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Gastric cancer is one of the most common malignancy worldwide with a prognosis less than 1 year in unresectable or metastatic disease. HER2 expression is the main biomarker to lead the addition of trastuzumab to first line systemic chemotherapy improving the overall survival in advanced HER2-positivegastric adenocarcinoma. The inevitable development of resistance to trastuzumab remains a great problem inasmuch several treatment strategies that have proven effective in breast cancer failed to show clinical benefit in advanced gastric cancer. In this review, we summarize the available data on the mechanisms underlying primary and secondary resistance toHER2-targeted therapy and current challenges in the treatment of HER2-positive advanced gastric cancer refractory to trastuzumab. Further, we describe the prognostic value of new non-invasive screening techniques, the current development of novel agents such us HER2 antibody–drug conjugates and bispecific antibodies, and the strategies with antitumor activity on going. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bromus auleticus (Trin.) is a grass native to the southern cone with important agronomical potential as fodder. Different breeding programs have been initiated with this grass, but plant tissue culture techniques could not be used because B. auleticus is recalcitrant. The aim of the present study was to develop a micropropagation protocol in the genus Bromus and to investigate if the association between B. auleticus and Epichloë endophytes affected in vitro culture and growth of micropropagated plantlets. In different micropropagation stages, better results were obtained with endophyte-infected (E+) seeds compared to endophyte-free (E−) seeds. The E+ seeds presented higher percentages of in vitro germination (82 ± 5 vs. 57 ± 6%), callus induction (72 ± 6 vs. 37 ± 6%), and plant regeneration from callus (89 ± 5 vs. 13 ± 5%). We also compared the biomass of shoot complexes and regenerated plantlets. After 4 weeks of culture, shoot complexes obtained from E+ seeds reached greater weight than the ones regenerated from E− seeds (173 ± 24 vs. 74 ± 9 mg). More than the 80% of the regenerated shoot complexes were rooted ex vitro and acclimated, regardless of their origin (E+ or E−). Finally, after 4 weeks of acclimatization, the plantlets regenerated from E+ seeds reached a greater weight than the ones from E− seeds, (461 ± 64 vs. 172 ± 25 mg). These results indicate that the use of endophyte-infected (E+) seeds enhances significantly B. auleticus micropropagation and promotes growth of the regenerated plantlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asexual, vertically transmitted fungal endophytes of the genus Neotyphodium are considered to enhance growth, stress resistance and competitiveness of agronomic grasses, but have been suggested to have neutral or deleterious effects on wild grasses. We studied whether the associations between Bromus auleticus and their endophytes, Neotyphodium pampeanum and Neotyphodium tembladerae, are beneficial for this wild forage grass native to South America. In a greenhouse experiment, 3-month-old endophyte-infected plants (E+) showed enhanced growth relative to their endophyte-free counterparts (E−). In a one-year-long experiment in the field, E+ plants showed higher survival and regrowth rate, and produced more biomass and seeds than E− plants. Only with respect to the seed output did N. tembladerae seem to be detrimental, whereas N. pampeanum did not affect this parameter. No differences were observed with respect to the germination of seeds produced by E+ or E− plants. Loline alkaloids were detected in N. pampeanum-infected plants. Our results show that, similar to results with agronomic grasses, in wild grasses, the symbiosis with Neotyphodium species could be mutualistic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

p27BBP/eIF6 (β4-binding protein/eukaryotic initiation factor 6) regulates the joining of 40S and 60S ribosomal subunits, on receptor for activated C kinase 1 binding and protein kinase C phosphorylation in serine 235. In Xenopus, p27BBP/eIF6 is abundantly expressed in the majority of the embryonic anlagen. Although p27BBP/eIF6 abundance may be required for a general regulation of protein synthesis, our data suggest that p27BBP/eIF6 may target the translation of specific mRNAs. We injected Xp27BBP/eIF6 mRNA in one blastomere of two-cell-stage embryos and obtained a bent phenotype, the curvature being lateral with respect to the embryo antero-posterior axis. The injected side had fewer apoptotic cells than the uninjected side, whereas cell proliferation appeared