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We unveil the novel physical origin of the insulating block checkerboard antiferromagnetism in vacancy-ordered K2Fe4Se5. Our first-principles electronic structure analysis reveals its incompatibility with a simple Fermi-surface nesting or Mott insulator scenario, and suggests the picture of coexisting itinerant and localized electronic states. Consistently, we demonstrate that it can be unified with the metallic collinear or bicollinear antiferromagnetism of the vacancy-free parent compounds LaOFeAs, BaFe2As2, or FeTe in the spin-fermion model. These results indicate that the blocking effects of Hund's rule coupling and the resulting electron correlation are crucial to the electronic and magnetic structures of iron-based superconductors.

In all iron pnictides, the positions of the ligand alternatively above and below the Fe plane create 2 inequivalent Fe sites. This results in 10 Fe $3d$ bands in the electronic structure. However, they do not all have the same status for an ARPES experiment. There are interference effects between the 2 Fe that modulate strongly the intensity of the bands and that can even switch their parity. We give a simple description of these effects, notably showing that ARPES polarization selection rules in these systems can not be applied by reference to a single Fe ion. We show that ARPES data for the electron pockets in Ba(Fe${}_{0.92}$Co${}_{0.08}$)${}_{2}$As${}_{2}$ are in excellent agreement with this model as well as with direct calculation of the spectral weight. We observe both the total suppression of some bands and the parity switching of some other bands. Once these effects are properly taken into account, the structure of the electron pockets, as measured by ARPES, becomes very clear and simple. By combining ARPES measurements in different experimental configurations, we clearly isolate each band forming one of the electron pockets. We identify a deep electron band along one ellipse axis with the ${d}_{xy}$ orbital and a shallow electron band along the perpendicular axis with the ${d}_{xz}$/${d}_{yz}$ orbitals, in good agreement with band-structure calculations. We show that the electron pockets are warped as a function of ${k}_{z}$ as expected theoretically, but that they are much smaller than predicted by the calculation.

In this work, we report a monodisperse bifunctional nanoparticle system, MIO@SiO2 -RITC, as an MRI contrast agent [core, manganese iron oxide (MIO); shell, amorphous silica conjugated with rhodamine B isothiocyanate (RITC)]. It was prepared by thermal decomposition and modified microemulsion methods. The nanoparticles with varying iron to manganese ratios displayed different saturated magnetizations and relaxivities. In vivo MRI of rats injected intravenously with MIO@SiO2-RITC nanoparticles exhibited enhancement of the T1 contrast in brain tissue, in particular a time-delayed enhancement in the hippocampus, pituitary gland, striatum and cerebellum. This is attributable to the gradual degradation of MIO@SiO2-RITC nanoparticles in the liver, resulting in the slow release of manganese(II) [Mn(II)] into the blood pool and, subsequently, accumulation in the brain tissue. Thus, T1-weighted contrast enhancement was clearly detected in the anatomic structure of the brain as time progressed. In addition, T2*-weighted images of the liver showed a gradual darkening effect. Here, we demonstrate the concept of the slow release of Mn(II) for neuroimaging. This new nanoparticle-based manganese contrast agent allows one simple intravenous injection (rather than multiple infusions) of Mn(II) precursor, and results in delineation of the detailed anatomic neuroarchitecture in MRI; hence, this provides the advantage of the long-term study of neural function.

The KDM4 subfamily of JmjC domain-containing demethylases mediates demethylation of histone H3K36me3/me2 and H3K9me3/me2. Several studies have shown that human and yeast KDM4 proteins bind to specific gene promoters and regulate gene expression. However, the genome-wide distribution of KDM4 proteins and the mechanism of genomic-targeting remain elusive. We have previously identified Drosophila KDM4A (dKDM4A) as a histone H3K36me3 demethylase that directly interacts with HP1a. Here, we performed H3K36me3 ChIP-chip analysis in wild type and dkdm4a mutant embryos to identify genes regulated by dKDM4A demethylase activity in vivo. A subset of heterochromatic genes that show increased H3K36me3 levels in dkdm4a mutant embryos overlap with HP1a target genes. More importantly, binding to HP1a is required for dKDM4A-mediated H3K36me3 demethylation at a subset of heterochromatic genes. Collectively, these results show that HP1a functions to target the H3K36 demethylase dKDM4A to heterochromatic genes in Drosophila.

