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The high-pressure polymorphs and structural transformation of Sn were experimentally investigated using angle-dispersive synchrotron x-ray diffraction up to 108.9 GPa. The results show that at least at 12.8 GPa β-Sn→bct structure transformation was completed and no two-phase coexistence was found. By using a long-wavelength x-ray, we resolved the diffraction peaks splitting and discovered the formation of a new distorted orthorhombic structure bco from the bct structure at 31.8 GPa. The variation of the lattice parameters and their ratios with pressure further validate the observation of the bco polymorph. The bcc structure appears at 40.9 GPa and coexists with the bco phase throughout a wide pressure range of 40.9 GPa–73.1 GPa. Above 73.1 GPa, only the bcc polymorph is observed. The systematically experimental investigation confirms the phase transition sequence of Sn as β-Sn→bct→bco→bco+bcc→bcc upon compression to 108.9 GPa at room temperature.

Background Cell migration plays an essential role in many biological processes, such as cancer metastasis, wound healing and immune response. Cell migration is mediated through protrusion and focal adhesion (FA) assembly, maturation and disassembly. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is known to enhance migration rate in many cell types; however it is not known how FA maturation, FA dynamics and protrusion dynamics are regulated during EGF-induced migration. Here we use total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy and image analysis to quantify FA properties and protrusion dynamics under different doses of EGF stimulation. Results EGF was found to broaden the distribution of cell migration rates, generating more fast and slow cells. Furthermore, groups based on EGF stimulation condition or cell migration speed were marked by characteristic signatures. When data was binned based on EGF stimulation conditions, FA intensity and FA number per cell showed the largest difference among stimulation groups. FA intensity decreased with increasing EGF concentration and FA number per cell was highest under intermediate stimulation conditions. No difference in protrusion behavior was observed. However, when data was binned based on cell migration speed, FA intensity and not FA number per cell showed the largest difference among groups. FA intensity was lower for fast migrating cells. Additionally, waves of protrusion tended to correlate with fast migrating cells. Conclusions Only a portion of the FA properties and protrusion dynamics that correlate with migration speed, correlate with EGF stimulation condition. Those that do not correlate with EGF stimulation condition constitute the most sensitive output for identifying why cells respond differently to EGF. The idea that EGF can both increase and decrease the migration speed of individual cells in a population has particular relevance to cancer metastasis where the microenvironment can select subpopulations based on some adhesion and protrusion characteristics, leading to a more invasive phenotype as would be seen if all cells responded like an “average” cell.

Aluminum doped zinc oxide (AZO) films were synthesized on alkali free glass substrates by sol-gel spin-coating method using two different precursors (zinc acetate and zinc nitrate). The results showed that the crystallite size decreased with increasing dopant concentration. The films were fabricated using zinc acetate (precursor 1) as a starting material show a pipe-like structure, which significantly influenced the properties of films. The gas sensing tests showed the highest dopant concentration, 3 at.% aluminum doped zinc oxide film has the smallest crystalline size, dense surface, lowest resistivity and highest gas sensitivity.

The involvement of microglial activation in metal neurotoxicity is becoming increasingly recognized. Some metal ions, such as zinc (II) and manganese (II), have been recently reported as microglial activators to induce the release of inflammatory mediators including cytokines, chemokines and nitric oxide (NO) which are involved in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases. Cobalt is essential for human life. However, excessive cobalt is cytotoxic and neurotoxic. In the present study, we determined cobalt-induced production of NO and cytokines/chemokines in N9 cells, a murine microglial cell line. High levels of cobalt significantly up-regulated iNOS mRNA and protein expression, which resulted in the release of NO. Cobalt induced the production of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a concentration- and time-dependent manner in both N9 cells and primary mouse microglia and increased lipopolysaccharides (LPS)-induced cytokine production. Further study showed that cobalt induced cytokine production by a mechanism involving both nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways. The involvement of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in microglial activation was also confirmed. These findings suggested that cobalt neurotoxicity should be attributed not only directly to neuronal damage but also indirectly to microglial activation which might potentiate neuronal injury via elevation of proinflammatory mediator levels.

