Application of ERTS-1 imagery to state wide land information system in Minnesota

There are no author-identified significant results in this report

New Approaches to Clover Breeding

White clover (Trifolium repens L.) and red clover (T. pratense) are the major forage legumes of temperate pastures. Breeding efforts have focused on overcoming the constraints to productivity and reliability in this species and thereby optimising their contribution to mixed swards. In recent years there has been an increased emphasis on livestock production and the efficient utilisation of forage material in the rumen. In this paper we report on a shift in the aims of forage legume breeding at IGER, building on a strong agronomic platform but giving greater consideration to the environmental footprint of our varieties and the contribution that they can make to the quality of meat and milk

Chiral symmetry breaking in dimensionally regularized nonperturbative quenched QED

In this paper we study dynamical chiral symmetry breaking in dimensionally regularized quenched QED within the context of Dyson-Schwinger equations. In D < 4 dimensions the theory has solutions which exhibit chiral symmetry breaking for all values of the coupling. To begin with, we study this phenomenon both numerically and, with some approximations, analytically within the rainbow approximation in the Landau gauge. In particular, we discuss how to extract the critical coupling alpha_c = pi/3 relevant in four dimensions from the D dimensional theory. We further present analytic results for the chirally symmetric solution obtained with the Curtis-Pennington vertex as well as numerical results for solutions exhibiting chiral symmetry breaking. For these we demonstrate that, using dimensional regularization, the extraction of the critical coupling relevant for this vertex is feasible. Initial results for this critical coupling are in agreement with cut-off based work within the currently achievable numerical precision.Comment: 24 pages, including 5 figures; submitted to Phys. Rev.

On Renormalized Strong-Coupling Quenched QED in Four Dimensions

We study renormalized quenched strong-coupling QED in four dimensions in arbitrary covariant gauge. Above the critical coupling leading to dynamical chiral symmetry breaking, we show that there is no finite chiral limit. This behaviour is found to be independent of the detailed choice of photon-fermion proper vertex in the Dyson-Schwinger equation formalism, provided that the vertex is consistent with the Ward-Takahashi identity and multiplicative renormalizability. We show that the finite solutions previously reported lie in an unphysical regime of the theory with multiple solutions and ultraviolet oscillations in the mass functions. This study supports the assertion that in four dimensions strong coupling QED does not have a continuum limit in the conventional sense.Comment: REVTEX 3.0, 15 pages,including 4 eps files comprising 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Three Keys to Success for Principals (and Their Teachers)

This is the author's accepted manuscript, post peer-review. The publisher's official version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00228958.2008.10516527.What is successful leadership and how can leadership concepts be applied to schools? Hundreds of books and articles and a plethora of executive seminars describe what leadership is and propose strategies for what effective leaders do. Most of these writings and presentations, however, focus on business, with much less information available about how to lead schools. In addition, there is a diversity of opinions about what makes leaders effective. This article suggests that it is possible to extract, reframe, and apply the best of what is known about leadership to help principals be more successful. Moreover, if principals are successful, teachers also are positioned to be successful, with the ultimate impact being successful student learning

Outpatient paracentesis for the management of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: study protocol for the STOP-OHSS randomised controlled trial

Introduction Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is the most significant short-term complication of pharmacological ovarian stimulation. Symptoms range from mild abdominal discomfort to rare complications such as renal failure, thromboembolism and respiratory distress syndrome. Currently, clinical practice typically involves monitoring the patient until the condition becomes severe, at which point they are admitted to hospital, where drainage of ascitic fluid (paracentesis) may take place. Preliminary studies have indicated that earlier outpatient paracentesis may reduce the progression of OHSS and prevent hospitalisation in women. Methods and analysis This UK, multicentre, pragmatic, two-arm, parallel-group, adaptive (group sequential with one interim analysis), open-label, superiority, confirmatory, group sequential, individually randomised controlled trial, with internal pilot will assess the clinical and cost-effectiveness and safety of outpatient paracentesis versus conservative management (usual care) for moderate or severe OHSS. 224 women from 20 National Health Service and private fertility units will be randomised (1:1) and followed up for up to 13.5 months. The primary outcome is the rate of OHSS related hospital admission of at least 24 hours within 28 days postrandomisation. The primary analysis will be an intention to treat with difference in hospitalisation rates as measure of treatment effect. Secondary outcomes include time to resolution of symptoms, patient satisfaction, adverse events and cost-effectiveness. A qualitative substudy will facilitate the feasibility of recruitment. Participant recruitment commenced in June 2022. Ethics and dissemination London—Southeast Research Ethics Committee approved the protocol (reference: 22/LO/0015). Findings will be submitted to peer-reviewed journals and abstracts to relevant national and international conferences, as well as being disseminated to trial participants and patient groups

