MALT1, BCL10 and FOXP1 in salivary gland mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphomas

In view of the certain anatomic site-dependent frequency of chromosomal translocations involved in extranodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT lymphoma) pathogenesis, 17 salivary gland MALT lymphoma cases were analyzed for MALT1 and FOXP1 translocations. B cell CLL/lymphoma 10 (BCL10) and forkhead box PA (FOXP1) protein expression were studied by immunohistochemistry and translocations identified using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)-specific probes FOXP1, t(11;18)(q21;q21)/API2-MALT1 and t(14;18)(q32;q21)/IgH-MALT1. None of the 11 analyzed cases showed FOXP1 rearrangement or amplification. The t(11;18) was present in five of 13 cases and the t(14;18) in three of 13 cases. MALT1 translocations were mostly mutually exclusive except in a single case. FOXP1 protein expression showed differences in the proportion of tumor cells with nuclear expression but not in their intensity, with the exception of one case where very intense nuclear staining was noted. BCL10 nuclear expression was present in four of 17 cases, two of which lacked t(11;18). Our results suggest that MALT1-specific translocations and FOXP1 rearrangements are not commonly involved in pathogenesis. A case with strong FOXP1 protein expression indicates the possibility that the upregulation of FOXP1 expression is significant in a small subset of salivary gland MALT lymphomas. Also a single case in which both MALT1 translocations were present indicates that these are not always mutually exclusive

The WFC3 Galactic Bulge Treasury Program: A First Look at Resolved Stellar Population Tools

[Abridged] When WFC3 is installed on HST, the community will have powerful new tools for investigating resolved stellar populations. The WFC3 Galactic Bulge Treasury program will obtain deep imaging on 4 low-extinction fields. These non-proprietary data will enable a variety of science investigations not possible with previous data sets. To aid in planning for the use of these data and for future proposals, we provide an introduction to the program, its photometric system, and the associated calibration effort. The observing strategy is based upon a new 5-band photometric system spanning the UV, optical, and near-infrared. With these broad bands, one can construct reddening-free indices of Teff and [Fe/H]. Besides the 4 bulge fields, the program will target 6 fields in well-studied star clusters, spanning a wide range of [Fe/H]. The cluster data serve to calibrate the indices, provide population templates, and correct the transformation of isochrones into the WFC3 photometric system. The bulge data will shed light on the bulge formation history, and will also serve as population templates for other studies. One of the fields includes 12 candidate hosts of extrasolar planets. CMDs are the most popular tool for analyzing resolved stellar populations. However, due to degeneracies among Teff, [Fe/H], and reddening in traditional CMDs, it can be difficult to draw robust conclusions from the data. The 5-band system used for the bulge Treasury observations will provide indices that are roughly orthogonal in Teff and [Fe/H], and we argue that model fitting in an index-index diagram will make better use of the information than fitting separate CMDs. We provide simulations to show the expected data quality and the potential for differentiating between different star-formation histories.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journal. 9 pages, 8 figures, latex, AJ forma

Branching

For many years I have observed and photographed visual patterns. Sometimes I stumble upon them, and other times I search to find them, record them and perhaps make some sense of the relationships I see in the many variations. In the early \u2770s I began to put these observations together and to classify the many patterns into branching and layering. These two systems I see as primal information from which the human can better understand an underlying structure in the universe. These universal patterns act as building blocks to many diverse and complex forms and phenomena. The images and ideas continue to excite me as an artist-teacher and science student. My slide collection continues to grow and my notes reflect the ever changing relationships I see

Increased MicroRNA-34b and -34c Predominantly Expressed in Stromal Tissues Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Human Colon Cancer

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Bird Feeding, Bird Watching

A year ago at Christmas time, I became seriously fascinated with watching birds at feeders while we were visiting our daughter in Shenandoah, Iowa. She had put out a small hanging feeder, and I spread some loose seed in the garden plot behind the house. With my binoculars, I watched for hours by the window, seeing the birds in minute detail, and I considered trying this when we got back home

