How accurate is ultrasound in evaluating palpable breast masses?

Introduction: Breast masses have become common in women. Such masses pose a potential threat to women especially in the era of increased cases of breast cancer worldwide. Breast carcinoma ranks first among the malignant tumors affecting females in many parts of the world with the rate of breast cancer being 1 in 8 in USA. There are currently more than 600 000 cancer deaths annually in Africa. By 2020, 70% of the 15 million new annual cancer cases will be in developing countries. Ultrasound is a relatively inexpensive and readily accessible imaging modality that can be utilized in the evaluation of clinically palpable breast masses. The purpose of this study was to find out the accuracy of ultrasound in the diagnosis of palpable breast masses. Methods: Eighty palpable breast masses were evaluated at ultrasound and information about the characteristic features of the masses was recorded. An impression about the diagnosis was made and results were correlated with histology findings. Results: The overall sensitivity of ultrasound in detecting breast lumps was 92.5%. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for detecting breast carcinoma was 57.1% and 62.8% respectively with a positive predictive value of 68.1%, a negative predictive value of 99.5%, a positive likelihood ratio of 39 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.07. Ultrasound reliably differentiated cystic from solid breast masses. Conclusion: Ultrasound is significant in differentiating cystic from solid breast masses. Ultrasound is also important in detecting suspicious breast masses and should therefore be used in the evaluation of symptomatic breast masses

Listening to the voices: An exploratory study of the experiences of women diagnosed and living with breast cancer in Uganda

Introduction: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths amongst Ugandan women. Most women live through challenging and emotional experiences having been diagnosed with breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of women diagnosed and living with breast cancer. Methods: This was an exploratory qualitative study using a convenience sample (n = 12) of women confirmed with breast cancer and reporting to the Radiology department for imaging. In-depth individual interviews were conducted and findings were summarized into themes, representative of the participants' lived  experiences.Results: All women in this study initially went through emotional trauma of living with breast cancer. However, with time, they seemed to accept and cope with their situation. Four major themes summarizing their  experiences included: Thought of Death, Strength to live, Loss of female identity and sexuality and Coping mechanisms.Conclusion: This study provided a unique insight of the experiences of women living with breast cancer. By listening to their narratives, one couldsee emotional pain, anger, anxiety, strength to live and many more. Although women with breast cancer get clinical management, there is need to design holistic palliative healthcare services including counseling to assist then cope with life

Fitoextração e hiperacumulação de arsênio por espécies de samambaias

O arsênio e um metalóide traço encontrado basicamente em todos os ambientes. Elevadas concentrações de arsênio no solo podem acontecer naturalmente devido ao intemperismo de rochas ricas em arsênio, como também de atividades antropogênicas. O arsênio é um elemento tóxico e cancerígeno. Em muitas partes do mundo, a contaminação pelo arsênio tem causado problemas ambientais e de saude. As técnicas disponíveis para a remediação do arsênio são economicamente proibitivas, destroem a paisagem natural e ainda podem afetar a saúde de pessoas diretamente envolvidas no processo. A fitoextração, uma das estratégias da fitoremediação, utiliza plantas para descontaminar solos e tem sido aplicada com sucesso em solos contaminados com arsênio e outros elementos. Dentre muitas vantagens, essa técnica tem baixo custo quando comparada com as convencionais. Um ponto chave no desenvolvimento da fitoextração foi a constatação de que samambaias hiperacumulam arsênio. Primeiro, em Pteris vittata, que apresentou extraordinária capacidade para remover arsênio do solo, concentrando 2.3% do arsênio na biomassa. Em seguida, foi observado que a samambaia Pityrogramma calomelanos possui capacidade semelhante para acumular arsênio. Essa característica peculiar foi observada em outras samambaias do genero Pteris. Em geral, essas plantas parecem apresentar mecanismos constitutivos e adaptativos que permitem elevada absorção e sobrevivência em solos com altas concentrações de arsênio. Muitas pesquisas têm sido conduzidas no sentido de entender e aumentar a capacidade de aborção de arsênio dessas plantas. Em particular, a chave para a aplicação bem sucedida da fitoremediação parece estar na biologia molecular.Arsenic (As) is an ubiquitous trace metalloid found in all environmental media. Its presence at elevated concentrations in soils derives from both anthropogenic and natural inputs. Arsenic is a toxic and carcinogenic element, which has caused severe environmental and health problem worldwide. Technologies currently available for the remediation of arsenic-contaminated sites are expensive, environmentally disruptive, and potentially hazardous to workers. Phytoextraction, a strategy of phytoremediation, uses plants to clean up contaminated soils and has been successfully applied to arsenic contaminated soils. It has the advantage of being cost-effective and environmentally friendly. A major step towards the development of phytoextraction of arsenic-impacted soils is the discovery of the arsenic hyper accumulation in ferns, first in Pteris vittata, which presented an extraordinary capacity to accumulate 2.3% arsenic in its biomass. Another fern, Pityrogramma calomelanos was found to exhibit the same hyperaccumulating characteristics. After that, screening experiments have revealed that the Pteris genus is really unique in that many species have the potential to be used in phytoextraction of arsenic. In general, these plants seem to have both constitutive and adaptive mechanisms for accumulating or tolerating high arsenic concentration. In the past few years, much work has been done to understand and improve the hyperaccumulating capability of these amazing plants. In particular, the field of molecular biology seems to hold the key for the future of the phytoremediation

