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If you're like most folks, when you look at a 401k plan's options you're completely overwhelmed. Where to start? Of course, the starting point is to sign up to participate – begin sending a bit of your paycheck over to the 401k plan. A good place to start on that is at least enough to get your employer's matching funds, however much that might be. In this article though, we're looking at investing your 401k money. It's not as tough as you think. In fact, it can be done in just two steps – taking no more than 30-45 minutes of your time. Step 1 – Look at your options When you've signed up for the 401k plan, review your options for investing your 401k. Look at the list of investments available – and from here you can take a shortcut if you like. If your plan has a "target […]
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Game-Ending DPs That Went 8-2
Posted by Raphy on August 21, 2011
Today's Tigers-Indians game thrillingly ended when Austin Jackson threw out Kosuke Fukudome at home plate for a game-ending double play. The play was both exciting and rare. Tyler Kepner of the New York Times put it best when he wrote:
I let out a "Wow!" Couldn't help it. Not often do you see a game end on a double play from center field to the plate.
Since my mind is warped by thousands of PI searches, I immediately ran the batting event finder, and searched for game ending double plays to the center fielder, eliminated the ones that did not end with the catcher and was left with this list. (This comes from the play-by play index which is complete since 1974 and almost complete 1950-1973.) Since there were no RBI's on any of these plays I included the responsible CF instead.
|Center Fielder
|Play Description
|1977-09-05 (2)
|Willie Crawford
|Lerrin LaGrow
|down 2-1
|Chet Lemon
|*ENDED GAME*:Double Play: Flyball: CF-C
|1978-08-11 (2)
|Mike Edwards
|Mike Marshall
|down 3-2
|Dan Ford
|*ENDED GAME*:Fly Ball Double Play: CF-C
|Doug Flynn
|Tug McGraw
|down 2-1
|Greg Gross
|*ENDED GAME*:Double Play: Flyball: CF-C
|Roy Smalley
|Bobby Thigpen
|down 4-3
|Ken Williams
|*ENDED GAME*:Double Play: Flyball: CF-C
|Luis Alicea
|Jim Gott
|down 3-2
|Andy Van Slyke
|*ENDED GAME*:Double Play: Flyball: CF-C
Generated 8/21/2011.
Not often, indeed.
38 Responses to "Game-Ending DPs That Went 8-2"
Steve Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:05 pm
Interesting how they are all clumped together except the latest one.
Steve Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:26 pm
OT but Alex Gordon has been impressive throwing out baserunners from lf this year.
Gonzo Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:33 pm
Go G.G.!
Zachary Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I wonder if there's any particular reason all those are late in the season. Maybe both runners and fielders get more adventurous?
But anyway, what a beautiful way to end a ballgame! So pretty you could frame it.
Im_A_Shark7 Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:35 pm
The lastest one could still get clumped together if a lot happen the next few years, though.
John Autin Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:42 pm
Great find, Raphy. Nice footwork by Jackson to make sure he had momentum going towards the plate.
And a tough decision for the coach and runner at 3rd, since they also had the go-ahead run on 2nd base. By my WPA calculation, you send the runner if you think his chance of success is at least 45%.
(My calculation may be off since I'm using TangoTiger's 2002 Win Expectancy table, the latest I could find on a quick search; the run context is a bit different now. I could also be off since this is my first stab at a WPA calculation.)
Bob Hulsey Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:49 pm
Interesting that Greg Gross was not a center fielder by trade and, in 1979 when this event occurred, he appeared in just 19 games as a center fielder. Of course, when you have Garry Maddox, why would you put anyone else out there?
Johnny Twisto Says:
August 21st, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Shark, what prompted your return?
Sunday summary: Games of 8/21 » Baseball-Reference Blog » Blog Archive Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 12:57 am
[...] Sunday summary: Games of 8/21 Posted by John Autin on August 22, 2011 « Game-Ending DPs That Went 8-2 [...]
Doug Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 12:58 am
Switching gears, another unusual game ending occurred today in the Blue Jays 1-0, 1-hit, team shutout of the As. Casey Janssen earned the save with 3 innings of no-hit ball.
Janssen's save is one of only a handful of 3-inning saves since 2000 that were not recorded in blowout games. And, it's only the 2nd time in that period where the pitcher had to preserve a 1-run lead through his entire appearance (the prior game was Ramon Troncoso of the Dodgers against the Rockies, Apr 25, 2009).
Any pitcher looking to picking up an easy save, tomorrow (Monday) is probably your best chance. These are the 3-inning saves since 2000 where the final victory margin is 15+ runs.
- 2008-08-22, Cards over Braves, 18-3
- 2007-08-22, Rangers over Orioles 30-3
- 2003-08-24, As over Jays, 17-2
- 2002-07-23, Red Sox over Devil Rays, 22-4
- 2000-08-22, Padres over Mets, 16-1
John Autin Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:01 am
@10, Doug -- I have a note on Janssen's 3-IP save in my Sunday summary:
P.S. In the process of finding the last 3-IP save of a 1-0 win, I was amazed at how many 3-IP saves there were in the early '90s and the '80s.
Doug Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:16 am
Thanks, John (I was debating whether to wait to see if you would be posting a wrap-up blog). I'll post this on that blog too.
maTt Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:26 am
I just had to look up the runners who were nabbed at the plate:
1977-09-05 Matt Keough (as a PR, was a P in MLB but played IF for his 1st 3 minor league seasons)
1978-08-11 Glenn Burke (as a PR)
1979-09-13 Joel Youngblood
1987-09-08 Al Newman (as a PR)
1988-09-27 Jose Oquendo
So, 3 of the 5 pre-Fukudome were PRs.
I noticed that all 6 of these were one-run wins (and assume that was not a part of the search criteria). On April 24 there was a RF-C flyball double play that ended a Nats at Pirates game at a score of 6-3 (obviously a bonehead attempt to score by McCutchen and/or his 3B coach Leyva). So I am curious as to what are the largest margins of victory in games that ended with a flyball double play at the plate?
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:44 am
MaTt, you beat me to listing the runners! Nice work.
I researched much the same topic as Raphy, taking only high-leverage situations into account. Eight games since 1950 have ended on left-fielder-to-catcher DPs, 10 on right-fielder-to-catcher DPs.
A couple of notes:
Willie Davis, as a bit player for the 1979 Angels, hit into a 7-2 double play to end a 3-2 loss to Baltimore on July 8, then was the runner tagged out at home on a throw from left fielder Joe Cannon to end a 6-5 loss to Toronto on August 17.
Chronologically, the first four OF-C game-ending DPs that I pulled up were the games of 9/1/51, CHC-CIN; 6/1/56, CIN-NYG; 4/11/59, PIT-MLN; and 8/27/67 (1st game), CHW-BOS. Smoky Burgess hit into the game-ending fly-ball DP in the first of these four games, and played for the losing team in each game.
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 2:04 am
what are the largest margins of victory in games that ended with a flyball double play at the plate?
From what I was able to find, August 9, 1986, Twins 9, A's 2. Somehow it seems fitting that the runner was Dave Kingman.
Russell Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:48 am
Can we rank these plays by SBs the runner thrown out had that season and OF assists the CF had? which of these plays threw out a fast runner or tested a strong arm?
flyingelbowsmash Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:52 am
I was wondering what Kingman was doing on base, it must have been one of his 33 walks from that season. He hit 35 homers - which begs the question, how many guys have had more HRs than BB in a season?
flyingelbowsmash Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:58 am
Kingman did it three other times, including his 48 HR year when he had a whopping 45 BB - I see the plate discipline helped the home run explosion :).
nightfly Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:25 am
More HR than BB is impressive.
I'm a slacker who doesn't have a PI subscription (booooo hissssss), but I get 185 occurences of HR > BB, and HR => 10. Juan Gonzalez seems to be your leader in the clubhouse, doing it six times and just missing a seventh in 1998 (45 hr, 46 bb). Tony Armas had five such years. Matt Williams did it four times in six seasons for the Giants, 1989-1994; he had the nearest of misses in 1990 when he had 33 hr and 33 bb, and he had 8 of each in 1988.
Alfonso Soriano is another guy who prefers to trot all the bases instead of just the first one: he has four such seasons if you include this one (20 hr and 19 bb so far). Through 2005, in fact, Soriano had more CAREER hr than bb (162-157). Armas just misses for his whole career, 251 hr and 260 bb.
