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Background: This study evaluates the relation of the early oestrogen-regulated gene gabarapl1 to cellular growth and its prognostic significance in breast adenocarcinoma. Methods: First, the relation between GABARAPL1 expression and MCF-7 growth rate was analysed. Thereafter, by performing macroarray and reverse transcriptase quantitative-polymerase chain reaction (RT–qPCR) experiments, gabarapl1 expression was quantified in several histological breast tumour types and in a retrospective cohort of 265 breast cancers. Results: GABARAPL1 overexpression inhibited MCF-7 growth rate and gabarapl1 expression was downregulated in breast tumours. Gabarapl1 mRNA levels were found to be significantly lower in tumours presenting a high histological grade, with a lymph node-positive (pN+) and oestrogen and/or progesterone receptor-negative status. In univariate analysis, high gabarapl1 levels were associated with a lower risk of metastasis in all patients (hazard ratio (HR) 4.96), as well as in pN+ patients (HR 14.96). In multivariate analysis, gabarapl1 expression remained significant in all patients (HR 3.63), as well as in pN+ patients (HR 5.65). In univariate or multivariate analysis, gabarapl1 expression did not disclose any difference in metastasis risk in lymph node-negative patients. Conclusions: Our data show for the first time that the level of gabarapl1 mRNA expression in breast tumours is a good indicator of the risk of recurrence, specifically in pN+ patients.

The volume variation of a glacier is the actual indicator of long term and short term evolution of the glacier behaviour. In order to assess the volume evolution of the Austre Lovénbreen (79° N) over the last 47 years, we used multiple historical datasets, complemented with our high density GPS tracks acquired in 2007 and 2010. The improved altitude resolution of recent measurement techniques, including phase corrected GPS and LiDAR, reduces the time interval between datasets used for volume subtraction in order to compute the mass balance. We estimate the sub-metre elevation accuracy of most recent measurement techniques to be sufficient to record ice thickness evolutions occurring over a 3 year duration at polar latitudes. The systematic discrepancy between ablation stake measurements and DEM analysis, widely reported in the literature as well as in the current study, yields new questions concerning the similarity and relationship between these two measurement methods. The use of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been an attractive alternative measurement technique to estimate glacier area and volume evolution over time with respect to the classical in situ measurement techniques based on ablation stakes. With the availability of historical datasets, whether from ground based maps, aerial photography or satellite data acquisition, such a glacier volume estimate strategy allows for the extension of the analysis duration beyond the current research programmes. Furthermore, these methods do provide a continuous spatial coverage defined by its cell size whereas interpolations based on a limited number of stakes display large spatial uncertainties. In this document, we focus on estimating the altitude accuracy of various datasets acquired between 1962 and 2010, using various techniques ranging from topographic maps to dual frequency skidoo-tracked GPS receivers and the classical aerial and satellite photogrammetric techniques.

Due to poor weather conditions including common heavy cloud cover at polar latitudes, daily satellite imaging is not always accessible. Nevertheless, fast events including heavy rainfall inducing floods appear as significant in the ice and snow budget while being ignored by satellite based studies since the slower sampling rate is unable to observe such short phenomena. We complement satellite imagery with a set of ground based autonomous automated high resolution digital cameras. The recorded oblique views, acquired at a rate of 3 images per day, are processed for comparison with the spaceborne imagery. Delaunay triangulation based mapping using a dense set of reference points provides the means for an accurate projection by applying a rubber sheeting algorithm. The measurement strategy of identifying binary information of ice and snow cover is illustrated through the example of a particular flood event. We observe a snow cover evolution from 100% to 44.5% and back to 100% over a period of 2 weeks.

