Mapping suspended particle and solute concentrations from satellite data

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

Localization of tamoxifen in human breast cancer tumors by MALDI mass spectrometry imaging

Background: Tamoxifen is used in endocrine treatment of breast cancer to inhibit estrogen signaling. A set of strati‐ ed ER‐positive and ER‐negative tumor sections was subjected to manual deposition of tamoxifen solution in order to investigate its spatial distribution upon exposure to interaction within thin tissue sections. Methods: The localization of tamoxifen in tumor sections was assessed by matrix assisted laser deposition/ioniza‐ tion mass spectrometry imaging. The images of extracted ion maps were analyzed for comparison of signal intensity distributions. Results: The precursor ion of tamoxifen (m/z 372.233) displayed heterogeneous signal intensity distributions in his‐ tological compartments of tumor tissue sections. The levels of tamoxifen in tumor cells compared with stroma were higher in ER‐positive tissues, whereas ER‐negative tissue sections showed lower signal intensities in tumor cells. Conclusions: The experimental model was successfully applied on frozen tumor samples allowing for di erentiation between ER groups based on distribution of tamoxifen

Enfoques metodológicos para la investigación teológica comparativa sobre San Agustín de Hipona y el Evangelio de Juan

This review article concerns Augustine of Hippo’s (354-430 A.D.) specific and sustained reception of John’s gospel. Here, the author summarizes and evaluates a series of research methods for contextualizing core elements of the bishop of Hippo’s theological points of departure and exegetical practice. Section one identifies the twin theoretical considerations of this retrospective account, including the nature of 4th-century African Christianity and late antique emergence of Pauline commentaries in Latin. Section two then identifies the central advances in methodology of the research, further identifying and reconsidering both textual and theological elements that contribute to Augustine’s Johannine commentary. Section three explores primary results for both theological lines of approach of already completed research: in particular, the author determines aspects of an Augustinian view of Christ and the Church, the ecclesial reality of passing controversy and biblical interpretation, as well as openings for further research on human emotion and eschatology. The result exercises renewed attention toward Augustine’s reading on John and the Johannine corpus, with implications for works of his corpus to include not only the Tractatus in euangelium Iohannis (“Tractates on the Gospel of John”) but also various popular sermons, other biblical commentaries, polemical and doctrinal works.Este artículo de revisión se refiere a la recepción específica y sostenida del evangelio de San Juan por parte de Agustín de Hipona (354-430 d.C.). En él, el autor resume y evalúa una serie de métodos de investigación para contextualizar elementos centrales de los puntos de partida teológicos y de la práctica exegética del obispo de Hipona. La sección uno identifica las consideraciones teóricas gemelas de este relato retrospectivo, incluyendo la naturaleza del cristianismo africano del siglo IV y la aparición en la antigüedad tardía de comentarios paulinos en latín. Seguidamente, la sección dos identifica los avances centrales en la metodología de la investigación, al reconocer y reconsiderar los elementos tanto textuales como teológicos que contribuyen al comentario de San Juan sobre Agustín. La sección tres explora los resultados primarios para ambas líneas de enfoque teológico de la investigación ya completada: en particular, el autor determina los aspectos de una visión agustiniana de Cristo y de la Iglesia, la realidad eclesial de la controversia pasajera y la interpretación bíblica, así como las aperturas para una mayor investigación sobre la emoción humana y la escatología. El resultado ejerce una atención renovada hacia la lectura de Agustín sobre San Juan y el corpus juanino, con implicaciones para las obras de su corpus que incluyen no sólo el Tractatus in euangelium Iohannis ("Tratados sobre el Evangelio de Juan"), sino también varios sermones populares, otros comentarios bíblicos y obras polémicas y doctrinales

Breast cancer. Quality Assurance and Prognosis.

Abstract Background. The Swedish national cancer strategy programme published in 2009 emphasises the patient perspective and focuses on the patient process. Over the years the different modalities in breast cancer treatment are changing position, making accurate diagnosis and quality assurance in breast pathology even more important than before. Aims. The aim of paper I was to examine overall survival in women with micrometastases in relation to node-negative women. In paper II four different routine methods for the pathological work-up of frozen section negative sentinel nodes (SN) were compared to find the method showing the largest fraction of patients with small deposits in SNs, in order to achieve the highest possible confidence in the negative status. In paper III the aim was to determine whether screening status influences the proportion of patients with additional positive nodes in the axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) specimen after the SNs have been diagnosed with micrometastases. Paper IV deals with immunohistochemistry with the aim of comparing the prevalence of oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive patients when the ER status was determined by three different antibodies and heat-induced epitope retrieval (HIER) methods in premenopausal stage II patients. Material. In paper I the study cohort consisted of 6,959 women with T1-T3, N0-N1, M0 primary breast cancer aged below 75 years and registered in the Danish Breast Cancer Database from 1 January 1990 to 31 October 1994. The study cohort in paper II was a consecutive series of 1,576 women with a first primary operable breast cancer treated at the University Hospital of Lund from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2009, of whom 1,098 had sentinel node biopsy (SNB). In paper III the study cohort was 1,993 consecutive women with first primary unilateral breast cancer, of whom 1,458 had SNB, treated at Skåne University Hospital, Lund between 2001 and 2011. In paper IV ER status was assessed on tissue microarrays, with three different ER antibodies and HIER methods: 1D5 in citrate pH 6, SP1 in Tris pH 9 (n=390) and PharmDx in citrate pH 6 (n=361). Results. Paper I showed in a multivariate analysis that women with micrometastases had a significantly higher risk of death than did node-negative women (adjusted relative risk = 1.49, 95% CI: 1.18–1.90) (p<0.01). The result of paper II was that a combination of teamwork and the addition of intensive IHC for cytokeratin (CK) at fixed levels resulted in 13% more patients with isolated tumour cells and micrometastases than if a method with step sections at fixed intervals were used. In paper III the results of a logistic regression analysis showed 5 times higher odds for further metastases in the ALND in patients with micrometastases in SNs when symptomatic presentation was compared with screen-detected breast cancer. The findings in paper IV were that the prevalence of ER-positivity was higher with SP1 (75% and 72%) compared with 1D5 (68% and 66%) and PharmDx (66% and 62%) at cut-offs of 1% and 10%, respectively. The repeatability was good for all antibodies and cut-offs with overall agreement ≥93%. Conclusion. Patients with micrometastases detected in ALND have an inferior 10-year overall survival compared with node-negative patients. SN examination with step sections at fixed levels including CK at each level is important in ensuring that the node-negative group really is node-negative. Screen-detected breast cancer patients with micrometastases have 5-time lesser odds for additional metastases in the completion ALND compared with symptomatic patients, and are thereby candidates for the omission of completion ALND. The prevalence of ER-positive breast cancer patients is dependent on the antibody and HIER method

