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In the framework of the EUMETSAT Polar System–Second Generation (EPS‐SG) preparation, a new generation of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) instrument has been designed. The IASI‐New Generation (IASI‐NG) will measure radiances at a doubled spectral resolution compared to its predecessor and with a signal‐to‐noise ratio improved by a factor of 2. The large amount of data arising from IASI‐NG will present many challenges for data transmission, storage and assimilation. Moreover, the full set of measured radiances will not be exploitable in an operational numerical weather prediction (NWP) context. For these reasons, an appropriate IASI‐NG channel selection in needed, aiming to select the most informative channels for NWP models. Therefore, the standard iterative channel selection methodology, based on the optimal linear estimation theory and assuming spectrally correlated errors, has been applied to a set of simulated data of the IASI‐NG spectrum. The entire simulated IASI‐NG spectrum has been first investigated, while finally focusing the channel selection procedure on the most interesting wavelength ranges for the assimilation. Through this process, a total of 500 channels have been chosen to serve as a basis for future channel selections to be provided to NWP centres – 277 temperature, 23 surface‐sensitive and 200 water vapour channels. One‐dimensional variational (1D‐Var) assimilation experiments show that using this selected set of channels leads to a reduction of the standard deviation of the error in temperature (up to 30%) and water vapour (up to 50%) profiles with respect to the apriori information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is architectural discourse haunted by an avantgarde future that never materialised? Los Angeles‐based critic, curator and editor Mimi Zeiger describes how these tropes, many of which relate to the preoccupations of the 1960s and 1970s, are recycled and repurposed by contemporary practitioners. She cautions that such feedback loops, orbits or revolutions strip meanings, narratives and politics from original source materials, which not only leaves a vacuum of nostalgia at the centre of the discourse, but also limits the discipline's ability to speculate on the pressures of our present moment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports the results of a preliminary mission study to assess the potential of space‐borne laser heterodyne radiometry (LHR) for the remote sensing of temperature for assimilation in a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model. The LHR instruments are low cost and small in size, lending themselves to a wide variety of satellite platforms. The impact of different configurations of an idealized LHR instrument is assessed against the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), via single‐column linear information content analysis, using inputs consistent with the background errors of the Met Office 4D‐Var assimilation system. Multiplexed configurations give promising results, in particular for sounding of upper‐atmospheric temperatures. A preliminary mission study on the potential of space‐borne laser heterodyne spectro‐radiometers for temperature sounding is carried out using micro‐spectral window analysis of carbon dioxide absorption/emission. The main metric used for assessment is the retrieval information content and Degree of Freedom for Signal (DFS). In this picture, the evolution of the DFS across a micro‐spectral window is shown, characterizing the molecular transitions most contributing to the information retrieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer is one of the most common malignant diseases in women. Triple‐negative breast cancer (TNBC) shows higher aggressiveness and recurrence rates than other subtypes, and there are no effective targets or tailored treatments for TNBC patients. Thus, finding effective prognostic markers for TNBC could help clinicians in their ability to care for their patients. We used tissue microarrays (TMAs) to detect microRNA‐493 (miR‐493) expression in breast cancer samples. A miRCURY LNA detection probe specific for miR‐493 was used in in situ hybridization assays. Staining results were reviewed by two independent pathologists and classified as high or low expression of miR‐493. Kaplan–Meier survival plots and multivariate Cox analysis were carried out to clarify the relationship between miR‐493 and survival. In the Kaplan–Meier analysis, patients with high miR‐493 expression had better disease‐free survival than patients with low miR‐493 expression. After adjusting for common clinicopathological factors in breast cancer, the expression level of miR‐493 was still a significant prognostic factor in breast cancer. Further subtype analysis revealed that miR‐493 expression levels were only significantly prognostic in TNBC patients. These results were validated in the Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium database for overall survival. We proved the prognostic role of miR‐493 in TNBC by using one of the largest breast cancer TMAs available and validated it in a large public RNA sequencing database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim Portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) is not commonly used in the treatment of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), and its impact on the prognosis of ICC is unclear. We