Effects of biofloc technology on water quality and growth performance of <em>Macrobrachium rosenbergii</em>

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of biofloc technology on the water quality and growth performance of *Macrobrachium rosenbergii*. The experiment was carried out over 165 days at the hatchery complex of the College of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, Mindanao State University-Marawi, Philippines. Postlarvae of *M. rosenbergii* (0.011±0.05 g) were stocked in 18 circular tanks (1200 L) consisting of six treatments under biofloc and non-biofloc systems in a completely randomized experimental design with tapioca flour as the carbohydrate source. Commercial pelletized sinking prawn feed with three dietary protein levels, viz., 42, 38, and 35% were chosen as experimental feeds. Results of the present study show that the water parameters were within the optimum range required in the culture of freshwater prawns. However, biofloc technology (BFT) did not influence sediment and water samples' dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH values. On the other hand, total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) and nitrate showed significant variation (*p*\<0.05) among treatments, with higher values in the control treatment compared to the biofloc treatments. Moreover, the dietary protein level and carbohydrate addition had no significant effect on soil pH and organic carbon except for the soil total nitrogen value, where higher values were observed in the biofloc treatments. Furthermore, significantly higher mean prawn weight gain, net prawn yield, specific growth rate (SGR), and average daily weight gain (ADG) were recorded in the biofloc treatments compared to non-biofloc treatments. At the end of the culture period, there was 100% survival in all of the tanks. On the other hand, no significant variations were observed in feed conversion ratio (FCR) and protein efficiency ratio (PER) in the control treatment compared to the treatment with biofloc except in tanks using feed of 42% CP under the biofloc system. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, the use of BFT in the culture system of *M. rosenbergii*, helped reduce the protein percentage from 42 to 35, while maintaining the yield

Concurrent Outbreak of Norovirus Genotype I and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli on a U.S. Navy Ship following a Visit to Lima, Peru

An outbreak of norovirus (NoV) genotype I and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) occurred among US Navy Ship personnel following a visit to Lima, Peru, in June 2008. Visiting a specific area in Lima was significantly associated with illness. While ETEC and NoV are commonly recognized as causative agents of outbreaks, co-circulation of both pathogens has been rarely observed in shipboard outbreaks

