Improving the Management of Endometrial Cancer Patients through the Use of Liquid Biopsy Analyses: A Case Report

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the 4th most common neoplasm of the female genital tract, with 15–20% of patients being of high risk of recurrence which leads to a significant decrease in patient survival. Current therapeutic options for patients with EC are poor, being the combined therapy of carboplatin and paclitaxel the standard of care, with limited efficacy. Therefore, new therapeutic options and better monitoring tools are needed to improve the management of the disease. In the current case report, we showcase the value of liquid biopsy analyses in a microsatellite instability EC patient with initially good prognosis that however underwent rapid progression disease within 6 months post-surgery; through the study of plasma cfDNA/ctDNA dynamics to assess the tumour evolution during treatment, as well as the study of the uterine aspirate as a valuable sample that captures the intra-tumour heterogeneity that allows a comprehensive genomic profiling of the disease to identify potential therapeutic options. Furthermore, preclinical models were generated at the time of tumour progression to assess the efficacy of the identified targeted therapies.     

RESTful API in Life Science Research Systems and Data Integration Challenges： Linking Metabolic Pathway,Metabolic Network,Gene and Publication

Translational science research development requires life sciences researchers to update their concept on systems integration and data integration. The RESTful API has proven to be very useful in integrating the massive amount of data and tools. This work presents an approach for biological systems analysis based on the semantic web and RESTful API. The integration of this approach in the BioExtract Server engine as a WMS （workflow management system） allows us to apply our work to the linking of several biological levels （metabolic pathway, metabolic network model, genes and publications）. This work shows how HPC infrastructure and RESTful API can be an opportunity in Systems Biology and life science research challenges. We present a use case in BioExtract server as an integrated workflow management system. The use case shows how we can extract data to build a mathematical model for a specific biological system. The two workflow examples provided in this work enhance the flexibility in the workflow for reusability. Then any other researcher can customize the same workflow for different gene name or biological process.     

A laboratory assessment of the potential of different strains of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) to control Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in stored cowpea

Twelve indigenous and exotic isolates of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae were evaluated for their virulence and their ability to suppress populations of Callosobruchus maculatus in stored cowpea. LT₅₀ values ranged from 3.11 to 6.12 days following immersion in aqueous suspensions containing 1×10⁸ conidia ml⁻¹. Indigenous isolates that had been recovered from C. maculatus were more virulent in laboratory bioassays than exotic isolates from other insects. The two isolates with the shortest LT₅₀ values were compared in dose-response assays by immersion and by exposure to cowpea grains treated with dry conidia. In both assays B. bassiana 0362 was consistently more virulent than M. anisopliae 0351. By immersion, LC₅₀ values on day 6 post-treatment were 9.10×10⁴ and 7.10×10⁵ conidia ml⁻¹ for B. bassiana 0362 and M. anisopliae 0351, respectively. Exposure to treated grains gave LC₅₀ values of 1.15×10⁷ and 4.44×10⁷ conidia g⁻¹ grain for B. bassiana 0362 and M. anisopliae 0351, respectively. In 1 kg batches of cowpea stocked with 50 adult C. maculatus, B. bassiana 0362 at both 1×10⁷ and 1×10⁸ conidia g⁻¹ grain led to significant adult mortality and reduced F₁ emergence relative to untreated populations. At 1×10⁸ conidia g⁻¹ the effect of the fungus persisted into the F₁ generation. The net reproductive rates, R₀, measured 26 days after insects were released were 5.16 and 7.32 for the high and low doses compared to 9.52 for the untreated control.     

Architecture, Infrastructure, and Broadband Civic Network Design: An Institutional View

Cultural values frame architectures, and architectures motivate infrastructures-by which we mean the foundational telecommunications and Internet access services that software applications depend on. Design is the social process that realizes architectural elements in an infrastructure. This process is often a conflicted one where transformative visions confront the realities of entrenched power, where innovation confronts pressure from institutionalized interests and practices working to resist change and reproduce the status quo in the design outcome. We use this viewpoint to discuss design aspects of the Urban-net, a broadband civic networking case. Civic networks are embodiments of distinctive technological configurations and forms of social order. In choosing some technological configurations over others, designers are favoring some social structural configurations over alternatives. To the extent that a civic network sets out to reconfigure the prevailing social order (as was the case in the Urban-net project considered here), the design process becomes the arena where challengers of the prevailing order encounter its defenders. In this case the defenders prevailed, and the design that emerged was conservative and reproduced the status quo. What steps can stakeholders take so that the project’s future development is in line with the original aim of structural change? We outline two strategies. We argue the importance of articulating cultural desiderata in an architecture that stakeholders can use to open up the infrastructure to new constituents and incremental change. Next, we argue the importance of designing the conditions of design. The climate in which social interactions occur can powerfully shape design outcomes, but this does not usually figure in stakeholders’ design concerns.     