Prior evidence has demonstrated association between capital structure and corporation value. This paper extends literature by revising variables representing corporation value and proposing a link between ownership concentration and debt structure based on the data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2010. With the comparison between companies of different types, results are as follows. Firstly, ownership concentration has a positive effect on non-state-owned corporation while an insignificant negative effect on state-owned corporation. Secondly, compared with that of state-owned, non-state-owned corporation has a more clear positive relationship with debt governance. Thirdly, the not statistically significant correlation between ownership concentration and debt maturity structure proves the impact of ownership concentration on corporation value cannot be a direct one. The research plays certain significance in revising capital structure.

The ship water fire-fighting system survivability is an important aspect of total ship survivability. But when the ship water fire-fighting system survivability is calculated, the crew active recoverability should be concerned. An intelligent reconfiguration arithmetic is founded to simulate the crew's recoverability in this paper. The graph theory and the virtual vertex are used to found the fire-fighting system logic model firstly. And then, the width first search is used to found intelligent water supply path generation arithmetic and intelligent reconfiguration arithmetic. At last, through examples test, we find that the intelligent reconfiguration arithmetic is feasible.

To explore the effects of different doses of tyrosine modulation on behavioral performances in open field test of psychological stress rats.The animal model of psychological stress was developed by restraint stress for 21 days. Wistar rats were randomly assigned to five groups (n = 10) as follows: control group (CT), stress control group (SCT), low, medium and high-doses of tyrosine modulation stress groups (SLT, SMT and SIT). The changes of behavioral performances were examined by open-field test. Serum levels of cortisol, norepinephrine and dopamine were also detected.The levels of serum cortisol were all increased obviously in the four stress groups, and their bodyweight gainings were diminished. The behavioral performances of SCT rats in open-field test were changed significantly in contrast to that of CT rats. However, The behavioral performances of SMT and SHT rats were not different from that of CT rats. In addition, the serum levels of norepinephrine and dopamine were downregulated obviously in SCT and SLT groups, and no differences were observed in other groups.Psychological stress can impair body behavioral performances, and moderate tyrosine modulation may improve these abnormal changes. The related mechanisms may be involved with the changes of norepinephrine and dopamine.

To observe the impairment of homocysteine (Hcy) on neurons in vitro and the related mechanisms.We examined the consequences of treatment of cultured rat cortical and hippocampal neurons with Hcy and detected the neurons' apoptosis, calcium influx, DNA damage and oxidative injury.Primary cortical and hippocampal neurons were treated with Hcy (250 micromol/L) for 4 h resulted in apoptosis time-dependently. S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) could significantly, but MK-801, an NMDA receptor inhibitor, couldn't repress the Hcy induced neuron apoptosis. Hcy could induce neuron calcium overload through activating the NMDA receptors. The DNA of neurons was damaged by Hcy because the methylation reactions were inhibited. Hcy treatment also induced MDA level significantly increased, but did not affect the neurons' T-AOC.These findings indicate that Hcy compromises neuronal homeostasis by multiple, divergent routes, including DNA damage, neuron exitotoxicity, and oxidative injury. Hcy mediated neuron apoptosis was mainly due to DNA damage.

To evaluate the effects of different doses of zinc on the expression of metallothionein isoforms in stressed hippocampal neurons in vitro.The cell stress model was developed by corticosterone. The cultured hippocampal neurons were assigned to seven groups as follows: control group, zinc deficiency group, and their corresponding stressed groups, as well as three different levels of zinc complementarity groups.In zinc deficiency group, the expressions of metallothionein and MT-1 mRNA, MT-3 mRNA were downregulated. On the other hand, inductions of metallothionein and it's mRNAs in stressed zinc complementarity group were increased. In addition, the levels of supernatant IL-6 and NO were increased clearly in zinc deficiency group and corticosterone stressed groups.Our results suggest that zinc deficiency may decrease while zinc complementarity increase the expressions of metallothioneins and MT-1 mRNA, MT-3 mRNA in stressed hippocampal neurons in vitro.

