Sense of Belonging as an Important Factor in the Pursuit of Physics: Does It Also Matter for Female Participants of the German Physics Olympiad?

This paper focuses on stereotype threat and its effects on sense of belonging in the German Physics Olympiad science competition. Participants completed questionnaires about sense of belonging, stereotype endorsement, interest, and self-concept in physics, as well as about value and success expectations of studying physics in college. Female participants who endorsed negative stereotypes about female talent for physics felt less sense of belonging to physics.

Recurrent postpartum urinary retention: a case report.

Postpartum urinary retention (PUR) is a clinical condition that is neither well-recognized nor defined by standardized means but normally has a good prognosis. We present the case of a woman with a history of PUR who demonstrated recurrent PUR. Prolonged first and second stage of labor, isolated prolonged second stage of labor, forceps delivery or vacuum extraction, perineal laceration, nulliparity and epidural anesthesia can act as independent risk factors for the development of PUR.

Sentinel lymph node biopsy is associated with improved survival compared to level I & II axillary lymph node dissection in node negative breast cancer patients.

Objective: The few long-term follow-up data for sentinel lymph node (SLN) negative breast cancer patients demonstrate a 5-year disease-free survival of 96-98%. It remains to be elucidated whether the more accurate SLN staging defines a more selective node negative patient group and whether this is associated with better overall and disease-free survival compared with level I & II axillary lymph node dissection (ALND).

Methods: Three-hundred and fifty-five consecutive node negative patients with early stage breast cancer (pT1 and pT2< or =3 cm, pN0/pN(SN)0) were assessed from our prospective database.

Elevated level of cell-free plasma DNA is associated with breast cancer.

Background: We analysed cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in the plasma of patients with both malignant and benign breast lesions by real-time quantitative PCR to determine whether the finding may have diagnostic and prognostic implications.

Methods: Plasma samples were obtained from 33 patients with breast cancer, 32 patients with benign breast lesions and 50 healthy women as normal controls. Circulatory cfDNA was extracted from the plasma samples and quantified by real-time quantitative PCR for the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene.

Examination of maternal plasma erythropoietin and activin A concentrations with regard to circulatory erythroblast levels in normal and preeclamptic pregnancies.

Objectives: Preeclampsia has been shown to be associated with an increased number of fetal and maternal erythroblasts in the maternal circulation, suggesting that preeclampsia involves increased leakage of fetal cells across the placental barrier, as well as increased erythropoiesis. We examined the relationship between circulatory erythroblast levels with maternal plasma concentrations of erythropoietin and activin A.

Methods: In a case-control study, we examined 15 pregnancies affected by preeclampsia and 10 matched controls.