Predicting the likelihood of carrying a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation: validation of BOADICEA, BRCAPRO, IBIS, Myriad and the Manchester scoring system using data from UK genetics clinics

Objectives: Genetic testing for the breast and ovarian cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 has important implications for the clinical management of people found to carry a mutation. However, genetic testing is expensive and may be associated with adverse psychosocial effects. To provide a cost-efficient and clinically appropriate genetic counselling service, genetic testing should be targeted at those individuals most likely to carry pathogenic mutations. Several algorithms that predict the likelihood of carrying a BRCA1 or a BRCA2 mutation are currently used in clinical practice to identify such individuals.

Anastrozole for prevention of breast cancer in high-risk postmenopausal women (IBIS-II): an international, double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial

Aromatase inhibitors effectively prevent breast cancer recurrence and development of new contralateral tumours in postmenopausal women. We assessed the efficacy and safety of the aromatase inhibitor anastrozole for prevention of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who are at high risk of the disease.

Tracing the Chromospheric and Coronal Magnetic Field with AIA, IRIS, IBIS, and ROSA Data

The aim of this study is to explore the suitability of chromospheric images for magnetic modeling of active regions. We use high-resolutionimages (≈0.2"-0.3"), from the Interferometric Bidimensional Spectrometer in the Ca II 8542 Å line, the Rapid Oscillations in the Solar Atmosphere instrument in the Hα 6563Å line, the Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph in the 2796Å line, and compare non-potential magnetic field models obtainedfrom those chromospheric images with those obtained from images of the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly in coronal (171 Å, etc.) and inchromospheric (304 Å) wavelengths. Curvi-linear structures are automatically traced in those images with the OCCULT-2 code, to which we forward-fitted magnetic field lines computed with the Vertical-current Approximation Nonlinear Force Free Field code. We find that the chromospheric images: (1) reveal crisp curvi-linear structures (fibrils, loop segments, spicules) that are extremely well-suited for constraining magnetic modeling; (2) that these curvi-linear structures arefield-aligned with the best-fit solution by a median misalignment angle of μ2 ≈ 4°–7° (3) the free energy computed from coronal data may underestimate that obtained from chromospheric data by a factor of ≈2–4, (4) the height range of chromospheric features is confined to h≲4000 km, while coronal features are detected up to h = 35,000 km; and (5) the plasma-β parameter is β ≈ 10^-5 - 10^-1 for all traced features. We conclude that chromospheric images reveal important magnetic structures that are complementary to coronal images and need to be included in comprehensive magnetic field models, something that is currently not accomodated in standard NLFFF codes.

Temporal patterns of territory settlement and detectability in mated and unmated Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos

In many bird species the sex ratio of adults is male-biased, which is likely to have consequences for the ecology as well as for the conservation of a species. For example, when some males remain unpaired in a population, there should be strong selection on behavioural traits that enhance pairing success. A surplus of males is also likely to have important implications for the interpretation of breeding bird survey data. In our study population of Nightingales Luscinia megarhynchos, about half of the males stayed unpaired, suggesting that the number of males encountered singing was greater than the number of breeding pairs. Furthermore, the detectability (the probability of encountering a male singing) of mated males was only two-thirds that of unmated males when censused in the morning or late in the breeding season. The relative detectability was more similar early in the season and during the twilight periods before sunrise and after sunset. Males that arrived earlier on the breeding grounds were more successful in attracting a mate than males arriving later. Some of the unmated males deserted their territories and prospected areas up to 4000 m distant, whereas others settled on the study site only late in the season and may actually have changed territories. We suggest that adult sex ratios and the time of the census should be taken into account when interpreting the results of breeding bird surveys.

A study of magnetic bright points in the Na I D1 line.

High-cadence, multiwavelength, optical observations of solar magnetic bright points (MBPs), captured at the disk center using the ROSA and IBIS imaging systems on the Dunn Solar Telescope, are presented. MBPs manifesting in the Na I D-1 core are found to preferentially exist in regions containing strong downflows, in addition to cospatial underlying photospheric magnetic field concentrations. Downdrafts within Na I D-1 bright points exhibit speeds of up to 7 km s(-1), with preferred structural symmetry in intensity, magnetic field, and velocity profiles about the bright point center. Excess intensities associated with G-band and Ca II K observations of MBPs reveal a power-law trend when plotted as a function of the magnetic flux density. However, Na I D-1 observations of the same magnetic features indicate an intensity plateau at weak magnetic field strengths below approximate to 150 G, suggesting the presence of a two-component heating process: one which is primarily acoustic and the other predominantly magnetic. We suggest that this finding is related to the physical expansion of magnetic flux tubes, with weak field strengths (approximate to 50 G) expanding by similar to 76%, compared to a similar to 44% expansion when higher field strengths (approximate to 150 G) are present. These observations provide the first experimental evidence of rapid downdrafts in Na I D-1 MBPs and reveal the nature of a previously unresolved intensity plateau associated with these structures.

