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Citizen science initiatives offer an informal way to encourage the general public to engage in science learning, and contributes to the development of a more stable supply of science professionals by arousing volunteers' enthusiasm for a science career. This study aimed to identify the contribution that science service makes to volunteers' experience and the influence it has on the relationship between their experience and beliefs, and on their eventual career orientation. This study tested the effect of social cognitive variables on volunteers' career interests in science using Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT). The sample consisted of 241 volunteers taking part in a science volunteer project which is administered by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) and PROCESS Macro 4.1 to test the structural relationships and mediating hypotheses proposed in this study. Building on the SCCT, our findings indicated that self-efficacy in science service, satisfaction with science service, and social support are contributing factors to the science volunteers' career interest in a scientific profession. This study adds to the SCCT literature by clarifying how a volunteer-based citizen science initiative as an informal science learning platform may affect the participants' career decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined two mediators of university students' behavioural intention to use digital platforms in the context of science service learning in Taiwanese universities. Based on the technology acceptance model (TAM), we proposed two cognitive variables as antecedents, self-efficacy and science trust, to verify their influences on students' behavioural intention. We further investigated two mediators, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, to examine to what extent they had effects on students' intention. Questionnaire data were collected from 282 university students who participated in a science service project. A structural equation model (SEM) procedure was used to test the direct and indirect relationships between the variables. The results showed that both self-efficacy and science trust had direct influences on perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The two mediators also had direct effects on students' behavioural intention. Nevertheless, as a mediating variable, only perceived ease of use effectively mediated the relationships between both self-efficacy and science trust and students' behavioural intention. Findings of this research could provide some suggestions to enhance students' behavioural intention for institutions where science service learning is a required project/programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To maximize the utility of PET MPI with myocardial blood flow measurement in patients with SVC syndrome, alternate routes of radiotracer administration may be considered. Introduction Superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is the constellation of clinical findings resulting from SVC occlusion, commonly due to malignancy or SVC stenosis consequent to central venous catheters and pacemaker/defibrillator leads.[1] SVC syndrome affects circulatory hemodynamics by diverting blood to the right atrium through venous collaterals. B Fused PET-CT image showing excessive pooling of radiotracer in the quadrate lobe of the liver, a consequence of the caval-portal shunts secondary to collateral circulation Graph: Figure 3Severe superior vena cava stenosis. [Extracted from the article]

UDP-glucuronosyltransferases are the principal enzymes involved in the glucuronidation of metabolites and xenobiotics for physiological clearance in humans. Though glucuronidation is an indispensable process in the phase II metabolic pathway, UGT-mediated glucuronidation of most prescribed drugs (> 55%) and clinical evidence of UGT-associated drug resistance are major concerns for therapeutic development. While UGTs are highly conserved enzymes, they manifest unique substrate and inhibitor specificity which is poorly understood given the dearth of experimentally determined full-length structures. Such information is important not only to conceptualize their specificity but is central to the design of inhibitors specific to a given UGT in order to avoid toxicity associated with pan-UGT inhibitors. Here, we provide the 1H, 13C and 15N backbone (~ 90%) and sidechain (~ 62%) assignments for the C-terminal domain of UGT2B17, which can be used to determine the molecular binding sites of inhibitor and substrate, and to understand the atomic basis for inhibitor selectivity between UGT2B17 and other members of the UGT2B subfamily. Given the physiological relevance of UGT2B17 in the elimination of hormone-based cancer drugs, these assignments will contribute towards dissecting the structural basis for substrate specificity, selective inhibitor recognition and other aspects of enzyme activity with the goal of selectively overcoming glucuronidation-based drug resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Air pollution and noise exposures individually associate with major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) via a mechanism involving arterial inflammation (ArtI); however, their combined impact on ArtI and MACE remains unknown. We tested whether dual (vs. one or neither) exposure associates with greater ArtI and MACE risk and whether MACE risk is mediated via ArtI. Methods: Individuals (N = 474) without active cancer or known cardiovascular disease with clinical 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging were followed for 5 years for MACE. ArtI was measured. Average air pollution (particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm, PM2.5) and transportation noise exposure were determined at individual residences. Higher exposures were defined as noise > 55 dBA (World Health Organization cutoff) and PM2.5 ≥ sample median. Results: At baseline, 46%, 46%, and 8% were exposed to high levels of neither, one, or both pollutants; 39 experienced MACE over a median 4.1 years. Exposure to an increasing number of pollutants associated with higher ArtI (standardized β [95% CI:.195 [.052,.339], P =.008) and MACE (HR [95% CI]: 2.897 [1.818–4.615], P <.001). In path analysis, ArtI partially mediated the relationship between pollutant exposures and MACE (P <.05). Conclusion: Air pollution and transportation noise exposures contribute incrementally to ArtI and MACE. The mechanism linking dual exposure to MACE involves ArtI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graph: Figure 1 Monitoring for cardiovascular disease resulting from the convergence of baseline risk factors and the effects of cancer therapies in breast cancer patients The study should be interpreted within the context of its design. Among patients with a history of breast cancer, coronary microvascular dysfunction detected by PET MPI appears to serve as an effective biomarker for cardiovascular risk. [Extracted from the article]

