Security is gaining increasing relevance in the development of embedded devices. Towards a secure system at each level of design, this paper addresses security aspects related to network-on-chip ...(NoC) architectures, foreseen as the communication infrastructure of next-generation embedded devices. In the context of NoC-based multiprocessor systems, we focus on the topic, not yet thoroughly faced, of data protection. In this paper, we present a secure NoC architecture composed of a set of data protection units (DPUs) implemented within the network interfaces. The run-time configuration of the programmable part of the DPUs is managed by a central unit, the network security manager (NSM). The DPU, similar to a firewall, can check and limit the access rights (none, read, write, or both) of processors accessing data and instructions in a shared memory - in particular distinguishing between the operating roles (supervisor/user and secure/unsecure) of the processing elements. We explore different alternative implementations for the DPU and demonstrate how this unit does not affect the network latency if the memory request has the appropriate rights. We also focus on the dynamic updating of the DPUs to support their utilization in dynamic environments, and on the utilization of authentication techniques to increase the level of security.
is a filamentous, saprophytic fungus, whose colonization occurs mainly in cereal grains and oilseeds once harvested. Under certain conditions, it could produce mycotoxins called aflatoxins, known as ...powerful human liver carcinogens. The aim of the present study was to describe the antifungal activity of extracts of
, a species from northern Argentina (Oriental Chaco), against
. The antifungal activities of different collection sites are reported. The extracts exhibited a minimum inhibitory concentration of 125 µg/mL, and the differences between the treatments and the inoculum control were 11 mm of
and 10 mm of
in colony growth. Moreover, hyphae treated with the extracts stained blue with Evans blue showed alterations in the membrane and/or cell wall, allowing the dye income. Bio-guided fractionation, High Performance Liquid Chromatography diode array ultraviolet/visible (HPLC UV/VIS DAD), and Ultra-High Performance Liquid Chromatography Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometry (UPLC ESI-MS) analyses were conducted to characterize the extracts and their active fractions. The HPLC UV/VIS DAD analysis allowed the determination of the presence of flavonoids (flavonols and flavones), coumarins, terpenes, and steroids. UPLC ESI/MS analysis of active fractions revealed the presence of Kaempferol, Apigenin, Naringenin, Chrysin and Daidzein.
Translational data suggest that nucleoside transporters, in particular human equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (hENT1), play an important role in predicting clinical outcome after gemcitabine ...chemotherapy for several types of cancer. The aim of this study was to retrospectively determine patients' outcome according to the expression of hENT1 in tumoral cells of patients receiving gemcitabine-based therapy.
The immunohistochemistry analysis was performed on samples from thirty-one patients with unresectable biliary tract cancer (BTC) consecutively treated with first line gemcitabine-based regimens.
Positive hENT1 staining patients were 21 (67.7%); negative hENT1 staining patients were 10 (32.3%). Statistical analysis revealed no association between baseline characteristics, toxicities and tumor response to gemcitabine and hENT1 levels. In the univariate analysis, HENT1 expression was significantly correlated with time to progression (TTP) (p=0.0394; HR 2.902, 95%CI 1.053-7.996). The median TTP was 6.33 versus 2.83 months, respectively in patients with positive versus negative hENT1 staining. Moreover, patients with positive hENT1 expression showed a longer median overall survival when compared with patients with low hENT1 expression (14 versus 7 months, respectively), but this difference did not reach the statistical significance (p=0.128).
Therefore, hENT1 may be a relevant predictive marker of benefit from gemcitabine-based therapies in patients with advanced BTC.
The primary end point of the study was the analysis of associations between polymorphisms with putative influence on 5-fluorouracil/irinotecan activity and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients ...with advanced colorectal cancer treated with first-line FOLFIRI chemotherapy. Peripheral blood samples from 146 prospectively enrolled patients were used for genotyping polymorphisms in thymidylate synthase (TS), methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), excision repair cross-complementation group-1 (ERCC 1) xeroderma pigmentosum group-D (XPD), X-ray cross-complementing-1 (XRCC 1), X-ray cross-complementing-3 (XRCC 3) and uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferases-A1 (UGT1 A1). TS 3'-UTR 6+/6+ and XRCC3-241 C/C genotypes were associated with adverse PFS. Hazard ratio for PFS achieved 2.89 (95% confidence interval=1.56-5.80; P=0.002) in 30 patients (20%) with both risk genotypes. Risk for Grade III-IV neutropenia was significantly associated with UGT1A1*28 7/7 genotype. These promising findings deserve further investigations and their validation in independent prospective studies.
