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We aimed to identify a reliable biomarker for tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC), the most common oral cancer with no established biomarkers, to predict prognosis and to select the optimal treatment.To investigate whether DAPT exhibited antitumor functions, CAL-27 and SCC-9 cells were treated with DAPT (5 µM or 10 µM) for different times. Further, qRT-PCR was used to determine the mRNA expression levels of lncRNA-KAT14 after treatment with DAPT or si-KAT14 and both combined. Moreover, the treated cells were cultured for different times to investigate their antitumor function. The Wound-healing and Transwell assay were carried out to evaluate the migration and invasion viability of cancer cells, respectively. Finally, the Western blots were performed to determine the expression of EMT-related proteins after transfection with si-KAT14 or treatment with DAPT to investigate the effects of DAPT on EMT-related proteins.Proliferation was inhibited after treatment with DAPT, and the expression of lncRNA-KAT14 was upregulated. To investigate the correlation of DAPT and lncRNA-KAT14 on the metastasis and invasion in tongue cancer, the following cellular processes were assessed: proliferation, invasion, and migration ability. The Western blots were used to determine the expression of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail, showing that DAPT or lncRNA-KAT14 suppressed all these processes, inducing a decreased expression of N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Snail, and increased expression of E-cadherin, compared with the control group. Once transfection with si-KAT14 occurred, the evaluated cellular processes were enhanced, being this attenuated by the treatment with DAPT.Our results suggest that DAPT suppresses invasion and metastasis of tongue cancer by regulating lncRNA-KAT14.

Aims: This study aimed to study the long-range transport of anthropogenic carbonaceous aerosol at Gosan, Korea Study Design: Chemical composition of fine particles (aerodynamic diameter < 2.5㎛) and PAHs of TSP measured at Gosan during six intensive measurement periods covering four seasons. And the chemical characteristics of particulate matter were classified and compared each other according to the major source areas identified by using backward trajectory analysis in order to study the impact of distant source regions on the carbonaceous aerosol at Gosan, Korea. Place and Duration of Study: Sample: Gosan, Jeju Island in Republic of Korea, from 13 to 25 Nov. 2001, from 29 Mar. to 11 Apr. 2002, from 27 Aug. to 11 Sep. 2002, from 14 to 26 Feb 2003, from 6 to 22 Jun. 2003, and from 18 Aug. to 1 Sep. 2003. Methodology: In order to investigate the chemical composition of fine particles, 7 major ion components, 21 trace elements, organic and elemental carbon of PM2.5 were measured. In addition, particulate hazardous pollutants including 17 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were analyzed. The measured data were classified according to the dominant source area identified with the three-day backward trajectory analysis. Then several ratios of species combining EC, OC, SO42-, K+ and PAH compounds were used to identify potential sources of carbonaceous materials. Results: Quite different characteristic in the chemical composition of fine particles was observed by regional groups of backward trajectories. Concentrations of ion components including secondary aerosol such as SO42- and NH4+ were relatively high when air masses were originated from north China. Concentrations of OC and gaseous PAHs were higher when they transported from Japan than from other source regions. High concentrations of secondary aerosols as well as particulate PAHs were observed in the air mass from north China with a higher correlation between them. Elemental carbon had a better correlation in this case not only with secondary aerosols, but also with OC and CO, implying that carbonaceous materials were originated from long-distance combustion sources. Especially positive correlation with benzo(ghi)perylene suggested that they also had a vehicular origin. Conclusion: The results showed that biomass burning and vehicular emissions mainly influenced ambient fine particles when they derived from north China and the Korea peninsula while fossil fuel combustion chiefly affected them when they originated in south China during six intensive measurement periods.

The chemical characteristics of secondary inorganic and carbonaceous aerosols as well as their formation mechanisms during the haze event of January 12–18, 2013, in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) were investigated using measurements at the Baengnyeong and Seoul supersites with data available from LIDAR, meteorology, and modeling. An extraordinary haze event that occurred in northern China during that period extended to the Korean Peninsula and initiated the haze event in the SMA. Local emissions of primary aerosol and gaseous precursors in the SMA then made the situation worse under adverse meteorological conditions. OM (Organic Matter) and SO42− were the major long-range transport (LRT) aerosols from the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province (BTH) area to the SMA during the initial stage of the haze event. The LRT of SO42− from the BTH area, which was detected at Baengnyeong Island, was mostly acidic, while in Seoul, it was fully neutralized to (NH4)2SO4. The SIAs (Secondary Inorganic Aerosols) consisting of 56.5% PM2.5 during the haze period were the major chemical species causing haze problems in the SMA. NO3− was the most dominant chemical species among the SIAs and was locally formed by a heavy burden of NOx emissions from mobile sources in the SMA. Carbonaceous aerosols of OM and EC (Elemental Carbon) in the SMA during the haze period consisted of 18.9% PM2.5, but secondary organic carbon (SOC) was not the key species inducing the haze event during the January episode in the SMA.

In this study, mercury (Hg) was sampled weekly in dry and wet deposition and throughfall and monthly in litterfall, and as it was volatilized from soil from August 2008 to February 2010 to identify the factors influencing the amount of atmospheric Hg deposited to forested areas in a temperate deciduous forest in South Korea. For this location there was no significant correlation between the estimated monthly dry deposition flux (litterfall + throughfall – wet deposition) (6.7 µg m−2 yr−1) and directly measured dry deposition (9.9 µg m−2 yr−1) likely due primarily to Hg losses from the litterfall collector. Dry deposition fluxes in cold seasons (fall and winter) were lower than in warmer seasons (spring and summer). The volume-weighted mean (VWM) Hg concentrations in both precipitation and throughfall were highest in winter, likely due to increased scavenging by snow events. Since South Korea experiences abundant rainfall in summer, VWM Hg concentrations in summer were lower than in other seasons. Litterfall fluxes were highest in the late fall to early winter, when leaves were dropped from the trees (September to November). The cumulative annual Hg emission flux from soil was 6.8 µg m−2 yr−1. Based on these data, the yearly deposition fluxes of Hg calculated using two input approaches (wet deposition + dry deposition or throughfall + litterfall) were 6.8 and 3.6 µg m−2 yr−1, respectively. This is the first reported study which measured the amount of atmospheric Hg deposited to forested areas in South Korea, and thus our results provide useful information to compare against data related to Hg fate and transport in this part of the world.

Rapid urbanization and economic development in East Asia in past decades has led to photochemical air pollution problems such as excess photochemical ozone and aerosol formation. Asian megacities such as Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Beijing are surrounded by densely forested areas, and recent research has consistently demonstrated the importance of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vegetation in determining oxidation capacity in the suburban Asian megacity regions. Uncertainties in constraining tropospheric oxidation capacity, dominated by hydroxyl radical, undermine our ability to assess regional photochemical air pollution problems. We present an observational data set of CO, NOx, SO2, ozone, HONO, and VOCs (anthropogenic and biogenic) from Taehwa research forest (TRF) near the Seoul metropolitan area in early June 2012. The data show that TRF is influenced both by aged pollution and fresh biogenic volatile organic compound emissions. With the data set, we diagnose HOx (OH, HO2, and RO2) distributions calculated using the University of Washington chemical box model (UWCM v2.1) with near-explicit VOC oxidation mechanisms from MCM v3.2 (Master Chemical Mechanism). Uncertainty from unconstrained HONO sources and radical recycling processes highlighted in recent studies is examined using multiple model simulations with different model constraints. The results suggest that (1) different model simulation scenarios cause systematic differences in HOx distributions, especially OH levels (up to 2.5 times), and (2) radical destruction (HO2 + HO2 or HO2 + RO2) could be more efficient than radical recycling (RO2 + NO), especially in the afternoon. Implications of the uncertainties in radical chemistry are discussed with respect to ozone–VOC–NOx sensitivity and VOC oxidation product formation rates. Overall, the NOx limited regime is assessed except for the morning hours (8 a.m. to 12 p.m. local standard time), but the degree of sensitivity can significantly vary depending on the model scenarios. The model results also suggest that RO2 levels are positively correlated with oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) production that is not routinely constrained by observations. These unconstrained OVOCs can cause higher-than-expected OH loss rates (missing OH reactivity) and secondary organic aerosol formation. The series of modeling experiments constrained by observations strongly urge observational constraint of the radical pool to enable precise understanding of regional photochemical pollution problems in the East Asian megacity region.