That got me thinking about who has the most career homers with hr > bb. I can't see the name because I'm a skinflint, but he has 71 career homers; since that's not top-1000 all time, I can't see him on the career leaderboard, which only runs to 78.
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:30 am
Nightfly, Here's your man.
John Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:44 am
Who were the catchers?
John Autin Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 11:49 am
@19, Nightfly -- Kahuna's right about Todd Greene. But if we compare HRs to unintentional walks, Tony Armas takes the crown -- 251 HRs, 223 unintentional walks.
Tmckelv Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I like that the first two games on the list both involved the A's getting caught at home to end the 2nd game of a doubleheader.
What a way to end a long day.
nightfly Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:09 pm
Kahuna, JA - thanks! Man, Greene almost blew it when he went to the NL, 19 hr and 30 bb. And nice catch about Tony Armas and subtracting out his IBB. I never even thought of doing that.
Does the BB column include IBB as well? Because unless my math is off, that means Juan Gone vaults Armas - 434 hr, 383 unintentional walks.
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:19 pm
Can we rank these plays by SBs the runner thrown out had that season and OF assists the CF had? . . . Who were the catchers?
These are the 23 games with high-leverage game-ending OF-C double plays, sorted by position and then by most stolen bases for runner at third base.
• 9/13/1979: Batter Doug Flynn, NYM; runner at 3B Joel Youngblood (18 SB); pitcher Tug McGraw, PHI; score 2-1 Phillies; play Greg Gross (CF, 5 assists for season) to Bob Boone, C (just came in to game as defensive replacement)
• 8/11/1978, 2nd game: Batter Mike Edwards, OAK; runner at 3B Glenn Burke (16 SB); pitcher Mike Marshall, MIN; score 3-2 Twins; play Dan Ford (CF, 6 assists for season), to Glenn Borgmann, C
• 9/8/1987: Batter Roy Smalley, MIN; runner at 3B Al Newman (15 SB); pitcher Bobby Thigpen, CHW; score 4-3 White Sox; play Ken Williams (CF, 6 assists for season) to Ron Hassey, C
• 9/27/1988: Batter Luis Alicea, STL; runner at 3B José Oquendo (4 SB); pitcher Jim Gott, PIT; score 3-2 Pirates; play Andy Van Slyke (CF, 12 assists for season) to Mike Lavalliere, C
• 9/5/1977, 2nd game: Batter Willie Crawford, OAK; runner at 3B Matt Keough (0 SB); pitcher Lerrin LaGrow, CHW; score 2-1 White Sox; play Chet Lemon (CF, 12 assists for season) to Jim Essian, C
• 9/19/1980: Batter Dave Rosello, CLE; runner at 3B Toby Harrah (17 SB); pitcher Aurelio Lopez, DET; score 4-3 Tigers; play Steve Kemp (LF, 4 assists for season) to Lance Parrish, C
• 7/8/1979: Batter Willie Davis, CAL; runner at 3B Brian Downing (3 SB); pitcher Don Stanhouse, BAL; score 3-2 Orioles; play Gary Roenicke* (LF, 10 assists for season) to Rick Dempsey, C
• 5/11/1982: Batter Steve Nicosia, PIT; runner at 3B Mike Easler (1 SB); pitcher Dave Smith, HOU; score 4-2 Astros; play José Cruz (LF, 8 assists for season) to Alan Ashby, C
• 8/17/1979: Batter Rod Carew, CAL; runner at 3B Willie Davis (1 SB); pitcher Dave Stieb, TOR; score 6-5 Blue Jays; play Joe Cannon (LF, 5 assists for season; just moved to LF from RF) to Rick Cerone, C
• 9/6/1975: Batter Doug Rader, HOU; runner at 3B Larry Milbourne (1 SB); pitcher Brent Strom, SDP; score 2-1 Padres; play Bobby Tolan (LF, 5 assists for season) to Bob Davis, C
• 4/11/1959: Batter Bob Skinner, PIT; runner at 3B Román Mejías (1 SB); pitcher Lew Burdette, MLN; score 4-3 Braves; play Wes Covington (LF, 6 assists for season) to Del Crandall, C
• 5/24/2008: Batter Shane Victorino, PHI; runner at 3B Pedro Feliz (0 SB); pitcher Doug Brocail, HOU; score 4-3 Astros; play Darin Erstad (LF, 2 assists for season; just came in to game as defensive replacement) to Brad Ausmus, C
• 9/1/1951: Batter Smoky Burgess, CHC; runner at 3B Bob Ramazzotti (0 SB); pitcher Herm Wehmeier, CIN; score 4-3 Reds; play Bob Usher (LF, 9 assists for season; just came in to game as defensive replacement) to Dixie Howell, C
• 9/14/1971: Batter Joe Torre, STL; runner at 3B Lou Brock (64 SB); pitcher Chris Short, PHI; score 5-4 Phillies; play Willie Montañez (RF, 11 assists for season) to Tim McCarver, C
• 4/15/1984: Batter Tony Bernazard, CLE; runner at 3B Brett Butler (52 SB); pitcher Sammy Stewart, BAL; score 6-5 Orioles; play Jim Dwyer (RF, 3 assists for season; just came in to game as defensive replacement) to Rick Dempsey, C
• 6/30/1978: Batter Bill Robinson, PIT; runner at 3B Dave Parker (20 SB); pitcher Dale Murray, NYM; score 6-5 Mets; play Joel Youngblood (RF, 8 assists for season; came in at 2B in 8th, moved to RF in 9th) to John Stearns, C
• 7/17/1986: Batter John Cangelosi, CHW; runner at 3B Wayne Tolleson (17 SB); pitcher Dave Righetti, NYY; score 5-4 Yankees; play Dave Winfield (RF, 9 assists for season) to Ron Hassey, C
• 7/1/2007: Batter Brian Roberts, BAL; runner at 3B Melvin Mora (9 SB); pitcher Francisco Rodríguez, LAA; score 4-3 Angels; play Vladimir Guerrero (RF, 5 assists for season) to Mike Napoli, C
• 8/27/1967, 1st game: Batter Duane Josephson, CHW; runner at 3B Ken Berry (9 SB); pitcher John Wyatt, BOS; score 4-3 Red Sox; play José Tartabull (RF, 3 assists for season) to Elston Howard, C
• 6/22/1994: Batter Billy Hatcher, PHI; runner at 3B Kevin Stocker (8 SB); pitcher Alejandro Peña, PIT; score 5-4 Pirates; Orlando Merced (RF, 3 assists for season) to Don Slaught, C
• 7/9/1971, 1st game: Batter Jim Hickman, CHC; runner at 3B Glenn Beckert (3 SB); pitcher Bob Miller, SDP; score 1-0 Padres; play Larry Stahl (RF, 11 assists for season) to Bob Barton, C
• 7/17/1978: Batter Iván de Jesús, CHC; runner at 3B Larry Cox (0 SB); pitcher Bob Welch, LAD; score 4-3 Dodgers; play Reggie Smith (RF, 8 assists for season) to Steve Yeager, C (just came in to game as defensive replacement)
• 6/1/1956: Batter Roy McMillan, CIN; runner at 3B Jim Dyck (0 SB); pitcher Windy McCall (NYG); score 3-2 Giants; play Whitey Lockman (RF, 3 assists for season; just moved to RF from LF) to Jim Mangan, C (just came in to game as defensive replacement)
Looks like right fielders Montañez and Dwyer gunned down the fastest runners.
John Autin Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:27 pm
Would anyone care to check my work on computing the break-even success rate for sending the runner in that Cleveland game? I came up with a figure of about 42%.
I'm using Tangotiger's 2002 Win Expectancy chart, because I haven't found one more recent:
(When looking at the chart, keep in mind that all numbers are expressed from the home team's perspective.)
Possible situations after the flyout to CF:
-- Runner holds at 3rd:
-- -- Top of 9th, 2 out, Home team ahead by 1 run, runners on 2nd and 3rd
-- -- -- Home Team Win Expectancy = 0.793 (from chart)
-- -- -- -- Road Team WE = 1 - 0.793 = 0.207
-- Runner tries to score, runner safe:
-- -- Top of 9th, 2 out, Game tied, runner 3rd (assuming he advances on throw to plate)
-- -- -- Home Team WE = 0.504 (from chart)
-- -- -- -- Road Team WE = 1 - 0.504 = 0.496
-- Runner tries to score, runner out:
-- -- Game over, Road Team loses (WE = 0).
