Monitoring the response to neoadjuvant hormone therapy for locally advanced breast cancer using three-dimensional time-resolved optical mammography.

Optical mammography is a functional imaging technique that uses near-infrared light to produce three-dimensional breast images of tissue oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentration. It has been used to monitor the response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients. We present the first results on monitoring tumor response to hormone therapy using optical mammography. We present three case studies from postmenopausal women treated with neoadjuvant hormone therapy for locally advanced breast cancer. The women were scanned before starting treatment, once during treatment, and then before surgery. Changes in physiological and optical properties within the tumor and in the rest of the breast were evaluated. At the time of surgery, two patients partially responded to treatment and one did not respond. The patients that partially responded on ultrasound revealed a corresponding recovery to normal in the hemoglobin concentration images, whereas the nonresponder indicated an increase in hemoglobin concentration in the tumor compared to her pretreatment images. These case studies suggest that optical imaging of the breast during neoadjuvant hormone treatment can provide potentially valuable information, and that physiological changes within the tumor can be seen in response to treatment

Justifying the Special Theory of Relativity with Unconceived Methods

Many realists argue that present scientific theories will not follow the fate of past scientific theories because the former are more successful than the latter. Critics object that realists need to show that present theories have reached the level of success that warrants their truth. I reply that the special theory of relativity has been repeatedly reinforced by unconceived scientific methods, so it will be reinforced by infinitely many unconceived scientific methods. This argument for the special theory of relativity overcomes the critics’ objection, and has advantages over the no-miracle argument and the selective induction for it

In Defense of the Epistemic Imperative

Sample (2015) argues that scientists ought not to believe that their theories are true because they cannot fulfill the epistemic obligation to take the diachronic perspective on their theories. I reply that Sample’s argument imposes an inordinately heavy epistemic obligation on scientists, and that it spells doom not only for scientific theories but also for observational beliefs and philosophical ideas that Samples endorses. I also delineate what I take to be a reasonable epistemic obligation for scientists. In sum, philosophers ought to impose on scientists only an epistemic standard that they are willing to impose on themselves

Human Cancer Long Non-Coding RNA Transcriptomes

Once thought to be a part of the ‘dark matter’ of the genome, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as an integral functional component of the mammalian transcriptome. LncRNAs are a novel class of mRNA-like transcripts which, despite no known protein-coding potential, demonstrate a wide range of structural and functional roles in cellular biology. However, the magnitude of the contribution of lncRNA expression to normal human tissues and cancers has not been investigated in a comprehensive manner. In this study, we compiled 272 human serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE) libraries to delineate lncRNA transcription patterns across a broad spectrum of normal human tissues and cancers. Using a novel lncRNA discovery pipeline we parsed over 24 million SAGE tags and report lncRNA expression profiles across a panel of 26 different normal human tissues and 19 human cancers. Our findings show extensive, tissue-specific lncRNA expression in normal tissues and highly aberrant lncRNA expression in human cancers. Here, we present a first generation atlas for lncRNA profiling in cancer

Taking a Proposal Seriously : Orientations to Agenda and Agency in Support Workers’ Responses to Client Proposals

While joint decision-making is regularly launched by a proposal, it is the recipients’ responses that crucially influence the proposal outcome. This chapter examines how support workers respond to the proposals made by clients during rehabilitation group meetings at the Clubhouse. Drawing on a collection of 180 client-initiated proposal sequences, the paper describes two dilemmas that the support workers face when seeking to take client proposals “seriously.” The first concerns the meeting’s agenda and consists of a tension between providing recognition for the individual client and encouraging collective participation. The second dilemma has to do with agency and consists of a tension between focusing on the client as the originator of the proposal and avoiding treating him or her alone accountable for it. The analysis of these dilemmas contributes to a deeper understanding of group decision-making, in general, while these findings have specific relevance in mental health rehabilitation.While joint decision-making is regularly launched by a proposal, it is the recipients’ responses that crucially influence the proposal outcome. This chapter examines how support workers respond to the proposals made by clients during rehabilitation group meetings at the Clubhouse. Drawing on a collection of 180 client-initiated proposal sequences, the paper describes two dilemmas that the support workers face when seeking to take client proposals “seriously.” The first concerns the meeting’s agenda and consists of a tension between providing recognition for the individual client and encouraging collective participation. The second dilemma has to do with agency and consists of a tension between focusing on the client as the originator of the proposal and avoiding treating him or her alone accountable for it. The analysis of these dilemmas contributes to a deeper understanding of group decision-making, in general, while these findings have specific relevance in mental health rehabilitation.Peer reviewe

Pointing to visible and invisible targets

We investigated how the visibility of targets influenced the type of point used to provide directions. In Study 1 we asked 605 passersby in three localities for directions to well-known local landmarks. When that landmark was in plain view behind the requester, most respondents pointed with their index fingers, and few respondents pointed more than once. In contrast, when the landmark was not in view, respondents pointed initially with their index fingers, but often elaborated with a whole-hand point. In Study 2, we covertly filmed the responses from 157 passersby we approached for directions, capturing both verbal and gestural responses. As in Study 1, few respondents produced more than one gesture when the target was in plain view and initial points were most likely to be index finger points. Thus, in a Western geographical context in which pointing with the index finger is the dominant form of pointing, a slight change in circumstances elicited a preference for pointing with the whole hand when it was the second or third manual gesture in a sequence

Humoral and cellular responses to SARS-CoV-2 in patients with B-cell haematological malignancies improve with successive vaccination

Patients with haematological malignancies are more likely to have poor responses to vaccination. Here we provide detailed analysis of the humoral and cellular responses to COVID-19 vaccination in 69 patients with B-cell malignancies. Measurement of anti-spike IgG in serum demonstrated a low seroconversion rate with 27.1% and 46.8% of patients seroconverting after the first and second doses of vaccine, respectively. In vitro pseudoneutralisation assays demonstrated a poor neutralising response, with 12.5% and 29.5% of patients producing a measurable neutralising titre after the first and second doses, respectively. A third dose increased seropositivity to 54.3% and neutralisation to 51.5%, while a fourth dose further increased both seropositivity and neutralisation to 87.9%. Neutralisation titres post-fourth dose showed a positive correlation with the size of the B-cell population measured by flow cytometry, suggesting an improved response correlating with recovery of the B-cell compartment after B-cell depletion treatments. In contrast, interferon gamma ELISpot analysis showed a largely intact T-cell response, with the percentage of patients producing a measurable response boosted by the second dose to 75.5%. This response was maintained thereafter, with only a small increase following the third and fourth doses, irrespective of the serological response at these timepoints

The plight of the sense-making ape

This is a selective review of the published literature on object-choice tasks, where participants use directional cues to find hidden objects. This literature comprises the efforts of researchers to make sense of the sense-making capacities of our nearest living relatives. This chapter is written to highlight some nonsensical conclusions that frequently emerge from this research. The data suggest that when apes are given approximately the same sense-making opportunities as we provide our children, then they will easily make sense of our social signals. The ubiquity of nonsensical contemporary scientific claims to the effect that humans are essentially--or inherently--more capable than other great apes in the understanding of simple directional cues is, itself, a testament to the power of preconceived ideas on human perception

Southeast Asian diversity: first insights into the complex mtDNA structure of Laos

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vast migrations and subsequent assimilation processes have shaped the genetic composition of Southeast Asia, an area of close contact between several major ethnic groups. To better characterize the genetic variation of this region, we analyzed the entire mtDNA control region of 214 unrelated donors from Laos according to highest forensic quality standards. To detail the phylogeny, we inspected selected SNPs from the mtDNA coding region. For <it>a posteriori </it>data quality control, quasi-median network constructions and autosomal STR typing were performed. In order to describe the mtDNA setup of Laos more thoroughly, the data were subjected to population genetic comparisons with 16 East Asian groups.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The Laos sample exhibited ample mtDNA diversity, reflecting the huge number of ethnic groups listed. We found several new, so far undescribed mtDNA lineages in this dataset and surrounding populations. The Laos population was characteristic in terms of haplotype composition and genetic structure, however, genetic comparisons with other Southeast Asian populations revealed limited, but significant genetic differentiation. Notable differences in the maternal relationship to the major indigenous Southeast Asian ethnolinguistic groups were detected.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this study, we portray the great mtDNA variety of Laos for the first time. Our findings will contribute to clarify the migration history of the region. They encourage setting up regional and subpopulation databases, especially for forensic applications. The Laotian sequences will be incorporated into the collaborative EMPOP mtDNA database <url>http://www.empop.org</url> upon publication and will be available as the first mtDNA reference data for this country.</p