The Mechanical Behavior of a 25Cr Super Duplex Stainless Steel at Elevated Temperature

Peer reviewedPostprin

Highly frequent PIK3CA amplification is associated with poor prognosis in gastric cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway plays a fundamental role in cell proliferation and survival in human tumorigenesis, including gastric cancer. <it>PIK3CA </it>mutations and amplification are two major causes of overactivation of this pathway in human cancers. However, until this work, there was no sound investigation on the association of <it>PIK3CA </it>mutations and amplification with clinical outcome in gastric cancer, particularly the latter.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using direct sequencing and real-time quantitative PCR, we examined <it>PIK3CA </it>mutations and amplification, and their association with clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome of gastric cancer patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>PIK3CA </it>mutations and amplification were found in 8/113 (7.1%) and 88/131 (67%) gastric cancer patients, respectively. <it>PIK3CA </it>amplification was closely associated with increased phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt) level. No relationship was found between <it>PIK3CA </it>mutations and clinicopathological characteristics and clinical outcome in gastric cancer. <it>PIK3CA </it>amplification was significantly positively associated with cancer-related death. Importantly, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that the patients with <it>PIK3CA </it>amplification had significantly shorter survival times than the patients without <it>PIK3CA </it>amplification.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data showed that <it>PIK3CA </it>mutations were not common, but its amplification was very common in gastric cancer and may be a major mechanism in activating the PI3K/Akt pathway in gastric cancer. Importantly, Kaplan-Meier survival curves revealed that <it>PIK3CA </it>amplification was significantly positively associated with poor survival of gastric cancer patients. Collectively, the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway may be an effective therapeutic target in gastric cancer.</p

Directed Self-Assembly: Expectations and Achievements

Nanotechnology has been a revolutionary thrust in recent years of development of science and technology for its broad appeal for employing a novel idea for relevant technological applications in particular and for mass-scale production and marketing as common man commodity in general. An interesting aspect of this emergent technology is that it involves scientific research community and relevant industries alike. Top–down and bottom–up approaches are two broad division of production of nanoscale materials in general. However, both the approaches have their own limits as far as large-scale production and cost involved are concerned. Therefore, novel new techniques are desired to be developed to optimize production and cost. Directed self-assembly seems to be a promising technique in this regard; which can work as a bridge between the top–down and bottom–up approaches. This article reviews how directed self-assembly as a technique has grown up and outlines its future prospects

Induction of isoprenyl diphosphate synthases, plant hormones and defense signalling genes correlates with traumatic resin duct formation in Norway spruce (Picea abies)

Norway spruce (Picea abies) defends itself against herbivores and pathogens by formation of traumatic resin ducts filled with terpenoid-based oleoresin. An important group of enzymes in terpenoid biosynthesis are the short-chain isoprenyl diphosphate synthases which produce geranyl diphosphate (C10), farnesyl diphosphate (C15), and geranylgeranyl diphosphate (C20) as precursors of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and diterpene resin acids, respectively. After treatment with methyl jasmonate (MJ) we investigated the expression of all isoprenyl diphosphate synthase genes characterized to date from Norway spruce and correlated this with formation of traumatic resin ducts and terpene accumulation. Formation of traumatic resin ducts correlated with higher amounts of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpene resin acids and an upregulation of isoprenyl diphosphate synthase genes producing geranyl diphosphate or geranylgeranyl diphosphate. Among defense hormones, jasmonate and jasmonate-isoleucine conjugate accumulated to higher levels in trees with extensive traumatic resin duct formation, whereas salicylate did not. Jasmonate and ethylene are likely to both be involved in formation of traumatic resin ducts based on elevated transcripts of genes encoding lipoxygenase and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid oxidase associated with resin duct formation. Other genes involved in defense signalling in other systems, mitogen-activated protein kinase3 and nonexpressor of pathogenesis-related gene1, were also associated with traumatic resin duct formation. These responses were detected not only at the site of MJ treatment, but also systemically up to 60 cm above the site of treatment on the trunk

Poor prognostic clinicopathologic features correlate with VEGF expression but not with PTEN expression in squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted in chromosome ten (PTEN), angiogenesis and clinicopathological parameters of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined immunohistochemical expression of VEGF and PTEN and CD34 for microvessel density (MVD) in sections of formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissue blocks of 140 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. The intensity of VEGF and PTEN staining and the proportion of cells staining were scored.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The tumor grade was not significantly related to PTEN expression, but it was to VEGF expression (p = 0.400; p = 0.015, respectively). While there was no significant relationship between PTEN expression and tumor size and cartilage invasion (p = 0.311, p = 0.128), there was a significant relationship between the severity of VEGF expression and tumor size (p = 0.006) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.048) but not cartilage invasion (p = 0.129). MVD was significantly higher in high-grade tumors (p = 0.003) but had no significant relationship between MVD, lymph node metastasis, and cartilage invasion (p = 0.815, p = 0.204). There was also no significant relationship between PTEN and VEGF expression (p = 0.161) and between PTEN and VEGF expression and the MVD (p = 0.120 and p = 0.175, respectively).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Increased VEGF expression may play an important role in the outcome of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx. PTEN expression was not related to VEGF expression and clinicopathological features of squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx.</p

TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives