MKP1 mediates resistance to therapy in HER2-positive breast tumors.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1 (MKP1 or DUSP1) is an antiapoptotic phosphatase that is overexpressed in many cancers, including breast cancer. MKP1 expression is inducible in radiation-treated breast cancer cells, and correlates with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (ERBB2, HER2) expression. The role of MKP1 in therapy resistance suggests that targeting MKP1 in HER2-positive breast tumors may significantly enhance the efficacy of anti-HER2 and other anticancer therapies

A method to take account of inhomogeneity in mechanical component reliability calculations

YesThis paper proposes a method by which material inhomogeneity may be taken into account in a reliability calculation. The method employs Monte-Carlo simulation; and introduces a material strength index, and a standard deviation of material strength to model the variation in the strength of a component throughout its volume. The method is compared to conventional load-strength interference theory. The results are identical for the case of homogeneous material, but reliability is shown to reduce for the same load as the component volume increases. The case of a tensile bar is used to explore the variation of reliability with component volume