SCIENTIFIC CREATIVITY AND DECENTRALIZED SOCIETIES: The Swiss Cantons and The Rise of The Social Sciences

The productivity of a country in science as for as the numerical output of its scientific papers is concerned ls, in large measure, a by-product of its industrial producfivi ry, Such a purely quantitative approach may lead one to overlook however9 that some of the greatest qua Ii tative advances in modern sci ence have been made in the towns of countries relatively less developed in industry, Zurich, Berne, Louscnne, and Copenhagen have been such centers of the highest scientific originalityo Among the decentralized Swiss cantonal towns, Lausanne was especially noteworthy for affording a university base for the work of Vi lfredo Pareto and Leon Walrasu pioneers in scientific sociology and mathematical economlcs, Pareto regarded the Swiss dernocrcrlc, decentralized towns as providing the ideal setting for the development of his logico-experimental method, whi Ie Wclros, debarred from a post in bureaucratic Fronce, was able at Lausanne to found the most original school in economic thouqht, DecentTalized communifies, as Kropotkin offirmed, may have an especial role in the preservation of scientific creativity in bureoucrcflc, industrial soclefies.http://web.ku.edu/~starjrn

Trends in the lifetime risk of developing cancer in Great Britain: comparison of risk for those born from 1930 to 1960

BACKGROUND: Typically, lifetime risk is calculated by the period method using current risks at different ages. Here, we estimate the probability of being diagnosed with cancer for individuals born in a given year, by estimating future risks as the cohort ages. METHODS: We estimated the lifetime risk of cancer in Britain separately for men and women born in each year from 1930 to 1960. We projected rates of all cancers (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) and of all cancer deaths forwards using a flexible age-period-cohort model and backwards using age-specific extrapolation. The sensitivity of the estimated lifetime risk to the method of projection was explored. RESULTS: The lifetime risk of cancer increased from 38.5% for men born in 1930 to 53.5% for men born in 1960. For women it increased from 36.7 to 47.5%. Results are robust to different models for projections of cancer rates. CONCLUSIONS: The lifetime risk of cancer for people born since 1960 is >50%. Over half of people who are currently adults under the age of 65 years will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lifetime

Lack of Effect of SU1498, an Inhibitor of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2, in a Transgenic Murine Model of Retinoblastoma

SU1498, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR-2), has activity against retinal neovascular diseases. To determine if this drug might have clinical utility against retinoblastoma, we evaluated the effects of SU1498, as well as the expression of VEGFR-2, in a transgenic animal model of retinoblastoma. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) was evaluated as a technology to measure retinal tumors in vivo, in response to treatment. Immunofluorescence analysis was performed to evaluate the distribution and expression of VEGFR-2 in enucleated eyes from LHβTag transgenic mice and controls at 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks of age. VEGFR-2 and phosphorylated (p)VEGFR-2 levels were quantitated by Western blot. OCT was used to pair 10-week-old animals based on tumor volume (n=10), and these animals were treated with 6 periocular injections of SU1498 (50mg/kg, given twice weekly) or vehicle for 3 weeks. Tumor burden was determined by histology and in vivo imaging by OCT. VEGFR-2 and pVEGFR-2 expression levels were upregulated during tumorigenesis. However, SU1498 did not significantly reduce tumor burden compared to vehicle (p=0.29). OCT imaging of one matched pair demonstrated equivalent, linear tumor growth despite treatment with SU1498. Retinal tumors can be followed non-invasively and quantitatively measured with OCT. VEGFR-2 is strongly upregulated during tumorigenesis in transgenic retinoblastoma; however, SU1498 does not decrease tumor volume in transgenic murine RB at the studied dose and route of administration

The Joinpoint-Jump and Joinpoint-Comparability Ratio Model for Trend Analysis with Applications to Coding Changes in Health Statistics

Analysis of trends in health data collected over time can be affected by instantaneous changes in coding that cause sudden increases/decreases, or “jumps,” in data. Despite these sudden changes, the underlying continuous trends can present valuable information related to the changing risk profile of the population, the introduction of screening, new diagnostic technologies, or other causes. The joinpoint model is a well-established methodology for modeling trends over time using connected linear segments, usually on a logarithmic scale. Joinpoint models that ignore data jumps due to coding changes may produce biased estimates of trends. In this article, we introduce methods to incorporate a sudden discontinuous jump in an otherwise continuous joinpoint model. The size of the jump is either estimated directly (the Joinpoint-Jump model) or estimated using supplementary data (the Joinpoint-Comparability Ratio model). Examples using ICD-9/ICD-10 cause of death coding changes, and coding changes in the staging of cancer illustrate the use of these models

The Joinpoint-Jump and Joinpoint-Comparability Ratio Model for Trend Analysis with Applications to Coding Changes in Health Statistics

Analysis of trends in health data collected over time can be affected by instantaneous changes in coding that cause sudden increases/decreases, or “jumps,” in data. Despite these sudden changes, the underlying continuous trends can present valuable information related to the changing risk profile of the population, the introduction of screening, new diagnostic technologies, or other causes. The joinpoint model is a well-established methodology for modeling trends over time using connected linear segments, usually on a logarithmic scale. Joinpoint models that ignore data jumps due to coding changes may produce biased estimates of trends. In this article, we introduce methods to incorporate a sudden discontinuous jump in an otherwise continuous joinpoint model. The size of the jump is either estimated directly (the Joinpoint-Jump model) or estimated using supplementary data (the Joinpoint-Comparability Ratio model). Examples using ICD-9/ICD-10 cause of death coding changes, and coding changes in the staging of cancer illustrate the use of these models

Dallas with balls: televized sport, soap opera and male and female pleasures

Two of the most popular of television genres, soap opera and sports coverage have been very much differentiated along gender lines in terms of their audiences. Soap opera has been regarded very much as a 'gynocentric' genre with a large female viewing audience while the audiences for television sport have been predominantly male. Gender differentiation between the genres has had implications for the popular image of each. Soap opera has been perceived as inferior; as mere fantasy and escapism for women while television sports has been perceived as a legitimate, even edifying experience for men. In this article the authors challenge the view that soap opera and television sport are radically different and argue that they are, in fact, very similar in a number of significant ways. They suggest that both genres invoke similar structures of feeling and sensibility in their respective audiences and that television sport is a 'male soap opera'. They consider the ways in which the viewing context of each genre is related to domestic life and leisure, the ways in which the textual structure and conventions of each genre invoke emotional identification, and finally, the ways in which both genres re-affirm gender identities