Weekly Paclitaxel and Trastuzumab as a First-Line Therapy in Patients with HER2-Overexpressing Metastatic Breast Cancer: Magnitude of HER2/neu Amplification as a Predictive Factor for Efficacy

We evaluated the efficacy and safety of weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as firs-tline chemotherapy in women with HER2-overexpressing metastatic breast cancer (MBC), and we investigated the prognostic factors including magnitude of HER2/neu amplification in this population. We analyzed 54 patients with HER2-overexpressing MBC that were treated with weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as first-line chemotherapy from February 2004 to December 2006. At a median follow-up of 28 months, median time to progression (TTP) was 16.6 months (95% CI, 9.4 to 23.7 months) and median overall survival was 25.6 months (95% CI, 21.8 to 27.3 months). Therapy was generally well tolerated, although three patients (5.5%) experienced reversible, symptomatic heart failure. Of the 27 patients evaluable for the HER2 FISH, patients with a HER2/CEP17 ratio of ≤4.0 had significantly shorter TTP than those with a HER2/CEP17 ratio of >4.0 (10.8 vs. 23.2 months, P=0.034). A HER2/CEP17 ratio of >4.0 was identified as significant predictive factor of TTP by multivariate analysis (P=0.032). The combination of weekly paclitaxel plus trastuzumab as first-line chemotherapy is an effective regimen in patients with HER2-FISH-positive MBC. Furthermore, the magnitude of HER2 amplification is an independent predictive factor of TTP

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

Enhancing the of Performance of Lithium-Sulfur Batteries through Electrochemical Impregnation of Sulfur in Hierarchical Mesoporous Carbon Nanoparticles

© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH. Hierarchical mesoporous carbon was studied as a key material for enhancing sulfur utilization in Li-S batteries. Commonly, thermal sulfur infiltration into mesoporous carbon was a representative method for S-C composites; however, these had some problems such as pore blocking or nonuniform deposition of sulfur. Electrochemical sulfur impregnation without chemical or thermal infiltration reduced the preprocess time and enabled efficient polysulfide diffusion into the carbon pores. As the soluble polysulfides are smaller and more mobile than solid-state sulfur, they could be physically or chemically adsorbed into the pores of the carbon additives. This approach enhanced the cycle stability and rate performance of the batteries. This study will provide an efficient and economic use of porous carbons in the Li-S battery field11sciescopu

Enhancing the of Performance of Lithium‐Sulfur Batteries through Electrochemical Impregnation of Sulfur in Hierarchical Mesoporous Carbon Nanoparticles

© 2020 Wiley-VCH GmbH. Hierarchical mesoporous carbon was studied as a key material for enhancing sulfur utilization in Li-S batteries. Commonly, thermal sulfur infiltration into mesoporous carbon was a representative method for S-C composites; however, these had some problems such as pore blocking or nonuniform deposition of sulfur. Electrochemical sulfur impregnation without chemical or thermal infiltration reduced the preprocess time and enabled efficient polysulfide diffusion into the carbon pores. As the soluble polysulfides are smaller and more mobile than solid-state sulfur, they could be physically or chemically adsorbed into the pores of the carbon additives. This approach enhanced the cycle stability and rate performance of the batteries. This study will provide an efficient and economic use of porous carbons in the Li-S battery field11sciescopu