"Johnson astutely reveals that franchises are not Borg-like assimilation machines, but, rather, complicated ecosystems within which creative workers strive to create compelling 'shared worlds.' This ...finely researched, breakthrough book is a must-read for anyone seeking a sophisticated understanding of the contemporary media industry." - Heather Hendershot, author ofWhat's Fair on the Air?: Cold War Right-Wing Broadcasting and the Public Interest While immediately recognizable throughout the U.S. and many other countries, media mainstays like X-Men, Star Trek, and Transformers achieved such familiarity through constant reincarnation. In each case, the initial success of a single product led to a long-term embrace of media franchising - a dynamic process in which media workers from different industrial positions shared in and reproduced familiar cultureacross television, film, comics, games, and merchandising. InMedia Franchising, Derek Johnson examines the corporate culture behind these production practices, as well as the collaborative and creative efforts involved in conceiving, sustaining, and sharing intellectual properties in media work worlds. Challengingconnotations of homogeneity, Johnson shows how the cultural and industrial logic of franchising has encouraged media industries to reimagine creativity as an opportunity for exchange among producers, licensees, and evenconsumers. Drawing on case studies and interviews with media producers, he reveals the meaningful identities, cultural hierarchies, and struggles for distinction that accompany collaboration within these production networks.Media Franchisingprovides a nuanced portrait of the collaborative cultural production embedded in both the media industries and our own daily lives.
The standard-of-care treatment for newly diagnosed glioblastoma changed in 2005, when radiation therapy plus temozolomide chemotherapy replaced radiation therapy alone. It is not yet clear how this ...change in treatment has influenced patient survival in routine clinical practice, or if a survival benefit extends to patients older than those enrolled in the trial. Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program was analyzed to compare survival of adult glioblastoma patients diagnosed from 2000–2003 to patients diagnosed from 2005–2008, in order to evaluate pre-temozolomide and post-temozolomide periods. The Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazards models were used. 6,673 patients with glioblastoma diagnosed from 2000–2003 and 7,259 patients diagnosed from 2005–2008 were identified. Median survival times of all patients diagnosed in the 2000–2003 and 2005–2008 periods were 8.1 and 9.7 months, respectively. Amongst patients treated with surgery and a radiation-containing regimen, median survival was 12.0 months in 2000–2003 and 14.2 months in 2005–2008. In the temozolomide era, median survival times ranged from a high of 31.9 months in patients age 20–29 to a low of 5.6 months in patients age 80 and older. The survival of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma improved from 2000–2003 to 2005–2008, likely due to temozolomide use. However, median survival time after glioblastoma diagnosis in the SEER population remains well under one year, largely driven by poor prognosis in elderly patients.
Abstract
AbstractThe T2-FLAIR (fluid attenuated inversion recovery) mismatch sign is an easily detectable imaging sign on routine clinical MRI studies that suggests diagnosis of isocitrate ...dehydrogenase (IDH)–mutant 1p/19q non-codeleted gliomas. Multiple independent studies show that the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign has near-perfect specificity, but low sensitivity for diagnosing IDH-mutant astrocytomas. Thus, the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign represents a non-invasive radiogenomic diagnostic finding with potential clinical impact. Recently, false positive cases have been reported, many related to variable application of the sign’s imaging criteria and differences in image acquisition, as well as to differences in the included patient populations. Here we summarize the imaging criteria for the T2-FLAIR mismatch sign, review similarities and differences between the multiple validation studies, outline strategies to optimize its clinical use, and discuss potential opportunities to refine imaging criteria in order to maximize its impact in glioma diagnostics.
Stoichiometric copper(I) selenide nanoparticles have been synthesized using the hot injection method. The effects of air exposure on the surface composition, crystal structure, and electronic ...properties were monitored using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and conductivity measurements. The current−voltage response changes from semiconducting to ohmic, and within a week a 3000-fold increase in conductivity is observed under ambient conditions. The enhanced electronic properties can be explained by the oxidation of Cu+ and Se2− on the nanoparticle surface, ultimately leading to a solid-state conversion of the core from monoclinic Cu2Se to cubic Cu1.8Se. This behavior is a result of the facile solid-state ionic conductivity of cationic Cu within the crystal and the high susceptibility of the nanoparticle surface to oxidation. This regulated transformation is appealing as one could envision using layers of Cu2Se nanoparticles as both semiconducting and conducting domains in optoelectronic devices simply by tuning the electronic properties for each layer through controlled oxidation.
The tumor suppressor PDCD4 is a proinflammatory protein that promotes activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB and suppresses interleukin 10 (IL-10). Here we found that mice deficient in ...PDCD4 were protected from lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced death. The induction of NF-kappaB and IL-6 by LPS required PDCD4, whereas LPS enhanced IL-10 induction in cells lacking PDCD4. Treatment of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells with LPS resulted in lower PDCD4 expression, which was due to induction of the microRNA miR-21 via the adaptor MyD88 and NF-kappaB. Transfection of cells with a miR-21 precursor blocked NF-kappaB activity and promoted IL-10 production in response to LPS, whereas transfection with antisense oligonucleotides to miR-21 or targeted protection of the miR-21 site in Pdcd4 mRNA had the opposite effect. Thus, miR-21 regulates PDCD4 expression after LPS stimulation.