This study is to observe the immunosuppression of CD137L transfected umbilical blood Dcs (Dendritic cell) vaccine to tumor development of SCID/ Beige nude mice.Samples of umbilical blood in the childbirth pregnant women were collected by density gradient centrifugation. Umbilical cord blood dendritic cells (Dcs) were transfected by specific CD137L via LipofectamineTM method and cells were harvested. Meanwhile, the peripheral blood of volunteers was collected to isolate Dcs, the Dcs were cultured for 5 days and hatched with SW-1116 cells antigen. The mature Dcs were harvested. The male SCID/Beige nude mice were subcutaneously injected with human SW-1116 cells in axillary to build colorectal carcinoma model as blank control (Blank). The naked peripheral blood Dc vaccine group (cPBMCs), the SW-1116 antigen-specific peripheral blood Dc vaccine group (pDcs) and the CD137L specific umbilical blood Dc vaccine group (tuDcs) were injected 24 h before tumor cells injection, respectively to recur the humanized immune reconstruction. The general life, living habits changes, tumor growing time and tumor size were observed. The nude mice were sacrificed 18 days after tumor formation. The tumor size, mice weight, in vitro tumor weight, liver weight and spleen weight of mice were recorded to evaluate the anti-tumor effect of the specific immune cells.The nude mice in pDcs group showed better general living condition, slower tumor growth, smaller tumor volume and no ulceration, necrosis, and death in nude mice. The tumor formation time in different groups was 4.71 ± 0.18 ds (blank), 7.71 ± 0.29 ds (cPBMCs), 7.86 ± 0.26 ds (pDcs) and 8.14 ± 0.69 ds (tuDcs) respectively. There were significant differences between blank and other three groups (F = 40.96, p0.01). Compared to mice in blank group, the tumor volume of cPBMCs group was significantly smaller (201.43 ± 69.84 mm³ vs. 436.04 ± 54.50 mm³, p0.01) and the tumor weight were significantly smaller (1.25 ± 0.12 g vs. 2.83 ± 0.24 g, p0.01). The tumor volume of tuDcs mice was significantly smaller than that of blank (92.11 ± 11.55 mm³ vs. 436.04 ± 54.50 mm³, p0.01) and cPBMCs mice (92.11 ± 11.55 mm³ vs. 201.43 ± 69.84 mm³, p0.01). Similarly, the tumor weight of tuDcs mice was significantly smaller than that of blank (0.66 ± 0.07 g vs. 2.83 ± 0.24 g, p0.01) and cPBMCs mice (0.66 ± 0.07 g vs. 1.25 ± 0.12 g, p0.01). There was no significant difference in tumor volume (92.11 ± 11.55 mm³ vs. 85.61 ± 11.59 mm³, p = 0.69) and tumor weight (0.66 ± 0.07 g vs. 0.63 ± 0.09 g, p = 0.75) between tuDcs group and pDcs group.The specific CD137L transfected umbilical blood Dc vaccine had significant anti-tumor effect against human colon cancer in nude mice via increasing the number of immune effector cell in tumor microenvironment.

