The study club program : suggestions relating to courses of study and aids furnished by the Traveling Library, 1909

This leaflet includes information on programs for Women's Clubs. Some possible subjects for the club's discussions are literature, history and fine arts. Several methods of study are covered. Groups are encouraged to use public libraries and the Iowa Traveling Library to obtain reference materials for their topics.

Ex vivo characterization of human CD8+ T subsets with distinct replicative history and partial effector functions.

After antigenic challenge, naive T lymphocytes enter a program of proliferation and differentiation during the course of which they acquire effector functions and may ultimately become memory cells. In humans, the pathways of effector and memory T-cell differentiation remain poorly defined. Here we describe the properties of 2 CD8+ T-lymphocyte subsets, RA+CCR7-27+28+ and RA+CCR7-27+28-, in human peripheral blood. These cells display phenotypic and functional features that are intermediate between naive and effector T cells. Like naive T lymphocytes, both subsets show relatively long telomeres. However, unlike the naive population, these T cells exhibit reduced levels of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs), indicating they have undergone additional rounds of in vivo cell division. Furthermore, we show that they also share effector-type properties. At equivalent in vivo replicative history, the 2 subsets express high levels of Fas/CD95 and CD11a, as well as increasing levels of effector mediators such as granzyme B, perforin, interferon gamma, and tumor necrosis factor alpha. Both display partial ex vivo cytolytic activity and can be found among cytomegalovirus-specific cytolytic T cells. Taken together, our data point to the presence of T cells with intermediate effector-like functions and suggest that these subsets consist of T lymphocytes that are evolving toward a more differentiated effector or effector-memory stage.

Muistitietotutkijat koolla Sydneyssä : Dancing with memory : oral history and its audiences

Ajankohtaista

Oral history and life stories as a research area in Estonian history, folkloristics and ethnology

Reviews

Non-native English-speaking English language teachers: history and research

Although the majority of English language teachers worldwide are non-native English speakers, no research was conducted on these teachers until recently. After the pioneering work of Robert Phillipson in 1992 and Peter Medgyes in 1994, nearly a decade had to elapse for more research to emerge on the issues relating to non-native English teachers. The publication in 1999 of George Braine's book Nonnative educators in English language teaching appears to have encouraged a number of graduate students and scholars to research this issue, with topics ranging from teachers' perceptions of their own identity to students' views and aspects of teacher education. This article compiles, classifies, and examines research conducted in the last two decades on this topic, placing a special emphasis on World Englishes concerns, methods of investigation, and areas in need of further attention.

Tuberous sclerosis: literature review and case report

Tuberous sclerosis (TS) or Bourneville"s disease is a rare, multisystemic genetic disorder. It involves alterations to ectodermal and mesodermal cell differentiation and proliferation, causing benign hamartomatous tumors, neurofibromas and angiofibromas in the brain and other vital organs including the kidney, heart, eyes, lungs, skin and mucosa. It also affects the central nervous system and produces neurological dysfunctions such as seizures, mental retardation and behavior disorders. Tuberous (rootshaped) growths develop in the brain, and calcify over time, becoming hard and sclerotic, hence the name given to the disease. Although inheritance is autosomal dominant, 60-70% of cases occur through spontaneous mutations. The disease is related to some mutations or alterations in two genes, named TSC1 and TSC2. Discovered in 1997, TSC1 is located on chromosome 9q34 and produces a protein called hamartin. TSC2, discovered in 1993, is located on chromosome 16p13 and produces a protein called tuberin. The prevalence of the disease is 1/6000-10,000 live newborns, and it is estimated that there are 1-2 million sufferers worldwide. This paper presents a literature review and a family case report of a mother and two of her daughters with oral features of TS

Fragile X-syndrome: literature review and report of two cases

Fragile X-syndrome is caused by a mutation in chromosome X. It is one of the most frequent causes of learning disability. The most frequent manifestations of fragile X-syndrome are learning disability, different orofacial morphological alterations and an increase in testicle size. The disease is associated with cardiac malformations, joint hyperextension and behavioural alterations. We present two male patients aged 17 and 10 years, treated in our Service due to severe gingivitis. Both showed the typical facial and dental characteristics of the syndrome. In addition, we detected the presence of root anomalies such as taurodontism and root bifurcation, which had not been associated with fragile X-syndrome in the literature. In some cases these root malformations have been associated with other sex-linked congenital syndromes, though in none of the studies published in the literature have they been related with fragile X-syndrome. This syndrome is relevant due to its high prevalence, the presentation of certain oral and facial characteristics that can facilitate the diagnosis, and the few cases published to date

Clinical determinants of early parasitological response to ACTs in African patients with uncomplicated falciparum malaria: a literature review and meta-analysis of individual patient data.

