A Digital X-Ray Tomosynthesis Coupled Near Infrared Spectral Tomography System for Dual-Modality Breast Imaging

A Near Infrared Spectral Tomography (NIRST) system has been developed and integrated into a commercial Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT) scanner to allow structural and functional imaging of breast in vivo. The NIRST instrument uses an 8-wavelength continuous wave (CW) laser-based scanning source assembly and a 75-element silicon photodiode solid-state detector panel to produce dense spectral and spatial projection data from which spectrally constrained 3D tomographic images of tissue chromophores are produced. Integration of the optical imaging system into the DBT scanner allows direct co-registration of the optical and DBT images, while also facilitating the synergistic use of x-ray contrast as anatomical priors in optical image reconstruction. Currently, the total scan time for a combined NIRST-DBT exam is ~50s with data collection from 8 wavelengths in the optical scan requiring ~42s to complete. The system was tested in breast simulating phantoms constructed using intralipid and blood in an agarose matrix with a 3 cm x 2 cm cylindrical inclusion at 1 cm depth from the surface. Diffuse image reconstruction of total hemoglobin (HbT) concentration resulted in accurate recovery of the lateral size and position of the inclusion to within 6% and 8%, respectively. Use of DBT structural priors in the NIRST reconstruction process improved the quantitative accuracy of the HbT recovery, and led to linear changes in imaged versus actual contrast, underscoring the advantages of dual-modality optical imaging approaches. The quantitative accuracy of the system can be further improved with independent measurements of scattering properties through integration of frequency or time domain data

Changing times in England: the influence on geography teachers’ professional practice

School geography in England has been characterised as a pendulum swinging between policies that emphasise curriculum and pedagogy alternately. In this paper, I illustrate the influence of these shifts on geography teacher's professional practice, by drawing on three “moments” from my experience as a student, teacher and teacher educator. Barnett's description of teacher professionalism as a continuous project of “being” illuminates how geography teachers can adapt to competing influences. It reflects teacher professionalism as an unfinished project, which is responsive, but not beholden, to shifting trends, and is informed by how teachers frame and enact policies. I argue that recognising these contextual factors is key to supporting geography teachers in “being” geography education professionals. As education becomes increasingly competitive on a global scale, individual governments are looking internationally for “solutions” to improve educational rankings. In this climate, the future of geography education will rest on how teachers react locally to international trends. Geography teacher educators can support this process by continuing to inform the field through meaningful geography education research, in particular in making the contextual factors of their research explicit. This can be supported through continued successful international collaboration in geography education research

Comparative Study of Multicellular Tumor Spheroid Formation Methods and Implications for Drug Screening

Improved in vitro models are needed to better understand cancer progression and bridge the gap between in vitro proof-of-concept studies, in vivo validation, and clinical application. Multicellular tumor spheroids (MCTS) are a popular method for three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, because they capture some aspects of the dimensionality, cell–cell contact, and cell–matrix interactions seen in vivo. Many approaches exist to create MCTS from cell lines, and they have been used to study tumor cell invasion, growth, and how cells respond to drugs in physiologically relevant 3D microenvironments. However, there are several discrepancies in the observations made of cell behaviors when comparing between MCTS formation methods. To resolve these inconsistencies, we created and compared the behavior of breast, prostate, and ovarian cancer cells across three MCTS formation methods: in polyNIPAAM gels, in microwells, or in suspension culture. These methods formed MCTS via proliferation from single cells or passive aggregation, and therefore showed differential reliance on genes important for cell–cell or cell–matrix interactions. We also found that the MCTS formation method dictated drug sensitivity, where MCTS formed over longer periods of time via clonal growth were more resistant to treatment. Toward clinical application, we compared an ovarian cancer cell line MCTS formed in polyNIPAAM with cells from patient-derived malignant ascites. The method that relied on clonal growth (PolyNIPAAM gel) was more time and cost intensive, but yielded MCTS that were uniformly spherical, and exhibited the most reproducible drug responses. Conversely, MCTS methods that relied on aggregation were faster, but yielded MCTS with grape-like, lobular structures. These three MCTS formation methods differed in culture time requirements and complexity, and had distinct drug response profiles, suggesting the choice of MCTS formation method should be carefully chosen based on the application required

The Grizzly, February 5, 2004

Take Notice of New Member Education Standards • AES Team with Upromise to Help Ease the Repayment of Student Loans • Unpredictable Democratic Primaries • Myrin Library Update: Media Services Re-opens • Opinions: New Member Education: Yes or No?; Is Blackboard Worth the Fuss?; Max and Erma\u27s New Hot Spot in Town • Men\u27s Lacrosse: 2004 Season Outlookhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1552/thumbnail.jp

Designing an information system for updating land records in Bangladesh: action design ethnographic research (ADER)

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits any use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and the source are credited.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.Information Systems (IS) has developed through adapting, generating and applying diverse methodologies, methods, and techniques from reference disciplines. Further, Action Design Research (ADR) has recently developed as a broad research method that focuses on designing and redesigning IT and IS in organizational contexts. This paper reflects on applying ADR in a complex organizational context in a developing country. It shows that ADR requires additional lens for designing IS in such a complex organizational context. Through conducting ADR, it is seen that an ethnographic framework has potential complementarities for understanding complex contexts thereby enhancing the ADR processes. This paper argues that conducting ADR with an ethnographic approach enhances design of IS and organizational contexts. Finally, this paper aims presents a broader methodological framework, Action Design Ethnographic Research (ADER), for designing artefacts as well as IS. This is illustrated through the case of a land records updating service in Bangladesh

Ionization state, excited populations and emission of impurities in dynamic finite density plasmas: I. The generalized collisional-radiative model for light elements

The paper presents an integrated view of the population structure and its role in establishing the ionization state of light elements in dynamic, finite density, laboratory and astrophysical plasmas. There are four main issues, the generalized collisional-radiative picture for metastables in dynamic plasmas with Maxwellian free electrons and its particularizing to light elements, the methods of bundling and projection for manipulating the population equations, the systematic production/use of state selective fundamental collision data in the metastable resolved picture to all levels for collisonal-radiative modelling and the delivery of appropriate derived coefficients for experiment analysis. The ions of carbon, oxygen and neon are used in illustration. The practical implementation of the methods described here is part of the ADAS Project

Aqueous Complexation Reactions Governing the Rate and Extent of Biogeochemical U(VI) Reduction

The proposed research will elucidate the principal biogeochemical reactions that govern the concentration, chemical speciation, and reactivity of the redox-sensitive contaminant uranium. The results will provide an improved understanding and predictive capability of the mechanisms that govern the biogeochemical reduction of uranium in subsurface environments. In addition, the work plan is designed to: (1) Generate fundamental scientific understanding on the relationship between U(VI) chemical speciation and its susceptibility to biogeochemical reduction reactions. (2) Elucidate the controls on the rate and extent of contaminant reactivity. (3) Provide new insights into the aqueous and solid speciation of U(VI)/U(IV) under representative groundwater conditions

The Grizzly, November 2, 1999

Is Safety an Issue on Campus? • Payne Stewart, Golfer, Dies in Plane Crash • A First for National French Week • Summer Business Internship Opportunities • Hobson Hall: Home Sweet Home • Opinion: The Effectiveness of College in the Preparation of Students for the World; Gun Control has to be Enacted for Everyone\u27s Safety: A Response; Paying Back the US Dues to the UN • Always Unique, Ben Folds Five Rocks Philadelphia as Part of 1999 Tour • Vecchio, Duncan Power Bears Offense as Bears Rout Mules • Soccer Splits Pair with Fords, Green Terror • Flag Football: APO Downs 2-Time Champion Delta Pi in Double-OT • Junior Vecchio Awarded CC Offensive Football Player of the Week • Tough End to Tough Hockey Season • Volleyball Finishes Best Season Ever • Bears Defense Roars to Big Winhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1450/thumbnail.jp