Individual Rights, Economic Transactions, and Recognition: A Legal Approach to Social Economics

Modernity brought the idea of individual property rights as a com- plex phenomenon. However, economics adopted a simplistic view of property as a fundamental institution, understating the complex interaction of different rights and obligations that frame the legal environment of economic processes with an insufficiently elaborated tool. Here, a more elaborate view of legal elements will be propose

Claudin-1, -3 and -4 proteins and mRNA expression in benign and malignant breast lesions: a research study

INTRODUCTION: We compared levels of protein and mRNA expression of three members of the claudin (CLDN) family in malignant breast tumours and benign lesions. METHODS: Altogether, 56 sections from 52 surgically resected breast specimens were analyzed for CLDN1, CLDN3 and CLDN4 expression by immunohistochemistry. mRNA was also analyzed using real-time PCR in 17 of the 52 cases. RESULTS: CLDNs were rarely observed exclusively at tight junction structures. CLDN1 was present in the membrane of normal duct cells and in some of the cell membranes from ductal carcinoma in situ, and was frequently observed in eight out of nine areas of apocrine metaplasia, whereas invasive tumours were negative for CLDN1 or it was present in a scattered distribution among such tumour cells (in 36/39 malignant tumours). CLDN3 was present in 49 of the 56 sections and CLDN4 was present in all 56 tissue sections. However, CLDN4 was highly positive in normal epithelial cells and was decreased or absent in 17 out of 21 ductal carcinoma grade 1, in special types of breast carcinoma (mucinous, papillary, tubular) and in areas of apocrine metaplasia. CLDN1 mRNA was downregulated by 12-fold in the sample (tumour) group as compared with the control group using GAPDH as the reference gene. CLDN3 and CLDN4 mRNA exhibited no difference in expression between invasive tumours and surrounding tissue. CONCLUSIONS: The significant loss of CLDN1 protein in breast cancer cells suggests that CLDN1 may play a role in invasion and metastasis. The loss of CLDN4 expression in areas of apocrine metaplasia and in the majority of grade 1 invasive carcinomas also suggests a particular role for this protein in mammary glandular cell differentiation and carcinogenesis

Cancer Biomarker Discovery: The Entropic Hallmark

Background: It is a commonly accepted belief that cancer cells modify their transcriptional state during the progression of the disease. We propose that the progression of cancer cells towards malignant phenotypes can be efficiently tracked using high-throughput technologies that follow the gradual changes observed in the gene expression profiles by employing Shannon's mathematical theory of communication. Methods based on Information Theory can then quantify the divergence of cancer cells' transcriptional profiles from those of normally appearing cells of the originating tissues. The relevance of the proposed methods can be evaluated using microarray datasets available in the public domain but the method is in principle applicable to other high-throughput methods. Methodology/Principal Findings: Using melanoma and prostate cancer datasets we illustrate how it is possible to employ Shannon Entropy and the Jensen-Shannon divergence to trace the transcriptional changes progression of the disease. We establish how the variations of these two measures correlate with established biomarkers of cancer progression. The Information Theory measures allow us to identify novel biomarkers for both progressive and relatively more sudden transcriptional changes leading to malignant phenotypes. At the same time, the methodology was able to validate a large number of genes and processes that seem to be implicated in the progression of melanoma and prostate cancer. Conclusions/Significance: We thus present a quantitative guiding rule, a new unifying hallmark of cancer: the cancer cell's transcriptome changes lead to measurable observed transitions of Normalized Shannon Entropy values (as measured by high-throughput technologies). At the same time, tumor cells increment their divergence from the normal tissue profile increasing their disorder via creation of states that we might not directly measure. This unifying hallmark allows, via the the Jensen-Shannon divergence, to identify the arrow of time of the processes from the gene expression profiles, and helps to map the phenotypical and molecular hallmarks of specific cancer subtypes. The deep mathematical basis of the approach allows us to suggest that this principle is, hopefully, of general applicability for other diseases

Optimierung von rotierenden Multipass-Kühlsystemen, Teil A: Strömungs- und Druckverlustmessung im rotierenden Modell

Zur internen Kühlung von Gasturbinenrotorschaufeln werden sehr häufig Multipass-Kühlsysteme eingesetzt. Bei diesen Kühlkanälen ergeben sich aufgrund der Rotation der Schaufel deutlich geänderte Geschwindigkeitsverteilungen in den Kühlkanälen. Weiterhin kommt es auch zu einer Veränderung der Wärmeübertragung. Zur effizienten Auslegung eines solchen Kühlsystems werden genaue Kenntnisse des Strömungsfeldes, des Wanddruckverlaufs als auch der Wärmeübertragung benötigt. Das Ziel dieses Vorhabens 2.4.4 (A+B) ist es, eine Datenbasis für ein praxisnahes Kühlsystem zur Verfügung zu stellen. Hierbei werden detailierte Strömungsfeldmessungen und Druckmessungen im rotierenden System (2.4.4A) durch detailierte Messungen des Wärmeübergangs, des Strömungsfeldes und des Wanddruckfeldes (2.4.4B) ergänzt. Damit wird es möglich solche Kühlsysteme besser zu optimieren

Cisplatin-Digoxigenin mRNA Labeling for Nonradioactive Detection of mRNA Hybridized onto Nucleic Acid cDNA Arrays

We optimized a novel nonradioactive hybridization technique using a cis-platin coupled digoxigenin derivative for direct labeling of mRNA. This new mRNA reporter molecule was applied to cDNA membrane arrays to simultaneously identify expression of hundreds of genes. The sensitivity of this nonradioactive mRNA hybridization technique was comparable to radioactive cDNA labeling on housekeeping gene expression but even superior on the detection limit of the expression of low abundant genes using mRNA isolated from human diploid fibroblasts. Additional advantages are faster readout and decreased total working times because of luminescence technology and avoidance of radioactivity. Finally, no potential artifactual reverse transcription step is necessary because of direct labeling of mRNA used for hybridization on nucleic acid arrays