Expression of Plakophilins (PKP1, PKP2, and PKP3) in Gastric Cancers

BACKGROUND: The importance of cell-cell junction proteins (including armadillo proteins) in tumor biology is known, but limited with regard to plakophilins. We explored the relationship between plakophilins (PKP1, PKP2, PKP3) to gastric cancer via immunohistochemical techniques. METHODS: We compared the immunohistochemistry of PKPs in 34 gastric adenocarcinomas and 20 normal gastric tissues. RESULTS: In gastric cancer, PKP1 expression was unchanged but PKP2 and PKP3 were significantly decreased as compared to normal controls. There was no observable clinical association with PKP1 or PKP2 expression; however, low PKP3 level and poor prognosis appeared to correlate with regards to node number and tumor stage. The mean disease-free survival (DFS) was 38 ± 3 months (range: 32 - 44) and mean overall survival (OS) 42 ± 4 months (range: 38 - 50). Decreased PKP2 appeared to negatively impact DFS. CONCLUSION: Decreased PKP2 and PKP3 may be early prognostic markers and loss of PKP3 expression during gastric carcinoma progression may indicate an invasive phenotype

The Evolution of Enterprise Reform in Africa: From State-Owned Enterprises to Private Participation in Infrastructure - and Back?

Many African state-owned enterprises (SOEs), particularly those in infrastructure, have a long history of poor performance. From the outset, SOE financial and economic performance generally failed to meet the expectations of their creators and funders. By the late 1970s, the situation was alarming, and by early 1980s, critical. The poor financial performance of SOEs became so burdensome to government budgets that it attracted the attention of the international financial institutions, or IFIs. In response, in the 1980s, the World Bank approved SOE reforms that could be summed up in the term commercialization. By the mid-1990s, however, the idea of making SOEs function efficiently and effectively under government management was largely abandoned by the IFIs and privatization and private participation in infrastructure, or PPI became the order of the day. Once more, however, the results were disappointing. PPI has not been as widely adopted as anticipated, nor has it generated the massive resources and changes hoped for, nor has it been widely accepted as beneficial by the African public. The findings of recent studies in Africa suggest that PPI should not be jettisoned, and that the more productive path is to recognize the limitations of the approach, and to work harder at creating the conditions needed to make it function effectively. This will entail, as many have recognized, an end to the view that public and private infrastructure provision is a dichotomy a case of either-or, one or the other and a better appreciation of the extent to which the performance of each is dependent on the competence of the other. In other words, for the private sector to perform well, public sector capacity must be enhanced. Moreover, proposed tactics of reform should fit more closely with the expectations and sentiments of the affected government, consumer base, and general population. This broader approach implies, probably, a reduction in the scope and, certainly, a reduction in the planned speed of operations. Improving infrastructure performance is a long-term matter

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Expression of Plakophilins (PKP1, PKP2, and PKP3) in Gastric Cancers

Abstract Background The importance of cell-cell junction proteins (including armadillo proteins) in tumor biology is known, but limited with regard to plakophilins. We explored the relationship between plakophilins (PKP1, PKP2, PKP3) to gastric cancer via immunohistochemical techniques. Methods We compared the immunohistochemistry of PKPs in 34 gastric adenocarcinomas and 20 normal gastric tissues. Results In gastric cancer, PKP1 expression was unchanged but PKP2 and PKP3 were significantly decreased as compared to normal controls. There was no observable clinical association with PKP1 or PKP2 expression; however, low PKP3 level and poor prognosis appeared to correlate with regards to node number and tumor stage. The mean disease-free survival (DFS) was 38 ± 3 months (range: 32 - 44) and mean overall survival (OS) 42 ± 4 months (range: 38 - 50). Decreased PKP2 appeared to negatively impact DFS. Conclusion Decreased PKP2 and PKP3 may be early prognostic markers and loss of PKP3 expression during gastric carcinoma progression may indicate an invasive phenotype.</p

Modeling of Methane Distribution in a Landfill Using Genetic Algorithms

Landfill gas (LFG) results from the biologic decomposition of municipal waste and consists of mostly methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), as well as trace amounts of a variety of other compounds. In this study, the major landfill gas emissions produced in Istanbul Hasdal landfill were investigated and modeled. In the investigated area, CH4, CO2, and O-2 measurements were made for 3.5 years in order to monitor long-term variations. In addition, a supervised algorithm for the evaluation of CH4 concentration using a genetic algorithm (GA) was developed and applied to real data. The model and the actual measurement results were compared and statistically evaluated. It was observed that the long term changes of the CH4 concentrations can be estimated effectively by the GA model structure. A correlation with 0.86 value was ascertained between the actual values and model results. The results of the study indicated that the GA can be used in modeling landfill gases generated in solid waste deposition areas

What Tweets Tell us About MOOC Participation

In this research paper, the authors analyze the collected Twitter data output during MobiMOOC 2011. This six-week data stream includes all tweets that contain the MOOC's hashtag (#mobiMOOC) and it has been analyzed using qualitative methodology. The analysis sought to examine the emotive vocabulary used, to determine if there was content-sharing via tweets, and to analyze the folksonomic trends of the tweets. In Addition sought a deeper understanding of what, and how, MOOC participants share what they share on the MOOC’s Twitter channel. The aim of this study is to provide a little more insight into MOOC learner behaviors on Twitter so that future MOOC designers and facilitators can better engage with their learners