FTY720 inhibits mesothelioma growth in vitro and in a syngeneic mouse model

Background: Malignant mesothelioma (MM) is a very aggressive type of cancer, with a dismal prognosis and inherent resistance to chemotherapeutics. Development and evaluation of new therapeutic approaches is highly needed. Immunosuppressant FTY720, approved for multiple sclerosis treatment, has recently raised attention for its anti-tumor activity in a variety of cancers. However, its therapeutic potential in MM has not been evaluated yet. Methods: Cell viability and anchorage-independent growth were evaluated in a panel of MM cell lines and human mesothelial cells (HM) upon FTY720 treatment to assess in vitro anti-tumor efficacy. The mechanism of action of FTY720 in MM was assessed by measuring the activity of phosphatase protein 2A (PP2A)-a major target of FTY720. The binding of the endogenous inhibitor SET to PP2A in presence of FTY720 was evaluated by immunoblotting and immunoprecipitation. Signaling and activation of programmed cell death were evaluated by immunoblotting and flow cytometry. A syngeneic mouse model was used to evaluate anti-tumor efficacy and toxicity profile of FTY720 in vivo. Results: We show that FTY720 significantly suppressed MM cell viability and anchorage-independent growth without affecting normal HM cells. FTY720 inhibited the phosphatase activity of PP2A by displacement of SET protein, which appeared overexpressed in MM, as compared to HM cells. FTY720 promoted AKT dephosphorylation and Bcl-2 degradation, leading to induction of programmed cell death, as demonstrated by caspase-3 and PARP activation, as well as by cytochrome c and AIF intracellular translocation. Moreover, FTY720 administration in vivo effectively reduced tumor burden in mice without apparent toxicity. Conclusions: Our preclinical data indicate that FTY720 is a potentially promising therapeutic agent for MM treatment

Studi Potensi Jumlah Penumpang Bus Pemadu Moda Rute Malang – Bandar Udara Juanda Pp

Bandar Udara Malang yang belum melayani banyak tujuan penerbangan membuat pengguna moda pesawat memilih Bandar Udara Juanda. Disisi lain angkutan yang melayani rute Malang-Juanda PP hanya angkutan travel. Untuk itu dibutuhkan moda lain yang lebih ekonomis dan memiliki kapasitas lebih banyak dibandingkan angkutan travel. Bus pemadu moda adalah moda alternatif yang dapat memenuhi kebutuhan tersebut.Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan penyebaran kuisioner karakteristik sosial-ekonomi, karakteristik perjalanan serta kuisioner dengan teknik penyusunan stated preference. Stated preference memiliki atribut biaya perjalanan, waktu tempuh dan frekuensi keberangkatan. Sedangkan untuk prediksi tarif bus pemadu moda yang direncanakan diperoleh dari perhitungan BOK. Tarif yang telah diperoleh dari perhitungan BOK dibandingkan dengan nilai ATP dan WTP yang diperoleh dari kuisioner yang telah disebarkan. Sehingga didapatkan tarif ideal yang akan diberlakukan apabila bus pemadu moda tersebut direalisasikan.Setelah melakukan perhitungan tarif berdasarkan BOK diperoleh tarif sebesar Rp 23.374,- serta berdasarkan ATP dan WTP diperoleh tarif sebesar Rp 43.675,-. Dengan demikian perkiraan awal tarif bus pemadu moda sebesar Rp 40.000,- dapat diberlakukan. Hasil dari pemodelan pemilihan moda dengan metode stated preference untuk selisih biaya perjalanan Malang-Juanda: dan Juanda-Malang : , untuk selisih waktu tempuh perjalanan () rute Malang-Juanda : dan rute Juanda-Malang : , sedangkan untuk selisih Frekuensi Keberangkatan () rute Malang-Juanda : dan rute Juanda-Malang : .Potensi perpindahan pengguna travel ke bus pemadu moda rute Malang-Juanda sebanyak 705 orang per hari (83,97%). Sedangkan untuk rute Juanda-Malang sebanyak 1516 orang per hari (90,24%)

Bacterial Toxins and the Nervous System: Neurotoxins and Multipotential Toxins Interacting with Neuronal Cells

Toxins are potent molecules used by various bacteria to interact with a host organism. Some of them specifically act on neuronal cells (clostridial neurotoxins) leading to characteristics neurological affections. But many other toxins are multifunctional and recognize a wider range of cell types including neuronal cells. Various enterotoxins interact with the enteric nervous system, for example by stimulating afferent neurons or inducing neurotransmitter release from enterochromaffin cells which result either in vomiting, in amplification of the diarrhea, or in intestinal inflammation process. Other toxins can pass the blood brain barrier and directly act on specific neurons

Proceedings of the Fifth Italian Conference on Computational Linguistics CLiC-it 2018

On behalf of the Program Committee, a very warm welcome to the Fifth Italian Conference on Computational Linguistics (CLiC-­‐it 2018). This edition of the conference is held in Torino. The conference is locally organised by the University of Torino and hosted into its prestigious main lecture hall “Cavallerizza Reale”. The CLiC-­‐it conference series is an initiative of the Italian Association for Computational Linguistics (AILC) which, after five years of activity, has clearly established itself as the premier national forum for research and development in the fields of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing, where leading researchers and practitioners from academia and industry meet to share their research results, experiences, and challenges