[Relationship of Chinese medicine syndrome with endothelium-dependent vasodilatation function and carotid intima-media thickness in patients with hypertensive disease].

Objective: To explore the relationship of Chinese medicine (CM) syndrome with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and endothelium-dependent vasodilatation function (EDVF) in patients with hypertensive disease (HD) for providing an objective basis of syndrome differentiation in HD patients.

Methods: Color Doppler's ultrasound was used to measure the endothelium-dependent flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of brachial artery and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in 60 HD patients (the HD group) and 30 normal controls (the control group). And the relationship of the outcomes with Chinese medicine syndrome types in patients was analyzed statistically.

Injectable biodegradable thermosensitive hydrogel composite for orthopedic tissue engineering. 1. Preparation and characterization of nanohydroxyapatite/poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) hydrogel nanocomposites.

In this study, we synthesized a biodegradable triblock copolymer poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG, PECE) by ring-opening copolymerization, and nanohydroxyapatite (n-HA) powder was prepared by a hydrothermal precipitation method. The obtained n-HA was incorporated into the PECE matrix to prepare injectable thermosensitive hydrogel nanocomposites. (1)H NMR, FT-IR, XRD, DSC, and TEM were used to investigate the properties of PECE copolymer and n-HA/PECE nanocomposites.

Preparation of MPEG-PLA nanoparticle for honokiol delivery in vitro.

Honokiol (HK) shows potential application in cancer treatment, but its poor water solubility restricts clinical application greatly. In this paper, monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactic acid) (MPEG-PLA) was synthesized by ring-opening polymerization and processed into nanoparticle for honokiol delivery. Chemical structure of the synthesized polymer was confirmed by (1)H NMR, and its molecular weight was determined by gel permeation chromatography (GPC).

Honokiol nanoparticles in thermosensitive hydrogel: therapeutic effects on malignant pleural effusion.

Honokiol (HK) can efficiently inhibit the growth of tumors. However, its clinical applications have been restricted by its extreme hydrophobicity. We hope to improve its water solubility by nanotechnology.

Biodegradable thermosensitive injectable PEG-PCL-PEG hydrogel for bFGF antigen delivery to improve humoral immunity.

In this contribution, a biodegradable and injectable thermosensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG, PECE) hydrogel system was successfully prepared for basic fibroblastic growth factor (bFGF) antigen delivery. bFGF encapsulated PECE hydrogel system (bFGF-hydrogel) is an injectable free-flowing sol at ambient temperature, and forms a non-flowing gel at physiological temperature acting as antigen depot. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity results showed that the PECE hydrogel could be regarded as a safe carrier, and bFGF could be released from the hydrogel system in an extended period in vitro.

Chitosan-alginate sponge: preparation and application in curcumin delivery for dermal wound healing in rat.

A biodegradable sponge, composed of chitosan (CS) and sodium alginate (SA), was successfully obtained in this work. The sponge was ethereal and pliable. The chemical structure and morphology of the sponges was characterized by FTIR and SEM.

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) nanoparticles: preparation, characterization, and application in doxorubicin delivery.

Biodegradable poly(epsilon-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL/PEG) copolymer nanoparticles showed potential application in drug delivery systems. In this article, monodisperse poly(epsilon-caprolactone)/poly(ethylene glycol)/poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL/PEG/PCL, PCEC) nanoparticles, approximately 40 nm, were prepared by solvent extraction method using acetone as the organic solvent. These PCL/PEG/PCL nanoparticles did not induce hemolysis in vitro and did not show toxicity in vitro or in vivo.

Three-dimensional tonotopic organization of the C57 mouse cochlear nucleus.

The cochlear nucleus (CN) is the first sound processing center in the central auditory system that receives the almost unprocessed auditory information from the auditory periphery. The functional organization of the CN has been studied to a great extent in many mammals, including the cat, rat and bat. Yet, despite the general usefulness of the mouse, including the availability of various inbred strains and gene-manipulated lines, our current understanding of the mouse CN remains limited.