When the ship is damaged after weapon attack, it is necessary for commanders to recognise its unsinkability grade quickly. Through unsinkability classification, we can know whether the ship will sink or not and its sinking probability. The unsinkability classification is a N-class pattern recognition problem. The fuzzy support vector machine (FSVM) is used to distinguish a certain unsinkability grade from other unsinkability grades firstly. Concerning the definition of fuzzy membership is critical in FSVM, the support vector data description (SVDD) is used to found fuzzy membership function. Through samples test, we found that FSVM of which fuzzy membership calculated through SVDD has better classification efficiency and precision.

The simultaneous determination of trace elements in ultrafine agaric was carried out by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). The experiments were done using wet acid digestion sample preparation. The samples were dissolved at 120 degrees C constant temperature. The requirements of determination by ICP-AES can be satisfied at an acidity controlled less than 10%. The method is simple, rapid and economic. National standard material GBW07602 was detected by authentication. Its accuracy is between 1.12% and 6.15. The precision is between 0.41% and 5.69%. At thesame time, the surface structure of ultrafine agaric powder was examined by scanning electron microscope. And the dietary fiber was determined for fungus protein, crude fat, crude fiber, moisture and ash content by chemical analysis. The study on external and internal relevance of agaric could provide a new approach to scientific research on the development and application of fungus dietary fiber.

This study was conducted to explore the effects of epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) on cognitive performances in psychological stress rats. An animal model of psychological stress was developed by restraint stress for three weeks. Male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to four groups as follows: normal control group, stress control group and two stress groups with green tea polyphenols (GTPs) and EGCG modulation, respectively. The changes of behavioral performances of rats were examined by the open-field test and step-through test. Results showed that behavioral performances of stress control group were changed abnormally, and they were improved in GTPs and EGCG modulation groups. In addition, plasma levels of cortisol, dopamine, norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, interleukin-6 and interleukin-2 were detected. Stress control group had increased contents of cortisol, interleukin-6 and interleukin-2, and meanwhile had declined levels of 5-hydroxytryptamine and catecholamines. These changes in GTPs and EGCG modulation groups were similar to that of the normal control group. The expressions of metallothioneins in the hippocampus were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. In contrast with the normal control group, their expressions in all the three stress groups were enhanced clearly. The results suggested that GTPs and EGCG modulation could improve the cognitive impairments induced by psychological stress. The related mechanisms may be involved with the changes of catecholamines, 5-hydroxytryptamine, cytokines and expressions of metallothioneins.

We apply scanning probe microscopy (SPM) to study the morphology and electrical properties of vertical zinc oxide nanorods grown by hydrothermal methods on silicon substrates. It is demonstrated that – against the intuition – SPM techniques can indeed be used to study such fragile high-aspect ratio semiconductor nanorods. Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) operating in tapping mode yields - via the analysis of the height histograms calculated from AFM images - easy access to the height fluctuations in the nanorod ensemble. High-resolution AFM images reveal the three-dimensional shape of the nanorods including transition facets between the (0001) top terrace and the {10-10} side facets. Further, we were able to acquire currentvoltage curves of individual nanorods by conductive atomic force microscopy (CAFM) operating in contact mode.