All individuals underwent assessment of BHB and other metabolic biomarkers at three separate time points: approximately four hours before SP 18 sp F-FDG injection, approximately ten minutes before SP 18 sp F-FDG injection, and approximately 45 min after SP 18 sp F-FDG injection. BHB measured four hours prior to SP 18 sp F-FDG injection performed as well or better than measurements performed closer to imaging, which may be useful during inpatient evaluations. [Extracted from the article]

Accordingly, through these combined arterial and atrial measurements, FDG PET/CT imaging may provide insight into the risk for ischemic stroke due to both atherosclerotic and cardioembolic sources in patients without AF. FDG PET/CT imaging may potentially improve our ability to assess stroke risk in non-AF patients. Because strokes occurred prior to FDG PET/CT imaging, the temporal relationship between imaging findings and stroke cannot be established. [Extracted from the article]

Moreover, the REPRIEVE trial (NCT02344290), the largest treatment trial in PWH to date, is currently evaluating the clinical impact of statins among nearly eight thousand PWH who have been randomized to pitavastatin vs placebo to evaluate the impact of statin therapy on ASCVD events and several imaging endpoints. In addition to the important observation that statins significantly reduce atherosclerotic inflammation in PWH, several other findings from the current study deserve further consideration.[16] First, the authors report that arterial inflammation decreased by 11.9% among individuals who received 10 mg of rosuvastatin. The study by Boczar et al beautifully leverages PET/CT to identify a beneficial effect of statins on atherosclerotic inflammation in PLW and, further, raises the possibility that statins may act, in part, via reducing leukopoietic activity. Potentially overcoming this limitation, several substantially larger PET/CT imaging trials in PWH are currently studying the effect of other treatments (e.g., alirocumab, canakinumab, tocilizumab, letermovir, and teduglutide, among others) on arterial inflammation in addition to several other imaging and circulating biomarker endpoints. [Extracted from the article]

The quality of patient preparation was reviewed in detail by imaging staff on the day of the SP 18 sp F-FDG PET prior to SP 18 sp F-FDG injection. See related article, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12350-019-01746-4 Cardiac SP 18 sp F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ( SP 18 sp F-FDG PET) has become an important tool in the diagnosis and management of a number of inflammatory cardiovascular pathologies, including cardiac sarcoidosis.[1],[2] The technique utilizes SP 18 sp F-FDG, a radiolabeled glucose analogue that is avidly taken up by highly metabolic tissues. [Extracted from the article]

The human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) family of enzymes catalyze the covalent addition of glucuronic acid to a wide range of compounds, generally rendering them inactive. Although important for clearance of environmental toxins and metabolites, UGT activation can lead to inappropriate glucuronidation of therapeutics underlying drug resistance. Indeed, 50% of medications are glucuronidated. To better understand this mode of resistance, we studied the UGT2B7 enzyme associated with glucuronidation of cancer drugs such as Tamoxifen and Sorafenib. We report 1H, 13C and 15N backbone (> 90%) and side-chain assignments (~ 78% completeness according to CYANA) for the C-terminal domain of UGT2B7 (UGT2B7-C). Given the biomedical importance of this family of enzymes, our assignments will provide a key tool for improving understanding of the biochemical basis for substrate selectivity and other aspects of enzyme activity. This in turn will inform on drug design to overcome UGT-related drug resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On February 17, 2021, Dr. Henry Gewirtz (Figure 1) passed away. Graph: Figure 1 Henry Gewirtz, hiking in the Himalayas Dr. Henry Gewirtz was born in Rockville Center, NY (Long Island) in 1945. Acknowledgments We would like to thank Dr. Gewirtz's colleagues, trainees, and friends for sharing with us the wonderful memories of Henry. [Extracted from the article]

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging can yield unique mechanistic insights into the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG), a radiolabeled glucose analog, is retained by cells in proportion to their glycolytic activity. While 18F-FDG accumulates within several cell types in the arterial wall, its retention correlates with macrophage content, providing an index of arterial inflammation (ArtI) which predicts subsequent cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Furthermore, 18F-FDG-PET imaging allows the simultaneous assessment of metabolic activity in several tissues (e.g., brain, bone marrow) and is performed in conjunction with cross-sectional imaging that enables multi-organ structural assessments. Accordingly, 18F-FDG-PET/computed tomography (CT) imaging facilitates evaluation of disease pathways that span multiple organ systems. Within this paradigm, 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging has been implemented to study the mechanism linking chronic stress to CVD. To evaluate this, stress-associated neural activity can be quantified (as metabolic activity of the amygdala (AmygA)), while leukopoietic activity, ArtI, and coronary plaque burden are assessed concurrently. Such simultaneous quantification of tissue structures and activities enables the evaluation of multi-organ pathways with the aid of mediation analysis. Using this approach, multi-system 18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging studies have demonstrated that chronically heightened stress-associated neurobiological activity promotes leukopoietic activity and systemic inflammation. This in turn fuels more ArtI and greater non-calcified coronary plaque burden, which result in more CVD events. Subsequent studies have revealed that common stressors, such as chronic noise exposure and income disparities, drive the front end of this pathway to increase CVD risk. Hence, multi-tissue multimodality imaging serves as a powerful tool to uncover complex disease mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First and foremost, a large retrospective study of patients with prior aortic SP 18 sp F-NaF PET imaging should be performed to determine the relationship between the various imaging endpoints with downstream clinical events and to assess its additive value above conventional risk scores and easily derived measures of arterial macrocalcification. SP 18 sp F-sodium fluoride ( SP 18 sp F-NaF) is a positron emission tomography (PET) tracer which has increasingly been shown to be effective for the assessment of cardiovascular diseases. [Extracted from the article]

A positron emission tomography (PET) imaging tracer that provides a meaningful and clinically deployable risk assessment in coronary artery disease (CAD) has been sought enthusiastically for over a decade. As the clinical implications of findings from SP 18 sp F-NaF PET imaging in CAD are increasingly clarified, several key knowledge gaps remain (Table 1). [Extracted from the article]

Although the number of clinical applications for fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) has continued to grow, there remains a lack of consensus regarding the ideal method of suppressing normal myocardial glucose utilization for image optimization. This review describes various patient preparation protocols that have been used as well as the success rates achieved in different studies. Collectively, the available literature supports using a high-fat, no-carbohydrate diet for at least two meals with a fast of 4-12 hours prior to 18F-FDG PET imaging and suggests that isolated fasting for less than 12 hours and supplementation with food or drink just prior to imaging should be avoided. Each institution should adopt a protocol and continuously monitor its effectiveness with a goal to achieve adequate myocardial suppression in greater than 80% of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dysregulation of translation contributes to many pathogenic conditions in humans. Discovering new translational mechanisms is important to understanding the diversity of this process and its potential mechanisms. Such mechanisms can be initially observed in viruses. With this in mind, we studied the viral protein genome-linked VPg factor from the largest genus of plant viruses. Studies in plants show that VPg binds to the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4E for translation of viral RNAs. VPg contains no known eIF4E binding motifs and no sequence homology to any known proteins. Thus, as a first step in understanding the structural basis of this interaction, we carried out NMR assignments of the VPg from the potato virus Y potyvirus protein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major component of phase II drug metabolism is the covalent addition of glucuronic acid to metabolites and xenobiotics. This activity is carried out by UDP-glucuronosyltransferases (UGT) which bind the UDP-glucuronic acid donor and catalyze the covalent addition of glucuronic acid sugar moieties onto a wide variety of substrates. UGTs play important roles in drug detoxification and were recently shown to act in an inducible form of multi-drug resistance in cancer patients. Despite their biological importance, structural understanding of these enzymes is limited. The C-terminal domain is identical for all UGT1A family members and required for binding to UDP-glucuronic acid as well as involved in contacts with substrates. Here, we report the backbone assignments for the C-terminal domain of UGT1A. These assignments are a critical tool for the development of a deeper biochemical understanding of substrate specificity and enzymatic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

