Dosimetric comparison study between intensity modulated radiation therapy and three-dimensional conformal proton therapy for pelvic bone marrow sparing in the treatment of cervical cancer.

The objective was to compare intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with 3D conformal proton therapy (3DCPT) in the treatment of cervical cancer. In particular, each technique's ability to spare pelvic bone marrow (PBM) was of primary interest in this study. A total of six cervical cancer patients (3 postoperative and 3 intact) were planned and analyzed. All plans had uniform 1.0 cm CTV-PTV margin and satisfied the 95% PTV with 100% isodose (prescription dose = 45 Gy) coverage. Dose-volume histograms (DVH) were analyzed for comparison. The overall PTV and PBM volumes were 1035.9 ± 192.2 cc and 1151.4 ± 198.3 cc, respectively. In terms of PTV dose conformity index (DCI) and dose homogeneity index (DHI), 3DCPT was slightly superior to IMRT with 1.00 ± 0.001, 1.01 ± 0.02, and 1.10 ± 0.02, 1.13 ± 0.01, respectively. In addition, 3DCPT demonstrated superiority in reducing lower doses (i.e., V30 or less) to PBM, small bowel and bladder. Particularly in PBM, average V10 and V20 reductions of 10.8% and 7.4% (p = 0.001 and 0.04), respectively, were observed. However, in the higher dose range, IMRT provided better sparing (> V30). For example, in small bowel and PBM, average reductions in V45 of 4.9% and 10.0% (p = 0.048 and 0.008), respectively, were observed. Due to its physical characteristics such as low entrance dose, spread-out Bragg peak and finite particle range of protons, 3DCPT illustrated superior target coverage uniformity and sparing of the lower doses in PBM and other organs. Further studies are, however, needed to fully exploit the benefits of protons for general use in cervical cancer

Seals and ecosystem health : meeting report of the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium

On May 1 and 2, 2015, over 75 people attended the Northwest Atlantic Seal Research Consortium's first official biennial two day scientific meeting, "Seals and Ecosystem Health", at Salem State University in Salem, Massachusetts. The focus of the meeting was addressed by two keynote presentations: "Seals and Ecosystem Health" and "Marine mammals and ecosystem functioning: what can recovering seal populations teach us?" The first day of the meeting featured 16 oral and two poster presentations, covering a diverse range of topics highlighting the important underlying concepts, data gaps and future directions. Following the theme of the meeting, attendees discussed the nature of ecosystems, acknowledging the complex and often cryptic interactions between components, with cumulative and synergistic effects on animals and their environment. As our understanding of the ecological role of seals in the Northwest Atlantic grows, the cumulative interactions increase our recognition of seals as sentinels of ecosystem health. Meeting presentations highlighted the value of existing data and ongoing research efforts, including long-term population monitoring, tagging and photo-identification, stranding response, and rehabilitation facilities. The importance of observational effort was recognized as a critical component in detecting mortality events, documenting population processes in remote locations and cryptic species interactions. Research priorities identified included development of molecular tools for study of diet and disease, population dynamics studies (demographics and trends), telemetry-based investigations of spatiotemporal distribution, and model- and field-based ecosystem-level studies. Several of the presentations and the panel discussion, "Addressing Perception vs. Reality: How data (or lack of data) affects public perceptions and management decisions," highlighted the diverse and evolving perspectives with which society views seals, perspectives that are often biased by the backgrounds of individual humans. Diverse opinions necessitate engagement of stakeholders and the public, and societal objectives need to be defined in order to effect science-based natural resource management at an ecosystem level. At the closing of the meeting, recommendations from the panel discussion and for the overall goals of NASRC were discussed.Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Mammal Center and the US Marine Mammal Commissio

