siRNA screen of the human signaling proteome identifies the PtdIns(3,4,5)P3-mTOR signaling pathway as a primary regulator of transferrin uptake

A survey of 1,804 human dicer-generated signaling siRNAs using automated quantitative imaging identified the phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate-mTOR signaling pathway as a primary regulator of iron-transferrin uptake

Hydroxylamine Reductase Activity of the Hybrid Cluster Protein from Escherichia coli

The hybrid cluster protein (HCP; formerly termed the prismane protein) has been extensively studied due to its unique spectroscopic properties. Although the structural and spectroscopic characteristics are well defined, its enzymatic function, up to this point, has remained unidentified. While it was proposed that HCP acts in some step of nitrogen metabolism, a specific role for this enzyme remained unknown. Recent studies of HCP purified from Escherichia coli have identified a novel hydroxylamine reductase activity. These data reveal the ability of HCP to reduce hydroxylamine in vitro to form NH3 and H2O. Further biochemical analyses were completed in order to determine the effects of various electron donors, different pH levels, and the presence of CN− on in vitro hydroxylamine reduction

Grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering studies on templating nanopores in networked polymer thin films with a multi-armed porogen

The mechanism of thermal pore generation in organosilicate thin films loaded with a six-armed star-shaped poly(epsilon-caprolactone) porogen was quantitatively investigated by using in-situ grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering and thermogravimetry. These analyses found that the blend components have a limited miscibility that depends on the compositionfor porogen loadings up to only 20 wt%, molecularly miscible blend films were obtained. Even for the miscible blend films, heating the films produced a curing reaction of the precursor matrix component, leading to the phase separation of the porogen component. This phase separation was found to begin at 393 K for 10 wt% porogen loaded films and at 373 K for 20 wt% porogen loaded films, and to continue for temperatures up to 423 K. The porogen aggregates remained and were confined within the matrix film without any further growth or movement until complete thermal decomposition above 564 K.ope

An unusual anatomical variant of the left phrenic nerve encircling the transverse cervical artery

During educational dissection of cadavers, we encountered anatomical variability of the left phrenic nerve. In this cadaver, nerve fibers from C3 and C4 descended and crossed behind the transverse cervical artery (TCA), a branch of the thyrocervical trunk, at the level of the anterior scalene muscle. On the other hand, nerve fibers from C5 descended obliquely above the TCA and then joined the fibers from C3-4 on the medial side of the anterior scalene muscle to form the phrenic nerve. To our knowledge, the encircling of the TCA by the left phrenic nerve in the neck has not yet been reported and may pose as a potential risk for nerve compression during movement of the neck. We discuss several types of anatomical variants of the phrenic nerve and the associated risk during thorax and neck dissection procedures

Biomarker analysis in stage III–IV (M0) gastric cancer patients who received curative surgery followed by adjuvant 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin chemotherapy: epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) associated with favourable survival

The aim of this study was to analyse the impact of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), thymidylate synthase (TS), dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), thymidine phosphorylase (TP), aurora kinase (ARK) A/B, and excision repair cross-complementing gene 1 (ERCC1) on the efficacy of adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin (FP) after curative gastric resection. Normal and cancer tissue were separately obtained from gastrectomy samples of 153 patients with AJCC stage III–IV (M0) who subsequently treated with adjuvant FP chemotherapy. TS, DPD, TP, ERCC1, and ARK proteins were measured by immunohistochemistry (IHC). EGFR expression was investigated using a standardized IHC with the EGFR PharmDx assay. Amplification of EGFR gene was analysed using fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH). In multivariate analysis, stage, ratio of positive to removed lymph nodes, and EGFR expression were significant prognostic factors for overall survival. Patients with higher EGFR expression had better overall survival than those with lower expression (relative risk: 0.475 (95% confidence interval, 0.282–0.791, P=0.005). Low EGFR expression might be a predictive marker for relapse in curative resected stage III–IV (M0) gastric cancer patients who received adjuvant FP chemotherapy