Towards dual function of autophagy in breast cancer: A potent regulator of tumor progression and therapy response.

As a devastating disease, breast cancer has been responsible for decrease in life expectancy of females and its morbidity and mortality are high. Breast cancer is the most common tumor in females and its treatment has been based on employment of surgical resection, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The changes in biological behavior of breast tumor relies on genomic and epigenetic mutations and depletions as well as dysregulation of molecular mechanisms that autophagy is among them. Autophagy function can be oncogenic in increasing tumorigenesis, and when it has pro-death function, it causes reduction in viability of tumor cells. The carcinogenic function of autophagy in breast tumor is an impediment towards effective therapy of patients, as it can cause drug resistance and radio-resistance. The important hallmarks of breast tumor such as glucose metabolism, proliferation, apoptosis and metastasis can be regulated by autophagy. Oncogenic autophagy can inhibit apoptosis, while it promotes stemness of breast tumor. Moreover, autophagy demonstrates interaction with tumor microenvironment components such as macrophages and its level can be regulated by anti-tumor compounds in breast tumor therapy. The reasons of considering autophagy in breast cancer therapy is its pleiotropic function, dual role (pro-survival and pro-death) and crosstalk with important molecular mechanisms such as apoptosis. Moreover, current review provides a pre-clinical and clinical evaluation of autophagy in breast tumor.

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in hepatocellular carcinoma progression: Biological functions and new therapeutic targets.

Liver is an important organ in body that performs vital functions such as detoxification. Liver is susceptible to development of cancers, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is among them. 75-85% of liver cancer cases are related to HCC. Therefore, much attention has been directed towards understanding factors mediating HCC progression. LncRNAs are epigenetic factors with more than 200 nucleotides in length located in both nucleus and cytoplasm and they are promising candidates in cancer therapy. Directing studies towards understanding function of lncRNAs in HCC is of importance. LncRNAs regulate cell cycle progression and growth of HCC cells, and they can also induce/inhibit apoptosis in tumor cells. LncRNAs affect invasion and metastasis in HCC mainly by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) mechanism. Revealing the association between lncRNAs and downstream signaling pathways in HCC is discussed in the current manuscript. Infectious diseases can affect lncRNA expression in mediating HCC development and then, altered expression level of lncRNA is associated with drug resistance and radio-resistance. Biomarker application of lncRNAs and their role in prognosis and diagnosis of HCC are also discussed to pave the way for treatment of HCC patients.

Expounding the knowledge conversion processes within the occupational safety and health management system (OSH-MS) using concept mapping.

Objectives. Given the efforts made to incorporate knowledge management into the occupational safety and health management system (OSH-MS), this research attempts to illustrate how the knowledge conversion processes are accomplished within key elements of the OSH-MS. Methods. This study uses concept mapping (CM) as an integrated approach for mirroring participants' viewpoints about the interaction between tacit and explicit knowledge in the OSH-MS. OSH and knowledge management experts of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and its subdivisions were invited to complete the CM process. Results. Interpretation of the maps and graphical representations generated indicates that the concepts within the key elements of the OSH-MS are sorted into different clusters, including Knowledge Application, Knowledge Dissemination, Knowledge Socialization and Knowledge Presentation. Regarding the participants' ratings, the Knowledge Application cluster is rated as the most important, and Knowledge Socialization is rated as the most prevalent. Conversely, Knowledge Presentation is rated the least important and prevalent. Conclusions. The results simulated in MATLAB version R2018a and JMP version 13.2 help in better understanding the interplay between tacit and explicit knowledge in the key elements of the OSH-MS and clarify the potential programmable areas to improve organizational performance.