Autobiographical Authority and the Politics of Narrative

Autobiographical narratives, which include autobiography, autobiographical novel, memoir, and chronicle, constitute a major genre in African francophone literature. Informed by history, they do not celebrate personal accomplishment, but rather accentuate the group experience. These self-stories rely on realistic representation in order to document events for future generations and function to correct stereotypical misconceptions—therein lies their political consciousness

A mouse-human phase 1 co-clinical trial of a protease-activated fluorescent probe for imaging cancer

Local recurrence is a common cause of treatment failure for patients with solid tumors. Intraoperative detection of microscopic residual cancer in the tumor bed could be used to decrease the risk of a positive surgical margin, reduce rates of reexcision, and tailor adjuvant therapy. We used a protease-activated fluorescent imaging probe, LUM015, to detect cancer in vivo in a mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and ex vivo in a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial. In mice, intravenous injection of LUM015 labeled tumor cells, and residual fluorescence within the tumor bed predicted local recurrence. In 15 patients with STS or breast cancer, intravenous injection of LUM015 before surgery was well tolerated. Imaging of resected human tissues showed that fluorescence from tumor was significantly higher than fluorescence from normal tissues. LUM015 biodistribution, pharmacokinetic profiles, and metabolism were similar in mouse and human subjects. Tissue concentrations of LUM015 and its metabolites, including fluorescently labeled lysine, demonstrated that LUM015 is selectively distributed to tumors where it is activated by proteases. Experiments in mice with a constitutively active PEGylated fluorescent imaging probe support a model where tumor-selective probe distribution is a determinant of increased fluorescence in cancer. These co-clinical studies suggest that the tumor specificity of protease-activated imaging probes, such as LUM015, is dependent on both biodistribution and enzyme activity. Our first-in-human data support future clinical trials of LUM015 and other protease-sensitive probes

The RUMERTIME Process as a Protective Factor in School Attendance Problems

The RUMERTIME Process (RP) is a five-step culturally responsive social-emotional, problem-solving, prevention-intervention strategy used to educate, equip, and empower students, educators, and families. The RP equips individuals with the abilities to recognize, understand, manage, express, and reflect on their thoughts, interactions, mindsets, and emotions (RUMERTIME) in relation to themselves, others, and the daily life challenges they face within multiple systems and settings. The RP is embedded within the Cultivating SEEDS System framework (CSS) and is utilized to equip culturally diverse communities, inclusive of students, family members, educators, and administrators, with the social-emotional skills to effectively solve student attendance problems (SAPs). The data shared in this practice intervention article are descriptive in nature and highlight the RP as a protective factor and explain its three goals. The paper consists of three parts: (a) introduction of the RP, which is embedded in the CSS framework; (b) description of implementation of the RP as integral to the Daytime Intervention Room (DIR) program; and (c) discussion of risk factors that qualified students to receive services through the DIR program as well as data that demonstrated how the RP performed as a protective factor. The DIR program was aimed at creating an alternative to out-of-school suspension (OSS) and the traditional punitive in-school suspension (ISS). The program was established in each of the four schools in an urban high-needs school district in the midwest region of the United States. The DIR program was intentionally designed to include multiple levels, stakeholders, and delivery support, thus creating a solid base for the holistic development of students, educators, and parents. In conjunction with the CSS framework, the DIR program sought to increase academic performance, decrease the number of behavior referrals, and improve attendance rates in this high-needs urban school district

Las seis suites de Bach para violonchelo y su transición para viola análisis de las obras a interpretar en mi recital

Las seis suites para violonchelo solo de Johann Sebastián Bach (1685-1750) son consideradas como una de las obras cumbres del repertorio para este instrumento. Compuestas entre 1717 y 1723, estas piezas no solo representan un desafío técnico para los violonchelistas, sino que también revelan la profunda maestría musical de Bach. Cada suite se compone de seis movimientos, siguiendo una estructura fija: un preludio inicial, seguido por cinco danzas: allemande, courante, sarabande, una danza galante (minuet o bourrée) y una gigue final. La variedad de estilos y emociones presentes en estas danzas, desde la solemnidad del preludio hasta la alegría de la gigue, convierten a las suites en una obra de gran riqueza musical. En el capítulo 1 de este trabajo, se hablará de cómo las suites, aunque fueron concebidas originalmente para violonchelo, por su belleza y complejidad han inspirado a músicos de otros instrumentos a adaptarlas para sus propios instrumentos. Entre los primeros en hacerlo se encuentra el violinista Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, quien transcribió algunas de las suites para violín solo. Se adentrará en el proceso de transición de las suites de Bach del violonchelo a otros instrumentos, como la viola. Se explorarán las dificultades y desafíos que presenta esta adaptación, así como las diferentes soluciones que han encontrado los arreglistas y los intérpretes. También hablará de cómo a lo largo del siglo XIX, la viola comenzó a ganar terreno como instrumento solista, y varios compositores y arreglistas comenzaron a adaptar las suites de Bach para este instrumento. El impulso principal vino de la mano de tres grandes violistas: William Primrose, Lilian Fuchs y Simón Rowland-Jones. Gracias al trabajo de estos y otros violistas, las suites de Bach para violonchelo se han convertido en una parte esencial del repertorio para viola. Estas obras, que originalmente fueron concebidas para un solo instrumento, han encontrado una nueva vida en la viola, permitiendo disfrutar de su belleza y complejidad desde una perspectiva diferente

Las seis suites de Bach para violonchelo y su transición para viola análisis de las obras a interpretar en mi recital

