Modern solar maximum forced late twentieth century Greenland cooling

The abrupt Northern Hemispheric warming at the end of the twentieth century has been attributed to an enhanced greenhouse effect. Yet Greenland and surrounding subpolar North Atlantic remained anomalously cold in 1970s to early 1990s. Here we reconstructed robust Greenland temperature records (North Greenland Ice Core Project and Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2) over the past 2100 years using argon and nitrogen isotopes in air trapped within ice cores and show that this cold anomaly was part of a recursive pattern of antiphase Greenland temperature responses to solar variability with a possible multidecadal lag. We hypothesize that high solar activity during the modern solar maximum (approximately 1950s–1980s) resulted in a cooling over Greenland and surrounding subpolar North Atlantic through the slowdown of Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation with atmospheric feedback processes.

Positron emission mammography in the diagnosis of breast cancer. Is maximum PEM uptake value a valuable threshold for malignant breast cancer detection?

AIM To evaluate the diagnostic value (sensitivity, specificity) of positron emission mammography (PEM) in a single site non-interventional study using the maximum PEM uptake value (PUVmax). PATIENTS, METHODS In a singlesite, non-interventional study, 108 patients (107 women, 1 man) with a total of 151 suspected lesions were scanned with a PEM Flex Solo II (Naviscan) at 90 min p.i. with 3.5 MBq 18F-FDG per kg of body weight. In this ROI(region of interest)-based analysis, maximum PEM uptake value (PUV) was determined in lesions, tumours (PUVmaxtumour), benign lesions (PUVmaxnormal breast) and also in healthy tissues on the contralateral side (PUVmaxcontralateral breast). These values were compared and contrasted. In addition, the ratios of PUVmaxtumour / PUVmaxcontralateral breast and PUVmaxnormal breast / PUVmaxcontralateral breast were compared. The image data were interpreted independently by two experienced nuclear medicine physicians and compared with histology in cases of suspected carcinoma. RESULTS Based on a criteria of PUV>1.9, 31 out of 151 lesions in the patient cohort were found to be malignant (21%). A mean PUVmaxtumour of 3.78 ± 2.47 was identified in malignant tumours, while a mean PUVmaxnormal breast of 1.17 ± 0.37 was reported in the glandular tissue of the healthy breast, with the difference being statistically significant (p < 0.001). Similarly, the mean ratio between tumour and healthy glandular tissue in breast cancer patients (3.15 ± 1.58) was found to be significantly higher than the ratio for benign lesions (1.17 ± 0.41, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION PEM is capable of differentiating breast tumours from benign lesions with 100% sensitivity along with a high specificity of 96%, when a threshold of PUVmax >1.9 is applied.

Displaced Stories: The Interplay of Telling and Being in the Face of Displacement

Throughout the last decades, narrative approaches have become quintessential tools for understanding crisis and displacement. While a focus on individual stories allows for a deep look into the particularity of being-displaced, it simultaneously runs the risk of romanticising the outcome (the life story) of what is indeed the product of a rather complex process (the telling of the life story). In this paper I will discuss a change of perspectives: Rather than laying the focus on life stories as texts, I will suggest to shift the attention towards the existential dynamics of storytelling. By zooming in on my longstanding collaboration with a Somali woman in Melbourne, Australia, I will map out the interplay of telling and being that marked this process. Focusing on one particular storytelling moment, I will suggest the importance of appreciating the intersubjective force of storytelling. Rather than melting the set of stories into a coherent “life story”, I will look at the storytelling moment in its lived messiness. In doing so, I will sketch out its potential to shed light both on the teller’s hopes, imaginations and ambitions, and on the reality of being part of a wider world that often contradicts and shatters these hopes.

Rituximab Maintenance for a Maximum of 5 Years After Single-Agent Rituximab Induction in Follicular Lymphoma: Results of the Randomized Controlled Phase III Trial SAKK 35/03.

PURPOSE Rituximab maintenance therapy has been shown to improve progression-free survival in patients with follicular lymphoma; however, the optimal duration of maintenance treatment remains unknown. PATIENTS AND METHODS Two hundred seventy patients with untreated, relapsed, stable, or chemotherapy-resistant follicular lymphoma were treated with four doses of rituximab monotherapy in weekly intervals (375 mg/m(2)). Patients achieving at least a partial response were randomly assigned to receive maintenance therapy with one infusion of rituximab every 2 months, either on a short-term schedule (four administrations) or a long-term schedule (maximum of 5 years or until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity). The primary end point was event-free survival (EFS). Progression-free survival, overall survival (OS), and toxicity were secondary end points. Comparisons between the two arms were performed using the log-rank test for survival end points. RESULTS One hundred sixty-five patients were randomly assigned to the short-term (n = 82) or long-term (n = 83) maintenance arms. Because of the low event rate, the final analysis was performed after 95 events had occurred, which was before the targeted event number of 99 had been reached. At a median follow-up period of 6.4 years, the median EFS was 3.4 years (95% CI, 2.1 to 5.3) in the short-term arm and 5.3 years (95% CI, 3.5 to not available) in the long-term arm (P = .14). Patients in the long-term arm experienced more adverse effects than did those in the short-term arm, with 76% v 50% of patients with at least one adverse event (P < .001), five versus one patient with grade 3 and 4 infections, and three versus zero patients discontinuing treatment because of unacceptable toxicity, respectively. There was no difference in OS between the two groups. CONCLUSION Long-term rituximab maintenance therapy does not improve EFS, which was the primary end point of this trial, or OS, and was associated with increased toxicity.

Pelvic floor muscle displacement during voluntary and involuntary activation in continent and incontinent women: a systematic review.

