An Optical Study of Two VY Sculptoris-Type Cataclysmic Binary Stars: V704 And and RX J2338+431

We report observations of the known cataclysmic variable star (CV) V704 And, and also confirm that the optical counterpart of the ROSAT Galactic Plane Survey source RX J2338+431 is a heretofore-neglected CV. Photometric and spectroscopic observations from MDM Observatory show both systems to be novalike variables that exhibit dips of 4-5 magnitudes from their mean brightnesses, establishing them as members of the VY~Scl subclass. From high-state emission-line radial velocities, we determine orbital periods of 0.151424(3) d (3.63 hr) for V704 And and 0.130400(1) d (3.13 hr) for RX J2338+431. In V704 And, we find that the H-alpha emission-line measures cluster into distinct regions on a plot of equivalent width versus full width at half-maximum, which evidently correspond to high, intermediate, and low photometric states. This allows us to assign spectra to photometric states when contemporaneous photometry is not available, an apparently novel method that may be useful in studies of other novalikes. Our low-state spectra of RX J2338+431 show features of an M-type secondary star, from which we estimate a distance of 890 +- 200 pc, in good agreement with the Gaia DR2 parallax.Comment: Accepted for Astronomical Journa

Occupational Socialization in Two Service Organizations

This paper is an exploration of some of the processes involved in the creation and maintenance of a shared occupational identity among individuals in organizations. Though focusing specifically on police officers and high school teachers, through this I hope to raise some broader issues concerning the traditional view of occupational socialization and occupations in organizations in the sociological literature

Occupational Socialization in Two Service Organizations

This paper is an exploration of some of the processes involved in the creation and maintenance of a shared occupational identity among individuals in organizations. Though focusing specifically on police officers and high school teachers, through this I hope to raise some broader issues concerning the traditional view of occupational socialization and occupations in organizations in the sociological literature

Prostate cancer treatment with Irreversible Electroporation (IRE): Safety, efficacy and clinical experience in 471 treatments.

BackgroundIrreversible Electroporation (IRE) is a novel image-guided tissue ablation technology that induces cell death via very short but strong pulsed electric fields. IRE has been shown to have preserving properties towards vessels and nerves and the extracellular matrix. This makes IRE an ideal candidate to treat prostate cancer (PCa) where other treatment modalities frequently unselectively destroy surrounding structures inducing severe side effects like incontinence or impotence. We report the retrospective assessment of 471 IRE treatments in 429 patients of all grades and stages of PCa with 6-year maximum follow-up time.Material and findingsThe patient cohort consisted of low (25), intermediate (88) and high-risk cancers (312). All had multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging, and 199 men had additional 3D-mapping biopsy for diagnostic work-up prior to IRE. Patients were treated either focally (123), sub-whole-gland (154), whole-gland (134) or for recurrent disease (63) after previous radical prostatectomy, radiation therapy, etc. Adverse effects were mild (19.7%), moderate (3.7%) and severe (1.4%), never life-threatening. Urinary continence was preserved in all cases. IRE-induced erectile dysfunction persisted in 3% of the evaluated cases 12 months post treatment. Mean transient IIEF-5-Score reduction was 33% within 12-month post IRE follow-up and 15% after 12 months. Recurrences within the follow-up period occurred in 10% of the treated men, 23 in or adjacent to the treatment field and 18 outside the treatment field (residuals). Including residuals for worst case analysis, Kaplan Maier estimation on recurrence rate at 5 years resulted in 5.6% (CI95: 1.8-16.93) for Gleason 6, 14.6% (CI95: 8.8-23.7) for Gleason 7 and 39.5% (CI95: 23.5-61.4) for Gleason 8-10.ConclusionThe results indicate comparable efficacy of IRE to standard radical prostatectomy in terms of 5-year recurrence rates and better preservation of urogenital function, proving the safety and suitability of IRE for PCa treatment. The data also shows that IRE, besides focal therapy of early PCa, can also be used for whole-gland ablations, in patients with recurrent PCa, and as a problem-solver for local tumor control in T4-cancers not amenable to surgery and radiation therapy anymore