Advances in the Imaging of Pituitary Tumors

© 2020 Elsevier Inc. In most patients with pituitary adenomas magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is essential to guide effective decision-making. T1- and T2-weighted sequences allow the majority of adenomas to be readily identified. Supplementary MR sequences (e.g. FLAIR; MR angiography) may also help inform surgery. However, in some patients MRI findings are ‘negative’ or equivocal (e.g. with failure to reliably identify a microadenoma or to distinguish postoperative change from residual/recurrent disease). Molecular imaging [e.g. 11C-methionine PET/CT coregistered with volumetric MRI (Met-PET/MRCR)] may allow accurate localisation of the site of de novo or persistent disease to guide definitive treatment (e.g. surgery or radiosurgery)

Do (and say) as I say: Linguistic adaptation in human-computer dialogs

© Theodora Koulouri, Stanislao Lauria, and Robert D. Macredie. This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.There is strong research evidence showing that people naturally align to each other’s vocabulary, sentence structure, and acoustic features in dialog, yet little is known about how the alignment mechanism operates in the interaction between users and computer systems let alone how it may be exploited to improve the efficiency of the interaction. This article provides an account of lexical alignment in human–computer dialogs, based on empirical data collected in a simulated human–computer interaction scenario. The results indicate that alignment is present, resulting in the gradual reduction and stabilization of the vocabulary-in-use, and that it is also reciprocal. Further, the results suggest that when system and user errors occur, the development of alignment is temporarily disrupted and users tend to introduce novel words to the dialog. The results also indicate that alignment in human–computer interaction may have a strong strategic component and is used as a resource to compensate for less optimal (visually impoverished) interaction conditions. Moreover, lower alignment is associated with less successful interaction, as measured by user perceptions. The article distills the results of the study into design recommendations for human–computer dialog systems and uses them to outline a model of dialog management that supports and exploits alignment through mechanisms for in-use adaptation of the system’s grammar and lexicon

The Ethnic 'Other' in Ukrainian History Textbooks: The Case of Russia and the Russians

This paper examines portrayals of Russia and the Russians in two generations of Ukrainian history textbooks. It observes that the textbooks are highly condemning of Ukraine's main ethnic other in the guise of foreign ruler: the tsarist authorities and the Soviet regime are always attributed dubious and malicious intentions even if there is appreciation for some of their policies. By contrast, the books, certainly those of the second generation, refrain from presenting highly biased accounts of the ethnic other as a national group (i.e. Russians). Instances where negative judgements do fall onto Russians are counterbalanced by excerpts criticizing ethnic Ukrainians or highlighting conflicting interests within the Ukrainian ethnic group. The negative appraisal of the ethnic other as foreign ruler is clearly instrumental for the nation-building project as it sustains a discourse legitimating the existence of Ukraine as independent state. However, recent trends in history education, the paper concludes, suggest that the importance of nurturing patriotism as a national policy objective is diminishing

Localisation of an occult thyrotropinoma with 11^{11}C-methionine PET-CT before and after somatostatin analogue therapy

A 75-year-old woman presented to her local endocrine service with tiredness, palpitations, and enlargement of a longstanding goitre. Unexpectedly, her thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone [TSH]) concentration was not suppressed (6·3 mU/L; reference range 0·35–5·5) despite raised concentrations of thyroid hormones (free thyroxine [T$_{4}$] 89·1 pmol/L [reference range 10–19·8]; free triiodothyronine [T$_{3}$] 11·7 pmol/L [3·0–6·5]). After exclusion of laboratory assay interference, a thyrotropin-releasing hormone test showed an attenuated response (TSH at 0 min was 6·1 mU/L, at 20 min was 6·8 mU/L, and at 60 min was 8·5 mU/L), raising suspicion of a thyrotropinoma (also known as TSHoma). However, pituitary MRI was normal. The patient was referred to our centre for further assessment. On repeat MRI, the pituitary gland showed mild asymmetry (right larger than left; figure A). Functional imaging with 11C-methionine ($^{11}$C-Met) PET-CT revealed intense tracer uptake (denoting active peptide synthesis) on the right side of the sella (red hot spot in figure A). Treatment with a depot somatostatin analogue (SSA) led to resolution of symptoms and normalisation of thyroid function (TSH 0·6 mU/L, free T$_{4}$ 12·5 pmol/L, and free T$_{3}$ 3·8 pmol/L). Repeat $^{11}$C-Met PET-CT showed absence of the right-sided focal hot spot (figure B). 14 months into treatment, the patient had several hypoglycaemic episodes, which resolved after discontinuation of SSA. However, thyrotoxicosis recurred (TSH 4·3 mU/L, free T$_{4}$ 38·1 pmol/L, free T$_{3}$ 11·6 pmol/L), and repeat $^{11}$C-Met PET-CT revealed the reappearance of the right-sided hot spot (figure C). During pituitary surgery, a microthyrotropinoma was resected from the right side of the gland (figure D). The patient remains in clinical and biochemical remission more than 12 months after surgery and has normal pituitary function

