Absorbed dose measurements of a handheld 50 kVP X-ray source in water with thermoluminescence dosemeters

Absorbed dose rate measurements of a 50 kV(p) handheld X-ray probe source in a water phantom are described. The X-ray generator is capable of currents of up to 40 microA, and is designed for cranial brachytherapy and intraoperative applications with applicators. The measurements were performed in a computer-controlled water phantom in which both the source and the detectors are mounted. Two different LiF thermoluminescence dosemeter (TLD) phosphors were employed for the measurements, MTS-N (LiF:Mg,Ti) and MCP-N (LiF:Mg,Cu,P). Two small ionisation chambers (0.02 and 0.0053 cm(3)) were also employed. The TLDs and chambers were positioned in watertight mounts made of water-equivalent plastic. The chambers were calibrated in terms of air-kerma rate, and conventional protocols were used to convert the measurements to absorbed dose rate. The TLDs were calibrated at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in terms of absorbed dose rate using a (60)Co teletherapy beam and narrow-spectrum X-ray beams. For the latter, absorbed dose was inferred from air-kerma rate using calculated air-kerma-to-dose conversion factors. The reference points of the various detectors were taken as the center of the TLD volumes and the entrance windows of the ionisation chambers. Measurements were made at distances of 3-45 mm from the detector reference point to the source center. In addition, energy dependence of response measurements of the TLDs used was made using NIST reference narrow spectrum X-ray beams. Measurement results showed reasonable agreement in absorbed dose rate determined from the energy dependence corrected TLD readings and from the ionisation chambers. Volume averaging effects of the TLDs at very close distances to the source were also evident.     

企业生死选择：变则通，不变则完

"我真的可以改变!"谁都会这样说,可悲的是,大多数企业并没有这样去做.一项调查显示,在困难面前,作出改变与不改变的比例为1:9.在全球市场竞争不断加剧的今天,我们急需打破现有的不适用的游戏规则.     

Design of linear equalizers optimized for the structural similarity index.

We propose an algorithm for designing linear equalizers that maximize the structural similarity (SSIM) index between the reference and restored signals. The SSIM index has enjoyed considerable application in the evaluation of image processing algorithms. Algorithms, however, have not been designed yet to explicitly optimize for this measure. The design of such an algorithm is nontrivial due to the nonconvex nature of the distortion measure. In this paper, we reformulate the nonconvex problem as a quasi-convex optimization problem, which admits a tractable solution. We compute the optimal solution in near closed form, with complexity of the resulting algorithm comparable to complexity of the linear minimum mean squared error (MMSE) solution, independent of the number of filter taps. To demonstrate the usefulness of the proposed algorithm, it is applied to restore images that have been blurred and corrupted with additive white gaussian noise. As a special case, we consider blur-free image denoising. In each case, its performance is compared to a locally adaptive linear MSE-optimal filter. We show that the images denoised and restored using the SSIM-optimal filter have higher SSIM index, and superior perceptual quality than those restored using the MSE-optimal adaptive linear filter. Through these results, we demonstrate that a) designing image processing algorithms, and, in particular, denoising and restoration-type algorithms, can yield significant gains over existing (in particular, linear MMSE-based) algorithms by optimizing them for perceptual distortion measures, and b) these gains may be obtained without significant increase in the computational complexity of the algorithm.     

The fate of Listeria monocytogenes during the manufacture of Camembert-type cheese: A comparison between raw milk and milk treated with high hydrostatic pressure

Camembert-type cheese was produced from: raw bovine milk; raw milk inoculated with 2 or 4 log CFU/ml Listeria monocytogenes; raw milk inoculated with L. monocytogenes and subsequently pressure-treated at 500 MPa for 10 min at 20 °C; or uninoculated raw milk pressure-treated under these conditions. Cheeses produced from both pressure-treated milk and untreated milk had the typical composition, appearance and aroma of Camembert. Curd and cheese made from inoculated, untreated milk contained large numbers of L. monocytogenes throughout production. An initial inoculum of 1.95 log CFU/ml in milk increased to 4.52 log CFU/g in the curd and remained at a high level during ripening, with 3.85 log CFU/g in the final cheese. Pressure treatment inactivated L. monocytogenes in the raw milk at both inoculum levels and the pathogen was not detected in any of the final cheeses produced from pressure-treated milk. Therefore high pressure may be useful to inactivate L. monocytogenes in raw milk that is to be used for the production of soft, mould-ripened cheese.

