In vitro studies on the inhibitory effect of lymphoid cells. II. Antitumor activity of lymphoid cells from spontaneous mammary tumor-bearing mice on the autochthonous primary culture tumor cells

As a step in the elucidation of human cancer immunity we studied antitumor activity of lymphoid cells by conducting a series of cultures using the primary culture of cells from spontaneous mammary cancers from C3H and RIll mice mixed with autochthonous lymphoid cells, and obtained the following results. 1) With 24 mammary tumors obtained from 24 mammary cancer. bearing mice, we prepared 22 suspensions containing sufficient numbers of free tumor cells, and attempted primary culture with them. As a result we were able to attain satisfactory primary culture cells in 18 trials. 2) With each group of the 18 primary culture tumor cells we conducted mixed cultures with autochthonous lymphoid cells (mainly spleen cells) in proportion of 1 : 40, for 48 hours, and counted viable tumor cells after the culture. As a result it was found that in 11 trials the lymphoid cells showed antitumor activity. In the remaining 7 groups of lymphoid cells there could be observed no antitumor activity, but some of them showed tendency to slightly accelerate the growth of tumor cells. 3) On looking at the correlation between the antitumor activity of lymphoid cells and the ratio of tumor weight/body weight, it was revealed that the antitumor activity is greatest when the tumor is around 10% the body weight, and as the tumor grows larger, such antitumor activity disappears. From these results, it may be concluded that even in spontaneous mammary cancer of mouse, autochthonous lymphoid cells exhibit anti. tumor activity on indigenous tumor, and this seems to indicate that cell. mediated immunity has been established.</p

Career Aspirations in Conservative Culture

Observed gender differences in career attainment lead many observers to conclude that women and men differ in terms of career and family aspirations. Yet recent national data suggest that career and family-based attitudinal differences between men and women are shrinking, particularly among younger generations. This study asks whether men and women nearing college graduation hold different career goals, and whether these differences change over time as graduates form families and enter careers. We focus our analysis on Utah, a culturally conservative state that ranks last in terms of women’s professional advancement. By analyzing and tracking gender differences in career goals, we hope to better understand the factors that shape women’s career trajectories and contribute to gender differences in career attainment over time. Our analysis will be based on a multi-method longitudinal survey of graduating Honors students at a large R1 university. Wave 1 included a sample of graduating Seniorss who are members of the Honors Program, as well as Alumni from the Honors program. Participants completed a survey about their career aspirations and expectations. Surveys were followed by in depth interviews to further explore what experiences shaped the development of their aspirations. Wave 2 will include a similar survey that also accesses change. Wave 2 will also be supplemented by in-depth interviews with a sample of survey respondents comprised of recent graduates and alum

Partial belief and expert testimony

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Linguistics and Philosophy, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. [83]-86).My dissertation investigates two questions from within a partial belief framework: First, when and how should deference to experts or other information sources be qualified? Second, how closely is epistemology related to other philosophical fields, such as metaphysics, ethics, and decision theory? Chapter 1 discusses David Lewis's "Big Bad Bug", an argument for the conclusion that the Principal Principle-the thesis that one's credence in a proposition A should equal one's expectation of A's chance, provided one has no inadmissible information-is incompatible with Humean Supervenience-the thesis that that laws of nature, dispositions, and objective chances supervene on the distribution of categorical properties in the world (past, present, and future). I map out the logical structure of the Big Bad Bug, survey a range of possible responses to it, and argue that none of the responses are very appealing. Chapter 2 discusses Bas van Fraassen's Reflection principle-the thesis that one's current credence in a proposition A should equal one's expected future credence in A. Van Fraassen has formulated a diachronic Dutch book argument for Reflection, but other authors cite counterexamples to Reflection that appear to undermine the credibility of diachronic Dutch books. I argue that a suitably qualified version of Reflection gets around the counterexamples. I distinguish between Dutch books that reveal incoherence-like the diachronic Dutch book for conditionalization-and Dutch books that reveal a type of problem I call selfdoubt. I argue that violating Reflection is a type of self-doubt rather than a type of incoherence.(cont.) Chapter 3 argues that the halfer and thirder solutions to Adam Elga's Sleeping Beauty problem correspond to two more general approaches to de se information. Which approach is right depends on which approach to decision theory is right. I use Dutch books and scoring rules to argue that causal decision theorists should favor the approach that corresponds to thirding, while evidential decision theorists should favor the approach that corresponds to halfing.by Rachael Briggs.Ph.D

The Growing-Block: Just one thing after another?

