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This paper presents information and results relevant for the development of a laser heat treatment process suitable to improve manufacturing in high strength steel and high strength aluminium alloys. The challenges with manufacturing of such materials include springback effect and localised fracture. The study details heat cycle and their effect in metallurgical state and mechanical properties. Such laser induced heat treatment process is intended to improve the forming behaviour of metal parts in challenging metal forming conditions, in particular for the delay or avoidance of localised fracture. Results for strength, hardness and elongation properties are presented. It was concluded that it is possible to locally modify yield strength and hardness using process duration suitable for industrial applications. Suitable process temperature ranges and target heat cycles were identified. A positive effect of material softening was observed in both hardness and strength properties. However, in some cases a reduction of ductility is apparent which must be considered for targeted industrial applications. The dimension of the heat-affected zone was also considered as design variable for the industrial process development. Preliminary results were obtained in a development forming tool.

Gastric lipomas are rare, representing 2–3% of all benign tumours of the stomach. Most of these stomach neoplasms are small and detected incidentally during endoscopic or radiology evaluations. Computed tomography is highly specific imaging for lipoma diagnosis. Endoscopy and endoscopic ultrasound are other important diagnostic modalities to confirm the diagnosis. Identifying typical features can avoid biopsy or surgery in asymptomatic patients. In patients with larger lesions, usually more than 2 cm, clinical presentation may encompass haemorrhage, abdominal pain, pyloric obstruction and dyspepsia. As a result of its extreme low incidence, treatment is not standardized, though it is widely accepted that a symptomatic tumour mandates resection. Here, we present the case of a 60-year-old female presenting with abdominal pain and recurrent vomiting due to a giant gastric lipoma (80 × 35 × 35 mm). The patient underwent laparotomy and an enucleation was performed.

It is universally known and accepted that the development of a certain type of tissue outside its usual location, like in the gastrointestinal tract, can occur. This is a relatively common situation in the upper region of the gastrointestinal tract. However, the development of gastric mucosa in the gallbladder is a rare find. The following is the case of a 22-year-old male with an 18 mm gallbladder polyp, who electively underwent a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, having been diagnosed at a histopathological level with heterotopic gastric mucosa in the gallbladder. This brief article also aims to provide a reflection on the possible evolution of neoplasms from this histological change, based on the doubts raised in literature.

Gastric schwannoma is an extremely rare mesenchymal tumour, representing only 0.2% of all gastric tumours. Obesity is an alarming worldwide disease whose only effective and sustained treatment seems to be surgical. We present a case of a 73-year-old female with epigastric pain and unspecific dyspeptic symptoms, whose diagnostic endoscopic procedures raised suspicion of a gastrointestinal stromal tumour. Given her good performance status, and since grade 2 obesity with high-risk comorbid conditions was present, she was considered a suitable candidate for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. Both surgery and immediate postoperative period were uneventful. Histological and immunocytochemical analysis classified the tumour as benign gastric schwannoma. After 24 months, besides being disease-free, she presented an excess weight loss of 90.2%, with improvements in metabolic profile allowing withdrawal from chronic medication. The patient is healthier, satisfied and living an active life, showing that age by itself should not be a deterrent to bariatric surgery.

This paper analyzes the availability of a free-space optical (FSO) communication link, established between a maritime platform and a land base. In this analysis, the impact of the laser beam misalignment, caused by the vessel’s six oscillatory motions in a seaway, is considered. The hydrodynamic system is modeled, through a ship’s response amplitude operator (RAO), under a typical sea-state condition. Finally, the link availability is calculated based on FSO losses, considering a beam with Gaussian power distribution.

Primary retroperitoneal mucinous cystic neoplasms (PRMCN) with borderline malignancy are exceptionally rare tumours with lack of pathognomonic clinical and imaging-specific features. Here, we report a case of PRMCN with borderline malignancy in a 62-year-old woman who presented with abdominal pain. Imaging studies revealed a well-defined cystic mass on the right flank in close relation with the cecum and caecal appendix, without other findings suggestive of malignancy. A possible diagnosis of an ovarian epithelial tumour was ruled out intraoperatively. After surgical excision, microscopic examination allowed the final diagnosis. As there is no evidence of disease during follow-up, complete tumour resection without cystic rupture appears to be the best therapeutic option. Thus, although rare, this tumour should be considered when imaging findings suggest an ovarian mucinous neoplasm in women with normal ovaries. An international registry for rare tumours and longer follow-ups may contribute for more consistent approach for managing these patients.

Depressão é uma doença com grandes proporções, visto que, só no Brasil, afeta 11,5 milhões de pessoas. Gerando sofrimento não apenas para quem a tem, mas a todos ao seu redor, levando ao suicídio milhares de pessoas todos os anos. Menos de 10% das pessoas afetadas com Depressão no mundo buscam tratamento, essa falta de interesse é ocasionada pela falta de conhecimento e julgamento. Com base nisso, o projeto Sim para a Vida buscou promover a conscientização do problema por intermédio de campanhas de prevenção, com conteúdo online, cartilhas e palestras. Para tanto, foram criados perfis em redes sociais, tais como na plataforma Facebook e Instagram, bem como foram realizadas palestras na Universidade Federal de Goiás – Regional Catalão, no Colégio Estadual João Netto de Campos e na instituição SENAI – Catalão. A palestra realizada na faculdade, além de conscientizar, arrecadou alimentos, que foram doados. Ao final dos eventos foi realizada pesquisa com o público sobre a doença.

