Clinical assessment of image quality, usability and patient comfort in dedicated spiral breast computed tomography

Objective: To investigate aspects of image quality, feasibility and patient comfort in dedicated spiral breast computed tomography (B-CT) in a large patient cohort. Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board. 2418 B-CT scans from 1222 women examined between 04/16/2019 and 04/13/2022 were analyzed. Patients evaluated their comfort during the examination, radiographers carrying out the scans evaluated the patient's mobility and usability of the B-CT device, whereas radiologists assessed lesion contrast, detectability of calcifications, breast coverage and overall image quality. For semi-quantitative assessment, a Likert-Scale was used and statistical significance and correlations were calculated using ANOVAs and Spearman tests. Results: Comfort, mobility and usability of the B-CT were rated each with either "no" or "negligible" complaints in >99%. Image quality was rated with "no" or "negligible complaints" in 96.7%. Lesion contrast and detectability of calcifications were rated either "optimal" or "good" in 92.6% and 98.4%. "Complete" and "almost complete" breast coverage were reported in 41.9%, while the pectoral muscle was found not to be covered in 56.0%. Major parts of the breast were not covered in 2.1%. Some variables were significantly correlated, such as age with comfort (ρ = -0.168, p < .001) and mobility (ρ = -0.172, p < .001) as well as patient weight with lesion contrast (ρ = 0.172, p < .001) and breast coverage (ρ = -0.109, p < .001). Conclusions: B-CT provides high image quality and contrast of soft tissue lesions as well as calcifications, while covering the pre-pectoral areas of the breast remains challenging. B-CT is easy to operate for the radiographer and comfortable for the majority of women. Keywords: Breast; Breast neoplasms; Mammography; Spiral computed; Tomograph

Construction of a marketing strategy for local sport clubs using the example of the SWV Fischach e.V.

In dieser Arbeit wird eine Marketingstrategie für lokale Sportvereine am Beispiel des Ski- und Wanderverein Fischach erstellt. Es soll als ein Grundkonzept für lokale Sport-vereine dienen, die ihren Verein im Bereich Marketing professionalisieren möchten und für die Marketing etwas Unbekanntes ist

Die Qualitätsmanagementnorm DIN EN ISO 9001 in der Heimerziehung: Diskussion und Analyse aus neo-institutionalistischer Perspektive

Mit dem Inkrafttreten der §§ 78a-g SGB VIII am 01. Januar 1998 wurde der Begriff Qualität in die kinder- und jugendhilfespezifische Gesetzgebung eingeführt und (teil-)stationäre Einrichtungen mit der rechtsverbindlichen Forderung nach Maßnahmen der Qualitätsentwicklung konfrontiert. Dieser Beitrag nimmt Einrichtungen der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe in den Blick, die den Gesetzesvorgaben mit einem nach DIN EN ISO 9001:2008 zertifizierten Qualitätsmanagement nachkommen und stationäre Hilfen zur Erziehung gemäß § 34 SGB VIII "Heimerziehung, sonstige betreute Wohnform" erbringen. Den Ausgangspunkt bildet die Übersetzung dieser für die Soziale Arbeit umstrittenen Normenreihe, welche vermittelt über in Interviews erhobenen Erzählungen von Fach- und Leitungskräften zwei verschiedener Einrichtungen der Heimerziehung analysiert wurde.With the legal validity of §§ 78a-g SGB VIII on 1 January 1998, the term "Quality" was specifically introduced into child and youth welfare legislation. Furthermore, (partially) residential institutions were faced with the legally binding requirement of quality development measures. This article focusses on child and youth welfare services, which comply with the legal requirements of certified quality management according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2008, and provide residential assistance for education in accordance with § 34 SGB VIII "Residential care, other assisted living arrangements". The starting point is the translation of these controversial social norms, disputed in the sector of social work. The analysis is based on interviews held with qualified workers and managers of two different institutions of residential care

