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BACKGROUND PTEN is a candidate tumor‐suppressor gene in a variety of malignant tumors. The prognostic importance of PTEN product protein (PTEN) and its correlation with clinicopathologic characteristics have yet to be delineated in patients with esophageal carcinoma. METHODS Specimens from 97 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were used for the immunohistochemical evaluation of PTEN expression. RESULTS PTEN expression was detected in the nucleus in 48 specimens (49.5%). There were statistically significant correlations between nuclear PTEN expression and macroscopic tumor classification, T stage, and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage (P < 0.01), indicating that PTEN expression was down‐regulated by advancement of the disease process. There were no statistically significant correlations between nuclear PTEN expression and the intensity and extent of cytoplasmic PTEN expression. The 10‐year overall survival rate was significantly better in patients with positive nuclear PTEN expression (n = 48 patients) compared with the rate in patients with negative nuclear PTEN expression (n = 49 patients; P < 0.01). The results of a multivariate analysis of factors that were prognostic for survival showed that AJCC stage (P < 0.05; relative risk, 2.038) and negative nuclear PTEN expression (P < 0.05; relative risk, 1.825) were significant factors indicative of poor survival. CONCLUSIONS Nuclear PTEN expression may be a favorable biologic marker and a useful prognostic indicator in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer 2002;94:1955–60. © 2002 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.10410

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Here, we report the effect of the substrate, sonication process, and postannealing on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of ZnO thin films grown in the presence of isopropyl alcohol (IPA) at temperature 30–65 °C by the successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) method on both soda lime glass (SLG) and Cu foil. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns confirmed the preferential growth thin films along (002) and (101) planes of the wurtzite ZnO structure when deposited on SLG and Cu foil substrates, respectively. Both XRD and Raman spectra confirmed the ZnO and Cu-oxide phases of the deposited films. The scanning electron microscopy image of the deposited films shows compact and uniformly distributed grains for samples grown without sonication while using IPA at temperatures 50 and 65 °C. The postannealing treatment improves the crystallinity of the films, further evident by XRD and transmission and reflection results. The estimated optical band gaps are in the range of 3.37–3.48 eV for the as-grown samples. Our experimental results revealed that high-quality ZnO thin films could be grown without sonication using an IPA dispersant at 50 °C, which is much lower than the reported results using the SILAR method. This study suggests that in the presence of IPA, the SLG substrate results in better c-axis-oriented ZnO thin films than that of deionized water, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol at the optimum temperature of 50 °C. Air annealing of the samples grown on Cu foils induced the formation of Cu x O/ZnO junctions, which is evident from the characteristic I–V curve including the structural and optical data.

a b s t r a c tIn the Eastern Gangetic Plains of Bangladesh, the cropping systems are predominantly rice based, having large yield gaps in farmers' fields because of poor management practices adopted by farmers. The increasing scarcity of resources (water, labor and energy) and production costs further make the ricebased cropping system less sustainable and less profitable. We hypothesized that integrating the best compatible cropping patterns accompanied by best management practices into the portfolio of farmers' own technologies would improve system productivity, resource use efficiency and economic profitability. To test this hypothesis, we evaluated four cropping system scenarios (S1-S4) designed to be adapted to current and future drivers of agricultural changes and varying from each other in best management practices (BMPs) and conservation agriculture (CA) principles (tillage and crop establishment, residue management, and crop rotation). Four cropping system scenarios were (i) current farmers' practice (S1), (ii) BMPs with conventional tillage and farmers' crop rotation (S2), (iii) BMPs with reduced tillage and farmers' crop rotation (S3), and (iv) BMPs with reduce or zero tillage and crop diversification (S4). Scenario 2 alone compared with S1 increased system productivity (24-33%), total water productivity (16-50%) and net economic returns (85-169%), and decreased specific energy (11-17%). The combination of BMPs in S2 with reduced tillage and manual or mechanical transplanting (S3) did not further increase yield and save water. Crop diversification with potato in place of Boro rice and intensification with maize or mungbean in between Boro and Aman rice (S4) yielded 1.9-3.7 times higher net economic returns than S1. Results of a three-year study indicated that farmers' productivity and economic returns can be improved by BMPs, which not only increase crop yields but also improve the efficiencies of resources such as water and energy.

Indigenous knowledge of herbal medicines for skin diseases like boils, eczema, scabies, septic abscess, itching and skin allergy, burns, chicken pox, warts and leucoderma, fungal and bacterial infections, including healing cuts and wounds has been documented by randomly interviewing Chakma, Marma and Tanchunga tribes of the Hill Tracts districts of Bangladesh since 1995. The plant parts of 60 species belonging to 40 families were known to be used. The plant specimens were collected, identified and preserved at the Herbarium of Chittagong University. An enumeration of these plants is presented along with their tribal names, categories of skin diseases, plant parts with preparation and route of administration. Key words: Indigenous knowledge; Herbal medicines; Skin diseases; Tribes; Bangladesh DOI: 10.3329/bjb.v39i2.7303 Bangladesh J. Bot. 39(2): 169-177, 2010 (December)