Considering the complex matrix of the sample, the animal fur is carried on to the sample pretreatment method studies specially. The microwave closed system has its unique merit: The microwave radiation has the very strong penetrability and the rapid in-depth heating function. After absorbing microwave the sample and the molecules of reactant may carry on the reaction in short time. But the microwave power is very weak, reaction consumes much time, the resolution is also incomplete. Besides the output excessively is high dispels in the pot the reagent differential pressure to increase the test solution to produce the storm rapidly to boil. As a result of those flaws, the minute step microwave heating digestion method is used to digest test specimen after treated by the acid pickling over night. In the experiment, the specialized microwave reactor is replaced by civil microwave; the microwave heating technology is adopted. According to the different characteristics of reagents, different allocated proportion and the test solution volume of nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid and the water are tested separately. Meanwhile, in order to optimize the experimental condition, the different response power and respond time is also studied. At last, the experimental condition is determined: HNO3-H2O2-HCl-H2O acid system is chose(four reagent allocated proportions are 8:1:1:5); test specimen is heated up 10 minutes when the output is 150 W and 5 minutes when the output is 360 W continuously; carries on the test specimen airtight resolution processing animal fur by the sample. To guarantee the standard solution system is consistent with the biological sample substrate, the artificial simulation biology sample substrate is used to match law configuration standard solution; the ration the substrate element calcium is added. To eliminate disturbance of the sample complex substrate, the substrate match law, which reduces the substrate element disturbance is used. Inductive coupling plasma atom emission spectral analysis technology is also adopted in the experiment. This method has several advantages: the rapidity of the examination, the scope width of the examination, low consumption of test specimens and low limitation of picking out. This method is able to simultaneously examine the aluminum, the iron, the calcium, the magnesium, the boron, the barium, the cadmium, the cobalt, the copper, the chromium, the manganese, the molybdenum, the nickel, the phosphorus, the lead, the strontium, the zinc, the titanium, 18 kind of constants and trace element existed in the animal fur. There kinds of animal furs were examined. Basically, the constants of calcium were close. The content of magnesium and strontium in the furs of the herbivorous were higher than the omnivorous and the carnivorous, while the content of phosphorus in the furs of the herbivorous was lower than the other tow, so did the trace element, namely aluminum, iron, copper, zinc. It was obvious that only in the fur of the carnivorous was the content trace element titanium included. Based on the examination result, we could draw the conclusion that contain connection, which may explain the intrinsic and the external relationship concerning the animal, exists between the animal habit and the element content in their body. This method sends the standard material GBW07601 confirmation after the national person, obtains the method relative error in between 0.83%-9.59%, the relatively standard deviation between 0.81%-5.20%. The limitation of picking out, the accuracy and the accuracy each examination target is obtained in the animal fur by the actual sample analysis in the confirmation, which can satisfy the biological sample examination request.

Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) plays an important role in the mechanisms controlling human pregnancy and parturition, and several endogenous factors are known to regulate placental CRH gene expression. In this article, the authors investigate the regulation of the CRH gene's promoter activity by a protein kinase C (PKC) activator, phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), in primary cultures of placental cells. The PMA stimulation of the CRH gene promoter activity was dose dependent, and further studies, including progressive deletion and mutation analysis of the CRH promoter, localized the region essential for PMA responsiveness to a consensus cyclic adenosine monophosphate regulatory element (CRE). Furthermore, estradiol treatment resulted in decreases of both basal and PMA-stimulated promoter activity when the CRE element was present but had no effect when the CRE element was absent. Thus, PMA stimulates CRH gene transcriptional activity through the CRE, suggesting that cross-talk between PKC and protein kinase A signaling pathways targets this regulatory element in placental cells.

This paper studies the optimal scale and asset allocation of Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF), taking China's SWF as an example. We use the AR (1) process to simulate the future foreign exchange earnings of China and generate three patterns of the future earnings. With these three scenarios and based on Deaton's precautionary saving model, we find that the optimal scale and asset allocation of China's SWF mainly depend on the expected trend and fluctuation of the future foreign exchange earnings and expected yields that SWF can get. When foreign exchange earnings shows an upward trend, the scale of SWF should not be expanded even the expected investment yield is very high, and ratio of risky assets should be kept stable and high. When foreign exchange earnings is stabilized as its growth rate slows down, the scale of SWF has the positive correlation with the degree of earnings fluctuation and expected yield of investment, and also ratio of risky assets is generally lower. When foreign exchange earnings decrease, the scale of SWF should be expanded even the expected investment yield is not so high, and the ratio of risky assets is dependent on the characteristics of expected investment yields. We also conclude that investment policy of China's SWF should follow Temasek's investment model, under the current trend of China's foreign exchange trend, and strive for high yield investment chances.