Radiologists play a key role in brain tumor diagnosis and management and must stay abreast of developments in the field to advance patient care and communicate with other health care providers. In ...2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) released an update to its brain tumor classification system that included numerous significant changes. Several previously recognized brain tumor diagnoses, such as oligoastrocytoma, primitive neuroectodermal tumor, and gliomatosis cerebri, were redefined or eliminated altogether. Conversely, multiple new entities were recognized, including diffuse leptomeningeal glioneuronal tumor and multinodular and vacuolating tumor of the cerebrum. The glioma category has been significantly reorganized, with several infiltrating gliomas in children and adults now defined by genetic features for the first time. These changes were driven by increased understanding of important genetic factors that directly impact tumorigenesis and influence patient care. The increased emphasis on genetic factors in brain tumor diagnosis has important implications for radiology, as we now have tools that allow us to evaluate some of these alterations directly, such as the identification of 2-hydroxyglutarate within infiltrating gliomas harboring mutations in the genes for the isocitrate dehydrogenases. For other tumors, such as medulloblastoma, imaging can demonstrate characteristic patterns that correlate with particular disease subtypes. The purpose of this article is to review the changes to the WHO brain tumor classification system that are most pertinent to radiologists.
RSNA, 2017.
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•Dual fuel is advertised to reduce diesel consumption by up to 70%.•When correcting for methane slip, peak substitutions were up to 58%.•GHG emissions of dual fuel operation were 2.2 ...and 1.65 times higher than diesel only and natural gas, respectively.•Dual fuel and dedicated natural gas engines have lower efficiencies than diesel only.•Even when accounting for methane slip these technologies do offer economic benefits.
We collected data focusing on in-use emissions and efficiency of engines servicing the unconventional well development industry to elucidate real world impacts from current and newly applied engine technologies. The engines examined during the campaigns were diesel only (DO) and dual fuel (DF) diesel/natural gas, compression-ignition (CI) engines and dedicated natural gas, spark-ignition (SI) engines. These included two CI drilling engines outfitted with two different DF kits, two SI drilling engines, and two CI well stimulation engines. Our data were gathered under the load and speed requirements in the field, and the engines were not under our direct control. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were measured from all engines and fueling types and included both exhaust and crankcase emissions. Fuel consumption and engine data were collected to determine fuel efficiency. During steady-state operation, fuel efficiency was 38%, 26%, and 20% for DO, DF, and SI engines, respectively. The loss of efficiency during DF operation was due in part to uncombusted methane (CH4) slip in the exhaust, which accounted for 18% of the fuel supplied. GHG emissions (carbon dioxide and CH4) from CI engines were 2.25 times higher during DF compared to DO operation. During DF operation, substitution ratio varied depending on engine load and DF kit, ranging from 9% to 74%. GHG emissions from the SI engines were 1.33 times higher than DO due to lower efficiencies of throttled and rich operation as compared to unthrottled and lean operation for CI engines.
1. Quantifying the complex spatial dynamics taking place at range edges is critical for understanding future distributions of species, yet very few systems have sufficient data or the spatial ...resolution to empirically test these dynamics. This paper reviews how data from a large-scale pest management programme have provided important contributions to the fields of population dynamics and invasion biology. 2. The invasion of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) is well-documented from its introduction near Boston, Massachusetts USA in 1869 to its current extent of over 900,000 km² in Eastern North America. Over the past two decades, the USDA Forest Service Slow the Spread (STS) programme for managing the future spread of gypsy moth has produced unrivalled spatiotemporal data across the invasion front. 3. The STS programme annually deploys a grid of 60,000–100,000 pheromone-baited traps, currently extending from Minnesota to North Carolina. The data from this programme have provided the foundation for investigations of complex population dynamics and the ability to examine ecological hypotheses previously untestable outside of theoretical venues, particularly regarding invasive spread and Allee effects. 4. This system provides empirical data on the importance of long-distance dispersal and time-lags on population establishment and spatial spread. Studies showing high rates of spatiotemporal variation of the range edge, from rapid spread to border stasis and even retraction, highlight future opportunities to test mechanisms that influence both invasive and native species ranges. 5. The STS trap data have also created a unique opportunity to study low-density population dynamics and quantify Allee effects with empirical data. Notable contributions include evidence for spatiotemporal variation in Allee effects, demonstrating empirical links between Allee effects and spatial spread, and testing mechanisms of population persistence and growth rates at range edges. 6. There remain several outstanding questions in spatial ecology and population biology that can be tested within this system, such as the scaling of local ecological processes to large-scale dynamics across landscapes. The gypsy moth is an ideal model of how important ecological questions can be answered by thinking more broadly about monitoring data.
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