A good estimate of the design effect is critical for calculating the most efficient sample size for cluster surveys. We reviewed the design effects for seven nutrition and health outcomes from nine population-based cluster surveys conducted in emergency settings. Most of the design effects for outcomes in children, and one-half of the design effects for crude mortality, were below two. A reasse...

The comparison of the pencil beam dose calculation algorithm with modified Batho heterogeneity correction (PBC-MB) and the analytical anisotropic algorithm (AAA) and the mutual comparison of advanced dose calculation algorithms used in breast radiotherapy have focused on the differences between the physical dose distributions. Studies on the radiobiological impact of the algorithm (both on the ...

PURPOSE To investigate effects of metal artifacts on the dose calculation accuracy of three dose calculation algorithms on CT and cone-beam CT images. METHODS A phantom with and without metal objects was scanned using CT simulator and on-board kV CBCT. Conformal 5-field treatment plans with identical physical and dosimetric parameters were created in the Eclipse™ treatment planning system for...

X iv :h ep -t h/ 01 10 01 4v 1 1 O ct 2 00 1 THE RARITA-SCHWINGER OPERATOR 1 Bochner-Weitzenböck formulas associated with the Rarita-Schwinger operator Thomas Branson and Oussama Hijazi

BACKGROUND Random errors in measurement of a risk factor will introduce downward bias of an estimated association to a disease or a disease marker. This phenomenon is called regression dilution bias. A bias correction may be made with data from a validity study or a reliability study. AIMS AND METHODS In this article we give a non-technical description of designs of reliability studies with e...

The calculation of the ~23 mixing angle from semi-leptonic B-decay depends’ on the mass ratio m,/mb. The energy scales at which the running masses m, and rnb should be taken are determined once terms of order [cys . (mc/mb)] are taken into account. We give an analytic expression for the QCD correction to the decay rate to all orders in the ratio between on-shell masses. We explain how it should...

BACKGROUND The study summarised in this report aimed to investigate the interplay between fluence complexity, dose calculation algorithms, dose calculation spatial resolution and delivery characteristics (monitor units, effective field width and dose delivery against dose prediction agreement) was investigated. A sample set of complex planning cases was selected and tested using a commercial tr...

A pilot study asks whether something can be done, should the researchers proceed with it, and if so, how. However, a pilot study also has a specific design feature; it is conducted on a smaller scale than the main or full-scale study. In other words, the pilot study is important for improvement of the quality and efficiency of the main study. In addition, it is conducted in order to assess the ...

Background Native T1 mapping is becoming established to help diagnose and monitor myocardial disease. The reproducibility of T1 mapping has not been well characterized, despite the important implications both for interpreting serial clinical studies, and for sample size calculation for surrogate endpoint in clinical trials. The SCMR consensus statement recommends measuring T1 in 2 imaging views...