Lymphangiogenesis in tumors: what do we know?

Lymphangiogenesis, the growth of new lymphatic vessels, has long been regarded as a putative efficient pathway to neoplastic metastization. However, until recently consistent data regarding reliable lymphatic endothelial cell markers were lacking. Moreover, the presence of new formed lymphatic vessels was considered a largely disputable concept. Now, this scenario has changed significantly, owing to consistent reports describing novel lymphatic endothelial cell (LEC) markers, the demonstration of new formed lymphatic vessels within the bulk of the tumor in animal models and human neoplasms, and the characterization of the VEGF-C/VEGFR-3 pathway. We herein review the major breakthroughs in the field of lymphangiogenesis, with special emphasis on novel and reliable LEC markers, such as prox-1, LYVE-1, and podoplanin, as well as on the pathological assessment of lymphangiogenesis as a putative prognostic factor for human neoplasms.     

Impact of nanomaterials on plants: What other implications do they have?

The use of nanomaterials has spread and has been applied in different industries, including agriculture. Here, the possibilities presented by NMs are very varied, from the biostimulation of favorable responses, or the control of pests and diseases, to the monitoring of characteristics of interest with the use of nanosensors. Particularly the biostimulation of agricultural crops with the use of nanomaterials is very relevant, since from this process stress tolerance, higher content of biocompounds, etc., can be induced. Although the positive impacts on crops are clear, there is not enough information to determine the long-term impacts, both on ecosystems and on human health.     

Contrast inversion in non-contact Dynamic Scanning Force Microscopy: What is high and what is low?

The present work proves that when non-contact Dynamic Scanning Force Microscopy (DSFM) is performed in ambient conditions wrong height measurements of heterogeneous samples can be obtained. In some extreme cases even contrast inversion can be observed. Alkanethiol islands on Au (1 1 1) have been used as model system, where contrast inversion is observed with different DSFM modes and various data acquisition parameters. To understand this effect, spectroscopy measurements have been used to show that contrast inversion is really a consequence of the differences in the interaction measured between tip and sample on the bare Au substrate and on the alkanethiol islands. We propose that this interaction is mainly induced by liquid necks forming between tip and sample, which is much stronger on the hydrophilic Au substrate than on the hydrophobic alkanethiol islands.