Heterogeneous amplification of ERBB2 in primary lesions is responsible for the discordant ERBB2 status of primary and metastatic lesions in gastric carcinoma

Aims: To determine the extent of HER2 homogeneity/heterogeneity in primary versus metastatic gastric carcinoma ( GC). Materials and results: The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 ( HER2) status in primary and metastatic lesions was evaluated by immunohistochemistry ( IHC) and fluorescence in-situ hybridization ( FISH). Four separate cohorts consisting of primary GC alone or primary GC paired with metastatic lesions were examined. In the FISH analysis of 325 primary GCs, eight cases ( 2.5%) showed amplification with a heterogeneous pattern, whereas 27 cases ( 8.3%) showed amplification with a homogeneous pattern, and in this cohort the discordant: concordant FISH ratio based on examination of three different areas in each primary lesion was 0.30: 1. FISH testing using 250 paired primary and metastatic lesions revealed seven cases (2.8%) with discordant amplification. In metastatic disease positive conversion occurred in six cases (2.4%), whereas negative conversion happened in one case (0.4%). The discordant: concordant ratio of primary versus secondary lesions was 0.23: 1. When the seven discordant cases were re-evaluated using whole sections of primary GCs, six showed a heterogeneous pattern of amplification. Conclusions: These findings suggest that the discordant HER2 amplification observed in metastatic lesions is explained substantially by heterogeneity within primary tumours

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Discutindo a educação ambiental no cotidiano escolar: desenvolvimento de projetos na escola formação inicial e continuada de professores

A presente pesquisa buscou discutir como a Educação Ambiental (EA) vem sendo trabalhada, no Ensino Fundamental e como os docentes desta escola compreendem e vem inserindo a EA no cotidiano escolar., em uma escola estadual do município de Tangará da Serra/MT, Brasil. Para tanto, realizou-se entrevistas com os professores que fazem parte de um projeto interdisciplinar de EA na escola pesquisada. Verificou-se que o projeto da escola não vem conseguindo alcançar os objetivos propostos por: desconhecimento do mesmo, pelos professores; formação deficiente dos professores, não entendimento da EA como processo de ensino-aprendizagem, falta de recursos didáticos, planejamento inadequado das atividades. A partir dessa constatação, procurou-se debater a impossibilidade de tratar do tema fora do trabalho interdisciplinar, bem como, e principalmente, a importância de um estudo mais aprofundado de EA, vinculando teoria e prática, tanto na formação docente, como em projetos escolares, a fim de fugir do tradicional vínculo “EA e ecologia, lixo e horta”.Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educació

Exploratory Analysis of the Sasang Constitution by Combining Network Analysis and Information Entropy

Sasang constitutional medicine is a unique concept in Korean medicine that can provide valuable insights into personalized healthcare and disease treatment. In this study, we combined network analysis and information entropy to systematically investigate the related information of Sasang constitutional (SC) types. A feature network was constructed using SC type and clinical information. The SC type-associated features and feature classes were identified using statistical analysis and entropy ranking. The patient network was constructed based on SC-type-associated features. We found that the feature network was closely connected within the features of the same classes and between several feature class pairs, including the symptom class. Most of the separation values between the feature classes, including the symptom class, were negative. In addition, we found 42 clinical features related to the SC type, and two important classes -personality and cold/heat- that increase the entropy ranking of the SC type. In the patient network, we found sparsely connected modules between SC types and a positive separation value between the Taeeumin–Soeumin and Taeeumin–Soyangin pairs. Our data-driven approach provides a deeper understanding of modernized forms of SC types and suggests that SC type is a practically useful concept for stratified healthcare and personalized medicine

Porosity- and content-controlled metal/metal oxide/metal carbide@carbon (M/MO/MC@C) composites derived from MOFs: mechanism study and application for lithium-ion batteries

Implementation of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as a precursor and/or template to synthesize metal/metal oxide/metal carbide nanoparticles within a carbon framework (M/MO/MC@C) via thermolysis has attracted considerable interest for electrochemical applications. In particular, the tunability of the weight content and crystallinity of M/MO/MC nanoparticles and porosity control of the morphology-preserved carbon matrix are highly desirable factors for governing the electrochemical performance of M/MO/MC@C composites. Herein, we report a facile synthesis method for adjusting the porosity, content, and crystallinity of M/MO/MC@C composites that are pseudomorphically converted from MOFs (M-HKUST-1, M: Cu and Zn; M-MOF-74, M: Co, Fe, Mg; and ZIF-8). Vapor phase polymerization (VPP), which is a site-specific gas-phase polymerization occurring at open metal sites of MOFs, was first employed to prepare morphology- and crystallinity-preserved polymer@MOF composites, which were then subjected to thermolysis to obtain M/MO@C composites. The polymer content used for VPP was directly related to the M/MO/MC nanoparticle weight content as well as the porosity of the carbon framework. In addition, crucial factors governing the crystallinity of final M/MO/MC nanoparticles were clearly classified in terms of the standard reduction potential of metal nodes and thermodynamic calculation for carbothermic reduction and carbide formation. To identify the advantages of morphology-preserved and content- and porosity-optimized MO@C composites for electrochemical applications, a series of CuO@C samples and CuO obtained from the direct oxidation of MOFs were tested as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). The optimized CuO@C sample exhibited superior electrochemical performance, for instance outstanding long-term stability with a remarkable specific capacity of 410 mA h g(-1) after 1000 cycles at a rate of 1000 mA g(-1) ©The Royal Society of Chemistry and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 201

A small-strain niobium nitride anode with ordered mesopores for ultra-stable potassium-ion batteries

© 2020 The Royal Society of Chemistry.Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered as fascinating energy storage devices. However, scarcity and high cost of lithium resources lead to increasing research interest in next-generation batteries, such as potassium-ion batteries (KIBs), due to their similar electrochemical characteristics to LIBs and abundant potassium resources. However, significant problems in the search for suitable anode materials for KIBs continue to exist due to the hazards of potassium metal and unstable cycling performance of carbonaceous materials and metal oxides due to the large ionic size of potassium. Herein, we report on a well-ordered mesoporous niobium nitride/N-doped carbon hybrid (m-NbN/NC), verifying the potential of the transition metal nitride as the new K+ insertion host. The electrode delivers reversible capacities of 143 mA h g-1 at 0.01 A g-1 and 49 mA h g-1 at 1 A g-1. More impressively, a capacity retention of 100% at 0.5 A g-1 after 2000 cycles was achieved. In situ X-ray diffraction and ex situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis indicated that the m-NbN/NC electrode retains its structural integrity during potassiation that was accompanied by small strain, which was ascribed to the high proportion of surface-controlled reaction. This work points at a feasible new class of anode materials for ultra-stable KIB

Preparation of WO3 thin film by successive dip coating for electrochromic and photoelectrochromic devices

Here we report the superiority of WO3 thin films prepared by successive dip coating in electrochromic devices. Dip coatings were done on transparent conducting oxide substrates in the WO3 precursor solution a number of times without drying in between the coating steps. This process enabled the fabrication of WO3 films with optimum thickness and large roughness, which led to enhanced performance when they were employed as the electrode in electrochromic devices. We made a further observation by applying these electrodes in photoelectrochromic devices and verified the excellent properties of the successively dip-coated WO3 films. © 2015 Korean Chemical Society & Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA1111sciescopuskc