Interesting activity has been reported by combining chemotherapy with cetuximab. An alternative approach for blocking EGFR function has been the development of small-molecule inhibitors of tyrosine ...kinase domain such as gefitinib. We designed a multicentre phase II study in advanced colorectal cancer combining gefitinib+FOLFOX in order to determine the activity and to relate EGFR expression and gene amplification and NF-kB activation to therapeutic results. Patients received FOLFOX-4 regimen plus gefitinib as first-line treatment. Tumour samples were analysed for EGFR protein expression by immunohistochemical analysis and for EGFR gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH), chromogenic in situ hybridisation (CISH) and NF-kB activation. Forty-three patients were enrolled into this study; 15 patients experienced a partial response (response rate=34.9%), whereas other 12 (27.9%) had a stable disease. Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 7.8 months and median overall survival (OS) was 13.9 months. We did not find any relationship with EGFR overexpression, gene amplification, while NF-kB activation was associated with a resistance to therapy. Gefitinib does not seem to increase the activity of FOLFOX in advanced colorectal cancer even in patients overexpressing EGFR or with EGFR amplification. Furthermore, while NF-kB activation seems to predict resistance to chemotherapy as demonstrated 'in vitro' models, gefitinib does not overcome this mechanism of resistance, as reported for cetuximab.
Background:: Polymorphisms in the interleukin 1β gene (IL-1B-31T/C and IL-1B-511C/T single nucleotide changes) and in the interleukin 1 receptor anatagonist gene (IL-1RN2 variable number of tandem ...repeats) have been studied with respect to gastric cancer susceptibility. Available data support an aetiologic role of these genetic variants in the presence of concomitant Helicobacter pylori infection. Their contribution without H. pylori infection is still an open field of investigation. Materials and methods:: IL-1B and IL-1RN polymorphisms were investigated in 138 H. pylori-negative Italian patients with sporadic gastric cancer and 100 H. pylori-negative controls. Unconditional regression with odd ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), haplotype and linkage disequilibrium analyses were used to investigate the association of the polymorphisms with disease. Results:: In all gastric cancer cases, carriers of the homozygous IL-1B-511T/T genotype showed a significant risk for the development of the disease (OR 3.2 with 95% CI 1.27–8.05). In cases with intestinal-type gastric cancer, however, both IL-1B-511T and IL-1RN2 alleles were associated with disease. In this subgroup, the odds ratio for carriers of both IL-1B-511T and IL-1RN2 was 6.49 (95% CI 2.07–20.4). Haplotype analysis supported the aetiologic contribution of these alleles in gastric cancer of the intestinal histotype. Conclusions:: In conclusion, IL-1B-511T and IL-1RN2 may contribute to intestinal gastric cancer risk in the absence of concomitant H. pylori infection. In this setting, future epidemiologic studies should consider dietary habits and exposure to carcinogens interacting with pro-inflammatory host genotypes.
In gastric cancer, available clinical studies focusing on the activated hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/MET pathway are limited to surgical and often heterogeneous series. MET copy number gain (CNG) ...and an activating truncation in the HGF promoter (deoxyadenosine tract element, DATE+) were studied in tumors of 95 patients with advanced gastric cancer treated with palliative chemotherapy. Associations with overall survival (OS) and the pattern of metastatic disease were studied. Median OS was 9.7 months in 80 MET CNG <5 copies cases (MET-), and 6.4 months in 15 MET CNG was ⩾5 copies cases (MET+) (P=0.001). MET+ status confirmed the adverse prognostic effect in the multivariate model. A significantly different distribution of MET+/DATE+ and MET-/DATE- cases was observed between patients with and without peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). MET+ status confirms its adverse prognostic role in advanced gastric cancer patients. The activated MET/HGF axis seems to be associated with PC. These findings are relevant to the development of anti-MET/HGF compounds.
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