2,829 research outputs found
Polymorphous adenocarcinoma of the breast. Report of three cases.
No full textWe report three cases of polymorphous adenocarcinoma (PLA) of the breast in 37-, 55- and 74-year-old women, respectively. The patients have no evidence of previous malignancy. The tumours consist of monotonous cells showing a wide spectrum of growth patterns: solid nests, trabeculae, tubules, cribriform structures, strands and fascicles reminiscent of polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma of salivary glands. To our knowledge, PLA has never been reported in the breast; therefore, this tumour should be added to the list of neoplastic lesions of the breasts that have the same features as those of the salivary glands
HAGE (DDX43) is a biomarker for poor prognosis and a predictor of chemotherapy response in breast cancer
No full textBackground: HAGE protein is a known immunogenic cancer-specific antigen. Methods: The biological, prognostic and predictive values of HAGE expression was studied using immunohistochemistry in three cohorts of patients with BC (n=2147): early primary (EP-BC; n=1676); primary oestrogen receptor-negative (PER-BC; n=275) treated with adjuvant anthracycline-combination therapies (Adjuvant-ACT); and primary locally advanced disease (PLA-BC) who received neo-adjuvant anthracycline-combination therapies (Neo-adjuvant-ACT; n=196). The relationship between HAGE expression and the tumour-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in matched prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy samples were investigated. Results: Eight percent of patients with EP-BC exhibited high HAGE expression (HAGEþ) and was associated with aggressive clinico-pathological features (Ps<0.01). Furthermore, HAGEþexpression was associated with poor prognosis in both univariate and multivariate analysis (Ps<0.001). Patients with HAGE+ did not benefit from hormonal therapy in high-risk ER-positive disease. HAGE+ and TILs were found to be independent predictors for pathological complete response to neoadjuvant-ACT; P<0.001. A statistically significant loss of HAGE expression following neoadjuvant-ACT was found (P=0.000001), and progression-free survival was worse in those patients who had HAGE+ residual disease (P=0.0003). Conclusions: This is the first report to show HAGE to be a potential prognostic marker and a predictor of response to ACT in patients with BC
A practice based learning environment for engineering students: Acquiring competencies for working on advanced manufacturing engineering
No full textThis thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In this thesis the author describes the design and operation of a learning environment aimed at imparting technical, technological and managerial knowledge, developing understanding of the underlying issues and enhancing team work skills for an advanced technology future. He offers an analysis of learning, education and training and compares group work with individual tasks, presents a major case study and illustrates the features which distinguish the approach from role play, simulation and experiential learning. When staff at Brunel University were faced with the problem of teaching Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) to engineering students on thin sandwich type undergraduate degree programmes the writer suggested the use of an approach he would later describe as 'practice based learning' or 'real life simulation'. The fourth year course in CIM is designed as a double option for the complementary undergraduate courses, Brunel Manufacturing Engineering (BME) and Special Engineering Programmes (SEP). It is an extension of the Manufacturing Design and Practice course in years one to three of the BME course and of the Design strand on SEP, both of which restrict students' work to the use of individual machine tools and stand alone computing facilities. A wide range of teaching methods is used on the CIM course, including lectures by course staff, presentations by experts and, as the major element, a large group project involving all the students on the course, organised in a management matrix, coordinated by the students and supported by the staff acting as experts. The students also undertake assignment work alongside the technical tasks, to focus their thinking and to improve written communication skills. While the course described cannot replace more than a small proportion of the more conventional lecture, laboratory and tutorial teaching on an engineering programme, it provides a setting where students can experiment and learn about their own strengths and weaknesses in a realistic situation and in the context of teamwork. It also offers a space where they can make quite serious mistakes without direct consequences to their careers. The experience of seven years leads the author to believe that advanced manufacturing technologies and the associated management techniques should be taught in a project based environment with clear and real targets and realistic constraints, offering students challenges to which they can only rise through close and creative team work. The management of task execution must be left largely in the students' own hands. A high level of "consultant" type support is essential though, allied to an assessment scheme which promises and ensures fair treatment of the individual. The different parts of the thesis will be relevant to readers depending on their interest and background. Chapter 1 sets the scene and outlines the approach taken. Following this broad outline of the scope of the dissertation the author places Computer Integrated Manufacturing in a wider context in chapter 2, by providing an introduction to the underlying issues of computer integration and human factors. He puts forward a case for new approaches to the education and training of engineers and managers who will be working in Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Advanced Manufacturing Environments in general. Chapter 3 is devoted to the management of projects while chapter 4 is used to question the role of the engineer. Chapters 5 and 6 provide an introduction to theories of knowledge, teaching, learning and motivation. Chapters 7 and 8 are devoted to particular aspects of engineering education, while chapter 9 reviews the approach used at Brunel University. The topical issues of competence and its relevance to engineering education is discussed in chapter 10, leading into chapters 11 and 12 which deal with aspects of the CIM course. Chapters 13 and 14 are devoted to case-studies and particular tools. The key question of assessment of a practice oriented and team based course is addressed in chapter 15, followed by an evaluation of the CIM process and its application to engineering education of a full time nature which is included in chapters 17 and 18.Funding was obtained from The General Electric Company Prize 1993: Manufacturing Systems Engineering
