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KLF10 is a transforming growth factor (TGF)-β/Smad downstream regulated gene. KLF10 binds to the promoter of target genes and mimics the effects of TGF-β as a transcriptional factor. In our laboratory, we noted that Klf10 deficiency in mice is associated with significant inflammation of the lungs. However, the precise mechanism of this association remains unknown. We previously identified NPRA as a target gene potentially regulated by KLF10 through direct binding; NPRA knockout have known that prevented lung inflammation in a mouse model of allergic asthma. Here, we further explored the regulatory association between KLF10 and NPRA on the basis of the aforementioned findings. Our results demonstrated that KLF10 acts as a transcriptional repressor of NPRA and that KLF10 binding reduces NPRA expression in vitro. Compared with wild-type mice, Klf10-deficient mice were more sensitive to lipopolysaccharide or ovalbumin challenge and showed more severe inflammatory histological changes in the lungs. Moreover, Klf10-deficient mice showed pulmonary neutrophil accumulation. These findings collectively reveal the precise site where KLF10 signaling affects pulmonary inflammation by attenuating NPRA expression. They also verify the importance of KLF10 and atrial natriuretic peptide/NPRA in exerting influences on chronic pulmonary disease pathogenesis.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used for the long-term treatment of gastroesophageal disorders and the non-prescription medicines for acid reflux. However, there is growing concerns about PPI misuse, overuse and abuse. This study aimed to develop an animal model to examine the effects of long-term use of PPI in vivo. Twenty one Wistar rats were given omeprazole orally or intravenously for 30 days, and caerulein as a positive control. After euthanization, the serum and stool were collected to perform MS-based quantitative analysis of metabolites. We carried out 16S-based profiling of fecal microbiota, assessed the expression of bile acid metabolism regulators and examined the immunopathological characteristics of bile ducts. After long-term PPI exposure, the fecal microbial profile was altered and showed similarity to those observed in high-fat diet studies. The concentrations of several metabolites were also changed in various specimens. Surprisingly, morphological changes were observed in the bile duct, including ductal epithelial proliferation, micropapillary growth of biliary epithelium, focal bile duct stricture formation and bile duct obstruction. These are characteristics of precancerous lesions of bile duct. FXR and RXRα expressions were significantly reduced, which were similar to that observed in cholangiocarcinoma in TCGA and Oncomine databases. We established a novel animal model to examine the effects of long-term use of omeprazole. The gut microbes and metabolic change are consequences of long-term PPI exposure. And the results showed the environment in vivo tends to a high-fat diet. More importantly, we observed biliary epithelial hyperplasia, which is an indicator of a high-fat diet.

Lung cancer is one of the major cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The poor prognosis and resistance to both radiation and chemotherapy urged the development of potential targets for lung cancer treatment. In this study, using a network-based cellular signature bioinformatics approach, we repurposed a clinically approved mTOR inhibitor for renal cell carcinomans, temsirolimus, as the potential therapeutic candidate for lung adenocarcinoma. The PI3K-AKT-mTOR pathway is known as one of the most frequently dysregulated pathway in cancers, including non-small-cell lung cancer. By using a well-documented lung adenocarcinoma mouse model of human pathophysiology, we examined the effect of temsirolimus on the growth of lung adenocarcinoma in vitro and in vivo. In addition, temsirolimus combined with reduced doses of cisplatin and gemcitabine significantly inhibited the lung tumor growth in the lung adenocarcinoma mouse model compared with the temsirolimus alone or the conventional cisplatin-gemcitabine combination. Functional imaging techniques and microscopic analyses were used to reveal the response mechanisms. Extensive immunohistochemical analyses were used to demonstrate the apparent effects of combined treatments on tumor architecture, vasculature, apoptosis, and the mTOR-pathway. The present findings urge the further exploration of temsirolimus in combination with chemotherapy for treating lung adenocarcinoma.

