On the Use of XML in Medical Imaging Web-Based Applications

The rapid growth of digital technology in medical fields over recent years has increased the need for applications able to manage patient medical records, imaging data, and chart information. Web-based applications are implemented with the purpose to link digital databases, storage and transmission protocols, management of large volumes of data and security concepts, allowing the possibility to read, analyze, and even diagnose remotely from the medical center where the information was acquired. The objective of this paper is to analyze the use of the Extensible Markup Language (XML) language in web-based applications that aid in diagnosis or treatment of patients, considering how this protocol allows indexing and exchanging the huge amount of information associated with each medical case. The purpose of this paper is to point out the main advantages and drawbacks of the XML technology in order to provide key ideas for future web-based applicationsPeer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Implementation of an anonymisation tool for clinical trials using a clinical trial processor integrated with an existing trial patient data information system

To present an adapted Clinical Trial Processor (CTP) test set-up for receiving, anonymising and saving Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) data using external input from the original database of an existing clinical study information system to guide the anonymisation process. Two methods are presented for an adapted CTP test set-up. In the first method, images are pushed from the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) using the DICOM protocol through a local network. In the second method, images are transferred through the internet using the HTTPS protocol. In total 25,000 images from 50 patients were moved from the PACS, anonymised and stored within roughly 2 h using the first method. In the second method, an average of 10 images per minute were transferred and processed over a residential connection. In both methods, no duplicated images were stored when previous images were retransferred. The anonymised images are stored in appropriate directories. The CTP can transfer and process DICOM images correctly in a very easy set-up providing a fast, secure and stable environment. The adapted CTP allows easy integration into an environment in which patient data are already included in an existing information system. Store DICOM images correctly in a very easy set-up in a fast, secure and stable environment Allows adaptation of the software to perform a certain task based on specific needs Allows easy integration into an existing environment Reduce the possibility of inappropriate anonymisation

Between History and Memory: Cultural War in Contemporary Russian and Ukrainian Cinema

Any approach to the past tailors our perception of the present, which is in turn inevitably elusive and unstable. The present is a site of contestation between memory and history, as well as a site for recounting the distant past by reflecting it through the prism of the present. The transition from the Soviet Union to independent states in 1991 triggered tensions within these newly created nation-states, with the collective and individual past being given a range of new interpretations. The connection between memory and identity obtained a renewed force. Russian ideologists have often considered Ukraine as an inalienable part of Russia; the disintegration of the Soviet Union implied only a formal separation in a common Russian worldview. Meanwhile, the new national policy of Ukraine was frequently oriented towards independence and closer cooperation with the European Union. Contrasting memories about the past contributed to the tension between the two Slavic peoples, which, paradoxically, turned out to be productive in terms of self-definition of Russians and Ukrainians. In this context, contemporary Russian and Ukrainian historical films aim to capture a past that is immediately relevant to the needs of the ever-changing present. Three issues—the location of filmmakers’ loyalties (evident in content and technique, as well as suggested by patterns of funding and shooting location); historical emphases; and neglect of historical facts with emphasis on others—are the focus of attention in this research. The dissertation examines the ways in which historical film is used by state authorities to construct cultural identities, wherein contemporary films generate discourses that make history a site of contestation, most frequently (but not exclusively) between Ukrainian nationalism and Russian imperial ambitions. The research resides at the intersection of three fields: memory as a custodial practice, with film as a lieu de mémoire; the Russian imperial project; and the formation of specific ideologies about the shared past