Determination of trace elements in natural grapestone was studied by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES). Comparison was made between dry incineration and acid clearing up in terms of interference of organic component in natural grapestone. By analyzing the plant standard substance GBW 07603(National Standard Substance), the data show that HNO3-HClO4 disposed samples are better than dry incinerated ones. The accuracy is 1. 06-8. 82, the precision is 1. 35%-8. 88%. The comparative experiment of trace elements determination was carried out for grapestone and herbs. The data show that grapestone is valuable for medicine and nutrition.

Previous studies have shown that acute systemic administration of ethanol induced ascorbic acid (AA) release in mouse striatum and prefrontal cortex. Clozapine and olanzapine showed similar effects on ethanol-induced AA release in mouse striatum. However, their effects on ethanol-induced AA release in mouse prefrontal cortex have not been reported. Thus, their effects on this neurochemical event were further investigated in the present study. The results showed that ethanol (4.0 gkg i.p.) significantly stimulated AA release in the prefrontal cortex by about 200 of baseline in mice. Clozapine and olanzapine, at the dose of 1.0 mgkg s.c., had no effect on basal AA or ethanol-induced AA release. However, both drugs, at the dose of 10 mgkg s.c., significantly inhibited ethanol-induced AA release. The present study demonstrated for the first time that similar actions were exhibited by clozapine and olanzapine for the regulation of ethanol-induced AA release in the mouse prefrontal cortex.

ZnO nanorods, grown by a hydrothermal method, have been characterized by slow positron implantation spectroscopy (SPIS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It has been demonstrated that such non-destructive characterization techniques can provide a comprehensive picture of the nanorod structure (including its length, shape, orientation, and seed layer thickness), as well as provide additional information about defects present in the structure. Nanorods were also characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD), and it was found that the SPIS/AFM combination is more sensitive to the nanorod orientation and the thickness of the seed layer. To obtain still more information about defects in the nanorods, as well as to confirm the findings on the sample structure, nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) was performed and a large concentration of bound hydrogen was found. The results obtained by different characterization techniques are discussed.

In this article, through the condition experiment of simultaneous determination of rare earth and trace elements in wolfsbane by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), the methods of low temperature ashing and nitric acid-overoxidation hydrogen (HNO3-H2O2) were compared. It was proved that the sample disposed with low temperature ashing for microelements and the sample disposed with acid digestion for rare earth satisfied the request for the method of determination. The accuracy is between 1.21% and 15.15%, and the precision is between 0.38% and 8.54%. The data of the experiment proved that the method completely satisfied the request for the determination of rare earth and microelements in the sample of Chinese herbal medicine.

Uncarinic acid E, an active component isolated from Gelsemium elegans BENTH, has been reported to exhibit antitumor effects, but little is known about its molecular mechanisms of action. In this study, the growth-inhibitory activity of uncarinic acid E for HepG2 cells is in time- and dose-dependent manner. HepG2 cells treated with uncarinic acid E exhibited several typical characteristics of apoptosis through photomicroscopical observation, DNA agarose gel electrophoresis. The inhibitory effect of uncarinic acid E on HepG2 cells was partially reversed by the inhibitors of pan-caspase, caspase-3 and caspase-6. The protein expression ratio of Bcl-xL/Bax and Bcl-2/Bax was down-regulated and uncarinic acid E-induced apoptosis involves the initial phase mediated by the balance among Bcl-xL, Bcl-2 and Bax proteins, resulting in cytochrome c release from the mitochondria. Uncarinic acid E significantly increased the expression of p53 proteins indicates that p53 plays a pivotal role in the initiation phase of uncarinic acid E-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis. The phoshatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-K) family inhibitor wortmanin and the MEK inhibitor (PD98059) rescued the viability loss induced by uncarinic acid E through the expression of p53. Taken together, uncarinic acid E induces apoptosis in HepG2 cells via accumulation of p53, alters the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and activates caspases, resulting in cytochrome c release from the mitochondria.

