Role of viral infection in the etiopathogenesis of breast cancer

The viral nature of many female genital cancers is now beyond question; however, the role of viral infection in the pathogenesis of breast cancer (BC) has not been adequately investigated. The paper defines the importance of a number of viruses in the etiopathogenesis of on- cogynecological diseases. It presents the results of examining 60 patients with Stages I-IV BC and 30 patients with fibrocystic mastopathy, in whom the presence of DNA-containing virus genomes in tumor tissue was compared, and the data of polymerase chain reaction study of genital tract smears. It is shown that human papillomaviruses and cytomegaloviruses do not play a fundamental role in the develop- ment of BC; there is no valid evidence for Epstein–Barr virus

The effect of halloysite modification combined with in situ matrix modifications on the structure and properties of polypropylene/halloysite nanocomposites

The effect of various modifications/intercalations of halloysite and the combination of these modifications with in situ PP matrix modification was investigated with respect to the structure and properties of the polypropylene/halloysite nanocomposites. Hexadecyl-tri-methyl-ammonium-bromide (HEDA), 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and urea were used as the intercalators/modifiers. The best intercalation was found for urea, although an unexpected insignificant impact on the mechanical properties also resulted as a consequence of the urea polarity and the significant decrease in PP crystallinity. However, the simultaneous application of 4,4!-diphenylmethylene dimaleinimide (DBMI) brought about an increase in the mechanical behavior by increasing the halloysite/PP affinity as a result of in situ matrix modification. This effect was further supported by coupling between the PP and halloysite (HNT) in the system containing urea-intercalated HNT. This can be explained by the occurrence of a urea-supported reaction between the imide ring of DBMI and the OH groups of the HNT, which resulted in the best mechanical behaviors achieved in this study

Effect of halloysite on structure and properties of melt-drawn PCL/PLA microfibrillar composites

The study deals with the modification of mechanical properties of poly (!-caprolactone) (PCL)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA) system using the microfibrillar composite (MFC) concept. As the in-situ formation of PLA fibrils by melt drawing was impossible due to flow instability during extrusion, the system was modified by adding halloysite nanotubes (HNT) using different mixing protocols. The resulting favourable effect on the rheological parameters of the components allowed successful melt drawing. Consequently, PLA fibrils formation combined with the reinforcement of components by HNT and increased PLA crystallinity lead to a biocompatible and biodegradable material with good performance suitable for a broad range of applications. The best results, comparable with analogous MFC modified with layered silicate (oMMT), have been achieved at a relatively low content of HNT of 3%, in spite of its lower reinforcing ability in a single nanocomposite. This indicates that modifying MFC by HNT, including fibrils and interface parameters, is more complex in comparison with the undrawn system

Analysis of the expression of genes involved in proliferation and apoptosis in cervical intraepithelial neoplasias and cancer of the cervix uteri

The viral nature of many female genital cancers is now beyond question. By taking into account this fact, the problem of qualitative assessment ofthenatureofcervicalintraepithelialneoplasia(CIN)anditsfocusonprogressiontoinvasivecarcinomabecomesquitenatu ral.Studiesof a number of biological markers of carcinogenesis have recently provided a possibility for prospective prediction. The paper con siders the as- pects of importance of the molecular biological markers of proliferation and apoptosis in the etiopathogenesis of genital cancers. It gives the results of examinations of 16 patients with histologically verified squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix uteri, 40 patients di agnosed as having CIN of different grades (CIN-1, CIN-2, CIN-3 — squamous cell carcinoma in situ), and 6 patients with the morphologically unaltered cervi- calepithelium,whosecervicalscrapeswereanalyzedfortheexpressionofthemRNAgenesССNB1,Ki-67,BA G,BCL-2,ESR1,andPRG. It is shown that the molecular genetic findings may be new prognostic markers that reflect the possible disease developmental pathways, sug- gesting the need for further investigation of biomarkers in order to prevent malignancies and to reduce their morbidity