Deregulation of homocysteine metabolism and consequences for the vascular system

The link between vascular disease and elevated homocysteine levels has been recognized for more than 30 years, and association with moderately elevated levels has been suspected for 20 years. Homocysteine is a sulfhydryl-containing amino acid that is formed by the demethylation of methionine. It is normally catalysed to cystathionine by cystathionine beta-synthase a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzyme. Homocysteine is also remethylated to methionine by methionine synthase, a vitamin B12 dependent enzyme and by methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase. Environmental factors such as folate, or vitamin B12, or vitamin B6 deficiencies and genetic defects such as cystathionine beta-synthase or abnormality of methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase or some vitamin B12 metabolism defects may contribute to increasing plasma homocysteine levels. Normal fasting levels of homocysteine lie within the range 6-16 mumol/l. Apart from differences in assay methods, age, sex and nutritional status may affect the plasma levels. Though it is now well known that homocysteine is an independent risk factor for premature vascular disease, the pathogenesis of homocysteine-induced vascular damage is, for the most part, unknown. It may be multifactorial, including direct homocysteine damage to the endothelium, an enhanced low-density lipoprotein peroxidation, an increase of platelet thromboxane A2, or a decrease of protein C activation.     

Dynamics of the gas phase in bubble columns

The conventional two-bubble-class model for bubble column reactors has been modified to account for interactions between the two bubble classes. It is shown that the modified model is more consistent with the observed residence time distribution in the gas phase than the conventional model. The results indicate that there is an intensive cross-mixing between the bubble phases. This study also reveals that the modified two-bubble-class model cannot be distinguished from the single-bubble-class model solely on the basis of the residence time distribution.     

Effects of casein,sweet white lupin and sweet yellow lupin diet on cholesterol metabolism in rats

The effect of lupin seed protein on rat cholesterol metabolism has been studied with diets high in fat (20% by weight) and containing cholesterol (1%). The proteins used were characterised by their lysine/arginine ratios (sweet white lupin (SWL) 0·5; sweet yellow lupin (SYL) 0·4; and casein 1·8), because the lysine/arginine ratio is one of the parameters suspected to decrease or increase plasma cholesterol depending on the ratio; the diets were also characterised by their total fibre content (casein diet 5%; SWL 22%; SYL 17%) because chronic fibre intake could improve glucose tolerance and modify glucoregulatory hormone levels. Methionine content of diets was balanced. Differences among the total serum cholesterol levels of rat groups fed these diets for 28 days were not significant. But, compared to the casein diet, both lupin diets increased plasma glucagon levels and faeces. Compared to casein and SYL diets, the SWL diet significantly decreased plasma triglyceride levels and the insulin/glucagon ratio, as well as unesterified liver cholesterol and plasma LDL triglycerides levels. The SYL diet significantly increased plasma glucose and insulin, as well as liver total cholesterol compared to the casein and SWL diets. The total fibre content of the diets could indirectly modulate the effect related to the insulin/glucagon ratio on cholesterol metabolism and explain the differences observed between the SWL and SYL diets. © 1998 SCI.     

可以修葺的历史 西班牙Moure酒店改造项目

本案是一个改造项目,原址是一座19世纪的老建筑,坐落在历史名城圣地亚哥的市中心,并且已经在申报世界文化遗产。改造的目的是恢复老酒店的功能,希望酒店能重新开张营业。项目最终包含的工程量比预想的更多,经济危机之下的西班牙基础设施的严重失修和功能质量的下降,使酒店的基础改造变成了整个项目的首要部分,其次才是为酒店配备新的硬件系统和装修。     

Comparison of the single-bubble-class and modified two-bubble-class models of bubble column reactors

Gas phase conversions and product selectivities predicted by the single-bubble-class and modified two-bubble-class models of bubble column reactors are compared for a multistep gas-liquid reaction involving series/parallel steps. A situation is considered where the first reaction step is fast and occurs in the interfacial region while the other reaction steps are slow and occur only in the liquid bulk. Equivalent hydrodynamic and transport parameters provide a common basis for the comparison. The differences in the gas phase conversions predicted by these models are insignificant. However, the two models predict very different values of selectivities for the intermediate products. This analysis enables us to judge the range of applicability of the single-bubble-class model in design and scale-up of bubble column reactors.