Vague Soft Hypergroups and Vague Soft Hypergroup Homomorphism

We introduce and develop the initial theory of vague soft hyperalgebra by introducing the novel concept of vague soft hypergroups, vague soft subhypergroups, and vague soft hypergroup homomorphism. The properties and structural characteristics of these concepts are also studied and discussed

On Normalistic Vague Soft Groups and Normalistic Vague Soft Group Homomorphism

We further develop the theory of vague soft groups by establishing the concept of normalistic vague soft groups and normalistic vague soft group homomorphism as a continuation to the notion of vague soft groups and vague soft homomorphism. The properties and structural characteristics of these concepts as well as the structures that are preserved under the normalistic vague soft group homomorphism are studied and discussed

Evaluating the Oral Language Skills of English-Stream and French Immersion Students: Are the CLB/NCLC Applicable?

This study examined the oral language skills of grade-two anglophone children enrolled in French Immersion and English-stream programs. The study had two objectives: (a) to compare performance between the groups on measures of receptive vocabulary, narrative comprehension, and narrative production (i.e., structure and language) in English, and (b) to explore the applicability of the Canadian Language Benchmarks/Niveaux de compétences linguistiques canadiens (CLB/NCLC) to assessment of their conversational competency. All children (English-stream n = 27, French Immersion n = 33, aged 7-8 years) were tested in English. In addition, the French Immersion students were tested using equivalent measures in French. The results comparing performance in English revealed no differences between the groups on receptive vocabulary, narrative comprehension and narrative structure. However, the English-stream children outperformed their French Immersion peers in narrative language. Furthermore, CLB/NCLC listening and speaking criteria were applied to conversational samples yielding level scores in English (both groups) and French (French Immersion only). The range of benchmarks that are appropriate for this population is discussed in detail.Cette étude compare les habiletés langagières orales en anglais et en français d’élèves anglophones de deuxième année, scolarisés en anglais ou en immersion française. L’étude avait deux objectifs : (1) comparer les performances des deux groupes d’enfants sur un test de vocabulaire réceptif, de compréhension narrative et de production narrative (c.-à-d., structure et langage narratifs) en anglais (2) tester l’applicabilité des Niveaux de compétences linguistiques canadiens (CLB/NCLC) à l’évaluation de la fluidité conversationnelle chez les enfants en anglais et en français. Vingt-sept enfants scolarisés en anglais et 33 enfants scolarisés en immersion française, tous âgés de 7 à 8 ans, ont été évalués en anglais. Les enfants en immersion française ont aussi été évalués en français au moyen de tests de vocabulaire réceptif et de compétences narratives équivalents à ceux utilisés en anglais. Les résultats comparatifs en anglais ne révélaient aucune différence entre les deux groupes quant au vocabulaire réceptif et à la compréhension et la structure narratives en anglais. Cependant, la performance des élèves scolarisés en anglais était supérieure à celle des élèves en immersion française quant au langage narratif. De plus, les critères des CLB/NCLC portant sur la compréhension et l’expression orales ont été transposés aux échantillons de langage conversationnel recueillis, donnant des scores de niveau en anglais et en français. Enfin, la gamme de niveaux pouvant être transposés à cette population est discutée en détail.

A rare case of breast carcinoma co-existing with axillary mantle cell lymphoma

BACKGROUND: Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare variety of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which originates from CD5+ B-cell population in the mantle zones of lymphoid follicles. Coexistence of such tumours in the axillary lymph nodes with invasive breast cancers without prior history of adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy has not been previously reported in literature. CASE REPORT: We report a rare case of breast cancer co-existing with stage I mantle cell lymphoma of the ipsilateral axillary lymph node detected fortuitously by population screening. CONCLUSION: Though some studies have tried to prove breast carcinomas and lymphomas to share a common molecular or viral link, more research needs to be done to establish whether such a link truly exists

Critical items for assessing risk of lung and colorectal cancer in primary care: a Delphi study

Background Patients with lung or colorectal cancer often present late and have a poor prognosis. Identifying diagnostic indicators to optimally assess the risk of these cancers in primary care would support early identification and timely referral for patients at increased risk. Aim To obtain consensus regarding potential diagnostic indicators that are important for assessing the risk of lung or colorectal cancer in primary care consulters presenting with lung or abdominal symptoms. Design and setting A Delphi study was conducted with 28 participants from primary and secondary care and academic settings in the UK and Europe. Method Indicators were obtained from systematic reviews, recent primary studies and consultation with experts prior to the Delphi study being conducted. Over three rounds, participants rated each diagnostic indicator in terms of its importance, ranked them in order of importance, and rated each item as crucial or not crucial to assess during a GP consultation. Results The final round resulted in 25 items remaining for each type of cancer, including established cancer symptoms such as rectal bleeding for colorectal cancer and haemoptysis for lung cancer, but also less frequently used indicators such as patients’ concerns about cancer. Conclusion This study highlights the items clinicians feel would be most crucial to include in the clinical assessment of primary care patients, a number of which have rarely been noted in the previous literature. Their importance in assessing the risk of lung or colorectal cancer will be tested as part of a large prospective cohort study (CANDID)