Factors impacting the regrowth of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in dairy manure compost.

The environmental variables affecting Escherichia coli O157:H7 regrowth in dairy manure compost were investigated. Factors evaluated were moisture content, strain variation, growth medium of inoculum, level of background microflora and inoculum, different days of composting, and acclimation at room temperature. A mathematical model was applied to describe E.

Biodegradable poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) copolymers as drug delivery system.

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PCL-PEG) copolymers are important synthetic biomedical materials with amphiphilicity, controlled biodegradability, and great biocompatibility. They have great potential application in the fields of nanotechnology, tissue engineering, pharmaceutics, and medicinal chemistry. This review introduced several aspects of PCL-PEG copolymers, including synthetic chemistry, PCL-PEG micro/nanoparticles, PCL-PEG hydrogels, and physicochemical and toxicological properties.

Clinical characteristics of 45 patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: retrospective analysis of 1711 lung cancer cases.

Background: : Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a common complication in patients with hematologic malignancies. Patients with solid tumors also are at risk for IA because they may develop neutropenia as a result of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, studies of IA in patients with solid tumors are rare.

Vascularity index of laryngeal cancer derived from 3-D ultrasound: a predicting factor for the in vivo assessment of cervical lymph node status.

To demonstrate whether a calculated vascularity index (VI) can predict metastases of cervical lymph nodes, the VI values of the primary tumors were obtained by using 3-D sonography in 87 subjects with laryngeal cancer confirmed by laryngoscope and biopsy. N-staging of the subjects was determined by pathological nodal harvesting. The relationship between the VI and pathological N-staging was evaluated by correlation coefficient.

[sCD40L, sP-selectin and sICAM-1 plasma levels in nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Objectives: To analyze plasma levels of soluble CD40 ligand (sCD40L), soluble P-selectin (sP-selectin) and soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in the patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).

Methods: Plasma samples were obtained from 110 NPC patients and 55 age and sex matched healthy individuals as controls. Using commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits, plasma levels of sCD40L, sP-selectin and sICAM-1 were measured in all the samples.

A novel poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-pluronic-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) grafted polyethyleneimine(PCFC-g-PEI), Part 1, synthesis, cytotoxicity, and in vitro transfection study.

Background: Polyethyleneimine (PEI), a cationic polymer, is one of the successful and widely used vectors for non-viral gene transfection in vitro. However, its in vivo application was greatly limited due to its high cytotoxicity and short duration of gene expression. To improve its biocompatibility and transfection efficiency, PEI has been modified with PEG, folic acid, and chloroquine in order to improve biocompatibility and enhance targeting.

Self-assembled hydrophobic honokiol loaded MPEG-PCL diblock copolymer micelles.

Purpose: Honokiol showed potential application in cancer treatment, but its poor water solubility restricts its clinical application greatly. So, we designed a self-assembled monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (MPEG-PCL) micelle to load honokiol to overcome its poor water solubility.

Methods: We synthesized MPEG-PCL diblock copolymer that could self-assemble into monodisperse micelles at the particle size of ca.

Polymeric matrix for drug delivery: honokiol-loaded PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles in PEG-PCL-PEG thermosensitive hydrogel.

In this article, we demonstrated a novel injectable polymer matrix: honokiol (HK) loaded poly (epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL, PCEC) nanoparticles in thermosensitive poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG-PCL-PEG, PECE) hydrogel for the drug local delivery. First, HK, as a model hydrophobic drug, was loaded into PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles by emulsion solvent evaporation method to overcome its poor water solubility. Then, the HK-loaded PCEC nanoparticles (HK-PCEC) were incorporated into thermosensitive PEG-PCL-PEG hydrogel, which was sol at low temperature and could gel as a depot for sustained release of drug in situ after topical injection.

Synthesis of a novel biodegradable poly(ester amine) (PEAs) copolymer based on low-molecular-weight polyethyleneimine for gene delivery.

