Focal Spot, Fall/Winter 2010/2011

https://digitalcommons.wustl.edu/focal_spot_archives/1115/thumbnail.jp

The Health System and the Russian Orthodox Church: Prospects for Development

The article examines the participation and assistance of the Orthodox Church in solving problems that allowed to give a scientific justification for the cooperation of health care and Orthodox religious institutions, to determine their role in the historical context and structure of modern healthcare in Russia. The article presents an algorithm for organizing sisters of mercy, their system of upbringing. Particular attention is given to the possibility of teaching the course "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" in secular educational institutions. Research materials can serve as a basis for the formation of morally sound positions of medical workers and the population on the main problems of medical activity. Based on the study, the authors published a series of articles in which the experience of the work of the Orthodox Church in the charitable sphere has been summarized. This experience can be used to create new charitable institutions, including those who provided medical assistance. In preparing the article, the authors used concrete historical, civilizational, formational and social methods of research that allowed us to uncover facts, phenomena and processes in the interconnection and unity of the past, present and future

Design of Anisotropic Diffusion Hardware Fiber Phantoms

A gold standard for the validation of diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) in brain white matter (WM) is essential for clinical purposes but still not available. Synthetic anisotropic fiber bundles are proposed as phantoms for the validation of DW-MRI because of their well-known structure, their long preservability and the possibility to create complex geometries such as curved and fiber crossings. A crucial question is how the different material properties and size of the fiber phantoms influence the outcome of the DW-MRI experiment. Several fiber materials are compared in this study. The effect of surface relaxation and internal gradients on the SNR is evaluated. In addition, the dependency of the fiber density and fiber radius on the diffusion properties is investigated

Research Pattern Classification using imaging techniques for Infarct and Hemorrhage Identification in the Human Brain

Medical Image analysis and processing has great significance in the field of medicine, especially in Non- invasive treatment and clinical study. Medical imaging techniques and analysis tools enable the Doctors and Radiologists to arrive at a specific diagnosis. Medical Image Processing has emerged as one of the most important tools to identify as well as diagnose various disorders. Imaging helps the Doctors to visualize and analyze the image for understanding of abnormalities in internal structures. The medical images data obtained from Bio-medical Devices which use imaging techniques like Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Mammogram, which indicates the presence or absence of the lesion along with the patient history, is an important factor in the diagnosis. The algorithm proposes the use of Digital Image processing tools for the identification of Hemorrhage and Infarct in the human brain, by using a semi-automatic seeded region growing algorithm for the processing of the clinical images. The algorithm has been extended to the Real-Time Data of CT brain images and uses an intensity-based growing technique to identify the infarct and hemorrhage affected area, of the brain. The objective of this paper is to propose a seeded region growing algorithm to assist the Radiologists in identifying the Hemorrhage and Infarct in the human brain and to arrive at a decision faster and accurate.¢Lp¤

Virginia Commonwealth University Professional Bulletin

Professional programs bulletin for Virginia Commonwealth University for the academic year 2018-2019. It includes information on academic regulations, degree requirements, course offerings, faculty, academic calendar, and tuition and expenses for graduate programs

Professionalization of a nonstate actor

Can nonstate militants professionalize? That is the core question of this piece. Discussions of professionalism have spread to the state military from civilian professions such as education, medicine, and law. This piece examines whether nonstate actors exhibit the same fundamental processes found within these state-based organizations. These fundamentals are the creation of a recognized internal ethos, which acts as a collective standard for those involved. A commitment to expertise and the punishment of those who do not reach these collective expectations reinforce this ethos. To answer this question, this piece examines the development of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) during the Troubles. It highlights consistencies and inconsistencies with traditional forces and argues that groups like the PIRA can professionalize and increase their effectiveness in doing so. This widens the field of professionalism studies and provides an additional lens through which to examine nonstate groups

Perbedaan Kadar Alanine Aminotransferase (Alt) Dalam Serum Dari Darah Yang Disentrifugasi Pada Kecepatan 3000 Rpm Selama 5 Menit Dan 4400 Rpm Selama 3 Menit

Background : Laboratory tests for liver and heart are emergency, so the examination must be carried out quickly including ALT examination. One way is by reducing the time of centrifugation without reducing the quality of serum. Reducing the time of centrifugation to 3 minutes at 4400 rpm is expected to provide the same results by centrifuging for 5 minutes at 3000 rpm. So that, the duration of ALT examination can be faster, reduces Turnaround Time (TAT) or patient waiting time, and saves electrical energy which can reduce the variable cost. Method : This research was a pre-experimental study with Static Group Comparison research design. The examination used IFCC without pyridoxal method. The subjects of research were 22 people. Samples were serum of blood that were frozen for 30 minutes then centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes and 4400 rpm for 3 minutes. Samples were examined using A15 biosystem instrument. Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon test. Result : The results showed mean value of ALT centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes was 16,32 U/L and 4400 rpm for 3 minutes was 16,50 U/L. Based on Wilcoxon test, there was no difference in ALT level from centrifuged blood samples at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes and 4400 rpm for 3 minutes, p-value (sig) = 0.676 with a significant level (α = 0.05) then p-value (sig. 2 tailed) > 0.025. Conclusion : There was no difference in ALT level in serum from blood that was centrifuged at 3000 rpm for 5 minutes and 4400 rpm for 3 minutes