Gulf of Maine seals - populations, problems and priorities

Meeting held: May 28th – 29th 2009, WHOI, Quissett Campus, Sponsored by the Marine Mammal Center at WHOIAs pinniped populations shift and change along the northeast U.S. and Canadian coastline, so too do the interests and issues of regional residents, scientists and stakeholders. In May 2009 the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) sponsored a meeting resulting in recommendations in three key areas regarding pinnipeds: population dynamics, human interaction and disease/health. The population group recommended: developing long-term surveys over all seasons and geographic ranges, coordinating sampling efforts for dietary research, refining correction factors for survey results, increasing documentation of fishery interactions and developing means of funding. The human interactions group recommended: addressing marine debris, developing survey, reporting and retrieval protocols for discarded fishing gear, studying impact of and expanding education and outreach for commercial seal watching, researching methods to deter depredation from fishing gear, streamlining the permitting processes for acoustic deterrent and gear modification research, and increasing cooperative research and outreach to the fishing community. The health and disease working group recommended: establishing baseline health indicators, addressing priority disease concerns, creating a pool of resources for standardized analysis of normal and unusual health event monitoring, determining standard health baselines for release, establishing a health consortium, improving communication along the coastline and establishing long term funding and ongoing collaboration.Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Mammal Cente

Gulf of Maine seals - fisheries interactions and integrated research : final report

Meeting held: October 28, 2011, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown, MA. Sponsored by the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Provincetown Center for Coastal StudiesThe 2011 meeting, “Gulf of Maine Seals: Fisheries Interactions and Integrated Research”, held at the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS), featured posters and oral presentations as well as a series of discussion groups. This meeting was a follow up to the 2009 meeting, “Gulf of Maine Seals - Populations, Problems and Priorities”, held at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) (Bogomolni et al. 2010). At the conclusion of the 2009 meeting, attendees emphasized the need to improve communication, to obtain funding for long term research, to continue meeting on a regular basis, to increase data and data sharing, and to support cross cutting research between the meeting’s three primary topic areas: disease and health; human and fishery interactions; and population biology. The overarching goals of the 2011 meeting were to discuss and share work to date, present some of the tools developed since the 2009 meeting, and outline goals for future integrated research. One of the tools presented within the framework of cross-cutting research areas and integrative research was the development of a sightings database and website for uniquely identifiable (unique pelage, scars, lesions, tagged, branded, marked, etc.) animals. The practicality of this tool as a means to increase communication was discussed. Additionally, seal/fisheries interactions throughout the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod and waters off of the northeast U.S. have continued to concern stakeholders since the 2009 meeting. The urgency of documenting, understanding and mitigating these interactions has become more apparent. Therefore, the focus of the 2011 Provincetown meeting was on fisheries interaction and related topics raised at the last 2009 workshop and in the meetings with Cape Cod fishermen described below. For the purposes of this report, 'fisheries interaction' can be direct/operational (e.g. depredation, when seals remove fish from gear; or entanglement/bycatch, when seals are unintentionally captured), or indirect/ecological (competition, displacement or other large-scale interactions between seals and fisheries). Stakeholder concerns about fisheries interactions and recent increases in local seal abundance were rising prior to the 2009 meeting. In December of 2006, the Chatham-based Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association (CCCHFA) took the lead in organizing a meeting entitled, “Structuring a Novel Research Team to Define and Assess the Impact of Human/Seal Interactions on Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine through Ecosystem-Based Analysis”. Participants included fishermen, policy makers, environmental organizations and researchers aiming to develop a unique partnership to study the New England seal population. The goal of this meeting was to create a research team that would define the ecological role of seals in Cape Cod waters by studying population dynamics, behavior, and health. This meeting resulted in a successful partnership, financially aided by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), between fishermen and seal researchers. A cost-effective cooperative research agreement was reached whereby seal researchers were provided boat transport around the Chatham and Monomoy areas by local fishermen. This agreement allowed students and researchers to gain access to areas off of Chatham that would otherwise not have been accessible. It also supported a collaborative effort to increase understanding and communication between stakeholders. In addition to the CCCHFA-led meeting in 2006, a series of informal meetings have been held on Cape Cod between commercial and recreational fishermen and marine scientists. This work was initially funded by the Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank Charitable Foundation. Owen Nichols and Lisa Sette (PCCS) have held individual meetings with commercial fishermen in Chatham, Orleans, and Provincetown, and recreational fishermen, outfitters, and associations throughout the Outer Cape. These individual meetings were followed by larger group meetings in Eastham and Chatham in 2010 and 2011, and more are planned for 2012. Attendees included commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists, and discussion topics included observed seal/fishery interactions and potential collaborative research projects. The goal of the meetings is to develop a working group composed of members of the fishing and scientific communities with expertise in marine mammal and fisheries ecology. The above meetings laid the foundation for the 2011 meeting, during which members of the scientific and fishing communities gathered to focus on fisheries interactions and integrated research techniques to quantify and mitigate interactions. Several invited presentations were given, some of which were scheduled (Appendix A) with selected abstracts provided (Appendix B), and some of which were delivered on an ad hoc basis upon request from organizers or attendees (see Appendix F for edited transcripts of presentations). In order to ensure that the fishing community had a distinct voice, a forum was included in the agenda, during which fishermen were encouraged to share their observations, experiences and concerns. Separately, moderated discussion groups focused specifically on fisheries interactions, tagging and tracking, and management issues. All four sessions, despite their specific foci, shared common themes such as the need for collaborative research involving both the scientific and fishing communities. Recommendations from the discussion groups and summaries from each session are listed on the following pages.Funding was provided by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Marine Mammal Center and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studie