bioimage-io/spec-bioimage-io: v0.4.9post1
No full textChanges
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Os efeitos de duas estratégias de ensino, uma implícita e outra explícita, na aprendizagem do presente e do passato prossimo do italiano como língua estrangeira
No full textTese (doutorado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Comunicação e Expressão, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Linguística, Florianópolis, 2014.Este estudo verificou os efeitos de duas estratégias de ensino, uma explícita e outra implícita, na aprendizagem de duas estruturas da língua italiana de complexidades distintas, a saber, o presente e o passato prossimo. Foram elaboradas quatro unidades de ensino, duas com o uso da estratégia explícita e duas com a estratégia implícita, as quais foram implementadas em dois grupos formados por adultos brasileiros iniciantes da língua italiana. As unidades de ensino explícito seguiram a metodologia APP - Apresentação, Prática e Produção - em que o conteúdo gramatical é apresentado aos alunos, seguido por exercícios para engajá-los na prática mecanizada das estruturas-alvo para, finalmente, chegar ao momento da produção por meio de atividades comunicativas. O objetivo dessa abordagem foi direcionar a atenção dos alunos para as estruturas-alvo, tendo como referencial teórico a Teoria de Aquisição de Habilidades de Anderson (1982, 1983, 1993). As unidades de ensino implícito, por sua vez, visaram a atrair a atenção dos alunos para as estruturas-alvo por meio do destaque (input enhancement) e do "encharque" (input flood) dessas estruturas em atividades comunicativas, e tiveram como referencial teórico a Hipótese do Noticing (SCHMIDT, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2010). Os resultados de aprendizagem decorrentes do uso das duas estratégias puderam ser avaliados, qualitativa e quantitativamente, por meio de diários de aula, aulas gravadas em áudio e vídeo, entrevistas semi-estruturadas e testes de desempenho para a produção escrito-oral, aplicados como teste imediato, logo após a implementação de cada unidade de ensino, e como teste postergado, algumas semanas após a condução dos materiais didáticos. Os dados mostraram que os alunos dos dois grupos (grupo explícito e grupo implícito) melhoraram no uso das estruturas-alvo logo após terem sido submetidos às estratégias de ensino. Esse resultado indica que ambas as estratégias foram igualmente eficazes no intake, isto é, na percepção e no processamento do insumo, compreendido ou não (REINDERS; ELLIS, 2009). O teste postergado indicou que a maioria dos alunos de ambos os grupos estava em processo de aprendizagem/aquisição, dada a coexistência de formas corretas e incorretas em suas produções. Alguns poucos alunos de cada grupo demonstraram ter adquirido as estruturas-alvo, com 100% de acertos em suas produções. Mesmo estando em estágio gradual de aquisição das estruturas-alvo, no geral, o grupo explícito apresentou melhor desempenho em relação ao grupo implícito, no que se refere ao emprego correto do presente do indicativo (1a e 3a pessoa do singular e 3a pessoa do plural) e do passato prossimo (3a pessoa do plural). Em compensação, o grupo implícito produziu textos com maior autenticidade comunicativa isto é, os textos se mostraram mais espontâneos, propositados e próximos a situações do "mundo real".Abstract : This study examined the effects of two instruction strategies, one explicit and the other implicit, on the learning of two structures of the Italian language with different complexities, namely, the present tense and the passato prossimo. Four teaching units, two with the use of explicit strategy and two with the implicit one, were elaborated and implemented in two groups formed by Brazilian adults who were beginner learners of Italian. Explicit teaching units followed the PPP methodology - Presentation, Practice and Production - where the grammatical content was presented to the students, followed by exercises to engage them in mechanized practice of target structures to finally reach the point of production by means of communicative activities. The aim of this approach was to direct students' attention to the target structures, which was theoretically based on the Skill Acquisition Theory, by Anderson (1982, 1983, 1993). Implicit teaching units, in turn, aimed to attract students' attention to the target structures through input enhancement and input flood of the target structures in communicative activities, theoretically based on the Noticing Hypothesis (SCHMIDT, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2010). Learning outcomes from the use of the two strategies could be evaluated, both qualitatively and quantitatively, by means of analyzing Teacher's notes, lessons recorded on audio and video, semi-structured interviews and performance tests for the written-oral production, applied as immediate test after implementation of each teaching unit, and as post-test, a few weeks after the conduct of instructional materials. The data showed that students in both groups (explicit group and implicit group) improved the use of target structures after they were submitted to the teaching strategies. This result indicates that both strategies were equally effective in the intake, that is, in the perception of the input and processing, being it understood or not (REINDERS; ELLIS, 2009). The post-test indicated that the majority of students in both groups were in the learning / acquisition process, given the coexistence of correct and incorrect forms in their productions. A few students from each group showed to have acquired the target structures, with 100% accuracy in their productions. Even in gradual stages of acquiring the target structures, in general, the explicit group showed better performance than the implicit group, with regards to the correct use of the presente dell?indicativo (1st and 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural) and the passato prossimo (3rd person plural). Nevertheless, the implicit group produced texts with more communicative authenticity, that is, the learners' texts were more spontaneous purposeful and similar to the ones found in the "real world"
