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Although different prognostic indices for malignant gliomas have been developed, their validity outside of clinical trials has not been widely tested. The aim of this study was to determine whether the Medical Research Council (MRC) brain tumour prognostic index was able to stratify patients for survival managed in routine practice, and secondly to compare the results with our newly developed prognostic score which included tumour grade and only 3 prognostic groups. The MRC and the new prognostic index were calculated for a group of 119 adult patients with malignant glioma managed by surgical resection/biopsy and post-operative radiotherapy. For the MRC and new score, 6 and 3 prognostic groups were defined, respectively. For all patients median survival was 11 (2-66) months. The overall survival rate at 12 and 24 months were 43% and 18%, respectively. The MRC median and two-year survival rates were 14 months and 26% for a score of 1-10, 14 months and 27% for a score of 11-15, 13 months and 22% for a score of 16-20, 8 months and 10% for a score of 21-25, 8 months and 0% for those scoring 26-33. There was only one patient in the 34-38 group. For the new prognostic index, median and two-year survival rates were respectively 16 and 26%; 12 and 23%; 8 and 7% for the good, intermediate and poor prognostic groups. Both indices were significant factors for survival in univariate analysis (MRC index, p = 0.0089, new index p = 0.0002), but not in multivariate analysis. Both the MRC and our newly devised prognostic score were able to separate patients into good and poor prognostic groups, which may aid in treatment decisions, although there was less differentiation between the MRC groups especially over the first year. Both scores use routinely available factors. However, inclusion of tumour grade in the new score may be an advantage over the MRC index.

Tc-99m MDP uptake into extraosseous malignant lesions with metastases to soft tissue has been well described. Tc-99m MDP uptake has been reported in primary lesions and usually in single metastatic sites including the regional lymph nodes, the abdomen, and especially the liver. In metastatic adenocarcinoma, previous studies showing extraosseous uptake have revealed histopathologically that calcification or ossification had occurred in the soft tissue. The authors report an unusual case of soft-tissue metastases in colonic adenocarcinoma that were detected on routine bone scintigraphy. The histopathologic findings did not reveal calcification, ossification, or necrosis.

Periosteal bone reaction manifested by shin splints and stress fractures on Tc-99m MDP bone scanning have been widely described in athletes. In this case, an elite volleyball player, whose primary role is blocking and spiking (forced elbow extension), demonstrates increased linear periosteal uptake of isotope along the medial aspect of the right humerus-so called «arm splints»

FRTL-5 cells, a diploid line of differentiated rat thyroid epithelial cells, have been grown as multicellular spheroids in spinner culture. Spheroids were initiated by seeding FRTL-5 cells either into Lab-Tek dishes or culture flasks with a 0.5% agar base. Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH, greater than 1.0 mU/ml) was required for initial cell aggregation and spheroid growth. After 1 wk cellular aggregates were transferred to suspension culture in spinner flasks. As with FRTL-5 monolayer cultures, continued spheroid growth required the addition of TSH to the culture medium. The most unique characteristic of the FRTL-5 spheroids was the development of central lumina similar to thyroid follicles in vivo. Follicular structures were absent from spheroids not stimulated with TSH. In the presence of TSH epithelial cells seem metabolically active with morphological evidence of biosynthesis of thyroglobulin-like material and basal laminar-like components. In contrast, all evidence of cellular metabolic activity is absent from cells in spheroids maintained in the absence of TSH. Thus, nontransformed FRTL-5 cells grown as three-dimensional multicellular spheroids responded to hormonal manipulation in a manner comparable to follicular epithelial cells in vivo. This spheroid model might therefore prove to be a very effective tool for investigating aspects of thyroid physiology and pathology in vitro.

Increasing recent research has sought to understand the recollection impairments experienced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Here, we tested whether these memory deficits reflect a reduction in the probability of retrieval success or in the precision of memory representations. We also used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural mechanisms underlying memory encoding and retrieval in ASD, focusing particularly on the functional connectivity of core episodic memory networks. Adults with ASD and typical control participants completed a memory task that involved studying visual displays and subsequently using a continuous dial to recreate their appearance. The ASD group exhibited reduced retrieval success, but there was no evidence of a difference in retrieval precision. fMRI data revealed similar patterns of brain activity and functional connectivity during memory encoding in the 2 groups, though encoding-related lateral frontal activity predicted subsequent retrieval success only in the control group. During memory retrieval, the ASD group exhibited attenuated lateral frontal activity and substantially reduced hippocampal connectivity, particularly between hippocampus and regions of the fronto-parietal control network. These findings demonstrate notable differences in brain function during episodic memory retrieval in ASD and highlight the importance of functional connectivity to understanding recollection-related retrieval deficits in this population.

The Latham (1994) and Egan (1998) reports identified fragmentation, poor \ud co-ordination and communication as major weaknesses in the UK \ud construction industry. The Generic Design and Construction Process \ud Protocol has been developed to address these problems and help the \ud industry to improve their business. The need for an IT solution to combat \ud the obstacles and problems in implementing the Process Protocol in the \ud industry has emerged. This PhD research focuses on developing an IT \ud solution to support and help the implementation of the Generic Design and \ud Construction Process Protocol to enable the fundamental change in the \ud construction industry. The IT solution, named The Process Protocol \ud Toolkit, aims to assist the creation of the process model and to manage \ud the information of the project based on the Process Protocol framework. \ud The Process Protocol Toolkit is composed of a Process Protocol Map \ud Creation Tool and a Process Information Management Tool. The first tool \ud will automate the process map creation process by using the Process \ud Protocol as a framework and allow users to create and customise their \ud specific project process map, and the second aims to manage and \ud develop project information based on the project process. It will enable the \ud construction managers to understand the construction process and \ud facilitate the management of the construction process. The prototype of \ud the Process Protocol Map Creation Tool is developed incorporating this \ud research.\ud Literature Reviews are used to understand the Process Protocol, process \ud modelling and construction IT development. A questionnaire is employed \ud to establish the IT usage and awareness within the industry. Information \ud associated with the Process Protocol framework is modelled by a data \ud modelling technique and transferred into a relational database. \ud Subsequently, the data model is used in the development of the prototype of the Process Map Creation Tool to automate the process map \ud production. A series of web based project information management \ud systems are reviewed to identify the requirements of the project \ud management system. The solution for knowledge integration with the \ud Process Information Management tool is proposed for future development.\ud The main contribution of this research is the establishment of the data \ud model of the Process Protocol framework and the development of the \ud Process Protocol map creation tool. It demonstrates how the Process \ud Protocol framework can be customised and integrated into the project \ud information system. The secondary contribution is the IT framework for \ud knowledge based construction project information system. The framework \ud of the system is demonstrated and validated through workshops and \ud questionnaire. The concept of process driven project information system \ud has also been taken by a software firm for their future product \ud development.