In this paper, a novel biodegradable poly(ester amine) (PEA) copolymer was successfully prepared from low-molecular-weight polyethyleneimine (PEI, Mn=1800) and poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-Pluronic-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCFC) copolymers. According to the results of agarose gel electrophoresis, particle sizes and zeta potential measurement and transfection efficiency, these PEA copolymers showed great ability to condense plasmid DNA effectively into nano-complexes with small particle size (< or =200 nm) and moderate zeta potential (> or =12 mV) at proper polymeric carrier/DNA weight ratio. Compared with low-molecular-PEI (Mn=1800), the obtained PEAs exhibited higher transfection efficiency as well as lower cytotoxicity.

[Experimental study on co-culture of early embryo and cancer cells in vitro].

The co-culture system of early embryos and cancer cells is an important means to observe the biological behavior changes of embryos and cancer cells in vitro. In this study, we co-cultured the 3.5 dpc mouse embryo with malignant tumor cells, investigated the development of blastocyst by observing the hatchment, attachment and outgrowth, observed the biological behavior changes of cancer cells in the embryonic circumstances, and detected the proliferation and apoptosis of cancer cells.

Biodegradable in situ gel-forming controlled drug delivery system based on thermosensitive PCL-PEG-PCL hydrogel. Part 2: sol-gel-sol transition and drug delivery behavior.

In this work, a biodegradable and injectable in situ gel-forming controlled drug delivery system based on thermosensitive poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCEC) hydrogel was studied. The prepared PCEC hydrogel undergoes temperature-dependent sol-gel-sol transition, which is a flowing sol at ambient temperature and turns into a non-flowing gel at around physiological body temperature. Furthermore, the sol-gel phase transition mechanism was investigated using (13)C-nuclear magnetic resonance imaging and a laser diffraction particle size analyzer.

Core and periphery structures in protein interaction networks.

Background: Characterizing the structural properties of protein interaction networks will help illuminate the organizational and functional relationships among elements in biological systems.

Results: In this paper, we present a systematic exploration of the core/periphery structures in protein interaction networks (PINs). First, the concepts of cores and peripheries in PINs are defined.

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL) nanoparticles for honokiol delivery in vitro.

In this article, poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL-PEG-PCL, PCEC) nanoparticles were successfully prepared for honokiol delivery in vitro. Blank or honokiol loaded PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles were prepared in moderate condition by solvent diffusion method without using any surfactants. The prepared blank PCL-PEG-PCL nanoparticles are mono-dispersed and smaller than 200 nm.

Phase I study of the effect of gastric acid pH modulators on the bioavailability of oral dasatinib in healthy subjects.

Dasatinib is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (including BCR-ABL and the SRC family) that is effective in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. Dasatinib has pH-dependent solubility and is bioavailable as an oral formulation. The effect of gastric pH modifiers on dasatinib pharmacokinetics is evaluated in an open-label, randomized, 3-period, 3-treatment crossover study.

Snapshot of iron response in Shewanella oneidensis by gene network reconstruction.

Background: Iron homeostasis of Shewanella oneidensis, a gamma-proteobacterium possessing high iron content, is regulated by a global transcription factor Fur. However, knowledge is incomplete about other biological pathways that respond to changes in iron concentration, as well as details of the responses. In this work, we integrate physiological, transcriptomics and genetic approaches to delineate the iron response of S.

Computing Teichmüller shape space.

Shape indexing, classification, and retrieval are fundamental problems in computer graphics. This work introduces a novel method for surface indexing and classification based on Teichmuller theory. The Teichmuller space for surfaces with the same topology is a finite dimensional manifold, where each point represents a conformal equivalence class, a curve represents a deformation process from one class to the other.

Biological behaviors and proteomics analysis of hybrid cell line EAhy926 and its parent cell line A549.

Background: It is well established that cancer cells can fuse with endothelial cells to form hybrid cells spontaneously, which facilitates cancer cells traversing the endothelial barrier to form metastases. However, up to now, little is known about the biologic characteristics of hybrid cells. Therefore, we investigate the malignant biologic behaviors and proteins expression of the hybrid cell line EAhy926 with its parent cell line A549.