Hyperpolarised 13C MRI: a new horizon for non-invasive diagnosis of aggressive breast cancer

Hyperpolarised 13C MRI (HP-MRI) is a novel imaging technique that allows real-time analysis of metabolic pathways in vivo. 1 The technology to conduct HP-MRI in humans has recently become available and is starting to be clinically applied. As knowledge of molecular biology advances, it is increasingly apparent that cancer cell metabolism is related to disease outcomes, with lactate attracting specific attention. 2 Recent reviews of breast cancer screening programs have raised concerns and increased public awareness of over treatment. The scientific community needs to shift focus from improving cancer detection alone to pursuing novel methods of distinguishing aggressive breast cancers from those which will remain indolent. HP-MRI offers the opportunity to identify aggressive tumour phenotypes and help monitor/predict therapeutic response. Here we report one of the first cases of breast cancer imaged using HP-MRI alongside correlative conventional imaging, including breast MRI

First-in-human in vivo non-invasive assessment of intra-tumoral metabolic heterogeneity in renal cell carcinoma

Intratumoral genetic heterogeneity and the role of metabolic reprogramming in renal cell carcinoma have been extensively documented. However, the distribution of these metabolic changes within the tissue has not been explored. We report on the first-in-human in vivo non-invasive metabolic interrogation of renal cell carcinoma using hyperpolarized carbon-13 (13C) MRI and describe the validation of in vivo lactate metabolic heterogeneity against multi regional ex vivo mass spectrometry. hyperpolarized carbon-13 (13C)-MRI provides an in vivo assessment of metabolism and provides a novel opportunity to safely and non-invasively assess cancer heterogeneity

Activation of p38MAPK Contributes to Expanded Polyglutamine-Induced Cytotoxicity

The signaling pathways that may modulate the pathogenesis of diseases induced by expanded polyglutamine proteins are not well understood.Herein we demonstrate that expanded polyglutamine protein cytotoxicity is mediated primarily through activation of p38MAPK and that the atypical PKC iota (PKCiota) enzyme antagonizes polyglutamine-induced cell death through induction of the ERK signaling pathway. We show that pharmacological blockade of p38MAPK rescues cells from polyglutamine-induced cell death whereas inhibition of ERK recapitulates the sensitivity observed in cells depleted of PKCiota by RNA interference. We provide evidence that two unrelated proteins with expanded polyglutamine repeats induce p38MAPK in cultured cells, and demonstrate induction of p38MAPK in an in vivo model of neurodegeneration (spinocerebellar ataxia 1, or SCA-1).Taken together, our data implicate activated p38MAPK in disease progression and suggest that its inhibition may represent a rational strategy for therapeutic intervention in the polyglutamine disorders

Representation and voice in a complex communication environment

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Mapping community media in Kyrgyzstan: An audience analysis

This report presents the key findings from an extensive audience analysis of Community Media in Kyrgyzstan. The research, commissioned by the Kyrgyz Association of Community Media, was designed and carried out in 2021 in 7 regions by Dr. Elira Turdubaeva, Dr. Evangelia Papoutsaki and Begimay Almazova. The audience analysis identified 12 emerging themes that demonstrate the role and impact of community media in peripheral communities, the needs of local communities in terms of local information and news content production and dissemination, and most importantly the way local community members engage with content generated by Community Media. Other than the expected but also affirmed traditional role CM in community development, this research identified the significant impact of the increased media literacy, and more specifically digital media literacy, that has contributed to the strengthening of community and individual confidence. By consuming, producing and circulating locally developed content, communities have developed a stronger sense of agency that enables them to better negotiate community and authorities dynamics. Overall, CM in Kyrgyzstan contribute to the development of the critical conditions required for healthy information ecosystems which include a localized information landscape and dynamics of production, movement, access, use and impact based on local information needs, social trust and influecers. Those communities with established Community Radios and CMCs act as pioners and positive role models for others. Audience engagment is these communities depends on social cohesions levels, time of operation of CM in these communities, location of CM, volunteers capacity and leadership role played by CM managers

How do children with mild intellectual disabilities perceive loneliness?

The present study examined 154 children with mild intellectual disability (MID) attending special schools with regard to their reports of loneliness. Semi-structured interviews revealed that more than half of the students with MID reported feelings of loneliness. They tend to have as friends children from their neighborhood, friends of their siblings, children of their parents' friends and from their school. Lonely children with MID tend to attribute their isolation to interpersonal deficits, lack of contact with peers and physical appearance, while one fourth cannot justify why they do not have any friends. Children with MID report that they withdraw from social interactions, engage in solitary activities and actively look for friends to cope with their feelings of loneliness and rejection, while very few resort to physical or verbal aggression. Moreover, boys and children living in smaller towns reported less feelings of loneliness than girls and children living in the capital

Uyghur transnational identity on Facebook: on the development of a young diaspora

How are online and social media being used in transnational spaces? This article presents empirical findings from a study of the Facebook usage among the Uyghur diaspora. We demonstrate how online identities are negotiated and developed through social media use, and in turn how the expression of identity online is contributing to Uyghur diasporic identity. Drawing upon a content analysis of Facebook sites, we attend to the construction of Uyghur ethnic identity within Facebook group sites and the ways Uyghur political identity is currently being developed online, providing insight into how Facebook is serving as a space for global, daily online interactions. The examination of discussions on Facebook sites indicates that online Uyghur identity has a youthful, emergent character, actively being explored and produced through social media use

Uyghur Facebook use and diasporic identity construction

This paper presents preliminary empirical findings of an ongoing examination of the use of online social media, specifically Facebook, among the Uyghur diaspora which has been described as a 'diaspora under construction' (Dilnur, 2012, p.3). The paper demonstrates how online identities are constructed through social media use, and in turn how the construction of these identities contributes to the production of an emerging 'Uyghur diasporic identity'. The research this paper is based on takes a mixed-­‐methods approach, combining content analysis of key Facebook sites and semi-­‐structured interviews with Uyghur diaspora scholars. Facebook sites have been chosen as this social network/social media constitutes a space of global, daily online interactions much used by members of the Uyghur diaspora. This paper presents an analysis of data collection over a three-­‐ month period on the Facebook wall discussion archives