Cancer as a defective network for NF-κB

In a recent review we addressed the role of the transcription factor NF-κB, in shaping the cancer microenvironment. NF-κB, which interacts with chromatin modulators by cell-specific dynamics, controls cell interactions during inflammation, and its abnormal feedback regulation is implicated in cancer. Inflammation normally reprograms cells through changes in key topological elements of chromosomal DNA. As a result, inflammation overrides cell phenotype: initially, reprogramming cell function halts processes that impede the response of a damaged tissue to the cause of the harm, and eventually, late reprogramming of cells will replenish tissue structure and restore function. Each cell type provides a distinct resource for restoration of tissue integrity, tissue function, and for replenishment of the responsiveness of the immune system. Modulators of NF-κB transcriptional activity alter key aspects of gene expression and tissue integrity. NF-κB network alterations confer transcriptional plasticity to cancer

Dynamic aberrant NF-κB spurs tumorigenesis: A new model encompassing the microenvironment

Recently it was discovered that a transient activation of transcription factor NF-κB can give cells properties essential for invasiveness and cancer initiating potential. In contrast, most oncogenes to date were characterized on the basis of mutations or by their constitutive overexpression. Study of NF-κB actually leads to a far more dynamic perspective on cancer: tumors caused by diverse oncogenes apparently evolve into cancer after loss of feedback regulation for NF-κB. This event alters the cellular phenotype and the expression of hormonal mediators, modifying signals between diverse cell types in a tissue. The result is a disruption of stem cell hierarchy in the tissue, and pervasive changes in the microenvironment and immune response to the malignant cells

Poetics, Materialities, Performances: Greek Photographic Books 2000-2023

At the dawn of the new century, we are witnessing the renaissance and democratisation of the photographic book in Greece. The exhibition Poetics, Materialities, Performances: Greek Photographic Books 2020-2023 documents this evolution and explores its characteristics. Several factors have influenced this development. The advent of new digital technologies enabled cost-efficient production, self-publishing, and international dissemination. The relatively delayed institutionalisation of photography as an art form on par with painting and sculpture within the Greek art scene, played an equally significant role, resulting in a notable increase in museum publications. Furthermore, as photographic books respond to and reflect diverse pictorial approaches and trends, this curatorial proposition seeks to offer a concise overview of contemporary photographic practices. To this end, the selection is cross-generational and includes books that retrospectively cover a broader context of practice dating back to the 1970s. It encompasses monographs that may focus on a specific topic, publications presenting one or more bodies of work, curated retrospectives of a practitioner’s oeuvre, as well as expanded exhibition publications and self-published books. The books on display present a kaleidoscope of photographic practices, ranging from landscape, street, studio, directorial, and diaristic photography to social documentary, conflict photography, and re-articulations of “the photographic,” which often arise from the intersection of photography with various other media, such as digital media and painting. They also address a wide array of topics: identities, the Greek crisis, history and collective memory, the interplay between nature and culture, communities, societal issues, politics. The title of the exhibition indicates three methodological approaches to the materials. Poetics, that is, the storytelling mechanisms, the editing and sequencing of the photographs, the dialectical juxtaposition of text, images, and graphic design, plays a pivotal role in this exploration. Equally significant are the materiality and objecthood of these publications, including their size and format, the paper thickness and texture, all of which are integral parts of their narrative and haptic experience. Lastly, the exhibition highlights how photographic books perform as visual and textual propositions and as cultural experiences, and examines the impact these performances have on audiences and the histories of Greek photography. The purpose of a book is to be leafed through and read. In line with this principle, the exhibition is designed as an interactive display that invites touch and contemplation. Here, visitors are not passive spectators but active participants whose individuality determines the ways the books are handled and their journey of multiple associations. Artists Costis Antoniadis, Alexandros Avramidis, Manolis Baboussis, Ilias Bourgiotis, Dimitra Dede, John Demos, Nikos Economopoulos, Petros Efstathiadis, Pavlos Fysakis, Aikaterini Gegisian, Alexandros Georgiou, Aris Georgiou, Haris Kakarouhas, Stratos Kalafatis, Katerina Kaloudi, Alexandros Katsis, Demetris Koilalous, Panos Kokkinias, Yannis Kontos, Maria Louka, Natassa Markidou, Nikos Markou, Despina Meimaroglou, Persephone Michou, Katerina Moschou, Lia Nalbantidou, Effie Paleologou, Nikos Panayotopoulos, Yiannis Pantelidis, Roula Patra, Avraam Pavlidis, Paris Petridis, Penelope Petsini, Nikos Pilos, Platon Rivellis, Andreas Schοinas, Panagiotis Sotiropoulos, Spyros Staveris, Yiannis Theodoropoulos, Marinos Tsagkarakis, Dimitris Tsoumplekas, Eirini Vourloumis, Tassos Vrettos, Yorgos Yatromanolakis, Yiorgis Yerolymbos, Zak / Zackie Oh, Lily Zoumpoul

