Synovial sarcoma showing loss of a green signal in SS18 fluorescence in situ hybridization: a clinicopathological and molecular study of 12 cases

Abstract

The phenomenon of losing a green signal in synovial sarcoma (SS) using the SS18 break-apart probe by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) has been poorly described. In this study, 12 SS with missing a green signal were identified. This series included 7 males and 5 females, aged 17 to 69 years (median, 38.5 years). The tumors involved the extremities (50%), mediastinum (16.7%), hypopharynx (8.3%), neck (8.3%), thyroid (8.3%), and retroperitoneum (8.3%). The tumors were classified as monophasic SS (58.3%) and poorly differentiated SS (41.7%). An anaplastic SS showing features of pleomorphic sarcoma was observed. Immunostaining for TLE1, BCL2, CD99, epithelial membrane antigen, cytokeratin (AE1/AE3), cytokeratin 7, S-100 protein, and CD34 was consistent with typical SS. In FISH, all the tumors showed the pattern of 1 to 3 fused signal(s) with 1 to 3 red signal(s), without corresponding a green signal. The fusion transcripts included SS18-SSX1 (8/10, 80%) and SS18-SSX2 (2/10, 20%) fusions. Median and 5-year overall survival were 19.1 months and 43.6%, respectively. In conclusion, we reported a series of SS losing a green signal in the SS18 FISH assay. We propose that this variant FISH pattern should be interpreted as a peculiar unbalanced rearrangement of the SS18 gene and subsequent SS18-SSX fusion test should be recommended. The cases in this study seem to show some unusual clinicopathological features, including unusual locations, higher proportions of poorly differentiated SS, and aggressive clinical course. However, whether this variant FISH pattern is associated with peculiar clinicopathologic features awaits larger series.

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Meditation Tinnitus

Please note: the following information does not constitute professional medical advice, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Please speak to your doctor if you have tinnitus.

 

Tinnitus is one of the most common medical issues in the world. It is an affliction that leaves some people debilitated while others are barely phased about it. Tinnitus is something that proves the power of mind over matter. If your mind is significantly disciplined, then even a bad case of tinnitus will not cause you to suffer. If you want to know the key to dealing with the problem, it is using meditation tinnitus. Here is a look at the ways you can use meditation tinnitus to deal with the ringing in your ears.

How It Works

When people suffer from tinnitus over a long period of time, the brain usually learns how to adapt to the constant ringing. The brain will develop a natural filter that prevents you from noticing that your ears are ringing. Even though the tinnitus signals are still going to your brain, the brain keeps your conscious mind from noticing the sensation.

Make You Go Mad

Some people's brains develop this protective mechanism more readily than others. For some unfortunate tinnitus sufferers, their brains never learn how to filter out the noise. With a constant ringing or buzzing in your ears, it is enough to make you go crazy.

People will look for all sorts of ways to drown out the sounds of tinnitus when their brains fail to protect them from the buzzing. They play loud music, constantly have the TV turned on or look for other background noises to drown out the tinnitus.

Try Meditation Tinnitus Instead

Instead of drowning out the sounds of tinnitus, you can simply learn to accept them. Though that may sound impossible, it is entirely achievable with the power of mindfulness meditation. Instead of trying to run away from the sounds, using meditation tinnitus means you actually focus on the sounds. You will listen to them gratefully and appreciate being mindful and in the moment as you accept what is happening.

If you can learn how to do this, then your tinnitus will no longer seem like a problem to you. You will simply look at it is something that is happening without judging it to be good or bad. That is the power of mindfulness meditation. It is not something that happens overnight, but with practice you can learn how to use meditation to handle your tinnitus. Meditation tinnitus is a smart way to face a difficult situation.

http://ift.tt/2vcbtEs

Meditation Tinnitus

Please note: the following information does not constitute professional medical advice, and is provided for general informational purposes only. Please speak to your doctor if you have tinnitus.