aimed to assess the outcomes of ICC with or without PVTT after hepatic resection. Methods From January 2000 to December 2005, the data from all consecutive patients with ICC who underwent hepatic resection at our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. According to the Cheng's PVTT Classification (types I-IV), we compared the survival outcomes of ICC patients (with or without PVTT) and prognosis of patients with ICC with different types of PVTT. Results Three hundred and three patients with ICC were enrolled in this study (59 with PVTT). The incidence of PVTT was 19.4% (59/303). The median survival times were 12.68 and 28.91 months for ICC patients with and without PVTT, respectively ( P < 0.001). The multivariate analysis demonstrated that PVTT (hazard ratio [HR] 1.783; confidence interval 95% [1.279; 2.487]) was an independent risk factor for overall survival. Patients with type I PVTT exhibited significantly better survival than those with types II and III PVTT. Conclusion The ICC patients with PVTT exhibit a poorer prognosis compared with ICC patients without PVTT after hepatic resection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Targeted therapy is currently under intensive investigation due to the resistance of liver cancer to cytotoxic chemotherapies. Dissecting the molecular events that drive the progression of liver cancer and defining specific targets are urgently needed to develop efficient tailored therapies. Cell membrane gp96 (mgp96) has been implicated in tumor growth and malignancy. Here, we explored the functional and clinical relevance of mgp96 in liver cancer. We found that elevated mgp96 abundance was associated with tumor metastasis and recurrence in patients with primary liver tumors. Decreased KDELR1 levels in hepatoma cells contribute to cell membrane translocation of the normally ER-resident gp96. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) was identified as a mgp96 client protein, and mgp96 stabilized uPAR protein. Our clinical results proved that elevated mgp96 abundance is positively correlated with uPAR expression levels in liver tumors. We further provided evidence that targeting mgp96 with siRNA or a specific mAb that blocked the mgp96-uPAR interaction led to inhibited cell growth, survival, and invasion in vitro , as well as the suppression of liver tumor growth and metastasis in vivo . mgp96 promotes liver cancer progression through increasing the protein stability and signaling of uPAR, and may be a new promising target for suppressing uPAR-mediated tumor growth and metastasis in liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inflammation is an essential component of pathogenesis and progression of cancer. A high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is considered as a prognostic indicator for breast cancer. This meta-analysis was conducted to establish the overall accuracy of the NLR test in the diagnosis of breast cancer. A comprehensive search of the literature was conducted by using PubMed, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI). Published studies dating up to July 2014 and 4,293 patients were enrolled in the present study. In order to evaluate the association between NLR and overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), recurrence-free survival (RFS) or cancer specific survival (CSS), the hazard ratios (HRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were extracted. OS was the primary outcome. The results suggested that increased NLR was a strong predictor for OS with HR of 2.28 (95% CI = 1.08–4.80, P heterogeneity < 0.001). Stratified analyses indicated that a high NLR appeared to be a negative prognostic marker in Caucasian populations (HR = 4.53, 95% CI = 3.11–6.60, P heterogeneity = 0.096), multivariate analysis method (HR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.52–2.89, P heterogeneity = 0.591), and mixed metastasis (HR = 4.53, 95% CI = 3.11–6.60, P heterogeneity = 0.096). Elevated NLR was associated with a high risk for DFS (HR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.09–1.74, P heterogeneity = 0.050) and in subgroups of multivariate analysis (HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.25–2.14, P heterogeneity = 0.545) and mixed metastasis (HR = 1.99, 95% CI = 1.28–3.09, P heterogeneity = 0.992). In summary, NLR could be considered as a predictive factor for patients with breast cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role of microRNA‐30a (miR‐30a) deregulation in tumor progression and its downstream signaling pathways remain unknown. Here we confirmed significant downregulation of miR‐30a in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues and cell lines compared with non‐tumor counterparts. MiR‐30a downregulation was significantly associated with worse disease‐free survival (DFS) of HCC patients. Gain‐ and loss‐of‐function studies revealed that downregulation of miR‐30a facilitated tumor cell migration, invasion and epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). We identified SNAI1 as a direct target of miR‐30a and demonstrated miR‐30a as a novel regulator of EMT by targeting SNAI1, indicating its potential therapeutic value for reducing invasion and metastasis of HCC.MiR‐30a is significantly downregulated in HCC tissues and cell lines. Reduced miR‐30a correlated with intrahepatic metastasis, advanced TNM stage, and short DFS. Downregulation of miR‐30a promotes cell migration, invasion and EMT