This study aims to identify and categorize the characteristics of user-generated content to obtain a profound understanding on the user data, and actively utilize the data in extracting user values. Based on literature review, characteristics of online reviews and photos on Social Network Services (SNS) were investigated to evaluate five categories for online reviews (interactive, imprecise, cultural, biased, and ambivalent), and four categories for SNS photos (affirmative, condensed, informative, and archival). These categories were reclassified on the three axes representing individual-social, explicit-implicit, and pleasant-unpleasant, which are well known dimensions of user-generated value. As a preliminary study, this categorization is expected to act as a stepping stone in understanding the user-generated content. It will also help Human-Computer Interaction researchers to select and use data consistent with the research purpose, and could be served as the indexes for measuring the characteristics of the data generated in social media and online websites.

Poster presentada en el 50th ERA-EDTA Congress (European Renal Association - European Dialysis Transplant Association), celebrado del 18 al 21 de mayo de 2013 en Estambul (Turquia)

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of cut-and-sew Cox-Maze (CM) Ⅲ procedure for patients with atrial fibrillation associated with rheumatic mitral valve disease.Patients received mitral valve replacement and CM procedure between January 2007 and July 2015, were 1∶1 matched and assigned to CM Ⅳ group (undergoing surgical ablation) and CM Ⅲ group (undergoing cut-and-sew CM Ⅲ). Safety indices, mortality rate, complications and recovery rate of sinus rhythm were compared between the two groups.Mean extracorporeal circulation time was (154±22) min in the CM Ⅲ group and (136±21) min in the CM Ⅳ group (P0.001), and aortic clamp time was (85±9) min in the CM Ⅲ group and (74±12) min in the CM Ⅳ group (P0.001). One patient (1.18%) in the CM Ⅲ group died of multi-organ failure 4 day after left ventricular rupture being sucessfully repaired, and 2 patients died (2.35%) in the CM Ⅳ group ( 1 due to left ventricular rupture and 1 due to low cardiac output syndrome). There was no significant difference in mortality between the two groups. Temporary pacemaker were applied for 76 cases (89.41%) in the CM Ⅲ and 70 cases (82.35%) in the CM Ⅳ group, without a statistical difference (P=0.186). There were also no statistical difference between the two groups in intraoperative urinary volume, postoperative drainage of fluid volume, hemoglobinuria, ventilator time, ICU time, hospital stay and the incidence of the complications (all P0.05). Sinus rhythm recovery rate was 62.35 % in the CM Ⅲ group and 57.65 % in the CM Ⅳ group, without a statistical difference (P=0.531) at the operation day, but at discharge a statistical difference was found (97.62% in the CM Ⅲ group vs 81.93% in the CM Ⅳ group, P0.001). All patients were followed up for three months, and no deaths occurred. Sinus rhythm recovery rate was 96.43 % in the CM Ⅲ group and 86.75% in the CM Ⅳ group, with a statistical difference (P=0.024).The cut-and-sew Cox-Maze Ⅲ procedure is a safe and effective method for patients with atrial fibrillation associated with rheumatic mitral valve disease.

This study proposes an under-actuated wearable exoskeleton system to carry a heavy load. To synchronize that system with a user, a feasible modular-type wearable system and its corresponding sensor systems are proposed. The design process of the modular-type exoskeleton for lower extremities is presented based on the considered requirements. To operate the system with the user, human walking analysis and intention signal acquisition methods for actuating the proposed system are developed. In particular, a sensing data estimation strategy is applied to synchronize the exoskeleton system with a user correctly. Finally, several experiments were performed to evaluate the performance of the proposed exoskeleton system by measuring the electromyography signal of the wearer's muscles while walking on level ground and climbing up stairs with 20- to 40-kg loads, respectively.

