Prognostic significance of miR-34a in Ewing sarcoma is associated with cyclin D1 and ki-67 expression

BACKGROUND: At diagnosis, identification of reliable biological indicators of prognosis to allow stratification of patients according to different risks is an important but still unresolved aspect in the treatment of Ewing sarcoma (EWS) patients. This study aimed to explore the role of miR-34A expression on prognosis of EWS patients.PATIENTS AND METHODS: Specimens from 109 patients with non-metastatic EWS treated at the Rizzoli Institute with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (protocols ISG/SSGIII, EW-1, EW-2, EW-REN2, EW-REN3, EW-PILOT) and 17 metastases were studied. Sixty-eight patients (62%) remained disease-free and 41 (38%) relapsed (median follow-up: 67 months, range 9-241 months). Expression of miR-34a and of some of its targets (cyclin D1, bcl-2, SIRT1 and YY1) was evaluated by qRT-PCR using TaqMan MicroRNA Assays and/or by immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays from the same patients.RESULTS: High expression of miR-34a in localized tumors was significantly related to better event-free and overall survival (P = 0.004). Relevance of miR-34a was confirmed by using different calibrators (normal mesenchymal stem cells and different normal tissues). By multivariate Cox regression analysis, low miR-34a expression as well as nontotal necrosis and high levels of lactate dehydrogenase were all confirmed as independent risk factors associated with poor outcome. Expression of miR-34a was lower in metastases than in primary tumors. It inversely correlated with expression of cyclin D1 and Ki-67.CONCLUSIONS: By demonstrating its relationship with clinical outcome, we propose evaluation of miR-34a at diagnosis of EWS patients to allow early risk stratification. Validation of these results would nonetheless ultimately need a prospective assessment

Bikini Atoll coral biodiversity resilience five decades after nuclear testing

Five decades after a series of nuclear tests began, we provide evidence that 70% of the Bikini Atoll zooxanthellate coral assemblage is resilient to large-scale anthropogenic disturbance. Species composition in 2002 was assessed and compared to that seen prior to nuclear testing. A total of 183 scleractinian coral species was recorded, compared to 126 species recorded in the previous study (excluding synonomies, 148 including synonomies). We found that 42 coral species may be locally extinct at Bikini. Fourteen of these losses may be pseudo-losses due to inconsistent taxonomy between the two studies or insufficient sampling in the second study, however 28 species appear to represent genuine losses. Of these losses, 16 species are obligate lagoonal specialists and 12 have wider habitat compatibility. Twelve species are recorded from Bikini for the first time. We suggest the highly diverse Rongelap Atoll to the east of Bikini may have contributed larval propagules to facilitate the partial resilience of coral biodiversity in the absence of additional anthropogenic threats

Reef sponges as hosts of biodiversity: cases from North Sulawesi

A wide range of associations between sponges and other taxa is reported from all biogeographic regions of the world but their occurrence is strongly evident mainly in tropical areas. Some examples are here presented from the Marine Protected Area of Bunaken (North Sulawesi, Indonesia), considering relationships between sponges and polychaetes, barnacles, octocorals and algae. The examples show a wide range of relationships, from cases in which the two partners live together but independently, to relationships in which the two partners are deeply interconnected to form a unique symbiotic super-organism. We suggest that sponges should be considered as a hotspot of biodiversity not only for the huge number of hidden organisms they host, very often still undescribed, but also for the complex evolutionary histories that generally characterize these associations

Reef sponges as hosts of biodiversity: cases from North Sulawesi

Suzuki Y., Nakamori T., Hidaka M., Kayanne H., Casareto B.E., Nadao K., Yamano H., Tsuchiya M. (eds

Community analysis of reef habitats in the Marshall Islands

Between summer 2001 and 2003 three scientific expeditions were organized in four different atolls of the Marshall Islands as part of a research project aiming to assess marine resources in the whole country. Two atolls were explored in 2003, Rongelap in the north and Mili in the\ud south of the country. Information on corals and fish\ud abundances is presented here for a description of the coral\ud reef communities and comparison of the ecological differences between the two locations. Clear variability of\ud community composition inside an atoll is already evident\ud from the first in situ observation, outer ocean sites being\ud very different from lagoonal locations for both coral and fish composition. At a more detailed scale, the surveyed sites show differences in community composition, supported both through an a posteriori study based on their geographical location and exposure to the main current and surface wind, as well as through an CI priori multivariate analysis of the community. However. this latter analysis does not show a clear relationship between the fish species composition and the substrate or coral species composition. This is most probably due to other effects than just habitat and food availability in the constitution of a complex community such the one found in coral reefs

Paracentral corneal melting in a patient with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada's syndrome, psoriasis, and Hashimoto thyroiditis

The paper describes the occurrence of unilateral paracentral corneal melting in a 65-year-old woman with ocular and systemic signs of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada’s syndrome (VKH), psoriasis, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Corneal melting, often occurring in association with systemic vasculitis and connective tissue diseases, has rarely been reported in relation to diffuse psoriasis and never in association with VKH.A possible relationship between corneal melting and VKH is suggested

Monitoraggio terapeutico del levetiracetam (Keppra®): confronto tra un nuovo metodo immunologico e il metodo di riferimento in cromatografia liquida ad alta prestazione

Obiettivi: Il monitoraggio terapeutico levetiracetam, nuovo farmaco anti-convulsivante può essere indicato in pazienti le cui condizioni potrebbero alterare le caratteristiche farmacocinetiche, nella personalizzazione della singola posologia e nella valutazione della compliance del paziente. In questo studio, per il dosaggio del levetiracetam viene confrontato il metodo validato Bio-Rad HPLC attualmente in uso con il metodo ARKTM immunologico con strumenti statistici avanzati. Metodi: Le concentrazioni di levetiracetam di 63 campioni sono stati determinati utilizzando: 1) "Levetiracetam mediante HPLC" kit da Bio-Rad (Hercules, CA) sul sistema HPLC Agilent 1100 e 2) immunologico "ARKTM Levetiracetam" di ARK Diagnostics Inc. (Fremont, CA) sulla piattaforma CDx90 da Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Risultati: L'imprecisione e il bias intra-laboratorio del nuovo metodo, valutati su un periodo di 20 giorni, sono stati rispettivamente 7,4% e 0,5% a 7,5 μg/mL, 4,5% e 1,9% a 30 μg/mL, 3,1% e 2,0% a 75 μg /mL. Analisi di regressione Passign-Bablok (X: Bio- Rad, Y: Ark) ha mostrato una intercetta non significativo di 0,16 (95% CI -0.55- 0.72) e una pendenza marginalmente significativa di 0,95 (95% CI ,90-0,99) che suggerisce un minimo errore sistematico proporzionale. Anche l'analisi Bland- Altman ha mostrato un minimo bias sistematico di 1,0 mg/mL (95% CI 0,32-1,69) con il 95% delle differenze HPLC-Ark vanno da -4.3 (95% CI -5,52 - (-) 3.16) e 6,3 (95% CI 5,16-7,52). I dati hanno mostrato che i valori ottenuti dai due metodi sono da considerarsi identici sia entro l'imprecisione intrinseca così come per le specifiche di qualità analitiche (errore massimo ammissibile il 15%). Conclusioni: Il nuovo metodo ARKTM sulla piattaforma CDx è accettabile e può essere utilizzato per misurare la concentrazione di routine levetiracetam. In particolare, poiché il metodo immunologico abbassa drasticamente il TAT è più facile ed immediato l'aggiustamento della posologia nei pazienti critici