Overexpression of β1 integrin contributes to polarity reversal and a poor prognosis of breast invasive micropapillary carcinoma

© Liu et al. Invasive micropapillary carcinoma (IMPC) of the breast is a highly aggressive breast cancer. Polarity reversal exemplified by cluster growth is hypothesized to contribute to the invasiveness and metastasis of IMPC. In this study, we demonstrate that levels of β1 integrin and Rac1 expression were greater in breast IMPC than in invasive breast carcinoma of no specific type and paraneoplastic benign breast tissue. We show that silencing β1 integrin expression using the β1 integrin inhibitor AIIB2 partially restored polarity in IMPC primary cell clusters and downregulated Rac1. Thus, overexpression of β1 integrin upregulates Rac1. Univariate analysis showed that overexpression of β1 integrin and Rac1 was associated with breast cancer cell polarity reversal, lymph node metastasis, and poor disease-free survival in IMPC patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that polarity reversal was an independent predictor of poor disease-free survival. These findings indicate that overexpression of β1 integrin and the resultant upregulation of Rac1 contribute to polarity reversal and metastasis of breast IMPC, and that β1 integrin and Rac1 could be potential prognostic biomarkers and targets for treatment of breast IMPC

Pan-cancer analysis of whole genomes

Cancer is driven by genetic change, and the advent of massively parallel sequencing has enabled systematic documentation of this variation at the whole-genome scale(1-3). Here we report the integrative analysis of 2,658 whole-cancer genomes and their matching normal tissues across 38 tumour types from the Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). We describe the generation of the PCAWG resource, facilitated by international data sharing using compute clouds. On average, cancer genomes contained 4-5 driver mutations when combining coding and non-coding genomic elements; however, in around 5% of cases no drivers were identified, suggesting that cancer driver discovery is not yet complete. Chromothripsis, in which many clustered structural variants arise in a single catastrophic event, is frequently an early event in tumour evolution; in acral melanoma, for example, these events precede most somatic point mutations and affect several cancer-associated genes simultaneously. Cancers with abnormal telomere maintenance often originate from tissues with low replicative activity and show several mechanisms of preventing telomere attrition to critical levels. Common and rare germline variants affect patterns of somatic mutation, including point mutations, structural variants and somatic retrotransposition. A collection of papers from the PCAWG Consortium describes non-coding mutations that drive cancer beyond those in the TERT promoter(4); identifies new signatures of mutational processes that cause base substitutions, small insertions and deletions and structural variation(5,6); analyses timings and patterns of tumour evolution(7); describes the diverse transcriptional consequences of somatic mutation on splicing, expression levels, fusion genes and promoter activity(8,9); and evaluates a range of more-specialized features of cancer genomes(8,10-18).Peer reviewe

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Beyond legislation and technological design: The importance and implications of institutional trust for privacy issues of digital contact tracing

For proper implementation of digital contact tracing technologies for fighting against SARS-CoV-2, participants' privacy vulnerability and the uncertainty from the relevant institutions' side could be seen as two core elements that should be dealt with, among others. In this paper, we propose to understand the current approaches for preserving privacy, referred to as privacy by legislation and privacy by technological design, as distrusting strategies that primarily work to reduce participants' vulnerability by specifying and implementing privacy standards related to this digital solution. We point out that mere distrusting strategies are insufficient for the ethically appropriate development of this digital solution, nor can they eliminate the need for institutional trust that plays an essential role in fostering voluntary support for this solution. To reach well-grounded trust in both an ethical and epistemological sense, we argue that trust in institutions concerning personal data protection in the case of digital contact tracing ought to be built on the relevant institutions' and individuals' goodwill towards the public and their competence in improving the actual effectiveness of this solution. We conclude by clarifying three dimensions, including the purpose, procedure, and outcome, where the relevant trustees can work to signal and justify their intentions and increase their trustworthiness via an effective communication strategy. Given the complementary qualities shown by the distrusting and trusting strategies, a combined strategy including both sorts seems closer to what we expect from the responsible implementation of this digital solution, which could also improve the effectiveness of this institutional response.Ethics & Philosophy of TechnologyEnvironmental Technology and Desig