Parental Tobacco Smoking and Acute Myeloid Leukemia : The Childhood Leukemia International Consortium

The association between tobacco smoke and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is well established in adults but not in children. Individual-level data on parental cigarette smoking were obtained from 12 case-control studies from the Childhood Leukemia International Consortium (CLIC, 1974-2012), including 1,330 AML cases diagnosed at age <15 years and 13,169 controls. We conducted pooled analyses of CLIC studies, as well as meta-analyses of CLIC and non-CLIC studies. Overall, maternal smoking before, during, or after pregnancy was not associated with childhood AML; there was a suggestion, however, that smoking during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk in Hispanics (odds ratio = 2.08, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 3.61) but not in other ethnic groups. By contrast, the odds ratios for paternal lifetime smoking were 1.34 (95% CI: 1.11, 1.62) and 1.18 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.51) in pooled and meta-analyses, respectively. Overall, increased risks from 1.2- to 1.3-fold were observed for pre- and postnatal smoking (P < 0.05), with higher risks reported for heavy smokers. Associations with paternal smoking varied by histological type. Our analyses suggest an association between paternal smoking and childhood AML. The association with maternal smoking appears limited to Hispanic children, raising questions about ethnic differences in tobacco-related exposures and biological mechanisms, as well as study-specific biases

Progress in treatment of viral infections in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

In children, the most commonly encountered type of leukemia is acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). An important source of morbidity and mortality in ALL are viral infections. Even though allogeneic transplantations, which are often applied also in ALL, carry a recognized risk for viral infections, there are multiple factors that make ALL patients susceptible to viral infections. The presence of those factors has an influence in the type and severity of infections. Currently available treatment options do not guarantee a positive outcome for every case of viral infection in ALL, without significant side effects. Side effects can have very serious consequences for the ALL patients, which include nephrotoxicity. For this reason a number of strategies for personalized intervention have been already clinically tested, and experimental approaches are being developed. Adoptive immunotherapy, which entails administration of ex vivo grown immune cells to a patient, is a promising approach in general, and for transplant recipients in particular. The ex vivo grown cells are aimed to strengthen the immune response to the virus that has been identified in the patients’ blood and tissue samples. Even though many patients with weakened immune system can benefit from progress in novel approaches, a viral infection still poses a very significant risk for many patients. Therefore, preventive measures and supportive care are very important for ALL patients