See related article, 10.1007/s12350-019-01786-w. As SP 18 sp F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography ( SP 18 sp F-FDG PET) is increasingly used for the detection of pathologic myocardial inflammation, a growing body of research has focused on improving imaging quality by seeking strategies to more successfully suppress background myocardial uptake of SP 18 sp F-FDG, a radioactive glucose analogue. Two of the greatest challenges that remain in SP 18 sp F-FDG PET myocardial imaging are how to prevent focal on diffuse myocardial SP 18 sp F-FDG uptake and how to interpret this pattern. [Extracted from the article]

There is accumulating evidence for the existence of a phenotype of isolated cardiac sarcoidosis (ICS), or sarcoidosis that only involves the heart. In the absence of biopsy-confirmed cardiac sarcoidosis (CS), existing diagnostic criteria require the presence of extra-cardiac sarcoidosis as an inclusion criterion for the diagnosis of CS. Consequently, in the absence of a positive endomyocardial biopsy, ICS is not diagnosable by current guidelines. Therefore, there is uncertainty regarding the epidemiology, pathobiology, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and optimal treatment of ICS. This review will summarize the available data related to the prevalence and prognosis of ICS and will discuss challenges surrounding the diagnosis and management of this under-recognized entity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Global North and increasingly in the Global South, smart city technologies are enthusiastically seen as a solution to urban problems and as an alternative to austerity. However, to move beyond a narrow technological focus, it is necessary to explore the degree to which smart initiatives are committed to building socially inclusive innovation with learning at its core. Using the particular case of the Future City Demonstrator Initiative in Glasgow, United Kingdom, the most high-profile initiative of its kind funded by government, the authors of this article assess the extent to which this smart city adopts such an inclusive approach. They use the quadruple helix model (government - academia - industry - civil society) as a starting point and develop an analytic framework composed of four strands: (1) supporting participation of citizens in decision-making; (2) implementing technological innovation which positions citizens as active users; (3) implementing technological innovation to benefit the community; and (4) evaluating technological innovation in the light of the experiences and needs of citizens. Unlike most analyses, the principal focus of this article is on the fourth element of the helix, civil society. The authors argue that Glasgow’s rhetoric of smart urbanism, while aspiring to problem-solving, devalues certain principles of human agency. They emphasise that urban change, including the city’s desire to become technologically innovative, would more fully facilitate active citizenship, social inclusion and learning opportunities for all if it were underpinned by the broader conceptions and frameworks of learning cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we seek to assess the extent to which adult and lifelong learning policies and practices in Asia have distinctiveness by comparison to those found in western societies, through an analysis of inter-governmental, national and regional policies in the field. We also inform our study through the analysis of the work of organisations with an international remit with a specific focus on Asia and Europe. In one case, the Asia-Europe Meeting Lifelong Learning (ASEM LLL) Hub has a specific function of bringing together researchers in Asia and Europe. In another, the PASCAL Observatory has had a particular focus on one aspect of lifelong learning, that of learning cities, with a concentration in its work on Asia and Europe. We focus on learning city development as a particular case of distinction in the field. We seek to identify the extent to which developments in the field in Asia have influenced and have been influenced by practices elsewhere in world, especially in Europe, and undertake our analysis using theories of societal learning/the learning society, learning communities and life-deep learning. We complement our analysis through assessment of material contained in three dominant journals in the field, the International Journal of Lifelong Education, the International Review of Education and Adult Education Quarterly, each edited in the west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-invasive stress testing plays a key role in diagnosis and risk stratification in patients with coronary artery disease. Technical advances in CT, MRI, and PET have lead to increased utility of these modalities in myocardial perfusion imaging. The aim of the review is to provide a succinct update on CT, PET, and MRI for myocardial stress perfusion imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The West Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) is