Maintenance shutdown tasks on offshore platforms generate large revenue losses for companies in addition to high costs, partially caused by environmental adverse conditions, distances from workplaces, and large volume of materials. The use of an efficient asset controlling and monitoring system reduces these costs and improves their resource management. This work describes the development of a web/mobile architecture system integrated with radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders for asset tracking in maintenance shutdown processes on offshore platforms. For this study development, we visited an oil and gas company, located in the city of Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to analyze its processes. The company was facing problems on its asset management, and tracking material processes. The former takes place in two different sites. It is performed not only on-shore, but also offshore (on oil and gas platforms). Therefore, it was developed a web/mobile system integrated with RFID transponders to tackle these problems. This system enhances efficiency in processes, reduces costs and losses because of production downtime. Its tracking is able to save up to 5.5 (five and a half) days at the laydown yard and approximately 7 (seven) days on the platform. Besides that, it ensures greater assertiveness, thus decreasing the level of materials’ replacement in the tasks, which was one of the main causes for delays in these processes. Other results are related to its managerial processes. They became automated once the RFID system integrates data in real time, and all the items from tasks defined as priorities were identified. The experimented efficiency suggests to use open source tools to reduce the system development costs, and analyze the use of RFID throughout the oil and gas supply chain, as well as studying other applications and systems in different supply chains, focusing on ways to optimize costs for the company. Additionally, it enabled the monitoring of assets and processes throughout the supply chain, besides providing information and knowledge for companies.

From all the participants in the construction process, the design team is the weakest bond. When there is an anomaly in service or even during the execution of the work, the first step is to find an error in the project. Today, design is almost a risky profession. As the project is not a single, but a summation of specifications, is always possible to find some contradictory information between of any detail on any of them. As the project is now ultimately responsible for the performance of a building effectiveness, it is essential that the definition of the various elements that make up the collection of systems to be built together as an INTEGRATED SYSTEM. If the search of the solution is sustained in by the various disciplines, it will thus be possible to substantiate rigorously every design decision. However, to manage this joint is necessary to find a common methodology, the INTEGRATED DESIGN. Each project will be part of a unique solution to build a single. Color, lighting, natural ventilation, spatial organization, can be parameterized to jointly define the CONSTRUCTION DESIG. In this article is presented an integrated strategy to articulate the information of the disciplines involved in the construction process.

The excision repair cross-complementation 1 (ERCC1) enzyme plays an essential role in the nucleotide excision repair pathway and is associated with resistance to platinum-based chemotherapy in different types of cancer. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinicopathological significance of ERCC1 expression in breast cancer patients. We analyzed the immunohistochemical expression of ERCC1 in a tissue microarray from 135 primary breast carcinomas and correlated the immunohistochemical findings with clinicopathological factors and outcome data. ERCC1 expression analysis was available for 109 cases. In this group, 58 (53.2%) were positive for ERCC1. ERCC1-positive expression was correlated with smaller tumor size (P=0.007) and with positivity for estrogen receptor (P=0.040), but no correlation was found with other clinicopathological features. Although not statistically significant, triple negative breast cancers were more frequently negative for ERCC1 (61.5% of the cases) compared to the non-triple negative breast cancer cases (41.5%). In conclusion, ERCC1 expression correlated significantly with favorable prognostic factors, such as smaller tumor size and ER-positivity, suggesting a possible role for ERCC1 as a predictive and/or prognostic marker in breast cancer.

Background A breast cancer prognostic tool should ideally be applicable to all types of invasive breast lesions. A number of studies have shown histopathological grade to be an independent prognostic factor in breast cancer, adding prognostic power to nodal stage and tumour size. The Nottingham Prognostic Index has been shown to accurately predict patient outcome in stratified groups with a follow-up period of 15 years after primary diagnosis of breast cancer. Clinically, breast tumours that lack the expression of Oestrogen Receptor, Progesterone Receptor and Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor 2 (HER2) are identified as presenting a "triple-negative" phenotype or as triple-negative breast cancers. These poor outcome tumours represent an easily recognisable prognostic group of breast cancer with aggressive behaviour that currently lack the benefit of available systemic therapy. There are conflicting results on the prevalence of lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis in triple-negative breast cancer patients but it is currently accepted that triple-negative breast cancer does not metastasize to axillary nodes and bones as frequently as the non-triple-negative carcinomas, favouring instead, a preferentially haematogenous spread. Hypothetically, this particular tumour dissemination pattern would impair the reliability of using Nottingham Prognostic Index as a tool for triple-negative breast cancer prognostication. Methods The present study tested the effectiveness of the Nottingham Prognostic Index in stratifying breast cancer patients of different subtypes with special emphasis in a triple-negative breast cancer patient subset versus non- triple-negative breast cancer. Results We demonstrated that besides the fact that TNBC disseminate to axillary lymph nodes as frequently as luminal or HER2 tumours, we also showed that TNBC are larger in size compared with other subtypes and almost all grade 3. Additionally, survival curves demonstrated that these prognostic factors are equally important to stratify different survival outcomes in non-TNBC as in TNBC. We also showed that the NPI retains the ability to stratify and predict survival of TNBC patients. Conclusion The importance of this study relies on the need of prognostication improvements on TNBC, showing, at a clinical standpoint, that Nottingham Prognostic Index is as a truthful prognostic tool in TNBC.