This paper presents a new integrated control methodology for vehicle chassis subsystems associated with controlled suspension, braking system, and steering systems. In order to reflect the practical vehicle better, a non-linear complicated full-vehicle model which includes longitudinal, lateral, and vertical dynamics is established and combined with the modified non-linear tyre model. Then, a main objective-oriented hierarchical control strategy is proposed for global integrated control of chassis subsystems to improve the vehicle performance during different kinds of driving condition. The proposed hierarchical strategy consists of two layers. The upper layer is a system supervisory layer which is used to identify the vehicle states and to assign the task for each controllable subsystem based on their effective regions and the detected state signals of the system. The lower layer is the executive layer interfaced to actuators of the chassis subsystem. In this layer, different controllers which can be switched to a special vehicle state are designed by using fuzzy control and integral sliding-mode control methods. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is verified via computer simulations, showing the results of three typical driving conditions.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate concentrations of carbonyl compounds during summer season in Seoul metropolitan area. The air samples were collected at 7 sites in this area from June 2001 to June 2003. The carbonyl compounds were analyzed by DNPH/HPLC method. The analytical method applied in this study showed good repeatability, linearity, and sensitivity. The most abundant carbonyl was formaldehyde (average 4.48 ppb), and followed by acetone, acetaldehyde, methyl ethyl ketone, butyraldehyde, propionaldehyde and benzaldehyde, respectively. Concentrations of carbonyl compounds in June were higher than those in August. There was not only higher solar radiation but also higher ozone concentration in June than in August. As a result o photochemical reactions, carbonyl compounds from both primary and secondary sources are likely to contribute to the formation of ozone. The contributions to photochemical ozone creation of two carbonyl compounds such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were estimated to be about 70%. Ratios of formaldehyde to acetaldehyde in this study ranged from 1.13 to 4.26, which are generally equivalent levels to those of other urban areas in domestic and foreign countries.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the geometry and surface characteristics of osseointegration after functional loading by radiographic, periodontal and histomorphometric analyses. We analysed three groups of implants with different geometry and surface characteristics using experimental dogs. The control group received Brånemark implants (group 1). Group 2 and group 3 implants each had a 0.5-mm pitch height but differed in surface characteristics. Group 2 implants were machine surfaced and group 3 implants were thermally oxidized at 800 degrees C for 2 h in a pure oxygen atmosphere. For these experiments, which used a total of four healthy beagle dogs, the implants were randomly installed into the extracted first, second and third premolar positions. The animals received radiographic and clinical periodontal examinations at 6 and 12 months post-loading, and were then killed for histomorphometric analysis. The radiographic analysis showed that mean crestal bone resorption in the control group was greater than that observed in the experimental groups (P0.05). The percentage of bone-to-implant contact for group 3 (83.7%) was significantly higher than in groups 1 (74.4%) and 2 (75.0%) (P0.05). Overall, implant geometry and surface treatment affected the rate of crestal bone resorption and bone healing surrounding the dental implants.

Ozone creation potentials suited for Seoul metropolitan area was derived by utilizing the PAMS monitoring data and the source inventory. A simple box model with variable height was developed to calculate the incremental reactivity for all the ozone episode days in the year 2003 and 2004. RIR (Relative Incremental Reactivity) was introduced as a measure of contribution to ozone generation in the Seoul metropolitan area. RIR was defined as a function of ratio of VOC to and therefore it addresses both VOC and limited regime. For the days that more than 10 monitoring stations out of 27 monitoring station in Seoul recorded the daily maximum ozone concentrations higher than 70 ppb, toluene had the highest RIR value in all the type II and type III PAMS site and m/p-xylene followed with the second highest RIR value. Analyses using MIR (Maximum Incremental Reactivity) and POCP (Photochemical Ozone Creation Potential) instead of RIR also yields dominance of toluene and m/p-xylene in generating ozone concentrations to demonstrate the validity of RIR.

