The 2010 R-ISEW (regional index of sustainable economic well-being) for all the English regions

This is the fourth consecutive report presenting R-ISEW (regional index of sustainable economic well-being) calculations for the nine Government Office Regions (GORs) of England.1 New data available in the summer of 2010 allows a continuous time series from 1994 to 2008 – 15 years. Because of the nature of the data required for the R-ISEW, there is always a two-year lag before results for any given year can be completed

The 2009 R-ISEW (regional index of sustainable economic well-being) for all the English regions

This latest report presents new data calculated in 2009 for the years 1994–2007. The data, which also includes the updating of several sets of figures that previously had to be estimated for 2006, show that a nine-year increase in the English R-ISEW since 1994, began to peter out in 2003, such that total per capita growth between 2003 and 2007 was only 2.4%. Indeed, between 2005 and 2006, per capita R-ISEW fell slightly

Regional index of sustainable economic well-being development project: final report

This report presents results from a development project carried out by nef (the new economics foundation) on behalf of emda (the East Midlands Development Agency) and Natural England, to improve the methodologies used in the calculation of the R-ISEW (Regional Index of Sustainable Economic Well-Being)

Decreased expression of fecal miR-4478 and miR-1295b-3p in early-stage colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major cause of cancer-related deaths world-wide. Detection of molecular markers in stool samples is a promising strategy for CRC screening. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short, non-coding RNA molecules that are commonly dysregulated in neoplasia. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the fecal miRNAs differentiation between early-stage CRC patients and healthy subjects. METHODS: Stool samples were collected from 40 patients with early stage (I, II) CRC and 16 healthy controls. RNA was extracted from all samples using miRNAeasy Mini Kits. MiRNA microarray expression profiling was performed with Agilent's miRNA Microarray system on 12 CRC and 8 normal stool samples. The expression levels of miR-4478 and miR-1295b-3p were determined by the SYBR Green miScript PCR system. RESULTS: In profiling study, we found 215 down-regulated miRNAs in CRC group. Furthermore, in validation study we found that the expression levels of fecal miR-4487 and miR-1295b-3p were significantly decreased in CRC patients compared to healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of miR-4478 and miR-1295b-3p were significantly diminished in stool samples of CRC patients with early stage (I, II) in comparison with normal group. These miRNAs maybe use as potential non-invasive molecular markers for CRC diagnosis, but further studies are needed. © 2015 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved

Downregulation of plasma MiR-142-3p and MiR-26a-5p in patients with colorectal carcinoma

Background: Colorectal cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers and cancer- related death worldwide. Identification of new specific biomarkers could be helpful to detection of this malignancy. Altered plasma microRNA expression has been identified in many cancers, including colorectal cancer. Objectives: The main objective of this study was to identify the circulating microRNAs with the most expression changes in colorectal cancer patients compared with neoplasm free healthy individuals. Materials and Methods: MicroRNA expression profiling was performed on plasma samples of 37 colorectal cancer patients and 8 normal subjects using microRNA microarray. Quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was used to validate the two selected altered microR NAs. Plasma samples from 61 colorectal cancer patients and 24 normal subjects were used in our validation study. Results: In profiling study we found a panel of six plasma microRNAs with significant downregulation. MicroRNA-142-3p and microRNA-26a-5p were selected and validated by polymerase chain reaction. Our results demonstrated that expression levels of plasma microRNA-142-3p and microRNA-26a-5p were significantly downregulated in patients with colorectal cancer when compared to control group. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that downregulation of plasma microRNA-142-3p and microRNA-26a-5p might serve as novel noninvasive biomarkers in the diagnosis of colorectal cancer, although more studies are needed to highlight the theoretical strengths. © 2015, Iranian Journal of Cancer Prevention

Aberrant expression of ALK and EZH2 in Merkel cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND: Distinct characteristic features categorize Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) into two subgroups according to the Merkel cell polyomavirus infection. Many mutational studies on MCC have been carried out in recent years without identifying a prominent driver mutation. However, there is paucity reporting the expression of cancer genes at the RNA level in MCC tumors. In this study, we studied the RNA expression profiles of 26 MCC tumors, with a goal to identify prospective molecular targets that could improve the treatment strategies of MCC. METHODS: RNA expression of 50 cancer-related genes in 26 MCC tumors was analyzed by targeted amplicon based next-generation sequencing using the Ion Torrent technology and the expression compared with that of normal, non-cancerous skin samples. Sequencing data were processed using Torrent Suite Software. Expression profiles of MCV-negative and MCV-positive tumors were compared. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed to study ALK rearrangements and immunohistochemistry to study ALK expression in tumor tissue. RESULTS: ALK, CDKN2A, EZH2 and ERBB4 were overexpressed, and EGFR, ERBB2, PDGFRA and FGFR1 were underexpressed in MCC tumors compared to normal skin. In the MCV-negative tumors, MET, NOTCH1, FGFR3, and SMO were overexpressed and JAK3 and NPM1 were under-expressed compared to the MCV-positive tumors. CONCLUSIONS: High expression of ALK, CDKN2A and EZH2 was recorded in MCC tumors. No ALK fusion was seen by FISH analysis. Overexpression of EZH2 suggests its potential as a drug target in MCC.Peer reviewe