Modelling the orbital-tidal evolution of the Galilean moon Io
No full textIo, the innermost Galilean moon of Jupiter, is the most volcanically active body in the Solar System. Its volcanism is driven by tidal foces, which are in turn sustained by the Laplace resonance between Io, Europa, and Ganymede. Tides have significant impact on a body's characteristics. The liquid ocean underneath Europa's icy surface is sustained by tidal heating. Similarly, tidally-heated exomoons may be able to support life well outside the habitable zone. Tidal forces influence the orbital evolution of a body. Consequently, the orbital evolution also affects the tidal evolution. Thus, it is important to understand how tides drive the Jupiter system and how sustainable the tidal heating that Io experiences is. Additionally, the interior structure of both Jupiter and Io are not very well understood nor constrained, but govern the orbital-tidal evolution via the Love number k2 and the quality factor Q. The orbital motion and tidal evolution of the Jupiter system was modelled. For this, existing TUDAT functions, for example for third-body gravitational acceleration, were combined with new tidal acceleration models. To enable long-term stability and fast computation of the integration a 4 th -order symplectic integrator with Wisdom-Holman split was applied. This type of energy-conserving integrator has limited applicability in the case of small dissipative forces, but requires fewer force evaluation than, for example, a Runge-Kutta integrator of the same order. A variety of reasonable values for k2 and Q have been tested, as well as extreme cases. It was found that the tides raised on Jupiter by Io have a negligible effect on the evolution of the system. On the other hand, the tides raised on Io by Jupiter profoundly impact the evolution of the inner moons. Over the course of five thousand years, Io migrates inwards by several thousand kilometre. In doing so, Europa is brought into a closer orbit as well, to retain the resonance. Similarly, the eccentricity of both Io and Europa decreases, which in turn reduces the dissipated tidal energy and -heating. With Io being in spin-orbit resonance, tidal forces due to tides on Io are not readily applied. Multiple variations of analytical expressions of tides on Io have been evaluated. The results of this thesis provide a qualtiative assessment of the evolution of the Jupiter system and of the sustainability of Io's strong volcanism. The insight gathered on the modelling of tides and their effects on spin-orbit-resonant bodies in particular will benefit future work on the evolution of moons in the Solar System as well as exosystems.Aerospace EngineeringSpace EngineeringMSc Spacefligh
How Much Ice Could an Icy Io Have Lost Through Tidal Heating?: How Much Ice Could an Icy Io Have Lost Through Tidal Heating?
No full textOf the four Galilean satellites the only one without ice is Io. While it is possible that Io never contained any ice the starting point of this research work is an icy Io. As present-day Io does not contain any ice, icy Io must have lost its ice through some sort of ice loss mechanism. In this work the assumed ice loss mechanism is geysers driven by tidal heating. Tidal dissipation of sufficient magnitude is able to melt part of an icy layer creating a subsurface ocean and is also able to crack the overlying icy shell. The subsurface ocean then acts as a reservoir from which water vapor molecules and icy grains accelerate upwards through the cracks and are erupted from the surface. Erupted material with a sufficient velocity is able to escape from icy Io resulting in ice loss.Aerospace Engineerin
Graeme Reade Anthony ('Bill') Ellis 1921-2011
No full textGraeme Reade Anthony Ellis (universally known as ‘Bill') was a pioneer in the area of low-frequency radio observations. By exploiting Hobart's geomagnetic latitude and the lack of background radio noise there, he was able to make major discoveries at these low frequencies (principally in the frequency range 1–10 MHz). Among the questions he pursued were the propagation/dispersion/reflection of radio waves in the ionosphere and the detection of radio emissions from the Sun, the galactic disk and Jupiter. He built innovative radio receivers and de-dispersers to gain information about the radio sources, for example about the Sun via aurorae and about the influence of Io on the Jovian emissions. It is thanks to Ellis' practical research investigations and clever experimental methods that radio astronomy at the University of Tasmania is today firmly established and internationally recognized
Making a market for Miscanthus: Can new contract designs solve the biofuel investment hold-up problem?
No full textWe present designs for optimal contracts to solve the investment hold-up problem for perennial crops for the biofuel industry. A fixed-price contract is ex-ante efficient but renegotiation-proof for a limited range of discount parameters. A perfectly- indexed contract is both renegotiation-proof and ex-post efficient. Provided long-run land prices are stationary, the expected cost for both contracts converges to the long-run expected price of land for a risk-neutral farmer.Biofuels, Miscanthus, contract theory, industrial organization, renegotiation-proof contract, Marketing,
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