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Colon carcinogenesis is a malignant tumor, and is well-known as the third leading cancer, which contributes to high mortality and morbidity worldwide. Brewers' rice, known locally as temukut, consists of a mixture of broken kernels with rice bran and rice germ which is a by- product produced in the rice industry. Although extensive studies on the anti-cancer properties of rice bran, published data on the cytotoxicity of brewers' rice are very limited. The present study was conducted to evaluate the apoptosis induction capability of the water extract of brewers' rice (WBR) on human colorectal cancer (HT-29) cell line. The HT-29 cells were treated with various concentrations (16, 32, and 64 μg/mL) of WBR for 24 and 48 hours. The morphological analysis of apoptotic cells was evaluated using inverted light microscope and fluorescence microscope. The apoptotic HT-29 cells was evaluated using Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining apoptosis test and cell cycle analyses. The data obtained were evaluated using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and P < 0.05 was considered statistical significant. Overall analyses indicated that WBR induced typical characteristics of apoptosis in HT-29 cells, including nuclear fragmentation (NF), nuclear compaction (NC), apoptotic bodies (AB), cellular shrinkage (CS), and chromatin condensation (CC), as visualized under inverted light microscope and fluorescence microscope. Cell cycle analyses and Annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) staining apoptosis test using flow cytometry revealed that WBR induced apoptotic population in HT-29 cells. In this study, our findings provide clear evidence that WBR inhibits the growth of HT-29 cells via induction of apoptosis. Taken together, we suggest that WBR may be a potential candidate for the prevention and treatment of colorectal cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: Brewers' rice, a mixture of broken rice, rice bran, and rice germ, is a rice by-product in the rice industry. The present study was designed to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity of the water extract of brewers' rice (WBR) against colorectal cancer (HT-29) cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cytotoxicity activity was determined using the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assay. The morphological changes of the HT-29 cells were observed using inverted light and fluorescence microscope. Cell cycle and apoptotic cell death analyses were performed using flow cytometer. Besides that, the selected polyphenolic compounds in WBR were also analyzed using ultra performance liquid chromatography (UPLC). RESULTS: The cytotoxicity results showed that WBR was more cytotoxic (but not significantly different) in HT-29 cells compared to the MBR, with IC50 value of 21.88 ± 12.43 μg/mL and 34.50 ± 5.92 μg/mL for WBR and MBR, respectively (p > 0.05). WBR-treated HT-29 cells displayed the typical characteristics of apoptosis, as visualized using inverted light and fluorescence microscope. WBR also significantly increased the number of early and late apoptotic HT-29 cells compared to control cells (p < 0.05). Results from UPLC analysis demonstrated that ferulic acid (36.42 ± 2.97 μg/g) was found the highest level in WBR, followed by gallic acid (26.09 ± 2.01 μg/g) and p-coumaric acid (7.13 ± 0.36 μg/g). These phenolics are speculated to partially contribute to apoptotic cell death. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested that WBR derived from natural sources might represent a potential chemopreventive agent against colon cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Temukut, or brewers' rice, is a mixture of broken rice, rice bran, and rice germ. Extensive studies have been conducted on rice bran, which possesses various health benefits. Temukut, however has been less well studied. The present study aimed to investigate the antioxidant and growth inhibition properties of temukut extract using colon cancer (HT-29), ovary cancer (Caov-3), and liver cancer (HepG2) cell lines. The antioxidant activity was determined by the ß-carotene bleaching assay, analysis of the DPPH radical scavenging capacity, and a FRAP assay. The total phenolic compounds, oryzanol, vitamin E, and phytic acid levels in temukut were also investigated. The antiproliferative activity was evaluated using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. There was a significant difference in the