57 research outputs found
Signal Detection Theory for guiding fishing opportunities with Harvest Control Rules
No full textNo abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author. Multiple indicators are combined to produce a simple tool for use when setting Harvest Control Rules. Time-series of indicators for the Celtic Sea Ecoregion are assessed under a hypothetical management system using Signal Detection Theory (Skolnik 1970)
How and Why Homeless People Are Regulated Differently
No full textMany legal theorists have examined the ways in which homeless people are—and can be—regulated differently than people with homes. Previously applied legal theories have invaluably contributed to understanding how quality-of-life offences disproportionately impact homeless people’s negative freedom or violate their constitutional rights. Despite this, they have certain shortcomings in that they fail to address the harm to homeless people’s freedom from potential interference, rather than just actual interference, and the state’s capacity to enact rules that disproportionately impact those without access to housing. This article argues that the republican theory of freedom (or republicanism) demonstrates how and why quality-of-life offences undermine homeless people’s freedom but does so in ways that address those shortcomings. Applying Philip Pettit’s republican theory of freedom as non-domination, the author argues that existing theoretical accounts, which are concerned with actual interference experienced by homeless people, fail to capture the risk of potential non-egalitarian interference when attempting to lawfully alleviate their needs in private. This risk can lead to homeless people abandoning their preferences, altering their pursuits, or being deferential towards others in order to avoid interference. Consistent with this theory of freedom, the author argues that homeless people who adopt these coping mechanisms to avoid actual interference are not meaningfully free and, furthermore, that the types of non-egalitarian trade-offs that homeless people must make to obey quality-of-life rules suggests that their freedom is undermined in ways ignored by negative freedom and constitutional theories. The author argues that while theorists recognize that quality-of-life offences may disproportionately affect homeless people because they live in public, they rarely address the non-egalitarian implications of the state’s greater capacity to regulate how homeless people alleviate their needs without the privacy of a home. Republicanism thus offers insight into how public authority’s greater capacity to regulate common property and protect its value raises important egalitarianism concerns for those who have no private place to live
Abstract CT068: Tumor treating fields in patients with glioblastomas: Evaluation of treatment response using advanced mr imaging techniques
No full textAbstract
Introduction: Tumor treating fields (TTFields) is a new modality for the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastomas (GBMs). TTFields system delivers low intensity, intermediate frequency alternating electric field directly to brain causing neoplastic cell death with minimal effect on the normal dividing cells. The purpose of present investigator sponsored trial was to evaluate the effects of TTFields in GBM patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), perfusion weighted imaging (PWI) and 3D-echoplanar spectroscopic imaging (EPSI).
Methods: Two patients with newly diagnosed GBM and six patients with recurrent GBMs previously treated with standard of care maximal safe resection and chemo-radiation therapy received TTFields. Patients underwent baseline (prior to TTFields) and two follow-up (one and two months post initiation of TTFields) MR imaging on a 3T MR system. DTI data were acquired using 30 directions with a single-shot spin-echo EPI sequence. After motion and eddy current correction of raw DTI data, parametric maps [mean diffusivity (MD), fractional anisotropy (FA)] were generated using in-house developed algorithm. For PWI, T2* weighted gradient-echo EPI sequence was acquired with a temporal resolution of 2.1s. Leakage corrected cerebral blood volume (CBV) maps were constructed. 3D-EPSI was acquired using a spin-echo based sequence. EPSI data were processed using metabolic imaging and data analysis system (MIDAS) package. DTI (MD, FA), EPSI [choline (Cho)/creatine(Cr)], CBV maps and FLAIR images were co-registered to post-contrast T1-weighted images and a semi-automated algorithm was used to segment the contrast-enhancing region of neoplasms. Median values of MD, FA, relative CBV (rCBV) and Cho/Cr were computed at each time point. The 90th percentile rCBV (rCBVmax) values were also measured. Percent changes of each parameter between baseline and follow-up time points were evaluated.
Results and Discussion: In general, there was an increasing trend in MD (~3%) and steadily decline trend in FA (~8%) at the 2 month follow-up relative to baseline. Additionally, from baseline to post- TTFields, reductions in Cho/Cr and rCBVmax were also observed from most of the patients. Clinically, all these patients were stable at 2 month follow-up. The inhibited cellular growth may account for large increase in MD and decrease in FA and Cho/Cr as observed in the current study. Reducing trends in rCBVmax at the follow-up may indicate anti- angiogenetic effects of TTFields and tissue perfusion within the tumor bed after the therapy. Conclusion: Our preliminary data suggest that advanced MR imaging may be useful in evaluating treatment response to TTFields in patients with GBMs. Inclusion of more patients is warranted to validate our findings.
