Session 2: Extramural vascular invasion and extranodal deposits: should they be treated the same?

Professor Nagtegaal has already highlighted that lymph nodes are probably not responsible for the development of liver metastases. If they are not, then is there another mechanism? Professor Haboubi addresses the question of extranodal deposits - their frequency and their importance in the development of metastatic disease. The experts review the evidence and discuss whether this information will alter treatment decisions and staging systems in the future

Complete mesocolic excision for colonic cancer : Society for Translational Medicine expert consensus statement

Total mesorectal excision (TME), a revolutionary change and a milestone in the history of surgical treatment for rectal cancer, has been widely recognized as the gold standard and is now a routine procedure. The concept of complete mesocolic excision (CME) was proposed based on the similar philosophy as TME, aimed to achieve better surgical quality and improve the oncological outcomes of colon cancer. In recent years, many surgeons have increasingly adopted the principle and conducted clinical trials to verify the effect of CME; however, whether CME should be used as the standard surgical technique is still controversial. In this article, we reviewed and updated the literature. Experts in this field from nine countries were invited to complete a questionnaire concerning CME, with the aim to illustrate the embryological and anatomical basis and reach a consensus of the current situation and future of CME

Etalonnage des échantillonneurs passifs du type POCIS pour les pesticides polaires : essai d'intercomparaison et recommandations pour l'harmonisation des données d'étalonnage en laboratoire

La perspective d’application des échantillonneurs passifs dans le cadre de la DCE nécessite au préalable l’établissement de données d’étalonnage fiables. Or, concernant des dispositifs tels que les Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Samplers (POCIS), a priori adaptés pour l’échantillonnage des pesticides organiques polaires, ces données sont encore peu renseignées et/ou très hétérogènes ou alors déterminées via des systèmes expérimentaux en laboratoire certes contrôlées mais aussi très variables. D’après l’étude de la littérature à ce sujet, à défaut de disposer de valeurs de référence, il ressort un besoin d’harmonisation des constantes cinétiques (ou encore des taux d’échantillonnage) et de recommandations quant à la manière de les acquérir. Ainsi, il a été mené un essai d’intercomparaison portant sur l’étalonnage d’une liste commune d’herbicides polaires (acétochlore, alachlore, atrazine, diuron et linuron) au sein de trois laboratoires experts dans le domaine de l’échantillonnage passif et membre du consortium Aquaref. Le second objectif de ce travail a visé l’étude de l’influence des conditions expérimentales et des systèmes utilisés pour l'étalonnage, à savoir le système employé, le niveau de dopage des eaux en pesticides, l’agitation du milieu ou encore la température, ce qui a permis d’appréhender la robustesse des données associée à la phase d’étalonnage en laboratoire. Les données d’échantillonnage obtenues dans les différents laboratoires impliqués étant comparables pour les molécules « communes » aux différents essais, l’agrégation des données des différents laboratoire a été réalisée pour fournir l’intégralité des données de taux d’échantillonnage acquises à ce jour

Session 2: What causes liver metastases - lymph nodes or is it something else?

Contains fulltext : 192292.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Involvement of a minimal actin-binding region of Spiroplasma citri phosphoglycerate kinase in spiroplasma transmission by its leafhopper vector

Background Spiroplasma citri is a wall-less bacterium that colonizes phloem vessels of a large number of host plants. Leafhopper vectors transmit S. citri in a propagative and circulative manner, involving colonization and multiplication of bacteria in various insect organs. Previously we reported that phosphoglycerate kinase (PGK), the well-known glycolytic enzyme, bound to leafhopper actin and was unexpectedly implicated in the internalization process of S. citri into Circulifer haematoceps cells. Methodology/Principal Findings In an attempt to identify the actin-interacting regions of PGK, several overlapping PGK truncations were generated. Binding assays, using the truncations as probes on insect protein blots, revealed that the actin-binding region of PGK was located on the truncated peptide designated PGK-FL5 containing amino acids 49–154. To investigate the role of PGK-FL5-actin interaction, competitive spiroplasma attachment and internalization assays, in which His6-tagged PGK-FL5 was added to Ciha-1 cells prior to infection with S. citri, were performed. No effect on the efficiency of attachment of S. citri to leafhopper cells was observed while internalization was drastically reduced. The in vivo effect of PGK-FL5 was confirmed by competitive experimental transmission assays as injection of PGK-FL5 into S. citri infected leafhoppers significantly affected spiroplasmal transmission. Conclusion These results suggest that S. citri transmission by its insect vector is correlated to PGK ability to bind actin

An in situ intercomparison exercise on passive samplers for monitoring metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and pesticides in surface waters

Abstract: An intercomparison exercise on passive samplers (PSs) was organized in summer 2010 to measure selected metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pesticides in surface waters. Various PSs were used and compared at two river sites and one marine lagoon. A total of 24 laboratories participated. We present selected significant results from this exercise, including discussion on quality assurance and quality control for PSs, the interlaboratory variability of field blanks, time weighted average water concentrations and their uncertainties, the representativity of samples from Diffusive Gradient in Thin film, the ability of PSs to achieve lower limits of detection, PAH fingerprints in various PSs compared with spot samples, and the relevance of the permeability reference compound approach to the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler with pesticides. These in situ intercomparison exercises should enable progress on the harmonization of practices for use of passive sampling, especially for priority chemical monitoring and regulatory programs in compliance with the European Union's Water Framework Directive and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Highlights ► We present the first results from an intercomparison exercise on passive samplers. ► We discuss quality control and quality assurance strategy. ► We discuss the interlaboratory time weighted average (TWA) water concentrations. ► Through examples, we present the scope of some passive samplers (DGT, POCIS and SPMD). ► We discuss the permeability reference compounds approach to POCIS and pesticides