Prognostic value of the proportion of the sclerosing component in fibrolamellar liver carcinoma

Introduction. Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (FLC), which develops most often in the younger population. In FLC, variable histoarchitectonics are noted, possibly the presence of a sclerosing component, foci of necrosis and dystrophy of tumor cells.Objective. Assessment of the influence of the proportion of the sclerosing component in fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC) of the liver on the course and prognosis of the disease. Determination of the relationship between the proportion of the sclerosing component in the tumor and the frequency of microvascular invasion.Materials and methods. A retrospective study included 34 patients with a diagnosis of FLC, who underwent radical surgical treatment at the first stage. A histological assessment of the proportion (%) of the sclerosing component in FLC was made. The effect of the proportion of the sclerosing component on overall (OS) and relapse-free (DFS) survival was assessed. The analysis of the relationship between the proportion of the sclerosing component in the tumor and the frequency of microvascular invasion was carried out.Results. Significantly worse RFS was achieved in the groups of patients with a sclerosing component in FLC > 5% than in the group of patients with a sclerosing component in FLC ≤ 5% (p = 0.0010; p = 0.024; log – rank test). Median DDS in group 1 is 107 (95% CI, 22–192) months; at 2 – 11 (95% CI, 8–14) months; in 3 – 21 (95% CI, 8–33). The frequency of histologically confirmed microvascular invasion in the compared groups was 29, 74, 87.5%, respectively. OS was significantly worse in 2 groups (27 patients in total) with a sclerosing component in FLC > 5% than in the group of patients with a sclerosing component in FLC ≤ 5%. Median OS in group 1 120 (95% CI, 60–180) months; at 2 – 41 (95% CI, 15–92) months; in 3 – 69 (95% CI, 35–103). A direct relationship was found between an increase in the proportion of the sclerosing component in a tumor and an increase in the frequency of microvascular invasion.Conclusions. We can assume that the severity of the sclerosing component in the FLK tumor can serve as an effective morphological marker of a less favorable prognosis for this HCC subtype and correlate with the frequency of microvascular invasion.

Wound-like tumor periphery in human breast cancer predicts a convergent drug nonresponse

A significant portion of breast cancer patients are nonresponsive to well-established drugs and destined for a poor outcome regardless of molecular subtype. Although several (multiparameter) molecular markers have predicted their resistance to some of these drugs, profound uniparameter markers predictive of a convergent nonresponse to all these drugs remain elusive. We employ co-registered standard-multiphoton histology to representatively sample a few peripheral niches of the primary tumor, so that hundreds of patients can be stratified with either a wound-like or non-wound tumor periphery. With no fitting variable, this simple uniparameter morphological marker is: (a) highly sensitive and specific to predict a multidrug-nonresponsive phenotype that accounts for the majority of recurrence or death, independent of the molecular subtype or related adjuvant drug selection, clinical endpoint (disease-free versus overall survival), and hosting medical center; (b) robust against intratumor heterogeneity and valid at the earliest clinicopathological stage; and (c) dominant in predicting prognosis in the context of routine clinicopathological markers. Considering the mechanistic link between a wound-like extracellular matrix and a microenvironment supporting migratory or mesenchymal tumor cells, we attribute these unusual capabilities to an epithelial-mesenchymal transition nature of the morphological marker long sought after by pathologists.

Reflexives and Reciprocals in English and Modern Standard Arabic: An Investigation and a Comparison

The aim of this paper is to investigate the typology of reflexives and reciprocals in English and MSA, which is a variety of standardized, literary Arabic used throughout Arab countries. It has shown that MSA morphologically encoded reflexives and reciprocals are in fact syntactically and semantically asymmetrical. It will be argued that morphologically encoded reflexives do not project an anaphor (an internal argument) syntactically and their morphological marker semantically serves as a reflexivizer, whereas morphologically encoded reciprocals do project an anaphor syntactically, realized either overtly or covertly. Concerning the distribution of such anaphor, the paper elucidates the admissible and in admissible environments. It is argued that MSA does not allow possessive reflexives, but allow possessive reciprocals such as the construct-state, whether it be a noun phrase or a locative prepositional phrase. This variation is accounted for by assuming that reciprocals occupy Spec of DP and therefore can be bound by an NP from a higher phase, whereas reflexives occupy a position lower than the D head and thus must be bound within their DP phase. Finally yet importantly, MSA override reflexives and reciprocals unlike their English counterparts, are always subject to the Principle A of the Binding Theory.

Ergativity in Indo-Aryan

Case and agreement patterns that are present in Old, Middle, and New Indo-Aryan languages have been argued to require the following perspective: since ergative case marking and ergative (object) agreement in these languages are historically tied to having originated from the past perfective morphological marker ta, they can only be fully understood from a perspective that factors in this development. Particular attention is given to the waxing and waning of ergative properties in Late Middle Indo-Aryan and New Indo-Aryan, which give rise to recurring dissociation of case and agreement; specifically, object agreement in the absence of ergative case marking is attested in Kutchi Gujarati and Marwari, whereas ergative case marking without object agreement is present in Nepali. With regard to case, recent insights show that “ergative/accusative” may be regularly semantically/pragmatically conditioned in Indo-Aryan (so-called differential case marking). Pertaining to agreement, a central theoretical question is whether “ergative” object agreement should be analyzed uniformly with subject agreement or, alternatively, as a type of participle agreement—drawing on synchronic parallels between Indo-Aryan and Romance.

