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Background: In melanoma, preclinical data suggest a possible role of polyunsaturated fatty acids inhibiting cell growth. A new target molecule for free fatty acids, the G protein‐coupled receptor GPR40, was identified in melanoma cells. Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate GPR40 expression in human melanocytic tissues and to evaluate its potential as a prognostic marker. Methods and Results: A total of 114 tissue sections of naevi, primary melanoma and melanoma metastasis were immunohistochemically stained with anti‐GPR40. The staining was evaluated, using the immunoreactivity scoring system. Compared to naevi, primary melanoma and melanoma metastasis showed significantly higher levels of GPR40 (P < 0.05). In primary melanoma, GPR40 expression positively correlated with tumour thickness (P = 0.044) and AJCC level (P = 0.017) and in melanoma metastasis with AJCC level (P = 0.035). Primary melanoma patients with high levels of GPR40 had a significantly poorer overall survival (P = 0.004) and shorter disease‐free survival (0.040). Conclusion: The present study identified GPR40 as a novel target molecule in melanoma. First evidence for a potential role of the receptor in tumour progression and metastases was found, and it could be demonstrated that GPR40 expression is negatively correlated with patient's survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite showing similar abundance estimates, population surveys of wild white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus Richardson, 1836) in the Bliss and Hells Canyon reaches of the Snake River display very different stock structures. To better understand these differences, an individual based model was developed using empirical mark-recapture metrics from 343 white sturgeon recaptured in the Bliss reach [at-large 1.0-19.9 years], and 580 white sturgeon recaptured in the Hells Canyon reach [at-large 1.0-21.2 years]. After calculating annual growth increments from these recaptures, individuals from each reach were assigned to size bins then randomly chosen from within each bin to 'grow' theoretical fish. This process was bootstrapped 1000 times, producing a mean length-at-age trajectory for each reach. From these data, mark-recapture samples were assigned estimated ages and fitted to a three-parameter logistic growth curve. Results indicate a wide disparity in length-at-age of white sturgeon between reaches, with the Bliss population displaying an intrinsic rate of increase [K = 0.118] twice that of the Hells Canyon population [K = 0.059]. This is due primarily to slow juvenile growth in the Hells Canyon population relative to juvenile growth in the Bliss population. The much slower growth rate of juveniles in the Hells Canyon reach has consequences to population demographics, such as age at first maturity. Although growth differences are large, both populations appear to be stable or increasing in abundance despite being regulated by very different mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]