We designed a novel cis-platin (CP) delivery system by modification of mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) surfaces with a carboxylate group through a hydrazone bond. The further immobilization of CP can be achieved through the coordination of the carboxylate-modified MSN surfaces with the hydroxo-substituted CP. This new formulation can efficiently increase efficiency of both the cellular uptake and the drug release under endosomal or lysosomal pHs; therefore, the anti-proliferative effect of this new formulation on the colon cancer cell line (HT-29) was twenty times more than the free CP molecules. In addition, the encapsulation of CP complexes in the confined spaces of MSNs can decrease non-specific release from enzymatic hydrolysis because most hydrolytic enzymes have diameters considerably greater than the pore size of MSNs. The DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activity assay showed that the apoptosis was induced by DNA damages and then an increase in caspase-3 activity. Thus, the TA-MSN-carboxylate-CP samples were induced cell apoptosis through the caspase-3 dependent pathway. Moreover, the hemolysis assay also indicated that the exposure of the carboxylate-modified MSNs in red blood cells (RBCs) did not observe the release of red hemoglobin from the cell lysis, and the further exposure of the TA-MSN-carboxylate-CP complexes to RBCs also did not observe notably the lysis of RBCs under the effectively therapeutic dosage. Therefore, our design of MSN with controllable release of CP has highly therapeutic effects and is highly biocompatible; however, a low cytotoxicity and site effect were observed.

Fe0.74Sn5 nanospheres are synthesized from a mixture of Sn nanospheres (obtained by reduction of SnCl2 with NaBH4 in tetraethylene glycol at 170 °C) and FeCl3 in tetraethylene glycol (205 °C, 2 h).

In order to enhance the learners' key competence in the elementary school, this study integrate 5E learning cycle and ICT-based PBL into nature science learning. The research adopts quasi-experiment design, and conducts a nature science learning experiment of the third grade students. The experiment group accept ICT-based PBL model and utilize Intel thinking tool and eXe software to discuss, organize and record their process and works. On the other hand, the learners of control group accept the traditional PBL model. The experiment lasts for one semester. The meta-cognition inventory and technology-oriented creative inventory are employed to survey the difference between those two groups. The results indicate that the experiment group perform better in most of technology-oriented creative inventory than the control group, but creative abilities of those two groups was promoted on the same time under the traditional or ICT-based PBL model. Nevertheless, merely self-test facet of meta-cognition is enhanced significantly on the experiment group.

Trisomy 12p syndrome is a rare chromosomal abnormality, which presents with facial dysmorphism, moderate to severe psychomotor retardation and generalized hypotonia. Here we present the prenatal sonographic findings investigated of a fetus in prenatal diagnosis with a de novo trisomy of 12p identified by array-comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH).

Massive postpartum hemorrhage is one of the major complications in the peripartum period. In some critical cases, hemostasis is hard to achieve even after a hysterectomy has been performed. Recombinant activated factor VII has been reported as a promising adjuvant therapy for obstetric hemorrhage, although it remains unlicensed for this indication. Eight cases receiving recombinant activated factor VII in postpartum hemorrhage refractory to the conventional therapy in a Taiwanese hospital were analyzed retrospectively. A good response, defined as bleeding control in 15 min, was achieved in six patients (75%) with a single dose ranging from 55 to 105 µg/kg. The two patients with a poor response were later discovered to have had unsolved birth canal injuries. No drug-related adverse effects were noted. We recommend that any surgical bleeding should first be controlled, as well as the correction of metabolic and hematological abnormalities; however, in the situation of intractable postpartum hemorrhage, recombinant activated factor VII offers a salvage therapy and should be considered early, even before hysterectomy.

We investigate the physical effects of translational symmetry breaking in Fe-based high-temperature superconductors due to alternating anion positions. In the representative parent compounds, including the newly discovered Fe-vacancy-ordered $\mathrm{K_{0.8}Fe_{1.6}Se_2}$, an unusual change of orbital character is found across the one-Fe Brillouin zone upon unfolding the first-principles band structure and Fermi surfaces, suggesting that covering a larger one-Fe Brillouin zone is necessary in experiments. Most significantly, the electron pockets (critical to the magnetism and superconductivity) are found only created with the broken symmetry, advocating strongly its full inclusion in future studies, particularly on the debated nodal structures of the superconducting order parameter., Accepted by Physical Review Letters. Updated in Figure 2 and supplementary information

Written by a distinguished group of Asian social scientists, this study summarizes and synthesizes the economic impacts of the crisis on individual countries and their policy response since 2008, and in particular carefully scrutinizes the immediate and remote causes of the crisis. It not only offers an assessment of its impacts, and identifies specific country measures that can be undertaken to stabilize the situation, but also looks at the crisis from three important economic perspectives: that of a healthy fiscal system, international trade, and the energy market.

Embryonic stem cell pluripotency depends on their epigenetic state, however, the pathways downstream of pluripotency factors remain unclear. Here, the Nanog target KDM5B, an H3K4me3 histone demethylase, is recruited to and activates genes involved in self-renewal, in part by facilitating transcriptional elongation by repressing cryptic transcripts.

Two new polymorphs, β- and γ-In2Ge6O15(NH2CH2CH2NH2)2, have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions using 2-methylpentamethylenediamine as a solvent and structurally characterized by single-...

Objective To present intensive intrauterine treatment of recurrent early onset fetal erythroblastosis due to anti-M alloimmunization. Case Report A 33-year-old woman, gravid 3, para 1, had anti-M IgG antibody, which caused alloimmunization of her previous pregnancies. This time she visited our hospital for intensive intervention. No evidence of fetal hydrops was found during ultrasound examination at 12 weeks of gestation. Plasmapheresis was given from 17 weeks of gestation but fetal erythroblastosis still developed 1 week later. Two intraperitoneal transfusions and one intracardiac transfusion were given within three days but fetal erythroblastosis still progressed to fetal bradycardia and occasional asystole. Epinephrine resuscitation could only temporarily improve the fetal heart rate and fetal death was inevitable. Conclusion Serial measurements of fetal middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocities, advanced plasmapheresis, intrauterine blood transfusion, and, if needed, intravenous immunoglobulin supplement, may be the appropriate treatment for early onset fetal erythroblastosis resulting from alloimmunization.

As one of a few English-language works on the Yingzao Fashi (Treatise on Architectural Methods and Building Standards) by Lie Jie, this book provides a fresh perspective on Chinese architectural wr...

The rapid spread of influenza virus subtype H1N1 poses a great threat to million lives worldwide. To search for new anti-influenza compounds, we performed molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation to identify potential traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constituents that could block influenza M2 channel activity. Quinic acid, genipin, syringic acid, cucurbitine, fagarine, and methyl isoferulate all have extremely well docking results as compared to control amantadine. Further de novo drug design suggests that derivatives of genipin and methyl isoferulate could have enhanced binding affinity towards M2 channel. Selected molecular dynamics simulations of M2-derivative complexes show stable hydrogen bond interactions between the derivatives and M2 residues, Ser10 and Ala9. To our best knowledge, this is the first study on the anti-viral activity of the above listed TCM compounds.

Intramolecular [4+4] photocycloaddition of 2-pyridones tethered by a three-carbon chain yield mixtures of trans and cis products. A general method is described for producing the trans isomer from the cis isomer by Cope rearrangement of the latter followed by photolysis. Photocleavage of the Cope product transiently reforms the tethered pyridones which then undergo a new [4+4] photocycloaddition. The trans isomer is inert to the reaction conditions and so the transformations can be performed without isolation steps. Two cycles of heating and irradiation transform an initial trans/cis ratio of 2:1 to nearly 20:1, with a corresponding increase in the yield of the trans isomer. Combination of this chemistry with control from a tether substituent allows for the facile synthesis of a single [4+4] product with five stereogenic centers

Black lamellar crystals of the title compound, which contains three unique uranium sites for U4+, U5+, and U5+/U6+ ions, are hydrothermally prepared from an aqueous mixture of UO3, SiO2, NaOH, and CsF in the molar ratio Na/Cs/U/Si = 10:5:0.5:6 (autoclave, 170 MPa, 600 °C, 2 d, 23% yield).

