MicroRNAs (miRs) are short noncoding RNA molecules that regulate expression of target mRNAs. Many published sources provide information about miRs and their targets. However, bioinformatic tools elucidating higher level impact of the established total miR profiles, are still largely missing. Recently, we developed a method termed OncoFinder enabling quantification of the activities of intracellular molecular pathways basing on gene expression data. Here we propose a new technique, MiRImpact, which enables to link miR expression data with its estimated outcome on the regulation of molecular pathways, like signaling, metabolic, cytoskeleton rearrangement, and DNA repair pathways. MiRImpact uses OncoFinder rationale for pathway activity calculations, with the major distinctions that (i) it deals with the concentrations of miRs - known regulators of gene products participating in molecular pathways, and (ii) miRs are considered as negative regulators of target molecules, if other is not specified. MiRImpact operates with 2 types of databases: for molecular targets of miRs and for gene products participating in molecular pathways. We applied MiRImpact to compare regulation of human bladder cancer-specific signaling pathways at the levels of mRNA and miR expression. We took 2 most complete alternative databases of experimentally validated miR targets – miRTarBase and DianaTarBase, and an OncoFinder database featuring 2725 gene products and 271 signaling pathways. We showed that the impact of miRs is orthogonal to pathway regulation at the mRNA level, which stresses the importance of studying posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. We also report characteristic set of miR and mRNA regulation features linked with bladder cancer.

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This paper describes design and characterization of a digitally controlled double oven system. This allows setting the turnover point of crystal oscillators automatically. Developed for metrological purposes of active phase noise measurements, this type of thermostat with a crystal oscillator is an ultra-stable digitally controlled oven crystal oscillator.

(1) Background: There are no reliable and widely available markers of functional iron deficiency (FID) in cancer. The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of transferrin (Tf) as a marker of cancer of the ovary (CrO) and related FID. (2) Methods: The study groups consisted of 118 patients with CrO and 69 control females. Blood serum iron status was determined on a Beckman Coulter AU (USA) analyzer. Tf quantification was performed by immunoturbidimetry. The relative contents of apo- and holo-Tf (iron-free and iron-saturated Tf, respectively) were determined in eight patients and a control female by immunochromatographic analysis based on the use of monoclonal single-domain antibodies (nanobodies). (3) Results: Four groups of patients with different iron statuses were selected according to ferritin and transferrin saturation values: absolute iron deficiency (AID) (n = 42), FID (n = 70), iron overload (n = 4), normal iron status (n = 2). The groups differed significantly in Tf values (p < 0.0001). Lower values of Tf were associated with FID. Furthermore, FID is already found in the initial stages of CrO (26%). Immunosorbents based on nanobodies revealed the accumulation of apo-Tf and the decrease in holo-Tf in patients with CrO. (4) Conclusions: Tf may be a promising tool for diagnosing both CrO and associated FID.