Waldenström's macroglobulinemia is a distinct clinicopathologic entity defined as a B-cell neoplasm characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate in the bone marrow, with an associated immunoglobulin (Ig) M paraprotein. Clinical manifestations are due to deposition of IgM in the liver, spleen, and/or lymph nodes, so it presents with anemia, hyperviscosity, lymphadenopathy, hepatomegaly, splenomegaly and neurologic symptoms. The main diagnostic criteria are a typical peak on serum protein electrophoresis and malignant cells in bone marrow biopsy samples. There is no standard therapy for the treatment of symptomatic Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia and no agents have been specifically approved for this disease, but initial treatment usually starts with the monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody rituximab, either alone or in combination with other agents, rather than chemotherapy alone. This article confirms that, despite the existence of more modern imaging methods, ultrasonography still has a significant diagnostic role.

Humans' predictions of another person's behaviour are regularly influenced by what they themselves might know or want. In a previous study, we found that male Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) could cater for their female partner's current desire when sharing food with her. Here, we tested the extent to which the males' decisions are influenced by their own current desire. When the males' and female's desires matched, males correctly shared the food that was desired by both. When the female's desire differed from their own, the males' decisions were not entirely driven by their own desires, suggesting that males also took the female's desire into account. Thus, the male jays' decisions about their mates' desires are partially biased by their own desire and might be based upon similar processes as those found in humans.

This study presents new insights on the provenance, genesis, and post-depositional history of the Miocene pyroclastic tuffaceous layers (~18 and ~15 Ma) preserved in argillaceous sediments and interbedded within the lacustrine sedimentary succession of the Sinj Basin in central Dalmatia (Dinaride Lake System, Croatia). Analysed tuffs are classified as smectitic tuffs composed of three main lithotypes: (a) vitriclastic tuffs, (b) altered vitriclastic tuff, and (c) tuffaceous clays. The high field strength element (HFSE) contents of the tuffs, as well as the major- element chemistry of the vitric glass, suggests that parental magmas were high-K calc-alkaline trachyandesites. This is consistent with the distinctive heavy-mineral assemblages including clinopyroxene, zircon and apatite, identified in less evolved parental magmas, and biotite in more evolved ones. The regional geological data imply the placement of the parent volcano(es) outside the Dinaric Alps region, most probably in an area corresponding to the present-day southern margin of the Pannonian Basin where volcanic rock suites of analogous age and geochemistry are reported. Minor compaction and high permeability of coarse ash-sized pyroclastic material allowed for extensive in situ diagenetic clay mineral formation dominated by smectite. Following discrete smectite formation, the illite-smectite mixed-layering took place as a result of mica/illite alteration or surface illitization processes. On the basis of the very-low grade alteration of volcanic materials, it is suggested that diagenesis operated in an open hydrologic system of a lacustrine environment.

As robots move into everyday environments, we need to understand both the social and the technical constraints and affordances for human-robot interaction. We use in situ evaluation of partially functioning prototypes to inform the design of robotic technologies that fit their intended contexts of use and illustrate this method through a case study of iteratively designing a desktop robot for break management in a computerized office. After an initial exploratory study of the office as context of use, we used comparative semi-controlled evaluations of multiple design alternatives to explore how different robot characteristics, specifically embodiment and social interactivity, are perceived by users and affect their break taking. We found evaluating simple prototypes with varying levels of functionality, even when not robust or "complete," provides opportunities for including users in the design process and for identifying emergent factors that impact robot use. Our case study provides insights into the challenges and best practices for performing iterative prototyping and in situ evaluations of robots, which can inform future development of contextually appropriate robotic technologies.