Vibrational spectroscopic study of protic ionic liquid structure

Ionic liquids (ILs) have received considerable attention due to their unique properties in applications in catalysis, electrochemistry, synthesis, analytical chemistry, and separations. They consist of organic cations and organic or inorganic anions and have melting points less than 100oC.Their interesting properties such as low melting points, extremely low vapor pressures, low viscosity, high electrochemical window, no flammability and the ability of being recycled depend on the intermolecular and inter-ionic interactions. Understanding how these interactions are affected by the IL cation alkyl substituents is of paramount importance in order to understand how the IL structure influences macroscopically measured properties and eventually design ILs with desired properties by tailoring their structure.The main interactions of between the PIL ions are Coulombic, van der Waals and hydrogen bonding. In order to understand the effect of these forces to their properties, I examined the effect of alkyl length chain and temperature on the structure of Protic Ionic Liquids (PILs) HCnImNTf2 (n=0-12) using vibrational spectroscopy (FT-Raman and FT-IR/ATR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). A similar study was also carried to the alkali molten salts ANTf2 (A:Li-Cs). Finally the encapsulation of HC1ImNTf2 in zeolites was studied. The goal of this study was to increase the crystal conductivity to level that makes them suitable for PEM fuel cell applications.According to these studies, it was found that the ions interactive long range electrostatic interactions, van der Waals interaction, hydrogen bonds and pi-pi stacking interactions. Moreover, it was found that in PILs the cis conformation of the anion is favored with increasing temperatures, whereas, in case of alkaline molten salts MNTf2 (Li-Cs), trans conformation is dominant in the liquid state. Since the population of the two isomers is affected by the local environment of the anion it was concluded that the anion NTf2- can be used as an indirect mean of the interactions that occur in these systems.Finally, from the encapsulation of protic ionic liquid HMImNTf2 into the porosity of zeolite material, it was found that an ion exchange procedure take place between the cation HMIm+ of the ionic liquid and the cation Na+ of the zeolite. The electric conductivity of the zeolite crystals increased by three times under dry conditionsΤα ιοντικά υγρά (ΙΥ) έχουν κερδίσει το ενδιαφέρον των ερευνητών, λόγω των εξαιρετικών ιδιοτήτων τους σε εφαρμογές κατάλυσης, ηλεκτροχημείας, σύνθεσης και αναλυτικής χημείας καθώς και σε μεθόδους διαχωρισμού. Πρόκειται για ιοντικές ενώσεις που αποτελούνται από οργανικά κατιόντα και οργανικά/ανόργανα ανιόντα, τα οποία εμφανίζουν χαμηλό σημείο τήξης Τm<100oC. Η δομή και οι αλληλεπιδράσεις μεταξύ των ιοντικών υγρών καθορίζουν τις φυσικοχημικές τους ιδιότητες όπως είναι το χαμηλό σημείο τήξης, το χαμηλό ιξώδες, η χαμηλή τάση ατμών, η υψηλή αγωγιμότητα, η μη αναφλεξιμότητα αλλά και η δυνατότητα ανακύκλωσης. Η κατανόηση των διαμοριακών αλληλεπιδράσεων που λαμβάνουν χώρα σε αυτές τις δομές είναι απαραίτητη για την πρόβλεψη αλλά και τη σχεδίαση των ιδιοτήτων τους. Για να κατανοηθεί η δομή και οι αλληλεπιδράσεις στην υγρή φάση, στην παρούσα εργασία, μελετήθηκαν πρωτονιωμένα ιοντικά υγρά (ΠΙΥ) HCnImNTf2 (n=0-12) καθώς επίσης και τα τήγματα των αλκαλικών αλάτων ΜNTf2 (Μ:Li-Cs). Επίσης παρουσιάζεται o εγκλωβισμός τους σε μικροπορώδη υλικά για εφαρμογή τους σε κελιά καυσίμου.Κύριο χαρακτηριστικό των πρωτονιωμένων ιοντικών υγρών είναι ότι πέραν των ηλεκτροστατικών δυνάμεων που αναπτύσσονται μεταξύ τους, τα ανιόντα και τα κατιόντα συνδέονται και με ισχυρούς δεσμούς υδρογόνου. Στα συστήματα αυτά μελετήθηκε η επίδραση της θερμοκρασίας στη δομή τους με χρήση δονητικής φασματοσκοπίας FT-IR και FT-Raman καθώς και με διαφορική θερμιδομετρία σάρωσης. Από τη συγκεκριμένη μελέτη προέκυψε ότι στα συγκεκριμένα ιοντικά υγρά εμφανίζονται ηλεκτροστατικές και van der Waals αλληλεπιδράσεις, δεσμοί υδρογόνου καθώς και π-π αλληλεπιδράσεις. Επίσης διαπιστώθηκε ότι η αύξηση της θερμοκρασίας ευνοεί τη cis ισομέρεια του ανιόντος. Αντίθετα, στα τήγματα των αλάτων MNTf2 (Li-Cs) το ανιόν προτιμά την trans διαμόρφωση. Επίσης η μελέτη της επίδρασης του κατιόντος μελετώντας την επίδραση του κατιόντος στη δομή του ανιόντος οδήγησε στο συμπέρασμα ότι το ανιόν μπορεί να χρησιμοποιηθεί ως εσωτερικός δείκτης των αλληλεπιδράσεων που λαμβάνουν χώρα στα ΙΥ. Κατά τη μελέτη των σύνθετων υλικών βρέθηκε ότι κατά την εισαγωγή του ιοντικού υγρού στους ζεόλιθους λαμβάνει χώρα ιονανταλλαγή μεταξύ του κατιόντος του HMIm+του ΠΙΥ και των κατιόντων Na+του ζεόλιθου. Επίσης, παρουσιάστηκε αύξηση της ιοντικής τους αγωγιμότητας σχεδόν τέσσερις φορές, σε σχέση με την αγωγιμότητα της άνυδρης κατάστασης των κρυστάλλων του ζεόλιθου

