Virginia Quality Institute\u27s Conflict Management Training

The purpose of this study was determine if Virginia Quality Institute\u27s conflict management training attendees were successful in using the recommended conflict strategies and verbal techniques to mitigate difficult conversations and conflict situations at their job

In the Cause of Liberty: How the Civil War Redefined American Ideals

An Examination of American Ideals Subtitles often fail to live up to their lofty hyperbole, but that applied to this essay collection is right on the mark – or rather the nine essays that make up the volume are right on the mark in their individual and collective efforts to tackle these...

Why Confederates Fought: Family and Nation in Civil War Virginia

Understanding the Relationship Between Homefront and Battlefield One of the most durable debates regarding the course of the Civil War is whether or not a loss of will among the southern populace was central to Confederate defeat. Aaron Sheehan-Dean enters that fray by examining a crucial...

STATIONARY DIGITAL TOMOSYNTHESIS: IMPLEMENTATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND IMAGE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES

The use of carbon nanotube cathodes for x-ray generation was pioneered and perfected by our team in the Applied Nanotechnology Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the past decade, carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission x-ray source technology has matured and translated into multiple pre-clinical and clinical devices. One of the most prominent implementations of CNT x-ray technology is a limited angle tomography method called tomosynthesis, which is rapidly emerging in clinical radiography. The purpose of this project is two-fold, to develop and characterize to the latest iteration, stationary intraoral tomosynthesis, and develop a low-dose, effective scatter reduction technique for breast and chest tomosynthesis. The first portion of this project was to develop and evaluate a new quasi-3D imaging modality for dental imaging. My work consists of experiments which dictated the design parameters and subsequent system evaluation of the dedicated s-IOT clinical prototype system currently installed in the UNC Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology clinic in the School of Dentistry. Experiments were performed in our lab to determine optimal source array geometry and system configuration. The system was fabricated by our commercial partner then housed in our research lab where I performed initial characterization and assisted with software development. After installation in the SOD, I performed additional system characterization, including source output validation, dosimetry, and quantification of resolution. The system components and software were refined through a rapid feedback loop with the engineers involved. Four pre-clinical imaging studies have been performed in collaboration with several dentists using phantoms, extracted teeth, and cadaveric dentition. I have generated an operating manual and trained four dental radiologists in the use of the s-IOT device. The system has now been vetted and is ready for patient use. The second portion of this project consists of hardware development and implementation of an image processing technique for scatter correction. The primary sampling scatter correction (PSSC) is a beam pass technique to measure the primary transmission through the patient and calculate the scatter profile for subtraction. Though developed for breast and chest tomosynthesis, utilization in mammography and chest radiography are also demonstrated in this project. This dissertation is composed of five chapters. Chapters one and two provide the basics of x-ray generation and a brief history of the evolution of carbon nanotube x-ray source technology in our lab at UNC. Chapter three focuses on stationary intraoral tomosynthesis. The first section provides background information on dental radiology and project motivation. Sections 3.2 and 3.3 detail my work in benchtop feasibility and optimization studies, as well as characterization and evaluation of the clinical prototype. Chapter four introduces scatter in imaging, providing motivation for my work on primary sampling scatter correction (PSSC) image processing method, detailed in chapter five.Doctor of Philosoph

A survey of thermodynamic properties of the compounds of the elements chnops progress report, 1 feb. - 30 jun. 1965

Heat capacities, entropies, enthalpies, and free energies of organic and inorganic compounds of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfu

Automating Evidence Collection for Software Assurance from Existing Status Reports

No abstract availabl

Development and validation of the Nottingham Auditory Milestones (NAMES) profile for deaf children under 2 years old, using cochlear implants

Objectives: Clinicians face considerable challenges in setting appropriate auditory goals for babies and young children who receive cochlear implants. This paper describes the rationale, organisation, implementation and validation of the Nottingham Auditory Milestones profile that was developed to address these challenges. Methods: The use of the profile has been fully integrated into the post-operative pathway at the Nottingham Auditory Implant Programme since 2009. Data is presented on a cohort of 30 children who received bilateral cochlear implants under the age of two and who have no other diagnosed difficulties. The data was used to validate the profile's structure and characterise the expected development trajectory for this population of children. Results: The analysis of routine data from the children confirmed that the profile's structure reflected the typical order and rate at which skills emerged and were acquired over the first three years following cochlear implantation. The distribution of profile scores across five assessment time-points established a developmental trajectory for typically-developing children. Three case studies describe the use of the profile to set consistent expectations for progress for a wide range of children. Discussion: The development trajectory established using the profile provides a mechanism to identify children not making the expected progress, in order to support the need for a review of approach or a differential diagnosis. Conclusion: The Nottingham Auditory Milestones profile is an accessible and practical tool for identifying, monitoring and appraising the auditory achievements of deaf babies and young children in the first three years following cochlear implantation