Two zinc germanates incorporating bidentate-bridging organic amine ligands have been synthesized under solvothermal conditions by using the amines as solvents. Their structural features are infinite chains formed of edge-sharing ZnO(4)N trigonal bipyramids and unbranched vierer single layers with the composition [Ge(4)O(10)] and discrete ZnO(2)N(2) tetrahedra and unbranched zweier double chains with the composition [Ge(2)O(5)], respectively.

Black lamellar crystals of the title compound, which contains three unique uranium sites for U4+, U5+, and U5+/U6+ ions, are hydrothermally prepared from an aqueous mixture of UO3, SiO2, NaOH, and CsF in the molar ratio Na/Cs/U/Si = 10:5:0.5:6 (autoclave, 170 MPa, 600 °C, 2 d, 23% yield).

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammation disease that may involve extra-articular organs in addition to joints. Many proinflammatory cytokines are involved in the inflammatory process of RA. IkappaBalpha conjugates with NF-kappaB and is a key player in regulation of the inflammatory process. We carried out experiments to define the effect of different promoter polymorphisms on the transcriptional activities of IkappaBalpha promoter and the development of RA.Different IkappaBalpha promoter reporters were constructed and were examined in human mononuclear cells, THP-1 cells. One hundred forty patients and 115 healthy controls were recruited from the Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital.The activities of IkappaBalpha promoter constructs with -826C, -550A, -519T, and -826T, -550A, -519T genotypes were expressed at one half the activity level of other constructs. Promoter constructs containing the sites -550A/T and -519T had a reduced risk of rheumatoid arthritis. The odds ratio of -826C/T genotype was significantly associated with an increase of risk in causing rheumatoid arthritis, whereas -826T/T genotype was associated only with a slightly increased risk of RA, but without statistical significance (odds ratio = 1.2; 95% confidence interval, 0.4-3.8).The increase of T allele was associated with a significant increased risk and the tendency to the pathogenesis of RA. The association between IkappaBalpha promoter polymorphisms and disease severity of rheumatoid arthritis is partly due to different transcriptional activities of IkappaBalpha promoter and the activation of NF-kappaB.

To investigate the role of IkappaBalpha promoter polymorphisms in the development of Behçet's disease, eighty-six patients with Behçet's disease and 120 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The IkappaBalpha -881A/G, -826C/T, -550A/T, -519C/T, and -297C/T polymorphisms were measured by the method of polymerase chain reaction/ restriction fragment length polymorphism. This study demonstrated that the genotype frequencies of IkappaBalpha -826C/T and -826T/T were significantly higher in the patients with Behçet's disease than in the controls. Both in the dominant and in the recessive models, the patients with Behçet's disease have higher frequencies of the IkappaBalpha -826T containing genotype than the controls. The allele frequency of IkappaBalpha -826T was significantly increased in the patients with Behçet's disease. The frequencies of the IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519C -297C and IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519T -297C haplotypes were significantly higher in the patients with Behçet's disease than in the controls. In contrast, the haplotype frequency of IkappaBalpha -881A -826C -550A -519C -297C in the patients with Behçet's disease was significantly decreased. This study also revealed that the Behçet's disease patients with IkappaBalpha -826T/T have higher prevalence of skin lesions than those without IkappaBalpha -826T/T. In summary, the IkappaBalpha -826T allele, IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519C -297C and IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519T -297C haplotypes might be associated with susceptibility to Behçet's disease. The IkappaBalpha -826T/T genotype was related to the development of skin lesions in the patients with Behçet's disease.

With the aim of investigating the role of suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (SOCS1) in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus, 107 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, 101 healthy controls, and 151 patients with ankylosing spondylitis were enrolled in this study. SOCS1 mRNA level was measured by the method of quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. SOCS1 polymorphisms were detected by the polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphisms method. Systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity was evaluated with the SLEDAI. This study showed that the SOCS1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus than in the healthy controls (p = 0.0014). Patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus had a higher expression of SOCS1 mRNA than the patients with inactive systemic lupus erythematosus (p = 0.035). There was no significant difference in the frequencies of the SOCS1-1478CA/del polymorphisms among the patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, healthy controls, and patients with ankylosing spondylitis. The genotype frequency of the SOCS1-1478 polymorphisms in the dominant model (CA/del+del/del versus CA/CA) was significantly decreased in the patients with thrombocytopenia compared with those without thrombocytopenia (pc = 0.035). Moreover, the allele frequency of SOCS1-1478del was also significantly lower in the patients with thrombocytopenia than in those without thrombocytopenia (p c = 0.02). In conclusion, this study demonstrated that the expression of SOCS1 mRNA was significantly increased in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Moreover, SOCS1 mRNA levels in patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus were significantly higher than those in the inactive patients. We also found that the systemic lupus erythematosus patients with thrombocytopenia have a lower frequency of SOCS1-1478del compared with patients without thrombocytopenia. Lupus (2010) 19, 696—702.