Formation of awns in wheat lines with introgressions from Aegilops spp. caused by novel regulatory genes

Awns play a significant role in the plant physiology and are a well-known morphological marker in wheat. Awnedness in wheat is regulated by three inhibitors – Hd, B1, and B2, but awn promoters are still largely unknown. The present study is aimed at analysis of the expression level of awn development regulatory genes orthologs, TaDL, TaTOB1, TaETT2, and TaKNOX3, in Triticum aestivum, genome substitution amphidiploids AABBSshSsh and AABBUU, and derived lines with introgressions from Aegilops sharonensis and Ae. umbellulata.Expression of four mentioned genes was detected in the lemma of all strains studied, and the role of these genes in awn development was assumed. In awned introgression lines, expression of all studied genes differed from mid-parent value: it was present in parent genotypes and absent in derived lines. Non-additive expression of four studied genes in introgression lines is considered to be the possible reason that caused development of nonparental awned phenotype. The presence of two products resulting from TaTOB1 cDNA amplification, one of which contained fourth intron and another lacking it, is considered to be the result of two mRNA presence due to different TaTOB1 homoeoalleles expression.

Mapping of quantitative trait loci for purple stigma and purple apiculus in rice by using a Zhenshan 97B/Minghui 63 RIL population

Anthocyanin pigmentation is an important morphological marker that is commonly used to identify rice varieties and for linkage analysis. The following study investigates the genetic factors involved in the purple stigma (Ps) and purple apiculus (Pa) traits of an important indica rice cross between Zhenshan 97 (purple stigma and purple apiculus) and Minghui 63 (grey stigma and colourless apiculus). A recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from this cross was used for quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping of the purple stigma and purple apiculus traits. As a result, one major QTL for the purple stigma trait, temporarily designated qPS-1-1, and one major QTL for the purple apiculus trait, temporarily designated qPA-1-1, were mapped to the short arm of chromosome 6 in the interval between the two markers Y4073L and *P. The LOD peaks of qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 were 44.0127 and 173.3585, respectively. In addition, qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 explained 66.7416% and 98.6441% of the total phenotypic variance, respectively. The Zhenshan 97 allele increased the purple stigma trait by approximately 8.0355% (for qPS-1-1) and 9.8863% (for qPA-1-1). Moreover, since qPS-1-1 and qPA-1-1 were strongly correlated, they were also located in the same vicinity of the C gene on the short arm of chromosome 6, which suggested that the two QTL might be the same. By comparing these and previous results, it was deduced that qPS-1-1 or qPA-1-1 was the C gene and was pleiotropic for both the colouration of the apiculus and the colouration of the stigma in rice.

Origin of black glume color in the Triticum aestivum lines with introgressions from wheat wild relatives

ABSTRACT Dark color of a glume in Triticinae is a known morphological marker with studied genetic control. However, the pigments that provide the color development, molecular basis of their biosynthesis, and mechanisms of its regulation are still unknown. Dark color of glumes is a common trait in the Triticum aestivum lines with alien introgressions. To find out the basis of this trait, we studied nature of the compounds that color the glumes by analyzing the total phenolic content (TPC) in the dark glumed introgression lines (ILs) and comparing it to their parents. TPC in the dark ILs was found to be higher than in their parents and in the light lines. All studied genotypes were screened for the expression of eight genes encoding the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway enzymes. Expression of three flavonoid genes in the pathway were changed in the ILs compared to their parents. Firstly, the expression of F3’H and FNS was absent in the lines with introgressions from Aegilops spp. The expression of three genes, F3’H, FLS, and FNS, was found to be altered in the light lines with introgressions from A. muticum. No expression of the F3’H was detected in the T. aestivum / A. muticum lines with light and dark plants, and the other genes of the pathway were found to be expressed at the parental levels. No correlation between the expression profiles and the phenotype was found in the T. aestivum / A. muticum lines. So we hypothesized that other undetected changes are present in these lines.

Evaluation of Drought Stress Tolerance Based on Selection Indices in Haricot Bean Varieties Exposed to Stress at Different Growth Stages

A pot experiment was conducted at Hawassa University, Ethiopia, with the objectives of identifying relatively drought-tolerant haricot bean varieties and identifying sensitive growth stages of this plant to drought stress based on selection indices under greenhouse conditions. Ten improved haricot bean varieties were subjected to drought stress at vegetative, flowering, and pod setting stages by withholding water for 15 days. Seed yields (g plant−1) under stress (Ysi) and nonstress (Ypi) conditions were recorded, and all indices were calculated for the three drought stress levels (vegetative, flowering, and pod setting) against the yield obtained from the nonstress (Ypi) treatment. Drought intensity indices at vegetative, flowering, and pod setting stages were 0.046, 0.335, and 0.249, respectively. Drought stress imposition at the flowering stage resulted in high values of DII, DSI, PYR, and SSPI and low values of DRI, GM, MP, YSI, MRP, REI, and RDI reflecting that flowering is the most sensitive growth stage to drought stress. Low values of DSI, PYR, and SSPI and high values of DRI, GM, MP, YSI, MRP, REI, and RDI for H/dumme, Wajo, and Nasir confirmed that they are tolerant to drought stresses that occur at different growth stages. Those varieties also showed the best mean of rank and low standard deviation. A strong association between Ypi and Ysi was observed under drought stress at the vegetative stage but not under flowering and pod setting stages. Ysi had a positive correlation with DRI, GM, MP, MRP, and REI while a significant and negative correlation with PYR and DSI depicting that they are a better predictor of potential yield under a stress condition and they can use as a morphological marker by the plant breeder.