Videografie in der Lehrer*innenbildung

Es liegt eine korrigierte Version vom 03.04.2020 vor, s. Link unter "URL

Landscape, culture, and identity : redefining the borderlands

Thesis (M. Arch.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Architecture, 2004.Pages 83-85 blank.Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-81).The proposal seeks to develop and foster new understandings of this border through using built form as a vehicle for re-orienting, disorienting our physical and psychological understandings of borders. The physical intervention creates a release from the current condition which the fence embodies, that of separation, and contradiction. Through transgressing the fence physically and programmatically, one is temporarily freed of this tension, thereby accessing the fence through a different perspective. The resulting transgression is a new territory, perhaps a hybrid of the two. The building choreographs one's movement across the changes in the landscape, thereby revealing of the multiple readings of the fence. At points the boundary seemingly disappears, where at other times one is confronted with the wall as an artifact, a ruin that dominates the landscape. A point of passage is created through excavating underneath the fence; an artificial landscape is carved away in reference to the existing valleys, which already cut across the border. The fence becomes suspended, revealing the irony and frailty of its construction both literally and symbolically. Performance as program creates a venue for the transgression, which takes place. It is an instrument to allow for a alternate dialogue between the two countries. "The border wall has no architectural program, yet it generates intense activity. Crudely built, it is loaded with complex symbolism, more construct than construction... [and] reveals the power of an abstraction to create human environments. "--Teddy Cruz.Sabrina Schmidt-Wetekam.M.Arch

Laws and Conventions in Language-Related Behaviors

The goal of this article is to look at language-related behaviors in light of a strict definition of direct perception. I highlight a key dimension, conventionality, which discriminates between behaviors that are coordinated with respect to law-based information and those that are not (and, therefore, do not qualify as direct perception according to the definition used in this article). The difference between conventional and law-based information does not break down clearly along obvious lines such as natural versus human-made, social versus nonsocial, or linguistic versus nonlinguistic. Therefore, it is necessary to take a task-specific approach to deciding whether a behavior is organized with respect to conventional or law-based information. A tacit assumption in ecological psychology seems to be that anything that has an effect on behavior must be grounded in the perception of an affordance and, therefore, must be guided by law-based information. In this article, I question this assumption. I suggest, instead, that ecological information can be based on both laws and conventions. This move allows us to maintain rigorous definitions of affordances and direct perception, suitable for underpinning action-control, while still expanding the ecological study of behaviors into those that rely on conventional information

An Anatomical Description of a Miniaturized Acorn Worm (Hemichordata, Enteropneusta) with Asexual Reproduction by Paratomy

The interstitial environment of marine sandy bottoms is a nutrient-rich, sheltered habitat whilst at the same time also often a turbulent, space-limited, and ecologically challenging environment dominated by meiofauna. The interstitial fauna is one of the most diverse on earth and accommodates miniaturized representatives from many macrofaunal groups as well as several exclusively meiofaunal phyla. The colonization process of this environment, with the restrictions imposed by limited space and low Reynolds numbers, has selected for great morphological and behavioral changes as well as new life history strategies. Here we describe a new enteropneust species inhabiting the interstices among sand grains in shallow tropical waters of the West Atlantic. With a maximum body length of 0.6 mm, it is the first microscopic adult enteropneust known, a group otherwise ranging from 2 cm to 250 cm in adult size. Asexual reproduction by paratomy has been observed in this new species, a reproductive mode not previously reported among enteropneusts. Morphologically, Meioglossus psammophilus gen. et sp. nov. shows closest resemblance to an early juvenile stage of the acorn worm family Harrimaniidae, a result congruent with its phylogenetic placement based on molecular data. Its position, clearly nested within the larger macrofaunal hemichordates, suggests that this represents an extreme case of miniaturization. The evolutionary pathway to this simple or juvenile appearance, as chiefly demonstrated by its small size, dense ciliation, and single pair of gill pores, may be explained by progenesis. The finding of M. psammophilus gen. et sp. nov. underscores the notion that meiofauna may constitute a rich source of undiscovered metazoan diversity, possibly disguised as juveniles of other species.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

c-Jun phosphorylation by the human vaccinia-related kinase 1 (VRK1) and its cooperation with the N-terminal kinase of c-Jun (JNK)

