A Case of Recurrent Breast Cancer Diagnosed from Symptomatic Metastasis to Bladder

Abstract: Women in the United States have an approximate 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. The main cause of death from breast cancer is from metastatic spread of the disease; with the most frequent sites of spread being to the bone, brain, and lungs. The urinary bladder is a rare site of metastasis that has been rarely reported on in the literature. Here we present a case of recurrent metastatic breast cancer found in the urinary bladder without findings of any other sites of metastasis

Immunolocalization of the Heterotrimeric Kinesin-Related Protein KRP(85/95) in the Mitotic Apparatus of Sea Urchin Embryos

AbstractWe have used monoclonal antibodies to perform confocal light microscopic immunolocalization of KRP(85/95), a heterotrimeric plus-end-directed microtubule motor protein, in dividing cells of sea urchin embryos. Embryos were stained during the first division cycle, and dissociated blastomeres were stained at the 32- to 64-cell stages. Double labeling of the dividing cells with anti-tubulin and anti-KRP(85/95) showed a clear concentration of the motor protein in the mitotic apparatus; KRP(85/95) appeared to associate with pericentriolar regions during prophase, with kinetochore-to-pole microtubules during metaphase, and, in a striking fashion, with the spindle interzone during anaphase. KRP(85/95) began to accumulate in the interzone immediately following chromosome separation and the area of concentration expanded with the lengthening of the interzonal region during anaphase. During telophase KRP(85/95) appeared to disperse with the establishment of the cleavage furrow and did not concentrate in the midbody. KRP(85/95) staining in the mitotic apparatus was punctate and detergent-sensitive, suggesting an association with membranous vesicles, but unlike kinesin, KRP(85/95) did not appear to codistribute with calsequestrin-containing endoplasmic reticulum. Finally, KRP(85/95) appears to be present in dividing blastomeres up to at least the blastula stage, but, unlike kinesin, it is not expressed in terminally differentiated, nonmitotic coelomocytes of the adult animal. These results suggest that the expression and targeting of KRP(85/95) and kinesin differ and that KRP(85/95) may play a role in vesicle transport during embryonic cell division

Earthquake Early Warning ShakeAlert System: Testing and Certification Platform

Earthquake early warning systems provide warnings to end users of incoming moderate to strong ground shaking from earthquakes. An earthquake early warning system, ShakeAlert, is providing alerts to beta end users in the western United States, specifically California, Oregon, and Washington. An essential aspect of the earthquake early warning system is the development of a framework to test modifications to code to ensure functionality and assess performance. In 2016, a Testing and Certification Platform (TCP) was included in the development of the Production Prototype version of ShakeAlert. The purpose of the TCP is to evaluate the robustness of candidate code that is proposed for deployment on ShakeAlert Production Prototype servers. TCP consists of two main components: a real‐time in situ test that replicates the real‐time production system and an offline playback system to replay test suites. The real‐time tests of system performance assess code optimization and stability. The offline tests comprise a stress test of candidate code to assess if the code is production ready. The test suite includes over 120 events including local, regional, and teleseismic historic earthquakes, recentering and calibration events, and other anomalous and potentially problematic signals. Two assessments of alert performance are conducted. First, point‐source assessments are undertaken to compare magnitude, epicentral location, and origin time with the Advanced National Seismic System Comprehensive Catalog, as well as to evaluate alert latency. Second, we describe assessment of the quality of ground‐motion predictions at end‐user sites by comparing predicted shaking intensities to ShakeMaps for historic events and implement a threshold‐based approach that assesses how often end users initiate the appropriate action, based on their ground‐shaking threshold. TCP has been developed to be a convenient streamlined procedure for objectively testing algorithms, and it has been designed with flexibility to accommodate significant changes in development of new or modified system code. It is expected that the TCP will continue to evolve along with the ShakeAlert system, and the framework we describe here provides one example of how earthquake early warning systems can be evaluated

Earthquake Early Warning ShakeAlert 2.0: Public Rollout

The ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system is designed to automatically identify and characterize the initiation and rupture evolution of large earthquakes, estimate the intensity of ground shaking that will result, and deliver alerts to people and systems that may experience shaking, prior to the occurrence of shaking at their location. It is configured to issue alerts to locations within the West Coast of the United States. In 2018, ShakeAlert 2.0 went live in a regional public test in the first phase of a general public rollout. The ShakeAlert system is now providing alerts to more than 60 institutional partners in the three states of the western United States where most of the nation’s earthquake risk is concentrated: California, Oregon, and Washington. The ShakeAlert 2.0 product for public alerting is a message containing a polygon enclosing a region predicted to experience modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) threshold levels that depend on the delivery method. Wireless Emergency Alerts are delivered for M 5+ earthquakes with expected shaking of MMI≥IV⁠. For cell phone apps, the thresholds are M 4.5+ and MMI≥III⁠. A polygon format alert is the easiest description for selective rebroadcasting mechanisms (e.g., cell towers) and is a requirement for some mass notification systems such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Integrated Public Alert and Warning System. ShakeAlert 2.0 was tested using historic waveform data consisting of 60 M 3.5+ and 25 M 5.0+ earthquakes, in addition to other anomalous waveforms such as calibration signals. For the historic event test, the average M 5+ false alert and missed event rates for ShakeAlert 2.0 are 8% and 16%. The M 3.5+ false alert and missed event rates are 10% and 36.7%. Real‐time performance metrics are also presented to assess how the system behaves in regions that are well‐instrumented, sparsely instrumented, and for offshore earthquakes