Background/Purpose: Management of preterm labor involves the use of tocolytic drugs to inhibit preterm uterine contractions. This study compared the efficacy and safety of intravenous administration of atosiban and ritodrine in the treatment of spontaneous preterm labor. Methods: A randomized study was conducted in pregnant women of Chinese origin in Taiwan with threatened preterm delivery. Patients were randomized to receive either atosiban (n=23) or ritodrine (n=22). Tocolytic efficacy of the drug was assessed as the proportion of women who did not deliver and did not need alternative tocolytic treatment at 7 days after therapy initiation. Safety of the drugs was assessed as the number of adverse events or neonatal morbidity. Results: The number of women who did not deliver and did not require alternative tocolytic therapy at 7 days was similar between the atosiban and ritodrine groups. There were no serious adverse events, but maternal cardiovascular adverse events, particularly tachycardia, occurred significantly more in women treated with ritodrine (0% atosiban vs. 18.18% ritodrine, p＜0.05). There was no difference in neonatal or infant outcome between the two drugs. Conclusion: The present study showed similar effectiveness between atosiban and ritodrine, while tachycardia occurred more frequently in women treated with ritodrine. These results indicate that atosiban is an effective tocolytic drug without the conventional cardiovascular side effects often seen with beta-agonist treatment.

The conversion of (3-hydroxy-1-propen-1-yl)boronates to substituted enamides and enol benzoates is readily achieved in a one-pot procedure consisting of a regiocontrolled Mitsunobu reaction with convenient nucleophiles, followed by allylboration of aldehydes. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)

We demonstrate a spin pump to generate pure spin current of tunable intensity and polarization in the absence of charge current. The pumping functionality is achieved by means of an ac gate voltage that modulates the Rashba constant dynamically in a local region of a quantum channel with both static Rashba and Dresselhaus spin-orbit interactions. Spin-resolved Floquet scattering matrix is calculated to analyze the whole scattering process. Pumped spin current can be divided into spin-preserved transmission and spin-flip reflection parts. These two terms have opposite polarization of spin current and are competing with each other. Our proposed spin-based device can be utilized for nonmagnetic control of spin flow by tuning the ac gate voltage and the driving frequency.

Summary Recent discoveries of histone demethylases demonstrate that histone methylation is reversible. However, mechanisms governing the targeting and regulation of histone demethylation remain elusive. Here we report that a Drosophila melanogaster JmjC domain-containing protein, dKDM4A, is a histone H3K36 demethylase. dKDM4A specifically demethylates H3K36me2 and H3K36me3 both in vitro and in vivo. Affinity purification and mass spectrometry analysis revealed that heterochromatin protein 1a (HP1a) associates with dKDMA4A. We found that the chromo shadow domain of HP1a and a HP1-interacting motif of dKDM4A are responsible for this interaction. HP1a stimulates the histone H3K36 demethylation activity of dKDM4A, and this stimulation depends on the H3K9me-binding motif of HP1a. Finally, we provide in vivo evidence suggesting that HP1a and dKDM4A interact with each other and that loss of HP1a leads to an increased level of histone H3K36me3. Collectively, these results suggest a function of HP1a in transcription facilitating H3K36 demethylation at transcribed and/or heterochromatin regions.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association of IκBα with the development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Taiwan. One hundred and fifty-four patients with AS and 112 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The IκBα-881A/G, -826C/T, -550A/T, -519C/T, and -297C/T polymorphisms were determined by the polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism method. This study demonstrated that the genotype frequencies of IκBα-826C/T and -826T/T, and allele frequencies of IκBα-826T were significantly higher in the patients with AS than in the controls. We also found that the estimated haplotype frequencies of IκBα-881A -826T -550A -519C -297C and IκBα-881A -826C -550A -519T -297C were significantly increased in the patient with AS in comparison with that of the controls. In contrast, the estimated haplotype frequency of IκBα-881A -826C -550A -519C -297C was significantly decreased in the patients with AS. This study demonstrates that IκBα-826T is associated with the development of AS. Furthermore, the IκBα-881A -826T -550A -519C -297C and IκBα-881A -826C -550A -519T -297C haplotypes are related to susceptibility to AS in Taiwan.

