Clinical Outcome of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue in Young Patients: A Stage-Matched Comparative Analysis

ObjectivesThe reported incidence of tongue cancer in young patients has recently increased. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics of tongue cancer in a young group of patients, and to compare them with those of an older group of tongue cancer patients.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed the records of 85 patients who were diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue. They were divided into two age groups: over 45 years of age and under 45 years. To compare the prognosis of similarly staged patients in the group, each age group was divided into the early (stage I, II) and advanced stage groups (stage III, IV), and then they were compared. The young group consisted of 23 patients and the older group had 62 patients.ResultsAt the early stage, the clinical prognosis of the patients in both age groups was good, and no significant difference was observed. However, at the advanced stage, the overall and regional recurrence rates were significantly higher in the younger age group as compared to that in the old age group (P=0.007, P=0.001, respectively). The disease-specific survival rate of the patients in the young group was significantly lower than that in the old age group (P=0.025).ConclusionTongue cancer in young subjects has significantly different clinical outcomes according to the stage. The clinical outcome of the advanced-stage tongue cancer in young subjects was poorer than that in the older subjects. Regional recurrence seemed to be the main cause of the poor prognosis

Rab11 Is Required for Epithelial Cell Viability, Terminal Differentiation, and Suppression of Tumor-Like Growth in the Drosophila Egg Chamber

The Drosophila egg chamber provides an excellent system in which to study the specification and differentiation of epithelial cell fates because all of the steps, starting with the division of the corresponding stem cells, called follicle stem cells, have been well described and occur many times over in a single ovary.Here we investigate the role of the small Rab11 GTPase in follicle stem cells (FSCs) and in their differentiating daughters, which include main body epithelial cells, stalk cells and polar cells. We show that rab11-null FSCs maintain their ability to self renew, even though previous studies have shown that FSC self renewal is dependent on maintenance of E-cadherin-based intercellular junctions, which in many cell types, including Drosophila germline stem cells, requires Rab11. We also show that rab11-null FSCs give rise to normal numbers of cells that enter polar, stalk, and epithelial cell differentiation pathways, but that none of the cells complete their differentiation programs and that the epithelial cells undergo premature programmed cell death. Finally we show, through the induction of rab11-null clones at later points in the differentiation program, that Rab11 suppresses tumor-like growth of epithelial cells. Thus, rab11-null epithelial cells arrest differentiation early, assume an aberrant cell morphology, delaminate from the epithelium, and invade the neighboring germline cyst. These phenotypes are associated with defects in E-cadherin localization and a general loss of cell polarity.While previous studies have revealed tumor suppressor or tumor suppressor-like activity for regulators of endocytosis, our study is the first to identify such activity for regulators of endocytic recycling. Our studies also support the recently emerging view that distinct mechanisms regulate junction stability and plasticity in different tissues

Collecting Metrics for CORBA-based Distributed Systems

The Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) supports the creation of distributed systems that cross processor, language and paradigm boundaries. These systems can be large and complex entities that consume considerable resources in their creation and execution. Measurements of characteristics of software systems is an important area of study in general and of particular interest for distributed systems. The work presented in this paper describes a specific technique for instrumenting components in a distributed system. The technique constructs a wrapper around the component being measured. Interactions with the ORB and other components are monitored and summarized. Each wrapper mimics the interface of the component that it is wrapping so that the remaining objects in the system do not need modification. Two approaches to wrapping the component are presented and contrasted. The result is an efficient and modular technique that can quickly be applied to a component. 1 Introduct..

Late-twentieth-century emergence of the El Niño propagation asymmetry and future projections

International audienc

Impact of volcanic eruptions on extratropical atmospheric circulations: review, revisit and future directions

Understanding the impacts of volcanic eruptions on the atmospheric circulations and surface climate in the extratropics is important for inter-annual to decadal climate prediction. Previous studies on the Northern Hemisphere climate responses to volcanic eruptions have shown that volcanic eruptions likely induce northern Eurasian warming through the intensified Arctic polar vortex in the stratosphere and the positive phase of Arctic Oscillation/North Atlantic Oscillation in the troposphere. However, large uncertainties remain and the detailed physical processes have yet to be determined. The circulation responses in the Southern Hemisphere also remain controversial with large differences between the observed and model-simulated results. In this paper, we review previous studies on the extratropical circulation and surface climate responses to volcanic eruptions and update our understanding by examining the latest observational datasets and climate model simulations. We also propose new insights into the crucial role of the latitude of volcanic eruptions in determining the extratropical circulation changes, which has received less attention. Finally, we discuss uncertainty factors that may have important implications to the extratropical circulation responses to volcanic eruptions and suggest future directions to resolve those issues through systematic model experiments

Pathways to Inclusive Practices: Systems Oriented, Policy-Linked, and Research-Based Strategies That Work

This guidebook describes large scale change strategies to develop inclusive approaches to educational policy and practice at the state and district levels. The information was developed under the auspices of a 5-year federally funded project, The Consortium on Inclusive Schooling Practices, which gathered and synthesized information about systemic change related to the incorporation of students with disabilities in general education systems. The project included in-depth work in three states over 4 years and also involved collaboration with individuals involved in systems change efforts focused on inclusive schooling practices in 18 other states. Individual sections of the guide focus on the following aspects: (1) an introduction to the defining elements of the approach; (2) developing inclusive philosophy, policies, structures, and practices; (3) capacity building; (4) approaching change systemically; (5) linking change to policy; (6) using general education as a context; and (7) pitfalls and difficult situations. A summarizing table lists the strategies and challenges addressed across key areas of the large-scale change framework