Pancreatic cancer is a disease that has a very high fatality rate and one of the highest mortality ratios among all major cancers, remaining the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in developed countries. The major treatment of pancreatic cancer is surgery; however, only 15–20% of patients are candidates for it at the diagnosis of disease. On the other hand, survival in patients, who undergo surgery, is less than 30%. In most cancers, genome stability is disturbed and pancreatic cancer is not the exception. Approximately 97% of pancreatic cancers have gene derangements, defined by point mutations, amplifications, deletions, translocations, and inversions. This review describes the most frequent genetic alterations found in pancreatic cancer.

Cancers are the group of diseases, which arise because of the uncontrolled behavior of some of the genes in our cells. There are possibilities of gene amplifications, overexpressions, deletions and other anomalies which might lead to the development and spread of cancer. One of the most dangerous ways to the cancers is the mutations of the genes. The mutated genes can start unstoppable proliferation of cells, their uncontrolled motility, protection from apoptosis, the DNA mutation enhancement as well as other anomalies, leading to the cancer. This review focuses on the genes, which are frequently mutated in various cancers and are known to be important in the advance and progression of colorectal cancer and melanoma, namely KRAS, NRAS and BRAF.

Serum- and glucocorticoid-regulated kinases (SGKs) are members of the AGC family of serine/threonine kinases, consisting of three isoforms: SGK1, SGK2, and SGK3. SGK1 was initially cloned as a gene transcriptionally stimulated by serum and glucocorticoids in rat mammary tumor cells. It is upregulated in some cancers and downregulated in others. SGK1 increases tumor cell survival, adhesiveness, invasiveness, motility, and epithelial to mesenchymal transition. It stimulates tumor growth by mechanisms such as activation of K+ channels and Ca2+ channels, Na+/H+ exchanger, amino acid and glucose transporters, downregulation of Foxo3a and p53, and upregulation of β-catenin and NFκB. This chapter focuses on major aspects of SGK1 involvement in cancer, its use as biomarker as well as potential therapeutic target.

In this article are presented research data on comparative evaluation of meat quality of various poultry species. The study was made on 5 samples of ostrich, turkey and broiler meat. Samples were weighed 500 to 550 grams. Qualitative and nutritional properties of meat from different species of poultry were estimated. The chemical composition, pH, color, firmness, water holding capacity, cooking loss, drip loss of ostrich, turkey and broiler meat were analyzed. Meat quality studies were carried out according to generally accepted methodologies. Analyses have shown that the highest fat content was in the broiler meat (p <0.001). Ostrich, turkey and broiler meat acidity values were very similar, slightly more distinct in turkey meat (p <0.01). The lowest water holding capacity was established in ostrich, the highest in turkey meat (p <0.01). Comparison in regard to meat firmness, it was observed on the ostrich meat had the highest firmness (p <0.01). Also, the highest cholesterol content was established in the ostrich meat.

Please use the following format when citing the article: Jukna V., Jukna Č., Prusevičius V., Meškinytė-Kaušilienė E., Pečiulaitienė N. 2017 AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate the changes in meat quality characteristics of different beef cattle breeds fed high energy forage. The study included 200 days old uncastrated beef cattle of the following breeds: Limousin, Charolais, Angus, Hereford and Simmental. Feeding and housing conditions for bulls were the same. Animals were given a certain amount of concentrated forage plus silage ad libitum. The rest of the feed consisted of small amounts of grass and corn silage. When the bulls were 500 days old, 5 bulls from each group, best meeting the average indicators, were selected for control slaughter.No substantial influence of breed on the amount of dry food was determined. The meat of Aubrac breed was determined to have the highest meat protein sufficiency rate, while the lowest rate was found in the meat of Hereford breed. The difference reached up to 1.79% (P < 0.05). Differences between breeds for meat tenderness were observed as well. The toughest meat was from the Aubrac breed cattle, while the tenderest was from the Charolais breed meat. The difference reached up to 0.9 kg cm -2 (P < 0.01). There were no significant differences between breeds for water content of meat, water holding capacity and cook loss. Intramuscular fat level varied according to the breed. The meat of Hereford breed was determined to have the highest level of intramuscular fat, while the lowest level was found in the Aubrac breed meat. The difference was 1.48% (P < 0.05). Differences between breeds for physical meat quality were observed as well. The meat of French breeds (Charolais and Limousine) was lighter and had higher water holding capacity -0.78-0.82% (P > 0.05) as compared to the meat of English breeds (Hereford and Angus).