Verification of the 3D dose distribution in spinal radiosurgery by using a BANG3® polymer gel dosimeter

Journal of the Korean Physical Society - In intensity-modulated radiosurgery (IMRS) treatment, radiation delivery techniques require the ability to accurately verify complex three-dimensional (3D)...     

On the p-Ranks and Characteristic Polynomials of Cyclic Difference Sets

In this paper, the p-ranks and characteristic polynomials of cyclic difference sets are derived by expanding the trace expressions of their characteristic sequences. Using this method, it is shown that the 3-ranks and characteristic polynomials of the Helleseth–Kumar–Martinsen (HKM) difference set and the Lin difference set can be easily obtained. Also, the p-rank of a Singer difference set is reviewed and the characteristic polynomial is calculated using our approach.     

Deficiency of optineurin enhances osteoclast differentiation by attenuating the NRF2-mediated antioxidant response

Abnormally increased resorption contributes to bone degenerative diseases such as Paget’s disease of bone (PDB) through unclear mechanisms. Recently, the optineurin (OPTN) gene has been implicated in PDB, and global OPTN knockout mice (Optn^−/−) were shown to exhibit increased formation of osteoclasts (osteoclastogenesis). Growing evidence, including our own, has demonstrated that intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) stimulated by receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) can act as signaling molecules to promote osteoclastogenesis. Here, we report that OPTN interacts with nuclear factor erythroid-derived factor 2-related factor 2 (NRF2), the master regulator of the antioxidant response, defining a pathway through which RANKL-induced ROS could be regulated for osteoclastogenesis. In this study, monocytes from Optn^−/− and wild-type (Optn^+/+) mice were utilized to differentiate into osteoclasts, and both qRT-PCR and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining showed that the Optn^−/− monocytes exhibited enhanced osteoclastogenesis compared to the Optn^+/+ cells. CellROX^® staining, qRT-PCR, and Western blotting indicated that OPTN deficiency reduced the basal expression of Nrf2, inhibited the expression of NRF2-responsive antioxidants, and increased basal and RANKL-induced intracellular ROS levels, leading to enhanced osteoclastogenesis. Coimmunoprecipitation (co-IP) showed direct interaction, and immunofluorescence staining showed perinuclear colocalization of the OPTN-NRF2 granular structures during differentiation. Finally, curcumin and the other NRF2 activators attenuated the hyperactive osteoclastogenesis induced by OPTN deficiency. Collectively, our findings reveal a novel OPTN-mediated mechanism for regulating the NRF2-mediated antioxidant response in osteoclasts and extend the therapeutic potential of OPTN in the aging process resulting from ROS-triggered oxidative stress, which is associated with PDB and many other degenerative diseases.Subject terms: Mechanisms of disease, Stress signalling     

An Assmus–Mattson-Type Approach for Identifying 3-Designs from Linear Codes over Z 4

The complete weight enumerator of the Delsarte–Goethals code over Z ₄ is derived and an Assmus–Mattson-type approach at identifying t-designs in linear codes over Z ₄ is presented. The Assmus–Mattson-type approach, in conjunction with the complete weight enumerator are together used to show that the codewords of constant Hamming weight in both the Goethals code over Z ₄ as well as the Delsarte–Goethals code over Z ₄ yield 3-designs, possibly with repeated blocks.     

3-Designs from the Z 4-Goethals Codes via a New Kloosterman Sum Identity

Recently, active research has been performed on constructing t-designs from linear codes over Z ₄. In this paper, we will construct a new simple 3 – (2 ^m , 7, 14/3 (2 ^m – 8)) design from codewords of Hamming weight 7 in the Z ₄-Goethals code for odd m 5. For 3 arbitrary positions, we will count the number of codewords of Hamming weight 7 whose support includes those 3 positions. This counting can be simplified by using the double-transitivity of the Goethals code and divided into small cases. It turns out interestingly that, in almost all cases, this count is related to the value of a Kloosterman sum. As a result, we can also prove a new Kloosterman sum identity while deriving the 3-design.     

Analysis of Blind Reconstruction of BCH Codes

In this paper, the theoretical lower-bound on the success probability of blind reconstruction of Bose–Chaudhuri–Hocquenghem (BCH) codes is derived. In particular, the blind reconstruction method of BCH codes based on the consecutive roots of generator polynomials is mainly analyzed because this method shows the best blind reconstruction performance. In order to derive a performance lower-bound, the theoretical analysis of BCH codes on the aspects of blind reconstruction is performed. Furthermore, the analysis results can be applied not only to the binary BCH codes but also to the non-binary BCH codes including Reed–Solomon (RS) codes. By comparing the derived lower-bound with the simulation results, it is confirmed that the success probability of the blind reconstruction of BCH codes based on the consecutive roots of generator polynomials is well bounded by the proposed lower-bound.