Clinicopathological features of 70 desmoid-type fibromatoses confirmed by β-catenin immunohistochemical staining and CTNNB1 mutation analysis

Desmoid-type fibromatosis (DF) is a locally aggressive neoplasm characterized by mutations in the CTNNB1 gene, which encodes the β-catenin protein. We reviewed 85 cases of DF and performed Sanger sequencing for detecting mutations in CTNNB1 and immunostaining for detecting β-catenin localization. We included 70 DF samples, of which 56 cases demonstrated nuclear β-catenin localization and 43 cases harboured CTNNB1 mutations. CTNNB1-mutant DF samples consistently displayed nuclear β-catenin expression and were derived from larger-sized tumours compared to samples with wild-type CTNNB1. When we further classified DF cases into 2 subgroups based on the type of specimen, excised specimens with nuclear β-catenin expression frequently displayed CTNNB1 mutation and no statistical correlation between nuclear β-catenin expression and CTNNB1 mutation was observed in biopsies. When we classified CTNNB1 mutation cases into 2 subgroups (DF with T41A or T41I, and DF with S45F or S45P), T41A or T41I mutations were observed more frequently in males than in females. Additionally, DF tumours harbouring S45F or S45P mutations were located more frequently in the abdominal wall than tumours with T41A or T41I mutations. In conclusion, CTNNB1 mutation correlates with nuclear β-catenin expression in larger or excised DF tumours, and DF harbouring CTNNB1 mutations manifest variable clinical presentations.

Effect of Hybrid Resources on Management Outcomes Micro-Hydro Power Plants in Remote Areas

The effect of developing hybrid resources on the management outcomes of micro-hydropower plants in remote areas has been studied and analyzed. The hybrid resource is a combination of two energy sources, such as water and solar energy, that operate together in meeting the needs of electrical power in Ambava Village, Tinondo Sub-district, East-Kolaka Regency, Southeast Sulawesi Province. This study has used a management model describing the relationship and influence of latent variables and their manifestation variables. Here, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) based Common-Pool-Resources (CPR) is the proper method of testing the structural model used. The results show that the Critics-Ratio (CR) and Standard Loading Factor (SLF) have fulfilled the expected value. The direct influence of the variable exogenous hybrid resources to the endogenous variable outcome of 0.213 has fulfilled the Gold of Fit criteria. Then, the direct impact of the most dominant latent variable is the operating dimension of the resource. At the same time, the indirect effect on the manifest variable is the increase in electricity reserve. Furthermore, the most dominant indirect impact of the hybrid resources latent variable is the benefit and cost dimensions, while the most dominant manifest variable is people's welfare savings.

An Entropy-Based Approach for Measuring Factor Contributions in Factor Analysis Models

In factor analysis, factor contributions of latent variables are assessed conventionally by the sums of the squared factor loadings related to the variables. First, the present paper considers issues in the conventional method. Second, an alternative entropy-based approach for measuring factor contributions is proposed. The method measures the contribution of the common factor vector to the manifest variable vector and decomposes it into contributions of factors. A numerical example is also provided to demonstrate the present approach.