The break-even success rate for sending the runner is the rate at which (success rate times the success WE) minus (failure rate times the failure WE) is equal to "runner holds" WE.
The failure WE is 0, so the equation simplifies to:
Thus, the analysis of Win Expectancy says that you send the runner if the expected success rate is 42% or better.
Did I mess that up?
Of course, WE takes no account of any other element of the game situation -- pitcher, next batter, ballpark, etc. -- and a 2011 WE chart would be a little different based on a lower run context.
eorns Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 1:54 pm
On 8/27/86, the Mets upped the difficulty and pulled off what I think is an even more exciting game-ending double play. With one out and Garry Templeton on 2nd, Tim Flannery hit a single to CF. Lenny Dykstra charged and threw to Gary Carter to get Templeton at the plate. Meanwhile, Flannery never stopped running and tried for third, where he was thrown out by Carter. Voila, an 8-2-5 game-ending DP!
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:04 pm
Here's an interesting one: Game-ending triple where the batter is tagged out trying to stretch his hit to an inside-the-park home run: Mariners vs. Twins, April 29, 1981.
Austin Jackson's feat hadn't been pulled off since 1988 | HardballTalk Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 3:36 pm
[...] Raphy did the research and saw only five games that had ended that way since 1973, the last coming 23 years [...]
nightfly Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Odd way to end a game... odder still that it would have been the go-ahead run, and then they didn't play the ninth inning, and called the game.
That was the second game of the same day to end tied. I guess they were going to replay them but the strike threw everything off?
maTt Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 8:32 pm
Great stuff, K. Tuna.
John Autin Says:
August 22nd, 2011 at 9:47 pm
Kahuna, put down the game-ending triple and step away from the box score! The Engle game is mine -- mine, I tells ya! 🙂
Oh, alright ... I'll share.
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:12 am
Kahuna, put down the game-ending triple and step away from the box score! The Engle game is mine -- mine, I tells ya!
The good stuff is always off limits, isn't it? (-;þ What's that old line? — something like, "Put a million stat geeks on the Play Index for a million years, and eventually two of them will pull up a game-ending triple in a game that ended tied because of rain." Maybe I've garbled the line a little, but no matter . . . everyone knows it.
And here's a nugget from the Engle game that you may not have noticed, John: Two batters behind Engle is the outfielder who, five years later, threw out Dave Kingman at the plate to end the 8/9/86 Twins-A's game (see my post #15 above).
The Frustrated Fan Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Thanks for the longer list, Kahuna Tuna. But you missed this one, from a game I remember watching: June 13, 1991, Cubs vs. Giants. With the bases loaded, Andre Dawson (7 assists in RF that year) caught a fly ball off the bat of Mike Kingery and threw out Tony Perezchica (zero SB, 1 CS) at home to end the game. Cubs win 4-3.
Kahuna Tuna Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 3:17 pm
You're right, TFF. My apologies! I assembled my list from game lists copied from several PI runs, and I must have just missed that one. Thanks for the correction. (And, I assume, belated condolences for the ending of that 1991 game.)
The Frustrated Fan Says:
August 23rd, 2011 at 11:30 pm
@Kahuna Tuna - I'm not a Giants fan, I'm a Cubs fan. So no condolences are necessary for that 1991 game, although plenty of condolences may be necessary for everything else I've endured.
Top Five: Highlights From Tigers' Weekend Sweep Of Indians - Detroit MI DIRECTV Service Says:
August 24th, 2011 at 10:46 am
[...] catch in shallow center, followed by gunning down Kosuke Fukudome at home plate (for a rare 8-2 double play on your scorecard) may have been the difference maker in this season. How many times have the [...]
Raphy Says:
August 26th, 2011 at 9:48 am
@26 John - The Man himself links to your calculations and then does some of his own: http://www.insidethebook.com/ee/index.php/site/article/trying_to_score_from_3b_down_by_1_with_1_out_left_in_the_game/


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Electrical impulses from your heart muscle cause your heart to beat (contract). This electrical signal begins in the sinoatrial node, also called the SA node or the sinus node. The SA node is sometimes called the heart's "natural pacemaker." When an electrical impulse is released from the SA node, it causes the heart's upper chambers to contract.
Sick sinus syndrome is a type of arrhythmia. It is a group of signs and symptoms that tells doctors that the SA node is not working properly. The SA node usually sends electrical impulses at a certain rate, but if the SA node is not working properly, the heart may beat too fast, too slow, or both.
Any irregularity in your heart's natural rhythm is called an arrhythmia.
Almost everyone's heart skips a beat now and again, and these mild
palpitations are usually harmless. But there are about 4 million
Americans with recurrent arrhythmias, and these people usually need
treatment for their condition.
What causes sick sinus syndrome?
Sick sinus syndrome usually develops slowly over many years, and doctors do not always know the cause. It occurs more often in people over 50, but children may develop the condition after having open heart surgery.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Many people with sick sinus syndrome do not have symptoms, or they do not think their symptoms are serious enough for them to see a doctor.
Here are some signs and symptoms of sick sinus syndrome.
How is sick sinus syndrome diagnosed?
Sick sinus syndrome can be hard to diagnose because you may not have many symptoms. Your doctor will take a medical history, ask about your symptoms, and listen to your heart with a stethoscope. With the stethoscope, the doctor may be able to hear an irregular heartbeat, which can be a sign of sick sinus syndrome. Other diagnostic tests that your doctor may order include
How is sick sinus syndrome treated?
If you do not have any symptoms, you will not need treatment for sick sinus syndrome. If you do have symptoms, your doctor may want you to stop taking certain medicines and avoid food and drinks that make your symptoms worse.
If sick sinus syndrome is causing a slow heart rate (bradycardia), you may need to have a pacemaker implanted and you may need to take antiarrhythmic medicines.
If sick sinus syndrome is causing a fast heart rate (tachycardia), it may be treated with antiarrhythmic medicines. Sometimes a procedure called radiofrequency ablation is also recommended to treat tachycardia.
See on other sites:
MedlinePluswww.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000161.htmSick sinus syndrome


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Ione is located in the fertile Ione Valley, which is believed to be named by Thomas Brown around 1849 after one of the heroines in Edward Bulwer Lytton's drama "The Last Days of Pompeii." During the days of the Gold Rush, the miners knew the town by the names of "Bedbug" and "Freezeout." Unlike other communities in Amador County, which were founded on gold mining, Ione was a supply center, stage and rail stop and agricultural hub.
The Town of Ione continued to grow and prosper after its gold rush founding. The first school was built in 1853. The historic Methodist Church was organized in 1853 and the structure was completed in 1862. The first flour mill was built in 1855. The first brick building was built by Daniel Stewart in 1855 for his general merchandise store and is still owned and operated by the same family.
At the centennial of 1876, Ione had a population of about 600 which included about 100 Chinese who lived in Ione's Chinatown. The town included one public school, 4 churches, 4 general stores, one meat market, one laundry, one brewery, a resturant, millinery shop, an art gallery, six saloons, a drug store and barber shop, and many other business establishments. The centennial also celebrated the completion of the railroad to the town of Ione. The centennial celebration was the beginning of what is now known as the Ione Homecoming. This annual celebration has been held during the month of May almost every year since that first Centennial celebration in 1876 and is now held on the first weekend in May every year.
The City of Ione was incorporated as a General Law City in 1953 and is now the largest city in Amador County.
Ione has many interesting landmarks and historical points of interest:
The Preston School of Industry, known as The Castle, was built between 1890-1894 to serve as a school for juveniles referred by the courts. The Castle is currently not in use, but the Preston Castle Foundation is working to help restore The Castle.
Dave Brubeck, the famous jazz pianist, lived in Ione and in 1998 scored a video tour of the castle called "A Castle's Song", sold through KVIE to help fund the restoration efforts.
The Castle and grounds are not open to the public, but there are several vantage points in Ione for photographing this famous landmark. Photos of the castle interior can be viewed at the Amador Country Film Commission website.
