Understanding toxicities and complications of cancer treatment: a data mining approach

Cancer remains a major challenge in modern medicine. Increasing prevalence of cancer, particularly in developing countries, demands better understanding of the effectiveness and adverse consequences of different cancer treatment regimes in real patient population. Current understanding of cancer treatment toxicities is often derived from either “clean” patient cohorts or coarse population statistics. It is difficult to get up-to-date and local assessment of treatment toxicities for specific cancer centres. In this paper, we applied an Apriori-based method for discovering toxicity progression patterns in the form of temporal association rules. Our experiments show the effectiveness of the proposed method in discovering major toxicity patterns in comparison with the pairwise association analysis. Our method is applicable for most cancer centres with even rudimentary electronic medical records and has the potential to provide real-time surveillance and quality assurance in cancer care.

Introductory computer programming as a means for extending spatial and temporal understanding

Should computer programming be taught within schools of architecture?

Incorporating even low-level computer programming within architectural education curricula is a matter of debate but we have found it useful to do so for two reasons: as an introduction or at least a consolidation of the realm of descriptive geometry and in providing an environment for experimenting in morphological time-based change.

Mathematics and descriptive geometry formed a significant proportion of architectural education until the end of the 19th century. This proportion has declined in contemporary curricula, possibly at some cost for despite major advances in automated manufacture, Cartesian measurement is still the principal ‘language’ with which to describe building for construction purposes. When computer programming is used as a platform for instruction in logic and spatial representation, the waning interest in mathematics as a basis for spatial description can be readdressed using a left-field approach. Students gain insights into topology, Cartesian space and morphology through programmatic form finding, as opposed to through direct manipulation.

In this context, it matters to the architect-programmer how the program operates more than what it does. This paper describes an assignment where students are given a figurative conceptual space comprising the three Cartesian axes with a cube at its centre. Six Phileban solids mark the Cartesian axial limits to the space. Any point in this space represents a hybrid of one, two or three transformations from the central cube towards the various Phileban solids. Students are asked to predict the topological and morphological outcomes of the operations. Through programming, they become aware of morphogenesis and hybridisation. Here we articulate the hypothesis above and report on the outcome from a student group, whose work reveals wider learning opportunities for architecture students in computer programming than conventionally assumed.

Temporal expression of heat shock proteins 60 and 70 at lesion-prone sites during atherogenesis in ApoE-deficient mice

In the study, we investigate whether the expressions of heat shock protein (hsp)60 (a potential autoantigen) and the stress-inducible form of cytoprotector hsp70 are correlated with the development of atherosclerotic lesions in the aortic tree of apolipoprotein E–deficient (apoE^-/-) mice. The apoE^-/- mouse model is advantageous because the stress-inducible form of hsp70 is not constitutively expressed in mice, unlike primates; hence, tissues under stress can be clearly defined. Both mammalian hsps were detected newly expressed (before mononuclear cell infiltration) on aortic valves and endothelia at lesion-prone sites of 3-week-old apoE^-/- mice. In 8- and 20-week-old mice, they were strongly and heterogeneously expressed in early to advanced fibrofatty plaques, with levels correlating with lesion severity. Expression was markedly downregulated in advanced collagenous, acellular, calcified plaques of 40- and 69-week-old mice and was absent in control aortas of normocholesterolemic wild-type (apoE^+/+) mice. Western blot analysis of tissue homogenates confirmed the temporal expression of the hsps. Double immunostaining revealed that both hsps were expressed by lesional endothelial cells, macrophages, smooth muscle cells, and CD3⁺ T lymphocytes. This study provides evidence that hsp60 and hsp70 are temporally expressed on all major cell types in lesion-prone sites during atherogenesis, suggesting that few cells escape the toxic environment of the atherosclerotic plaque.

Positive association between ambient temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand, 1965-2006

Objective: To investigate the temporal relationship between the monthly count of salmonellosis notifications and the monthly average temperature in New Zealand during the period 1965–2006.

Methods: A negative binomial regression model was used to analyse monthly average ambient temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand between 1965 and 2006.

Results: A 1°C increase in monthly average ambient temperature was associated with a 15% increase in salmonellosis notifications within the same month (IRR 1.15; 95% CI 1.07 – 1.24).

Conclusion: The positive association found in this study between temperature and salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand is consistent with the results of studies conducted in other countries. New Zealand is projected to experience an increase in temperature due to climate change. Therefore, all other things being equal, climate change could increase salmonellosis notifications in New Zealand.

Implications: This association between temperature and salmonellosis should be considered when developing public health plans and climate change adaptation policies. Strategically, existing food safety programs to prevent salmonellosis could be intensified during warmer periods. As the association was strongest within the same month, focusing on improving food handling and storage during this time period may assist in climate change adaptation in New Zealand.

The Maltreatment-Offending Association: a systematic review of the methodological features of prospective and longitudinal studies

Although the association between childhood maltreatment and the subsequent development of offending behavior is well documented, the association does not necessarily reflect a causal relationship. This paper provides a systematic review of prospective and longitudinal studies using official records of maltreatment to gain insights into the extent to which methodological variations are likely to influence the conclusions drawn about the likely relationship between maltreatment and offending. Sixty-two original studies met the inclusion criteria. These studies were assessed according to a set of seven methodological criteria: (1) inclusion of comparison groups, (2) the use of statistical controls, (3) valid outcome measures, (4) operationalization of maltreatment, (5) proper temporal order of associations, (6) data relating to unsubstantiated maltreatment, and (7) consideration of mediating and moderating factors. The strength of evidence in support of the maltreatment-offending association was influenced by a number of methodological factors. Despite the increasing sophistication of studies, there is a need to be mindful of how these factors are taken into account in future research in order to gain a deeper understanding of the adverse consequences of maltreatment and how this might influence outcomes and inform interventions.

Social network analysis resolves temporal dynamics of male dominance relationships

Social organization is often studied through point estimates of individual association or interaction patterns, which does not account for temporal changes in the course of familiarization processes and the establishment of social dominance. Here, we present new insights on short-term temporal dynamics in social organization of mixed-sex groups that have the potential to affect sexual selection patterns. Using the live-bearing Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana), a species with pronounced male size polymorphism, we investigated social network dynamics of mixed sex experimental groups consisting of eight females and three different-sized males over a period of 5 days. Analyzing association-based social networks as well as direct measures of spatial proximity, we found that large males tended to monopolize most females, while excluding small- and medium-bodied males from access to females. This effect, however, emerged only gradually over time, and different-sized males had equal access to females on day 1 as well as day 2, though to a lesser extent. In this highly aggressive species with strong social dominance stratifications, the observed temporal dynamics in male-female association patterns may balance the presumed reproductive skew among differentially competitive male phenotypes when social structures are unstable (i.e., when individual turnover rates are moderate to high). Ultimately, our results point toward context-dependent sexual selection arising from temporal shifts in social organization.