Hierarchical modeling of elastic moduli of equine hoof wall.

This study predicts analytically effective elastic moduli of substructures within an equine hoof wall. The hoof wall is represented as a composite material with a hierarchical structure comprised of a sequence of length scales. A bottom-up approach is employed.

Calcifying fibrous tumor: A rare spermatic cord presentation.

Calcifying fibrous tumor of the tunica vaginalis is a rare fibrous proliferation, which can sometimes mimic a scrotal malignancy prompting surgical intervention. It has been recognized as a benign lesion, and no recurrence has been described after its resection. Its identification is essential to avoid overtreatment and unnecessary orchiectomy.

Real-World Prevalence of PD-L1 Expression Among Tumor Samples From Patients With Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer.

Introduction: We analyzed the prevalence of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with a programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor proportion score (TPS) of ≥ 50% and compared the results with the existing data from clinical trials and databases from other countries.

Materials And Methods: The Latin American Cooperative Oncology Group and Grupo Brasileiro de Oncologia Torácica performed a retrospective, cross-sectional study from August 2017 to April 2018. PD-L1 expression was collected from pathology reports from 5 laboratories in Brazil.

Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) in diagnosis of mediastinal lesions.

Objective: To describe the results of endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration in making diagnosis of mediastinal injuries associated to different causes.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of patients submitted to Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration at a private organization, between June 2013 and October 2016. All cases referred for collection of lymph nodes or peritracheal/peribronchial masses by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration, and evaluated through tomography or PET-CT were included.

Grade progression in urothelial carcinoma can occur with high or low mutational homology: a first-step toward tumor-specific care in initial low-grade bladder cancer.

Purpose: Low-grade (LG) urothelial carcinomas of the bladder (UCB) are common malignancies that are costly to surveil and rarely progress to life threatening, high-grade (HG) malignancies. It is unknown if the progression of LG to HG is a result of second primary tumors or transformation of existing LG tumors. We examined tumor genetics in patients with grade progression in urothelial carcinoma and compared to patients with no progression.

Urethral Reconstruction in Aging Male Patients.

Objective: To report stricture characteristics, complications, and treatment outcomes among elderly men undergoing urethral reconstruction.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective review of urethroplasty cases and outcomes by a single surgeon from 2007 to 2014 was performed. Men were stratified by decade of life at time of surgery (<50, 50-59, 60-69, ≥70 years).

Characteristics of Idiopathic Urethral Strictures: A Link to Remote Perineal Trauma?

Objective: To characterize the physical features and reconstructive outcomes of a series of idiopathic urethral strictures (IUS) in an effort to elucidate the nature of this common yet poorly understood entity.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our urethroplasty database to identify men undergoing initial urethral reconstruction from 2007 to 2014 at 1 of 3 hospitals (N = 514). Patients were stratified by stricture etiology, including IUS, acute trauma, iatrogenic, hypospadias, balanitis xerotica obliterans, and radiation.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis: report of two cases in Brazil.

Pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis (PPFE) is a rare lung disease. It can be idiopathic or associated with any one of various conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first report of two cases of PPFE in Brazil.

The cell cycle regulator 14-3-3σ opposes and reverses cancer metabolic reprogramming.

Extensive reprogramming of cellular energy metabolism is a hallmark of cancer. Despite its importance, the molecular mechanism controlling this tumour metabolic shift remains not fully understood. Here we show that 14-3-3σ regulates cancer metabolic reprogramming and protects cells from tumorigenic transformation.

Airway dimensions in fatal asthma and fatal COPD: overlap in older patients.

In some patients with chronic asthma clinical and physiological similarities with COPD may exist, such as partial reversibility to bronchodilators and persistent expiratory airflow obstruction. However, pathological data comparing both diseases in patients of similar age and disease severity are scarce. We compared large and small airway dimensions in 12 younger (mean age 32 yrs) and 15 older (mean age 65 yrs) non-smoker adult fatal asthma patients with 14 chronic smokers with severe, fatal COPD (mean age 71 yrs).