cytotoxicity of two types of temukut extract (water and methanol) for HT-29 and Caov-3 cells (p < 0.05) but not for HepG2 cells. The HepG2 cell line is the least sensitive to temukut, (IC50 = 55.30 µg/mL), whereas the highest sensitivity was observed in Caov-3 cells (IC50 =36.67 µg/mL). No cytotoxic effect of temukut was observed on normal cells (BalBlc3T3). Although the content of the phytochemicals studied (total phenolic compounds, vitamin E, oryzanol, and phytic acid) in temukut was lower than that in rice bran, as has been previously reported, the present study demonstrated temukut's potential to inhibit the proliferation of HT-29, Caov-3, and HepG2 cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On August 9, 2011, there was an X6.9 flare event occurred near the west limb of solar disk. From the observation obtained by the spectrometer of the Chinese Solar Broadband Radio Spectrometer in Huairou (SBRS/Huairou) around the flare, we find that this powerful flare has only a short-duration microwave burst of about only 5 minutes, and during the short-duration microwave burst, there are several kinds of fine structures on the spectrogram. These fine structures include very short-period pulsations, millisecond spike bursts, and type III bursts. The most interesting is that almost all of the pulses of very short-period pulsation (VSP) are structured by clusters of millisecond timescales of spike bursts or type III bursts. And there exists three different kinds of frequency drift rates in the VSP: the frequency drift rates with absolute value of about 55-130 MHz s-1) in the pulse groups, the frequency drift rates with absolute value of about 2.91-16.9 GHz s-1) on each individual pulse, and the frequency drift rates with absolute value of about 15-25 GHz s-1) at each individual spike burst or type III burst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to detect petroleum-derived spray oils (PDSOs) in citrus seedlings and trees. The NMR spectrum of the phantom containing 10% (v/v) of a nC24 agricultural mineral oil (AMO) showed the resonance of the water protons at δ ≈ 5 ppm, while the resonance of the oil protons at δ = 1.3 to 1.7 ppm. The peak resolution and the chemical shift difference of more than 3.3 ppm between water and oil protons effectively differentiated water and the oil. Chemical shift selective imaging (CSSI) was performed to localize the AMO within the stems of Citrus trifoliata L. seedlings after the application of a 4% (v/v) spray. The chemical shift selective images of the oil were acquired by excitation at δ ≈ = 1.5 ppm by averaging over 400 transients in each phase-encoding step. Oil was mainly detected in the outer cortex of stems within 10 d of spray application; some oil was also observed in the inner vascular bundle and pith of the stems at this point. CSSI was also applied to investigate the persistence of oil deposits in sprayed mature Washington navel orange (Citrus xaurantium L.) trees in an orchard. The trees were treated with either fourteen 0.25%, fourteen 0.5%, four 1.75%, or single 7% sprays of a nC23 horticultural mineral oil (HMO) 12 to 16 months before examination of plant tissues by CSSI, and were still showing symptoms of chronic phytotoxicity largely manifested as reduced yield. The oil deposits were detected in stems of sprayed flushes and unsprayed flushes produced 4 to 5 months after the last spray was applied, suggesting a potential movement of the oil via phloem and a correlation of the persistence of oil deposit in plants and the phytotoxicity. The results demonstrate that MRI is an effective method to probe the uptake and localization of PDSOs and other xenobiotics in vivo in plants noninvasively and nondestructively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laser-induced Ni(Pt) germanosilicide formation on Si1-xGex/Si substrate has resulted in the formation of smooth Ni(Pt) germanosilicide/Si interface with minimum interface roughness which is preferred as a contact material. A confined (self-limiting) melting phenomenon occurred during the laser-induced silicidation process at laser fluence of 0.4 J cm-2 (just at the melting threshold of the sample). This phenomenon is caused by significant differences in material properties of Si1-xGex alloy and Si substrates. Formation of highly textured [Ni1-v(Pt)v](Si1-yGey) phase was detected in the sample after 20-pulsed laser thermal annealing at 0.4 J cm-2. The formation mechanism of the Ni(Pt) monogermanosilicide is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]