The Anatomy of a Leading Case: \u3cem\u3eLawrence v. Fox\u3c/em\u3e in the Courts, the Casebooks, and the Commentaries

In spite of the wide diversity of training, practice, and location of lawyers throughout the United States, virtually all share one experience: the standard core curriculum of the first year of law school taught by the case method. The extent to which that experience in parsing cases in contracts, torts, and property shapes the American legal mentality is open to debate, but it undeniably has an impact. The first-year experience socializes law students in the culture of the law. During this period, students learn the language of the law and the ways that lawyers think. During this period, too, students absorb certain basic notions about legal analysis and the shape of the legal system, and begin to view the world as common lawyers. Included among these basic notions, the conventional wisdom of basic law training, is the concept of the leading case. This Article explores the notion of the leading case, and places the concept in an historical and jurisprudential framework

An Old Cluster in NGC 6822

We present spectroscopy of two clusters in the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 6822. From these we deduce an age for Cluster VII of 11 Gyr and [Fe/H] = -1.95 +/- 0.15 dex. Cluster VII appears to be an analog of the metal-poor galactic globular clusters. Cluster VI is found to be much younger and more metal rich, with an age of approximately 2 Gyr. Its derived metallicity, [Fe/H], of approximately -1.0 dex is comparable to that of the gas seen today in NGC 6822. The existence of a metal-poor old cluster in NGC 6822 rules out models for the chemical evolution of this galaxy with significant prompt initial enhancement. We find that a star formation rate which is constant with time and is within a factor of two of the present star formation rate can reproduce the two points on the age-metallicity relationship for NGC 6822 over the past 10 Gyr defined by these two clusters.Comment: 8 pages; accepted for publication in A

Calcium phosphate coatings produced by radiofrequency magnetron sputtering method

Calcium phosphate coatings on titanium implants surface, produced by radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method with hydroxyapatite solid target were investigated. It was found that produced coatings are calcium deficient compared to stoichiometric hydroxyapatite. The surface of the coatings is highly rough at the nanoscale and highly elastic. In vivo experiments on rats revealed that titanium implants with the calcium phosphate coatings do not cause negative tissue reaction after 6 months incubation period

Effect of small and radical surgical injury on the level of different populations of circulating tumor cells in the blood of breast cancer patients

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) constitute a heterogeneous population. Some tumor cells are cancer stem cells (CSCs), while others are in the process of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT); however, most CTCs are neither stem cells nor in the EMT. This prospective study of 22 patients with nonspecific-type invasive carcinoma of the breast identified different populations of CTCs by flow cytometry in the blood of patients before biopsy, after biopsy and after surgical tumor removal without neoadjuvant chemotherapy. The results showed that minor surgical injury (biopsy) was accompanied by a significant increase in the blood levels of CTCs without signs of the EMT or stemness (Epcam+CD45-CD44-CD24-Ncadh-) and CTCs with signs of stemness and without signs of the EMT (Epcam+CD45-CD44+CD24-Ncadh-). Our results suggest that minor surgical injury to a tumor contributes to the release of CTCs into the bloodstream, including a population of stem cells

Composite implants coated with biodegradable polymers prevent stimulating tumor progression

In this experiment we studied oncologic safety of model implants created using the solution blow spinning method with the use of the PURASORB PL-38 polylactic acid polymer and organic mineral filler which was obtained via laser ablation of a solid target made of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate. For this purpose the implant was introduced into the area of Wistar rats’ iliums, and on day 17 after the surgery the Walker sarcoma was transplanted into the area of the implant. We evaluated the implant’s influence on the primary tumor growth, hematogenous and lymphogenous metastasis of the Walker sarcoma. In comparison with sham operated animals the implant group demonstrated significant inhibition of hematogenous metastasis on day 34 after the surgery. The metastasis inhibition index (MII) equaled 94% and the metastases growth inhibition index (MGII) equaled 83%. The metastasis frequency of the Walker sarcoma in para aortic lymph nodes in the implant group was not statistically different from the control frequency; there was also no influence of the implant on the primary tumor growth noted. In case of the Walker sarcoma transplantation into the calf and the palmar pad of the ipsilateral limb to the one with the implant in the ilium, we could not note any attraction of tumor cells to the implant area, i.e. stimulation of the Walker sarcoma relapse by the implant. Thus, the research concluded that the studied implant meets the requirements of oncologic safety

Composite implants coated with biodegradable polymers prevent stimulating tumor progression

In this experiment we studied oncologic safety of model implants created using the solution blow spinning method with the use of the PURASORB PL-38 polylactic acid polymer and organic mineral filler which was obtained via laser ablation of a solid target made of dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate. For this purpose the implant was introduced into the area of Wistar rats’ iliums, and on day 17 after the surgery the Walker sarcoma was transplanted into the area of the implant. We evaluated the implant’s influence on the primary tumor growth, hematogenous and lymphogenous metastasis of the Walker sarcoma. In comparison with sham operated animals the implant group demonstrated significant inhibition of hematogenous metastasis on day 34 after the surgery. The metastasis inhibition index (MII) equaled 94% and the metastases growth inhibition index (MGII) equaled 83%. The metastasis frequency of the Walker sarcoma in para aortic lymph nodes in the implant group was not statistically different from the control frequency; there was also no influence of the implant on the primary tumor growth noted. In case of the Walker sarcoma transplantation into the calf and the palmar pad of the ipsilateral limb to the one with the implant in the ilium, we could not note any attraction of tumor cells to the implant area, i.e. stimulation of the Walker sarcoma relapse by the implant. Thus, the research concluded that the studied implant meets the requirements of oncologic safety