Aims: To identify an antagonistic strain against Streptomyces scabiei and to characterize the antibiotic agent. The efficacy of the isolated strain in controlling common scab disease was also evaluated. Methods and Results: A bacterial strain antagonistic against S. scabiei was isolated from the soil of a potato-cultivating area. This bacterium was identified as a Bacillus species by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and was designated Bacillus sp. sunhua. Antibiotics produced by this strain were proven to be stable within a broad pH range and at high temperatures. The culture broth was extracted with ethyl acetate, and then the crude extract was applied to HPLC. Two compounds were isolated and identified as iturin A and macrolactin A by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, HMBC, HMQC and mass spectrometer. The culture broth of Bacillus sp. sunhua had a suppressive effect on common scab disease in a pot assay, decreasing the infection rate from 75 to 35%. This strain also suppressed Fusarium oxysporum, the pathogen of potato dry rot disease. Conclusions: Bacillus sp. sunhua was shown to inhibit S. scabiei effectively. Significance and Impact of the Study: This is the first report demonstrating that macrolactin A and iturin A inhibit S. scabiei. This study demonstrated the possibility of controlling potato scab disease using Bacillus sp. sunhua.

Aims Transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta1 is a cytokine with both beneficial anti-inflammatory effects and detrimental profibrotic activity in the pathophysiology and progression of glomerulonephritides. The transcriptional activity of the gene for TGF-beta1 and the plasma levels of TGF-beta1 protein are associated with C-509T polymorphism at the promoter region, and with T869C (Leu 10Pro) polymorphism at codon 10, of the TGF-beta1 gene. Methods Using PCR-RFLP and the amplification refractory mutation system PCR, we investigated the C-509T and T869C polymorphisms, respectively, to elucidate whether allele frequency differences exist between IgA nephropathy (IgAN) patients who were followed up for at least 3 years (n = 108) and a normal population (n = 55). We also determined the correlations between the TGF-beta1 polymorphisms and the progression of IgAN. Results In C-509T polymorphism, there were significant differences in genotype frequency between IgAN patients and normal controls (CC: CT: TT, 20:29:33 vs. 11:31:13, chi2 = 6.299, p = 0.043). In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the patients with TT genotype showed a poorer renal survival than those with CC + CT genotypes (p = 0.042). In T869C polymorphism, there were also significant differences in genotype frequency between IgAN patients and normal controls (TT : TC : CC, 4 : 79 : 25 vs. 0 : 52 : 2, chi2 = 12.552, p = 0.002). The initial serum creatinine (Scr) level was higher in the patients with CC genotype than in those with TT + TC genotypes. In Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, the patients with CC genotype showed a poorer renal survival than those with TT + TC genotypes, but not to a statistically significant extent (p = 0.076). In the combined survival analyses, the high TGF-beta1 producer group showed a poor renal survival rate (p = 0.014). Conclusion Compared to normal population, the frequencies of genotypes producing high TGF-beta1 protein were higher in IgAN patients. Moreover, patients with genotypes producing high TGF-beta1 plasma levels showed a poor renal survival rate.

Microstructure and magnetic transport phenomina in rf sputtered AlN/Co type ten- layered discontinuous films of nanoscaled [AlN(3 ㎚)/Co(t ㎚)]…_(10) with t_(Co)=1.0~2.0 ㎚ have been investigated. The microstructure and tunneling magnetic resistance of the samples are strongly dependent on the thickness of Co layer. Negative tunneling magneto-resistance due to the spin-dependent transport has been observed along the current-in-plane configuration in the samples having the Co layers below 1.6 ㎚ thick. When the thickness of Co layer was less than 1.2 ㎚, randomly oriented granular Co particles were completely isolated and embedded in amorphous AlN matrix, and the films showed the superparamagnetic behavior with a high MR value of △ρ/ρ。=1.8%. As t_(Co) increases, a transition from the regime of co-existence of superparamagnetic and ferromagnetic behaviors to ferromagnetic behavior was observed. Tunneling barrier called “decay length for tunneling” for the films having the thickness of Co layer from 1.4 to 1. 6 ㎚ was measured to be ranged from 0.004 to 0.021 Å-¹.

