This letter reports electromagnetic transmission measurements through cloth samples from eight types of fabrics common in garments and baggage. The transmission at millimeter-wave and terahertz frequencies was measured with a custom ErAs:GaAs tunable photomixing spectrometer. The IR transmission between 3 and 8μm was measured with a Fourier-transform infrared spectrometer. All samples were usefully transparent at millimeter-wave frequencies (up to 300GHz) based on a 3dB criterion, but became progressively opaque at higher frequencies in a highly sample-dependent manner. This is explained by the samples becoming “optically dense” in the THz region, so that the transmission becomes exponentially dependent on sample thickness. The attenuation in the IR region is very high (⩾25dB) except in two samples (rayon and nylon), whose exceptional transparency (e.g., −12dB in nylon) is attributed to pores intrinsic to the material.

Micro‐multileaf collimator systems coupled to linear accelerators for radioneurosurgery treatments require a rigorous dosimetric characterization in order to be used in 3D conformal and intensity modulated stereotactic radiosurgery and radiotherapy applications. This characterization involves high precision measurements of leaf transmission, leakage and beam penumbra through the collimation system and requires the use of detectors with high spatial resolution, high sensitivity and practically no energy dependence. In this work the use of GafChromic EBT radiochromic film to measure the basic dosimetric properties of the m3‐mMLC (BrainLAB, Germany) micro‐multileaf collimator system integrated to a 6 MV linear accelerator, is reported. Results show that average values of transmission and leakage radiation are 0.93±0.05% and 1.08±0.08%, respectively. The 80–20% beam penumbra were found to be 2.26±0.11 mm along the leaf side (perpendicular to leaf motion) and 2.31±0.11 mm along the leaf end (parallel to leaf motion) using square field sizes ranging from 9.1 to 1.8 cm. These measurements are in agreement with values reported in the literature for the same type of mMLC using different radiation detectors.PACS number: 87.56.N‐

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Cranial irradiation remains a standard treatment for malignant and benign brain diseases. Although this procedure helps to lengthen the life expectancy of the patient, the appearance of adverse effects related to radiation-induced injury is inevitable. Radiation somnolence syndrome (RSS) has been described as a delayed effect observed mainly after whole-brain radiotherapy in children. The RSS was first linked to demyelination, but more recently it has been proposed that the inflammatory response plays a primary role in the aforementioned syndrome. To evaluate the feasibility of this hypothesis, we explored previous work about RSS and reviewed published research that included measurements of the inflammatory response in models of brain exposure to ionizing radiation. Pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-18 as well as other inflammatory markers such as cyclooxygenase-2, prostaglandin E₂, glial fibrillary acid protein, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and nuclear factor-κB appear to be involved in the brain's response to radiation. However, certain publications have described the somnogenic effects of these cytokines and inflammatory markers. Although the radiation response is a complex phenomenon that involves several molecular and cellular processes, we propose that inflammation may be closely related to the adverse effects of brain irradiation and therefore to the etiology of RSS.

Wideband photomixing spectroscopy is used in the present work to contrast the transmission spectra of macromolecules commonly found in biomaterials such as potato starch, wheat flour and cornstarch, and proteins (Cytoplex™), and micromolecules such as sucrose, and inorganic materials such as sodium bicarbonate, and calcium sulfate. Powdered samples were measured at 0.1–0.5THz frequencies. A significant difference in attenuation is found between these samples. At 300GHz starch shows an absorption coefficient of ∼6cm−1 whereas Cytoplex shows 1–3cm−1, while inorganic micromolecules have ∼1cm−1. The absorption in starch increases rapidly with frequency tending to follow a power law α=fn with n typically between 1.5 and 2.0. In contrast, protein materials display a slower dependence on frequency with n between 1.0 and 1.5, and simple molecules show the least n among all three categories. The difference between these ubiquitous macromolecular and micromolecular materials is explained in terms of water content and molecular structure.