Infrequent expression of the cancer-testis antigen, PASD1, in ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is very treatable in the early stages of disease; however, it is usually detected in the later stages, at which time, treatment is no longer as effective. If discovered early (Stage I), there is a 90% chance of five-year survival. Therefore, it is imperative that early-stage biomarkers are identified to enhance the early detection of ovarian cancer. Cancer-testis antigens (CTAs), such as Per ARNT SIM (PAS) domain containing 1 (PASD1), are unique in that their expression is restricted to immunologically restricted sites, such as the testis and placenta, which do not express MHC class I, and cancer, making them ideally positioned to act as targets for immunotherapy as well as potential biomarkers for cancer detection where expressed. We examined the expression of PASD1a and b in a number of cell lines, as well as eight healthy ovary samples, eight normal adjacent ovarian tissues, and 191 ovarian cancer tissues, which were predominantly stage I (n = 164) and stage II (n = 14) disease. We found that despite the positive staining of skin cancer, only one stage Ic ovarian cancer patient tissue expressed PASD1a and b at detectable levels. This may reflect the predominantly stage I ovarian cancer samples examined. To examine the restriction of PASD1 expression, we examined endometrial tissue arrays and found no expression in 30 malignant tumor tissues, 23 cases of hyperplasia, or 16 normal endometrial tissues. Our study suggests that the search for a single cancer-testes antigen/biomarker that can detect early ovarian cancer must continue

Performance analysis of energy detection over hyper-Rayleigh fading channels

This study investigates the performance of energy detection (ED)-based spectrum sensing over two-wave with diffused power (TWDP) fading channels, which have been found to provide accurate characterisation for a variety of fading conditions. A closed-form expression for the average detection probability of ED-based spectrum sensing over TWDP fading channels is derived. This expression is then used to describe the behaviour of ED-based spectrum sensing for a variety of channels that include Rayleigh, Rician and hyper-Rayleigh fading models. Such fading scenarios present a reliable behavioural model of machine-to-machine wireless nodes operating in confined structures such as in-vehicular environments

Raising awareness of diversity and social (in)justice issues in undergraduate research writing: understanding students and their lives via connecting teaching and research

Inspired by my own experiences as an undergraduate writing student who did not see a connection between my life and the topics of the courses, this article details my first ventures into designing and teaching sections of a research writing class, entitled Researching Writing: Raising Awareness of Diversity and Social Justice Issues within and Beyond our Lives. The purpose of this course was to promote issues of diversity and social (in)justice in a required liberal studies course. Interview data from undergraduate women students who participated in this research writing course from 2009-2011 were explored in order to uncover their experiences in the class and understand what they found effective or ineffective. The findings indicated that most of the students appreciated being able to choose their own research topic, and also found chunking parts of the research project more effective for understanding the research process. Although engaging students in research and course activities related to controversial issues is difficult, there is a need for more liberal studies courses to incorporate topics related to diversity and social (in)justice

A multi-centre qualitative study exploring the experiences of UK South Asian and White Diabetic Patients referred for renal care

Background An exploration of renal complications of diabetes from the patient perspective is important for developing quality care through the diabetic renal disease care pathway. Methods Newly referred South Asian and White diabetic renal patients over 16 years were recruited from nephrology outpatient clinics in three UK centres - Luton, West London and Leicester – and their experiences of the diabetes and renal care recorded. A semi-structured qualitative interview was conducted with 48 patients. Interview transcripts were analysed thematically and comparisons made between the White and South Asian groups. Results 23 South Asian patients and 25 White patients were interviewed. Patient experience of diabetes ranged from a few months to 35 years with a mean time since diagnosis of 12.1 years and 17.1 years for the South Asian and White patients respectively. Confusion emerged as a response to referral shared by both groups. This sense of confusion was associated with reported lack of information at the time of referral, but also before referral. Language barriers exacerbated confusion for South Asian patients. Conclusions The diabetic renal patients who have been referred for specialist renal care and found the referral process confusing have poor of awareness of kidney complications of diabetes. Healthcare providers should be more aware of the ongoing information needs of long term diabetics as well as the context of any information exchange including language barriers

Identifying the relevance of personal values to e-government portals' success: insights from a Delphi study

Most governments around the world have put considerable financial resources into the development of e-government systems. They have been making significant efforts to provide information and services online. However, previous research shows that the rate of adoption and success of e-government systems vary significantly across countries. It is argued here that culture can be an important factor affecting e- government success. This paper aims to explore the relevance of personal values to the e-government success from an individual user’s perspective. The ten basic values identified by Schwartz were used. A Delphi study was carried out with a group of experts to identify the most relevant personal values to the e-government success from an individual’s point of view. The findings suggest that four of the ten values, namely Self-direction, Security, Stimulation, and Tradition, most likely affect the success. The findings provide a basis for developing a comprehensive e-government evaluation framework to be validated using a large scale survey in Saudi Arabia