Previous studies have shown that acute systemic administration of ethanol induced striatal ascorbic acid (AA) release in mice and rats. Undercutting the prefrontal cortex completely eliminated ethanol-induced AA release in rat striatum. In the present study, in vivo brain dialysis coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-electrochemical detection was used to evaluate the effect of ethanol on the release of AA in the prefrontal cortex, compared to that in the striatum of freely moving mice. The results showed that ethanol (4.0 g/kg i.p.) similarly induced AA release in the prefrontal cortex and striatum of freely moving mice.

Schizophrenia is a devastating illness of unknown etiology and the basis for its treatment rests in the symptomatic response to antipsychotics. It was found that some of the patients with schizophrenia elicited microglia activation. The present study used lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated mouse microglial cell line N9 as an in vitro model to mimic microglia activation seen in the patients with schizophrenia. The effects of clozapine, olanzapine and haloperidol on the release of nitric oxide (NO) by LPS-stimulated N9 cells were investigated. The results showed that olanzapine significantly inhibited NO release by LPS-stimulated N9 cells. Clozapine and haloperidol did not show significant effects on this model. The present study suggested that the inhibiting effect of olanzapine on the NO release by LPS-stimulated microglial cells might be a new mechanism through which olanzapine exhibits its therapeutic effect in the treatment of schizophrenia.

Previous studies have shown that striatum and nucleus accumbens (NAc) are two different structures in mediating addictive drug-induced ascorbic acid (AA) release. In order to further characterize the different effects of drugs-induced AA release in the striatum and NAc, in the present study, we investigated the effect of ethanol, morphine, methamphetamine, nicotine-induced AA release in these two nuclei using microdialysis coupled to high performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD). All drugs were continuously perfused directly into the striatum or NAc. This study showed that local intrastriatal or intra-accumbensal perfusion of ethanol (500 microM) could increase AA release to 280, 260% in the striatum and NAc, respectively. Intra-striatal infusion of morphine (1 mM), methamphetamine (250 microM) or nicotine (500 microM), reduce striatal AA release to 48, 50, 45%, respectively. While given intra-accumbensally, morphine (1 mM), methamphetamine (250 microM) or nicotine (500 microM) increase AA release to 165, 160, 160%, respectively. These results suggested that different presynaptic or postsynaptic mechanisms might be involved in addictive drug-induced AA release in the striatum and NAc.

The multifunctional Ca 2 + and calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is important for regulating L-type Ca 2 + current (I C a ) and cytoplasmic Ca 2 + (Ca 2 + i ) uptake and release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum(SR), key elements of the 'Ca 2 + -induced Ca 2 + release' (CICR) mechanism. However, the effects of chronic CaMKII inhibition on Ca 2 + i responses during CICR are unknown. We hypothesized that chronic CaMKII inhibition significantly affects CICR in ventricular myocytes. We studied CICR by simultaneously measuring Ca 2 + i transients and I C a in voltage-clamped ventricular myocytes isolated from a recently developed genetic mouse model of cardiac CaMKII inhibition. These measurements were repeated in ventricular myocytes from novel mice with cardiac CaMKII inhibition lacking phospholamban (PLN), a known CaMKII substrate and a negative regulator of Ca 2 + i uptake into the SR Ca 2 + store. CaMKII inhibition eliminated a pattern of I C a increases called facilitation and significantly reduced beat-to-beat and cell-to-cell variability of peak Ca 2 + i transients in ventricular myocytes with PLN. PLN ablation eliminated I C a facilitation even in the absence of CaMKII inhibition and the effects of CaMKII inhibition to reduce SR Ca 2 + content and slow SR Ca 2 + uptake were lost in the absence of PLN. PLN ablation significantly reduced I C a beat-to-beat variability in cells with CaMKII inhibition. These findings show that chronic CaMKII inhibition reduces variability of CICR responses in a manner that is partly dependent on the presence of PLN.