Acute acidification is being investigated as a strategy to sensitize human melanoma to 42 degrees C hyperthermia. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of hyperthermia and acute extracellular acidification on the nuclear associated protein (NAP) levels, heat shock protein (hsp) 70 and hsp27 content, and cell survival of human melanoma cells cultured at pH 7.3 or pH 6.7. It was observed that NAP levels increased slightly in both populations after 2 h of heating and then decreased to control levels with increasing time of heating at the growth pH. However, the NAP levels continued to increase in cells acutely acidified to pH 6.3 prior to and during heating. Hsp70 was induced to comparable levels in cells heated at their growth pH; however, the hsp27 levels were greater in cells cultured and heated at pH 6.7 than in cells cultured and heated at pH 7.3. Acute acidification to pH 6.3 prior to and during heating suppressed the 42 degrees C induction of hsp70 and hsp27 in both cell populations. The melanoma cells cultured and heated at pH 6.7 were more resistant to cell killing than cells cultured and heated at pH 7.3. Both populations were sensitized to cell killing by acute acidification to pH 6.3. The results suggest that hsps induced during 42 degrees C treatment associate with aggregating NAPs, enhancing their detergent solubility, and that abrogation of induced expression of hsps during heating at pH 6.3 contributes to increased levels of insoluble NAPS. In conclusion, acute extracellular acidification inhibits 42 degrees C induction of hsps, increases NAP levels, and decreases cell survival in DB-1 human melanoma cells.

Glioma is the most common malignant intracranial tumors. Despite newly developed therapies, these treatments mainly target oncogenic signals, and unfortunately, fail to provide enough survival benefit in both human patients and mouse xenograft models, especially the first-generation therapies. Oridonin is purified from the Chinese herb Rabdosia rubescens and considered to exert extensive anti-cancer effects on human tumorigenesis. In this study, we systemically investigated the role of Oridonin in tumor growth and the underlying mechanisms in human glioma. We found that Oridonin inhibited cell proliferations in a dose- and time-dependent manner in both glioma U87 and U251 cells. Moreover, these anti-cancer effects were also confirmed in a mouse model bearing glioma. Furthermore, cell cycle arrest in S phase was observed in Oridonin-mediated growth inhibition by flow cytometry. Cell cycle arrest in S phase led to eventual cell apoptosis, as revealed by Hoechst 33342 staining and annexin V/PI double-staining. The cell apoptosis might be accomplished through a mitochondrial manner. In all, we were the first to our knowledge to report that Oridonin could exert anti-cancer effects on tumor growth in human glioma by inducing cell cycle arrest and eventual cell apoptosis. The identification of Oridonin as a critical mediator of glioma growth may potentiate Oridonin as a novel therapeutic strategies in glioma treatments.

Vinyl groups in phenyl-terminated polybutadienes 1 – 3 , 99% unsaturated, were functionalized with 2-isopropenylpyridine (IPP, 1 equiv.) in the presence of RhCl(PPh 3 ) 3 (10 mol%). The resulted polymers had about 50% of conversion ratio of 1,2-units of the original polymers. Also, PTPBs 4 – 5 , 60% unsaturated, gave about 45% of conversion ratio in vinyl groups under the same reaction conditions. By using the substrate with several gave 45, 28, 15 and 6% of conversion ratios in the vinyl groups, respectively.

It is shown that the doping of Zn and Sn can improve the gas sensitivity of α-Fe2O3-based sensing material to CO. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy analysis suggests that this is mainly due to the fact that the simultaneous doping of Zn and Sn can increase the S and hence SO42− contents in the α-Fe2O3(SO42−, Sn, Zn) sensing material. The results also suggest that under a given condition, the gas sensitivity of α-Fe2O3(SO42−, Sn, Zn) to CO can be optimised by properly adjusting the doped Zn content.

