Your search

Whole-body dynamic fluoro-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) imaging through continuous-bed-motion (CBM) mode multi-pass acquisition protocol is a promising metabolism measurement. However, inter-pass misalignment originating from body movement could degrade parametric quantification. We aim to apply a non-rigid registration method for inter-pass motion correction in whole-body dynamic PET. 27 subjects underwent a 90-min whole-body FDG CBM PET scan on a Biograph mCT (Siemens Healthineers), acquiring 9 over-the-heart single-bed passes and subsequently 19 CBM passes (frames). The inter-pass motion correction was executed using non-rigid image registration with multi-resolution, B-spline free-form deformations. The parametric images were then generated by Patlak analysis. The overlaid Patlak slope K_i and y-intercept V_b images were visualized to qualitatively evaluate motion impact and correction effect. The normalized weighted mean-squared Patlak fitting errors (NFEs) were compared in the whole body, head, and hypermetabolic regions of interest (ROIs). In K_i images, ROI statistics were collected and malignancy discrimination capacity was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). After the inter-pass motion correction was applied, the spatial misalignment appearance between K_i and V_b images was successfully reduced. Voxel-wise normalized fitting error maps showed global error reduction after motion correction. The NFE in the whole body ( p \,\,= 0.0013), head ( p \,\,= 0.0021), and ROIs ( p \,\,= 0.0377) significantly decreased. The visual performance of each hypermetabolic ROI in K_i images was enhanced, while 3.59% and 3.67% average absolute percentage changes were observed in mean and maximum K_i values, respectively, across all evaluated ROIs. The estimated mean K_i values had substantial changes with motion correction ( p \,\,= 0.0021). The AUC of both mean K_i and maximum K_i after motion correction increased, possibly suggesting the potential of enhancing oncological discrimination capacity through inter-pass motion correction.

This article examines racial capitalism from a semiotic perspective, arguing that economic value, like language and race, can be described in situated and indexical terms. I attempt to show how raciolinguistic bias in and around the workplace is linked to a larger labor market in which minoritized labor is reproduced in a systemic way, and to explore hegemonic formations of racialization in the workplace and beyond. The jumping-off point for much of my argument is the work of the historian and political theorist Cedric Robinson.

Police social workers are crucial components of police departments when individuals or communities experience crises. They perform essential tasks, including well-being checks, crisis intervention, de-escalation, mediation, safety planning, referrals to community services, and other preventative measures to stabilize clients in crisis. The chapter will define police social work and give the reader insight into the stabilization approaches used by police social workers to prepare clients for their next level of care. The chapter begins with a brief history of the evolution of police social workers within the context of public policy and their most recent call to action to address mental health crises. The authors utilize a multi-tier approach to highlight stabilization approaches used by police social workers with a focus on empowering individuals, families, and communities to collaborate on solutions. The chapter uses case scenarios drawn from the experiences of police social workers and interns to demonstrate stabilization approaches. A racial equity, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed lens informs the approach to stabilizing client systems in law enforcement settings. © 2023, IGI Global. All rights reserved.

As its periastron passage occurred during the third quarter of 2020, system 24 Aqr is of particular significance. New visual solutions for the latest speckle interferometry observations collected by the Lowell Discovery Telescope (LTD) with its new QWSSI speckle camera are presented here. A variety of techniques were used to analyze the system, including ORBITX code for orbital solution, Al-Wardat’s method for analyzing multiple stellar systems, and Edwards’ method for analyzing visual and spectroscopic binaries. We derive precise masses and the complete set of its fundamental parameters for the three components, and we introduce a new orbital solution, and a new dynamical parallax, which is very close to the measured value given by Hipparcos 2007 and from that of Gaia DR2. In the next section, we discuss the possibility of a coplanar orbit. In conclusion, we demonstrate that we need a 65-m telescope to resolve the inner binary visually, although an array of telescopes could be used instead.