A new uranium(V) silicate, K3(U3O6)(Si2O7), and the germanate analogue, Rb3(U3O6)(Ge2O7), have been synthesized under high-temperature, high-pressure hydrothermal conditions and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Their structures contain uranate columns formed of triple octahedral chains of the alpha-UF5 type linked by disilicate (or digermanate) units to form a 3-D framework structure. The valence state of uranium is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and magnetic susceptibility.

To investigate the association of IkBalpha promoter polymorphisms with the development of primary Sjögren's syndrome in Taiwan, 98 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and 110 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this study.The IkappaBalpha -881 A/G, IkappaBalpha -826 C/T, IkappaBalpha -550 A/T, IkappaBalpha -519 C/T, and IkappaBalpha -297 C/T polymorphisms were determined by the methods of polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism.This study demonstrated that the genotype frequencies of IkappaBalpha -826 C/T and IkappaBalpha -826 T/T, in comparison with that of IkappaBalpha -826 C/C, were significantly higher in the patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome than in the controls. The allele frequency of IkappaBalpha -881 G was significantly decreased in the patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome compared with that of the controls. In contrast, the allele frequency of IkappaBalpha -826 T was significantly higher in the patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome than in the controls. The similar findings could also be found in the allele carriage frequencies. The patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome had lower allele carriage frequencies of IkappaBalpha -881 G and IkappaBalpha -826 C, and a higher allele carriage frequency of IkappaBalpha -826 T. We also found that the estimated haplotype frequency of IkappaBalpha -881A-826T-550A-519C-297C was significantly increased in the patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome in comparison with that of the controls.This study demonstrated that the IkBalpha -826T allele and IkBalpha -881A-826T-550A-519C-297C haplotype were associated with susceptibility to primary Sjögren's syndrome in Taiwan. However, these findings may not be disease-specific but may be related to inflammatory responses.

To investigate the associations of IkappaBalpha gene polymorphisms with the development and clinical manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), 110 patients with SLE and 120 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The IkappaBalpha -881 A/G, -826 C/T, -550 A/T, -519 C/T, and -297 C/T polymorphisms were determined by the polymerase chain reaction/reaction fragment length polymorphism method. The genotype frequency of IkappaBalpha -826 C/T in the patients with SLE was significantly higher than that of the controls (p = 0.003, OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.3-3.9). The SLE patients also have significantly higher carriage rate of IkappaBalpha -826 T than the controls (p = 0.01, OR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.2-3.4). We also found that the estimated haplotype frequency of IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519C -297C was significantly increased in the patients with SLE in comparison with that of the controls. This study also demonstrated that the association of IkappaBalpha -826 T with SLE was independent of HLA-DR15, which is associated with susceptibility to SLE in Taiwan. Moreover, a synergistic effect could also be found between IkappaBalpha -826 T and HLA-DR15. IkappaBalpha -826 T is associated with the development of SLE in Taiwan. The IkappaBalpha -881A -826T -550A -519C -297C haplotype is also associated with susceptibility to SLE. This study also demonstrated that IkappaBalpha -881G was associated with the occurrence of vasculitis in SLE patients. IkappaBalpha -550T might be a protective factor for the development of malar rash.