BRAF: a tool in the decision to perform elective neck dissection?

Background: Some studies have demonstrated a correlation between the presence of a BRAF mutation and aggressive characteristics, including lymph node metastasis in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Prophylactic central neck dissection (CND) has been proposed for treatment of PTC. Given the potential complications of CND, we undertook a prospective study to determine the correlation between the BRAF mutation and lymph node metastasis.

A network-based, integrative study to identify core biological pathways that drive breast cancer clinical subtypes.

Background: The rapid collection of diverse genome-scale data raises the urgent need to integrate and utilise these resources for biological discovery or biomedical applications. For example, diverse transcriptomic and gene copy number variation data are currently collected for various cancers, but relatively few current methods are capable to utilise the emerging information.

Methods: We developed and tested a data-integration method to identify gene networks that drive the biology of breast cancer clinical subtypes.

Homogeneous datasets of triple negative breast cancers enable the identification of novel prognostic and predictive signatures.

Background: Current prognostic gene signatures for breast cancer mainly reflect proliferation status and have limited value in triple-negative (TNBC) cancers. The identification of prognostic signatures from TNBC cohorts was limited in the past due to small sample sizes.

Methodology/principal Findings: We assembled all currently publically available TNBC gene expression datasets generated on Affymetrix gene chips.

Gene pathways associated with prognosis and chemotherapy sensitivity in molecular subtypes of breast cancer.

Background: We hypothesized that distinct biological processes might be associated with prognosis and chemotherapy sensitivity in the different types of breast cancers.

Methods: We performed gene set analyses with BRB-ArrayTools statistical software including 2331 functionally annotated gene sets (ie, lists of genes that correspond to a particular biological pathway or biochemical function) assembled from Ingenuity Pathway Analysis and Gene Ontology databases corresponding to almost all known biological processes. Gene set analysis was performed on gene expression data from three cohorts of 234, 170, and 175 patients with HER2-normal lymph node-negative breast cancer who received no systemic adjuvant therapy to identify gene sets associated prognosis and three additional cohorts of 198, 85, and 62 patients with HER2-normal stage I-III breast cancer who received preoperative chemotherapy to identify gene sets associated with pathological complete response to therapy.

Prognostic and therapeutic implications of distinct kinase expression patterns in different subtypes of breast cancer.

Different kinases are expressed in different clinical subsets of breast cancer. In this study, we assessed kinase expression patterns in different clinical subtypes of breast cancer, evaluated the prognostic and predictive values of kinase metagenes, and investigated their functions in vitro. Four hundred twenty-eight protein kinases in gene expression data were examined from 684 cases of breast cancer and 51 breast cancer cell lines to identify kinase expression patterns.

Leiomyomatous hamartoma of the posterior mediastinum.

A posterior mediastinal mass was found in a 72-year-old man who complained of progressive shortness of breath. Computed tomography of the thorax showed a well-defined, heterogenous mass measuring 9.5 x 4.

Amplification of fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 in breast cancer and the effects of brivanib alaninate.

Fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR-1) is amplified in 10% of human breast cancers. The goal of this study was to test the correlation between FGFR-1 amplification and expression and sensitivity to brivanib, an FGFR-1 small molecule inhibitor, in breast cancer cell lines in vitro. Using CGH array and gene expression profiling, FGFR-1 DNA copy number, mRNA, and protein expression were measured in 21 cell lines and correlated with growth inhibition by brivanib.

Pulmonary periarterial inflammation in fatal asthma.

Background: To date, little information has been available about pulmonary artery pathology in asthma. The pulmonary artery supplies the distal parts of the lungs and likely represents a site of immunological reaction in allergic inflammation. The objective of this study was to describe the inflammatory cell phenotype of pulmonary artery adventitial inflammation in lung tissue from patients who died of asthma.