New piericidin rhamnosides as potentiators of amphotericin B activity against Candida albicans produced by actinomycete strain TMPU-A0287.

Four new piericidin rhamnosides (2, 4-6) together with three known piericidins (1, 3, 7) were isolated from the culture broth of the unidentified actinomycete strain TMPU-A0287 as potentiators of antifungal amphotericin B (AmB) activity. The structures of piericidins were elucidated by spectroscopic analyses, including NMR and MS. Compounds 2 and 4-6 possessed a ketone at C-10 and one or two methoxy groups on the rhamnose in their structures.

Using the Barthel Index to Assess Activities of Daily Living after Musculoskeletal Tumour Surgery: A Single-centre Observational Study.

Objective: The objective of the current study was to find the factors affecting the activities of daily living, as evaluated by the Barthel Index, at the end of rehabilitation after musculoskeletal tumour surgery. Further, we evaluated whether the Barthel Index correlates with functional scores that are specific to musculoskeletal tumours at final follow-up.

Methods: The activities of daily living of 190 patients who underwent postoperative rehabilitation after surgery to treat musculoskeletal tumours were evaluated at the end of the program using the Barthel Index.

Guava leaf extract suppresses osteoarthritis progression in a rat anterior cruciate ligament transection model.

Guava leaf extract and ellagic acid, one of its polyphenolic components, inhibit the activity of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 5 (ADAMTS-5), which is associated with aggrecan degeneration during the early stage of osteoarthritis (OA). To investigate the efficacy of guava leaf extract for preventing OA, we examined the effect of its dietary intake on cartilage destruction in anterior cruciate ligament-transected (ACLT) rats. Rats were randomly assigned to four groups: ACLT control rats fed with control diet, ACLT rats fed with diet containing 0.

Purification, Characterization, and Gene Cloning of a Cold-Adapted Endo-1,4-β-glucanase from Bellamya chinensis laeta.

An endo-1,4-β-glucanase from Bellamya chinensis laeta was purified to electrophoretically homogeneous state. The molecular weight of the purified enzyme was estimated 70,000 by SDS-PAGE. The enzyme was most active at pH 5.

Significance of beta-catenin and pRB pathway components in malignant ovarian germ cell tumours: INK4A promoter CpG island methylation is associated with cell proliferation.

To clarify the mechanisms underlying cell cycle promotion in malignant germ cell tumours of the ovary (MGCTOs), beta-catenin and components of the pRB pathway, cyclin D1 and p16, were analysed in relation to cell proliferation. Immunohistochemically, p16 protein was not expressed in a number of MGCTOs (9 of 42 tumours: 21.4%) and was associated with p16 gene (INK4A) promoter 5'-CpG islands methylation.

11q23-24 loss is associated with chromosomal instability in endometrial cancer.

A loss of the DNA copy number at chromosomal region 11q23-24 as detected by comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) is a marker of poor prognosis in patients with endometrial cancer. Malignant tumors display genetic instability, which is classified into two types: microsatellite instability (MIN) and chromosomal instability (CIN). In the present study, we examined whether there is a relation between loss of 11q23-24 and genetic instability in endometrial adenocarcinoma.

Alpha-monoisostearyl glyceryl ether enhances percutaneous penetration of indometacin in-vivo.

Molecules that reversibly remove the barrier resistance of skin enhance penetration. alpha-Monoisostearyl glyceryl ether (GE-IS) is a novel compound that can be used as a non-ionic surfactant and increases percutaneous penetration of indometacin in rat abdominal skin in-vitro. The present study investigated GE-IS-induced enhancement of indometacin penetration in-vivo.

Genetic alterations related to lymph node metastasis and peritoneal dissemination in epithelial ovarian cancers.

Genetic alterations are assumed to be necessary for the development and progression of ovarian cancer. However, the genetic alterations that occur during lymph node metastasis and peritoneal dissemination are poorly understood. In the present study, we used comparative genomic hybridization to detect genetic alterations in 30 tumors from patients with primary ovarian cancers and analyzed the associations of these genetic alterations with clinical stage and surgical pathological factors, such as histological grade, lymph node metastasis, and peritoneal dissemination.

Syndecan-1 expression in cancer of the uterine cervix: association with lymph node metastasis.

The development of carcinoma is associated with alterations in the expression of many cell adhesion molecules. Syndecan-1 is a cell surface proteoglycan that binds cells to the extracellular matrix and changes its expression following malignant transformation in some tumors. Our purpose was to examine the pattern of syndecan-1 expression in cancer of the uterine cervix and assess the clinicopathological significance of syndecan-1 expression.