The impact of multiplex genetic testing on disease risk perceptions

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110591/1/cge12403.pd

The Congressional Resurrection of Supplemental Jurisdiction in the Post-Finley Era

Pendent and ancillary jurisdiction are necessary judicial creations for the just and efficient adjudication of lawsuits in an increasingly complex and overburdened court system. In Finley v. United States, however, the United States Supreme Court threatened the viability of these doctrines by requiring explicit congressional authorization for the exercise of extrajurisdictional power. Realizing Finley\u27s negative import, Congress alleviated the Supreme Court\u27s threat within a year and a half of the decision. In enacting section 1367 of Title 28 of the United States Code, Congress supplied the federal courts with the express legislative authorization required by Finley. Expanding the federal courts\u27 pre-Finley pendent and ancillary powers in some regards and restricting them in others, Congress regularized and clarified many of the doctrines\u27 prior inconsistencies. This Note examines Congress\u27 post-Finley resurrection of federal extra-jurisdictional power. After reviewing the development of pendent and ancillary jurisdiction and exploring Finley\u27s practical implications, the Note analyzes the new uniform framework of supplemental jurisdiction under section 1367. The author then proposes a scheme of statutory interpretation that would ensure that parties and claims are joined in a consistent manner. Such a construction also would aid federal courts in effectuating Congress\u27 objective: the fair and efficient use of the judicial system

Effect of Contour Shape of Nervous System Electromagnetic Stimulation Coils on the Induced Electrical Field Distribution

BACKGROUND: Electromagnetic stimulation of the nervous system has the advantage of reduced discomfort in activating nerves. For brain structures stimulation, it has become a clinically accepted modality. Coil designs usually consider factors such as optimization of induced power, focussing, field shape etc. In this study we are attempting to find the effect of the coil contour shape on the electrical field distribution for magnetic stimulation. METHOD AND RESULTS: We use the maximum of the induced electric field stimulation in the region of interest as the optimization criterion. This choice required the application of the calculus of variation, with the contour perimeter taken as a pre-set condition. Four types of coils are studied and compared: circular, square, triangular and an 'optimally' shaped contour. The latter yields higher values of the induced electrical field in depths up to about 30 mm, but for depths around 100 mm, the circular shape has a slight advantage. The validity of the model results was checked by experimental measurements in a tank with saline solution, where differences of about 12% were found. In view the accuracy limitations of the computational and measurement methods used, such differences are considered acceptable. CONCLUSION: We applied an optimization approach, using the calculus of variation, which allows to obtain a coil contour shape corresponding to a selected criterion. In this case, the optimal contour showed higher intensities for a longer line along the depth-axis. The method allows modifying the induced field structure and focussing the field to a selected zone or line

A PALB2 mutation associated with high risk of breast cancer

Introduction: As a group, women who carry germline mutations in partner and localizer of breast cancer 2 susceptibility protein (PALB2) are at increased risk of breast cancer. Little is known about by how much or whether risk differs by mutation or family history, owing to the paucity of studies of cases unselected for family history.Methods: We screened 1,403 case probands for PALB2 mutations in a population-based study of Australian women with invasive breast cancer stratified by age at onset. The age-specific risk of breast cancer was estimated from the cancer histories of first- and second-degree relatives of mutation-carrying probands using a modified segregation analysis that included a polygenic modifier and was conditioned on the carrier case proband. Further screening for PALB2 c.3113G > A (W1038X) was conducted for 779 families with multiple cases of breast cancer ascertained through family cancer clinics in Australia and New Zealand and 764 population-based controls.Results: We found five independent case probands in the population-based sample with the protein-truncating mutation PALB2 c.3113G > A (W1038X); 2 of 695 were diagnosed before age 40 years and 3 of 708 were diagnosed when between ages 40 and 59 years. Both of the two early-onset carrier case probands had very strong family histories of breast cancer. Further testing found that the mutation segregated with breast cancer in these families. No c.3113G > A (W1038X) carriers were found in 764 population-based unaffected controls. The hazard ratio was estimated to be 30.1 (95% confidence interval (CI), 7.5 to 120; P A mutation appears to be associated with substantial risks of breast cancer that are of clinical relevance. © 2010 Southey et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd