37^th plenary meeting report of the scientific, technical and economic committee for fisheries (PLEN-11-02)

The Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries hold its 37th plenary on 11-15 July 2011 in Copenhagen (Denmark). The terms of reference included both issues assessments of STECF Expert Working Group reports and additional requests submitted to the STECF by the Commission. Topics dealt with ranged from fisheries economics to management plan evaluation issues

Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries. Evaluation of fishing effort regimes - Deep sea and Western waters (STECF-11-12)

EWG-11-11 meeting was held on 26 – 30 September 2011 in Cadiz (Spain). This Section of the report covers the Deep Sea and Western Waters and provides fleet specific trends in catch (including discards), nominal effort and catch (landings) per unit of effort in order to advise on fleet specific impacts on stocks under multiannual management plans. STECF reviewed the report during its November 2011 plenary meeting

Regolith science with the cameras on the MMX Rover

The JAXA Martian Moons Exploration (MMX) mission [1] has a primary objective to study the formation and origins of Phobos and Deimos. The MMX spacecraft will also deploy a CNES/DLR rover to the surface of Phobos [2,3]. This rover will be the first of its kind to attempt wheeled-locomotion on a low gravity surface. As such, this rover provides a unique opportunity to study not only the surface properties of Phobos, but also regolith dynamics on small-bodies. This information is valuable for understanding the surface processes and geological history of Phobos in addition to being of high importance to the landing (and sampling) operations of the main MMX spacecraft [1]

HPV16 Oncoproteins Induce MMPs/RECK-TIMP-2 Imbalance in Primary Keratinocytes: Possible Implications in Cervical Carcinogenesis

Cervical cancer is the third most common cancer in women worldwide. Persistent infection with high-risk HPV types, principally HPV16 and 18 is the main risk factor for the development of this malignancy. However, the onset of invasive tumor occurs many years after initial exposure in a minority of infected women. This suggests that other factors beyond viral infection are necessary for tumor establishment and progression. Tumor progression is characterized by an increase in secretion and activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) produced by either the tumor cells themselves or tumor-associated fibroblasts or macrophages. Increased MMPs expression, including MMP-2, MMP-9 and MT1-MMP, has been observed during cervical carcinoma progression. These proteins have been associated with degradation of ECM components, tumor invasion, metastasis and recurrence. However, few studies have evaluated the interplay between HPV infection and the expression and activity of MMPs and their regulators in cervical cancer. We analyzed the effect of HPV16 oncoproteins on the expression and activity of MMP-2, MMP-9, MT1-MMP, and their inhibitors TIMP-2 and RECK in cultures of human keratinocytes. We observed that E7 expression is associated with increased pro-MMP-9 activity in the epithelial component of organotypic cultures, while E6 and E7 oncoproteins co-expression down-regulates RECK and TIMP-2 levels in organotypic and monolayers cultures. Finally, a study conducted in human cervical tissues showed a decrease in RECK expression levels in precancer and cancer lesions. Our results indicate that HPV oncoproteins promote MMPs/RECK-TIMP-2 imbalance which may be involved in HPV-associated lesions outcome

Hepatic stellate cells:central modulators of hepatic carcinogenesis

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the second most common cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and is increasing in incidence. Currently, our therapeutic repertoire for the treatment of HCC is severely limited, and therefore effective new therapies are urgently required. Recently, there has been increasing interest focusing on the cellular and molecular interactions between cancer cells and their microenvironment. HCC represents a unique opportunity to study the relationship between a diseased stroma and promotion of carcinogenesis, as 90 % of HCCs arise in a cirrhotic liver. Hepatic stellate cells (HSC) are the major source of extracellular proteins during fibrogenesis, and may directly, or via secreted products, contribute to tumour initiation and progression. In this review we explore the complex cellular and molecular interplay between HSC biology and hepatocarcinogenesis. We focus on the molecular mechanisms by which HSC modulate HCC growth, immune cell evasion and angiogenesis. This is followed by a discussion of recent progress in the field in understanding the mechanistic crosstalk between HSC and HCC, and the pathways that are potentially amenable to therapeutic intervention. Furthermore, we summarise the exciting recent developments in strategies to target HSC specifically, and novel techniques to deliver pharmaceutical agents directly to HSC, potentially allowing tailored, cell-specific therapy for HCC

The behavioral and neoliberal foundations of randomizations

International audienceOne-sentence summary : Randomized controlled trials by behavioural economists pretend to be pragmatic and only interested in what really works to solve practical problems but in reality they have notorious normative and ideological aspects. Key points: Behavioural RCTs ignore contexts and composition effects and reflect the biases of those who perform assessments. Behavioural randomizers presume without demonstrating that market exchanges are the most effective form of regulation for societies in all situations of social life. The positive or negative incentives ("nudges") offered by behavioural economics aim to normalize the behaviour of consumers, users, employees or small/independent producers. They are part of a set of power devices by which individual behaviours are shaped and forced, without their knowledge, to conform to dominant class interests