Vibration modes around bipolarons in polythiophene are investigated numerically by considering a chain of finite length with different boundary conditions within the framework of tight-binding model. When the periodic boundary condition is applied, we find seven localized modes, among which three are of even parity and four of odd parity. One of the even modes is due solely to the influence of sulfur heteroatom in the heterocycle and is believed to be responsible for the mode around 700 cm -1 observed in the Raman spectrum of polythiophene. The dependence of intensities of these localized modes on the chain length is also investigated. When the ends of the chain are left open, it is shown that new surface modes are created from the highest optical branch. These modes may be identified as the high-frequency modes observed in infrared active vibration and resonant Raman scattering absorption experiments.

Objective Biofilm formation on implant materials plays a major role in the aetiology of periimplantitis. The aim of this study was to examine in vivo the initial bacterial adhesion on six different implant materials. Methods The implant materials Ti-m, TiUnite®, ZiUnite®, ATZ-m, ATZ-s, TZP-A-m were tested using bovine enamel slabs as controls. All materials, fixed on splint systems, were examined after 30 min and 120 min of oral exposure. DAPI staining was used for quantitative analysis of the initially adherent microorganisms. Initial adherent microorganisms were visualised by fluorescence In situ-hybridisation (FISH) and quantified by confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The targets of the oligonucleotide probes were Eubacteria, Veillonella spp., Fusobacterium nucleatum, Actinomyces naeslundii and Streptococcus spp. Results DAPI analysis showed that increasing the time of oral exposure resulted in an increasing amount of initial adherent bacteria. The highest level of colonisation was on ZiUnite®, with the lowest occurring on the bovine enamel, followed by Ti-m. This early colonisation correlated significantly with the surface roughnesses of the materials. FISH and CLSM showed no significant differences relating to total bacterial composition. However, Streptococcus spp. was shown to be the main colonisers on each of the investigated materials. Conclusion it could be shown that within an oral exposure time of 30 min and 120 min, despite the salivary acquired pellicle initial biofilm formation is mainly influenced directly or indirect by the material surface topography. Highly polished surfaces should minimise the risk of biofilm formation, plaque accumulation and possibly periimplantitis.

We report a Chinese pedigree with familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Direct sequencing of the entire coding sequences of Rearranged during Transfection (RET) identified a recurrent c.T1852A (p.C618S) mutation in 13 of 23 members. The polymorphisms c.A135G (p.A45A), c.A1296G (p.A432A), c.T2307G (p.L769L) and IVS19 + 15T > C were also found in 13 carriers, and c.G2073A (p.G691S) was found in 1 carrier. Of the 13 carriers, seven (mean age: 42.6 years, range: 27-64) presented MTC as the isolated clinical phenotype, with elevated basal serum calcitonin (average: 1077.9 ng/L, range: 504-2,652) and a mean diameter of thyroid nodules of 2.97 cm (range: 1.6-4.3); they underwent a total thyroidectomy with modified bilateral/unilateral neck dissection and/or level VI lymph node dissection. The other 6 carriers did not accept surgery (4 rejected, 2 awaited). These were 2 older patients (63 and 32 years) with elevated calcitonin (1359 and 41.4 ng/L) and multi-centric hypoechoic nodules (1.5 and 0.6 cm) with calcifications in both/left thyroid lobes; and Doppler ultrasound showed normal bilateral thyroids in 4 younger carriers (median age: 8.3 years, range: 4-12) but with increased calcitonin (average: 9.7 ng/L, range: 7.87-12.2) in 3 of them. The phenotype here is consistent with the clinical symptoms reported worldwide. We recommend that screening of hotspot regions of RET should be preferentially carried out, while whole-exon sequencing should be performed when clinical signs fail to reveal hotspot mutations or different phenotype discrepancies. Moreover, we strongly suggest prophylactic thyroidectomy should be performed before age 5 in carriers with p.C618S to prevent the occurrence and metastasis of MTC.

Three families of endogenous opioid peptides have been characterized in the CNS: enkephalins, endorphins and dynorphins. These can be mobilized by peripheral electrical stimulation. Stimulation at 2 Hz may accelerate the release of enkephalins and Beta-endorphin, whereas 100 Hz is most effective in releasing dynorphin.