Toward Predicting Success and Failure in CS2: A Mixed-Method Analysis

Factors driving success and failure in CS1 are the subject of much study but less so for CS2. This paper investigates the transition from CS1 to CS2 in search of leading indicators of success in CS2. Both CS1 and CS2 at the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) are taught in Python with annual enrollments of 300 and 150 respectively. In this paper, we report on the following research questions: 1) Are CS1 grades indicators of CS2 grades? 2) Does a quantitative relationship exist between CS2 course grade and a modified version of the SCS1 concept inventory? 3) What are the most challenging aspects of CS2, and how well does CS1 prepare students for CS2 from the student's perspective? We provide a quantitative analysis of 2300 CS1 and CS2 course grades from 2013--2019. In Spring 2019, we administered a modified version of the SCS1 concept inventory to 44 students in the first week of CS2. Further, 69 students completed an exit questionnaire at the conclusion of CS2 to gain qualitative student feedback on their challenges in CS2 and on how well CS1 prepared them for CS2. We find that 56% of students' grades were lower in CS2 than CS1, 18% improved their grades, and 26% earned the same grade. Of the changes, 62% were within one grade point. We find a statistically significant correlation between the modified SCS1 score and CS2 grade points. Students identify linked lists and class/object concepts among the most challenging. Student feedback on CS2 challenges and the adequacy of their CS1 preparations identify possible avenues for improving the CS1-CS2 transition.Comment: The definitive Version of Record was published in 2020 ACM Southeast Conference (ACMSE 2020), April 2-4, 2020, Tampa, FL, USA. 8 page

A novel IGSF1 mutation in a large Irish kindred highlights the need for familial screening in the IGSF1 deficiency syndrome

Objective: Loss-of-function mutations in IGSF1 result in X-linked central congenital hypothyroidism (CeCH), occurring in isolation or associated with additional pituitary hormone deficits. Intrafamilial penetrance is highly variable and a minority of heterozygous females are also affected. We identified and characterized a novel IGSF1 mutation and investigated its associated phenotypes in a large Irish kindred. Design, Patients and Measurements: A novel hemizygous IGSF1 mutation was identified by direct sequencing in two brothers with CeCH, and its functional consequences were characterized in vitro. Genotype-phenotype correlations were investigated in the wider kindred. Results: The mutant IGSF1 protein (c.2318T > C, p.L773P) exhibited decreased plasma membrane expression in vitro due to impaired trafficking from the endoplasmic reticulum. Ten hemizygous males and 11 heterozygous females exhibited characteristic endocrine deficits. Ireland operates a TSH-based CH screening programme, which does not detect CeCH; therefore, genetic ascertainment preceded biochemical diagnosis of moderate CH in five of seven boys as well as their 75-year-old grandfather. Clinical features potentially attributable to hypothyroidism were variable; normal free T3 (FT3) and low/low normal reverse T3 (rT3) concentrations suggested that preferential deiodination of FT4 to FT3 may help maintain tissue euthyroidism in some individuals. However, neonatal jaundice, delayed speech or growth, and obesity were observed in seven subjects in whom diagnosis was delayed. Conclusions: As observed with other IGSF1 mutations, p.L773P results in variably penetrant IGSF1 deficiency syndrome. Our observations emphasize the need for multi-generation genetic ascertainment in affected families, especially where TSH-based CH screening programmes may fail to detect CeCH at birth

Teaching introductory programming: a quantitative evaluation of different approaches

© ACM, 2014. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in ACM Transactions on Computing Education, 2014, Vol. 14, No. 4, Article 26, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/266241