University of Stirling

About: University of Stirling is a education organization based out in Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Polyunsaturated fatty acid. The organization has 7722 authors who have published 20549 publications receiving 732940 citations. The organization is also known as: Stirling University.

Comparison of topical methyl aminolevulinate photodynamic therapy with cryotherapy or Fluorouracil for treatment of squamous cell carcinoma in situ: Results of a multicenter randomized trial.

Abstract: Objective To compare the efficacy, tolerability, and cosmetic outcome of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using topical methyl aminolevulinate with cryotherapy or topical fluorouracil for treatment of squamous cell carcinoma in situ. Design Randomized, placebo-controlled study, with follow-up at 3 and 12 months after last treatment. Setting Forty outpatient dermatology centers in 11 European countries. Patients Random sample of 225 patients with histologically confirmed squamous cell carcinoma in situ (lesion size, 6-40 mm) and no evidence of progression. Interventions Treatment with PDT with methyl aminolevulinate (160 mg/g; n = 96) or matching placebo cream (n = 17), cryotherapy (n = 82), or topical fluorouracil (5% cream; n = 30). Methyl aminolevulinate or placebo cream was applied for 3 hours before illumination with broadband red light (75 J/cm 2 , 570-670 nm). Treatment was repeated 1 week later. Cryotherapy was performed with liquid nitrogen spray. Fluorouracil was applied for 4 weeks. Lesions with a partial response at 3 months were re-treated. Main Outcome Measures Clinically verified complete response of lesions; blinded and on-site assessment of cosmetic outcome (4-point rating scale). Results At 12 months, the estimated sustained lesion complete response rate with methyl aminolevulinate PDT was superior to that with cryotherapy (80% vs 67%; odds ratio, 1.77; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-3.12; P = .047), and better than that with fluorouracil (80% vs 69%; odds ratio, 1.64; 95% confidence interval, 0.78-3.45; P = .19). Cosmetic outcome at 3 months was good or excellent in 94% of patients treated with methyl aminolevulinate PDT vs 66% with cryotherapy and 76% with fluorouracil, and was maintained at 12 months. Conclusion Methyl aminolevulinate PDT is an effective treatment option for squamous cell carcinoma in situ, with excellent cosmesis.

Enabling technology for multilingual natural language generation: the KPML development environment

Abstract: Natural language generation is now moving away from research prototypes into more practical applications Generation functionality is also being asked to play a more significant role in established applications such as machine translation In both cases, multilingual generation techniques have much to offer However, the take-up of multilingual generation is being restricted by a critical lack both of large-scale linguistic resources suited to the generation task and of appropriate development environments This paper describes KPML, a multilingual development environment that offers one possible solution to these problems KPML aims to provide generation projects with standardized, broad-coverage, reusable resources and a basic engine for using such resources for generation A variety of focused debugging aids ensure efficient maintenance, while supporting multilingual work such as contrastive language development and automatic merging of independently developed resources KPML is based on a new, generic approach to multilinguality in resource description that extends significantly beyond previous approaches The system has already been used in a number of large generation projects and is freely available to the generation community

Uncoupling of hypomyelination and glial cell death by a mutation in the proteolipid protein gene

Abstract: PROTEOLIPID protein (PLP; Mr 30,000) is a highly conserved major polytopic membrane protein in myelin but its cellular function remains obscure. Neurological mutant mice can often provide model systems for human genetic disorders. Mutations of the X-chromosome-linked PLP gene are lethal, identified first in the jimpy mouse1,2 and subsequently in patients with PelizaeusMerzbacher disease3,4. The unexplained phenotype of these mutations includes degeneration and premature cell death of oligodendrocytes with associated hypomyelination5. Here we show that a new mouse mutant rumpshaker6 is defined by the amino-acid substitution Ile-to-Thr at residue 186 in a membrane-embedded domain of PLP. Surprisingly, rumpshaker mice, although myelindeficient, have normal longevity and a full complement of morphologically normal oligodendrocytes7. Hypomyelination can thus be genetically separated from the PLP-dependent oligodendrocyte degeneration. We suggest that PLP has a vital function in glial cell development, distinct from its later role in myelin assembly, and that this dichotomy of action may explain the clinical spectrum8 of Pelizaeus–Merzbacher disease.