Fallbrook Engineering (United States)

Background: Mammography (MG) is the current standard for population screening and mortality reduction, but sensitivity declines in dense breasts, and access can be limited in low-resource settings. Objective: Identify and synthesize published comparisons of AI-assisted ultrasound evaluation, particularly handheld/Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) against standard mammography strategies for early detection; summarize outcomes (sensitivity, specificity, cancer detection rate [CDR], interval cancers, recall/biopsy rates), and outline where artificial intelligence (AI) + Point of care ultrasound (POCUS) may be superior. Findings: Randomized and cohort data show Mammography + ultrasound detects more cancers and halves interval cancers versus Mammography alone (trade-off: lower specificity). Emerging AI-assisted POCUS demonstrates very high sensitivity for palpable masses on portable devices and can safely triage 38–67% of benign cases away from referral imaging. This is based on published articles and a meta-analysis review. In dense breasts, mammography-supplemental US outperforms MG+AI on several diagnostic endpoints. Nationwide real-world programs show MG+AI increases CDR over MG alone, according to a 2025 published article reported by Eisemann et al. (2025) in Nature Medicine Conclusion: Direct RCTs of AI-POCUS vs Mammography for screening are not yet published; however, across published comparative articles, ultrasound-based strategies and especially AI-assisted POCUS triage are clinically advantageous in certain medical cases, for example, dense breasts, palpable masses, low-resource settings, and are likely to be non-inferior, and sometimes superior to MG-only strategies for early detection, albeit with a specificity trade-off that AI may reduce (Ohuchi et al., 2016).

IntroductionHumphead, or Napoleon, wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is a large reef fish highly valued in the live reef food fish trade. Overexploitation, driven primarily by demand from Chinese communities, led to its ‘Endangered’ status and CITES Appendix II listing in 2004. Hong Kong is the global import and consumer hub for this species. A Licence to Possess system for CITES is implemented in the city to regulate the quota of live wild-sourced CITES specimens, including humphead wrasse, held at each registered trading premise and ensure traceability through documentation. However, the absence of identification and tagging systems to distinguish legally traded from illegally sourced individuals is a critical CITES enforcement loophole, allowing traders to launder illegally imported fish provided the total number on their premises remains within the licensed quota. To address this, a photo identification system utilizing the unique complex facial patterns of humphead wrasse was established enabling enforcement officers to detect possible laundering by monitoring individual fish at retail outlets.Methods and resultsDeep learning models were developed for facial pattern extraction and comparison to enhance efficiency and accuracy. A YOLOv8-based extraction model achieved a 99% success rate in extracting both left and right facial patterns. A ResNet-50-based convolutional neural network retrained using a triplet loss function for individual identification, achieved top-1, top-3, and top-5 accuracies of 79.73%, 95.95%, and 100%, respectively, further characterized by a mean rank of 1.797 (median = 1, mode = 1, S.D. = 0.86) for correct comparisons with appropriate images. The ‘Saving Face’ mobile application integrates these models, enabling officers to photograph and upload humphead wrasse images during inspections to a centralized database. The application compares and detects changes in fish individuals at each location. Discrepancies between detected changes and transaction documentation raise red flags for potential illegal trade, prompting further investigation. The system is also designed for use by researchers and citizen scientists.DiscussionThis novel solution seeks to address a critical CITES enforcement loophole and shows potential for research and citizen science initiatives. The beta version of ‘Saving Face’ is available, and general public users can contribute supplementary information for enforcement and continuous model optimization. This new photo identification approach developed against wildlife trafficking using unique body markings is potentially adaptable to other threatened species.