The AIC-BIC dilemma: An in-depth look

In research there is often a need to choose between multiple competing models. Two popular criteria for model selection are the AIC and BIC. The AIC excels in estimating the best model for the unknown data generating process. The BIC on the other hand is consistent in finding the true model. It is clear that for model selection these two information criterion give answers to different selection criteria. The question that arises is whether it is possible to construct a model selection criterion which combines the strengths of both AIC and BIC. In this study we will show that it is impossible to construct a model selection criterion which shares the above mentioned two strenghts by revisiting the proof of \cite{yang2005can} : That is, any consistent model selection criterion must be sub-optimal in the minimax convergence rate for regression estimation compared to the AIC.Applied Mathematic

Photocatalytic Properties of SiO2 coated Degussa P25 TiO2 Nanoparticles by Scalable Atmospheric Pressure Atomic Layer Deposition

A precise control for the growth of thin film powered by atmospheric pressure atomic layer deposition (ALD) carried out in fluidized bed reactor makes the ultrathin conformal coating of SiO2 on Degussa P25 TiO2 nanoparticles possible. At an operating temperature which can be lowered to room temperature (~27°C), the growth per cycle (GPC) smaller than 1 angstrom (~0.8 Å) allowed us to study on the relationship between the thickness of SiO2 thin film and photocatalytic activities of SiO2 coated TiO2 nanoparticles. Importantly, a considerable enhancement of photocatalytic activity was found which resulted from the formation of crosslinking of Si-O-Ti bonds in the interface between SiO2 and P25 TiO2 nanoparticles as indicated by XPS and FT-IR. The band gap of this interfacial layer can be tuned from 3.10 to 3.23 eV slightly narrower than P25 TiO2’s by varying the number of ALD cycles and the ALD processes at different temperature corresponding to the thickness of SiO2 thin film. Such band gap led to a red-shift of the absorption spectra which means the better absorption of visible light and enhanced the charge transfer from TiO2 to the interface, thereby prevented the rapid recombination of generated carriers. As for the precursors SiCl4 and deionized water vapor, the saturating state of dosing at the first stage of ALD process related to self-limiting reaction can be got after 5 seconds. In addition, annealing could also enable the enhancement of photocatalytic activity via modifying the morphology of interface. Practically speaking, our approach provided a scalable, energy effective and precise method to tune the photocatalytic properties of SiO2 coated Degussa P25 TiO2 nanoparticles which can be both used for photocatalyst about enhancement and pigment about suppression.Mechanical, Maritime and Materials EngineeringMaterials Science and Engineerin

Governing Cities for Growth: Land politics, financial mechanisms, and state entrepreneurialism in China

During the course of the 21st century, China has experienced one of the fastest urban growth processes in history. Its rapid urban growth has not only contributed to its industrial and technological development but it has also functioned as a key driver of its national economic growth. As well as bringing many benefits, China’s rapid urban growth has also brought a number of serious risks and challenges. In addition to its social impacts, such as increasing income gaps, urban and rural inequality and conflicts, urban growth has also posed severe environmental challenges such as the loss of open land, and the increasing burdens of water and air pollution. Moreover, the financial risks of urban development have become increasingly apparent, as witnessed by the very recent misfortunes of some of China’s property giants such as Evergrande, and the continuing difficulties faced by several local governments in dealing with severe financial debts. Although China’s rapid urban growth has accompanied its economic growth, the situation is becoming more and more unsustainable. In response, the Chinese government has proposed several policy frameworks and development strategies over recent years, such as ‘Ecological Civilisation’ and ‘Newtype Urbanisation’, in order to increase emphasis on sustainability and ecological protection in urban development. To achieve such an urban sustainable transition from a quantityoriented to a quality-oriented approach, ‘Governance Modernisation’ has now been given central stage as one of the newest state narratives after the modernisation of technology and industry. The goal of this thesis is to uncover the kind of changes that have taken place in urban governance during the Chinese government’s attempts to realise its sustainable transition in urban growth....Organisation and Governanc