CDH3/P-cadherin is a classical cadherin. Overexpression of which has been associated with proliferative lesions of high histological grade, decreased cell polarity and poor survival of patients with breast cancer. In vitro studies showed that it can be up-regulated by ICI 182,780, suggesting that the lack of ERalpha signalling is responsible for the aberrant P-cadherin overexpression and for its role in inducing breast cancer cell invasion and migration. However, the mechanism by which ER-signalling inhibition leads to P-cadherin expression is still unknown. The aim of this study was to explore the molecular mechanism linking the ERalpha-signalling and P-cadherin-regulated expression in breast cancer cell lines. This study showed that ICI 182,780 is able to increase CDH3 promoter activity, inducing high levels of the active chromatin mark H3 lysine 4 dimethylation. We also observed, for the first time, that the transcription factor C/EBPbeta is able to up-regulate CDH3 promoter activity in breast cancer cells. Moreover, we showed that the expression of P-cadherin and C/EBPbeta are highly associated in human breast carcinomas and linked with a worse prognosis of breast cancer patients. This study demonstrates the existence of an epigenetic regulation by which ICI 182,780 up-regulates P-cadherin expression in MCF-7/AZ breast cancer cells through chromatin remodelling at CDH3 promoter, bringing forward the growing evidence that ERalpha signalling-abrogation by anti-oestrogens is able to induce the expression of ERalpha-repressed genes which, in the appropriate cell biology context, may contribute to a breast cancer cell invasion phenotype.CDH3 GenBank accession no. NT_010498.

The expression of additional genes, other than oestrogen receptor (ER), may be important to the hormone-responsive phenotype of breast cancer. Microarray analyses have revealed that forkhead box A1 (FOXA1) and GATA binding protein 3 (GATA-3) are expressed in close association with ERalpha, both encoding for transcription factors with a potential involvement in the ERalpha-mediated action in breast cancer. The purpose of this study was to explore if the expression of FOXA1 and GATA-3 may provide an opportunity to stratify subsets of patients that could have better outcome, among the ERalpha-negative/poor prognosis breast cancer group., The present study was supported by a research grant (SFRH/BD/15316/ 2005 to AA) financed by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). The authors thank Prof. Raquel Seruca ( coordinator from the Cancer Genetics group at IPATIMUP) for scientific assistance, Dr Jose Luis Costa (postdoctorate at IPATIMUP) for critically reading the manuscript before submission, and Dr Nuno Marcos ( PhD student at IPATIMUP) for artwork assistance.

P-cadherin is a classical cadherin which has been extensively studied concerning its functions and its prognostic value in breast cancer. Moderate to intense expression of P-cadherin has been identified in 30% - 50% of invasive ductal carcinomas of the breast, being reported to be strongly associated with proliferative and high histological grade, decreased patient survival and as a marker of the aggressive behaviour of basal-like and HER-2 tumour subtypes. In vitro, P-cadherin overexpression is also able to induce increased cell invasion and migration. However, only a few works have been published in order to decipher the regulatory mechanisms behind P-cadherin overexpression in breast cancer. P-cadherin is up-regulated by the antiestrogen ICI 182,780, suggesting that the lack of ERalpha signalling may be responsible for the aberrant P-cadherin expression in breast cancer, but the mechanisms underlying this ICI-induced aggressive behaviour are completely unknown. The aim of this study was to determine whether the induction of the CDH3 gene is a direct effect of ICI 182,780 at CDH3 promoter level or would require the prior induction of other genes/proteins or epigenetic mechanisms. We found that ICI 182,780 increases CDH3 promoter activity as well as induces an epigenetic mechanism that lead to activating histone modifications at putative C/EBPbeta binding sites in at the CDH3 promoter. We also demonstrate that this transcription factor is able to directly activate P-cadherin transcription in breast cancer cells and that these two proteins are highly associated in human breast carcinomas, being both significantly related with high grade and proliferative invasive breast carcinomas. This study brings forward the characterization of putative intracellular pathways and epigenetic mechanisms that are able to induce P-cadherin overexpression in breast cancer cells and, in general, contribute to clarify the ability of ICI 182,780 to induce expression of signal transduction genes normally repressed by oestrogen/ER signalling. In addition, we showed for the first time that the transcription factor C/EBPbeta is able to regulate P-cadherin overexpression in breast cancer. Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010 because the presenter was unable to attend. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4981.