Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma

AbstractBronchioloalveolar carcinoma is a subtype of adenocarcinoma of the lung with a relatively better prognosis. We reviewed the cases of 50 consecutive patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma treated during a 10-year period and attempted to analyze factors related to prognosis. During the 10-year study period, the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma relative to adenocarcinoma of the lung remained steady. The subjects included 32 male and 18 female patients with mean ages of 64.7 years and 55.1 years, respectively (p = 0.0030). The preoperative radiographic findings included 40 cases of localized and 10 cases of diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. The clinicopathologic TNM staging included 20 patients with stage I cancer, 4 with stage II cancer, 11 with stage IIIa cancer, 3 with stage IIIb cancer, and 12 with stage IV cancer. Forty patients with clinical stage I, II, or III disease underwent operation (operability 80%). The resectability rate was 90% (36 of 40). Thirty-four procedures were considered as curative. The overall cumulative survival at 5 years was 22.2% (46.4% for stage I). Different TNM stages showed significant differences in survival time (p = 0.0001). The median survival times were 64.6 months for stage I, 48.0 months for stage II, 24.7 months for stage IIIa, 9.0 months for stage IIIb, and 4.5 months for stage IV disease. The median survival time for localized bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 27.5 months, and the median survival time for diffuse bronchioloalveolar carcinoma was 4.3 months (p = 0.0002). The median survival time for the curative resection group was 30.6 months, and the median survival time for the noncurative resection or nonresection group was 5.8 months (p = 0.0001). On the basis of this study we conclude that (1) the prevalence of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is quite steady, (2) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma presents at an earlier age in women, (3) bronchioloalveolar carcinoma frequently presents with lymphatic spread or systemic metastasis at diagnosis, (4) most localized bronchioloalveolar carcinomas are resectable and the prognosis with this type is better than that of the diffuse type, and (5) long-term survival correlates closely with initial roentgenographic appearance, TNM stage, and completeness of surgical resection. (J THORAC CARDIOVASC SURG 1995;110:374-81

Formation mechanism of SiGe nanorod arrays by combining nanosphere lithography and Au-assisted chemical etching

The formation mechanism of SiGe nanorod (NR) arrays fabricated by combining nanosphere lithography and Au-assisted chemical etching has been investigated. By precisely controlling the etching rate and time, the lengths of SiGe NRs can be tuned from 300 nm to 1 μm. The morphologies of SiGe NRs were found to change dramatically by varying the etching temperatures. We propose a mechanism involving a locally temperature-sensitive redox reaction to explain this strong temperature dependence of the morphologies of SiGe NRs. At a lower etching temperature, both corrosion reaction and Au-assisted etching process were kinetically impeded, whereas at a higher temperature, Au-assisted anisotropic etching dominated the formation of SiGe NRs. With transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy analyses, this study provides a beneficial scheme to design and fabricate low-dimensional SiGe-based nanostructures for possible applications

The ACR11 encodes a novel type of chloroplastic ACT domain repeat protein that is coordinately expressed with GLN2 in Arabidopsis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The ACT domain, named after bacterial aspartate kinase, chorismate mutase and TyrA (prephenate dehydrogenase), is a regulatory domain that serves as an amino acid-binding site in feedback-regulated amino acid metabolic enzymes. We have previously identified a novel type of ACT domain-containing protein family, the ACT domain repeat (ACR) protein family, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Members of the ACR family, ACR1 to ACR8, contain four copies of the ACT domain that extend throughout the entire polypeptide. Here, we describe the identification of four novel ACT domain-containing proteins, namely ACR9 to ACR12, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. The ACR9 and ACR10 proteins contain three copies of the ACT domain, whereas the ACR11 and ACR12 proteins have a putative transit peptide followed by two copies of the ACT domain. The functions of these plant ACR proteins are largely unknown.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ACR11 and ACR12 proteins are predicted to target to chloroplasts. We used protoplast transient expression assay to demonstrate that the <it>Arabidopsis </it>ACR11- and ACR12-green fluorescent fusion proteins are localized to the chloroplast. Analysis of an <it>ACR11 </it>promoter-β-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion in transgenic <it>Arabidopsis </it>revealed that the GUS activity was mainly detected in mature leaves and sepals. Interestingly, coexpression analysis revealed that the <it>GLN2</it>, which encodes a chloroplastic glutamine synthetase, has the highest mutual rank in the coexpressed gene network connected to <it>ACR11</it>. We used RNA gel blot analysis to confirm that the expression pattern of <it>ACR11 </it>is similar to that of <it>GLN2 </it>in various organs from 6-week-old <it>Arabidopsis</it>. Moreover, the expression of <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>is highly co-regulated by sucrose and light/dark treatments in 2-week-old <it>Arabidopsis </it>seedlings.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study reports the identification of four novel ACT domain repeat proteins, ACR9 to ACR12, in <it>Arabidopsis</it>. The ACR11 and ACR12 proteins are localized to the chloroplast, and the expression of <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>is highly coordinated. These results suggest that the <it>ACR11 </it>and <it>GLN2 </it>genes may belong to the same functional module. The <it>Arabidopsis </it>ACR11 protein may function as a regulatory protein that is related to glutamine metabolism or signaling in the chloroplast.</p

