Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is a marker for aggressive salivary gland carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Astrocyte elevated gene-1 (AEG-1) is associated with tumorigenesis and progression in diverse human cancers. The present study was aimed to investigate the clinical and prognostic significance of AEG-1 in salivary gland carcinomas (SGC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Real-time PCR and western blot analyses were employed to examine AEG-1 expression in two normal salivary gland tissues, eight SGC tissues of various clinical stages, and five pairs of primary SGC and adjacent salivary gland tissues from the same patient. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was performed to examine AEG-1 protein expression in paraffin-embedded tissues from 141 SGC patients. Statistical analyses was applies to evaluate the diagnostic value and associations of AEG-1 expression with clinical parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>AEG-1 expression was evidently up-regulated in SGC tissues compared with that in the normal salivary gland tissues and in matched adjacent salivary gland tissues. AEG-1 protein level was positively correlated with clinical stage (<it>P </it>< 0.001), T classification (<it>P </it>= 0.008), N classification (<it>P </it>= 0.008) and M classifications (<it>P </it>= 0.006). Patients with higher AEG-1 expression had shorter overall survival time, whereas those with lower tumor AEG-1 expression had longer survival time.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that AEG-1 expression is associated with SGC progression and may represent a novel and valuable predictor for prognostic evaluation of SGC patients.</p

Elevated Krüppel-like factor 4 transcription factor in canine mammary carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Krüppel-like factors (KLFs) are critical regulators of biological and physiological systems and have been extensively studied for their roles in cell proliferation, differentiation and survival in the context of cancer. Among the KLFs, KLF4 is highly expressed in human breast cancers and plays an oncogenic role. The present study examined the expression of KLF4 and assessed its significance in canine mammary carcinoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry was employed to investigate the expression of KLF4 in 142 cases of canine mammary tumor. 75 of the 142 (52.8%) cases were histologically confirmed as mammary carcinoma. Quantification of immunohistochemistry was carried out using Quick score which multiply the staining intensity by the percentage of positive cells. High KLF4 expression was identified in 44 of the 75 (59%) dogs with mammary carcinoma and none in the benign cases. High KLF4 expression occurred only in the tumor cells and not the adjacent normal cells in mammary carcinoma (P < 0.001). Moreover, the high expression level of KLF4 expression was statistically associated with poor grade, late stage, histological subtypes of simple and complex carcinoma, and shorter 24-month survival. The Kaplan-Meier survival analysis also indicated that dogs with high nuclear KLF4 expression had a significantly shorter survival than those with low/moderate KLF4 expression (P = 0.011).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>KLF4 is highly and frequently expressed in canine mammary carcinoma and correlates with a more aggressive phenotype.</p

Effects of high CD4 cell counts on death and attrition among HIV patients receiving antiretroviral treatment: an observational cohort study

Current WHO guidelines recommend initiating ART regardless of CD4+ cell count. In response, we conducted an observational cohort study to assess the effects of pre-ART CD4+ cell count levels on death, attrition, and death or attrition in HIV treated patients. This large HIV treatment cohort study (n = 49,155) from 2010 to 2015 was conducted in Guangxi, China. We used a Cox regression model to analyze associations between pre-ART CD4+ cell counts and death, attrition, and death or attrition. The average mortality and ART attrition rates among all treated patients were 2.63 deaths and 5.32 attritions per 100 person-years, respectively. Compared to HIV patients with 500 CD4+ cells/mm 3 at ART initiation had a significantly lower mortality rate (Adjusted hazard ratio: 0.56, 95% CI: 0.40-0.79), but significantly higher ART attrition rate (AHR: 1.17, 95% CI: 1.03-1.33). Results from this study suggest that HIV patients with high CD4+ cell counts at the time of ART initiation may be at greater risk of treatment attrition. To further reduce ART attrition, it is imperative that patient education and healthcare provider training on ART adherence be enhanced and account for CD4 levels at ART initiation

Tabernacles of the Spirit

In the classic tradition of the exploratory essay, George Gammack examines the theme of community in this paper. He details varied aspects of the creation of community among those who are retired, taking as its focus the Men’s Sheds movement. The paper explores the relationship between persons and community in later years, looking in particular at how those with a lifetime’s worth of skills and knowledge can continue to contribute to the life of a community. Along the way we are introduced to the work of authors such as Charles Taylor, Richard Niebuhr, Primo Levi, Seamus Heaney and Richard Sennett on the subject of work and what comes after it.Publisher PD

π+π+\pi^+\pi^+ and π+π−\pi^+\pi^- colliding in noncommutative space

By studying the scattering process of scalar particle pion on the noncommutative scalar quantum electrodynamics, the non-commutative amendment of differential scattering cross-section is found, which is dependent of polar-angle and the results are significantly different from that in the commutative scalar quantum electrodynamics, particularly when $\cos\theta\sim \pm 1$. The non-commutativity of space is expected to be explored at around $\Lambda_{NC}\sim$TeV.Comment: Latex, 12 page

Preparation of Ag/Cu/Ti Nanofluids by Spark Discharge System and Its Control Parameters Study

This study selected silver, copper, and titanium as the research objects to explore the relationship between nanofluids properties and electrical discharge machining (EDM) processes. Regarding the products, UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) was applied to measure the concentration distribution of nanofluids; zeta-size analysis is applied for measuring nanometal particles’ Zeta-Potential and the size distribution of metallic particles in the fluid. Finally, various instruments, including scanning electron microscope (SEM), were applied to observe the shape, size, and composition ratio of metal particles after processing. According to the experimental results, the control of the discharge pulse time, in addition to affecting the concentration of metallic liquid and temperature in the process, affects the size of the metal particles after the process. As the resistivity of silver and copper is very low, at about 15×10-9 Ω·m, if TON is set to between 10~50 μs, good preparation efficiency can be obtained. The resistivity of titanium is 420×10-9 Ω·m, which is much larger than that of silver or copper. Hence, TON should be set to approximately 100 μs to achieve a good discharge success rate

Tapered microfiber MZI Biosensor for highly sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus

A new double-taper microfiber Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) biosensor is applied for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) detection. The microfiber MZI structure is fabricated by creating two tapers along a traditional single mode fiber (SMF) firstly and tapering the SMF sandwiched between two tapers into very small diameter (in the order of micrometers). The measured refractive index (RI) sensitivity of the microfiber MZI is up to 2731.1 nm/RIU in the RI range of 1.34 when the taper waist diameter was 10.2 &#x03BC;m, which is in good agreement with numerical simulation results by using the beam propagation method (BPM). The microfiber MZI functionalized with pig immunoglobulin (pig IgG) could be used to specifically binding to S. aureus. In experiment, the maximum wavelength shift of 1.408 nm was achieved when the microfiber biosensors were immersed into S. aureus with concentration of 7&#x00D7;101 CFU/mL. The limit of detection (LoD) of the microfiber biosensor for S. aureus is calculated as low as 11 CFU/mL. The proposed microfiber MZI biosensor has advantages of simple structure configuration, high sensitivity, good repeatability and specificity, wide detection range and fast detection response time (&#x003C;30 minutes) and thus was demonstrated a good application prospect in food safety inspection, biochemical sensing, diseases and medical diagnostics