The Austre Lovénbreen is a 4.6 km2 glacier on the Archipelago of Svalbard (79 degrees N) that has been surveyed over the last 47 years in order of monitoring in particular the glacier evolution and associated hydrological phenomena in the context of nowadays global warming. A three-week field survey over April 2010 allowed for the acquisition of a dense mesh of Ground-penetrating Radar (GPR) data with an average of 14683 points per km2 (67542 points total) on the glacier surface. The profiles were acquired using a Mala equipment with 100 MHz antennas, towed slowly enough to record on average every 0.3 m, a trace long enough to sound down to 189 m of ice. One profile was repeated with 50 MHz antenna to improve electromagnetic wave propagation depth in scattering media observed in the cirques closest to the slopes. The GPR was coupled to a GPS system to position traces. Each profile has been manually edited using standard GPR data processing including migration, to pick the reflection arrival time from the ice-bedrock interface. Snow cover was evaluated through 42 snow drilling measurements regularly spaced to cover all the glacier. These data were acquired at the time of the GPR survey and subsequently spatially interpolated using ordinary kriging. Using a snow velocity of 0.22 m/ns, the snow thickness was converted to electromagnetic wave travel-times and subtracted from the picked travel-times to the ice-bedrock interface. The resulting travel-times were converted to ice thickness using a velocity of 0.17 m/ns. The velocity uncertainty is discussed from a common mid-point profile analysis. A total of 67542 georeferenced data points with GPR-derived ice thicknesses, in addition to a glacier boundary line derived from satellite images taken during summer, were interpolated over the entire glacier surface using kriging with a 10 m grid size. Some uncertainty analysis were carried on and we calculated an averaged ice thickness of 76 m and a maximum depth of 164 m with a relative error of 11.9%. The volume of the glacier is derived as 0.3487\\(\\pm\\)0.041 km3. Finally a 10-m grid map of the bedrock topography was derived by subtracting the ice thicknesses from a dual-frequency GPS-derived digital elevation model of the surface. These two datasets are the first step for modelling thermal evolution of the glacier and its bedrock, as well as the main hydrological network.

So the Republicans are \"outraged\" at Janet Reno's raid to reunite Elian Gonzalez with his father. The Republicans now want to spend millions of our tax dollars on hearings. Why? The attorney general had a court order to raid the home. The distant relatives of this poor child had no legal custody of him and were illegally keeping this child from his father. It's obvious to me that the Miami Cubans were interested only in Elian Gonzalez as a propaganda tool against Fidel Castro. They had no shame in exposing Elian to the media frenzy. It was also very obvious that they attempted to brainwah Elian and turn him against his father and his homeland. The actions of Juan Miguel Gonzalez in protecting his son from the media and other traumatic situations speak volumes as to who has Elian's best interests at heart. I don't blame him for not letting the Miami relatives see Elian. They don't deserve any consideration for what they did to this poor child.

Plasmodium sporozoites, the mosquito-transmitted forms of the malaria parasite, first infect the liver for an initial round of replication before the emergence of pathogenic blood stages. Sporozoites represent attractive targets for antimalarial preventive strategies, yet the mechanisms of parasite entry into hepatocytes remain poorly understood. Here we show that the two main species causing malaria in humans, Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax, rely on two distinct host cell surface proteins, CD81 and the Scavenger Receptor BI (SR-BI), respectively, to infect hepatocytes. By contrast, CD81 and SR-BI fulfil redundant functions during infection by the rodent parasite P. berghei. Genetic analysis of sporozoite factors reveals the 6-cysteine domain protein P36 as a major parasite determinant of host cell receptor usage. Our data provide molecular insights into the invasion pathways used by different malaria parasites to infect hepatocytes, and establish a functional link between a sporozoite putative ligand and host cell receptors. Malaria is an infectious disease that affects millions of people around the world and remains a major cause of death, especially in Africa. It is caused by Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted by mosquitoes to mammals. Once in the mammal, the parasites infect liver cells, where they multiply. Previous studies have suggested that proteins on the surface of the liver cells and on the parasite affect how Plasmodium infects liver cells. Understanding how these proteins enable the parasites to enter the cells may help researchers to develop treatments that interrupt the parasite life cycle and prevent infection. Manzoni et al. have now investigated how different malaria parasite species interact with liver cells. The main parasite species that infect humans are Plasmodium falciparum in Africa and Plasmodium vivax outside Africa. Manzoni et al. found that P. falciparum and P. vivax infect human liver cells by two different routes: P. falciparum interacts with a liver cell protein called CD81, and P. vivax interacts with a liver cell protein called SR-BI. Further experiments that used mutant forms of malaria parasites that infect mice showed that a parasite protein called P36 determines which liver cell protein the parasite will interact with. The next step is to understand how P36 interacts with the liver cell proteins and to identify other parasite proteins that help Plasmodium to invade cells. In the future, such knowledge may help to develop a highly effective malaria vaccine.