Summary We analyzed primary breast cancers by genomic DNA copy number arrays, DNA methylation, exome sequencing, mRNA arrays, microRNA sequencing and reverse phase protein arrays. Our ability to integrate information across platforms provided key insights into previously-defined gene expression subtypes and demonstrated the existence of four main breast cancer classes when combining data from five platforms, each of which shows significant molecular heterogeneity. Somatic mutations in only three genes (TP53, PIK3CA and GATA3) occurred at > 10% incidence across all breast cancers; however, there were numerous subtype-associated and novel gene mutations including the enrichment of specific mutations in GATA3, PIK3CA and MAP3K1 with the Luminal A subtype. We identified two novel protein expression-defined subgroups, possibly contributed by stromal/microenvironmental elements, and integrated analyses identified specific signaling pathways dominant in each molecular subtype including a HER2/p-HER2/HER1/p-HER1 signature within the HER2-Enriched expression subtype. Comparison of Basal-like breast tumors with high-grade Serous Ovarian tumors showed many molecular commonalities, suggesting a related etiology and similar therapeutic opportunities. The biologic finding of the four main breast cancer subtypes caused by different subsets of genetic and epigenetic abnormalities raises the hypothesis that much of the clinically observable plasticity and heterogeneity occurs within, and not across, these major biologic subtypes of breast cancer.

ABSTRACT:Chitosan is a natural, cationic polysaccharide derived from fully or partially deacetylated chitin. Chitosan is capable of inducing large phospholipid aggregates, closely resembling the function of nonionic polymers tested previously as additives to therapeutic lung surfactants. The effects of chitosan on improving the surface activity of a dilute lung surfactant preparation, bovine lipid extract surfactant (BLES), and on resisting albumin-induced inactivation were studied using a constrained sessile drop (CSD) method. Also studied in parallel were the effects of polyethylene glycol (PEG, 10 kD) and hyaluronan (HA, 1240 kD). Both adsorption and dynamic cycling studies showed that chitosan is able to significantly enhance the surface activity of 0.5 mg/mL BLES and to resist albumin-induced inactivation at an extremely low concentration of 0.05 mg/mL, 1000 times smaller than the usual concentration of PEG and 20 times smaller than HA. Optical microscopy found that chitosan induced large surfactant aggregates even in the presence of albumin. Cytotoxicity tests confirmed that chitosan has no deleterious effect on the viability of lung epithelial cells. The experimental results suggest that chitosan may be a more effective polymeric additive to lung surfactant than the other polymers tested so far. (1) suggested the use of low-cost, water-soluble nonionic polymers, such as dextran, PEG, and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), as additives to therapeutic lung surfactants. Both in vitro (1-6) and in vivo (7-9) trials have shown that these nonionic polymers can significantly improve the surface activity of different therapeutic lung surfactants and effectively reverse inactivation due to a variety of inhibitory substances.More recently, Lu et al. (10,11) reported the use of an anionic polymer, HA, as a surfactant additive. Both in vitro (10) and in vivo (11) tests showed that the addition of HA at different molecular weights to various therapeutic lung surfactants can effectively reverse serum-and meconium-induced inactivation. These studies, therefore, tentatively proved the feasibility of using an ionic polymer as a lung surfactant additive. Following these studies, we investigate here the use of a cationic polymer, chitosan, as a potential lung surfactant additive.Chitosan is a natural polysaccharide composed of linear ␤-(1¡4)-linked 2-amino-2-deoxy-␤-D-glucan combined with glycosidic linkages (12). It is derived from fully or partially deacetylated chitin, which is extracted from crustacean shells. Chitosan is also a polyelectrolyte with a positively charged backbone and is readily soluble in slightly acidic conditions (12). Chitosan was proven to be biodegradable, biocompatible, bioadhesive, and nontoxic in a range of toxicity tests (13). Because of these desirable properties, it has been extensively used in a variety of food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields. Specifically, chitosan has been extensively used in drug delivery (13), including pulmonary drug delivery (12).Chan and co-workers (14 -17) have recently...

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Purpose This paper aims to analyze the viability of a solar power system as a supplemental power source for commercial and business aircraft. Design/methodology/approach First, a model is established to estimate the potential available power from suitable aircraft surfaces for various meteorological conditions, ground and flight mission characteristics. A proposed aircraft system architecture and an associated parametric conceptual sizing model are presented. This supplemental solar power system sizing model is integrated into an aircraft multidisciplinary design optimization environment to evaluate the aircraft-level impact on mission fuel burn. A parametric study for a business jet aircraft is performed to analyze various solar cell types and power densities for converters. Trade-off studies are performed between efficiency and weight. Findings Considering today’s efficiency and power-to-weight ratio of the system components, overall fuel burn reduction can be achieved. Therefore, the technology development work can start now to target short to mid-term applications. In addition, promising system integration scenarios are identified, such as the use of solar power for autonomous operation of the air conditioning system on ground, which yield potential further benefit. In conclusion, a supplemental solar power system seems a promising candidate for more efficient aircraft operation. Originality/value The presented novel supplemental solar power system architecture concept and its foreseen aircraft integration show potential benefits for near term applications. The results show that the break even for this technology is already reached and therefore build the foundation to further investigate the technology integration challenges. Clear directions for future research and development are outlined enabling the advancement of the technology readiness level.