Industrial relevance

This paper demonstrates the potential of high pressure (HP) for treatment of raw milk to be used in the manufacture of soft cheeses. HP treatment significantly reduced the level of Listeria monocytogenes in the raw milk and so allowed the production of safer non-thermally processed camembert-like soft cheese.     

Selenoprotein deficiency enhances radiation-induced micronuclei formation

The availability of selenium and the levels of specific selenoproteins might affect cancer risk by influencing the ability of DNA damaging agents to cause genomic instability and mutations. Transgenic mice that express reduced levels of selenoproteins and previously shown to be more susceptible to pathology associated with cancer development were used to study this possibility. These mice were exposed to X-rays and DNA damage assessed in the erythrocytes, where micronuclei formation was higher compared to the same cells obtained from irradiated wild-type controls. To determine whether the selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase-1 (GPx-1) might be involved in this protection, its levels were reduced by siRNA targeting in LNCaP human prostate cells. UV-induced micronuclei frequency was higher in these cells compared to control-transfected cells. These results indicate a role for selenoproteins in protecting DNA from damage and support human data implicating GPx-1 as a possible target of the chemoprotective effect of selenium.     

Physicochemical changes during the creaming reaction in acid curd fresh cheese: Water mobility and forced synaeresis

Water mobility changes during a structure building reaction of full‐fat cream cheese were studied by applying low‐resolution nuclear magnetic resonance. A significant decrease in mobility (T₂ relaxation times from 148 to 116 ms) was found in the mobile water phase during texture building. Furthermore, the results were compared to forced synaeresis of the same cheese, which was determined by applying a multistep centrifugation method. The plotted forced synaeresis results displayed the inverse shape of the structure building reaction: ~14.6% at the beginning (0 min), ~7.4% at peak (47 min) of the reaction and ended with ~9.9% (126 min).     

异侧竖缝式鱼道水力特性及放鱼试验研究

本文试验研究了异侧竖缝式鱼道的主流轨迹、主流速度的沿程变化规律、横向流速分布的特征及其随流量的变化情况,并进行了放鱼试验。试验研究是在浙江工业大学大比尺鱼道中进行的,考虑5种典型流量(Q=8.78,18.94,27.55,34.95,40.65L/s),取h/3和2h/3两个水深,沿每一水深平面纵向有12条横线(x=0,10,20,30,40,50,60,70,80,90,100,110cm),每条横线上布设27个测点。通过试验研究,提出主流轨迹的经验公式、主流速度沿程变化的关系式、横向流速分布特征的半理论半经验公式等。另外,通过放鱼试验,给出过鱼对象(鲫鱼、河鳗)在主流低速区以及沿主流轨迹的溯游特性。     

零售商为刺激支票竞相出新招

NEW YORK-布什总统的刺激经济方案旨在鼓励消费支出,而广大零售商们都非常愿意出一份力。 美国的几大全国性连锁店,包括RadioShack,Sears和Wal—Mart,都已经开发了新的项目,不光是要鼓励广大消费者们花掉他们的联邦刺激支票（这个月开始寄出）,而且还要让这些钱花在它们自家的门店里。     

三月主要家用产品出货量下降8％

华盛顿---主要家用产品市场在三月的表现依然不好,工厂出货量下降了7.8%,仅有820万台/套,比起去年同时期的890万台/套,还是有着不小的差距。     

SellPoint为在线零售商提供视频导购

SAN RAMON,CALIF.-随着越来越多的消费者为了节省燃油费用而选择在家购物,电子商务的视频导购,比如说SellPoint的可定制在线产品视频就被各个在线购物网站大量采用。