Photocatalytic Enhancement of SiO2 coated Degussa P25 TiO2 Nanoparticles by Scalable Atmospheric Pressure Atomic Layer Deposition

This work investigates the enhancement of photocatalytic activity of titanium dioxide (TiO2) commercial particles by ultrathin silicon dioxide (SiO2) films deposited via atmospheric pressure atomic layer deposition (ALD) carried out in fluidized bed reactor (FBR). The ALD process enabled precise control for the growth of ultrathin film at sub-nanometer level. At an operating temperature which can be lowered to room temperature (~27 °C), the growth per cycle (GPC) smaller than 1 angstrom (~0.8 Å) allowed us to study on the relationship between the thickness of SiO2 thin film and photocatalytic activities of SiO2 coated TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Importantly, a considerable enhancement of photocatalytic activity was found which resulted from the formation of crosslinking of Si-O-Ti bonds in the interface between SiO2 and P25 TiO2 nanoparticles as indicated by XPS and FT-IR. The band gap of this interfacial layer can be tuned from 3.10 to 3.23 eV slightly narrower than P25 TiO2 by varying the number of ALD cycles and the ALD processes at different temperature corresponding to the thickness of SiO2 thin film. Such band gap led to a red-shift of the absorption spectra which means the better absorption of visible light and enhanced the charge transfer from TiO2 to the interface, thereby prevented the rapid recombination of generated carriers. As for the precursors SiCl4 and deionized water vapor, the saturating state of dosing at the first stage of ALD process related to self-limiting reaction can be got after 5 seconds. In addition, annealing could also enable the enhancement of photocatalytic activity via modifying the morphology of interface. Practically speaking, our approach provided a scalable, energy effective and precise method to tune the photocatalytic properties of SiO2 coated Degussa P25 TiO2 nanoparticles. When it goes to applications, the enhancement of photocatalytic activity can be used for photocatalyst.Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineerin

Urbanization impact on Biotope in Shanghai: a comparative study between Huangpu District and Pujin Block

Biotopes reveal a crucial role in the urban ecology, as they positively create habitat for the biodiversity development. With the increasing severe ecological challenge of urban high-density area and rising ecological awareness, people gradually realized the importance of biodiversity and began to explore the impact of urbanization on the biotope. This study in the city of Shanghai sets the framework for a study of the relation between spatial morphology and urban biotope, aims to discuss the impact of urbanization on the urban biotope. Two of high-density urban spaces and sub-urban spaces in the context of Shanghai area were examined as case studies, Huangpu District and Pujin Block, to demonstrate the biotope situations by disparate urbanization impact. In each study area, the urban biotope mapping methodology was developed base upon a general biotope classification method adapted to urban context. Main outputs are GIS based maps representing different biotopes, showing spatial difference in each area. Seven core biotope evaluation indicators of urban biodiversity were calculated: 1) area; 2) density; 3) shape index; 4) diversity index; 5) saturation index; 6) fragmentation index; 7) value index. Huangpu District and Pujin Block, although similar in size, exhibit distinct characteristics and perform different biotope situation by the impact of urbanization. This research aims to contribute to a better understanding and promotion of the relationship between biotope and urbanization, particularly for the disciplines involved in urban landscape planning, design and management.Environmental Technology and Desig

On the objective assessment of comfort

In this paper, a literature study is presented on the types of objective measures that can contribute to the prediction of (dis)comfort, the feasibility of measuring those factors, and the potential of building a model based on them. Results indicate that in addition to subjective measurements, objective measures might help us to understand the process towards comfort or discomfort better, and some of them might be used as predictors in modelling comfort/discomfort.Mechatronic DesignMaterials and Manufacturin