Different morphological structures of breast tumors demonstrate individual drug resistance gene expression profiles

AIM

Up-regulation of flotillins, new marker of metastatic development, induces cell invasion and metastatic development

Flotillin 1 and 2 are two ubiquitous, highly conserved and related proteins present in man

Clinicopathological features of nonspecific invasive breast cancer according to its molecular subtypes

The aim of the present study was to investigate the clinical and morphological features of nonspecific invasive breast cancer according to its molecular subtypes. Materials and Methods: 163 women with nonspecific invasive breast cancer (T1–4N0–3M0) were included in the present study. Luminal A type of breast cancer was detected in 101 women, luminal B type — in 23 women, overexpression of HER2/neu was identified in 14 women and triple-negative cancer — in 25 women. Results: The study revealed that various molecular subtypes of breast cancer differ in the morphological structure, the expression characteristics of the primary tumor and the rate of lymphogenous and hematogenous metastasis. Lymphogenous metastases were more frequently (in 71%) detected in HER2/neu overexpressing breast cancer than in luminal A (41%), luminal B (39%) and triple-negative tumors (40%). Hematogenous metastasis did not depend on the morphological structure of carcinoma infiltrative component, the state of tumor stroma as well as the proliferative activity in all the investigated groups. Conclusion: The revealed clinicopathological characteristics of different molecular subtypes of invasive breast cancer allow to predict the possible outcome of the disease and select personalized treatment strategy for patients more reasonably

ЭКСПРЕССИЯ CXCR4 В РАЗЛИЧНЫХ ПОПУЛЯЦИЯХ ЦИРКУЛИРУЮЩИХ И ОДИНОЧНЫХ ОПУХОЛЕВЫХ КЛЕТОК РАКА МОЛОЧНОЙ ЖЕЛЕЗЫ

The aim of this study was to assess CXCR4 expression in different subsets of CTCs and single (detached) breast cancer cells.Materials and methods. Thirty five patients with invasive breast carcinoma of no specialtype (IC NST) (T1-4N0-2M0), between 29 and 69 years of age were included in this study. Different subsets of CTCs with CXCR4 expression were evaluated by flow cytometry. A  confocal microscopy was used to assess CXCR4 expression in different subsets of single (detached) cancer cells in breast tissue.Results. The CXCR4 was expressed in CTCs without stem-like and EMT phenotype, in CTCs  with EMT but not stem markers and in stem-like CTCs without EMT features. In all blood  samples, the CXCR4 expression in CTCs with stem-like and EMT phenotype was absent. In  breast tumor the CXCR4 was expressed in the non stemlike single (detached) breast cancer  cells with EMT features, in the single (detached) breast cancer cells with stem and EMT  features. In all tumor samples the stem-like or non stem-like single (detached) breast  cancer cells without EMT features were absent.Conclusions. Different subsets of the CTCs exhibited CXCR4. The CXCR4 expression did not  depend on the presence or absence of stem or/and EMT features in tumor cells. We showed that some subsets of single (detached) breast cancer cells in the primary tumor  were characterized by the ability to express CXCR4 and may be a source of the respective CTC subsets.Целью исследования явилось определение экспрессии CXCR4 в различных популяциях циркулирующих (ЦОК) и одиночных (дискретных) опухолевых клеток рака молочной железы.Материал и методы. В исследование были включены 35 пациенток с инвазивной карциномой неспецифического типа молочной железы (T1–4N0–2M0) в возрасте от 29 до 69 лет. Экспрессию CXCR4 в  различных популяциях ЦОК оценивали методом проточной цитометрии. Для оценки экспрессии CXCR4 в  аналогичных популяциях одиночных (дискретных) опухолевых клеток в первичной опухоли использовали метод конфокальной микроскопии.Результаты. Нами было установлено, что CXCR4 экспрессировался ЦОК без признаков стволовости и  эпителиально-мезенхимального перехода (ЭМП), ЦОК с признаками ЭМП, но без маркеров стволовости, а  также ЦОК с признаками стволовости, но без признаков ЭМП. У всех пациенток в крови ЦОК с признаками  стволовости и ЭМП не экспрессировался CXCR4. В первичной опухоли молочной железы CXCR4  обнаруживался как на одиночных (дискретных) опухолевых клетках без признаков стволовости с  признаками ЭМП, так и на клетках с маркерами стволовости и ЭМП. У всех пациенток в образцах первичной  опухоли отсутствовали стволовые и нестволовые клетки без признаков ЭМП.Заключение. Таким образом, CXCR4 экспрессируются на различных популяциях ЦОК. Экспрессия CXCR4  не зависит от наличия или отсутствия признаков стволовости и/или ЭМП в опухолевых клетках. Также мы  показали, что некоторые популяции одиночных (дискретных) опухолевых клеток в первичной опухоли  характеризуются способностью презентировать на своей мембране CXCR4 и могут являться источником соответствующих популяций ЦОК