Review: mitochondrial defects in breast cancer

Mitochondria play important roles in cellular energy metabolism, free radical generation, and apoptosis. Mitochondrial DNA has been proposed to be involved in carcinogenesis because of its high susceptibility to mutations and limited repair mechanisms in comparison to nuclear DNA. Breast cancer is the most frequent cancer type among women in the world and, although exhaustive research has been done on nuclear DNA changes, several studies describe a variety of mitochondrial DNA alterations present in breast cancer. In this review article, we to provide a summary of the mitochondrial genomic alterations reported in breast cancer and their functional consequences

Far Infrared Slab Lensing and Subwavelength Imaging in Crystal Quartz

We examine the possibility of using negative refraction stemming from the phonon response in an anisotropic crystal to create a simple slab lens with plane parallel sides, and show that imaging from such a lens should be possible at room temperature despite the effects of absorption that are inevitably present due to phonon damping. In particular, we consider the case of crystal quartz, a system for which experimental measurements consistent with all-angle negative refraction have already been demonstrated. Furthermore, we investigate the possibility of subwavelength imaging from such materials, and show that it should be possible for certain configurations.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figure

Congenital Destructive Hemispheric Lesions And Epilepsy: Clinical Features And Relevance Of Associated Hippocampal Atrophy.

We studied the clinical, EEG and MRI findings in 19 patients with epilepsy secondary to congenital destructive hemispheric insults. Patients were divided in two groups: 10 with cystic lesions (group 1), and 9 with atrophic lesions (group 2). Seizure and EEG features, as well as developmental sequelae were similar between the two groups, except for the finding that patients of group 2 more commonly presented seizures with more than one semiological type. MRI showed hyperintense T2 signal extending beyond the lesion in almost all patients of both groups, and it was more diffuse in group 2. Associated hippocampal atrophy (HA) was observed in 70% of group 1 patients and 77.7% of group 2, and it was not correlated with duration of epilepsy or seizure frequency. There was a good concordance between HA and electroclinical localization. The high prevalence of associated HA in both groups suggests a common pathogenesis with the more obvious lesion. Our findings indicate that in some of these patients with extensive destructive lesions, there may be a more circumscribed epileptogenic area, particularly in those with cystic lesions and HA, leading to a potential rationale for effective surgical treatment.58990-100

De Novo Psychogenic Seizures After Epilepsy Surgery: Case Report.

The occurrence of de novo psychogenic seizures after epilepsy surgery is rare, and is estimated in 1.8% to 3.6%. Seizures after epilepsy surgery should be carefully evaluated, and de novo psychogenic seizures should be considered especially when there is a change in the ictal semiology. We report a patient with de novo psychogenic seizures after anterior temporal lobe removal for refractory temporal lobe epilepsy. Once psychogenic seizures were diagnosed and psychiatric treatment was started, seizures stopped.58535-

A gene signature of 8 genes could identify the risk of recurrence and progression in Dukes' B colon cancer patients

The benefit of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with Dukes' B colorectal cancer is still uncertain and its routine use is not recommended. The five-year relapse rate is approximately 25-40% and the identification of patients at high risk of recurrence would represent an important strategy for the use of adjuvant chemotherapy. We retrospectively analyzed gene expression profiles in frozen tumor specimens from patients with Dukes' B colorectal cancer by using high density oligonucleotide microarrays. Our results show a subset of 48 genes differentially expressed with an associated probability <0.001 in the t-test. Another statistical procedure based on the Fisher criterion resulted in 11 genes able to separate both groups. We selected the 8 genes present in both subsets. The differential expression of five genes (CHD2, RPS5, ZNF148, BRI3 and MGC23401) in colon cancer progression was confirmed by real-time PCR in an independent set of patients of Dukes' B and C stages

Conformational polymorphism of the antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide

In this paper, the main features of Raman spectroscopy, one of the first choice methods in the study of polymorphism in pharmaceuticals, are presented taking chlorpropamide as a case of study. The antidiabetic drug chlorpropamide (1-[4- chlorobenzenesulphonyl]-3-propyl urea),which belongs to the sulfonylurea class, is known to exhibit, at least, six polymorphic phases. These forms are characterized not onlyby variations in their molecular packingbut also intheir molecular conformation. In this study, the polymorphism of chlorpropamide is discussed on the basis of Raman scattering measurements and quantum mechanical calculations. The main spectroscopic features that fingerprint the crystalline forms are correlated with the corresponding crystalline structures. Using a theoretical approach on the energy dependence of the conformers, simulated molecular torsion angles are plotted versus the formation energy,which provides a satisfactory agreement between the torsion angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide versus the formation energy,which provides a satisfactory agreement between the torsion angles at the energy minima and the experimental values observed in the different solid forms of chlorpropamide.Fil: Ayala, A. P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasil. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Caetano, M. W. C.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Honorato, S. B.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Mendes Filho, J.. Universidade Estadual do Ceará; BrasilFil: Siesler, H. W.. Universitat Essen; AlemaniaFil: Faudone, Sonia Nerina. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; BrasilFil: Cuffini, Silvia Lucia. Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina; Brasil. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba; ArgentinaFil: Martins, F. T.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Da Silva, C. C. P.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; BrasilFil: Ellena, J.. Universidade de Sao Paulo; Brasi

Diferentes embalagens na conservação pós-colheita do minitomate Sweet Grape

Objetivou-se avaliar a vida útil do minitomate (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.), variedade Sweet Grape, produzido em hidroponia e armazenado sob condição ambiente e refrigerada, em diferentes embalagens. Adotou-se o delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado, em que os tratamentos consistiram na combinação da condição de armazenamento: ambiente (a) e refrigerada (r), e tipo de embalagem: filme flexível de policloreto de vinila (PVC); polietileno de baixa densidade (PEBD); biofilme de fruto de Solanum lycocarpum A.St.-Hil (lobeira) (BFL); biofilme de fécula de mandioca (BFM); cera de Copernicia prunifera (carnaúba) (CC), e sem embalagem - testemunha (T). As análises físico-químicas e sensoriais foram realizadas no início (dia zero), aos 8, 19 e 33 dias de armazenamento (DA). Os frutos submetidos às embalagens PVCr, PEBDa, PEBDr e CCr apresentam vida útil aceitável de 33 dias de armazenamento. A aplicação de biofilmes de amidos de fruto de lobeira e mandioca não é eficaz no controle da perda de massa fresca. A condição refrigerada é a melhor forma para a conservação pós-colheita dos frutos de minitomate. O tratamento CCr é o que mais agrada os julgadores, e o PCV, o de maior índice de rejeição.This paper aims at evaluating the shelf life of mini tomatoes (Lycopersicum esculentum Mill.) cultivar ‘Sweet Grape’, grown in hydroponics, and stored under environmental and refrigerated conditions inside different packages. We adopted a completely randomized design, in which treatments were combinations of storage conditions: environment (e) and refrigerated (r) with packaging: polyvinyl chloride film (PVC); low-density polyethylene (LDPE); biofilm of tomato fruit of Solanum lycocarpum A.St.-Hil (lobeira) (TFB); cassava starch biofilm (CSB); carnauba wax (Copernicia prunifera) (CW), and without packaging - control (C). Physicochemical and sensory tests were carried out at the beginning (day zero), and at 8, 19, and 33 days of storage (DS). Fruit stored inside PVCr, LDPEe, LDPEr, and CWr had an acceptable shelf life of 33 days. The use of cassava and tomato starches were not effective in controlling fruit fresh weight loss. ‘Sweet Grape’ tomato postharvest conservation was enhanced under refrigerated conditions. The sensory evaluation results revealed that CWr treatment most pleased appraisers, while PCV had the highest rejection rate