Current Status on Stem Cells and Cancers of the Gastric Epithelium

Gastric cancer is still a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide in spite of declining incidence. Gastric cancers are, essentially, adenocarcinomas and one of the strongest risk factors is still infection with Helicobacter pylori. Within the last years, it became clear that gastric self-renewal and carcinogenesis are intimately linked, particularly during chronic inflammatory conditions. Generally, gastric cancer is now regarded as a disease resulting from dysregulated differentiation of stem and progenitor cells, mainly due to an inflammatory environment. However, the situation in the stomach is rather complex, consisting of two types of gastric units which show bidirectional self-renewal from an unexpectedly large variety of progenitor/stem cell populations. As in many other tumors, cancer stem cells have also been characterized for gastric cancer. This review focuses on the various gastric epithelial stem cells, how they contribute to self-renewal and which routes are known to gastric adenocarcinomas, including their stem cells.     

Graphite Oxide and Aromatic Amines: Size Matters

Experimental and theoretical studies are performed in order to illuminate, for first time, the intercalation mechanism of polycyclic aromatic molecules into graphite oxide. Two representative molecules of this family, aniline and naphthalene amine are investigated. After intercalation, aniline molecules prefer to covalently connect to the graphene oxide matrix via chemical grafting, while napthalene amine molecules bind with the graphene oxide surface through π–π interactions. The presence of intercalated aromatic molecules between the graphene oxide layers is demonstrated by X‐ray diffraction, while the type of interaction between graphene oxide and polycyclic organic molecules is elucidated by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Combined quantum mechanical and molecular mechanical calculations describe the intercalation mechanism and the aniline grafting, rationalizing the experimental data. The present work opens new perspectives for the interaction of various aromatic molecules with graphite oxide and the so‐called “intercalation chemistry”.     

Lignin from Annual Plants as Raw Material Source for Flavors and Basic Chemicals

The enzymatic conversion of lignins, possibly in combination with electrochemical oxidation, makes aromatics such as syringol, guaiacol, vanillin and catechol available in the qualities required by the fragrance industry. The lignins were obtained by soda digestion from wheat straw and Miscanthus, characterized and then converted with laccases. The overall yield amounted up to 9 wt % with a product spectrum confined to four substances. Catechol was the major product, with a fraction of ≈75 %. It can easily be isolated by extraction with acetone.     

Time and cost securing in complex large-scale projects

Meeting time and cost objectives in complex projects involves specific problems and risks. An attempt is made to analyse the components of total cost increase of a project caused by time delay. An outline is given as to how these considerations can be used to estimate cost increases in investors' decision situations as well as to ascertain fair contractual penalties and claims for compensation and for the evaluation of justified project acceleration costs.     

Theory of Seepage into an Auger Hole in a Confined Aquifer Overlying a Gravel Substratum

An analytical solution is presented to the problem of steady groundwater flow seeping into a pumped cylindrical hole partially penetrating a homogeneous and anisotropic confined aquifer overlying a gravel substratum. Solutions are obtained for two general cases of the problem: (1) when the level of the pumped hole is below the confining layer; (2) when it is above it. The validity of the proposed theory is tested by comparing analytical predictions obtained for a few flow situations with corresponding results obtained by numerical means. The theory presented here can be utilized to convert the rate of rise of water in a pumped auger hole into directional conductivities of soil, in areas where water is found to be in a confined state overlying a gravel substratum. The study shows that the conductivity values calculated by neglecting the confining pressure of an artesian aquifer with a gravel base [i.e., by applying the existing (Boast and Kirkham in 1971), auger hole seepage theory for a phreatic aquifer with a gravel base to confined situations] may result in serious error; hence, the artesian head of an aquifer must be accounted for while computing the conductivity values. Further, it is observed that the area contributing flow to a pumped auger hole/well with a gravel base is mostly restricted to a short radial distance from the center of the hole, particularly for situations where the gravel substratum is located close to the bottom of the hole. This is in contrast to auger hole flow situations overlying an impervious substratum, where the domain contributing flow is mostly spread out to a considerable distance from the center of the hole.     

Expandable metal mesh stents for treatment of tracheal stenoses and tracheomalacia

The treatment of tracheo-bronchial stenosis or tracheomalacia is mainly carried out by means of resection or tracheoplastic operative strategies. Since the introduction of metal-mesh stents, a definitive endoluminal therapy has to be considered under new aspects. Six patients with malignant stenosis or tracheomalacia due to compression were treated by implantation of Palmaz- or Wallstents. Immediately after the implantation, patients were relieved from dyspnoea, the forced inspiratory volume-1 (FIV1) was normalized. All implanted stents were well tolerated, even in the long-time follow-up (19 months). Bronchoscopic control showed overgrowth of the metal meshes by respiratory epithelium. The implantation of metal-mesh stents is an adequate alternative in the treatment of malignant stenosis and tracheomalacia.