Off-loading Responsibility in Alberta's Post-Secondary System

The introduction of a performance-based funding mechanism by Alberta's provincial  government alters the public definition of "educational quality" and fully shifts the  responsibility for declining educational quality from the provincial government onto institutions. This article outlines the process by which the provincial government has  compelled institutions to accept this redefinition and transfer despite the substantial  loss of institutional autonomy it entails. The implications of this change are explored  and possible reasons are suggested

Liquid-based cervical cytology in the United Kingdom and South Africa : Carcinoma of the cervix is a common disease among South African women and is globally important

No abstract available.http://www.cmej.org.za/index.php/cme

Fantastic plastic? Experimental evaluation of polyurethane bone substitutes as proxies for human bone in trauma simulations

Recent years have seen steady improvements in the recognition and interpretation of violence related injuries in human skeletal remains. Such work has at times benefited from the involvement of biological anthropologists in forensic casework and has often relied upon comparison of documented examples with trauma observed in skeletal remains. In cases where no such example exists investigators must turn to experimentation. The selection of experimental samples is problematic as animal proxies may be too dissimilar to humans and human cadavers may be undesirable for a raft of reasons. The current article examines a third alternative in the form of polyurethane plates and spheres marketed as viable proxies for human bone in ballistic experiments. Through subjecting these samples to a range of impacts from both modern and archaic missile weapons it was established that such material generally responds similarly to bone on a broad, macroscopic scale but when examined in closer detail exhibits a range of dissimilarities that call for caution in extrapolating such results to real bone

Improving evapotranspiration estimation in pasture and native vegetation models using flux tower data, remote sensing and global optimisation

GRASP is a biophysical model of soil water balance, pasture growth and animal production developed for northern Australian grasses in wooded and non-wooded systems. The intention of this work is to improve predictions from the GRASP model of evapotranspiration, soil water balance and subsequent pasture biomass and cover in tree-grass systems. This work feeds into the operational modelling system of GRASP that is disseminated through the FORAGE and AussieGRASS online systems, available at the Long Paddock website (https://www.longpaddock.qld.gov.au/forage). The GRASP model operates at 3 different scales: Cedar GRASP (paddock scale), FORAGE (property scale) and AussieGRASS (continental scale for Australia). The Cedar version is used for model development and research on grazing trials in Queensland and the Northern Territory. FORAGE is an online system for Queensland that generates and distributes customised PDF reports with information for individual properties. Currently over 2000 reports are requested per month for use by extension providers (government and private), consultants (valuers, agents), researchers (universities and government) and land managers. AussieGRASS products are currently used within the Queensland government to assist with drought declaration assessments and a monthly Climate Outlook and Review delivered through https://www.usq.edu.au/research/environmental-sciences/qdmc-drought This paper documents the parameterisation and improvements to GRASP for estimating evapotranspiration in tree-grass systems. GRASP was overestimating the daily rate of evapotranspiration, particularly in wooded systems during the first days after rainfall events, with evapotranspiration often exceeding 1.3 times pan evaporation (Allen et al., 1998). Model partitioning of evapotranspiration into soil evaporation, grass and tree transpiration also needed adjustment to prevent excessive water loss. Incorporating daily measurements of evapotranspiration from TERN flux tower data provides the capacity to evaluate and improve the estimation of evapotranspiration in GRASP. Model changes include incorporation of satellite-derived fractional ground cover index for green and total cover in the understorey and persistent green for foliage projected cover to further improve the modelling by constraining estimates of evapotranspiration components. Combining field data with remotely sensed data and a global optimiser in an automated system provides the ability to inform model parameterisation and evaluation. Improving evapotranspiration modelling improves the soil water balance, pasture growth, tree-grass competition and safe carrying capacity, where animal numbers are matched to available pasture. Implications for these model changes and evaluation are significant, as this improves our capacity to model grazing land management issues such as runoff, export of sediment to the reef and sustainable long-term carrying capacity. Key learnings from the optimisation experiments revealed where the model needed improvements, along with careful consideration of trade-offs in regard to variable weighting when optimising multiple measured data groups (such as soil moisture, evapotranspiration and green cover). Model improvements removed the 'spikes' in daily evapotranspiration, compared well to measured data and reduced estimated tree transpiration. Daily estimates of surface soil moisture from remote sensing platforms can be used in model calibration but first require model processes and parameterisation to be appropriate at daily time steps. Calibration of evapotranspiration at a daily time step has not been tested before with GRASP due to the lack of high quality daily data sets, especially from mixed tree and grass systems. These results demonstrate the improvements in GRASP for estimating daily and monthly evapotranspiration in mixed tree and grass systems

Replication of the association of HLA-B7 with Alzheimer's disease: a role for homozygosity?

