Tumor cyclooxygenase-2 levels correlate with tumor invasiveness in human hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim: Recent studies suggested that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) enhances tumor angiogenesis via upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Although COX-2 expression has been demonstrated in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the significance of COX-2 in progression of HCC remains unclear. This study evaluated the clinicopathological correlation of COX-2 level and its relationship with VEGF level in HCC. Methods: Fresh tumor tissues were obtained from 100 patients who underwent resection of HCC. COX-2 protein expression was examined by immunohistochemistry, and quantitatively by an enzyme immunometric assay (EIA) of tumor cytosolic COX-2 levels. Tumor cytosolic VEGF levels were measured by an ELISA. Results: Immunostaining showed expression of COX-2 in tumor cells. Tumor cytosolic COX-2 levels correlated with VEGF levels (r = 0.469, P<0.001). Correlation with clinicopathological features showed significantly higher tumor cytosolic COX-2 levels in the presence of multiple tumors (P = 0.027), venous invasion (P = 0.030), microsatellite lesions (P = 0.037) and advanced tumor stage (P = 0.008). Higher tumor cytosolic COX-2 levels were associated with worse patient survival. Conclusion: This study shows that elevated tumor COX-2 levels correlate with elevated VEGF levels and invasiveness in HCC, suggesting that COX-2 plays a significant role in the progression of HCC. © 2005 The WJG Press and Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Career Experience of Asian Ethnicity Immigrants In Australia

The literature has shown that most immigrants reported a negative experience with their career in their newly adopted countries. In particular, they complained of loss in income and status, especially for those from non-English speaking countries. The Social Psychology literature has been shown that ethnic identity can influence an immigrant's perception of the fairness of organizational recruitment and job acceptance intention. However, little is known of the impact of immigrant's ethnic identity and how this impacts on their career experience. This is the subject of the current paper as we draw upon the literature on ethnic identity and social cognition career theory to examine the career experience 196 `visible racial minority' individuals in Australia. These individuals were immigrants from Asia (first generation Asian Australians) and Asian-born Australians (second generation Asian Australians) in Australia

Understanding shock dynamics in the inner heliosphere with modeling and type II radio data: A statistical study

We study two methods of predicting interplanetary shock location and strength in the inner heliosphere: (1) the ENLIL simulation and (2) the kilometric type II (kmTII) prediction. To evaluate differences in the performance of the first method, we apply two sets of coronal mass ejections (CME) parameters from the cone-model fitting and flux-rope (FR) model fitting as input to the ENLIL model for 16 halo CMEs. The results show that the ENLIL model using the actual CME speeds from FR-fit provided an improved shock arrival time (SAT) prediction. The mean prediction errors for the FR and cone-model inputs are 4.90±5.92 h and 5.48±6.11 h, respectively. A deviation of 100 km s−1 from the actual CME speed has resulted in a SAT error of 3.46 h on average. The simulations show that the shock dynamics in the inner heliosphere agrees with the drag-based model. The shock acceleration can be divided as two phases: a faster deceleration phase within 50 Rs and a slower deceleration phase at distances beyond 50 Rs. The linear-fit deceleration in phase 1 is about 1 order of magnitude larger than that in phase 2. When applying the kmTII method to 14 DH-km CMEs, we found that combining the kmTII method with the ENLIL outputs improved the kmTII prediction. Due to a better modeling of plasma density upstream of shocks and the kmTII location, we are able to provide a more accurate shock time-distance and speed profiles. The mean kmTII prediction error using the ENLIL model density is 6.7±6.4 h; it is 8.4±10.4 h when the average solar wind plasma density is used. Applying the ENLIL density has reduced the mean kmTII prediction error by ∼2 h and the standard deviation by 4.0 h. Especially when we applied the combined approach to two interacting events, the kmTII prediction error was drastically reduced from 29.6 h to −4.9 h in one case and 10.6 h to 4.2 h in the other. Furthermore, the results derived from the kmTII method and the ENLIL simulation, together with white-light data, provide a valuable validation of shock formation location and strength. Such information has important implications for solar energetic particle acceleration.Fil: Xie, H.. NASA. Goddard Space Flight Center; Estados Unidos. Department of Physics. Catholic University of America; Estados UnidosFil: St. Cyr, O.C.. NASA. Goddard Space Flight Center; Estados UnidosFil: Gopalswamy, N.. NASA. Goddard Space Flight Center; Estados UnidosFil: Odstrcil, D.. George Mason University. Department of Computational and Data Sciences; Estados UnidosFil: Cremades Fernandez, Maria Hebe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Tecnológica Nacional. Facultad Regional de Mendoza; Argentin