a critical region of the global climate system that is closely linked with the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We have generated two monthly resolved coral δO (δO) records from a key region of the WPWP, the Republic of Palau (7′N, 135′E). The isotopic time series span the years 1793-2008 and 1899-2008. During the period of overlap, the two records are well correlated at interannual and annual periods. Multiple lines of evidence demonstrate a strong ENSO signal in Palau δO. Our records are consistent with previous investigations of twentieth-century tropical Pacific climate variability. We identify a regionally coherent bi-decadal cycle in the WPWP following the termination of the Little Ice Age. The Palau δO records show long-term trends towards warming/freshening, suggesting a century scale increase in the strength of the hydrologic cycle associated with the WPWP. Our study represents an important addition to the network of tropical paleo-archives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has been used to diagnose and monitor cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). It is not known whether a reduction in myocardial inflammation, as measured by FDG uptake, is associated with improvement in LV ejection fraction (EF).Methods: For 23 patients with CS followed by a total of 90 serial PET exams (median 4 per patient), two physicians blinded to EF quantified the maximum of standardized uptake value (SUV) and volume of inflamed tissue above two distinct thresholds to assess the intensity and extent of FDG uptake on each study. Using gated (82)Rubidium rest myocardial perfusion images, EF was measured blinded to all clinical and FDG data. To account for clustering and differences in scan frequency, a longitudinal mixed effects model was used to evaluate the relationship between FDG uptake and changes in EF on interval scans.Results: Among 23 patients with serial PET exams (mean age 49, 74% male, mean baseline EF 43% ± 13%), the median time between the first and last scan was 2.0 years. Overall, 91% were treated with corticosteroids, 78% with ACE/ARB, 83% with beta-blockers, and 83% had ICDs. Longitudinal regression demonstrated a significant inverse linear relationship between maximum SUV and EF with an expected increase in EF of 7.9% per SUV reduction of 10 g·mL(-1) (P = .008). Likewise, in an analysis based on volume, there was an increase in EF of 2.1% per 100 cm(3) decrease in volume of inflamed tissue using a threshold of 2.7 g·mL(-1) (P = .028) and an increase in EF of 3.8% per 100 cm(3) decrease (P = .022) using a SUV threshold of 4.1 g·mL(-1).Conclusions: In a longitudinal cohort of CS patients, a reduction in the intensity and extent of myocardial inflammation on FDG PET is associated with improvement in EF. These data suggest serial PET scanning may help guide titration of immunosuppressive therapy to improve or prevent heart failure in CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) using F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) has been used to diagnose and monitor cardiac sarcoidosis (CS). It is not known whether a reduction in myocardial inflammation, as measured by FDG uptake, is associated with improvement in LV ejection fraction (EF). Methods: For 23 patients with CS followed by a total of 90 serial PET exams (median 4 per patient), two physicians blinded to EF quantified the maximum of standardized uptake value (SUV) and volume of inflamed tissue above two distinct thresholds to assess the intensity and extent of FDG uptake on each study. Using gated Rubidium rest myocardial perfusion images, EF was measured blinded to all clinical and FDG data. To account for clustering and differences in scan frequency, a longitudinal mixed effects model was used to evaluate the relationship between FDG uptake and changes in EF on interval scans. Results: Among 23 patients with serial PET exams (mean age 49, 74% male, mean baseline EF 43% ± 13%), the median time between the first and last scan was 2.0 years. Overall, 91% were treated with corticosteroids, 78% with ACE/ARB, 83% with beta-blockers, and 83% had ICDs. Longitudinal regression demonstrated a significant inverse linear relationship between maximum SUV and EF with an expected increase in EF of 7.9% per SUV reduction of 10 g·mL ( P = .008). Likewise, in an analysis based on volume, there was an increase in EF of 2.1% per 100 cm decrease in volume of inflamed tissue using a threshold of 2.7 g·mL ( P = .028) and an increase in EF of 3.8% per 100 cm decrease ( P = .022) using a SUV threshold of 4.1 g·mL. Conclusions: In a longitudinal cohort of CS patients, a reduction in the intensity and extent of myocardial inflammation on FDG PET is associated with improvement in EF. These data suggest serial PET scanning may help guide titration of immunosuppressive therapy to improve or prevent heart failure in CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the International Platform of Learning Cities (IPLC) and the development of learning cities.