Background: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are used for the long-term treatment of gastroesophageal disorders and the non-prescription medicines for acid reflux. However, there is growing concerns about PPI misuse, overuse and abuse. This study aimed to develop an animal model to examine the effects of long-term use of PPI in vivo. Methods: Twenty-one Wistar rats were given omeprazole orally for 30 days. After euthanization, the serum and stool were collected to perform MS-based quantitative analysis of metabolites. We carried out 16S rRNA gene profiling of fecal microbiota, assessed the expression of bile acid metabolism regulators and examined the immunopathological characteristics of bile ducts. Findings: After long-term PPI exposure, the fecal microbial and metabolites profile was altered and showed similarity to those observed in high-fat diet studies. Surprisingly, morphological changes were observed in the bile duct, including ductal epithelial proliferation, micropapillary growth of biliary epithelium, focal bile duct stricture formation and bile duct obstruction. These are characteristics of precancerous lesions of bile duct. FXR and RXRα expressions were significantly reduced, which were similar to that observed in cholangiocarcinoma in TCGA and Oncomine databases. Interpretation: We established a novel animal model to examine the effects of long-term use of omeprazole. The gut microbes, metabolic change and biliary epithelial hyperplasia are consequences of long-term PPI exposure. And the results showed the environment in vivo tends to a high-fat diet. Funding Statement: This work was financially supported in part by a grant from Taipei Medical University, Taiwan (TMU105-AE1-B41), a grant from Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan (MOST106-2320-B-038-005) and the “TMU Research Center of Cancer Translational Medicine” from The Featured Areas Research Center Program within the framework of the Higher Education Sprout Project by the Ministry of Education (MOE) in Taiwan. Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: All animals were maintained and handled in an accredited facility in accordance with IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee) guidelines and institutional ethics review board approval.

Traditional drug delivery systems, using invasive, transdermal, and oral routes, are limited by various factors, such as the digestive system environment, skin protection, and sensory nerve stimulation. To improve the drug delivery system, we fabricated a polysaccharide-based, dissolvable microneedle-based array, which combines the advantages of both invasive and transdermal delivery systems, and promises to be an innovative solution for minimally invasive drug delivery. In this study, we designed a reusable aluminum mold that greatly improved the efficiency and convenience of microneedle fabrication. Physical characterization of the polysaccharides, individual or mixed at different ratios, was performed to identify a suitable molecule to fabricate the dissolvable microneedle. We used a vacuum deposition-based micro-molding method at low temperature to fabricate the model. Using a series of checkpoints from material into product, a systematic feedback mechanism was built into the "all-in-one" fabrication step, which helped to improve production yields. The physical properties of the fabricated microneedle were assessed. The cytotoxicity analysis and animal testing of the microneedle demonstrated the safety and compatibility of the microneedle, and the successful penetration and effective release of a model protein.

A new approach for quantifying fog deposition rate was conducted in a mountainous forested ecosystem ( Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana ) in northeastern Taiwan where the frequency and duration of fog occurrence is extremely high and the annual number of foggy days often exceeds 350. The significance of fog in the hydrological budget of such ecosystems remains as an attractive ecological question. We studied the fog deposition rate by use of an in situ exposure experiment, in which the increase in weight of the leaves was recorded during several different wind and visibility conditions including foggy days of different fog density as well as some clear conditions. The fog capture rates of the leaves (fog water captured by unit leaf area per unit time) were measured at three heights of the canopy and multiplied with the respective leaf biomass for the deposition rates at the stand level. The exposure experiments showed a higher fog capture rate at the top layer of the canopy. Overall, the upper canopy contributed approximately 50% of the fog water captured by the forest stand, although this layer consisted only 34% of the total leaf biomass. Based on the Lovett micrometeorological model, an empirical model was developed which predicts fog deposition rate as an exponentially decay function of visibility. The annual fog deposition rate from March 2003 to February 2004 was calculated to be 328 mm year −1 , which accounted for 10% of the total atmospheric hydrological input. The more frequent foggy conditions in winter resulted in a higher deposition rate in the cold season. We conclude that the use of a single parameter (visibility) accompanied by some point measurements in the field is effective and simple for predicting fog deposition rate. The limitations of the exposure experiment are discussed and possible improvements are proposed.