The future for primary physical education

An in-depth examination of secondary research was undertaken together with a focussed case study to investigate whether current practices within primary physical education (PE) were best serving the learning needs of children in primary schools. A secondary purpose of this research was to examine the implications for this area of primary education regarding the professionalisation of sports coaching. The study was conducted within a unitary authority in the South West of England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, firstly with both Partnership Development Managers (PDMs), followed up by questionnaires carried out with all of their School Sport Co-ordinators (SSCo's). Subsequent semi-structured interviews were then conducted with a primary school head teacher, a head of primary Initial Teacher Education (ITE), and with the only specialist primary PE teacher found within this authority. These research processes extrapolated information which highlighted current practices in many primary schools with regards to their PE delivery, and the findings illustrated that whilst current PE provision in most secondary schools was generally believed to be of a high standard, embracing recent initiatives and the current National Curriculum, the delivery of PE in primary schools was found to be less consistent. After several processes of inductive research it was concluded that widespread changes in the whole primary PE provision, starting from Initial Teacher Education, ought to be considered

A prospective study exploring the construct and predictive validity of the COM-B model for physical activity

This study examined the constructs of capability, opportunity and motivation from the COM-B model and their influence on moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Using a prospective survey design, 186 healthy adults completed measures representing the theoretical domains framework mapped to the COM-B, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity 1 week later. The main indicators for the COM constructs were ‘habits’ (Capability), ‘subjective norms’ (Opportunity) and ‘exercise self-identity’ (Motivation). Motivation (77%) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (50%) were strongly predicted, with Capability and Motivation as key drivers of behaviour. Motivation was a strong mediator for Capability on behaviour. Future research should consider this approach for other populations and behaviours

HE in FE - past, present and future

Within the post-16 education sector the terms Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) are widely used and understood. Historically, their modi operandi and student population have, to a greater extent, been quite different and have operated in discreet spheres with limited overlap. Traditionally the seat of higher learning, universities dominated the HE landscape with higher education being the preserve of the few, with less than 2% of 18-year olds going to university before the Second World War (Dyhouse, 2007). This figure contrasts starkly to provisional Higher Education Initial Participation Rate (HEIPR) for 2010/11 which indicated that the rate had leapt to 47% (BIS, 2012), clearly illustrating the extent to which the HE sector has expanded since the Second World War. Traditionally universities concentrated on undergraduate and postgraduate provision whilst FE colleges (FECs) focused on vocational and adult education. However, in recent years these two ordinarily quite distinct sectors have coalesced to create a new HE hybrid; that of Higher Education in Further Education (HE in FE). Alternatively, it is referred to in some literature as the Further-Higher sector (Parry, 2009) or as the Mixed Economy sector (colleges that provide both FE and HE provision) (Honeybone, 2007)

Embedded FIR filter design for real-time refocusing using a standard plenoptic video camera

Copyright 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers and IS&T—The Society for Imaging Science and Technology. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited.A novel and low-cost embedded hardware architecture for real-time refocusing based on a standard plenoptic camera is presented in this study. The proposed layout design synthesizes refocusing slices directly from micro images by omitting the process for the commonly used sub-aperture extraction. Therefore, intellectual property cores, containing switch controlled Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters, are developed and applied to the Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) XC6SLX45 from Xilinx. Enabling the hardware design to work economically, the FIR filters are composed of stored product as well as upsampling and interpolation techniques in order to achieve an ideal relation between image resolution, delay time, power consumption and the demand of logic gates. The video output is transmitted via High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) with a resolution of 720p at a frame rate of 60 fps conforming to the HD ready standard. Examples of the synthesized refocusing slices are presented

A framework for the successful implementation of food traceability systems in China

Implementation of food traceability systems in China faces many challenges due to the scale, diversity and complexity of China’s food supply chains. This study aims to identify critical success factors specific to the implementation of traceability systems in China. Twenty-seven critical success factors were identified in the literature. Interviews with managers at four food enterprises in a pre-study helped identify success criteria and five additional critical success factors. These critical success factors were tested through a survey of managers in eighty-three food companies. This study identifies six dimensions for critical success factors: laws, regulations and standards; government support; consumer knowledge and support; effective management and communication; top management and vendor support; and information and system quality