Fluid pumping by liquid metal droplet utilizing ac electric field.

We report a unique phenomenon in which liquid metal droplets (LMDs) under a pure ac electric field pump fluid. Unlike the directional pumping that occurs upon reversing the electric field polarity under a dc signal, this phenomenon allows the direction of fluid motion to be switched by simply shifting the position of the LMD within the cylindrical chamber. The physical mechanism behind this phenomenon has been termed Marangoni flow, caused by nonlinear electrocapillary stress.

Regulation of Androgen Receptor Expression Alters AMPK Phosphorylation in the Endometrium: In Vivo and In Vitro Studies in Women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

The failure of reproductive success in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients could be in part due to endometrial dysfunction. However, no studies have investigated any causality between androgen, androgen receptor (AR) expression, and adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation in the endometrium under physiological and pathological conditions. In the present study, we show that 1) endometrial AR expression levels fluctuate in non-PCOS and PCOS patients during the menstrual cycle; 2) the menstrual phase-dependent alteration of p-AMPKα expression occurs in non-PCOS patients but not in PCOS patients; 3) AR expression is higher in PCOS patients than non-PCOS patients during hyperplasia while AMPKα activation (indicated by the ratio of p-AMPKα to AMPKα); and 4) co-localization of AR and Ki-67 in epithelial cell nuclei is observed in endometrial hyperplasia.

Reversing the reduced level of endometrial GLUT4 expression in polycystic ovary syndrome: a mechanistic study of metformin action.

Conflicting results have been reported regarding whether or not insulin-regulated glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) is expressed in human and rodent endometria. There is an inverse relationship between androgen levels and insulin-dependent glucose metabolism in women. Hyperandrogenemia, hyperinsulinemia, and insulin resistance are believed to contribute to endometrial abnormalities in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

[Meta-analysis of extralevator abdominoperineal excision and conventional abdominoperineal excision for low rectal cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the perforation, circumferential resection margin (CRM) and postoperative perineal wound complications after extralevator abdominoperineal excision (ELAPE) and conventional abdominoperineal excision (APE) for low rectal cancer by using systematic review method.

Methods: The Cochrane Library, PubMed, EMbase, CNKI and VIP database were searched for literatures in which ELAPE and APE were compared for the treatment of low rectal cancer. Meta-analysis was performed to deal with data extracted by Cochrane Systematic Reviews methods.

Clinical efficacy and safety of selective trans-cystic intra-operative cholangiography in primary suture following three-port laparoscopic common bile duct exploration.

Background: Intra-operative cholangiography has been shown to be a sensitive and specific method of demonstrating bile duct stones. This study investigated the feasibility, safety, and clinical value of selective trans-cystic intra-operative cholangiography in primary suture following three-port laparoscopic common bile duct exploration, and identified the factors that positively predict the presence of common bile duct stones.

Methods: From January 2008 to January 2011, 252 of 1013 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy received selective trans-cystic intra-operative cholangiography and primary suture following three-port laparoscopic common bile duct exploration.

[Relationship of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha expression and vascular endothelial growth factor in SKOV-3 ovarian cancer model].

Objective: To investigate the correlation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1alpha and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) or micro-vessel density (MVD).

Methods: The ovarian cancer cell line SKOV3 was transplanted into nude mice to form xenogeneic tumor. Mice were treated with rapamycin 4 mg/kg, sulindac 100 mg/(kg.

[Inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factor 1alpha expression and tumor growth in SKOV3 ovarian cancer model by sirolimus].

Objective: To investigate the inhibitory effect of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, sirolimus on expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)1alpha protein and growth of ovarian carcinoma in an athymic mouse xenogeneic transplant model of ovarian cancer.

Methods: Four groups of female nude mice were inoculated subcutaneously with SKOV3 cells. After inoculation, mice were treated with saline, rapamycin alone, paclitaxel alone and sirolimus + paclitaxel.