 

Tinnitus is one of the most common medical issues in the world. It is an affliction that leaves some people debilitated while others are barely phased about it. Tinnitus is something that proves the power of mind over matter. If your mind is significantly disciplined, then even a bad case of tinnitus will not cause you to suffer. If you want to know the key to dealing with the problem, it is using meditation tinnitus. Here is a look at the ways you can use meditation tinnitus to deal with the ringing in your ears.

How It Works

When people suffer from tinnitus over a long period of time, the brain usually learns how to adapt to the constant ringing. The brain will develop a natural filter that prevents you from noticing that your ears are ringing. Even though the tinnitus signals are still going to your brain, the brain keeps your conscious mind from noticing the sensation.

Make You Go Mad

Some people’s brains develop this protective mechanism more readily than others. For some unfortunate tinnitus sufferers, their brains never learn how to filter out the noise. With a constant ringing or buzzing in your ears, it is enough to make you go crazy.

People will look for all sorts of ways to drown out the sounds of tinnitus when their brains fail to protect them from the buzzing. They play loud music, constantly have the TV turned on or look for other background noises to drown out the tinnitus.

Try Meditation Tinnitus Instead

Instead of drowning out the sounds of tinnitus, you can simply learn to accept them. Though that may sound impossible, it is entirely achievable with the power of mindfulness meditation. Instead of trying to run away from the sounds, using meditation tinnitus means you actually focus on the sounds. You will listen to them gratefully and appreciate being mindful and in the moment as you accept what is happening.

If you can learn how to do this, then your tinnitus will no longer seem like a problem to you. You will simply look at it is something that is happening without judging it to be good or bad. That is the power of mindfulness meditation. It is not something that happens overnight, but with practice you can learn how to use meditation to handle your tinnitus. Meditation tinnitus is a smart way to face a difficult situation.

http://ift.tt/2vcbtEs

Early hominin landscape use in the Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia: Insights from the taphonomical analysis of Oldowan occurrences in the Shungura Formation (Member F)

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 111
Author(s): Tiphaine Maurin, Pascal Bertran, Anne Delagnes, Jean-Renaud Boisserie
The Oldowan archeological record of the Shungura Formation, Member F (Lower Omo valley, Ethiopia) comprises more than one hundred occurrences distributed within archeological complexes, where multiple small spots were found in association with one or two larger occurrences. Such spatial patterning could reflect hominin spatial behavior, repeated occupations within a single sedimentary unit, or taphonomic and/or collection biases. Here we test these hypotheses by way of a geoarcheological and taphonomical analysis using four criteria to assess the preservation of the lithic assemblages: (1) size composition, (2) artifact abrasion, (3) bone abrasion, and (4) orientations of lithic artifacts and bones (i.e., fabrics). We propose a new model of taphonomically induced spatial patterning where the multiple, small, well circumscribed occurrences result primarily from post-depositional processes and therefore do not reflect any underlying behavioral patterns. The large number of archeological occurrences documented in Member F, therefore, corresponds to a limited number of primary occupations (<10). The archeological occupation is mainly restricted to the lower part of Member F and may reflect a single or a small number of occupation episodes, which were located on previous levees of the paleo-Omo River, in nearby floodplain areas, or on the riverbank. This strongly suggests that most of the knapping activities originally took place close to the river. This preference of the Omo toolmakers for riverine environments could explain the scarcity of archeological material in the upper part of Member F that comprises primarily distal floodplain sedimentary facies.



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Evidence of Neanderthals in the Balkans: The infant radius from Kozarnika Cave (Bulgaria)

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 111
Author(s): Anne-marie Tillier, Nikolay Sirakov, Aleta Guadelli, Philippe Fernandez, Svoboda Sirakova, Irena Dimitrova, Catherine Ferrier, Guillaume Guérin, Maryam Heidari, Ivailo Krumov, Jean-Claude Leblanc, Viviana Miteva, Vasil Popov, Stanimira Taneva, Jean-Luc Guadelli
Excavations conducted by a Bulgarian-French team at Kozarnika Cave (Balkans, Bulgaria) during several seasons yielded a long Paleolithic archaeological sequence and led to the discovery of important faunal, lithic, and human samples. This paper aims to describe the unpublished radius shaft of an infant who died approximately before the sixth month postnatal that was recovered from layer 10b, which contained East Balkan Levallois Mousterian with bifacial leaf points. The layer was dated between 130 and 200 ka (large mammals biochronology) and between 128 ± 13 ka and 183 ± 14 ka (OSL), i.e. OIS6. Here we show that, given the scarcity of Middle Pleistocene infant remains in general, and Middle Paleolithic human remains from this part of Eastern Europe in particular, the study of the Kozarnika specimen is of special interest. We discuss its place in the Middle Pleistocene European hominine record and substantiate the hypothesis of early Neanderthal presence in the eastern Balkans.