Purpose This paper explores the roles of institutional research (IR) units in higher education, examining both internal and external responsibilities and demands. The purpose of this paper is to encourage a broader strategic discussion of the missions and capacities of such academic institutional entities. Design/methodology/approach The methodology employed begins with a review of relevant literature, followed by critical observations of an experienced reflective practitioner. Beginning with the premise that academic institutions are central, the paper discusses the external environment of institutions and the requirements placed on their internal IR operations. A core question is presented: research for whom? Both traditional and alternative organizational models are discussed in this light. The paper then explores ways in which data needs might be aligned in order to provide accountable, useful and transparent information to all stakeholders, internal and external. Findings Findings show that the linking of internal information needs with those of external actors is key to effective operations; that IR units should seek to be a bridge between their institution and its environment so that effective information can be provided to all who need it. The paper is not designed as a detailed operational roadmap, but rather to highlight issues for examination within the context of specific institutional and agency situations. Originality/value Its originality stems from the focus on such linkages and the call for organizational leaders to recognize the full value of IR both within and across organizational boundaries.

Background: Despite a growing number of studies evaluating cancer of prostate (CaP) specific gene alterations, oncogenic activation of the ETS Related Gene (ERG) by gene fusions remains the most validated cancer gene alteration in CaP. Prevalent gene fusions have been described between the ERG gene and promoter upstream sequences of androgen-inducible genes, predominantly TMPRSS2 (transmembrane protease serine 2). Despite the extensive evaluations of ERG genomic rearrangements, fusion transcripts and the ERG oncoprotein, the prognostic value of ERG remains to be better understood. Using gene expression dataset from matched prostate tumor and normal epithelial cells from an 80 GeneChip experiment examining 40 tumors and their matching normal pairs in 40 patients with known ERG status, we conducted a cancer signaling-focused functional analysis of prostatic carcinoma representing moderate and aggressive cancers stratified by ERG expression.Results: In the present study of matched pairs of laser capture microdissected normal epithelial cells and well-to-moderately differentiated tumor epithelial cells with known ERG gene expression status from 20 patients with localized prostate cancer, we have discovered novel ERG associated biochemical networks.Conclusions: Using causal network reconstruction methods, we have identified three major signaling pathways related to MAPK/PI3K cascade that may indeed contribute synergistically to the ERG dependent tumor development. Moreover, the key components of these pathways have potential as biomarkers and therapeutic target for ERG positive prostate tumors.

Se estudió la competencia de Commelina erecta originada de semilla y de rizoma con Digitaria sanguinalis y Amaranthus quitensis. Los objetivos del trabajo fueron: 1) estudiar la dinámica del crecimiento de plantas de estas malezas en mezclas binarias y en monoculturas; 2) estimar el rendimiento relativo de cada especie (RR) y el rendimiento relativo total (RRT) de las distintas mezclas y 3) utilizar un modelo dinámico para analizar la importancia de distintos atributos específicos sobre el resultado de la competencia. El crecimiento de las monoculturas de todas las especies ajustó a un modelo sigmoide. Los RR de las distintas malezas variaron en función de la especie acompañante, de la fecha de muestreo y del año. La competencia fue parcial (RRT > 1) únicamente en mezclas que incluyeron plantas de C. erecta originadas de rizomas. A partir de las simulaciones con el modelo, se determinó que el resultado de la competencia depende del tamaño inicial (BI) de rizomas de C. erecta, por otro lado, el análisis de sensibilidad señala la gravitación de la tasa intrínseca de crecimiento (r) en la definición de RR. Bajo condiciones de competencia, los parámetros biológicos que definieron el crecimiento de las especies estudiadas fueron especialmente r y BI. Los resultados destacan la compleja interacción de factores que determinan el balance competitivo, tanto entre ambas formas de propagación de C. erecta, como entre ellas y otras malezas.

Many fine water and wastewater treatment plant operators have been stopped cold in their career advancement because of their weakness in math. Statistics presented here show how many operators in grades 1 and 2 failed the California certification exam because of weakness in math. Persistence is the key to overcoming this weakness. For applied math, it is important to understand that although there are hundreds of possible problems, there are relatively few types of problems. In memory studies, it has has long been recognized that as material is studied in information “chunks” rather than as individual data points, a large quantity of information can be retained. For this reason, Opflow is beginning a series called Math in Chunks. This series will teach operators how to do various types of math problems so that they can apply those problems to water and wastewater math.