unaffected. Accordingly, in Xp27BBP/eIF6 morphants, endogenous apoptosis increased. Injection of Xp27BBP/eIF6 point mutants indicated that the anti-apoptotic action of Xp27BBP/eIF6 requires the conserved S235. The bent phenotype was also obtained with B-cell lymphoma gene-2 (Bcl-2) overexpression and was rescued by Bcl-2-associated X protein (Bax)/Xp27BBP/eIF6 co-injection. In addition, embryos overexpressing Xp27BBP/eIF6 had a higher amount of Bcl-2 and an unchanged amount of Bax with respect to controls. In Xp27BBP/eIF6 morphants, Bcl-2 levels were unaffected and Bax levels were higher than in the controls. Thus, we propose that Xp27BBP/eIF6 is part of a mechanism acting on the specific translation of messengers regulating cell survival. In particular, we suggest that Xp27BBP/eIF6 may regulate the translation of factors upstream of Bcl-2/Bax. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: Traumatic injuries of the rectum are unusual even though their treatment is challenging and often lead to high morbidity and mortality rate. PRESENTATION OF CASE: This paper reports a rare case of complete rectal avulsion with multiple fracture and hemoperitoneum treated with a multistep approach in our department. DISCUSSION: The anorectal avulsion is a rare rectal trauma; only few reports are available. Treatment key points of rectal trauma are: direct repair, diverting stoma and sacral drainage. CONCLUSION: We reported a case of anorectal avulsion with complete detachment of external sphincter muscle. A multidisciplinary approach was mandatory in this kind of lesions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The IEEE 802.16 protocol, also known as WiMAX, has been designed to support long-range communications with high bitrates, using two operation modes: Point-to-Multi-Point (PMP) and Mesh. In the mesh mode, Subscriber Stations (SSs) can directly communicate with each other, thus forming a tree, and can be used to forward other's data packets in a multi-hop fashion. On the contrary, in the PMP mode only one hop communication toward the Base Station (BS) is allowed. In this paper, we investigate the performance of the mesh mode by proposing an algorithm for constructing the WiMAX mesh tree. Our algorithm increases routes' effective throughput by splitting long links into multiple shorter ones. We show through simulations that this approach leads to improving the throughput capacity of WiMAX-based wireless mesh networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background Complete rectal prolapse is a disease characterized by the complete protrusion of rectal wall through the anus. This disability affects mostly elderly women (>65 years). Several surgical techniques have been described for the treatment of this condition with both perineal and abdominal approach. Under trial condition none of them have been demonstrated to be the best choice in terms of recurrence, postoperative faecal incontinence or stipsis and cost-effectiveness. The aim of our study was to compare different surgical techniques for complete rectal prolapse in the elderly. Materials and methods All potentially relevant studies have been searched on electronic databases such as PUBMED, CENTRAL and EMBASE. Only randomized controlled trials have been included in the review. Our comparisons have been: surgical treament versus no treatment or non-surgical treatment, abdominal versus perineal approach, one abdominal method versus another and one perineal method versus another. Main outcomes were: complete recurrence, residual mucosal prolapse, faecal incontinence and constipation. Results Ten RCTs were included in this review with a total of 336 patients. Data about patients older than 65 years have been extracted from 6 trials. Included trials compared different surgical techniques with both laparoscopic, laparotomic and perineal approach. Studies analysis showed high heterogeneity about objectives, surgical techniques and considered outcomes. No difference has been found about surgical approach (abdominal or perineal) and methods of fixing the rectum during abdominal surgery. Resection rectopexy showed a lower postoperative constipation rate compared to rectopexy alone. Conclusions The small sample size, the low methodological quality and the heterogeneity of the surgical procedures weaken the clinical usefulness of this review. There is no clear difference between the methods of surgical approach being the confidence of the surgeon in performing one procedure rather than another in the main outcome determinant. Larger and higher-quality trials are needed to improve the evidence to define the best surgical treatment for rectal prolapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]