An estuary is a dynamic environment where marine and fluvial processes meet to form complex and transient morphology. The estuary morphology is largely determined by net sediment transport by two-way ...tidal flows, but the hydrodynamics also depends on the morphology of the tidal channels. The estuary inherently accommodates cyclic processes that are internally generated through hydro-morphodynamic interactions. In addition, the estuary evolves in response to changes in external forces by natural and anthropogenic factors. Morphological changes under the different controls often hinder the comprehension of the evolutionary processes of estuaries. Here we explored morphological changes in the Sittang River estuary, Myanmar, which has great morphological dynamism from extreme tidal energy and large sediment inputs, through field surveys and satellite imagery analysis. We identify an autocyclic process in a sedimentary system driving large-scale channel migration in decadal to multidecadal cycles. We show that drastic changes of the estuary morphology occasionally occur with rapid bank erosion through modulation of the cyclic channel migration under conflicting tidal and fluvial forces. This extreme case with minimal human intervention highlights channel migration as a key process in morphological evolution of tide-dominated estuaries undergoing active infilling.
Mitochondria‐eating protein (Mieap), encoded by a p53‐target gene, plays an important role in mitochondrial quality control (MQC). Mieap has been reported to have a critical role in tumor suppression ...in colorectal cancer. Here, we investigated its role as a tumor suppressor in breast cancer. The enforced expression of exogenous Mieap in breast cancer cells induced caspase‐dependent apoptosis, with activation of both caspase‐3/7 and caspase‐9. Immunohistochemistry revealed endogenous Mieap in the cytoplasm in 24/75 (32%) invasive ductal carcinomas (IDC), 15/27 (55.6%) cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and 16/18 (88.9%) fibroadenomas (FA) (IDC vs DCIS; P = 0.0389, DCIS vs FA; P = 0.0234, IDC vs FA; P < 0.0001). In IDC, the Mieap promoter was methylated in 6/46 (13%) cases, whereas p53 was mutated in 6/46 (13%) cases. Therefore, the p53/Mieap‐regulated MQC pathway was inactivated in 12/46 IDC (26.1%). Interestingly, all tumors derived from the 12 patients with Mieap promoter methylation or p53 mutations pathologically exhibited more aggressive and malignant breast cancer phenotypes. Impairment of p53/Mieap‐regulated MQC pathway resulted in significantly shorter disease‐free survival (DFS) (P = 0.021), although p53 status is more prognostic in DFS than Mieap promoter methylation. These results indicate that p53/Mieap‐regulated MQC has a critical role in tumor suppression in breast cancer, possibly in part through mitochondrial apoptotic pathway.
We demonstrated that enforced Mieap overexpression induced caspase‐dependent apoptosis in breast cancer cells. The expression level of Mieap in invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) was significantly lower than that in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and benign tumours in vivo. The p53/Mieap/NIX/BNIP3‐regulated MQC pathway was inactivated in IDC, which resulted in significantly shortened disease‐free survival.
Abstract Background Despite recent improvements in early detection, progress in surgical techniques, and development of chemoradiation therapies, prognosis of esophageal cancer remains poor. The aim ...of the present study was to assess whether Glasgow Prognostic Score (GPS), an inflammation-based prognostic score, has prognostic value independent of conventional clinicopathological criteria in patients undergoing curative resection for esophageal cancer, even in elderly patients. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the database of 141 consecutive patients with histologically verified esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who underwent potentially curative surgery in our institute, between January 2006 and December 2014. GPS and neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) were calculated. Results On multivariate analysis, TNM stage (p < 0.0001) and GPS (p = 0.041) were independently associated with worse prognosis in overall patients with esophageal cancer. Multivariate analysis evaluated the prognostic factors in two different patient groups: patients younger than 70 years (non-elderly) and those aged 70 years or more (elderly). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that TNM stage (p = 0.0003) was an only independent risk factor for a worse prognosis among non-elderly group. Meanwhile, multivariate analysis demonstrated that TNM stage (p = 0.001) and GPS (p = 0.043) were the independent risk factor for a worse prognosis among elderly group. Conclusion The present study demonstrated that GPS is associated with prognosis and can be considered as an independent prognostic marker in patients who underwent esophagectomy. Moreover, the GPS has the advantage of being simple to measure, routinely available and well standardized. But the present study failed to confirm the NLR as a significant predictor of survival following resection for esophageal cancer.
Abstract Background Recent studies have revealed significant relationships between the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) ...and survival in various cancers. The purpose of this study was to confirm whether the LMR, NLR, and PLR have prognostic values, independent of clinicopathological criteria, in patients undergoing curative resection for esophageal cancer. Methods The LMR, NLR and PLR were calculated in 147 consecutive patients who underwent curative esophagectomy between January 2006 and December 2014. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to identify the optimal cutoff values of each biomarkers. Results In multivariate analysis for cancer-specific survival (CSS), pTNM stage (p<0.0001) and low LMR (p=0.0081) were selected as independent prognostic factor. Similarly, pTNM stage(p<0.0001) and low LMR (p=0.0225) were found to be independent prognostic factor for overall survival (OS). There was no significant relationship between LMR, NLR and PLR and survival in patients with stage I or II, however, significant relationships between LMR and CSS or OS were observed in patients with stage III esophageal cancer. Conclusions LMR can be used as a novel predictor of postoperative CSS and OS in patients with esophageal cancer and that it may be useful in identifying patients with a poor prognosis even after radical esophagectomy.
Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, The Cancer Institute Hospital, 3-8-31 Ariake, Koto-ku, 135-8550, Tokyo, Japan (b) satoshi.nagayama@jfcr.or.jp Article History: ...Registration Date: 09/04/2020 Received Date: 07/17/2020 Accepted Date: 09/03/2020 Online Date: 09/10/2020 Byline:
In the phosphorelay-mediated cytokinin signal transduction of Arabidopsis thaliana, certain members of the type-B authentic response regulator (ARR) family are implicated in the regulatory networks ...that are primarily propagated by the cytokinin-receptors authentic histidine kinases (AHKs). Clarification of the involvement of each type-B ARR transcription factor in cytokinin-responsive phenomena is still at a very early stage. Here we analyzed the redundant function of two type-B ARR genes, ARR10 and ARR12, by constructing an arr10/arr12 double mutant. The resulting mutant plants showed stronger phenotypes with special reference to the cytokinin action in roots (e.g. inhibition of root elongation, green callus formation from root explants) than those for each single mutant, suggesting that ARR10 and ARR12 redundantly play an important role in the cytokinin signaling in roots. This idea was further supported by results from root-specific microarray analyses with the double mutant plant. We also showed that ARR10 and ARR12 are involved in the AHK-dependent signaling pathway that negatively regulates protoxylem specification in root vascular tissues. When the double mutant is combined with an arr1 allele, the resultant arr1/arr10/arr12 triple mutant showed phenotypes displaying a very poor growth, quite similar to those of the wooden leg (wol) mutant that virtually lacks cytokinin receptor activities in plants. In this triple arr mutant, the specification of root vascular tissues is also affected as severely as in wol. Taken together, we propose that ARR10 and ARR12, together with ARR1, redundantly play pivotal roles in the AHK-dependent phosphorelay signaling in response to cytokinin in roots.
The total cross sections were measured for coherent double neutral-pion photoproduction on the deuteron at incident energies below 0.9 GeV for the first time. No clear resonance-like behavior is ...observed in the excitation function for Wγd=2.38–2.61 GeV, where the d⁎(2380) dibaryon resonance observed at COSY is expected to appear. The measured excitation function is consistent with the existing theoretical calculation for this reaction. The upper limit of the total cross section is found to be 0.034 μb for the dibaryon resonance at Wγd=2.37 GeV (90% confidence level) in the γd→π0π0d reaction.
Abstract Background The most significant prognostic factors for pancreatic head carcinoma (PHC) with pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) are the resection margin and lymph node status. The curative surgical ...margin (R0) and complete clearance of regional lymph nodes contribute to the improvement of survival. To reduce microscopic residual tumor resection (R1) and achieve a complete lymphadenectomy around the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) when performing a PD for PHC, we propose a new concept of a total excision of the “meso-pancreatoduodenum.” which consists of a cluster of the soft connective tissue along the inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery and the first jejunal artery. Methods A total of 39 consecutive patients underwent a PD for PHC between May 2006 and August 2011 at Shimane University Hospital. Twenty-five patients received a standard PD (sPD), while 14 cases underwent a total meso-pancreatoduodenum excision (tMPDe) with PD. Results The tMPDe procedure was performed safely without any intraoperative complications. The total number of lymph nodes dissected was 18 (median, range: 5–40) in the sPD and 26 (median, range: 13–50) in the tMPDe ( p = 0.027). R0 resection was accomplished in 60% and 93% of patients with the sPD and tMPDe, respectively, resulting in a significant decrease in the R1 rate in the tMPDe (7%) compared to that in the sPD (40%) ( p = 0.019). No loco-regional recurrence was found around the SMA in the tMPDe patients. Conclusion Our surgical technique, tMPDe, is safe and more radical when performing a PD and should be adopted when performing pancreatic surgery as a pathological cure for pancreatic head carcinoma.
The morphological differentiation between coastal and offshore ecotypes of bottlenose dolphins (genus Tursiops) has been researched since the 1960s, particularly in T. truncatus (Montagu, 1821), ...although most morphological studies have focused on localized populations. Therefore, it is unclear how patterns observed in these individual populations integrate within the global morphological variation. Here we carry out a meta‐analysis of global morphological variation between coastal and offshore ecotypes from 532 museum specimens, using both linear measurements (LM; 282 specimens), and shape data using geometric morphometrics (GM; 290 specimens). Together these analyses show consistent differentiation in skull morphology between coastal and offshore ecotypes, and provide a detailed description of variation patterns within each ecotype. These patterns show high individual morphological variation in the coastal ecotype between locations, while the offshore ecotype appears morphologically more uniform across the areas sampled. Overall, most skull shape variation can be described by features noticeable dorsally in the structures of the rostrum, whereas more limited change was found in ventral traits. Our results suggest that individual coastal populations may vary according to local environmental conditions, while those corresponding to the offshore ecotype appear to share similar morphological characteristics that might increase fitness in offshore habitats.
In this study, we carry out a meta‐analysis of global morphological variation between coastal and offshore ecotypes of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops sp.). Our results show consistent differentiation in skull morphology between coastal and offshore ecotypes, and provide a detailed description of variation patterns within each ecotype. Individual coastal populations may vary according to local environmental conditions, while those corresponding to the offshore ecotype appear to share similar morphological characteristics.
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