The Ione Community Cemetery, next to Howard Park on Church Street, reflects the pioneer history of Ione and dates back to 1852. The Catholic Cemetery is across the street. "Iron Ivan", located in a park behind City Hall on Main Street, was the seventh and last steam engine used by the AmadorCentral Railroad.
"Iron Ivan", located in a park behind City Hall on Main Street, was the seventh and last steam engine used by the Amador Central Railroad.


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Galaxy breaks distance record
Mar 1, 2004
Astronomers have discovered a galaxy some 13.2 billion light years away – the most distant galaxy ever seen. Light from this galaxy, known as Abell 1835 IR1916, provides information about the universe when it was just 3% of its current age. The light was emitted about 470 million years after the big bang and could tell us more about how the first galaxies formed after the "dark ages" in the early universe (R Pelló et al. 2004 Astronomy & Astrophysics 416 L35).
When hot hydrogen cooled to form galaxies in the early universe, intense far-ultraviolet radiation was emitted as electrons in the atoms fell from excited states to the ground state. This so-called Lyman alpha emission is a tell-tale signature of galaxy formation and has a characteristic wavelength of 121.6 nanometres. However, this radiation has been red-shifted to longer wavelengths by the expansion of the universe, and astronomers can calculate the age of a galaxy by measuring the red-shift of its Lyman alpha line.
Roser Pelló of the Observatoire Midi- Pyrénées in France, Daniel Schaerer of the Geneva Observatory in Switzerland and colleagues took images of the galaxy cluster Abell 1835 with the ISAAC instrument on the Very Large Telescope in Chile. This cluster behaves as a gravitational lens and allows astronomers to study galaxies otherwise too faint to be seen.
The French-Swiss team detected a weak but clear feature in the spectrum of Abell 1835 IR1916 that they believe is the Lyman alpha line red-shifted to a wavelength of 1337 nanometres in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. This corresponds to a red-shift of 10, which is significantly higher than the previous record of 6.6.
Moreover, Pelló, Schaerer and co-workers calculated that the galaxy is undergoing a period of intense star formation and that it has produced some 10 million solar masses worth of stars. The team says that these stars - which may have been the "building blocks" of today's large galaxies - could have provided the first light sources that put an end to the dark ages in the early universe.
About the author
Belle Dumé is Science Writer at PhysicsWeb


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Clinton schools looking for taste-testers
School lunch recipes put to test
Clinton schools officials are looking for volunteers to taste test the recipes for cafeteria menus this fall.
The Clinton Public Schools District Child Nutrition Department will be in the kitchen cooking up some tasty meals in the coming weeks and they need input from students, parents and faculty on the quality of the recipes.
The school district has been working for the past several years to provide healthy meals for students. They were commended for their efforts in February by first lady Michelle Obama, who visited Northside & Eastside Elementary School as part of a tour celebrating the third year of her "Let's Move!" campaign.
The taste-testing will be held from noon to 1 p.m. at Northside & Eastside Elementary School on June 24, June 27, July 2-3, July 8, July 10-11, July 22-25 and Aug. 5-6.
Those interested in volunteering are asked to email email@example.com.
Copyright 2013 by WAPT.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Italy's Politicians Face the Pinocchio Test
ROME—With just days to go before Italians head to the polling booths, it's time to review how the main candidates's claims stack up.
As noted here before, Pagella Politica has a site where key statements made by a slew of politicians are gauged by a team of young professionals who volunteer to sort remarks into categories ranging from "true" through "almost" to "little Pinocchio" to "crazed fib."
The idea of fact-checking is catching on in Italy, and Web site Pagella Politica is playing a leading watchdog role, having drawn more than a million page views in January, according to Amerigo Lombardi, one of its proponents.
So here are the results for the six main candidates, ordered according in line with opinion polls.
Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani, ahead in all opinion polls, has a modest 39% truth penchant.
People of Freedom leader Silvio Berlusconi's scores a 20% truth penchant while Beppe Grillo, head of the Five-Star Movement, is running at 18%.
Outgoing Prime Minister Mario Monti, who now heads a "civic choice" movement, has a 63% truth trend – the highest.
Antonio Ingroia, head of the Civic Revolution party, scores 43% , although the sampling of his remarks was limited.
Oscar Giannino, head of the FARE movement, runs a 47% truth score.
Still, truth may not matter so much to voters, and some of the judgements are debatable.
Mr. Grillo, for example, was given a fib ruling for saying that the reason Italy hasn't defaulted on its sovereign debt is because so much of it was owned by French and German banks.
Pier Ferdinando Casini, the head of the UDC party flanking Mr. Monti, was given an "almost true" score for claiming that 40% of Italy's youth are unemployed. The official jobless rate for that figure is in the high 30s, but given that many are studying, only one in 10 are really jobless, a point tirelessly emphasized by the Istat statistics institute that publishes the data each month.
Mr Bersani, meanwhile, racked up truth points by citing simple statistics such as the fact that Italy's household income has been falling for five consecutive years — since the global financial crisis began.
The Pagella Politica site takes a look at a slew of other politicians and offers fairly granular assessments of individual statements.


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Index of content:
Volume 33, Issue 6, June 2006
- Imaging Scientific Session: 330A
- Image Segmentation and Registration
MO‐E‐330A‐01: Joint Estimation of Motion and Activity Concentration for 4D Gated PET Studies33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241449View Description Hide Description
Purpose: Gated PET acquisition has been traditionally used to address the respiratory/cardiac motion induced artifacts. However, gated PETimages usually have poor image quality due to insufficient photon counts. In this regard, various efforts have been made to estimate the motion information from the gated PETimages first, and then use this information to produce motion‐free, high quality images. The purpose of this study is to combine the two inter‐related tasks—motion estimation and image reconstruction, into one single process. A potential advantage of such an approach is a more accurate estimation of the motion information, as well as a better quality of the reconstructed image.Method and Materials:Motion estimation and image reconstruction are jointly performed by maximizing a modified likelihood function that incorporates motion information. A computer simulation was performed on a 2D digital phantom placed in a simulated PET scanner to test the feasibility of this approach. The digital phantom consisted of a hot sphere moving sinusoidally within a warm background. The motion of the sphere was discretized into 10 steps. This simulated a tumor in the patient body influenced by the respiratory motion during a gated data acquisition using 10 time frames. The simulated PET scanner consisted of two parallel gamma cameras each having 140 detectors, and could rotate in 280 angular steps. Projection data were modeled to follow a Poisson statistics, with 20% of random counts. Results: The jointly estimated image recovered the shape of the moving object while still preserved a good image quality. Quantification error was reduced by 21.2% when compared to the static reconstruction, and SNR was improved by 185% when compared to the gated image.Conclusion: The joint estimation approach we have proposed has a good potential in motion artifacts correction for 4D PETimages.
MO‐E‐330A‐02: Automated Prostate Contour Drawing On Post‐Implant CT Images Based On Ultrasound Volume and Seeds Positions33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241450View Description Hide Description
Purpose: It is difficult to locate precisely the prostate on CTimages. We propose an automated contouring help method based on data acquired during intra‐operative brachytherapy procedure. The algorithm uses ultrasound volume and seeds positions to draw a preliminary contour on CTimage.
Method and Materials: The data acquired during the clinical protocol are the intra‐operative ultrasound volume and the seeds positions based on the detected needle insertion, and the seed positions and the CTimages thirty days post‐implant. In the first step the US volume and seed cloud are matched. For each z position of a clinical CTimage, the US contour and seeds are extracted. The seeds positions are automatically detected on CTimage and are used to calculate a transformation matrix to translate the seeds positions from day 0 to 30. The contours are reshaped using active contour. The reshaping process begins with the center slice and progress on both sides. The active contours are initialize with an expanded US volume. Implementation (results): There are no parameters to adjust in the first part of the algorithm. In the second part, there are six snakes parameters : continuity, curvature, convergence, gradient contraction minimum and contraction maximum. There is also a parameter controlling the resize factor of the US contours. The preliminary tests are conducted on ten clinical cases. Most of the contours were the final contour. The others needed a small physician action to correct the contours. Conclusion: This algorithm will be a useful tool to help physicians in tedious work to draw prostate contours on CTimages. This automated approach presents the physician with intra‐op US volume fused to the 30 days CT exams and proposes a new set of contours based on the morphology of the seed distribution.