Previous studies have shown that acute systemic administration of ethanol-induced striatal ascorbic acid (AA) release in mice and rats. In the present study, in vivo brain microdialysis coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with electrochemical detection (ECD) was used to comparatively evaluate the effects of clozapine on ethanol-induced AA release in mouse and rat striatum. The results showed that clozapine, at the dose of 15 mg/kg i.p., had no effect on basal AA or ethanol-induced AA release in rat striatum. The potentiating effect of clozapine on ethanol-induced striatal AA release was still observed in rats, at the higher dose of 30 mg/kg. In contrast, clozapine significantly inhibited ethanol-induced AA release in mouse striatum, at the dose of 15 and 30 mg/kg, without affecting basal AA release. The present study suggested that clozapine differentially regulated ethanol-induced AA release in the mouse and rat striatum.

Placental CRH plays a major role in the mechanisms controlling human pregnancy and parturition. Understanding how placental CRH production is regulated is therefore of importance. Previously we have shown that placental expression of CRH peptide and mRNA are inhibited by estrogens, in contrast to the stimulatory effects of estrogen on hypothalamic CRH production. Our current study found that in placental cells cotransfected with a CRH promoter construct and an estrogen receptor-alpha expression vector results in a differential regulation whereby 17beta-estradiol (E2) decreased and the putative pure estrogen antagonist, ICI 182780, increased CRH promoter activity. Sequential deletion of the CRH promoter indicated that the region between -248 and -213 bp was essential for the effect of both E2 and ICI 182780. This region contains a consensus cAMP regulatory element (CRE) that is a requirement for E2- and ICI 182780-mediated activity because the CRE motif can confer E2 inhibition on a heterologous promoter such as rabbit beta-globin. Mutation of the CRE resulted in a complete reversal of E2 and ICI 182780 regulatory effects. In summary, our results demonstrate that a consensus CRE is required for the action of estrogen receptor ligands in human placental syncytiotrophoblast cells.

Cell clustering and scattering play important roles in cancer progression and tissue engineering. While the extracellular matrix (ECM) is known to control cell clustering, much of the quantitative work has focused on the analysis of clustering between cells with strong cell-cell junctions. Much less is known about how the ECM regulates cells with weak cell-cell contact. Clustering characteristics were quantified in rat adenocarcinoma cells, which form clusters on physically adsorbed collagen substrates, but not on covalently attached collagen substrates. Covalently attaching collagen inhibited desorption of collagen from the surface. While changes in proliferation rate could not explain differences seen in the clustering, changes in cell motility could. Cells plated under conditions that resulted in more clustering had a lower persistence time and slower migration rate than those under conditions that resulted in less clustering. Understanding how the ECM regulates clustering will not only impact the fundamental understanding of cancer progression, but also will guide the design of tissue engineered constructs that allow for the clustering or dissemination of cells throughout the construct.

Our previous study revealed that the polymethoxy-flavonoids, as main components of Artemisia annua, could improve the antimalarial activity of Artemisinin. Here, we described the isolation, elucidation, constituent analysis, flavonoids enrichment of the extracts of A. annua. A total of 20 compounds were isolated including a new sesquiterpene (compound 12) and five (1, 5, 6, 7, 15) afforded for the first time from A. annua. The elucidation of eight flavonoids may be a useful phytochemical data and chemical foundation for further mechanism studies on improving the anti-malarial action of artemisinin. Furthermore, the antitumor activities of the compounds were assayed using four different kinds of human cancer cell lines.

The inv(16) is one of the most frequent chromosomal translocations associated with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The inv(16) fusion protein acts by dominantly interfering with AML-1/core binding factor β-dependent transcriptional regulation. Here we demonstrate that the inv(16) fusion protein cooperates with AML-1B to repress transcription. This cooperativity requires the ability of the translocation fusion protein to bind to AML-1B. Mutational analysis and cell fractionation experiments indicated that the inv(16) fusion protein acts in the nucleus and that repression occurs when the complex is bound to DNA. We also found that the inv(16) fusion protein binds to AML-1B when it is associated with the mSin3A corepressor. An AML-1B mutant that fails to bind mSin3A was impaired in cooperative repression, suggesting that the inv(16) fusion protein acts through mSin3 and possibly other corepressors. Finally, we demonstrate that the C-terminal portion of the inv(16) fusion protein contains a repression domain, suggesting a molecular mechanism for AML-1-mediated repression.