In this article, we consider two independently appealing theories—the Growing-Block view and Humean Supervenience—and argue that at least one is false. The Growing-Block view is a theory about the nature of time. It says that (a) past and present things exist, while future things do not, and (b) the passage of time consists in new things coming into existence. Humean Supervenience is a theory about the nature of entities like laws, nomological possibility, counterfactuals, dispositions, causation, and chance. It says that none of these entities are fundamental, since if there were, this would entail the existence of irreducible necessary connections between matters of fact. Instead, these entities supervene on a fundamental, nonnomological “Humean mosaic” of property instances at spacetime points. We will further explain and motivate the Growing-Block view and Humean Supervenience in sections 2 and 3, but first, we turn to our master argument

Genetic variability and ontogeny predict microbiome structure in a disease-challenged montane amphibian

Amphibian populations worldwide are at risk of extinction from infectious diseases, including chytridiomycosis caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). Amphibian cutaneous microbiomes interact with Bd and can confer protective benefits to the host. The composition of the microbiome itself is influenced by many environment- and host-related factors. However, little is known about the interacting effects of host population structure, genetic variation and developmental stage on microbiome composition and Bd prevalence across multiple sites. Here we explore these questions in Amietia hymenopus, a disease-affected frog in southern Africa. We use microsatellite genotyping and 16S amplicon sequencing to show that the microbiome associated with tadpole mouthparts is structured spatially, and is influenced by host genotype and developmental stage. We observed strong genetic structure in host populations based on rivers and geographic distances, but this did not correspond to spatial patterns in microbiome composition. These results indicate that demographic and host genetic factors affect microbiome composition within sites, but different factors are responsible for host population structure and microbiome structure at the between-site level. Our results help to elucidate complex within- and among- population drivers of microbiome structure in amphibian populations. That there is a genetic basis to microbiome composition in amphibians could help to inform amphibian conservation efforts against infectious diseases

Can social dancing prevent falls in older adults? a protocol of the Dance, Aging, Cognition,Economics (DAnCE) fall prevention randomised controlled trial

Background:&nbsp; Falls are one of the most common health problems among older people and pose a major economic burden on health care systems. Exercise is an accepted stand-alone fall prevention strategy particularly if it is balance training or regular participation in Tai chi. Dance shares the &lsquo;holistic&rsquo; approach of practices such as Tai chi. It is a complex sensorimotor rhythmic activity integrating multiple physical, cognitive and social elements. Small-scale randomised controlled trials have indicated that diverse dance styles can improve measures of balance and mobility in older people, but none of these studies has examined the effect of dance on falls or cognition. This study aims to determine whether participation in social dancing: i) reduces the number of falls; and ii) improves cognitive functions associated with fall risk in older people. Methods/design: A single-blind, cluster randomised controlled trial of 12 months duration will be conducted. Approximately 450 participants will be recruited from 24 self-care retirement villages that house at least 60 residents each in Sydney, Australia. Village residents without cognitive impairment and obtain medical clearance will be eligible. After comprehensive baseline measurements including physiological and cognitive tests and self-completed questionnaires, villages will be randomised to intervention sites (ballroom or folk dance) or to a wait-listed control using a computer randomisation method that minimises imbalances between villages based on two baseline fall risk measures. Main outcome measures are falls, prospectively measured, and the Trail Making cognitive function test. Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analyses will be performed. Discussion: This study offers a novel approach to balance training for older people. As a community-based approach to fall prevention, dance offers older people an opportunity for greater social engagement, thereby making a major contribution to healthy ageing. Providing diversity in exercise programs targeting seniors recognises the heterogeneity of multicultural populations and may further increase the number of taking part in exercise

A patient-reported pressure ulcer health-related quality of life instrument for use in prevention trials (PU-QOL-P): psychometric evaluation

Introduction: Pressure ulcer-specific patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments should be used to inform patient care and provide a strong evidence base for interventions aimed at preventing pressure ulcers. The aim was to carry out a comprehensive evaluation of the psychometric properties of a PRO instrument designed to assess symptoms and functional outcomes in patients at high-risk of developing pressure ulcers, the PU-QOL-P instrument. Methods: We modified the original PU-QOL instrument to be suitable for patients at high risk of pressure ulcer development based on feedback from patients, specialist nurses and PRO methodologists. The modified PU-QOL-P instrument was administered to a sub-set of patients participating in the PRESSURE 2 trial. Patients completed PU-QOL-P and SF12 instruments at baseline, weeks 1 and 3, and 30 days post-treatment. We undertook psychometric evaluation of the modified PU-QOL-P to test scale targeting, scaling assumptions, reliability, validity and responsiveness. Results: The analysis sample consisted of 617 patients that completed both instruments at baseline. We found that the PU-QOL-P instrument, consisting of nine PU-specific outcomes: three symptom and six function scales, meets established criteria for reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness. Internal consistency reliability was high with all scale Cronbach alpha > 0.795 (range 0.795–0.970). The factor analysis mostly supported the six-function scale structure. Scaling assumptions were satisfied; all item-total correlations above 0.30. Convergent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between hypothesized scales as expected. PU-QOL-P scales were responsive to change: mean scale scores from baseline to 30 days post-treatment were statistically significant for all scales apart the daily activities scale (effect sizes ranged from moderate to high). As expected, worse symptoms and functioning was observed in patients who had a category 1 or 2 PU compared to patients who did not have a PU. Conclusions: The PU-QOL-P provides a standardised method for assessing pressure ulcer-specific symptoms and functional outcomes for quantifying the benefits of associated interventions from the patient’s perspective. It can be used in research with adults at risk of pressure ulcer development in all UK healthcare settings