Las seis suites para violonchelo solo de Johann Sebastián Bach (1685-1750) son consideradas como una de las obras cumbres del repertorio para este instrumento. Compuestas entre 1717 y 1723, estas piezas no solo representan un desafío técnico para los violonchelistas, sino que también revelan la profunda maestría musical de Bach. Cada suite se compone de seis movimientos, siguiendo una estructura fija: un preludio inicial, seguido por cinco danzas: allemande, courante, sarabande, una danza galante (minuet o bourrée) y una gigue final. La variedad de estilos y emociones presentes en estas danzas, desde la solemnidad del preludio hasta la alegría de la gigue, convierten a las suites en una obra de gran riqueza musical. En el capítulo 1 de este trabajo, se hablará de cómo las suites, aunque fueron concebidas originalmente para violonchelo, por su belleza y complejidad han inspirado a músicos de otros instrumentos a adaptarlas para sus propios instrumentos. Entre los primeros en hacerlo se encuentra el violinista Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, quien transcribió algunas de las suites para violín solo. Se adentrará en el proceso de transición de las suites de Bach del violonchelo a otros instrumentos, como la viola. Se explorarán las dificultades y desafíos que presenta esta adaptación, así como las diferentes soluciones que han encontrado los arreglistas y los intérpretes. También hablará de cómo a lo largo del siglo XIX, la viola comenzó a ganar terreno como instrumento solista, y varios compositores y arreglistas comenzaron a adaptar las suites de Bach para este instrumento. El impulso principal vino de la mano de tres grandes violistas: William Primrose, Lilian Fuchs y Simón Rowland-Jones. Gracias al trabajo de estos y otros violistas, las suites de Bach para violonchelo se han convertido en una parte esencial del repertorio para viola. Estas obras, que originalmente fueron concebidas para un solo instrumento, han encontrado una nueva vida en la viola, permitiendo disfrutar de su belleza y complejidad desde una perspectiva diferente

An analysis of major target deviations in craniospinal irradiation treatment plans for patients with intermediate-risk medulloblastoma within a phase 3 clinical trial (Children\u27s Oncology Group Study ACNS0331)

PURPOSE: Craniospinal irradiation remains an essential and yet difficult part of the treatment of patients with medulloblastoma. Whereas technological advances offer promise of increased conformity, realiance on advanced technology is not without risk, and it remains critical to carefully delineate targets. We describe examples of target deviations (TDs) in craniospinal irradiation treatment plans for postoperative patients with medulloblastoma in a phase 3 clinical trial (ACNS 0331). METHODS AND MATERIALS: The principal investigator independently performed a review of the treatment plans and portal films of enrolled patients and evaluated the plans for TDs. TDs of dose, dose uniformity, and volume were defined as major or minor deviations. Major TDs scored as protocol violations. The effect of major TDs on event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) was evaluated using the stratified Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of the 549 patients enrolled, 461 were available for this analysis. Thirty-two (7%) plans did not have data sufficient for TD evaluation. Major TDs were found in 32 of the 461 plans (7%). Of those, 21 were deviations of target volume alone, 7 were deviations of target dose alone, and 4 were deviations of both target volume and dose. The 25 patients with TDs of volume involved 29 sites. The most common major TDs of volume involved the brain (9 of 29) and the posterior fossa (9 of 29). On Cox proportional hazards modeling, the presence of a major TD did not statistically significantly affect EFS (hazard ratio, 0.98; 95% confidence interval, 0.45-2.11; CONCLUSIONS: Although intensity modulated radiation therapy and proton therapy are promising in improving conformity and sparing organs at risk, technology does not substitute for careful anatomic definition of target volumes. The study was not powered to evaluate the effect of TDs on EFS and OS; therefore, the statistical analysis presented in this study must be interpreted with caution

A mouse-human phase 1 co-clinical trial of a protease-activated fluorescent probe for imaging cancer

Local recurrence is a common cause of treatment failure for patients with solid tumors. Intraoperative detection of microscopic residual cancer in the tumor bed could be used to decrease the risk of a positive surgical margin, reduce rates of reexcision, and tailor adjuvant therapy. We used a protease-activated fluorescent imaging probe, LUM015, to detect cancer in vivo in a mouse model of soft tissue sarcoma (STS) and ex vivo in a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial. In mice, intravenous injection of LUM015 labeled tumor cells, and residual fluorescence within the tumor bed predicted local recurrence. In 15 patients with STS or breast cancer, intravenous injection of LUM015 before surgery was well tolerated. Imaging of resected human tissues showed that fluorescence from tumor was significantly higher than fluorescence from normal tissues. LUM015 biodistribution, pharmacokinetic profiles, and metabolism were similar in mouse and human subjects. Tissue concentrations of LUM015 and its metabolites, including fluorescently labeled lysine, demonstrated that LUM015 is selectively distributed to tumors where it is activated by proteases. Experiments in mice with a constitutively active PEGylated fluorescent imaging probe support a model where tumor-selective probe distribution is a determinant of increased fluorescence in cancer. These co-clinical studies suggest that the tumor specificity of protease-activated imaging probes, such as LUM015, is dependent on both biodistribution and enzyme activity. Our first-in-human data support future clinical trials of LUM015 and other protease-sensitive probes

Histopathological patterns of the liver involvement in visceral leishmaniasis

The hepatic changes observed in liver specimen from either biopsy or necropsy of 47 patients with visceral leishmaniasis permited us to define three different histopathological patterns of involvement: typical, nodular, and fibrogenic. These patterns seem to be representative of different evolutive stages of the hepatic involvement in the disease either towards a more benign evolution or to more chronic stage with fibrosis and "cirrhosis". These histopathological evolutive stages are related to the prognosis of the disease