changes. SNAI1 is a direct target of miR‐30a. SNAI1 functions in reduced miR‐30a‐promoted cell migration, invasion and EMT changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) provides 8461 channels in the infrared spectrum. In current numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, it is not feasible to assimilate all channels and it is known that the information content between adjacent channels is redundant. This issue has been addressed in NWP centres by employing a channel selection strategy. The goal of this article is to add new channels to the existing IASI operational channel selection, aimed at improving the data assimilation in cloudy conditions and the simultaneous retrieval of cloud microphysical variables, specifically liquid and ice water contents. Cloudy profiles from the French convective-scale model Applications of Research to Operations at MEsoscale (AROME) are used in the study to focus on the retrieval of cloud variables over the Mediterranean region. Three channel selection methodologies were evaluated in this study: a statistical approach based on the degrees of freedom of the signal (DFS), a physical method based on the channel spectral sensitivity to the cloud variables and a random selection. To validate the new selections, an idealized framework is used with observing system simulation experiments (OSSE) in the context of one-dimensional variational retrievals. The current operational IASI selection has already been shown to provide good retrievals of cloud variables. However, all the different channel selections improve the results with small differences in the 1D-Var retrievals. Based on the physical and DFS methods, the final sets of 134 channels sensitive to cloud variables are proposed for future investigation in operational implementation. Additional tests on temperature and water-vapour retrieval results, air-mass dependence and cloud microphysical parametrization have also been conducted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dental caries is the most common chronic disease in US children. Early childhood caries (ECC) is particularly virulent and can interfere with a child's ability to eat, grow, speak, and communicate. Studies on whether breast-feeding or bottle-feeding are more likely to reduce ECC have proven inconclusive. The study population included 175 children, aged 1 to 5, receiving dental care at the Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital in Atlanta, GA. Participation included a dental exam, chart data abstraction, and a personal interview with the mother. : Too few exclusively breast-fed children prevented the adequate study of breast-feeding. However, children exclusively bottle-fed for at least 1.5 years had more decayed or filled tooth surfaces than children breast-fed part of that time but well short of a year. No bottle at night nor juice at irregular times, the mother's brushing of her child's teeth, and adequate dental care in the mother seemed to reduce ECC. : Our results suggest measures that might reduce ECC risk. Medical providers must discuss oral health with new mothers and educate them on the important role they play in keeping their babies' teeth healthy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to validate the Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Scale and the Getz's Dental Belief Survey in a Norwegian sample by 1) testing their ability to discriminate between fearful (n= 151) and regular (n= 160) patients. and 2) correlating them. Both instruments were highly reliable (Cronbach's alpha >0.90). Between 81% and 95% of the fearful and regular patients were correctly assigned to their appropriate groups with both instruments. It may thus be concluded that both instruments are valid. Also, the correlation between the instruments was 0.68, indicating that they to a large extent seem to measure the same concept. The most important predictor items for both instruments were related to avoidance of dental treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our previous report we found that the dental health of Finnish 13-15-yr-old children had significantly improved from 1973 to 1982. The aim of this study was to assess whether the improved dental health was associated with frequency of toothbrushing and associated use of fluoride dentifrice. In both 1973 and 1982 some 360 children were scored for the DFS index. In each of three towns with 0.2 ppm, 1.0 ppm, and 2.5 ppm fluoride in the drinking water, samples of about 40 children were randomly picked from each age cohort of 13, 14, and 15 yr. The children were grouped into "infrequent", "daily", or "frequent" brushers. Overall, from 1973 to 1982 the proportion of "daily" and "frequent" brushers had increased from 56% to 75% (P<0.001). The overall DFS[SUBT] (T=total) and DFS[SUBA] (A=approximal) scores had declined significantly in all brushing frequency groups. Looking at separate fluoride areas, the actual decline was found to have occurred in the low fluoride area where in 1982 the DFS scores were 50% or less of the 1973 scores (P< 0.05). In the low fluoride area in 1973, no association was found between brushing frequency and DFS scores whereas in 1982, high brushing frequency was found to be associated with low DFS scores (P<0.05). The decrease in DFS scores was suggested at least partly to be associated with the increased frequency of brushing the teeth with fluoride dentifrice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]