Phantom-based study exploring the effects of different scatter correction approaches on the reconstructed images generated by contrast-enhanced stationary digital breast tomosynthesis

Stationary digital breast tomosynthesis (sDBT) is an emerging technology in which the single rotating x-ray tube is replaced by a fixed array of multiple carbon nanotube-enabled sources, providing a higher spatial and temporal resolution. As such, sDBT offers a promising platform for contrast-enhanced (CE) imaging. However, given the minimal enhancement above background with standard operational tube settings and iodine dosing, CE breast imaging requires additional acquisition steps to isolate the iodine signal, using either temporal or dual energy subtraction (TS or DES) protocols. Also, correcting for factors that limit contrast is critical, and scatter and noise pose unique challenges during tomosynthesis. This phantom-based study of CE sDBT compared different postacquisition scatter correction approaches on the quality of the reconstructed image slices. Beam-pass collimation was used to sample scatter indirectly, from which an interpolated scatter map was obtained for each projection image. Scatter-corrected projections provided the information for reconstruction. Comparison between the application of different scatter maps demonstrated the significant effect that processing has on the contrast-to-noise ratio and feature detectability (d′) in the final displayed images and emphasized the critical importance of scatter correction during DES

Carbon nanotube electron field emitters for x-ray imaging of human breast cancer

For imaging human breast cancer, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has been shown to improve image quality and breast cancer detection in comparison to 2D mammography. Current DBT systems have limited spatial resolution and lengthy scan times. Stationary digital breast tomosynthesis (s-DBT), utilizing an array of carbon nanotube (CNT) field emission X-ray sources, provides increased spatial resolution and potentially faster imaging than current DBT systems. This study presents the results of detailed evaluations of CNT cathodes for X-ray breast imaging tasks. The following were investigated: high current, long-term stability of CNT cathodes for DBT; feasibility of using CNT cathodes to perform a 2D radiograph function; and cathode performance through several years of imaging. Results show that a breast tomosynthesis system using CNT cathodes could run far beyond the experimentally tested lifetime of one to two years. CNT cathodes were found capable of producing higher currents than typical DBT would require, indicating that the s-DBT imaging time can be further reduced. The feasibility of using a single cathode of the s-DBT tube to perform 2D mammography in 4 seconds, was demonstrated. Over the lifetime of the prototype s-DBT system, it was found that both cathode performance and transmission rate were stable and consistent

Minibeam radiotherapy with small animal irradiators: in-vitro and in-vivo feasibility studies

Minibeam radiation therapy (MBRT) delivers an ultrahigh dose of x-ray (≥100 Gy) in 200–1000 µm beams (peaks), separated by wider non-irradiated regions (valleys) usually as a single temporal fraction. Preclinical studies performed at synchrotron facilities revealed that MBRT is able to ablate tumors while maintaining normal tissue integrity. The main purpose of the present study was to develop an efficient and accessible method to perform MBRT using a conventional x-ray irradiator. We then tested this new method both in vitro and in vivo. Using commercially available lead ribbon and polyethylene sheets, we constructed a collimator that converted the cone beam of an industrial irradiator to 44 identical beams (collimator size ≈ 4 × 10 cm). The dosimetry characteristics of the generated beams were evaluated using two different radiochromic films (beam FWHM = 246 ± 32 µm; center-to-center = 926 ± 23 µm; peak-to-valley dose ratio = 24.35 ± 2.10; collimator relative output factor = 0.84 ± 0.04). Clonogenic assays demonstrated the ability of our method to induce radiobiological cell death in two radioresistant murine tumor cell lines (TRP = glioblastoma; B16-F10 = melanoma). A radiobiological equivalent dose (RBE) was calculated by evaluating the acute skin response to graded doses of MBRT and conventional radiotherapy (CRT). Normal mouse skin demonstrated resistance to doses up to 150 Gy on peak. MBRT significantly extended the survival of mice with flank melanoma tumors compared to CRT when RBE were applied (overall p < 0.001). Loss of spatial resolution deep in the tissue has been a major concern. The beams generated using our collimator maintained their resolution in vivo (mouse brain tissue) and up to 10 cm deep in the radiochromic film. In conclusion, the initial dosimetric, in vitro and in vivo evaluations confirmed the utility of this affordable and easy-to-replicate minibeam collimator for future preclinical studies