Breast cancer prognosis and breast cancer molecular subtype vary by race/ethnicity. We determined whether the distribution of breast cancer subtypes varies among different Asian ethnic groups. Using immunohistochemical surrogates for the four molecularly defined breast cancer subtypes, we characterized breast cancer subtype for 346 Asian subjects treated at two New York City institutions. We found that Chinese and Japanese had a higher proportion of good-prognosis luminal A cancers (66.7 and 80.0%, respectively) compared to Filipinos and Koreans (48.5 and 47.1%) ( P = 0.001). Filipinos had a higher proportion of HER-2/neu positive cancers (45.6%) compared to other ethnic groups (23.6%) ( P = 0.002). Koreans had a higher proportion of triple negative cancers (23.5%) compared to other ethnic groups (7.5%) ( P = 0.06). The results suggest that differences exist in breast cancer tumor biology among distinct Asian ethnic groups and have implications for cancer care and research. Future studies of breast cancer in Asian-Americans should distinguish among the different ethnic groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The arenavirus protein Z from Lassa fever virus was recently found to inhibit mRNA translation through direct interaction with eIF4E. Here, we report the NMR assignment of this RING-containing protein that was determined by triple resonance NMR techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is used to detect breast cancer axillary metastases. Some surgeons send the sentinel lymph node (SLN) for intraoperative frozen section (FS) to minimize delayed axillary dissections. There has been concern that FS may discard nodal tissue and thus underdiagnose small metastases. This study examines whether evaluation of SLN by FS increases the false-negative rate of SLNB. A retrospective analysis of SLNB from 659 patients was conducted to determine the frequency of node positivity among SLNB subjected to both FS and permanent section (PS) versus PS alone. Statistical analysis was performed by the χ2 square test, and a logistic regression model was applied to estimate the effect of final node positivity between the two groups. FS was performed in 327 patients and PS was performed in all 659 patients. Among patients undergoing both FS and PS (n = 327), the final node positivity rate was 33.0% compared with 19.6% among patients undergoing PS alone (n = 332). After adjustment for patient age, tumor diameter, grade, and hormone receptor status in a multivariate logistic regression model, there remained an increased likelihood of final node positivity for patients undergoing both procedures relative to PS alone (adjusted odds ratio, 2.1; 95% confidence interval, 1.3–3.6; P = .005). There was a higher rate of SLN positivity in specimens evaluated by both FS and PS. Therefore, evaluating SLN by FS does not underdiagnose small metastases nor produce a higher false-negative rate. Intraoperative FS offers the advantage of less delayed axillary dissections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the impetus to increase and widen participation in the UK, and in Scotland in particular, there has been considerable effort put into creating links between Further Education Colleges (FECs) and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). However, because no unique identifier is used to track students between the two sectors, little is known in quantitative terms of the nature of this progression. In this article using substantial datasets, and an approach known as Probability Matching, we are able to provide novel data on the proportions of Scottish domiciled former FEC students within Scottish HEIs, and are able to compare the characteristics of this subset of all students with the whole cohort within HE in a given year, 1999–2000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The data presented in this paper is taken from the results of two much larger studies of mature student decision-making and Higher Education (HE), which consider processes of agency from initial consideration of the possibility of becoming a student to eventually becoming one. In this paper, six categories of applicant to HE are discussed: • `Delayed traditional students', • `Late starters' who have undergone a life-transforming event e.g. redundancy or divorce and require `a new start'. • `Single parents' • `Careerists', who are currently in employment who seek a qualification to make progress in their existing careers, • `Escapees' who are currently in employment who want a qualification as a way out of `dead-end' jobs, • Finally, the `personal growers', a small number pursuing education for its own sake. These categories of applicants are discussed in light of the factors that both catalyse and inhibit individuals' decision-making during application to HE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]