This study uses the National Educational Longitudinal Survey of 1988 (NELS) to replicate both the analysis in The Bell Curve and that of several of its previous replications. We examine the relative importance of test scores and family background in predicting dropping out of high school, starting college, arrests, and out-of-wedlock fertility. Our results relax several arbitrary assumptions ma...

In this study, we introduce a new type of surface curves called $D$-type curve. This curve is defined by the property that the unit Darboux vector $vec{W}_{0} $ of a surface curve $vec{r}(s)$ and unit surface normal $vec{n} $ along the curve $vec{r}(s)$ satisfy the condition $leftlangle vec{n} ,vec{W}_{0} rightrangle =text{constant}$. We point out that a $D$-type curve is a geodesic curve or an...

A 3D treatment-planning system (TPS) for stereotactic intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) using a micro-multileaf collimator has been made available by Radionics. In this work, we report our comprehensive quality assurance (QA) procedure for commissioning this TPS. First, the accuracy of stereotaxy established with a body frame was checked to ensure accurate determination of a target positi...

Purpose To evaluate loco regional control and describe the patterns of loco regional failure in women with breast cancer irradiated by a previously described post-mastectomy highly conformal electron beam radiotherapy technique. Materials and methods We included all women irradiated by PMERT for non-metastatic breast cancer (BC) between 2007 and 2011 in our department. All cases of bilateral ...

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic, episodic facial pain syndrome that can be extremely intense, and it occurs within the regions of the face that are innervated by the three branches of the trigeminal nerve. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is the least invasive procedure to treat TN. SRS uses narrow photon beams that require high spatial resolution techniques for their measurement. The use...

The authors compared the relative dosimetric merits of Gamma Knife (GK) and CyberKnife (CK) in 15 patients with 26 brain metastases. All patients were initially treated with the Leksell GK 4C. The same patients were used to generate comparative CK treatment plans. The tissue volume receiving more than 12 Gy (V12), the difference between V12 and tumor volume (V12net), homogeneity index (HI), and...

BACKGROUND To compare intracavitary brachytherapy (ICBT) planning methods for cervical cancer, based on either orthogonal radiographs (conventional plan) or CT sections (CT plan); the comparison focused on target volume coverage and dose volume analysis of organs at risk (OARs), by representing point doses defined by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurement (ICRU) and dos...

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to evaluate self-assessed bowel toxicity after radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer. In contrast to rectal bleeding, information concerning irritative symptoms (rectal urgency, pain) and incontinence after RT has not been adequately documented and reported in the past. METHODS Patients (n = 286) have been surveyed prospectively before (A), at the last day ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Parameters and indices related to the implant geometry in use for describing the quality of volume implants in interstitial brachytherapy were developed on the basis of LDR-brachytherapy. The aim of our study was to evaluate their usefulness for predicting late toxicity and local control in the PDR-brachytherapy of head-and-neck-tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS Between Janu...