BACKGROUND: There are reasons to expect an association with Alzheimer's disease (AD) within the HLA region. The HLA-B & C genes have, however, been relatively understudied. A geographically specific association with HLA-B7 & HLA-Cw*0702 had been suggested by our previous, small study. METHODS: We studied the HLA-B & C alleles in 196 cases of 'definite' or 'probable' AD and 199 elderly controls of the OPTIMA cohort, the largest full study of these alleles in AD to date. RESULTS: We replicated the association of HLA-B7 with AD (overall, adjusted odds ratio = 2.3, 95% confidence interval = 1.4–3.7, p = 0.001), but not the previously suggested interaction with the ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E. Results for HLA-Cw*0702, which is in tight linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B7, were consistent with those for the latter. Homozygotes of both alleles appeared to be at particularly high risk of AD. CONCLUSION: HLA-B7 and HLA-Cw*0702 are associated with AD in the Oxford population. Because of the contradictions between cohorts in our previous study, we suggest that these results may be geographically specific. This might be because of differences between populations in the structure of linkage disequilibrium or in interactions with environmental, genetic or epigenetic factors. A much larger study will be needed to clarify the role of homozygosity of HLA alleles in AD risk

Immunomodulation by imiquimod in patients with high-risk primary melanoma.

Imiquimod is a synthetic Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) agonist approved for the topical treatment of actinic keratoses, superficial basal cell carcinoma, and genital warts. Imiquimod leads to an 80-100% cure rate of lentigo maligna; however, studies of invasive melanoma are lacking. We conducted a pilot study to characterize the local, regional, and systemic immune responses induced by imiquimod in patients with high-risk melanoma. After treatment of the primary melanoma biopsy site with placebo or imiquimod cream, we measured immune responses in the treated skin, sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs), and peripheral blood. Treatment of primary melanomas with 5% imiquimod cream was associated with an increase in both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the skin, and CD4+ T cells in the SLN. Most of the CD8+ T cells in the skin were CD25 negative. We could not detect any increases in CD8+ T cells specifically recognizing HLA-A(*)0201-restricted melanoma epitopes in the peripheral blood. The findings from this small pilot study demonstrate that topical imiquimod treatment results in enhanced local and regional T-cell numbers in both the skin and SLN. Further research into TLR7 immunomodulating pathways as a basis for effective immunotherapy against melanoma in conjunction with surgery is warranted

Genetic variants in MUTYH are not associated with endometrial cancer risk

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), also known as Lynch syndrome, is an autosomal dominant inherited predisposition to a number of epithelial cancers, most notably colorectal and endometrial cancer. Outside of the context of Lynch syndrome there is little evidence for an autosomal dominant or recessive condition that predisposes to endometrial cancer. Recently, genetic variants in MUTYH have been associated with a recessive form of colorectal cancer, known as MUTYH associated polyposis or MAP. MUTYH is involved in base excision repair of DNA lesions and as such a breakdown in the fidelity of this process would necessarily not be predicted to result in a specific disease. At present there is little information about the role of MUTYH in other types of cancer and only one report indicating a possible relationship with endometrial cancer

Unusual presentation of Lynch Syndrome

Lynch Syndrome/HNPCC is a syndrome of cancer predisposition linked to inherited mutations of genes participating in post-replicative DNA mismatch repair (MMR). The spectrum of cancer associated with Lynch Syndrome includes tumours of the colorectum, endometrium, ovary, upper gastrointestinal tract and the urothelium although other cancers are rarely described. We describe a family of Lynch Syndrome with an hMLH1 mutation, that harbours an unusual tumour spectrum and its diagnostic and management challenges

Most Patients with Colorectal Tumors at Young Age Do Not Visit a Cancer Genetics Clinic

Contains fulltext : 70595.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)PURPOSE: This study examined the referral process for genetic counseling at a cancer genetics clinic in patients with colorectal cancer and to search for determinants of variation in this referral process. METHODS: Patients who were recently diagnosed with colorectal cancer at a young age or multiple cancers associated with Lynch syndrome, hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer, (N = 119) were selected from PALGA, the nationwide network and registry of histopathology and cytopathology in the Netherlands. In a retrospective analysis, we examined whether these patients visited a cancer genetics clinic and identified determinants for referral to such a clinic. Factors of patients, professional practice, and hospital setting were explored with logistic regression modeling. RESULTS: Thirty-six (30 percent) patients visited a cancer genetics clinic. Seventy percent of patients whom the surgeon referred to a cancer genetics clinic decided to visit such a clinic. Analysis of determinants showed that patients with whom the surgeon discussed referral and that were treated in a teaching hospital were more likely to visit a cancer genetics clinic. CONCLUSION: The referral process is not optimally carried out. To deliver optimal care for patients suspected of hereditary colorectal cancer, this process must be improved with interventions focusing on patient referral by surgeons and raising awareness in nonteaching hospitals