18 research outputs found
Gene expression profiling identifies distinct molecular subgroups of leiomyosarcoma with clinical relevance
YesBackground: Soft tissue sarcomas are heterogeneous and a major complication in their management is that the existing
classification scheme is not definitive and is still evolving. Leiomyosarcomas, a major histologic category of soft tissue sarcomas,
are malignant tumours displaying smooth muscle differentiation. Although defined as a single group, they exhibit a wide range of
clinical behaviour. We aimed to carry out molecular classification to identify new molecular subgroups with clinical relevance.
Methods: We used gene expression profiling on 20 extra-uterine leiomyosarcomas and cross-study analyses for molecular
classification of leiomyosarcomas. Clinical significance of the subgroupings was investigated.
Results: We have identified two distinct molecular subgroups of leiomyosarcomas. One group was characterised by high
expression of 26 genes that included many genes from the sub-classification gene cluster proposed by Nielsen et al. These
sub-classification genes include genes that have importance structurally, as well as in cell signalling. Notably, we found a
statistically significant association of the subgroupings with tumour grade. Further refinement led to a group of 15 genes that
could recapitulate the tumour subgroupings in our data set and in a second independent sarcoma set. Remarkably, cross-study
analyses suggested that these molecular subgroups could be found in four independent data sets, providing strong support for
their existence.
Conclusions: Our study strongly supported the existence of distinct leiomyosarcoma molecular subgroups, which have clinical
association with tumour grade. Our findings will aid in advancing the classification of leiomyosarcomas and lead to more
individualised and better management of the disease.Alexander Boag Sarcoma Fund
The Astropy Problem
The Astropy Project (http://astropy.org) is, in its own words, "a community
effort to develop a single core package for Astronomy in Python and foster
interoperability between Python astronomy packages." For five years this
project has been managed, written, and operated as a grassroots,
self-organized, almost entirely volunteer effort while the software is used by
the majority of the astronomical community. Despite this, the project has
always been and remains to this day effectively unfunded. Further, contributors
receive little or no formal recognition for creating and supporting what is now
critical software. This paper explores the problem in detail, outlines possible
solutions to correct this, and presents a few suggestions on how to address the
sustainability of general purpose astronomical software
Who Controls the Looking Glass? Towards a Conversational Understanding of Organizational Theatre
This paper presents a longitudinal study of interactive organizational theatre. Managers of a large home care organization used 30 instances of organizational theatre over a one year period to effect organizational change. We found that neither management, who had hoped that employees would accept and internalize the messages accompanying the play, nor employees, who used the liminal spaces to express their own take on the organization’s issues, achieved their aims directly. Yet a year later, organizational performance and satisfaction were significantly improved—much of this was attributed to the play. To explain this, we develop a conversational theory of change, one where ‘conversation pieces’ are central. We also speculate on the properties that conversation pieces and conversational systems like organizational theatre must have if they are to effect change.N/
A gene expression signature associated with metastatic outcome in human leiomyosarcomas
Metastasis is a major factor associated with poor prognosis in cancer, but little is known of its molecular mechanisms. Although the clinical behavior of soft tissue sarcomas is highly variable, few reliable determinants of outcome have been identified. New markers that predict clinical outcome, in particular the ability of primary tumors to develop metastatic tumors, are urgently needed. Here, we have chosen leiomyosarcoma as a model for examining the relationship between gene expression profile and the development of metastasis in soft tissue sarcomas. Using cDNA microarray, we have identified a gene expression signature associated with metastasis in sarcoma that allowed prediction of the future development of metastases of primary tumors (Kaplan-Meier analysis P = 0.001). Our finding may aid the tailoring of therapy for individual sarcoma patients, where the aggressiveness of treatment is affected by the predicted outcome of disease
On telling stories but hearing snippets: sense-taking from presentations of practice
The practice of inviting managers and leaders to make formal presentations telling the story of their experience to others is widespread. In this article we explore these as a way of looking at how audiences learn and change from stories they are told. We considered a range of speakers from high profi le 'circuit speakers' to little known 'experience sharers'. We develop a conceptualization of the way members of an audience learn from the stories that are told by speakers. We started from the expectation that people would feel that they had learned most from stories that came over as 'factual description', with causal connections, attributed agency and intentional acts. Our investigation, however, found that people remembered, and said that they had changed because of, stories that were rich in 'decorative' detail but which had little practical detail on what the speaker actually did or why. What was retained by audience members were snippets of a story which could be reconstituted later by the listener for their own purposes