The VRK1 kinase is a novel Ser-Thr kinase in the human kinome that diverged from the casein kinase 1 branch. These kinases phosphorylate transcription factors related to stress responses, such as p53. In this report we have studied the phosphorylation of the transcription factor c-Jun in its N-terminal region. The VRK1 protein phosphorylates c-Jun with a Km of 0.4 lM, and is not inhibited by SP600125. VRK1 phosphorylates c-Jun in Ser63 and Ser73 in vitro, the same residues targeted by the N-terminal kinase of c-Jun (JNK). This phosphorylation induces the stabilization and accumulation of the c- Jun protein. VRK1 phosphorylates the endogenous c-Jun in Ser63. VRK1 activates c-Jun dependent transcription, which is dependent on phosphorylation of Ser63 and Ser73. The c-Jun with Ser63Ala and Ser73Ala substitutions is not transcriptionally active when cotransfected with VRK1. VRK1 interacts with c-Jun but not with JNK. The cotransfection of VRK1 and JNK has an additive effect on the transcriptional activation of c-Jun indicating that they can cooperate when both are at suboptimal dose; otherwise, maximum effect by one of them prevents the effect of the other. The VRK1-c-Jun connection represents a component of a new signaling pathway whose upstream elements remain to be identified.Peer reviewe

Intercomparison of biomass burning aerosol optical properties from in situ and remote-sensing instruments in ORACLES-2016

The total effect of aerosols, both directly and on cloud properties, remains the biggest source of uncertainty in anthropogenic radiative forcing on the climate. Correct characterization of intensive aerosol optical properties, particularly in conditions where absorbing aerosol is present, is a crucial factor in quantifying these effects. The southeast Atlantic Ocean (SEA), with seasonal biomass burning smoke plumes overlying and mixing with a persistent stratocumulus cloud deck, offers an excellent natural laboratory to make the observations necessary to understand the complexities of aerosol&ndash;cloud&ndash;radiation interactions. The first field deployment of the NASA ORACLES (ObseRvations of Aerosols above CLouds and their intEractionS) campaign was conducted in September of 2016 out of Walvis Bay, Namibia. Data collected during ORACLES-2016 are used to derive aerosol properties from an unprecedented number of simultaneous measurement techniques over this region. Here, we present results from six of the eight independent instruments or instrument combinations, all applied to measure or retrieve aerosol absorption and single-scattering albedo. Most but not all of the biomass burning aerosol was located in the free troposphere, in relative humidities typically ranging up to 60&thinsp;%. We present the single-scattering albedo (SSA), absorbing and total aerosol optical depth (AAOD and AOD), and absorption, scattering, and extinction &Aring;ngstr&ouml;m exponents (AAE, SAE, and EAE, respectively) for specific case studies looking at near-coincident and near-colocated measurements from multiple instruments, and SSAs for the broader campaign average over the month-long deployment. For the case studies, we find that SSA agrees within the measurement uncertainties between multiple instruments, though, over all cases, there is no strong correlation between values reported by one instrument and another. We also find that agreement between the instruments is more robust at higher aerosol loading (AOD400&gt;0.4). The campaign-wide average and range shows differences in the values measured by each instrument. We find the ORACLES-2016 campaign-average SSA at 500&thinsp;nm (SSA500) to be between 0.85 and 0.88, depending on the instrument considered (4STAR, AirMSPI, or in situ measurements), with the interquartile ranges for all instruments between 0.83 and 0.89. This is consistent with previous September values reported over the region (between 0.84 and 0.90 for SSA at 550nm). The results suggest that the differences observed in the campaign-average values may be dominated by instrument-specific spatial sampling differences and the natural physical variability in aerosol conditions over the SEA, rather than fundamental methodological differences.</p