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The interfacial properties of nanodroplets are very significant for the exploration of the basic law governing the fluid behavior at the nanoscale and also the applications in some important processes in novel materials fabrication by forming a special and local reaction environment. However, many basic factors such as the interfacial tension or stiffness of nanodroplets are still lacking, partially because of the difficulty of making quantitative measurements of the interfacial interactions at the nanometer scale. Here, we used a novel atomic force microscopy (AFM) mode, PeakForce mode, to control the interaction between an AFM probe and nanodroplets, by which we could obtain the morphology and stiffness of nanodroplets simultaneously. The change in the stiffness with the size of the nanodroplets was observed where the smaller nanodroplets usually had a larger stiffness. To explain this phenomenon, we then established a theoretical model based on the Young-Laplace equation in which the deformation and size-dependent stiffness could be described quantitatively and the experimental observations could be explained with our numerical calculations very well. The general methodology presented here could also be extended to analyze the relevant behavior of nanobubbles and other wetting phenomena at the nanoscale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated computer software system for macromolecular crystallography (MX) data collection at the BL02U1 and BL10U2 beamlines of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is described. The system, Finback, implements a set of features designed for the automated MX beamlines, and is marked with a user-friendly web-based graphical user interface (GUI) for interactive data collection. The Finback client GUI can run on modern browsers and has been developed using several modern web technologies including WebSocket, WebGL, WebWorker and WebAssembly. Finback supports multiple concurrent sessions, so on-site and remote users can access the beamline simultaneously. Finback also cooperates with the deployed experimental data and information management system, the relevant experimental parameters and results are automatically deposited to a database. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over-expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E2 has been demonstrated to play a significant role in the tumorigenesis of colon, lung, breast, bladder and skin. However, inconsistent and controversial reports on the expression and activity of COX-2 in prostate cancer raised the question of whether COX-2 plays a pivotal role in prostate carcinogenesis. To address this question, we examined the effects of COX-2 inhibition on prostate tumorigenesis in the transgenic adenocarcinoma mouse prostate (TRAMP) model. Three-week-old TRAMP mice were fed control, celecoxib- or indomethacin-supplemented diets for 27 weeks. A TRAMP/COX-2 knockout mouse model was also generated to determine the effects of the loss of the COX-2 gene on prostate tumorigenesis in TRAMP mice. These studies demonstrated that neither non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) nor genetic disruption of COX-2 was inhibitory in terms of tumor and metastases incidence, lobe weight or types of pathological lesions. A careful analysis of wild-type and TRAMP tissues was undertaken for the expression of cyclooxygenase-1 (COX-1) and COX-2 using immunoblotting, quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry approaches in TRAMP dorsal prostate tissue from 10- and 16-week-old, as well as tumor from 30-week-old mice. We found that the expression of COX-1 and COX-2 dramatically decreased during TRAMP carcinogenesis. Using the probasin promoter, a COX-2 over-expressing mouse model was also generated but failed to show any pathology in any of the prostate lobes. Collectively, our results suggest that COX-2 may not play a tumorigenic role during prostate carcinogenesis in the TRAMP model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1)/Akt pathway is an important regulator of multiple biological processes including cell growth, survival, and glucose metabolism. In light of the mechanistic link between Akt signaling and prostate tumorigenesis, we evaluated the chemopreventive relevance of inhibiting this pathway in the transgenic adenocarcinoma of the model prostate (TRAMP) mouse with OSU03012, a celecoxib-derived, but COX-2-inactive, PDK1 inhibitor. Beginning at ten weeks of age when prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions are well developed, TRAMP mice received OSU03012 via daily oral gavage for 8 weeks. The drug treatment significantly decreased the weight of all 4 prostate lobes as well as the grade of epithelial proliferation in the dorsal and lateral lobes compared to vehicle-treated control mice. The incidences of carcinoma and metastasis were decreased, although not to statistically significant levels. Treated mice lost body fat and failed to gain weight independent of food intake. This change and periportal hepatocellular atrophy can be linked to sustained PDK1 inhibition through downstream inactivation of glycogen synthase. Centrilobular hepatocellular hypertrophy and necrosis of Type II skeletal myofibers were also compound-related effects. We conclude that targeting of the PDK1/Akt pathway has chemopreventive relevance in prostate cancer and causes other in vivo effects mediated in part by an alteration of bioenergetic signaling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]