CD8 T cell-mediated depletion of HBV surface-antigen-expressing, bilineal-differentiated liver carcinoma cells generates highly aggressive escape variants

The expression of viral antigens in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection drives continuous liver inflammation, one of the main risk factors to develop liver cancer. HBV developed immune-suppressive functions to escape from the host immune system, but their link to liver tumor development is not well understood. Here, we analyzed if and how HBV surface antigen (HBs) expression in combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC/iCCA) cells influences their antigenicity for CD8 T cells. We randomly isolated liver tumor tissues from AlfpCre+-Trp53fl/fl/Alb-HBs+ tg mice and established primary carcinoma cell lines (pCCL) that showed a bilineal (CK7+/HNF4α+) cHCC/iCCA phenotype. These pCCL uniformly expressed HBs (HBshi), and low levels of MHC-I (MHC-Ilo), and were transiently convertible to a high antigenicity (MHC-Ihi) phenotype by IFN-γ treatment. HBshi/pCCL induced HBs/(Kb/S190–197)-specific CD8 T cells and developed slow-growing tumors in subcutaneously transplanted C57Bl/6J (B6) mice. Interestingly, pCCL-ex cells, established from HBshi/pCCL-induced and re-explanted tumors in B6 but not those in immune-deficient Rag1−/− mice showed major alterations, like an MHC-Ihi phenotype, a prominent growth-biased gene expression signature, a significantly decreased HBs expression (HBslo) and a switch to fast-growing tumors in re-transplanted B6 or PD-1−/− hosts with an unlocked PD-1/PD-L1 control system. CD8 T cell-mediated elimination of HBshi/pCCL, together with the attenuation of the negative restraints of HBs in the tumor cells, like ER-stress, reveals a novel mechanism to unleash highly aggressive HBslo/pCCL-ex immune-escape variants. Under certain conditions, HBs-specific CD8 T-cell responses thus potentiate tumor growth, an aspect that should be considered for therapeutic vaccination strategies against chronic HBV infection and liver tumors.</p

Decision Making Based on the Aggregation Operator and the Intuitionistic Fuzzy Reduction Method of Intuitionistic Fuzzy Parameterized Intuitionistic Fuzzy Soft Sets

In this paper, we introduce the aggregation operator of IFPIFS set and apply this operator in a hypothetical decision making problem involving attributes and parameters that are subjective in nature. Specifically, this operator is applied in a decision making problem involving the selection of the best candidate for a vacant position in an organization. Next, we introduce an algorithm called the intuitionistic fuzzy (IF) reduction method which involves the reduction of the original IFPIFS set into an IF set and subsequently a fuzzy set which would then be used to determine the optimal solution for the problem. We demonstrate the application of this algorithm in an object recognition problem which involves subjective and uncertain data.

Redox-active metallodithiolene groups separated by insulating tetraphosphinobenzene spacers

Compounds of the type [(S2C2R2)M(μ-tpbz)M(S2C2R2)] (R = CN, Me, Ph, p-anisyl; M = Ni, Pd, Pt; tpbz = 1,2,4,5-tetrakis(diphenylphosphino)benzene) have been prepared by transmetalation with [(S2C2R2)SnR′2] reagents, by direct displacement of dithiolene ligand from [M(S2C2R2)2] with 0.5 equiv of tpbz, or by salt metathesis using Na2[S2C2(CN)2] in conjunction with X2M(μ-tpbz)MX2 (X = halide). X-ray crystallography reveals a range of topologies (undulating, chair, bowed) for the (S2C2)M(P2C6P2)M(S2C2) core. The [(S2C2R2)M(μ-tpbz)M(S2C2R2)] (R = Me, Ph, p-anisyl) compounds support reversible or quasireversible oxidations corresponding to concurrent oxidation of the dithiolene terminal ligands from ene-1,2-dithiolates to radical monoanions, forming [(−S•SC2R2)M(μ-tpbz)M(−S•SC2R2)]2+. The R = Ph and p-anisyl compounds support a second, reversible oxidation of the dithiolene ligands to their α-dithione form. In contrast, [(S2C2(CN)2)Ni(tpbz)Ni(S2C2(CN)2)] sustains only reversible, metal-centered reductions. Spectroscopic examination of [(−S•SC2(p-anisyl)2)Ni(μ-tpbz)Ni(−S•SC2(p-anisyl)2)]2+ by EPR reveals a near degenerate singlet–triplet ground state, with spectral simulation revealing a remarkably small dipolar coupling constant of 18 × 10–4 cm–1 that is representative of an interspin distance of 11.3 Å. This weak interaction is mediated by the rigid tpbz ligand, whose capacity to electronically insulate is an essential quality in the development of molecular-based spintronic devices