Indole-3-carbinol has emerged as a promising chemopreventive agent due to its in vivo efficacy in various animal models. However, indole-3-carbinol exhibits weak antiproliferative potency and is unstable in acidic milieu. Thus, this study was aimed at exploiting indole-3-carbinol to develop potent antitumor agents with improved chemical stability. This effort culminated in OSU-A9 {[1-(4-chloro-3-nitrobenzenesulfonyl)-1H-indol-3-yl]-methanol}, which is resistant to acid-catalyzed condensation, and exhibits 100-fold higher apoptosis-inducing activity than the parent compound. Relative to indole-3-carbinol, OSU-A9 displays a striking qualitative similarity in its effects on the phosphorylation or expression of multiple signaling targets, including Akt, mitogen-activated protein kinases, Bcl-2 family members, survivin, nuclear factor-κB, cyclin D1, p21, and p27. The ability of OSU-A9 to concurrently modulate this broad range of signaling targets underscores its in vitro and in vivo efficacy in prostate cancer cells. Nevertheless, despite this complex mode of mechanism, normal prostate epithelial cells were less susceptible to the antiproliferative effect of OSU-A9 than PC-3 and LNCaP prostate cancer cells. Treatment of athymic nude mice bearing established s.c. PC-3 xenograft tumors with OSU-A9 at 10 and 25 mg/kg i.p. for 42 days resulted in a 65% and 85%, respectively, suppression of tumor growth. Western blot analysis of representative biomarkers in tumor lysates revealed significant reductions in the intratumoral levels of phosphorylated (p-) Akt, Bcl-xL, and RelA, accompanied by robust increases in p-p38 levels. In conclusion, the ability of OSU-A9 to target multiple aspects of cancer cell survival with high potency suggests its clinical value in prostate cancer therapy. [Cancer Res 2007;67(16):7815–24]

To investigate the role of ligands for programmed cell death 1 (PD-L) in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 129 patients with RA and 125 unrelated healthy controls were enrolled in this study. The PD-L1 and PD-L2 polymorphisms were determined by the method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)/direct sequencing or PCR/reaction fragment length polymorphisms. The genotype distributions of PD-L1 6777 C/G were not significantly different between the patients with RA and healthy controls. There was also no significant difference in the allele frequencies of PD-L1 6777 C/G polymorphisms between the patients with RA and controls. Similar findings could also be found in the phenotypes and alleles frequencies of PD-L2 47103 C/T and 47139 T/C polymorphisms between the patients with RA and controls. The patients with PD-L1 6777 G had higher prevalence of rheumatoid nodule in comparison with those without PD-L1 6777 G (p = 0.005, OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 1.5–10.9). In contrast, the PD-L2 47103 C/T and 47139 T/C polymorphisms were not related to the occurrence of rheumatoid nodule. This study demonstrated that the PD-L1 and PD-L2 polymorphisms were not associated with susceptibility to RA in Taiwan. PD-L1 6777 G was associated with the prevalence of rheumatoid nodule.

Summary Objective There is little prospective experience in the conservative treatment of placenta percreta during the first trimester in order to preserve uterine fertility. We describe herein our experience with uterine artery embolization (UAE) in the management of placenta percreta at 9 weeks of gestation. Case Report A 36-year-old woman, gravida 3, para 1, was referred for ultrasonographic evaluation because of suspected molar pregnancy due to persistent vaginal spotting at 9 weeks of gestation. A Grade 3+ lacunar flow pattern with multiple bizarre and large irregular sonolucent spaces were observed. Color Doppler imaging revealed extensive turbulent lacunar blood flow perfusing throughout the whole surrounding uteroplacental tissues and fetus. The patient was informed of the situation and she had a strong desire to avoid surgery. Conservative management with bilateral UAE was performed using polyvinyl alcohol particles to promote involution and shedding of the abnormally adherent placenta. However, an unsatisfactory vessel-occluding effect caused by extensive collateral supply was still detected after repeated UAE. We, therefore, performed hysterectomy, and the patient had an uneventful postoperative course. Conclusion The efficacy and complications of UAE as a therapeutic modality for the conservative management of invasive placentation in the first trimester of pregnancy are not clear, as this is the first report of its kind. However, although UAE had failed in this case, it may still be a useful procedure as a prophylactic measure before surgical intervention, and hysterectomy can also be performed for better control of operative hemorrhage.

[reaction: see text] The application of a one-pot palladium-catalyzed cycloisomerization of enynes 1/Diels-Alder cycloaddition/allylboration sequence efficiently generates tricyclic structures with complete control of the four stereogenic centers. Ruthenium and platinum catalysts perform distinct transformations providing other isomeric boron-substituted cyclic compounds.

