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Abstract Background We sought to determine the intra- and inter-radiation therapist reproducibility of a previously established matching technique for daily verification and correction of isocenter position relative to intraprostatic fiducial markers (FM). Materials and methods With the patient in the treatment position, anterior-posterior and left lateral electronic images are acquired on an amorphous silicon flat panel electronic portal imaging device. After each portal image is acquired, the therapist manually translates and aligns the fiducial markers in the image to the marker contours on the digitally reconstructed radiograph. The distances between the planned and actual isocenter location is displayed. In order to determine the reproducibility of this technique, four therapists repeated and recorded this operation two separate times on 20 previously acquired portal image datasets from two patients. The data were analyzed to obtain the mean variability in the distances measured between and within observers. Results The mean and median intra-observer variability ranged from 0.4 to 0.7 mm and 0.3 to 0.6 mm respectively with a standard deviation of 0.4 to 1.0 mm. Inter-observer results were similar with a mean variability of 0.9 mm, a median of 0.6 mm, and a standard deviation of 0.7 mm. When using a 5 mm threshold, only 0.5% of treatments will undergo a table shift due to intra or inter-observer error, increasing to an error rate of 2.4% if this threshold were reduced to 3 mm. Conclusion We have found high reproducibility with a previously established method for daily verification and correction of isocenter position relative to prostatic fiducial markers using electronic portal imaging.

Industrial equipment such as ruggedized handheld computers, scanners, and label printers used within asset tracking environments are expensive to purchase and costly to repair. For organizations that use this equipment, there is value in understanding when and why damage occurs and how much of those costs are potentially associated with the employees' own sense of psychological ownership and organizational pride. Given the connection between psychological ownership and pride, the purpose of this study was to analyze employee surveys to determine what methods, tools, or programs could reduce repair and replacement while developing a stronger sense of ownership for ruggedized devices used in material‐handling industries by shift workers. Unstructured interviews about device repair with management from a large industrial company were utilized to create a multiple‐choice, anonymous online survey (n = 353). Of the six interventions proposed, assigning the same device to the same employee every shift appeared to have the most consistent and positive response. Destruction rates and costs should be posted for employee viewing and managers of workgroups with consistently high destruction rates should receive additional training. An incentive‐based program for employees responsible for the least amount of device damage as well as an individual‐assignment of devices to employees may be considered. Applications for this student include providing a tool with which organizations can use to gauge employee ownership of equipment as well as to identify interventions that may aid in mitigating expenses associated with industrially rugged equipment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piece is a description of the various activities related to the Library of Congress collection of telephone directories from the countries of Eastern Europe, with an emphasis on making the collection more accessible to users by microfilming, digitizing, and creating finding aids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This piece is a continuation of a previous article about Russian RSS feeds, but with a new focus on feeds originating from or about other Eastern European countries. It also includes a brief discussion of the features of web-based readers and using the Firefox browser to locate feeds. It is intended for a non-technical audience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a survey of issues related to reference collections for Slavic and East European studies. it is based on the author's experience as a Slavic reference librarian at the University of Illinois (Slavic Reference Service) and the Library of Congress (European Division). Topics include weeding, reference collection policies, microforms and electronic resources in reference collections, and management of reference collections. The discussions are highlighted with comparisons of practice at the two institutions. A brief examination of an evaluation of the Bulgarian reference collection at the Library of congress is recounted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an introduction to RSS feeds for a non-technical audience. The emphasis is on finding and accessing RSS feeds in Russian or with content related to Russia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the book "Kirilo-Metodievska Bibliografiia 1516-1934," by Svetlina Nikolova and G. A. Il'inskii.

This project was designed to investigate the effects of the administration of two breathing exercises on a population of flutists. The subjects acted as their own controls and measurements were taken at each of four visits, spaced three weeks apart. Subjects performed three musical examples and were given the opportunity to practice each example once prior to the trial. Measurements of loudness, duration, tone quality, and peak flow readings of subjects breathing as well as a health-history were recorded at each visit. The experimental variable was introduced at the end of the second visit and subjects were given diaries to record practice habits and progress with breathing exercises. The total subject population (N = 23) was comprised of a variety of ages and subject playing experiences to facilitate this preliminary study, Initial data analysis allowed for subjects to be grouped into three broad categories of flute playing experience: Beginning. Intermediate and Advanced. There was significant improvement in subjects' ability to sustain the musical examples during the course of measurement, with the Advanced group showing the most improvement, it will be important for future research to examine the effects or breathing interventions on larger subject populations with controls for experience level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides an overview of the book "The Columbia Guide to the Literatures of Eastern Europe Since 1945," by Harold B. Segel.

Provides an overview of the book “Majstri slova,” by Drahoslav Machala.

Provides an overview of the book “Russkoe zarubezh'e: Khronika nauchnoi, kul'turnoi i obshchestvennoi zhizni, 1940-1975, Frantsiia,” edited by L. A. Mnukhin.

Provides an overview of the book “Encyklopedický slovník češtiny,” by Petr Karlik, Marek Nekula and Jana Pleskalová.

Provides an overview of the book "Slavianite i slavianskata filologiia: Ocherk po istoriia na slavistikata i bulgaristikata ot vtorata polovina na XIX do nachaloto na XXI vek," by Ivan Kutsarov.