Search

With the acceleration of economic development, the development of the power system is facing greater challenges to meet this challenge, the concept of smart grid is able to generate. This article provides an overview about the motivation for developing smart grid of the major countries in the world. Then it provides a review about the development and the relevant policies about smart grid in China. It also described the planning and roadmaps by Power Grid Companies, analyzed the problems of domestic smart grid development briefly and gave recommendations about what should be focused on in the future.

Berbamine is an herbal compound derived from Berberis amurensis, which is used in Chinese traditional medicine. However, few studies have investigated this anti-tumor effect or the underlying mechanisms of berbamine on lymphoma cells. We investigate the effect, as well as the mechanism of action, of 4-chlorobenzoyl berbamine (BBD9) on Raji, L428, Namalwa and Jurkat lymphoma cells lines. Our findings show that BBD9 inhibits cell proliferation and induces cell apoptosis in lymphoma cell lines as well as G2/M cell cycle arrest through PI3K/Akt and NF-kappaB signaling pathways in a caspase-dependent manner. These results may provide new insights into the treatment of lymphoma.

Glucocorticoids are widely used chemotherapeutic agents for multiple myeloma. Drug resistance to steroid therapies is associated with the downregulation or loss of glucocorticoid receptor expression in malignant plasma cells. In this study, we examined the constitutive expression of glucocorticoid receptor in dexamethasone-sensitive and dexamethasone-resistant multiple myeloma cell lines. We found that triptolide increased the amount of the phosphorylated glucocorticoid receptor and enhanced the growth inhibitory effect of dexamethasone. Notably, these effects could not be blocked by interleukin-6, one of the most important growth factors in multiple myeloma.

Casticin, a component from Vitex rotundifolia, widely used as an anti-inflammatory agent in Chinese traditional medicine, was reported to have anti-tumor activities. This study aims to examine the anti-leukemic activity of casticin on leukemia cells and its molecular mechanism. Cell viability was measured by MTT method; apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were determined by flow cytometry, AV-PI assay, and DNA fragmentation assay. Western blot were performed to measure the protein expression level. The cell morphology alteration was detected with immunofluorescent analysis and DAPI nuclear staining. Our results showed that the proliferation of leukemia cells, including K562, Kasumi-1, and HL-60, were inhibited by casticin in a time- and dose-dependent manner. The IC50, determined after 48 h incubation, was 5.95 microM, 4.82 microM, and 15.56 microM for K562, HL-60, and Kasumi-1, respectively. The cell cycle analysis demonstrated casticin treatment resulted in a significant G2/M accumulation, concomitant with upregulation of P21waf1 and P27kip1. The percentage of cells in G2/M increased with time of exposure and reached to its climax (75.3%) at 12 h after casticin treatment, and subsequently declined to 27% at 48 h. We found that casticin treatment induced remarkable apoptosis, evidenced by increased percentage of AV-positive PI-negative cells as well as the cleavage of PARP and caspase 3. In addition, DNA fragmentation assay showed the typical apoptotic DNA ladder in casticin-treated K562 cells. Mitotic catastrophe and decreased polymeric tubulin can also be observed in casticin-treated K562 cells. In addition, we found that PI3K/AKT pathway was activated; Ly294002, a PI3K/AKT specific inhibitor, can enhance the anti-leukemic effect of casticin. Taken together, these results demonstrated that casticin induced leukemic cell death via apoptosis and mitotic catastrophe, and could synergize with PI3K/AKT inhibitor, suggesting that casticin could be a promising therapeutic agent against leukemia.

Polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyositis (DM) are inflammatory myopathic diseases that often accompany cancers. However, the relationship between PM/DM and acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) has not been elucidated. We present a case of PM that developed AML 12 months after initial diagnosis. We reviewed the cases in English literature and analyzed the association between PM/DM and AML. We conclude that PM/DM is a paraneoplastic syndrome of AML.

Casticin, a component from Vitex rotundifolia wich was widely used as an anti-inflammatory agent in Chinese traditional medicine, was reported to have anti-tumor activities in lung cancer and breast cancer. There are yet no reports on roles against acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). This study aims to elucidate the anti-leukemic activity of casticin on AML cells. We investigated the efficient efficacy and the mechanisms by which casticin triggers cell death in AML cells by analyzing cell cycle perturbations, apoptosis-related marker expression. Cell viability was measured by MTT method; apoptosis and cell cycle arrest were determined by flow cytometry and AV-PI assay. Western blot was performed to measure the apoptosis-related marker. Concentration-dependant cell deaths were observed in AML cell lines including K562, U937 and THP-1, with IC50 values of 24h (hours) being 47.4μM, 67.8μM and 61.7μM, respectively. Time-dependant cell deaths were also observed. At the concentration of 20μM casticin, 45.7%, 76.1% and 80.9% of K562 cells were inhibited at 24h, 48h and 72h, respectively; 24.7%, 30% and 61% of U937 cells were inhibited at 24h, 48h and 72h, respectively; while for THP-1, 29%, 41.8% and 53.9% were inhibited at 24h, 48h and 72h, respectively. Apoptosis was found using AV-PI staining by flow cytometry analysis. We observed an obvious G2/M phase increase prolongation in casticin treated K562 cells. BThe distribitions of G2/M phase were 2.9%, 33.6%, 75.3%, 54.9%, 29.7% and 27.0% in K562 cells after treated by 20μM casticin for 0h, 6h, 12h, 24h, 36h and 48h, respectively. Furthermore, apoptosis-related proteins, PARP and caspase 3, were cleaved in casticin treated K562 cells. Taken together, these results demonstrated that casticin can induce leukemic cell death through apoptosis, suggesting that casticin could be a promising therapeutic agent against acute myeloid leukemia.