Fear of COVID-19 has been understandably widespread, given continual exposure to dire information from pandemic media coverage and interpersonal communications. The present study addresses a limitation of the extended parallel process model in predicting fear of COVID-19 by inclusion of the concept of emotional contagion. The main gap in the literature is filled by the study’s distinctive contribution that broadens and upgrades the extended parallel process model. The model is extended by its integration with the theory of emotional processing. The study is based on a national panel of adults (N = 206). The methods include path modeling by SmartPLS. In addition, multigroup analyses examine overall model differences between gender classifications. Findings and conclusions can be used to minimize excessive fear, and at the same time to promote confidence in following official public guidance and protective regulations to cope with the pandemic. © The Author(s) 2023.

BACKGROUND: Adoption of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model has been slowed by a lack of available tools to support implementation. The Wellness School Assessment Tool (WellSAT) WSCC is an online assessment tool that allows schools to evaluate the alignment of their policies with the WSCC model. This study assesses the usability of the WellSAT WSCC. METHODS: Using a convergent mixed methods design, we collected qualitative and quantitative data from 5 school-based participants with roles in development and evaluation of policy. Participants explored the platform while engaging in a think-aloud procedure and scored a sample policy using the platform. They also completed the System Usability Scale and responded to open-ended questions about the usability of the platform. RESULTS: Participants rated the WellSAT WSCC as an above-average user experience, but data suggested several areas for improvement, including improved instructions, enhanced visual design of the platform, and guidance for subsequent policy changes. CONCLUSION: The WellSAT WSCC provides an above-average user experience but can be improved to increase user experience. These improvements increase the potential for greater use to facilitate integration of the WSCC model into school policy. © 2023, American School Health Association.

According to a 2020 survey of 600 senior executives conducted by Harvard Business Review, 55% of organizations agreed that data analytics for decision making is extremely important and 92% asserted data analytics for decision making will be even more important in two years (bit.ly/3PBRENs). Organizations that strategically deploy tools across their finance and accounting functions have an opportunity to better structure manual processes into more stable, accurate, repeatable, and readily auditable procedures (see Gregory Kogan, Nathan Myers, Daniel J. Gaydon, and Douglas M. Boyle, "Advancing Digital Transformation," Strategic Finance, December 2021, bit.ly/3V45v0h). [...]financial decision makers are increasingly expected to engage data analytics to enhance decision making and create more efficient processes. Deployment/communication It's very important to assign responsibilities to team members (e.g., business analysts establish requirements, IT specialists gather required data, and data scientists develop and test advanced modeling techniques) with the requisite skills that vary among the phases. [...]unstructured data is data that has no uniform structure and typically isn't text-based, for example, image or sound files.

The information and skills build to Chapter 10, where the work of a grassroots organization was investigated and how that work coincides with other advocacy and policy issues. Grassroots advocacy is a specific form of advocacy that starts from the roots (i.e., from the community itself) and grows upward from there. This is where the advocate deepens their knowledge about partnership building and collaboration and how it serves the profession to further the development of changes needed. Professional organizations and associations become important to the advocacy efforts at this level, and how to work together on the issues is shared.

Results from the Gaia satellite provide a new way to obtain a comprehensive assessment of local stellar populations, including, for example, a determination of how frequently nearby stars have orbiting stellar companions. The RECONS K Star (RKSTAR) Survey is attempting to answer this question by examining the multiplicity of more than 5000 systems with K dwarf primaries within 50 parsecs of our Solar System. Three surveys (Wide Field, Speckle, and Radial Velocity) will detect stellar and planetary companions to K dwarfs at separations of 0.1 to 1000 AU. This poster will detail the Wide Field portion using Gaia data releases to assemble a list of stellar companion candidates at separations larger than 1 arcsecond from their primary stars, and has revealed nearly 500 companions. These are then cross-referenced with the Washington Double Star Catalogue, the most comprehensive catalog of known multiple stars available, to confirm about 400 known companions and reveal that about 80 are new discoveries. Preliminary findings of this cross-catalogue comparison will be presented. This assessment of the nearest K dwarfs will be helpful in future exoplanet surveys and will serve to inform theories on stellar and planetary formation. This work has been supported by NSF grant AST-1909560.