Cancer Rehabilitation, A New Discipline Based upon Multidisciplinary Collaboration

Cancer Rehabilitation is a new discipline, a combination of tumor medication, immunology, psychology, nutritional science and exercise physiology etc.. The core of cancer rehabilitation is the therapy of natural immunology, which aims at activating T-cells, and restoring the bone marrow function impaired during chemo-radiation therapy. Cancer rehabilitation seeks to achieve the gradual recovery of the immune system, which in turn hinders recurrence and metastasis. In addition, with the help of psychological consultation, nutritional and physical exercise guidance, cancer patients may have a better chance at managing the risk of recurrence and metastasis, extending life expectancy with an improved quality of life.

Bias correction and confidence intervals following sequential tests

An important statistical inference problem in sequential analysis is the construction of confidence intervals following sequential tests, to which Michael Woodroofe has made fundamental contributions. This paper reviews Woodroofe's method and other approaches in the literature. In particular it shows how a bias-corrected pivot originally introduced by Woodroofe can be used as an improved root for sequential bootstrap confidence intervals.Comment: Published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/074921706000000590 in the IMS Lecture Notes--Monograph Series (http://www.imstat.org/publications/lecnotes.htm) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org

Computational analysis of LexA regulons in Cyanobacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The transcription factor LexA plays an important role in the SOS response in <it>Escherichia coli </it>and many other bacterial species studied. Although the <it>lexA </it>gene is encoded in almost every bacterial group with a wide range of evolutionary distances, its precise functions in each group/species are largely unknown. More recently, it has been shown that <it>lexA </it>genes in two cyanobacterial genomes <it>Nostoc sp</it>. PCC 7120 and <it>Synechocystis sp</it>. PCC 6803 might have distinct functions other than the regulation of the SOS response. To gain a general understanding of the functions of LexA and its evolution in cyanobacteria, we conducted the current study.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our analysis indicates that six of 33 sequenced cyanobacterial genomes do not harbor a <it>lexA </it>gene although they all encode the key SOS response genes, suggesting that LexA is not an indispensable transcription factor in these cyanobacteria, and that their SOS responses might be regulated by different mechanisms. Our phylogenetic analysis suggests that <it>lexA </it>was lost during the course of evolution in these six cyanobacterial genomes. For the 26 cyanobacterial genomes that encode a <it>lexA </it>gene, we have predicted their LexA-binding sites and regulons using an efficient binding site/regulon prediction algorithm that we developed previously. Our results show that LexA in most of these 26 genomes might still function as the transcriptional regulator of the SOS response genes as seen in <it>E. coli </it>and other organisms. Interestingly, putative LexA-binding sites were also found in some genomes for some key genes involved in a variety of other biological processes including photosynthesis, drug resistance, etc., suggesting that there is crosstalk between the SOS response and these biological processes. In particular, LexA in both <it>Synechocystis sp. </it>PCC6803 and <it>Gloeobacter violaceus </it>PCC7421 has largely diverged from those in other cyanobacteria in the sequence level. It is likely that LexA is no longer a regulator of the SOS response in <it>Synechocystis sp</it>. PCC6803.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In most cyanobacterial genomes that we analyzed, LexA appears to function as the transcriptional regulator of the key SOS response genes. There are possible couplings between the SOS response and other biological processes. In some cyanobacteria, LexA has adapted distinct functions, and might no longer be a regulator of the SOS response system. In some other cyanobacteria, <it>lexA </it>appears to have been lost during the course of evolution. The loss of <it>lexA </it>in these genomes might lead to the degradation of its binding sites.</p

Reclassifying the SILL: Validation Using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis

For decades, the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning (SILL) has been extensively used in the previous studies on foreign/second language (L2) learners’ learning strategies, which have yielded a substantial amount of empirical findings in the field of L2. The conventional classification of the SILL questionnaire, however, has not gone without challenges, especially given the tremendous diversity of the EFL context. In this study, we revisited the SILL and reclassified the language learning strategies in this popular questionnaire. The data were collected in an EFL context in which a total of 282 Taiwanese senior high school students filled out the SILL questionnaire. Validity was the paramount concern during reclassifying and was demonstrated via exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmation factor analysis (CFA). EFA was first used to extract factors from the SILL, which helps to conceptualize the new classification. CFA was then performed to confirm the exploratory model. At the end of the study, the SILL was reclassified into the 6 dimensions which were labeled as: 1) Social Strategies, 2) Metacognitive Strategies (Type I), 3) Metacognitive Strategies (Type II), 4) Affective Strategies, 5) Cognitive Strategies and 6) Memory Strategies. Keywords: Language learning strategy, the Strategy Inventory of Language Learning, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysi