Cytotoxic chemotherapy: Still the mainstay of clinical practice for all subtypes metastatic breast cancer

Cytotoxic chemotherapy remains central to the treatment of all subtypes of metastatic breast cancer (MBC). We review evidence-based chemotherapy options for women with MBC after an anthracycline and a taxane including re-challenge with anthracycline or taxane, capecitabine, eribulin and ixabepilone as a single agent or combination with capecitabine (not approved in the EU); and the vinca alkaloid vinflunine as single agent or combined with either capecitabine/gemcitabine (also not approved EU or USA). Etirinotecan pegol, comprising irinotecan bound to polyethylene glycol by a biodegradable linker, is a new cytotoxic agent for patients with MBC that has achieved encouraging response rates in phase II studies; it has been further evaluated in the phase III BEACON trial. New cytotoxics should address novel targets or modes of delivery, achieve meaningful improvements in outcomes and seek to identify predictive biomarker(s)

Evaluation phenology, yield and quality of maize genotypes in drought stress and non-stress environments

Received: December 10th, 2020 ; Accepted: March 27th, 2021 ; Published: May 13th, 2021 ; Correspondence: [email protected] aim of the study is to examine the effect of agrometeorological indices (growing degree days, GDD; heliothermal unit, HTU; photothermal unit, PTU; hydrothermal unit, HYTU) on the phenology and yield (GY) of the Sushi (FAO 340) and Fornad (FAO 420) maize hybrids. Furthermore, it was also analysed how the amount of nitrogen and its application time affected the productivity and protein content (GP) of maize under drought stress (DS) and non-stress (NS) conditions. There were seven fertilizer treatments in the scope of the field experiment. Non-fertilized treatment (A0) spring basic treatment with 60 and 120 N ha-1 (A60, A120), and following the basic treatments, 30 kg N ha-1 top-dressing was applied in the V6 (V690, V6150) phenophase and then another 30 kg N ha-1 in the V12 (V12120, V12180) phenophase. Based on the GDD and PTU, length of the vegetation period of maize hybrids can be predicted. Under DS, the largest GY and GP was recorded in the same treatment for Sushi (V6150 kg N ha−1 ), and at different nutrient levels under NS: GY (A120) and GP (V6150). The highest GY of Fornad hybrid under DS was achieved with the A120 treatment while the highest GP with the V6150; in the case of NS V6150 kg N ha−1 was the most effective for both GY and GP. The + 30 kg ha-1 N fertilizer applied in the V12 phenophase did not improve GY and GP in either hybrid during the two growing seasons. The findings provide useful help for farmers to prepare for future environmental changes and to operate successfully

Investigation of the constancy of the MWCNTs on the fibres surface for manufactured self-sensing composites

This the author accepted manuscript. The fial version is available from Elsevier via the DOI in this recordDifferent methods have been used to deposit the multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) onto the fibre surface to fabricate self-sensing composites. However, the constancy of the MWCNTs onto the fibre surfaces during infusion processing still unclear. In this study, we have deposited MWCNTs onto the glass fibre surface by two methods to investigate the state of MWCNTs during and after epoxy infusion processing. In the first method, the glass fibres were directly coated with the MWCNTs and in the second method, an adhesive was applied to coat the glass fibre surface before depositing the MWCNTs over it. Rectangular specimens for both types of self-sensing composites were cut from different specified zones and then tested. The results showed that the self-sensing composites with adhesively bonded MWCNTs exhibited more consistent in their properties than the composites where no adhesive was used. In addition, the electrical resistance of both types of self-sensing composites was monitored during the epoxy infusion process. The results showed that the electrical resistance was not obviously affected for composite with non-adhesive bonded MWCNTs and was high for the specimens where the MWCNTs were not adhesively bonded. Moreover, the numerical study was also conducted and the results indicated that the relationship between the volume fraction of the MWCNTs and their tunnelling distance was an inverse. The current study proves evidence that the properties of the self-sensing composites are strongly dependent on the method that used to deposit the MWCNTs on the surface of glass fibres layers.Iraqi Ministry of Oi

The Formin DAAM Functions as Molecular Effector of the Planar Cell Polarity Pathway during Axonal Development in Drosophila

Recent studies established that the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway is critical for various aspects of nervous system development and function, including axonal guidance. Although it seems clear that PCP signaling regulates actin dynamics, the mechanisms through which this occurs remain elusive. Here, we establish a functional link between the PCP system and one specific actin regulator, the formin DAAM, which has previously been shown to be required for embryonic axonal morphogenesis and filopodia formation in the growth cone. We show that dDAAM also plays a pivotal role during axonal growth and guidance in the adult Drosophila mushroom body, a brain center for learning and memory. By using a combination of genetic and biochemical assays, we demonstrate that Wnt5 and the PCP signaling proteins Frizzled, Strabismus, and Dishevelled act in concert with the small GTPase Rac1 to activate the actin assembly functions of dDAAM essential for correct targeting of mushroom body axons. Collectively, these data suggest that dDAAM is used as a major molecular effector of the PCP guidance pathway. By uncovering a signaling system from the Wnt5 guidance cue to an actin assembly factor, we propose that the Wnt5/PCP navigation system is linked by dDAAM to the regulation of the growth cone actin cytoskeleton, and thereby growth cone behavior, in a direct way

An EXAFS study of RuSr2GdCu2O8: evidence of magnetoelastic coupling

The EXAFS spectrum of two samples of RuSr2GdCu2O8 prepared by means of slightly different procedures was measured in the temperature range from 10 up to 300 K on the K-edge of Cu. Both the basal and the apical Cu–O distances are not influenced by the magnetic and the superconducting transitions. Moreover the temperature dependence of the Debye–Waller factors of the R(Cu–Obasal) distance for both samples is in agreement with the Debye model for thermal disorder. On the contrary, r2(Cu–Oapical) shows a clear peak around the magnetic transition. This effect is attributed to magnetoelastic couplin