MO‐E‐330A‐03: Automated Texture Based CT Segmentation by Gabor Filtering and Fuzzy Clustering33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241451View Description Hide Description
Purpose: To automate segmentation of lesion and organs at risk in lung patients by using Gabor filtering and fuzzy clustering for 4D CTimage data and to check the usefulness of segmentation by using these methods. Method and Materials:Image was pre‐processed with contrast enhancement and median filtering in order to prepare it for feature extraction. By filtering the enhanced image by Gabor filtering, texture features were extracted. Three fuzzy segmentation algorithms were selected including Fuzzy C‐Means (FCM), Gustaffson Kessel and Gath Geva (GG). Optimal number of clusters is determined by using validity criterion including Partition coefficient (F), Classification entropy (H), Xie Beni index (XB) and Partition index (SC). Images were then clustered and clusters visualized by using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). Finally, Performance of the algorithms was calculated by plotting the Receiver Operating Curves (ROC). Results: It was found that different clustering algorithms are best suited for different tissue/Organ segmentations. Furthermore, ROC curves indicated that FCM segmented the left lung with a True Positive (TP) rate of 94.72%, GK segmented Lesion with a TP rate of 88% and GG segmented heart with a TP rate of 74.8%. Fuzzy clustering methods in conjunction with Gabor filters are seen to completely outperform traditional Hard clustering methods like K‐Means and KMediod. Finally, there is a marked difference seen between the fuzzy clustered regions and oncologist marked GTV. Conclusion: Texture based segmentation using Gabor filtering and fuzzy clustering perform quite well for Lesion and organs at risk segmentation, however, different fuzzy clustering methods should be combined for optimal segmentation. As Gabor filters use different frequencies and orientation for filtering, they reveal hidden structure, which may contribute to a more precise delineation of tissue/lesion structure.
MO‐E‐330A‐04: Semi‐Automatic Contouring for Respiratory Gating33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241452View Description Hide Description
Purpose: Contouring is very labor intensive, especially in image‐guidedradiotherapy involving many image sets. To expedite this task, a semiautomatic image segmentation algorithm was developed to obtain lung and tumor volumes at the end‐of‐exhalation from contours drawn on an image set taken at the end‐of‐inhalation, and vice versa. Method and Materials: The gradient vector flow (GVF) algorithm was first proposed by Xu and Prince. This snake model can dynamically conform to object shapes in response to two kinds of forces: internal force from the contour itself, and external forces from image gradients. The energy cost function composed of these two forces can be minimized based on local GVF information. Different parameters were used for elasticity and rigidity of lung and tumor tissue. A variation of the GVF method is proposed to speed up the convergence. A momentum item ξΔUt EXP(−t/T0) was added to the gradient vector calculation, in which ξ is a momentum constant and T 0 is the initial annealing temperature. Results: Two CTimage sets were used to verify the algorithm. The lung and tumor contours drawn at one phase were used as an initial guess for the automatic drawing in the second phase. The GVF was calculated for each slice and some important parameters, like elasticity, rigidity and mass viscosity etc were assigned specific values for the optimization. The GVF calculation converged quickly to 10−3 in less than 5 seconds for a 512 × 512 image. The ratio of overlapping areas drawn by the algorithm to those of the manual approach exceeded 98%. Conclusion: The close match between computed and manually drawn contours, as well as the short computing time indicates the feasibility of this method for clinical use. This method should also be expandable to other applications like image guided radiotherapy. More work is needed for contouring 4D image sets.
MO‐E‐330A‐05: Evaluation of Similarity Measures for Use in Intensity‐Based Registration in Radiotherapy33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241453View Description Hide Description
Purpose: In radiotherapy, the implementation of automated patient positioning depends on optimal selection of a similarity measure. Visual inspection of a registration is insufficient for evaluating performance of a measure, since high precision registration is usually involved. A general methodology is presented for evaluation of a measure based on convergence, precision and systematic errors for 2D and 3D imaging.Method and Materials: The following common metrics were studied: mean pixelwise product (PROD), normalized correlation coefficient (NCC), partitioned intensity uniformity (PIU), mutual information (MI), normalized mutual information (NMI), entropy of the difference image (ED), gradient correlation (GC), gradient difference (GD), and pattern intensity (PI). Imaging from an anthropomorphic phantom and clinical data were used. Portal images were acquired with a video cameraEPID and a flat‐panel imager. Kilovoltage digitally reconstructedradiographs(DRR) and megavoltage DRRs (MVDRR) were used for reference images. The following shifts were carried out: translations from −10 mm to +10 mm with 0.2 mm increments, and/or rotations from −10° to +10° with 0.2° increments. The effect down‐sampling and image type were also investigated. Results: The selection of a measure depended on image type and down‐sampling schedule. PROD introduced the largest systematic error. NCC, PIU, MI, NMI, and GD typically had systematic errors less than 1 mm and 1°. Down‐sampling has less effect on NCC, PIU, and GC. MI, NMI, GC, GD, and PI have sharp "peaks" around their global optima. Asymmetry in the objective function was observed in NCC, PIU, MI, NMI, and ED. Registrations using GC, GD, and PI were less sensitive to the variation of anatomical structures. Using MVDRRs instead of DRRs increased objective function smoothness. Conclusion: A general methodology was presented for evaluation and selection of a measure. Selection was application dependent, indicating necessity of a validation study, as presented here, prior to clinical use.
MO‐E‐330A‐06: Cone Beam CT (CBCT) Image Fusion for Prostate Localization: Interobserver Variability Study Using Manual and Automatic Registration33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241454View Description Hide Description
Purpose: Applying manual registration of CBCT to a reference image for prostate localization increases treatment time affecting prostate motion and patient setup. A reliable automatic registration can be more time efficient and accurate. This preliminary study demonstrates variability of manual fusion by multiple observers comparing manual to an in‐house automatic fusion. Methods and Materials: 7 patients with 7 CBCT scans each were studied by 4 observers. Off‐line manual fusion between CBCT and Simulation CT was performed using On‐Board Imaging (OBI) software by Varian version 1.2. We pre‐defined our Region of Interest (ROI) and Organ of Interest (OOI) to be the pelvic bones and the prostate respectively. Offsets were recorded in 4 degrees of freedom (3 translations and couch rotation). To increase precision, one outlier observation was excluded. Interobserver variation in manual registration was studied by determining percentage of observations that fall within 1 mm and 1 degree standard deviation (SD). Automatic registration, utilizing the uphill simplex, gradient correlation and mutual information similarity measures, was compared to the manual matched results using frequency histograms of the differences between the two methods. System robustness is checked using prostate calcifications. Results: Comparing different observers, 69% cranial‐caudal (C‐C), 83% anterior‐posterior (A‐P), 100% right‐left (R‐L), and 100% (couch rotation) of the observations fall within 1 mm,1 degree SD for ROI. 69% C‐C, 75% A‐P, 90% R‐L, and 100% couch rotation were observed for OOI. ROI/OOI automatic fusion showed 92%/85% overall agreement with manual fusion within 2 mm respectively. Conclusion: Manual registration is time consuming and demonstrates observers' variations. The automatic method localizes the prostate within 15 seconds. More observers and measurements, methods utilizing drawn contours and implanted fiducial markers, will be required for system accuracy and precision. Our automatic registration with feed back from observers' experiences would enable on‐line correction for prostate motion.
MO‐E‐330A‐07: Knowledge‐Based Auto‐Contouring in 4D Radiation Therapy33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241455View Description Hide Description
Purpose: In this work we develop a strategy of automatic contouring to relieve the effort of organ segmentation in 4D radiation therapy. The method adopts a novel technique of control volumes to achieve robust contour mapping among a series of 4D CTimages. Methods and Materials: For a given patient, segmentation of tumor and sensitive structures was manually performed for one of the breathing phases by a physician. Along the segmented contours a number of small control volumes (∼ 1cm) were selected. To obtain contours on another CT phase we mapped the control volumes collectively to this phase using rigid transformation, which served as a good starting contour for further adjustment. The final positions of mapped control volumes were determined by minimizing the energy function consisting of two terms: intensity similarity between the mapped volumes and the original volumes in the selected phase; elastic potential energy preventing control volumes from movement. The approach was tested with the 4D CTimages of 5 lungcancer patients. Results: For the patients the knowledge‐based approach of automatic contouring worked well even for CTimages with significant deformations. In the lung case the contours have the average error of less than 2mm and a maximum error of 5mm for noisy anatomical structures. A significant reduction of time compared with manual contouring was achieved. Conclusions: The auto‐mapping of contours in 4D radiation therapy was implemented with control volumes. The method provides an efficient way for 4D segmentation with high accuracy.