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Paleolithic subsistence strategies and changes in site use at Klissoura Cave 1 (Peloponnese, Greece)

Publication date: October 2017
Source:Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 111
Author(s): Britt M. Starkovich
Klissoura Cave 1 in southern Greece preserves a long archaeological sequence that spans roughly 90,000 years and includes Middle Paleolithic, Uluzzian, Upper Paleolithic, and Mesolithic deposits. The site provides a unique opportunity to examine diachronic change and shifts in the intensity of site use across the Late Pleistocene. There is an overall picture of the intensified use of faunal resources at the site, evidenced by a shift from large to small game, and to small fast-moving taxa in particular. This trend is independent of climatic change and fluctuations in site use, and most likely reflects a broader, regional growth of hominin populations. At the same time, multiple lines of evidence (e.g., input of artifacts and features, sedimentation mechanisms, and intensification of faunal resources) indicate that the intensity of site use changed, with a sharp increase from the Middle Paleolithic to Aurignacian. This allows us to address a fundamental issue in the study of human evolution: differences in population size and site use between Neandertals and modern humans. At Klissoura Cave 1, the increase in occupation intensity might be related to population growth or larger group size, but it might also be due to changes in season of site use, more favorable environmental conditions at the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, and/or changes in the composition of people occupying the site. These explanations are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and indeed the data support a combination of factors. Ascribing the increase in occupation intensity to larger Upper Paleolithic populations more broadly is difficult, particularly because there is little consensus on this topic elsewhere in Eurasia. The data are complicated and vary greatly between sites and regions. This makes Klissoura Cave 1, as the only currently available case study in southeastern Europe, a critical example in understanding the range of variation in demography and site use across the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition.



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Landscape scale heterogeneity in the East Turkana ecosystem during the Okote Member (1.56–1.38 Ma)

Publication date: Available online 29 July 2017
Source:Journal of Human Evolution
Author(s): D.B. Patterson, D.R. Braun, A.K. Behrensmeyer, S.B. Lehmann, S.R. Merritt, J.S. Reeves, B.A. Wood, R. Bobe
Placing the biological adaptations of Pleistocene hominins within a well-resolved ecological framework has been a longstanding goal of paleoanthropology. This effort, however, has been challenging due to the discontinuous nature of paleoecological data spanning many important periods in hominin evolution. Sediments from the Upper Burgi (1.98–1.87 Ma), KBS (1.87–1.56 Ma) and Okote (1.56–1.38 Ma) members of the Koobi Fora Formation at East Turkana in northern Kenya document an important time interval in the evolutionary history of the hominin genera Homo and Paranthropus. Although much attention has been paid to Upper Burgi and KBS member deposits, far less is known regarding the East Turkana paleoecosystem during Okote Member times. This study pairs spatially-resolved faunal abundance data with stable isotope geochemistry from mammalian enamel to investigate landscape-scale ecosystem variability during Okote Member times. We find that during this period 1) taxa within the East Turkana large mammal community were distributed heterogeneously across space, 2) the abundance of C3 and C4 vegetation varied between East Turkana subregions, and 3) the Karari subregion, an area with abundant evidence of hominin stone tool manufacture, had significantly more C3 vegetation than regions closer to the central axis of the Turkana Basin (i.e., Ileret and Koobi Fora). These findings indicate that the East Turkana paleoecosystem during the Okote Member was highly variable across space and provided a complex adaptive landscape for Pleistocene hominins.



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