Short distance phase shifts revisited: tracking clock-shifted homing pigeons (Rock Dove Columba livia) close to the loft

Clock-shifted homing pigeons (Rock Dove Columba livia) were tracked from familiar release sites using a direction recorder. At relatively short distances from the home loft (

Beyond Divided Territory::How Changing Understandings of Public Space in Northern Ireland can Facilitate New Identity Dynamics

The sectarian geography of Northern Ireland, whereby the majority of the population live in areas predominated by one religion or the other, is typically assumed to straightforwardly reflect the territorial identities of local residents. This conflation of place and identity neglects the role of place in actively shaping and changing the behaviours occurring within them. The present paper uses new developments in the area of social psychology to examine three case studies of place identity in Northern Ireland and explore the possibilities for change. A large scale survey of the display of flags and emblems across Northern Ireland demonstrates the extent of visible ter-ritorialisation, but also the relationship between understandings of space and the acceptability of these displays. Secondly, analysis of interviews with the Orange Or-der and nationalist residents concerning the Drumcree dispute illustrates how differ-ent constructions of space are used to claim and counterclaim rights to display iden-tity. Finally analysis of media and interview accounts of the St Patrick’s Day event in Belfast illustrate how new understandings of shared space can negate territorial identities and facilitate coexistence in the same place and facilitate good relations.

Supplementary feeding increases Common Buzzard Buteo buteo productivity but only in poor-quality habitat

Temporal heterogeneity in the effects of food supply during the breeding season on the productivity of the Common Buzzard Buteo buteo was investigated in a supplementary feeding experiment. Pairs were fed artificially (1) before egg-laying, (2) after chicks hatched and (3) continuously throughout the season, and compared with (4) unfed controls. Pairs fed before egg-laying had marginally larger clutches than those not fed, but lay date, egg volume and weight, brood size and hatching success were unaffected. Territorial quality had far greater effects, with pairs nesting in low-quality habitats (bog, scrub and semi-natural grassland) laying later and having lower hatching success, smaller broods and fewer fledglings than those in more productive agricultural landscapes. Supplementary feeding after egg hatching neutralized the negative effect of poor habitat, resulting in fed birds having significantly more fledglings. This study emphasizes the importance of food availability when provisioning chicks in suboptimal habitats and has implications for the success of diversionary feeding in reducing game losses to Buzzards.

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON): Observations of the Dust Grains from SOFIA and of the Atomic Gas from NSO Dunn and McMath-Pierce Solar Telescopes (Invited)

Comet C/2012 S1 (ISON) is unique in that it is a dynamically new comet derived from the Oort cloud reservoir of comets with a sun-grazing orbit. Infrared (IR) and visible wavelength observing campaigns were planned on NASA's Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) and on National Solar Observatory Dunn (DST) and McMath-Pierce Solar Telescopes, respectively. We highlight our early results. SOFIA (+FORCAST [1]) mid- to far-IR images and spectroscopy (~5-35 μm) of the dust in the coma of ISON are to be obtained by the ISON-SOFIA Team during a flight window 2013 Oct 21-23 UT (r_h≈1.18 AU). Dust characteristics, identified through the 10 μm silicate emission feature and its strength [2], as well as spectral features from cometary crystalline silicates (Forsterite) at 11.05-11.2 μm, and near 16, 19, 23.5, 27.5, and 33 μm are compared with other Oort cloud comets that span the range of small and/or highly porous grains (e.g., C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) [3,4,5] and C/2001 Q4 (NEAT) [6]) to large and/or compact grains (e.g., C/2007 N4 (Lulin) [7] and C/2006 P1 (McNaught) [8]). Measurement of the crystalline peaks in contrast to the broad 10 and 20 μm amorphous silicate features yields the cometary silicate crystalline mass fraction [9], which is a benchmark for radial transport in our protoplanetary disk [10]. The central wavelength positions, relative intensities, and feature asymmetries for the crystalline peaks may constrain the shapes of the crystals [11]. Only SOFIA can look for cometary organics in the 5-8 μm region. Spatially resolved measurements of atoms and simple molecules from when comet ISON is near the Sun (r_h<0.4 AU, near Nov-20--Dec-03 UT) were proposed for by the ISON-DST Team. Comet ISON is the first comet since comet Ikeya-Seki (1965f) [12,13] suitable for studying the alkalai metals Na and K and the atoms specifically attributed to dust grains including Mg, Si, Fe, as well as Ca. DST's Horizontal Grating Spectrometer (HGS) measures 4 settings: Na I, K, C2 to sample cometary organics (along with Mg I), and [O I] as a proxy for activity from water [14] (along with Si I and Fe I). State-of-the-art instruments that will also be employed include IBIS [15], which is a Fabry-Perot spectral imaging system that concurrently measures lines of Na, K, Ca II, or Fe, and ROSA (CSUN/QUB) [16], which is a rapid imager that simultaneously monitors Ca II or CN. From McMath-Pierce, the Solar-Stellar Spectrograph also will target ISON (320-900 nm, R~21,000, r_h

Statistical Analysis of Small Ellerman Bomb Events

The properties of Ellerman bombs (EBs), small-scale brightenings in the Hα line wings, have proved difficult to establish because their size is close to the spatial resolution of even the most advanced telescopes. Here, we aim to infer the size and lifetime of EBs using high-resolution data of an emerging active region collected using the Interferometric BIdimensional Spectrometer (IBIS) and Rapid Oscillations of the Solar Atmosphere (ROSA) instruments as well as the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We develop an algorithm to track EBs through their evolution, finding that EBs can often be much smaller (around 0.3″) and shorter-lived (less than one minute) than previous estimates. A correlation between G-band magnetic bright points and EBs is also found. Combining SDO/HMI and G-band data gives a good proxy of the polarity for the vertical magnetic field. It is found that EBs often occur both over regions of opposite polarity flux and strong unipolar fields, possibly hinting at magnetic reconnection as a driver of these events.The energetics of EB events is found to follow a power-law distribution in the range of a nanoflare (1022-25 ergs).