Academic Motivation and Student Development During the Transition to College

Academic motivation has been shown to be related to retention to the sophomore year, and the goal orientation model of academic motivation has been widely evaluated in school transition settings. Academic motivation consists of self-efficacy, positive attributions, intrinsic motivation, and goal orientations. Mastery goal orientation focuses on new skills and competencies, while performance goals focus on competition with others and earning recognition. A performance orientation can be performance approach (potentially adaptive) or performance avoidance (a social defense mechanism). Academic motivation can be severely challenged during school transitions; a defensive response to this challenge could result in maladaptive behaviors by first-year students. Mastery approach goals have been shown to be related to more positive academic achievement; meanwhile, performance approach goals have mixed outcomes. Perhaps, performance approach orientations may morph into performance avoidance under the academic challenge of college-level course work. First-year students go through dramatic academic and social transitions, as well as significant developmental and identity issues, thus programs designed to enhance success of first-year students appear to require a mix of academic and social interventions. For example, class belonging of first-year students may be related to both self-efficacy and mastery orientation. Others have encouraged a plus one strategy of academic challenge well matched to students\u27 capabilities, and approach coping is favored over avoidant coping in exam preparation. Finally, a critical balance between challenge and support may be most important for students with potentially fragile academic motivation, for example, first generation students, ethnic minorities, and rural students

Considering the Case for Biodiversity Cycles: Reexamining the Evidence for Periodicity in the Fossil Record

Medvedev and Melott (2007) have suggested that periodicity in fossil biodiversity may be induced by cosmic rays which vary as the Solar System oscillates normal to the galactic disk. We re-examine the evidence for a 62 million year (Myr) periodicity in biodiversity throughout the Phanerozoic history of animal life reported by Rohde & Mueller (2005), as well as related questions of periodicity in origination and extinction. We find that the signal is robust against variations in methods of analysis, and is based on fluctuations in the Paleozoic and a substantial part of the Mesozoic. Examination of origination and extinction is somewhat ambiguous, with results depending upon procedure. Origination and extinction intensity as defined by RM may be affected by an artifact at 27 Myr in the duration of stratigraphic intervals. Nevertheless, when a procedure free of this artifact is implemented, the 27 Myr periodicity appears in origination, suggesting that the artifact may ultimately be based on a signal in the data. A 62 Myr feature appears in extinction, when this same procedure is used. We conclude that evidence for a periodicity at 62 Myr is robust, and evidence for periodicity at approximately 27 Myr is also present, albeit more ambiguous.Comment: Minor modifications to reflect final published versio

Aspects of Science Engagement, Student Background, and School Characteristics: Impact on Science Achievement of U.S. Students

Science achievement of U.S. students has lagged significantly behind other nations; educational reformers have suggested science engagement may enhance this critical measure. The 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) was science-focused and measured science achievement along with nine aspects of science engagement: science self-efficacy, science self-concept, enjoyment of science, general interest in learning science, instrumental motivation for science, future-oriented science motivation, general value of science, personal value of science, and science-related activities. I used multilevel modeling techniques to address both aspects of science engagement and science achievement as outcome variables in the context of student background and school characteristics. Treating aspects of science engagement as outcome variables provided tests for approaches for their enhancement; meanwhile, treating science achievement as the outcome variable provided tests for the influence of the aspects of science engagement on science achievement under appropriate controls. When aspects of science engagement were treated as outcome variables, gender and father’s SES had frequent (significant) influences, as did science teaching strategies which focused on applications or models and hands-on activities over-and-above influences of student background and other school characteristics. When science achievement was treated as the outcome variable, each aspect of science engagement was significant, and eight had medium or large effect sizes (future-oriented science motivation was the exception). The science teaching strategy which involved hands-on activities frequently enhanced science achievement over-and-above influences of student background and other school characteristics. Policy recommendations for U.S. science educators included enhancing eight aspects of science engagement and implementing two specific science teaching strategies (focus on applications or models and hands-on activities). Focused implementation of these research findings could enhance both science engagement and science achievement of U.S. students. I identified five key limitations of my research project: the age of the dataset, the lack of racial/ethnic identifiers, the low proportion of student-level variance accounted for by multilevel models with aspects of science engagement as outcome variables, the lack of class-level measures, and the lack of inclusion of students’ epistemological and fixed/flexible beliefs. These limitations provide opportunities for further investigations into these critical issues in science education

Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian

Who\u27s the Best General? A favorite around-the-lunch-table diversion of students of military history is a game called Who\u27s the best general. One of its major attractions is that none can unequivocally win or lose, because the criteria for declaring victory are all so subjective that new c...