Visualization

In pockets of deep prehistory, humans made the first marks on their world. Those marks were completely new images, images that had not existed before. The painting and tooling on stone walls recorded and attempted to explain human interaction with the world. Languages, alphabets, systems of numbers and physical structures came much later. Each new tool eventually became interconnected with the others to produce more complex means of studying, recording and building the human-world relationship. These pockets of activity moved, merged, divided or died. The accumulations of perceptions, knowledge and technology continued to mix and reconnect

Reading and Understanding the Scientific Literature: ACE 10 Course: Biochemistry 435 Advanced Topics

ACE 10 Question Learning Objectives Writing: Students will generally be writing in a scientific format for the first time. This may be very different from prior writing in the university. This will come from discussions in the classroom sessions and from feedback on the course paper chapters that are submitted during the progress of the course. Oral Communication: This is reinforced by the presentation of relevant papers from the scientific literature during most of the class periods. Students need to learn to master the content of such papers, prioritize the important elements, and present them in a coherent fashion. The student effort receives intrinsic feedback during the process by questions and comments from the instructor and from the other students. Critical Thinking: Critical thinking can only be done once a student has mastered a significant amount of foundational literature. Students at the start of the topic will have little ability to carry out critical thinking about the course theme. As students read more of the primary literature and seek out other references to flesh out certain aspects and to reconcile contradictory reports, they will be encouraged to reflect on the epistemology of the conclusions. Ethics: Each section of the class involves one class session related to an ethical issue. This usually involves a case study that is read prior to the class and a group discussion. In some cases, it is productive to have students attempt to present differing viewpoints, but in for other topics, students seem able to grasp the diverse social impacts. Student Work Rubric for evaluating student work Broad range of topics for each section of BIOC435 Method of Analysis Findings Improving ACE 10 Learnin

The Extended Star Formation History of the Andromeda Spheroid at 35 Kpc on the Minor Axis

Using the HST ACS, we have obtained deep optical images reaching well below the oldest main sequence turnoff in fields on the southeast minor-axis of the Andromeda Galaxy, 35 kpc from the nucleus. These data probe the star formation history in the extended halo of Andromeda -- that region beyond 30 kpc that appears both chemically and morphologically distinct from the metal-rich, highly-disturbed inner spheroid. The present data, together with our previous data for fields at 11 and 21 kpc, do not show a simple trend toward older ages and lower metallicities, as one might expect for populations further removed from the obvious disturbances of the inner spheroid. Specifically, the mean ages and [Fe/H] values at 11 kpc, 21 kpc, and 35 kpc are 9.7 Gyr and -0.65, 11.0 Gyr and -0.87, and 10.5 Gyr and -0.98, respectively. In the best-fit model of the 35 kpc population, one third of the stars are younger than 10 Gyr, while only ~10% of the stars are truly ancient and metal-poor. The extended halo thus exhibits clear evidence of its hierarchical assembly, and the contribution from any classical halo formed via early monolithic collapse must be small.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 4 pages, latex, 2 color figure

The antisaccade task as an index of sustained goal activation in working memory: modulation by nicotine

The antisaccade task provides a laboratory analogue of situations in which execution of the correct behavioural response requires the suppression of a more prepotent or habitual response. Errors (failures to inhibit a reflexive prosaccade towards a sudden onset target) are significantly increased in patients with damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and patients with schizophrenia. Recent models of antisaccade performance suggest that errors are more likely to occur when the intention to initiate an antisaccade is insufficiently activated within working memory. Nicotine has been shown to enhance specific working memory processes in healthy adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We explored the effect of nicotine on antisaccade performance in a large sample (N = 44) of young adult smokers. Minimally abstinent participants attended two test sessions and were asked to smoke one of their own cigarettes between baseline and retest during one session only. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Nicotine reduced antisaccade errors and correct antisaccade latencies if delivered before optimum performance levels are achieved, suggesting that nicotine supports the activation of intentions in working memory during task performance. The implications of this research for current theoretical accounts of antisaccade performance, and for interpreting the increased rate of antisaccade errors found in some psychiatric patient groups are discussed