G2A Signaling Dampens Colitic Inflammation via Production of IFN-γ

Proinflammatory consequences have been described for lysophosphatidylcholine, a lipid product of cellular injury, signaling via the G protein–coupled receptor G2A on myeloid and lymphoid inflammatory cells. This prompted the hypothesis that genetic deletion of G2A would limit intestinal inflammation in a mouse model of colitis induced by dextran sodium sulfate. Surprisingly, G2A2/2 mice exhibited significantly worsened colitis compared with wild-type mice, as demonstrated by disease activity, colon shortening, histology, and elevated IL-6 and IL-5 in colon tissues. Investigation of inflammatory cells recruited to inflamed G2A2/2 colons showed significantly more TNF-a+ and Ly6ChiMHCII2 proinflammatory monocytes and eosinophils than in wild-type colons. Both monocytes and eosinophils were pathogenic as their depletion abolished the excess inflammation in G2A2/2 mice. G2A2/2 mice also had less IFN-g in inflamed colon tissues than wild-type mice. Fewer CD4+ lymphocytes were recruited to inflamed G2A2/2 colons, and fewer colonic lymphocytes produced IFN-g upon ex vivo stimulation. Administration of IFN-g to G2A2/2 mice during dextran sodium sulfate exposure abolished the excess colitic inflammation and reduced colonic IL-5 and eosinophil numbers to levels seen in wild-type mice. Furthermore, IFN-g reduced the numbers of TNF-a+ monocyte and enhanced their maturation from Ly6ChiMHCII2 to Ly6CintMHCII+ . Taken together, the data suggest that G2A signaling serves to dampen intestinal inflammation via the production of IFN-g, which, in turn, enhances monocyte maturation to a less inflammatory program and ultimately reduces eosinophil-induced injury of colonic tissues

Earthquake Early Warning ShakeAlert System: Testing and Certification Platform

Earthquake early warning systems provide warnings to end users of incoming moderate to strong ground shaking from earthquakes. An earthquake early warning system, ShakeAlert, is providing alerts to beta end users in the western United States, specifically California, Oregon, and Washington. An essential aspect of the earthquake early warning system is the development of a framework to test modifications to code to ensure functionality and assess performance. In 2016, a Testing and Certification Platform (TCP) was included in the development of the Production Prototype version of ShakeAlert. The purpose of the TCP is to evaluate the robustness of candidate code that is proposed for deployment on ShakeAlert Production Prototype servers. TCP consists of two main components: a real‐time in situ test that replicates the real‐time production system and an offline playback system to replay test suites. The real‐time tests of system performance assess code optimization and stability. The offline tests comprise a stress test of candidate code to assess if the code is production ready. The test suite includes over 120 events including local, regional, and teleseismic historic earthquakes, recentering and calibration events, and other anomalous and potentially problematic signals. Two assessments of alert performance are conducted. First, point‐source assessments are undertaken to compare magnitude, epicentral location, and origin time with the Advanced National Seismic System Comprehensive Catalog, as well as to evaluate alert latency. Second, we describe assessment of the quality of ground‐motion predictions at end‐user sites by comparing predicted shaking intensities to ShakeMaps for historic events and implement a threshold‐based approach that assesses how often end users initiate the appropriate action, based on their ground‐shaking threshold. TCP has been developed to be a convenient streamlined procedure for objectively testing algorithms, and it has been designed with flexibility to accommodate significant changes in development of new or modified system code. It is expected that the TCP will continue to evolve along with the ShakeAlert system, and the framework we describe here provides one example of how earthquake early warning systems can be evaluated

Cotton Rats and House Sparrows as Hosts for North and South American Strains of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus

TOC summary: Wild rodents and wild birds can serve as amplification hosts

Validation of a novel device to measure and provide feedback on sedentary behavior

Purpose. Pedometers, which enable self-monitoring of step counts, are effective in facilitating increases in physical activity. Similar devices which provide real-time feedback on sedentary (sitting) behavior are limited. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel device – the SitFIT – which could accurately measure and provide feedback on sedentary behavior and physical activity. Methods. The SitFIT is a tri-axial accelerometer, developed by PAL Technologies, which is worn in the front trouser pocket. This enables tracking of thigh inclination and therefore differentiation between sitting and upright postures, as well as tracking of step count. It has a display to provide user feedback. To determine the validity of the SitFIT for measuring sedentary behavior and step counts, 21 men, aged 30-65 years, with body mass index 26.6±3.9 kg.m-2 wore a SitFIT in a front trouser pocket and an activPAL accelerometer attached to their thigh for up to seven days. Outputs from the SitFIT were compared with the activPAL, which was assumed to provide gold-standard measurements of sitting and step counts. Results. Mean step counts were ~4% lower with the SitFIT than activPAL, with correlation between the two methods being very high (r=0.98) and no obvious bias from the line of equality (regression line: y=1.0035x+418.35). Mean sedentary time was ~5% higher with the SitFIT than activPAL, correlation between methods was high (r=0.84) and the equation of the regression line was close to the line of equality (y=0.8728x+38.445). Conclusions. The SitFIT has excellent validity for measurement of free-living step counts and sedentary time and therefore addresses a clear need for a device that can be used as a tool to provide feedback on sedentary behavior to facilitate behavior change

Opera and Hypnosis: Victor Maurel’s Experiments with Verdi’s Otello

One day in his private home on the avenue Bugeaud, in Paris’s sixteenth arrondissement, the famous baritone Victor Maurel hosted a meeting which combined music with hypnotism of a young woman