Instruction Request Form - User Test

The Instruction Menu allows faculty and Graduate Student Instructors to request library instruction sessions and to tailor those sessions to their particular needs. The goals for this test were to determine whether the form provides users the information they need/want and if the design is navigable and the terminology is clear.Usability GroupUsability Task Forcehttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106792/1/InstructReqForm.pd

Abrupt mid-Holocene ice loss in the western Weddell Sea Embayment of Antarctica

The glacial history of the westernmost Weddell Sea sector of Antarctica since the Last Glacial Maximum is virtually unknown, and yet it has been identified as critical for improving reliability of glacio-isostatic adjustment models that are required to correct satellite-derived estimates of ice sheet mass balance. Better knowledge of the glacial history of this region is also important for validating ice sheet models that are used to predict future contribution of the Antarctic ice sheet to sea level rise. Here we present a new Holocene deglacial chronology from a site on the Lassiter Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is situated in the western Weddell Sea sector. Samples from 12 erratic cobbles and 18 bedrock surfaces from a series of presently-exposed ridges were analysed for cosmogenic 10Be exposure dating, and a smaller suite of 7 bedrock samples for in situ 14C dating. The resulting 10Be ages are predominantly in the range 80–690 ka, whereas bedrock yielded much younger in situ 14C ages, in the range 6.0–7.5 ka for samples collected from 138–385 m above the modern ice surface. From these we infer that the ice sheet experienced a period of abrupt thinning over a short time interval (no more than 2700 years) in the mid-Holocene, resulting in lowering of its surface by at least 250 m. Any late Holocene change in ice sheet thickness — such as re-advance, postulated by several modelling studies — must lie below the present ice sheet surface. The substantial difference in exposure ages derived from 10Be and 14C dating for the same samples additionally implies ubiquitous 10Be inheritance acquired during ice-free periods prior to the last deglaciation, an interpretation that is consistent with our glacial-geomorphological field observations for former cold-based ice cover. The results of this study provide evidence for an episode of abrupt ice sheet surface lowering in the mid-Holocene, similar in rate, timing and magnitude to at least two other locations in Antarctica

New Last Glacial Maximum Ice Thickness constraints for the Weddell Sea Embayment, Antarctica