Soviet Ukrainian painting c.1955-c.1979: New currents and undercurrents

Since the early 1930s, Soviet artists had to work under strict controls imposed by the Communist Party. Yet, at the beginning of the 1960s a large scale flowering of Ukrainian culture took place in which Socialist Realism lost its tight grip on the visual arts, particularly painting. This thesis documents the revival of Soviet Ukrainian painting and traces its development in the context of the cultural and national past, using unpublished Soviet sources. The cultural and political background of 20th century Ukraine are described briefly as are the controls and censorship of the arts by the Communist Party working through the Ministry of Culture, the Academy of Arts, and the Artists' Union. The thesis discusses the effects of Socialist Realism on the artists, and then proceeds to examine the impact of Ehrushchev's policy of liberalization and Brezhnev's re-tightening of controls on the development of Ukrainian painting. It investigates the new currents and undercurrents of Soviet Ukrainian painting, particularly those beyond the narrow confines of Socialist Realism, covering approximately a period of twenty-five years. Some of the main trends of Ukrainian painting of the 1960s and 1970s are identified on the basis of an analysis of the work of a select number of innovative artists. Ukrainian and Western European influences are traced in the paintings of such official artists as R. Sel's'kyi, V. Patyk, and 0. Dubovyk, and in the work of such unofficial ones as P. Zalyvakha, K. Zviryns'kyi, I. Marchuk, F. Humeniuk, V. Makarenko, and V. Sazonov. The thesis evaluates, from a Western point of view, the contribution of non¬conformist art to the continuity of creative achievements of Ukrainian painting

Scholars in Exile

Throughout the 1920s and 30s Prague was the intellectual center of Ukrainian émigrés in Europe, not least because of significant financial support from the Czechoslovak government and its first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, for émigré students and intellectuals. On the basis of extensive archival research in Ottawa, Prague, and Kyiv, Zavorotna outlines the continuation of Ukrainian scholarship in history, linguistics, pedagogy, the visual arts, and other disciplines at various institutions in Prague and Poděbrady. These schools constitute the critical link between Ukrainian intellectual life before World War One and postwar émigré communities in Canada and the United States

Geriatrics and Ageing in the Soviet Union

This open access book brings together an eclectic cast of scholars in related disciplines to examine ageing in the Soviet Union, covering the practice of geriatrics, the science of gerontology, and the experience of growing old. Chapters in the book focus on concepts and themes that analyse Soviet ageing in its medical, political and social contexts, both in the Soviet Union and internationally. Ageing was hardly a uniquely Soviet phenomenon: over the past fifty years, moreover, governments and societies have been dealing with steady increases in their ageing populations. Almost paradoxically, however, societal focus on this ageing population, its lives, and its social impact remains extremely limited. Compared to most sciences, gerontology is pitifully underfunded; geriatrics is amongst the least prestigious branches of medicine; and while the world’s population is growing undeniably older, great disagreement remains over what can and should be done in response. These were the same challenges that the USSR faced in the post-war decades (1945-1991), and the contributions included in this volume help to flesh out and contextualize the example of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics as one possible model of response. Geriatrics and Ageing in the Soviet Union captures the growing interest in this important subject, demonstrating the influence of ageing on Soviet science and society and the impact of Soviet gerontology and geriatrics at a global level. The book is available under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Wellcome Trust and Liverpool John Moores University

The Effectiveness of the United States Air Force Developmental Teams

The Results-Based Leadership Group surveyed 470 companies and discovered that the top 25companies with effective leadership practices dedicated twice as much effort to leadership development as did other companies, indicating a strong relationship between success and leadership development. The problem explored in the current study was the lack of qualitative analyses of the U.S. Air Force Development Team processes. The purpose of the case study was to survey Development Teams at the U.S. Air Force in Washington, DC to explore how effectively the teams’ processes resulted in identification, selection, and/or development of leaders who meet strategic needs of the service. Elements of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership theory, Fayol\u27s theory of management, Friedman’s theory of differentiated leadership, and Lewin\u27s change theories were combined with Cohen’s leadership development framework to drive the investigation. Fourteen teams completed anonymous online questionnaires during purposefully and snowball sampled data collection. Qualitative data were analyzed, coded, and grouped into themes. The Development Teams’ processes produced leaders to meet strategic needs of the service, and the program’s objectives aligned with national strategy. Other findings led to specific recommendations, specifically, that teams needed reevaluate their ability to assess past decisions, and that teams’ developmental processes needed more standardization among all career fields. The implications for social change are enhanced leadership development for the service and the development of a leadership assessment model that can be used by any organization in the private or public sector. Improved leadership can allow the service to be postured better to protect the United States and to conduct humanitarian relief efforts