Anti-tumor activity without on-target off-tumor toxicity of GD2-Chimeric Antigen Receptor T cells in patients with neuroblastoma

The reprogramming of a patient’s immune system through genetic modification of the T cell compartment with chimeric antigen receptors (CARs) has led to durable remissions in chemotherapy-refractory B cell cancers. Targeting of solid cancers by CAR-T cells is dependent on their infiltration and expansion within the tumor microenvironment, and thus far, fewer clinical responses have been reported. Here, we report a phase 1 study (NCT02761915) in which we treated 12 children with relapsed/refractory neuroblastoma with escalating doses of second-generation GD2-directed CAR-T cells and increasing intensity of preparative lymphodepletion. Overall, no patients had objective clinical response at the evaluation point +28 days after CAR-T cell infusion using standard radiological response criteria. However, of the six patients receiving ≥108/meter2 CAR-T cells after fludarabine/cyclophosphamide conditioning, two experienced grade 2 to 3 cytokine release syndrome, and three demonstrated regression of soft tissue and bone marrow disease. This clinical activity was achieved without on-target off-tumor toxicity. Targeting neuroblastoma with GD2 CAR-T cells appears to be a valid and safe strategy but requires further modification to promote CAR-T cell longevity

Preoperative chemoradiation with capecitabine, irinotecan and cetuximab in rectal cancer: significance of pre-treatment and post-resection RAS mutations

Background: The influence of EGFR pathway mutations on cetuximab-containing rectal cancer preoperative chemoradiation (CRT) is uncertain. Methods: In a prospective phase II trial (EXCITE), patients with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-defined non-metastatic rectal adenocarinoma threatening/involving the surgical resection plane received pelvic radiotherapy with concurrent capecitabine, irinotecan and cetuximab. Resection was recommended 8 weeks later. The primary endpoint was histopathologically clear (R0) resection margin. Pre-planned retrospective DNA pyrosequencing (PS) and next generation sequencing (NGS) of KRAS, NRAS, PIK3CA and BRAF was performed on the pre-treatment biopsy and resected specimen. Results: Eighty-two patients were recruited and 76 underwent surgery, with R0 resection in 67 (82%, 90%CI: 73–88%) (four patients with clinical complete response declined surgery). Twenty–four patients (30%) had an excellent clinical or pathological response (ECPR). Using NGS 24 (46%) of 52 matched biopsies/resections were discrepant: ten patients (19%) gained 13 new resection mutations compared to biopsy (12 KRAS, one PIK3CA) and 18 (35%) lost 22 mutations (15 KRAS, 7 PIK3CA). Tumours only ever testing RAS wild-type had significantly greater ECPR than tumours with either biopsy or resection RAS mutations (14/29 [48%] vs 10/51 [20%], P=0.008), with a trend towards increased overall survival (HR 0.23, 95% CI 0.05–1.03, P=0.055). Conclusions: This regimen was feasible and the primary study endpoint was met. For the first time using pre-operative rectal CRT, emergence of clinically important new resection mutations is described, likely reflecting intratumoural heterogeneity manifesting either as treatment-driven selective clonal expansion or a geographical biopsy sampling miss

Subject specific demands of teaching: Implications for out-of-field teachers

This chapter provides a framework for thinking about the subject-specific nature of teaching in terms of the knowledge, modes of inquiry and discursive practices that delineate one subject from another in the traditional school curriculum. The chapter will explore how these disciplinary traits are translated into teaching as curriculum, knowledge and pedagogy, and how this subject-specificity of teaching is juxtaposed against the more generic aspects of teaching. The chapter explores the idea that if a teacher’s expertise can be situated within a field, then they can also be positioned out-of-field. Implications for teaching out-of-field are discussed in terms of the subject-specific knowledge, processes and skills, and the difficulties associated with teacher practice. English and Australian illustrations of teacher practices from in-field and out-of-field situations are provided, in particular highlighting the demands of moving across subject boundaries. Cross-fertilisation is especially evident when subjects are integrated, therefore, the issues associated with integrated curriculum are discussed where the traditional subject boundaries are being challenged as schools are reorganised to integrate subjects through, for example, STEM teaching, or holistic curriculum designs