Genome of the Avirulent Human-Infective Trypanosome—Trypanosoma rangeli

Background: Trypanosoma rangeli is a hemoflagellate protozoan parasite infecting humans and other wild and domestic mammals across Central and South America. It does not cause human disease, but it can be mistaken for the etiologic agent of Chagas disease, Trypanosoma cruzi. We have sequenced the T. rangeli genome to provide new tools for elucidating the distinct and intriguing biology of this species and the key pathways related to interaction with its arthropod and mammalian hosts.  Methodology/Principal Findings: The T. rangeli haploid genome is ,24 Mb in length, and is the smallest and least repetitive trypanosomatid genome sequenced thus far. This parasite genome has shorter subtelomeric sequences compared to those of T. cruzi and T. brucei; displays intraspecific karyotype variability and lacks minichromosomes. Of the predicted 7,613 protein coding sequences, functional annotations could be determined for 2,415, while 5,043 are hypothetical proteins, some with evidence of protein expression. 7,101 genes (93%) are shared with other trypanosomatids that infect humans. An ortholog of the dcl2 gene involved in the T. brucei RNAi pathway was found in T. rangeli, but the RNAi machinery is non-functional since the other genes in this pathway are pseudogenized. T. rangeli is highly susceptible to oxidative stress, a phenotype that may be explained by a smaller number of anti-oxidant defense enzymes and heatshock proteins.  Conclusions/Significance: Phylogenetic comparison of nuclear and mitochondrial genes indicates that T. rangeli and T. cruzi are equidistant from T. brucei. In addition to revealing new aspects of trypanosome co-evolution within the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic trypanosomatids provides valuable new information that can be further explored with the aim of developing better diagnostic tools and/or therapeutic targets

FGF Signaling Pathway in the Developing Chick Lung: Expression and Inhibition Studies

Background: Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) are essential key players during embryonic development. Through their specific cognate receptors (FGFR) they activate intracellular cascades, finely regulated by modulators such as Sprouty. Several FGF ligands (FGF1, 2, 7, 9, 10 and 18) signaling through the four known FGFRs, have been implicated in lung morphogenesis. Although much is known about mammalian lung, so far, the avian model has not been explored for lung studies. Methodology/Principal Findings: In this study we provide the first description of fgf10, fgfr1-4 and spry2 expression patterns in early stages of chick lung development by in situ hybridization and observe that they are expressed similarly to their mammalian counterparts. Furthermore, aiming to determine a role for FGF signaling in chick lung development, in vitro FGFR inhibition studies were performed. Lung explants treated with an FGF receptor antagonist (SU5402) presented an impairment of secondary branch formation after 48 h of culture; moreover, abnormal lung growth with a cystic appearance of secondary bronchi and reduction of the mesenchymal tissue was observed. Branching and morphometric analysis of lung explants confirmed that FGFR inhibition impaired branching morphogenesis and induced a significant reduction of the mesenchyme. Conclusions/Significance: This work demonstrates that FGFRs are essential for the epithelial-mesenchymal interactions tha

Cultural Aspects of Attachment Anxiety, Avoidance, and Life Satisfaction: Comparing the US and Turkey

Attachment insecurity can interfere with the experience, expression, and benefits of positive emotions, including happiness and life satisfaction (LS). However, both the pattern and effects of insecure attachment orientations on LS vary across cultures. Considering that attachment anxiety is higher in collectivist cultures and attachment avoidance is relatively high in individualistic cultures, the present chapter elaborates on the idea that anxious and avoidant attachment would have varying effects on LS in individualistic and collectivistic cultural contexts. Study 1 (N = 2456) involved a community sample of married couples in Turkey and demonstrated that attachment avoidance was a stronger predictor of LS than attachment anxiety in Turkish collectivist context. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that the roles of attachment anxiety and avoidance in predicting LS would vary between collectivistic and individualistic cultures. Mothers’ adult attachment dimensions and LS in Turkey (N = 89) and the United States (N = 91) were measured. As expected, results indicated that LS was predicted only by attachment avoidance in Turkey and by attachment anxiety in the United States. These findings are in line with the cultural fit hypothesis, suggesting that culturally incongruent attachment orientations have a stronger negative impact on individuals’ LS