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This is a report of a workshop held on the establishment of human research tissue banking which was held in Levi, Finland 21-24 March 2002. There were 21 participants from 7 European countries. This meeting was attended by representatives from academia, research tissue banks and from the Biotech and Pharmaceutical Industries. The principal aim of the workshop was to find a way to progress the recommendations from ECVAM workshop 44 (ATLA 29, 125-134, 2001) and ECVAM workshop 32 (ATLA 26, 763-777, 1998). The workshop represented the first unofficial meeting of the European Network of Research Tissue Banks (ENRTB) steering group. It is expected that in the period preceding the next workshop the ENRTB steering group will co-ordinate the ethical, legislative and organisational aspects of research tissue banking. Key issues dealt with by the Levi workshop included the practical aspects of sharing expertise and experiences across the different European members. Such collaboration between research tissue banks and end users of such material seeks to ultimately enable shared access to human tissue for medical and pharmaco-toxicological research while maintaining strict adherence to differences in legal and ethical aspects related to the use of human tissue in individual countries.

Ligand displacement of methyl 2-pyrrolidone-5(S)-carboxylate (5(S)-MEPYH) from Rh 2 -(5(S)-MEPY) 4 by a soluble polyethylene-bound 2-pyrrolidone-5(S)-carboxylate produced a recoverable dirhodium(II) catalyst whose effectiveness was demonstrated by high enantioselection for intramolecular cyclopropanation of 3-methyl-2-buten-1-yl diazoacetate (98% ee) and intramolar C-H insertion of 2-methoxyethyl diazoacetate (72% ee) as well as by catalyst recovery and reuse seven times

Background The PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling network is a critical regulator of many cellular processes including proliferation, survival and transformation. PI3Kα and PI3Kα are positioned on chromosome 3q (3q25-27), a region often amplified in NSCLC. The activity of the PI3K enzymes is counteracted by the tumor suppressor PTEN, a nonredundant phosphatase. Clinically, PTEN mutations and deficiencies are prevalent in many types of human cancers and severe PTEN deficiency is also associated with advanced tumor stage and therapeutic resistance. In lung cancer, loss of PTEN protein occurs via a number of mechanisms including promoter methylation and LOH, however, neither epigenetic silencing nor deletion appear to predict with protein loss by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The molecular characterization of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signalling network in lung cancer is not as well defined as in other tumour types, yet de-regulation of this pathway has been linked to resistance to therapy (EGFR). In particular, the role of PI3Kα in NSCLC has not been studied. Methods Eight tissue microarrays (TMAs) comprising 211 surgically resected formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded NSCLC specimens (99 squamous cell carcinomas; 112 adenocarcinomas) were examined by IHC using validated antibodies directed against PI3Kα and PTEN. In addition, an independent investigation was conducted at the MDACC using the same validated antibody methods across thirty two TMAs comprising 290 squamous and 530 adenocarcinoma samples. Results Tumour expression of PI3Kα was largely cytoplasmic, while PTEN was localized to both cytoplasmic and nuclear compartments. Results from the AZ dataset reveal significantly (p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4172. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4172

ONE of the many challenges that new graduates face as they start their first job is understanding their tax position and ensuring that they have been allocated the correct tax code. In this article, Neil Gray explains how a tax code is calculated and how allowances and perks influence an individual9s tax position.

We have designed a laboratory experiment to illustrate the use of spectroelectrochemical techniques for determination of aqueous iron. The experiment described in this article is applicable to an undergraduate laboratory course in analytical chemistry. Students are asked to fabricate spectroelectrochemical sensors, make electrochemical and optical measurements, and relate the analytical signals to aqueous iron concentrations by constructing a calibration curve. Three optional experiments are also offered, which can be performed during the 2-hour slide-soaking period at the discretion of the instructor.

Polyethylene films functionalized with diphenylmethyl groups are deprotonated to for which is in turn used to covalently bind C60to polyethylene.

An expert system has been developed to aid in the analysis of carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance ( 13 C nmr) spectra of complex organic molecules. This system uses a knowledge base of rules relating substructural and spectral features: these rules are derived automatically from data for known structures. Such rules have a number of current, practical applications relating to spectrum prediction. They also constitute the basis of a method for the structural interpretation of 13 C spectral data of unknown compounds. This method, which is basically a constraint refinement search, provides for a much more complete analysis of such data than any approach currently utilized.

To determine the prevalence of RET rearrangement genes, RET copy number gains and expression in tumor samples from four Phase III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) trials of vandetanib, a selective inhibitor of VEGFR, RET and EGFR signaling, and to determine any association with outcome to vandetanib treatment. Archival tumor samples from the ZODIAC ( NCT00312377 , vandetanib ± docetaxel), ZEAL ( NCT00418886 , vandetanib ± pemetrexed), ZEPHYR ( NCT00404924 , vandetanib vs placebo) and ZEST ( NCT00364351 , vandetanib vs erlotinib) studies were evaluated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) in 944 and 1102 patients. The prevalence of RET rearrangements by FISH was 0.7% (95% CI 0.3–1.5%) among patients with a known result. Seven tumor samples were positive for RET rearrangements (vandetanib, n = 3; comparator, n = 4). 2.8% (n = 26) of samples had RET amplification (innumerable RET clusters, or ≥7 copies in > 10% of tumor cells), 8.1% (n = 76) had low RET gene copy number gain (4–6 copies in ≥40% of tumor cells) and 8.3% (n = 92) were RET expression positive (signal intensity ++ or +++ in >10% of tumor cells). Of RET-rearrangement-positive patients, none had an objective response in the vandetanib arm and one patient responded in the comparator arm. Radiologic evidence of tumor shrinkage was observed in two patients treated with vandetanib and one treated with comparator drug. The objective response rate was similar in the vandetanib and comparator arms for patients positive for RET copy number gains or RET protein expression. We have identified prevalence for three RET biomarkers in a population predominated by non-Asians and smokers. RET rearrangement prevalence was lower than previously reported. We found no evidence of a differential benefit for efficacy by IHC and RET gene copy number gains. The low prevalence of RET rearrangements (0.7%) prevents firm conclusions regarding association of vandetanib treatment with efficacy in the RET rearrangement NSCLC subpopulation. Randomized Phase III clinical trials ( NCT00312377 , ZODIAC; NCT00418886 , ZEAL; NCT00364351 , ZEST; NCT00404924 , ZEPHYR).

A new approach to prepare surface-functionalized polypropylene using block cooligomers of propylene and acrylate esters is described. Using boron-promoted radical polymerization and a vinyl-terminated polypropylene oligomer, block cooligomers of propylene and tert-butyl acrylate were prepared. Codissolution of such cooligomers with excess isotactic polypropylene and film casting produced functionalized films. Acidolysis of the tert-butyl esters at the surface of these films produced a poly(acrylic acid)-grafted polypropylene film that could be further modified chemically. Incorporation of pH-sensitive dyes into this poly(acrylic acid) surface in turn produced films whose reactivity in proton-transfer chemistry in various solvent suspensions was studied as a function of solvent.