Continuous epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor administration in primary lung adenocarcinoma patients harboring favorable mutations with controlled target lung tumors dose not hinder survival benefit despite small new lesions

AbstractBackgroundIn this study, we investigated the efficacy of continuous epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) administration in lung adenocarcinoma patients harboring favorable mutations regarding the progressive disease (PD) status with appearance of indolent new lesions.MethodsFrom June 2010 to October 2012, 102 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, harboring favorable EGFR mutations and treated with EGFR-TKI were analyzed. Definite new lesions were detected during EGFR-TKI therapy, even though the primary target tumors were controlled.ResultsOf the 102 patients, 57 continued and 45 discontinued EGFR-TKI therapy. The median overall survival was 529 days for the discontinuation group and 791 days for the continuation group (p = 0.0197). Median survival time after the discontinuation of EGFR-TKI was 181 days and 115 days in the discontinuation and continuation groups, respectively (p = 0.1776), whereas median survival time after the appearance of indolent new lesions was 204 days and 262 days, respectively (p = 0.0237).ConclusionContinuous EGFR-TKI administration in favorable EGFR-mutative lung adenocarcinoma patients with controlled primary tumors did not hinder the survival benefit, despite the appearance of new lesions

The association between problematic cellular phone use and risky behaviors and low self-esteem among Taiwanese adolescents

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cellular phone use (CPU) is an important part of life for many adolescents. However, problematic CPU may complicate physiological and psychological problems. The aim of our study was to examine the associations between problematic CPU and a series of risky behaviors and low self-esteem in Taiwanese adolescents.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 11,111 adolescent students in Southern Taiwan were randomly selected into this study. We used the Problematic Cellular Phone Use Questionnaire to identify the adolescents with problematic CPU. Meanwhile, a series of risky behaviors and self-esteem were evaluated. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the associations between problematic CPU and risky behaviors and low self-esteem regarding gender and age.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results indicated that positive associations were found between problematic CPU and aggression, insomnia, smoking cigarettes, suicidal tendencies, and low self-esteem in all groups with different sexes and ages. However, gender and age differences existed in the associations between problematic CPU and suspension from school, criminal records, tattooing, short nocturnal sleep duration, unprotected sex, illicit drugs use, drinking alcohol and chewing betel nuts.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>There were positive associations between problematic CPU and a series of risky behaviors and low self-esteem in Taiwanese adolescents. It is worthy for parents and mental health professionals to pay attention to adolescents' problematic CPU.</p

The Inhibitory Effect of Ellagic Acid on Cell Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Ellagic acid (EA) is able to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells; however, its effect on human ovarian carcinoma cells has not yet been investigated. Ovarian carcinoma ES-2 and PA-1 cells were treated with EA (10~100 μM) and assessed for viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin and their molecular mechanisms. EA inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner by arresting both cell lines at the G1 phase of the cell cycle, which were from elevating p53 and Cip1/p21 and decreasing cyclin D1 and E levels. EA also induced caspase-3-mediated apoptosis by increasing the Bax : Bcl-2 ratio and restored anoikis in both cell lines. The enhancement of apoptosis and/or inhibition of autophagy in these cells by EA assisted the chemotherapy efficacy. The results indicated that EA is a potential novel chemoprevention and treatment assistant agent for human ovarian carcinoma