We describe new Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice thickness constraints for three locations spanning the Weddell Sea Embayment (WSE) of Antarctica. Samples collected from the Shackleton Range, Pensacola Mountains, and the Lassiter Coast constrain the LGM thickness of the Slessor Glacier, Foundation Ice Stream, and grounded ice proximal to the modern Ronne Ice Shelf edge on the Antarctic Peninsula, respectively. Previous attempts to reconstruct LGM-to-present ice thickness changes around the WSE used measurements of long-lived cosmogenic nuclides, primarily Be-10. An absence of post-LGM apparent exposure ages at many sites led to LGM thickness reconstructions that were spatially highly variable and inconsistent with flow line modelling. Estimates for the contribution of the ice sheet occupying the WSE at the LGM to global sea level since deglaciation vary by an order of magnitude, from 1.4 to 14.1m of sea level equivalent. Here we use a short-lived cosmogenic nuclide, in situ-produced C-14, which is less susceptible to inheritance problems than Be-10 and other long-lived nuclides. We use in situ C-14 to evaluate the possibility that sites with no post-LGM exposure ages are biased by cosmogenic nuclide inheritance due to surface preservation by cold-based ice and non-deposition of LGM-aged drift. Our measurements show that the Slessor Glacier was between 310 and up to 655m thicker than present at the LGM. The Foundation Ice Stream was at least 800m thicker, and ice on the Lassiter Coast was at least 385m thicker than present at the LGM. With evidence for LGM thickening at all of our study sites, our in situ C-14 measurements indicate that the long-lived nuclide measurements of previous studies were influenced by cosmogenic nuclide inheritance. Our inferred LGM configuration, which is primarily based on minimum ice thickness constraints and thus does not constrain an upper limit, indicates a relatively modest contribution to sea level rise since the LGM of < 4.6 m, and possibly as little as < 1.5 m

Stops making sense: translational trade-offs and stop codon reassignment

Background Efficient gene expression involves a trade-off between (i) premature termination of protein synthesis; and (ii) readthrough, where the ribosome fails to dissociate at the terminal stop. Sense codons that are similar in sequence to stop codons are more susceptible to nonsense mutation, and are also likely to be more susceptible to transcriptional or translational errors causing premature termination. We therefore expect this trade-off to be influenced by the number of stop codons in the genetic code. Although genetic codes are highly constrained, stop codon number appears to be their most volatile feature. Results In the human genome, codons readily mutable to stops are underrepresented in coding sequences. We construct a simple mathematical model based on the relative likelihoods of premature termination and readthrough. When readthrough occurs, the resultant protein has a tail of amino acid residues incorrectly added to the C-terminus. Our results depend strongly on the number of stop codons in the genetic code. When the code has more stop codons, premature termination is relatively more likely, particularly for longer genes. When the code has fewer stop codons, the length of the tail added by readthrough will, on average, be longer, and thus more deleterious. Comparative analysis of taxa with a range of stop codon numbers suggests that genomes whose code includes more stop codons have shorter coding sequences. Conclusions We suggest that the differing trade-offs presented by alternative genetic codes may result in differences in genome structure. More speculatively, multiple stop codons may mitigate readthrough, counteracting the disadvantage of a higher rate of nonsense mutation. This could help explain the puzzling overrepresentation of stop codons in the canonical genetic code and most variants

Principals of audit: Testing, data and ‘implicated advocacy’

Historically, school leaders have occupied a somewhat ambiguous position within networks of power. On the one hand, they appear to be celebrated as what Ball (2003) has termed the ‘new hero of educational reform’; on the other, they are often ‘held to account’ through those same performative processes and technologies. These have become compelling in schools and principals are ‘doubly bound’ through this. Adopting a Foucauldian notion of discursive production, this paper addresses the ways that the discursive ‘field’ of ‘principal’ (within larger regimes of truth such as schools, leadership, quality and efficiency) is produced. It explores how individual principals understand their roles and ethics within those practices of audit emerging in school governance, and how their self-regulation is constituted through NAPLAN – the National Assessment Program, Literacy and Numeracy. A key effect of NAPLAN has been the rise of auditing practices that change how education is valued. Open-ended interviews with 13 primary and secondary school principals from Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales asked how they perceived NAPLAN's impact on their work, their relationships within their school community and their ethical practice