Increased diagnosis and detection rates of carcinoma in situ of the breast.

The purpose of this study was to identify trends in the diagnosis of carcinoma in situ (CIS) of the breast in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) and to examine the impact of mammography. Data on cases of newly diagnosed CIS of the breast and mode of detection (screen detected or not) were obtained, where available, from regional cancer registries between 1990 and 2007. Age-standardised diagnosis rates for the UK and the ROI, and regional screen detected diagnosis rates were compared by calculating the annual percentage change (APC) over time. The APC of the diagnosis rate amongst women aged 50-64 years (original screening age group) showed a significant 5.9% increase in the UK (1990-2007) and 11.5% increase in the ROI (1994-2007). The rate of diagnosis (50-64 years) stabilized in the UK between 2005 and 2007 and was substantially higher than in other western populations with national screening programmes. The APC of the diagnosis rate amongst those aged 65-69 years showed a significant 12.4% increase in the UK (1990-2007) and 10.3% increase in the ROI (1994-2007). amongst women aged 50-74 years in the UK, approximately 4,300 cases of CIS (≈90% ductal carcinoma in situ) were diagnosed in 2007. Our analyses have shown that screen detected CIS contributed primarily to the increase in diagnosis of CIS of the breast. The high diagnosis rate of screen detected CIS of the breast underlines the need for further research into lesion and patient characteristics that are related to progression of CIS to invasive disease to better target treatment.

A systematic review to establish the frequency of cyclooxygenase-2 expression in normal breast epithelium, ductal carcinoma in situ, microinvasive carcinoma of the breast and invasive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have suggested a protective effect of cyclooxygenase (COX)-inhibiting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in breast cancer risk and disease progression. We performed a systematic review to evaluate the frequency of COX-2 expression in normal breast epithelium, ductal carcinoma in situ of breast (DCIS), DCIS-adjoining invasive breast cancer, microinvasive carcinoma of the breast (MICB) and invasive breast cancer. METHODS: Literature searches were carried out on MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science from their commencement until September 2010. Primary studies examining COX-2 expression by immunohistochemistry methodology were included. Meta-analyses were carried out using random effects models for individual study estimates of COX-2 expression and pooled to give an overall estimate. RESULTS: The pooled prevalences (95% confidence intervals) of COX-2 expressions were 53% (44-61) in DCIS studies and 42% (36-49) in the invasive breast cancer studies. There were too few studies involving normal breast epithelium, DCIS-adjoining invasive breast cancer and MICB to conduct meta-analyses. CONCLUSION: The findings from our meta-analyses have shown similar COX-2 expression in DCIS and invasive breast cancer. This may suggest the involvement of COX-2 in early carcinogenesis. Further studies of COX-2 expression in DCIS are required to investigate the use of COX-2 as a potential drug target for prevention of disease progression in DCIS.

Genetic control of male fertility in Arabidopsis thaliana: structural analyses of postmeiotic developmental mutants.

Seven new male-sterile mutants (ms7-ms13) of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. (ecotype columbia) are described that show a postmeiotic defect of microspore development. In ms9 mutants, microspores recently released from the tetrad appear irregular in shape and are often without exines. The earliest evidence of abnormality in ms12 mutants is degeneration of microspores that lack normal exine sculpturing, suggesting that the MS12 product is important in the formation of pollen exine. Teratomes (abnormally enlarged microsporocytes) are also occasionally present and each has a poorly developed exine. In ms7 mutant plants, the tapetal cytoplasm disintegrates at the late vacuolate microspore stage, apparently causing the degeneration of microspores and pollen grains. With ms8 mutants, the exine of the microspores appears similar to that of the wild type. However, intine development appears impaired and pollen grains rupture prior to maturity. In ms11 mutants, the first detectable abnormality appears at the mid to late vacuolate stage. The absence of fluorescence in the microspores and tapetal cells after staining with 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and the occasional presence of teratomes indicate degradation of DNA. Viable pollen from ms10 mutant plants is dehisced from anthers but appears to have surface abnormalities affecting interaction with the stigma. Pollen only germinates in high-humidity conditions or during in-vitro germination experiments. Mutant plants also have bright-green stems, suggesting that ms10 belongs to the eceriferum (cer) class of mutants. However, ms10 and cer6 are non-allelic. The ms13 mutant has a similar phenotype to ms10, suggesting is also an eceriferum mutation. Each of these seven mutants had a greater number of flowers than congenic male-fertile plants. The non-allelic nature of these mutants and their different developmental end-points indicate that seven different genes important for the later stages of pollen development have been identified.

A review of the research on reflection and impulsivity in children.

A review of the conceptual tempo literature indicated that students' conceptual tempos are important influences on a wide variety of learning tasks. While research in the modification of conceptual tempo has been mixed, the results generally indicate that impulsivity can be attenuated and that the more reflective behavior patterns generalize across settings. The implications of conceptual tempo research are examined with a specific emphasis on issues related to health education.

A comparison of attitudes and final grades among freshman dental students.

A study was conducted to determine if a change in dental students' attitudes toward three preselected concepts would occur as a result of a traditionally difficult gross anatomy course. In addition, an attempt was made to determine the predictive value of a student's attitudes in determining his or her final grade. The study employed Campbell and Stanley's one group pretest-posttest design. The results indicated that students' attitudes toward a difficult course and themselves did not change significantly, but that a significant negative change did occur in their attitude toward the entire dental educational experience. The results also indicated that students' attitudes toward specific concepts can be successfully employed to predict a portion of their final grade.

Effects of training students to identify the semantic base of prose materials.

Feedback and feedback plus points toward a course grade were applied to the attentional behaviors (defined as the ability to identify the semantic base of text passages) of 30 undergraduate students participating in a reading comprehension development program. Correct underlining was increased, extraneous underlining was decreased, and postreading comprehension test scores improved as a result of the procedures. Scores on a standardized test of reading comprehension also increased significantly.

Comparative levels of creative ability among elementary school children.

Eighty-six black fourth-grade children and 111 white fourth-grade children randomly selected from normal classrooms in a rural country school system in Tennessee were compared on Torrance's Unusual Uses and Ask and Guess activities. No differences were found on the frequency or flexibility measures of either activity. No attempt was made to examine the results on any variable except race. Pearson Product Moment Correlations were computed on the Torrance Test results and Stanford-Binet intelligence test scores for both groups. The correlations were quite different with r = +.51 for the white students and r = +.22 for the black students.

Comparative levels of creative ability in black and white college students.

Eighty-seven black, educational psychology students from three intact, randomly selected classes at Tennessee State University were compared to ninety-four white, educational phychology students from three intact, randomly selected classes at the University of Tennessee on Torrance's Unusual Uses and Ask and Guess activities. No differences were found on the frequency of flexibility measures of either activity. No attempt was made to examine the results on this "Level II" mental ability measure on any variable except race. There were no differences based on race.