Conventional straight-handled woks and the ergonomic bent-handled woks under different wok sizes were evaluated using the psychophysical approach. Twelve female subjects were tested using 15 different woks in a random order. The independent variables were the wok handle angle (with two angles of 25˚, 10˚ for traditional wok, and three angles of -5˚, -20˚ and -35˚ for bent-handled wok) and the wok size (with three diameters of 33 cm, 36 cm and 39 cm). The criterion measures included maximum acceptable weight of flipping (MAWF), wrist angle and subjective rating. The results showed both the handle angle and wok size significantly affected the maximum acceptable weight of flipping, wrist angle and subjective rating. The bent-handled wok is superior to the straight-handled wok, and the size-weight illusion effect is significant. In general, a small wok (33 cm diameter) with an ergonomic bent handle (-35˚) is ideal for females to decrease the risk of upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders when performing the flipping task.

Type 2 diabetes has rapidly reached an epidemic proportion becoming a major threat to global public health. PPAR agonists have emerged as a leading class of oral antidiabetic drugs. We report a structure biology analysis of novel indole-based PPAR agonists to explain the structure-activity relationships and present a critical analysis of reasons for change in selectivity with change in the orientation of the same scaffolds. The results would be helpful in designing novel PPAR agonists.

We revisit the non-collinear exchange coupling across the trilayer magnetic junction mediated by the diluted-magnetic-semiconductor thin film. By numerical approaches, we investigate the spiral angle between the ferromagnetic layers extensively in the parameter space. In contrast to previous study, we discovered the important role of spin relaxation, which tends to favor spiral exchange over the oscillatory Ruderman-Kittel-Kasuya-Yosida interaction. Finally, we discuss the physics origins of these two types of magnetic interactions., Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Applied Physics Letters

For the first time, a novel hybrid SOI/bulk CMOS technology with 20nm gate length and low-leakage 1.3nm thick SiON gate dielectric has been developed for advanced SOC applications. 26% (for N-FET) and 35% (for P-FET) improvements of intrinsic gate delay (CV/I) at low gate leakage of 20-40A/cm/sup 2/ have been achieved over previous leading-edge 45nm node version, while maintaining the same sub-threshold leakage (100nA//spl mu/m). 10 times reduction of the leakage can be further modulated by a virtual back-gate control. Fine patterning with line pitch of 90nm by immersion lithography is demonstrated, which features 0.183/spl mu/m/sup 2/ 6T-SRAM cell for 32nm node on-trend scaling.

There have been several kinds of resist model proposed for optical proximity correction. The simplest one is the constant threshold resist model. By this method, only area with intensity above a certain threshold value would be developed. Unfortunately, the constant threshold resist model is too simplified to accurately describe the entire resist processes. To solve this problem, variable threshold resist models were proposed thereafter. The printed resist edge is characterized in terms of the aerial image properties, such as intensity, intensity slope and so forth. More parameters and freedoms are required to describe the complicated chemical reactions of the resist during exposure and development processes. However, the computation time for OPC would increase significantly due to the supplementary calculation of the extra aerial image properties. In this paper, the dual model of constant threshold was proposed to enhance the accuracy of constant threshold resist models. Two constant threshold resist models were determined by model fitting process based on different types of pattern structures. During the correction, one-dimensional and two-dimensional edges are identified first and different constant-threshold models were applied for simulation. Good corrections on both of the one-dimensional line/space widths and two-dimensional line-ends could be achieved. The simulation results were also compared with experimental data.

To investigate the association of cytochrome p450 1A1 (CYP1A1) and manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to Behçet's disease (BD) in Taiwan.The polymorphisms of CYP1A1 and MnSOD genes were determined in 51 patients with BD and 91 healthy controls by polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism methods.The frequencies of CYP1A1 4889G and 4887A were significantly increased in patients with BD. In contrast, there was no significant difference in the frequencies of MnSOD gene polymorphisms between patients with BD and controls. Linkage disequilibrium was found between CYP1A1 4889G and CYP1A1 6235C in controls and patients with BD. However, a similar finding could not be found between CYP1A1 4889G and 4887A. We also found that the association of CYP1A1 4889G with BD was dependent on the presence of CYP1A1 4887A. On the other hand, the association of CYP1A1 4887A with BD was dependent on the presence of CYP1A1 4889G. An additive effect of CYP1A1 4889G and 4887A on the susceptibility to BD could be found.Simultaneous presence of CYP1A1 4889G and 4887A is associated with development of BD in Taiwan.