Platinum Recovered from Automotive Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Exhaust Systems in Hydrometallurgical Operation

The current study is focused on platinum recovery from the secondary sources of end-of-life heavy-duty diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and heavy-duty catalyzed diesel particulate filters (c-DPFs) in order to reduce the supply&ndash;demand gap within the European Union. The extraction of platinum was based on a hydrometallurgical single-step low acidity leaching system (HCl-H2O2-NaCl) and a calcination step that takes place before the leaching process. The parameters of calcination and leaching process were thoroughly investigated in order to optimize recovery efficiency. The optimized results proved that a calcination step (at 800 &deg;C for 2 h) improves the recovery efficiency by a factor of 40%. In addition, optimal Pt recovery yield was achieved after 3 h of leaching at 70 &deg;C, with a solid-to-liquid (S/L) ratio of 70 g/100 mL (70%) and 3 M HCl-1% vol H2O2-4.5 M NaCl as leaching conditions. The optimum Pt recovery yield was 95% and 75% for DOC and c-DPF, respectively. Since the secondary feedstock investigated is highly concentrated in platinum, the pregnant solution can be used as a precursor for developing new Pt-based catalytic systems

Platinum Recovered from Automotive Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Exhaust Systems in Hydrometallurgical Operation

The current study is focused on platinum recovery from the secondary sources of end-of-life heavy-duty diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and heavy-duty catalyzed diesel particulate filters (c-DPFs) in order to reduce the supply–demand gap within the European Union. The extraction of platinum was based on a hydrometallurgical single-step low acidity leaching system (HCl-H2O2-NaCl) and a calcination step that takes place before the leaching process. The parameters of calcination and leaching process were thoroughly investigated in order to optimize recovery efficiency. The optimized results proved that a calcination step (at 800 °C for 2 h) improves the recovery efficiency by a factor of 40%. In addition, optimal Pt recovery yield was achieved after 3 h of leaching at 70 °C, with a solid-to-liquid (S/L) ratio of 70 g/100 mL (70%) and 3 M HCl-1% vol H2O2-4.5 M NaCl as leaching conditions. The optimum Pt recovery yield was 95% and 75% for DOC and c-DPF, respectively. Since the secondary feedstock investigated is highly concentrated in platinum, the pregnant solution can be used as a precursor for developing new Pt-based catalytic systems