BACKGROUND: Artemisinin-resistant Plasmodium falciparum has emerged in the Greater Mekong sub-region and poses a major global public health threat. Slow parasite clearance is a key clinical manifestation of reduced susceptibility to artemisinin. This study was designed to establish the baseline values for clearance in patients from Sub-Saharan African countries with uncomplicated malaria treated with artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). METHODS: A literature review in PubMed was conducted in March 2013 to identify all prospective clinical trials (uncontrolled trials, controlled trials and randomized controlled trials), including ACTs conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, between 1960 and 2012. Individual patient data from these studies were shared with the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) and pooled using an a priori statistical analytical plan. Factors affecting early parasitological response were investigated using logistic regression with study sites fitted as a random effect. The risk of bias in included studies was evaluated based on study design, methodology and missing data. RESULTS: In total, 29,493 patients from 84 clinical trials were included in the analysis, treated with artemether-lumefantrine (n = 13,664), artesunate-amodiaquine (n = 11,337) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (n = 4,492). The overall parasite clearance rate was rapid. The parasite positivity rate (PPR) decreased from 59.7 % (95 % CI: 54.5-64.9) on day 1 to 6.7 % (95 % CI: 4.8-8.7) on day 2 and 0.9 % (95 % CI: 0.5-1.2) on day 3. The 95th percentile of observed day 3 PPR was 5.3 %. Independent risk factors predictive of day 3 positivity were: high baseline parasitaemia (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.16 (95 % CI: 1.08-1.25); per 2-fold increase in parasite density, P <0.001); fever (>37.5 °C) (AOR = 1.50 (95 % CI: 1.06-2.13), P = 0.022); severe anaemia (AOR = 2.04 (95 % CI: 1.21-3.44), P = 0.008); areas of low/moderate transmission setting (AOR = 2.71 (95 % CI: 1.38-5.36), P = 0.004); and treatment with the loose formulation of artesunate-amodiaquine (AOR = 2.27 (95 % CI: 1.14-4.51), P = 0.020, compared to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine). CONCLUSIONS: The three ACTs assessed in this analysis continue to achieve rapid early parasitological clearance across the sites assessed in Sub-Saharan Africa. A threshold of 5 % day 3 parasite positivity from a minimum sample size of 50 patients provides a more sensitive benchmark in Sub-Saharan Africa compared to the current recommended threshold of 10 % to trigger further investigation of artemisinin susceptibility.

Association between parental history and genetic risk scores for coronary heart disease prediction: The population-based CoLaus study.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Parental history (PH) and genetic risk scores (GRSs) are separately associated with coronary heart disease (CHD), but evidence regarding their combined effects is lacking. We aimed to evaluate the joint associations and predictive ability of PH and GRSs for incident CHD. METHODS: Data for 4283 Caucasians were obtained from the population-based CoLaus Study, over median follow-up time of 5.6 years. CHD was defined as incident myocardial infarction, angina, percutaneous coronary revascularization or bypass grafting. Single nucleotide polymorphisms for CHD identified by genome-wide association studies were used to construct unweighted and weighted versions of three GRSs, comprising of 38, 53 and 153 SNPs respectively. RESULTS: PH was associated with higher values of all weighted GRSs. After adjustment for age, sex, smoking, diabetes, systolic blood pressure, low and high density lipoprotein cholesterol, PH was significantly associated with CHD [HR 2.61, 95% CI (1.47-4.66)] and further adjustment for GRSs did not change this estimate. Similarly, one standard deviation change of the weighted 153-SNPs GRS was significantly associated with CHD [HR 1.50, 95% CI (1.26-1.80)] and remained so, after further adjustment for PH. The weighted, 153-SNPs GRS, but not PH, modestly improved discrimination [(C-index improvement, 0.016), p = 0.048] and reclassification [(NRI improvement, 8.6%), p = 0.027] beyond cardiovascular risk factors. After including both the GRS and PH, model performance improved further [(C-index improvement, 0.022), p = 0.006]. CONCLUSION: After adjustment for cardiovascular risk factors, PH and a weighted, polygenic GRS were jointly associated with CHD and provided additive information for coronary events prediction.

Risk of All-Cause Mortality in Alcohol-Dependent Individuals: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Alcohol dependence (AD) carries a high mortality burden, which may be mitigated by reduced alcohol consumption. We conducted a systematic literature review and meta-analysis investigating the risk of all-cause mortality in alcohol-dependent subjects. METHODS: MEDLINE, MEDLINE In-Process, Embase and PsycINFO were searched from database conception through 26th June 2014. Eligible studies reported all-cause mortality in both alcohol-dependent subjects and a comparator population of interest. Two individuals independently reviewed studies. Of 4540 records identified, 39 observational studies were included in meta-analyses. FINDINGS: We identified a significant increase in mortality for alcohol-dependent subjects compared with the general population (27 studies; relative risk [RR] = 3.45; 95% CI [2.96, 4.02]; p < 0.0001). The mortality increase was also significant compared to subjects qualifying for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse or subjects without alcohol use disorders (AUDs). Alcohol-dependent subjects continuing to drink heavily had significantly greater mortality than alcohol-dependent subjects who reduced alcohol intake, even if abstainers were excluded (p < 0.05). INTERPRETATION: AD was found to significantly increase an individual's risk of all-cause mortality. While abstinence in alcohol-dependent subjects led to greater mortality reduction than non-abstinence, this study suggests that alcohol-dependent subjects can significantly reduce their mortality risk by reducing alcohol consumption.

Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome: what radiologists should know. Literature review and three cases report

Rendu-Osler-Weber syndrome or hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia is an autosomal dominant vascular disease involving multiple systems whose main pathological change is the presence of abnormal arteriovenous communications. Most common symptoms include skin and mucosal telangiectasias, epistaxis, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and intracerebral bleeding. The key imaging finding is the presence of visceral arteriovenous malformations. The diagnosis is based on clinical criteria and can be confirmed by molecular biology techniques. Treatment includes measures for management of epistaxis, as well as surgical excision, radiotherapy and embolization of arteriovenous malformations, with emphasis on endovascular treatment. The present pictorial essay includes a report of three typical cases of this entity and a literature review.