The Protura (Insecta) of Brazil, especially Amazonas

26 species of Protura are now known from Brazil. Seven new species are described in the present paper, viz. Berberentulus becki, nelsoni, hagmannarum, ovei, Eosentomon curupira, proximum and caatingae. Eight species are redescribed, viz. Brasilidia tropica Nos., Brasilentulus huetheri Nos., Berberentulus tuxeni Nos. & Huether (which was desc¡ibed as a Gracilentulus), Berberentulus huetheri Nos., brailianus Nos., amazonicus Nos., Eosentomon huetheri Nos. and hoogstraali Nos.. Gracilentulus neotropi cus Nos. is synonymized with G.kenyanus (Cdé). The known distribution within Brazil is given for each species as well as its biotope and location within this. The Protura are best known from Amazônia where they are found preferabty in the terra firme forest in the uppermost 3 to 5 cm where the soil is humous and interwoven with fungous hyphae. - In connection with my earlier paper on Isoentomon (Tuxen 1975) an interesting picture of the Brazilian Proturan fauna looms up, the geographical implications of which will be given elsewhere

Seeking 'the foreign stamp': International education and the (re)production of class status in Mumbai, India

International education is an increasingly popular life choice for young, urban Indians. Academic scholarship has shown growing interest in where, how and why Indians study overseas. However, many of these studies overlook the role that class status plays in shaping how students from India imagine and experience international education and its outcomes as they transition into adulthood. Studies of India's middle classes, on the other hand, have tended to omit the importance of transnational mobility in producing class status. This thesis therefore explores the complex relationships between how international education is imagined and experienced, and how class status is (re)produced in Mumbai, India. Using data gathered from 80 in-depth interviews in Mumbai in which participants discussed their perceptions of international education, its value and its outcomes, I argue that there are significant nuances in how the value of international education is perceived, embodied and made distinct within the granular class hierarchies that constitute the urban upper-middle class and elite. I focus on prospective and returned students situated at 'home', which provides a unique perspective given international student mobility literature's tendency to focus on the experiences of existing students. Using Bourdieu's (1984, 1986) theory of class reproduction as a starting point, I discuss how various forms of capital - especially cosmopolitan cultural capital (Igarashi & Saito, 2014) - are accumulated both prior to and during international education, and how capital informs experiences of return to India. Specifically, I argue that there are two distinct imaginaries and experiences of international education in the Mumbai context which correspond to the localised class identity of the individual seeking international education. On one hand, the South Bombay or 'SoBo' elite seek to maintain their existing privilege by engaging with international education in order to acquire 'the stamp' of having spent time overseas, which 'finishes' them as young adults and poises them as 'ready' to engage in adult life in the same elite context in India in which they were raised. On the other hand, 'suburban strivers' engage with international education with a desire to seek upward mobility but they do not seek to mimic the lifestyles or behaviours of the SoBo elite. Rather, suburban strivers pursue a transformative experience that promises to change the trajectories of their lives, especially in relation to career options but also in terms of their lived experiences. These divergent approaches to engaging with international education permeate the way that individuals imagine and experience international education, impacting their mobility trajectories, career aspirations and decisions about when and who to marry. Ultimately, this thesis highlights the importance of examining class in relation to international student mobilities, and transnational mobility in relation to the study of class in India, especially in relation to the urban upper-middle class and elite

Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in benign and malignant diseases

Background: Human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) is described as a useful new biomarker in ovarian cancer. As HE4 is neither tumor nor organ specific, we intensively investigated the occurrence of this protein in female and male patients with various benign and malignant diseases in order to avoid misinterpretation and to identify potential additional clinical relevance. Methods: We retrospectively investigated HE4 (ARCHITECT (R), Abbott Diagnostics, US) in the sera of 205 healthy individuals, 654 patients with benign disorders and 720 patients with cancer before initial treatment. Results: The lowest concentrations of HE4 were observed in healthy men (median 26.2 pmol/L) followed by healthy women (median 40.4 pmol/L). In benign diseases, highest HE4 concentrations were seen in both women and men with renal failure (women, median 1041 pmol/L; men, median 1368 pmol/L). In women, the highest HE4 levels in malignant diseases were observed in ovarian cancer (median 242 pmol/l), whereas the highest HE4 concentrations in men occurred in lung cancer (median 89.2 pmol/L). The area under the curve (AUC) of HE4 in women was highest in ovarian cancer and borderline tumors as compared to benign gynecological disorders (88.9%), with a sensitivity of 67.4% at 95% specificity. Also, significantly elevated concentrations of HE4 with reference to the respective group of benign diseases were observed in uterus corpus and breast cancer as well as in lung cancer for men and women. Conclusions: HE4 has the highest relevance in ovarian cancer but can be elevated in a variety of benign and malignant diseases

Serum tumour marker CA 125 in monitoring of ovarian cancer during first-line chemotherapy

The value of the serum tumour marker CA 125 to date has been in the monitoring of ovarian cancer patients for response to therapy and for recurrence of disease. However, despite the availability of serial data on CA 125, the problem of interpreting a change over time is still unsolved. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of CA 125 to monitor patients with ovarian cancer during postoperative chemotherapy. 255 patients with stage IC-IV ovarian cancer were allocated to the tumour marker monitoring study. The evaluation of CA 125 information was based on the analytical imprecision, the normal intra-individual biological variation, the sampling interval, and the cut-off value. Additionally, a new assessment criterion based upon an increment of 2.5 times the baseline CA 125 concentration confirmed by a third measurement was elaborated and the utility investigated. The efficiency of CA 125 for identifying progression and non-progression during first-line chemotherapy was 91.9%. The median lead time for true positive results was 41 days. Using the new elaborated criterion the efficiency of CA 125 for identifying progression and non-progression during first-line chemotherapy was 90.5%. The median lead time for true positive results was 35 days. CA 125 gave reliable prediction of progressive disease during postoperative chemotherapy. The results indicate a high applicability of the presented progression criteria during CA 125 monitoring of patients with changing activity of ovarian cancer. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign www.bjcancer.co