- Small Animal Imaging
WE‐D‐330A‐01: 3D Optical Imaging of Tumor Microvasculature and Viable Cell Distribution33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241739View Description Hide Description
Purpose: The ability to image 3D global structure (e.g. microvasculature) and function (e.g. gene expression) in whole unsectioned tumors, in high‐resolution and with high‐contrast, is of significant present interest in cancer research. We have developed novel optical imaging techniques capable of reconstructing the 3D distribution of absorbance or fluorescence‐emitting sources in tumortissue. Primary advantages include high spatial resolution and contrast, and ability to image a wide range of molecular probes.
Method and Materials: Constitutive RFP expressing HCT116 (human colon carcinoma) xenograft tumors were implanted in hind legs of nude BALBC mice. The tumor microvasculature was dual‐stained by in vivo tail vein injections of light attenuating isotonic ink and FITC lectin. The tumor was excised post‐staining and subjected to a fluorescence‐friendly clearing procedure to render it amenable for optical imaging. Quantitative images of microvascular density and viable‐cell distribution were reconstructed using tomographic algorithms from a set of transmission and fluorescent projection images acquired at multiple angles using appropriate filters, focusing optics and a CCD camera.
Results: Co‐registered, multimodal, high‐resolution and high‐contrast 3D reconstructions were achieved through large, (∼1cm) whole mount, murine tumor samples. Quality assurance tests indicated encouraging accuracy of reconstructedattenuation coefficients and geometry. The 3D reconstructed slices were juxtaposed with histological slices of the same tumor to reveal striking correlation between viable‐cell distribution and well‐perfused regions. A fluorescence friendly clearing procedure was identified.
Conclusion: We present a novel technique for multi‐modality optical imaging of 3D microvasculature and/or viable cell distribution in tumortissue with unprecedented image resolution and contrast. The technique has potential to image a wide variety of tumor and normal tissue structure and function. Of particular interest is the potential to analyze the effect of anti‐angiogenic agents and radiation therapy on the response of the entire 3D tumor microvasculature network.
WE‐D‐330A‐02: Optical‐Computed‐and Emmission Tomography: Applications in Cancer Research33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241740View Description Hide Description
Purpose: This work explores the potential of optical‐computed and emission‐tomography (OCT/OET), when coupled with optical clearing techniques, for imaging aspects of biological structure and function for cancer research. OCT/OET are the optical analogues to x‐ray‐CT and SPECT respectively, and can yield high resolution high contrast 3D images of a variety of inherent or applied absorbing and fluorescing stains. Materials and Methods Several methods of staining tissue have been explored and applied to a range of tissue types. Xenograph tumor microvasculature was labeled with both passive absorbing stain and fluorescing active probes (e.g. lectin conjugated with FITC) by tail vein injection. Murine vasculature in major organs(lung,heart, brain) were stained with absorbing dye in a similar manner. OCT/OET imaging was performed using an in‐house custom built scanner. Isotropic 3D transmision and emission data were reconstructed using tomographic algorithms from equiangularly spaced projection images. Results: Isotropic high resolution 3D image data of the xenograph tumor showed extensive peripheral microvasculature with the occasional larger vessels penetrating to the tumor core. High‐quality 3D images of the lungs were achieved showing clear differences in perfusion between irradiated and unirradiated lung regions. Exquisite high contrastimages were acquired of the vasculature and myocardial perfusion of the murine heart.Conclusion Primary advantages of OCT/OET include the preservation of tissue structure in 3D (tissue sectioning is not required), and the ability to acquire co‐registered images of both structure (e.g.micro‐vasculature) and function (e.g. perfusion, gene expression). Higher spatial resolution and higher contrast is achieved when compared with alternative modalities like micro‐CT and micro‐MRI. The techniques are versatile as imaging can be performed on a wide variety of absorbing and fluorescing stains.
WE‐D‐330A‐03: PO2 Measurements in Animal Tumors Using An Image‐Guided Robotic System33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241741View Description Hide Description
Purpose: To develop and evaluate an image‐guidedrobotic system for measuring pO2 in animal tumors.Method and Materials: The robot consists of an X‐Y horizontal platform holding the rodent bed, a dual‐axis vertical arm for positioning the measurement probe and cannula, and fiducial markers for registering the coordinates of the imaging and robotic systems. Anesthesized and immobilized tumor‐bearing rats are injected with the hypoxia tracer 18F‐FMISO and imaged in the rodent bed using an animal PET scanner. The reconstructedPETimages are then uploaded into the robot computer, the rodent bed affixed to the X‐Y platform, and the coordinates of the robot and PET registered. Based on the tumor hypoxia image displayed on the robot computer, motion of the robotic X‐Y platform and vertical arm are coordinated to guide the positioning and percutaneous insertion of a probe (OxyLite‐Optronix) to measure pO2 at various locations in the tumor. The pO2 readings (cps/voxel) are then compared to the respective image intensity of the measurement points. Results: The registration accuracy between the robot and image coordinate system was better than 0.2mm. Although the 18F‐FMISO in the bladder produced characteristic starburst artifacts in the surrounding, low‐intensity regions, we successfully measured the pO2 for three tracks. The 18F‐FMISO image voxel values were found to be inversely correlated with the intra‐tumoral pO2 of the three tracks with (Pearson product moment) correlation coefficients of −0.899, −0.420 and −0.857. The scatter plot of pO2 vs. image intensity resembled a sigmoidal, rather than a linear relationship. Conclusion: PET‐guided pO2measurement is feasible using this prototype image‐guidedrobot system. To our knowledge, this is the first system of its kind — allowing direct point‐by‐point correlation of physiological probe measurements and image voxel values or, more generally, a physical action at a set of anatomic points identified on a preoperative image.
WE‐D‐330A‐04: Serial Flat Panel Computed Tomography Quantification of Bleomycin‐Induced Murine Lung Damage In Vivo33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241742View Description Hide Description
Purpose: To compare methods of quantifying lung damage based on noninvasive flat‐panel CTimages with the standard method based on histologic section analysis.Method and Materials:Lung damage was induced in mice with bleomycin and damage progression followed with fpCT on days 10, 14, and 21 and with postmortem histological examination on day 21. Ten mice, five control and five treated, were scanned under breath hold with flat‐panel CT (fpCT). Prior to scanning, a tail vein catheter was inserted for administration of IV contrast. The percent lung damage calculated from fpCT (PLDfpCT) imagedata sets was compared to that obtained from sequential histological sections (PLDH). Results: IV contrast was helpful in separating vessels from regions of lung damage. PLDfpCT calculations were on average 2 times greater than PLDH calculations. Linear trendlines were fit between PLDH and PLDfpCT to all data (n=10) and then to only the treated mice (n=5); the resultant R2 values were 0.87 and 0.89, respectively. The fpCT scans allowed for observation of the progression of damage over time versus the single snapshot sampled with histology. Less damage was observed at day 14 than at either day 10 or day 21, which could be due to a transition from an acute inflammatory reaction to inflammation with formation of collagen. Conclusion: The quantification of lung damage based on fpCT images was strongly correlated to the conventional histological section analysis. Although the overall change in damage is consistent between histology and fpCT the magnitude of measured damage differs which may be explained by an inflammatory response throughout the lung which is not detected with histology. A potential strength of these longitudinal studies is the ability to follow individual animals over time to investigate biological affects such as a transition from acute to chronic damage patterns.
WE‐D‐330A‐05: Voxel‐Based MicroCT‐MicroPET Image Registration for Molecular Imaging Study33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241743View Description Hide Description
Purpose: Registration of micro‐PET and micro‐CT images is important for the interpretation of multi‐modality images. Here we develop a voxel‐based image registration method to facilitate the co‐registration of multi‐modality imaging of small animals. Method: Rigid image registration (six degrees of freedom: three translational and three rotational parameters) was developed using an open‐source ITK/VTK platform for coregistering micro‐PET and micro‐CT data. Modules importing/exporting DICOM data (binary mask files of contours and image sets) and the scanner specific proprietary microPET/CT/MRI data were also developed. Automated registration procedures based on the normal cross‐correlation (NCC) metric and mutual information were implemented. To better "see" the bony landmarks in microPET, a strategy for enhancing the bone matrix uptake of radiotracer by adding a tracer amount of 18F during the FDG‐microPET imaging was investigated. The convergence behavior of the voxel‐based registration algorithms was analyzed and the global convergence of the calculation was demonstrated. The accuracy of the developed registration algorithm was assessed by measurements using dual‐modality external fiducial line sources incorporated into the mouse cradle. Results: A voxel‐based registration technique has been established for in vivo molecular imaging study. Application of the technique to a number of mice micro‐PET and micro‐CT registrations indicated that an accuracy of better than 0.2 mm is achievable with the help of 18F injection. Without lighting‐up of the bony structures, however, we found that it is difficult to obtain a registration better than 1mm for regular FDG‐microPET. Computationally, the setup based on the NCC metric performs better in comparison with the mutual information approach. Conclusion: A NCC metric coupled with the use of 18F injection allowed us to obtain sub‐millimeter accuracy in microPET‐microCT registration of mice. The robust registration procedure should be valuable for routine molecular imaging application.
WE‐D‐330A‐06: Dual Projection Imaging System for Small Animal Research33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241744View Description Hide Description
Purpose: The use of small mammals as models of human diseases has increased in the last several years. These models provide a valuable research tool to characterize these diseases and to evaluate new therapies. Dedicated imagingsystems, with the resolution and sensitivity to allow in vivo studies in small animals, reduce the number of animals required for a given study and offer the possibility of serial studies in the same animal. A dual two‐dimensional imagingsystem has been developed to monitor tumor development in mice and other small animals.Method and Materials: This imagingsystem combines functional information gained from projection nuclear emission imaging with the anatomical context provided by an x‐ray transmission image. The system captures a nuclear image in one side of a single computed radiographydetector(CR plate) and then the plate is moved to acquire an x‐ray image in the opposite side. The nuclear image is formed by using a parallel hole collimator. Four fiducial markers, that are visible in both images, are attached to the system. A transformation algorithm uses the information from the fiducial markers to align the images. The nuclear emission image is color coded and overlaid onto the gray‐scale x‐ray image.Results: For the assessment of the imagingsystem, a tissue‐equivalent phantom was manufactured. Initial investigations used I‐125. The spatial resolution, contrast, and detected scattered photon levels have been measured for both x‐ray and nuclear imaging, and the sensitivity of the nuclear imagingsystem was also measured. Conclusion: The lower radiation levels, faster throughput, and lower cost of this imagingsystem would allow the evaluation of functional activity more frequently in serial studies. This imagingsystem would complement tomographic systems by allowing rapid pre‐screening of animals when a complete 3D volume data set is not necessary.
WE‐D‐330A‐07: The Small‐Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP): Focused Pencil Beam Dosimetry33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241748View Description Hide Description
Purpose: A small animal radiation platform equipped with on‐board conebeam CT and conformal irradiation capabilities is being constructed for translational research. This work reports on the dosimetric characteristics of the x‐ray lens subsystem used for high‐resolution dose delivery. Method and Materials: A constant voltage 225 kVp x‐ray beam from a 0.4 mm focal spot is shaped and directed to enter a 1.5 cm long, 2 cm diameter cylindrical multi‐layer graphite x‐ray lens placed 16 cm downstream from the source. The lens emits a converging circular beam of 40–80 keV x‐rays which forms a narrow cylindrical beam centered at 33.5 cm downstream with a length of approximately 5 cm in air. The pencil beam disperses further downstream. We measured dosimetry of the beam in water equivalent plastic using Gaf‐chromic EBT films (<0.1 mm pixel size) over a SSD range of 30 to 33.5 cm in steps of 5 mm. For each SSD, 36 films were orientated orthogonal to the beam and at every 2 mm between slabs in the depth direction. We established the optical density‐to‐dose calibration with a 6 MV beam. Results: The beam has a highly peaked cross‐beam profile with a full width half maximum of about 1.5 mm in the focal zone. Irregular cylindrical symmetry is present due to imperfect lens construction. Dose deposition was defined as the average value over a circular area with a diameter of 1.5mm from the beam axis. Surface dose rates are 230 – 160 cGy/min over the 3.5 cm range of SSDs. The percent depth dose is approximately 34% at 2 cm depth for a beam at 33.5 cm SSD. Conclusion: Highly localized dose can be delivered with the focused pencil beam. Work is on‐going to improve dose uniformity by lens rotation, and to develop a pencil beam algorithm for planning purposes.
WE‐D‐330A‐08: The Small‐Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP): Commissioning a 225 KVp "small‐Field" X‐Ray Source for Monte Carlo‐Based Treatment Planning33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241749View Description Hide Description
Purpose: To characterize the dosimetry of a small‐field 225 kVp x‐ray source and demonstrate the feasibility of the Pinnacle Monte Carlo Dose Computation engine (v7.9t alpha release) for treatment planning in the context of small‐animal radiation therapy.Method and Materials: The 225 kVp therapeutic x‐rays for the Small‐Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) are produced by a GE 225 x‐ray tube (spot size 3 mm; Al filtration 4 mm). A simple small‐field collimation system was constructed; for commissioning purposes we machined a set of brass cutouts which define field sizes of 3×3, 5×5, 10×10, 30×30 and 60×60 mm2 at the nominal SARRP source‐to‐axis distance of 33.5 cm. The x‐ray beams were characterized by irradiating Gafchromic EBT film in water. The film plane was oriented parallel to the central beam axis (z); measurements were made in the x‐z and y‐z planes for all field sizes.Dosimetric data were extracted from the films using a commercial flat‐bed document scanner. Profiles and percent depth‐dose (PDD) curves for depths from 0–9 cm (SSD = 33.5 cm) were imported into our research planning software for comparison with simulated data. Results: Preliminary simulated profiles for the 60×60 mm2 cutout deviate, on average, by 1.7% and 2.8% in the high‐dose region (90% or greater) for depths of 0.5 and 3 cm, respectively. Average PDD discrepancies for depths from 0–3 cm and 3–6 cm are 4.3% and 18.4% for the 60×60 mm2 cutout, respectively, and 6.6% and 29.2% for the 5×5 mm2 cutout. Conclusion: These encouraging results identify the feasibility of using this planning system. Pinnacle supports the finer resolution required for modeling the small fields. Future development will involve incorporation of a measured photon energy spectrum. For purposes of comparison and validation, we will also incorporate an independently‐generated photon phase‐space file for the simulated x‐rays.
WE‐D‐330A‐09: An Image‐Guided Irradiator for Pre‐Clinical Radiation Therapy Studies33(2006); http://dx.doi.org/10.1118/1.2241750View Description Hide Description
Purpose: The development of IMRT has increased the community's reliance upon dose‐volume constraints for normal tissue avoidance and the development of SBRT has increased the consideration of alternate fraction schedules. The lack of clinical data for supporting these changes in practice places additional pressure on the development of realistic animal models for fractionation and normal tissuedose‐volume studies. In support of these efforts, the construction of an image‐guidedradiation therapy unit for small animals has been initiated. The current status of this development and its design elements are described. Method and Materials: The system is comprised of a decommissioned radiation therapy simulator (Nucletron — Simulix) adapted to support a flat‐panel detector (Perkin Elmer, RID1640) and a 225kVp x‐ray tube (GE Siefert 225, f.s.=0.4–3mm). The pulsed radiographic exposures (200–600) collected over 360 degrees are reconstructed using a filtered back‐projection cone‐beam CT method. Soft‐tissue visibility and geometric targeting of the system components have been assessed. EGSnrc Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assist in the design of the optimal treatment geometry for rodent and rabbit models. The simulations for 225 kVp x‐rays (1 cm diam circular field size) have been considered to achieve high dose rate, small penumbra, and acceptable clearance during arc‐based delivery. Results: The cone‐beam CTimagingsystem generates soft‐tissue images of rodents with sub‐mm resolution. Monte Carlo results demonstrate penumbral performance (d90‐50) of the system with a 3mm focal spot and reduced collimator‐object distance will be under 1mm. A radial dose gradient can be established from 360 degree arc approach (9%/mm from D90‐d50) for small field sizes.Conclusion: The development of a cone‐beam CT guided radiation therapy unit with sub‐mm resolution and high 3D dose gradients is progressing. Initial simulations and imagingsystem development suggests that precisely located spherical dose distributions can be delivered with such a system.


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The blog of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Join professional dancer and teacher Ana Bolt at the North Miami Arts Collective for a four week session of adult ballet. Yes, adult ballet! No matter how old one claims to be, adults can learn new tricks and new movements that are good for the body and soul.
Ana Bolt. Photo by Neil de la Flor
Ballet is as difficult as it looks, no joke! But, ballet is not impossible to learn, even for adults, under the careful eyes and nurturing hands of Ana Bolt. Bolt, who began developing her teaching techniques at the age of 17, uses her experiences as a dancer, teacher and community service advocate to create a comfort zone for those who want to learn ballet without pressure or judgement.
Bolt utilizes basic ballet barre and center work to make this dance accessible and enjoyable for participants. Students will learn proper form and alignment using Pilates exercises to build strength and then guide students through combinations designed to improve flexibility and range of motion. The best thing about this course is that it will help boost stamina.
Ballet is an incredible workout. I took my nephew to a ballet class at the Arsht Center a few years ago. I got sucked into the workshop and discovered that ballet is one of the most demanding workouts I've ever experienced. It also taught me about losing control over how others perceive me in unscripted situation. And this was a class for children!
Ballet forces us to center of ourselves. It guides us to that place of stillness where all stable movements come from. Even though the center is a difficult place to find for some — and this can be an exhausting process — it's worth the trip. When we find our center, we find that our bodies open up to range of movements and possibilities that once seemed impossible. This is a magical experience that takes an expert like Ana Bolt to help us find.
This foundational class exploring the heart and soul of ballet starts Thursday, October 25, 8-9:30 p.m. Tuition is $56 on the first day of class for the full four-week session (10/25, 11/1, 11/8, 11/15) or $17 per class with pay as you go. To reserve a spot, email firstname.lastname@example.com. Classes will be held at the North Miami Arts Collective and Dancewear Gallery, 845 NE 125th St., North Miami; 305-892-9961; www.NorthMiamiArts.com.
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Creativity, and fun, is the business that digital entertainment company Liquid Comics operates in. "The most fun can be had when there is a lack of structure," says the company's cofounder Gotham Chopra. The atmosphere at Liquid Comics is one of fun-filled camaraderie.
There are roundtable sessions where the staff is encouraged to talk about their own crazy family stories, their favourite superhero stories and wild ghost stories. Liquid's bunch of illustrators in India and writers worldwide too, are kept in the party loop through virtual communication.


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More power lawn mowers than ever before—an estimated 25 million in all—will be in use in the United States before this year is over.
Grass-cutting conditions vary around the nation. So do estimates of personal injuries directly attributable to power mowers. The estimates range from 55,000 to 80,000 a year and, for the most part, are based on projections from community studies.
"Many of these injuries are relatively minor," William V. White of the US Public Health Service told the Government - Industry Seminar on Power Mower Safety. "But," he continued, "a large number are disabling, some permanently, and a few are fatal."
At Least One Death
At least one death has been attributed to a power mower accident this year. Reports of four deaths are found in National Safety Council newspaper clipping files for 1965.In a widely publicized 1965 power mower accident, a pregnant Tennessee woman was struck in
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A group of vendors who for years produced and sold rally merchandise at the Black Hills Motor Classic in Sturgis, S.D., recently joined forces to fight rally-related trademark claims and have the trademarks invalidated.
Calling itself Concerned Citizens for Sturgis, the group is collecting money to challenge nine trademark registrations made by Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Inc. (SMRI) and two unregistered marks – Sturgis Rally & Races and Sturgis Motorcycle Rally -- that SMRI claims to own.
Brian Niemann, a partner with his parents in Rushmore Photo & Gifts, is the point man for the group. He says it has a dozen official member companies already, and the number of interested parties swells to 35 so far.
"We were formed with the sole purpose of overturning these marks. We're going to see it through to the end. If there is any money left after that, we will give it to the city," Niemann says.
"I don't know who the Concerned Citizens for Sturgis is. I don't know anybody who does know who that is," says SMRi chairman Dean Kinney. "I don't even know if it's anyone from Sturgis."
South Dakota certified the group as a nonprofit July 7. Niemann says the group will accept anonymous donations, but anyone who decides to become a member must agree to be identified after the group's first board meeting, which will reportedly happen this week. Among discussion items at that meeting will be the protocol for disclosing the names of member companies and legal strategy.
Too late for this year? One possibility is that the group might seek a preliminary injunction to prevent SMRI from enforcing the contested marks at this year's rally, which will be held next month. But that would still be too late for some people.
The Niemanns' sell goods from their store in Custer, S.D., and online. Niemann says business is suffering because of legal threats against Rushmore Photo & Gifts, its customers and vendors. "The exact dollar amount it fuzzy because the year isn't over yet, but so far we are off by over 25 percent, and as much as 50 percent on some categories, like T-shirts," Niemann says.
"We have a lot of companies that have told us, 'this year we're out.' Companies I sell a large amount of merchandise to most years are waiting or just selling South Dakota merchandise."
SMRI received registrations earlier this year for nine marks related to the Sturgis rally and began an aggressive campaign of enforcement. (The company won a settlement with organizers of a rally in Sturgis, Ky., that was known as the 'Little Sturgis' rally, but in the future will be known as Kentucky Bikerfest.)
Vendors for this year's Sturgis rally have been told that they must sell only licensed Sturgis rally goods: SMRI designated licensees for various categories of souvenirs. One of those licensees, Hot Leathers owner Jerry Berkowitz, is also empowered to grant sublicenses. But some vendors have complained that the fees for sublicensing were too high and that Berkowitz was offering only one-year sublicenses, leaving them with an uncertain future.
Berkowitz was originally the primary opponent of the chamber registering the marks until he became a board member and licensee of SMRI.
"Jerry is getting beat up, but he is a businessman. He is one of 21 licensees. Clearly that benefits him, but he does not benefit from his role on the board in any way," Kinney says. "We wanted to have a representative of licensees to this board. If it had been any of the licensees, that person would have been under scrutiny."
While SMRI didn't exactly expect a challenge to the registrations, Kinney adds, the form it took when it happened was no surprise.
A week ago SMRI sued Rushmore Photo & Gifts and its owners, claiming they infringe SMRI's trademarks by selling rally-related souvenirs and T-shirts. On July 6 attorneys for the store's owners filed an answer to SMRI's lawsuit and incorporated claims to invalidate the trademarks. The basis of their argument is that the names of geographic locations, such as Sturgis, and terms like a year-date, are too generic to be trademarked, and that rally organizers abandoned the marks by failing to register or enforce them for years, even decades.
"Because SMRI's Sturgis Registrations and Unregistered Terms have become known to the relevant public and adopted by consumers as the name of the products and service rather than a brand identifier of such products or service, the Sturgis Registrations and Unregistered Terms are generic, invalid, and unenforceable as a trademark or service mark," the complaint states.
The complaint also alleges that SMRI is trying to use the marks in violation of antitrust laws, and seeks compensation for business that Rushmore Photo & Gifts says it lost because of SMRI's legal threats. The complaint notes that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) originally rejected the Sturgis Area Chamber of Commerce application to register the marks, and alleges the chamber, which later sold its marks to SMRI, committed fraud by claiming exclusive use of the terms for five years prior to registration.
"We thought this mark was never going to be registered because of the opposition," Niemann says, "but the opposition switched sides."
Kinney says SMRi is trying to work with vendors ahead of the rally to minimize the need for enforcement on site. He says he isn't aware of threats some vendors say they have received that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would raid any unlicensed vendors.
"We're not in the business of telling ICE what to do, but it's a federally protected mark," Kinney says. "On the other hand, we are trying to work with people. If they come to us and they are up front with us, we try to work with them."
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