Acknowledgement: Support of NovoTTF-100A system (Novocure Ltd., Haifa, Israel) is gratefully acknowledged.
Citation Format: SANJEEV CHAWLA, Sumei Wang, Gaurav Verma, Aaron Skolnik, Lauren Karpf, Lisa Desiderio, Steven Brem, Katherine Peters, Harish Poptani, Suyash Mohan. Tumor treating fields in patients with glioblastomas: Evaluation of treatment response using advanced mr imaging techniques [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT068. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-CT068</jats:p
Health, Wealth and Workforce Exit: Disability Insurance and Individual Accounts
No full textCurrent debate on the Social Security Administrations long-term finance of benefits includes proposals for independent private investment via individual accounts. The author first investigates what implications disability might have for equity savings account balances. In light of results, incentives to exit the workforce ahead of retirement age are considered when a defined benefit program for disability insurance continues to be available. Included simulation uses historic wage series, equity market performance, and current OASDI regulations for cohorts retiring over the period of 1929 - 2003.Seligman, SSA, individual, accounts
A qualitative investigation of the self-understanding of adults diagnosed with ADHD and it's importance for mental health
No full textThis Master Thesis arises from a curiosity about adults diagnosed with ADHD. Currently, there is significant focus on ADHD, and an increasing number of adults are being diagnosed. Public figures and private individuals alike are coming forward in the media, expressing relief upon receiving the diagnosis, as it provides them with a newfound understanding of the challenges they have faced throughout their lives and a better means of managing them. Nevertheless, statistics indicate that an ADHD diagnosis increases the risk of various health factors.This Master Thesis aims to investigate how a changed self-understanding after being diagnosed with ADHD affects one’s potential for mental health. This led to the following research question:In which way has late-diagnosed adults’ understanding of themselves changed after receiving the ADHD diagnosis, in relation to their previous and current challenges, and what significance does this have for their prerequisites for mental health?In my study, I adopt a hermeneutic approach, conducting semi-structured interviews with five adults diagnosed with ADHD late in life. To examine my participants new self-understanding, I have utilized social anthropologist Mikka Nielsen's chapter “When emotions and reactions become symptoms of a diagnosis” from the anthology “Diagnoses; perspectives, criticism and discussion”. To explore their prerequisites for mental health, I have employed Aaron Antonovsky's theory of “salutogenesis” and “sense of coherence”.The analysis has been conducted in such a way that their new self-understanding serves as the basis for further examining how this new self-perception affects their sense of coherence and, consequently, their prerequisites for mental health. In this Master Thesis, I have chosen to use sense of coherence as the foundation for achieving mental health, as opposed to Antonovsky's physiological health concept.The analysis points to that a self-understanding in which most experiences can be explained within an ADHD context can enhance the sense of coherence and thereby create a better foundation for mental health. However, this is contingent upon the individuals accepting and identifying with the diagnosis. If, for any reason, they are unable to do so, there is a significant risk that the diagnosis will hinder their current sense of coherence. This suggests, contrary to Antonovsky’s view, that sense of coherence may not necessarily be stable, as a life event that alters the self-understanding can also change one’s sense of coherence.The limitation of this study is that it only addresses the current possibility for mental health for the participants and can therefore not predict the long-term effects of this new self-understanding. It remains to be seen whether this increased sense of coherence might be compromised if the self- perception changes again, given that it is based on a very specific foundation
Re-conceptualizing the Relationship Between Community Colleges and Universities Using a Conceptual Framework Drawn From the Study of Jurisdictional Conflict Between Professions
No full text This article examines the relationship between community colleges and universities in Canada and the United States based on increased involvement of community colleges in offering baccalaureate programs. The article employs a theoretical framework borrowed from the study of jurisdictional conflict between professions. After considering the types of possible and occurring jurisdiction settlement over baccalaureate preparation between universities and community colleges, the author concludes that the older, simplistic criterion—based on credentials awarded—that defined the division of labor between postsecondary sectors should be replaced with newer, more complex and multifaceted criteria that relate to program and client characteristics. </jats:p
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