Solar Energetic Particle-Associated Coronal Mass Ejections Observed by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory Mk3 and Mk4 Coronameters

We report on the first comprehensive study of the coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with $\sim$25 MeV solar energetic proton (SEP) events in 1980-2013 observed in the low/inner corona by the Mauna Loa Solar Observatory (MLSO) Mk3 and Mk4 coronameters. Where possible, these observations are combined with spacebased observations from the Solar Maximum Mission C/P, P78-1 SOLWIND or SOHO/LASCO coronagraphs. The aim of the study is to understand directly-measured (rather than inferred from proxies) CME motions in the low to middle corona and their association with SEP acceleration, and hence attempt to identify early signatures that are characteristic of SEP acceleration in ground-based CME observations that may be used to warn of impending SEP events. Although we find that SEP events are associated with CMEs that are on average faster and wider than typical CMEs observed by MLSO, a major challenge turns out to be determining reliable estimates of the CME dynamics in the low corona from the 3-minute cadence Mk3/4 observations since different analysis techniques can produce inconsistent results. This complicates the assessment of what early information on a possible SEP event is available from these low coronal observationsComment: To be published in Solar Physic

Condensation tendency and planar isotropic actin gradient induce radial alignment in confined monolayers

A monolayer of highly motile cells can establish long-range orientational order, which can be explained by hydrodynamic theory of active gels and fluids. However, it is less clear how cell shape changes and rearrangement are governed when the monolayer is in mechanical equilibrium states when cell motility diminishes. In this work, we report that rat embryonic fibroblasts (REF), when confined in circular mesoscale patterns on rigid substrates, can transition from the spindle shapes to more compact morphologies. Cells align radially only at the pattern boundary when they are in the mechanical equilibrium. This radial alignment disappears when cell contractility or cell-cell adhesion is reduced. Unlike monolayers of spindle-like cells such as NIH-3T3 fibroblasts with minimal intercellular interactions or epithelial cells like Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) with strong cortical actin network, confined REF monolayers present an actin gradient with isotropic meshwork, suggesting the existence of a stiffness gradient. In addition, the REF cells tend to condense on soft substrates, a collective cell behavior we refer to as the ‘condensation tendency’. This condensation tendency, together with geometrical confinement, induces tensile prestretch (i.e. an isotropic stretch that causes tissue to contract when released) to the confined monolayer. By developing a Voronoi-cell model, we demonstrate that the combined global tissue prestretch and cell stiffness differential between the inner and boundary cells can sufficiently define the cell radial alignment at the pattern boundary

Space Weather Application Using Projected Velocity Asymmetry of Halo CMEs

Halo coronal mass ejections (HCMEs) originating from regions close to the center of the Sun are likely to be responsible for severe geomagnetic storms. It is important to predict geo-effectiveness of HCMEs using observations when they are still near the Sun. Unfortunately, coronagraphic observations do not provide true speeds of CMEs due to the projection effects. In the present paper, we present a new technique allowing estimate the space speed and approximate source location using projected speeds measured at different position angles for a given HCME (velocity asymmetry). We apply this technique to HCMEs observed during 2001-2002 and find that the improved speeds are better correlated with the travel times of HCMEs to Earth and with the magnitudes ensuing geomagnetic storms.Comment: accepted for [publication in Solar Physic

How to ask sensitive questions in conservation: A review of specialized questioning techniques

Tools for social research are critical for developing an understanding of conservation problems and assessing the feasibility of conservation actions. Social surveys are an essential tool frequently applied in conservation to assess both people’s behaviour and to understand its drivers. However, little attention has been given to the weaknesses and strengths of different survey tools. When topics of conservation concern are illegal or otherwise sensitive, data collected using direct questions are likely to be affected by non-response and social desirability biases, reducing their validity. These sources of bias associated with using direct questions on sensitive topics have long been recognised in the social sciences but have been poorly considered in conservation and natural resource management. We reviewed specialized questioning techniques developed in a number of disciplines specifically for investigating sensitive topics. These methods ensure respondent anonymity, increase willingness to answer, and critically, make it impossible to directly link incriminating data to an individual. We describe each method and report their main characteristics, such as data requirements, possible data outputs, availability of evidence that they can be adapted for use in illiterate communities, and summarize their main advantages and disadvantages. Recommendations for their application in conservation are given. We suggest that the conservation toolbox should be expanded by incorporating specialized questioning techniques, developed specifically to increase response accuracy. By considering the limitations of each survey technique, we will ultimately contribute to more effective evaluations of conservation interventions and more robust policy decisions