INTRODUCTION Investigations of the dynamic function of female pelvic floor muscles (PFM) help us to understand the pathophysiology of stress urinary incontinence (SUI). Displacement measurements of PFM give insight into muscle activation and thus help to improve rehabilitation strategies. This systematic review (PROSPERO 2013: CRD42013006409) was performed to summarise the current evidence for PFM displacement during voluntary and involuntary activation in continent and incontinent women. METHODS MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and SPORTDiscus databases were searched using selected terminology reflecting the PICO approach. Screening of Google Scholar and congress abstracts added to further information. Original articles investigating PFM displacement were included if they reported on at least one of the aims of the review, e.g., method, test position, test activity, direction and quantification of displacement, as well as the comparison between continent and incontinent women. Titles and abstracts were screened by two reviewers. The papers included were reviewed by two individuals to ascertain whether they fulfilled the inclusion criteria and data were extracted on outcome parameters. RESULTS Forty-two predominantly observational studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. A variety of measurement methods and calculations of displacement was presented. The sample was heterogeneous concerning age, parity and continence status. Test positions and test activities varied among the studies. CONCLUSIONS The findings summarise the present knowledge of PFM displacement, but still lack deeper comprehension of the SUI pathomechanism of involuntary, reflexive activation during functional activities. We therefore propose that future investigations focus on PFM dynamics during fast and stressful impact tasks.

Sharp comparison and maximum principles via horizontal normal mapping in the Heisenberg group

In this paper we solve a problem raised by Gutiérrez and Montanari about comparison principles for H−convex functions on subdomains of Heisenberg groups. Our approach is based on the notion of the sub-Riemannian horizontal normal mapping and uses degree theory for set-valued maps. The statement of the comparison principle combined with a Harnack inequality is applied to prove the Aleksandrov-type maximum principle, describing the correct boundary behavior of continuous H−convex functions vanishing at the boundary of horizontally bounded subdomains of Heisenberg groups. This result answers a question by Garofalo and Tournier. The sharpness of our results are illustrated by examples.

A Maximum Radius for Habitable Planets

We compute the maximum radius a planet can have in order to fulfill two constraints that are likely necessary conditions for habitability: 1- surface temperature and pressure compatible with the existence of liquid water, and 2- no ice layer at the bottom of a putative global ocean, that would prevent the operation of the geologic carbon cycle to operate. We demonstrate that, above a given radius, these two constraints cannot be met: in the Super-Earth mass range (1-12 M-earth), the overall maximum that a planet can have varies between 1.8 and 2.3 R-earth. This radius is reduced when considering planets with higher Fe/Si ratios, and taking into account irradiation effects on the structure of the gas envelope.

Anthurium Scherzerianum var. maximum

anonym

ANALYSIS OF ESTROGEN-INDUCED ANEUPLOIDY AND CHROMOSOME DISPLACEMENT

Diethylstilbestrol (DES) is a known human carcinogen and teratogen whose mechanism of action remains undetermined. As essentially diploid Chinese hamster cell line (Don) was used to test diethylstilbestrol (DES), dienestrol, hexestrol and the naturally occurring estrogens, estradiol and estriol for their ability to cause metaphase arrest and to induce aneuploidy. These compounds arrest mitosis within a narrow range of high concentrations and induce aneuploidy in recovering cell populations. DES was the most effective arrestant on a comparative molar basis. Estradiol and estriol were less potent as arrestants but were effective inducers of aneuploidy. Aneuploidy was induced in a non-random manner. The smallest chromosomes were most frequently recorded in aneuploid cells. Using anti-tubulin antibody and indirect immunofluorescence, it was found that DES inhibits bi-polar spindle assembly and disrupts the cytoplasmic microtubule complex (CMTC). Estradiol arrests mitosis in a manner that allows spindle assembly. Estradiol has no apparent effect on the CMTC. The naturally occurring estrogens caused chromosome displacement during mitotic arrest. Electron microscopy confirmed that the displaced chromosomes appeared at the polar regions of arrested cells. The arresting effect of estradiol, and to some extent DES, was reduced by the addition of dibutyryl cyclic adenosine monophosphate (db-cAMP). Aneuploidy induction by DES and similar compounds may be related to their carcinogenic and/or teratogenic potential. ^

Paleomagnetic of basalts from the Kerguelen Plateau

Paleomagnetic measurements were performed on 106 basalt samples collected from Holes 747C, 748C, 749C, and 750B. Basalt samples were recovered from the southern portion of the Kerguelen Plateau and the transitional zone between the northern and southern plateau in the south central Indian Ocean. The ages of basalts range from 100 to 115 Ma. In addition to the preliminary shipboard measurements (Schlich, Wise, et al., 1989, doi:10.2973/odp.proc.ir.120.1989), characteristic inclinations of the magnetization were obtained using mainly stepwise thermal demagnetization of the samples. Reliable paleomagnetic results were obtained from three sites (Sites 747, 748, and 749). The paleomagnetic inclinations of Sites 747, 748, and 749 are -51°, -63°, and -62°, respectively. The considerable differences between the paleomagnetic and present inclinations of about 70° at Sites 747, 748, and 749 indicate that displacement in the direction of the geomagnetic meridian has taken place since formation of the basalt. Shallower paleomagnetic inclinations than the present inclinations at each site imply a southward movement of the sites with respect to the geomagnetic pole. By comparing the apparent polar wander path of Antarctica with the virtual geomagnetic pole (VGP) of the Southern Kerguelen Plateau, we have concluded that no major tectonic movement has taken place between the Kerguelen Plateau and Antarctica since formation of the basalt (i.e., 100-115 Ma). The angular dispersion of the VGP for the Kerguelen Plateau is calculated as 17°.