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Rottlerin, a polyphenolic compound, has been demonstrated to exhibit antitumor activity in various types of human cancer. Several studies have revealed that rottlerin exerts its anticancer function through PKC-dependent and independent pathways. The transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) oncopreotein is an important molecule in regulation of the Hippo pathway in human cancer. The present study investigated whether rottlerin has a tumor suppressive role via inhibiting the expression of TAZ, using cell viability assay, apoptosis and cell cycle analyses, western blot analysis and Tanswell invasion assay. The results demonstrated that rottlerin suppressed cell growth, triggered cell apoptosis and induced cell cycle arrest. In addition, rottlerin inhibited cell migration and invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Mechanistically, the results demonstrated that rottlerin exerted its antitumor activity partly through the inhibition of TAZ. In addition, the depletion of TAZ led to inhibited cell growth and invasion, whereas the overexpression of TAZ enhanced cell growth and invasion in the HCC cells. Taken together, these findings indicated that the inhibition of TAZ by rottlerin may be a novel strategy for treating HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose This paper aims to propose a novel design concept for a biomimetic dolphin-like underwater glider, which can offer the advantages of both robotic dolphins and underwater gliders to achieve high-maneuverability, high-speed and long-distance motions.Design/methodology/approach To testify the gliding capability of dolphin-like robot without traditional internal movable masses, the authors first developed a skilled and simple dolphin-like prototype with only gliding capability. The hydrodynamic coefficients, including lift, drag and pitching moment, are obtained through computational fluid dynamics method, and the hydrodynamic analysis in the steady gliding motion is also executed.Findings Experimental results have shown that the dolphin-like glider could successfully glide depending on the pitching torques only from buoyancy-driven system and controllable fins without traditional internal moveable masses.Originality/value A hybrid underwater glider scheme that combines robotic dolphin and glider is firstly proposed, shedding light on the creation of innovation gliders with maneuverability and durability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung carcinoma is the most common cancer with increasing morbidity, inefficient therapeutic modality, and poor prognosis, due to the lack of understanding of its related molecular mechanism. ZNRF3 is a newly identified negative regulator of Wnt signaling. In this study, we found that ZNRF3 level is reduced in lung carcinoma compared with normal lung tissue and its expression level is positively correlated with the survival of lung cancer patients. Restoration of ZNRF3 suppressed the proliferation and cell cycle progression of lung cancer cell lines. Suppression of ZNRF3 expression in normal lung cells increased the proliferation rates. In an animal model, ZNRF3 was shown to suppress the growth of lung cancer xenografts. ZNRF3 was shown to negatively regulate the activation of Wnt signaling in lung cancerous and normal cells. Further studies revealed that ZNRF3 is a target of miR-93, an oncogenic microRNA (miRNA) for lung cancer progression. Collectively, we found that miR-93/ZNRF3/Wnt/β-catenin regulatory network contributes to the growth of lung carcinoma. Targeting this pathway may be a promising strategy for lung cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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ABSTRACT Objective To develop magnetic resonance (MR) robot used in the magnetic field environment, materials selected for manufacturing robot should have good MR compatibility and machinability. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly urgent to develop an evaluation method considering the above two factors at the same time. Methods A series of experiments were done to study the interaction between the magnetic field of MR scanner and the material samples, and to determine the samples' machinability. Four kinds of materials including metal and plastics with different geometric shape were used to test the artifacts, force and torque in magnetic resonance image (MRI) tube according to standard method. Three items including surface roughness, cutting force and chip shape were analyzed to evaluate the machinability of four samples. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was adopted to process these experimental data for choosing the most suitable robot material in MR environment. Results The quantized values of MR compatibility and machinability are achieved, and a new methodology for material selection are developed, which provides systematic guideline for engineer and researcher to choose suitable robot materials used in an MRI tube. Polyformaldehyde of four kinds of material is determined to be the most suitable one for MR robots or devices. Conclusion A thorough examination of four commonly used engineering materials has been discussed and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method is suitable for choosing MR compatible robot materials. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Concepts Magn Reson Part B (Magn Reson Engineering) 45B: 1-12, 2015 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]