Differences in oestrogen and progesterone receptors, HER-2, p53 expression and proliferation in ductal breast cancers in relation to histopathological grade

In case of breast cancer the grade of differentiation and expression of oestrogen and progesterone receptors falls within the first category of prognostic factors according to the College of American Pathologists. HER-2, p53 and Ki67 belong to the second category and their significance still awaits confirmation. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between the intensity of expression of oestrogen receptors (ER), progesterone receptors (PgR), HER-2, p53 and Ki67 in cells of ductal breast cancer of G1, G2 or G3 differentiation grade. In paraffin sections of 60 ductal breast cancers (20 cases in G1, 20 in G2 and 20 in G3), immunocytochemical reactions were performed to detect the expression of ER, PgR, HER-2, p53 and Ki67. Following a semi-quantitative appraisal of the preparations under examination, appropriate statistical tests were used to document significant relationships. We noted significant positive correlations between ER and PgR (the entire group studied, G1–3, and the G1 group), HER-2 and p53 (G2) and between p53 and Ki67 expression (G2). Significant negative correlations were found between ER and p53 (G1–3), PgR and p53 (G1–3, G1, G3) and between PgR and Ki67 (G1–3, G2). The studies performed demonstrated distinct relationships between the expression intensity of various proteins in tumour cells in relation to the grade of differentiation of the tumour. We also showed that a parallel determination of ER, PgR and p53 expression may carry high predictive value as to response to tamoxifen treatment

Multivariate analysis of oestrogen receptor alpha, pS2, metallothionein and CD24 expression in invasive breast cancers

Determination of oestrogen receptor alpha (ER) represents at present the most important predictive factor in breast cancers. Data of ours and of other authors suggest that promising predictive/prognostic factors may also include pS2, metallothionein (MT) and CD24. Present study aimed at determining prognostic and predictive value of immunohistochemical determination of ER, pS2, MT, and CD24 expression in sections originating from 104 patients with breast cancer. An univariate and multivariate analysis was performed. Both univariate and multivariate analyses demonstrated that cytoplasmic-membranous expression of CD24 (CD24c-m) represents a strong unfavourable prognostic factor in the entire group and in most of the subgroups of patients. In several subgroups of the patients also a prognostic value was demonstrated of elevated expression of pS2 and of membranous expression of CD24. Our studies demonstrated that all patients with good prognostic factors (higher ER and pS2 expressions, lower MT expression, CD24c-m negativity) survived total period of observation (103 months). The study documented that cytoplasmic-membranous expression of CD24 represented an extremely strong unfavourable prognostic factor in breast cancer. Examination of the entire panel of the studied proteins permitted to select a group of patients of an exceptionally good prognosis

The usefulness of repellent Emol Plus BTX LA in Scots pine saplings protection against winter browsing by deer

The paper provides study results on the efficacy of Emol Plus BTX LA repellent used for the protection of Scots pine saplings against browsing by deer. Emol Plus BTX LA contains coarse−grained filler – calcium carbonate and denatonium benzoate (BTX) as active substance. The efficacy of both Emol Plus BTX LA and standard repellents were found to be high

Expected reverberation time in classrooms

Artykuł dotyczy przewidywanego czasu pogłosu za pomocą znanych modeli teoretycznych. Wykonano pomiary czasu pogłosu w ośmiu salach dydaktycznych Wydziału Budownictwa Politechniki Śląskiej. Następnie przeprowadzono obliczenia czasu pogłosu za pomocą znanych formuł teoretycznych. Wyniki obliczeń teoretycznych porównano z wynikami pomiarów i określono najlepszy model szacujący czas pogłosu dla przedstawionych pomieszczeń. Ponadto dokonano oceny badanych pomieszczeń ze względu na zrozumiałość dźwięku słownego. Analizowane pomieszczenia były podzielone ze względu na kubaturę na dwie grupy. W pierwszej grupie znajdowały się cztery pomieszczenia o średniej kubaturze 190,8 m3, natomiast w drugiej również cztery pomieszczenia, ale o kubaturze 258,5 m3. Pomiary realizowano w pustym pomieszczeniu przy użyciu metody szumu przerywanego. Tak przedstawione wyniki posłużą do wielokryterialnej oceny pomieszczeń szkolnych oraz do określenia współczynnika korygującego model Sabine’a dla tego typu pomieszczeń

Spatial distribution of wood waste in Europe

Wood waste in Europe is produced on a large scale. Production from all 28 European Union countries accounts for around 50.2 Mt. In many countries, wood waste management does not fully utilize this potential, which is in part due to the lack of proper law and regulations. Currently there is no uniform policy on wood waste in the European Union. There is also a lack of accurate statistics on the production and use of this waste. The aim of the study was to estimate the spatial distribution of wood waste from three different sources in the NUTS−2 regions. The total potential of wood waste from i) municipal waste is 24.33 Mt, ii) from wood industry – 5.6 Mt, and iii) from demolition and construction – 19.17 Mt. The total potential of this waste is about 7,85% of estimated waste biomass and by−products of the European Union, which is a significant fraction that can be recycled or used in biofuel production. Proper use of this potential can have a significant impact on the development of the bio−economy sector in all associated countries, which directly translates into the achievement of climate change mitigation targets

Dermatan sulfate is a player in the transglutaminase 2 interaction network.

Transglutaminase 2 (TG2) is a multifunctional protein that is primarily engaged in cell adhesion/signaling or shows Ca2+-dependent transglutaminase activity in the extracellular space of tissues. This latter action leads to the cross-linking of the extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. The enhanced extracellular expression of TG2 is associated with processes such as wound healing, fibrosis or vascular remodeling that are also characterized by a high deposition of dermatan sulfate (DS) proteoglycans in the ECM. However, it is unknown whether DS may bind to TG2 or affect its function. Using the plasmon surface resonance method, we showed that DS chains, especially those of biglycan, are good binding partners for TG2. The interaction has some requirements as to the DS structure. The competitive effect of heparin on DS binding to TG2 suggests that both glycosaminoglycans occupy the same binding site(s) on the protein molecule. An occurrence of the DS-TG2 interaction was confirmed by the co-immunoprecipitation of this protein with native decorin that is a DS-bearing proteoglycan rather than with the decorin core protein. Moreover, in vivo DS is responsible for both TG2 binding and the regulation of the location of this protein in the ECM as can be suggested from an increased extraction of TG2 from the human fascia only when an enzymatic degradation of the tissue DS was conducted in the presence of the anti-collagen type I antiserum. In addition, DS with a low affinity for TG2 exerted an inhibitory effect on the protein transamidating activity most probably via the control of the accessibility of a substrate. Our data show that DS can affect several aspects of TG2 biology in both physiological and pathological conditions