Developing lung cancer in mouse models that display similarities of both phenotype and genotype will undoubtedly provide further and better insights into lung tumor biology. Moreover, a high degree of pathophysiological similarity between lung tumors from mouse models and their human counterparts will make it possible to use these mouse models for preclinical tests. Ovine pulmonary adenocarcinomas (OPAs) present the same symptoms as adenocarcinomas in humans and are caused by a betaretrovirus. OPAs have served as an exquisite model of carcinogenesis for human lung adenocarcinomas. In this study, we characterized the histopathology and transcriptome profiles of a jaagsiekte sheep retrovirus (JSRV)-envelope protein (Env) transgenic mouse model with spontaneous lung tumors, and associations of the transcriptome profiles with tumor invasion/metastasis, especially the phenomenon of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Genetic information obtained from an expression array was analyzed using an ingenuity pathways analysis (IPA) and human disease database (MalaCards). By careful examination, several novel EMT-related genes were identified from tumor cells using RT-qPCR, and these genes also scored high in MalaCards. We concluded that the JSRV-Env mouse model could serve as a spontaneous lung adenocarcinoma model with a metastatic phenotype, which will benefit the study of early-onset and progression of lung adenocarcinoma. In addition, it can also be a valuable tool for biomarkers and drug screening, which will be helpful in developing intervention therapies.

TGF-β plays a significant role in regulating pancreas islet function and maintaining their mass. KLF10, a TGF-β downstream gene, belongs to a group of Kruppel-like transcription factors that bind to the promoters of target genes and produce effects that mimic TGF-β as a tumor suppressor. Using ChIP-chip screening, SEI-1 was identified as a target gene that may be regulated by KLF10. We conducted a series of assays to verify the presence of unknown regulation events between SEI-1 and KLF10. These showed that KLF10 transcriptionally activates the SEI-1 promoter and, furthermore, induces SEI-1 protein expression in pancreatic carcinoma cells. SEI-1 is one of the key factors involved in cell cycle control through the regulation of other transcription factors such as the p21(Cip1) gene. Interestingly, it has been shown previously that p21(Cip1) is indirectly activated by KLF10. Our results first demonstrated that KLF10 acts as a transcriptional activator on SEI-1, which can then result in increased p21(Cip1) expression. Furthermore, KLF10-deficiency in mice is associated with a decrease in the pancreatic islet mass, which is similar to the effects found in SEI-1 deficient mice. The KLF10-defect was also associated with the nuclear accumulation of the p21(Cip1) in islet cells. Based on our molecular and histological findings, we conclude that KLF10 plays an important role in pancreatic β-cells and this supports a functional link between KLF10 and various cell cycle regulators, most notably in the context of the pancreas.

This research is focus on application of interactive activity for children with cerebral palsy. The application is a case for a child with cerebral palsy, this study used a simple infrared emitter that make the child can do interactive activities. In this implementation process, the child is interested of the interactive teaching materials, so she works hard to see the feedback and then make sure exercise the part of body. In this study, the research use the simple equipment of infrared emitter attached to the rehabilitative processes, the child can just move her body to control the interactive effect, the child could do the project in a easier method and complete rehabilitation work.

In Taiwan 24-h coffee shops have become popular gathering areas for young people. This study assesses customers' exposures to PM(2.5) and gaseous/particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in such an environment. Potential influential factors were also evaluated. Two coffee shops with different types of smoking/nonsmoking divisions were selected. Sampling was conducted from 1300 to 2100 hours on Saturdays and Sundays during December 2000 and January 2001. Personal environmental monitors mounted with Teflon filters and polyurethane foams were used for particulate and gaseous sampling. PAHs were analyzed with GC-FID. Principal component analysis was used to explore the differences in the patterns of gaseous and particulate PAHs. Stepwise regression analysis was used to evaluate the contribution of various factors. The geometric mean (GM) of PM(2.5), particulate and gaseous PAH exposures were 83.7, 0.46 and 1.01 microg/m(3), respectively. Their exposure concentrations were about two to five times those of residential indoor environments in Taiwan. Smoking and vehicle exhaust were two major exposure sources. The gaseous PAH concentrations in the two sections of both shops were significantly correlated. The divisions between smoking and nonsmoking sections in neither of the coffee shops were effective to prevent dispersion of gaseous pollutants. In both shops, the concentrations of PM(2.5) and associated PAHs, respectively, were about 22-28 microg/m(3) and 0.07 microg/m(3) higher in smoking areas compared to nonsmoking areas. It was also found that each additional cigarette resulted in a 0.22-0.42 microg/m(3) PM(2.5) incremental increase in nonsmoking customers' exposure in the smoking section.