this study is to identify and characterize the sources of key short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) - black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC), and ozone (O3) - as well as other pollutants [carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides NOX = NO and NO2], and interlinked atmospheric processes of their formation and transformation at our long-term air pollution monitoring station in a remote rural IGP site, the Indo-Gangetic Plains Centre for Air Research and Education (IGP-CARE). Because of its location, measurements acquired at IGP-CARE provide otherwise new information on the key SLCPs in the IGP region at a remote and rural location. The year-long measurement data at this remote site provided new insights into the variability of SLCP concentration and interlinked atmospheric processes that affect air quality in the rural IGP region. Thirteen episodic events (E1-E13) of elevated BC and BrC concentrations were identified, which can largely be attributed to the local biomass burning activities in the neighboring rural communities. It is suggested that high concentrations of BrC were mostly primary in nature and thought to be co-emitted with BC from biomass burning. Also, secondary pollutant tropospheric O3 showed elevated concentration. O3 peaks were mostly attributed to local ozone formation. Nevertheless, on several occasions, O3 emission was also attributed to regional urban areas. This study's most important finding is that BrC concentrations were relatively high throughout the year with very pronounced diurnal variation with distinct morning and evening peaks in general and a minimum at around noon time; this is hypothesized to be associated with daytime photochemical processes. Analyses using a conditional bivariate probability function (CBPF) and potential source contribution function (PSCF) suggest that regional sources likely affected the local concentrations of SLCPs. These results partly explain the high concentrations and spatial distributions of SLCPs at the local and regional scales at the IGP-CARE site in winter and autumn. In contrast, in the summer and monsoon seasons, strong convection likely favored the dilution of pollutants.
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| 9. |
- Niemi, MEK, et al.
(författare)
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- 2021
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swepub:Mat__t
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| 10. |
- Kanai, M, et al.
(författare)
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- 2023
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swepub:Mat__t
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