Radial arterial waves for chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-related myocardial damage identification in patients with breast cancer.

Introduction: Chemotherapy and radiation therapy for breast cancer cause side effects, such as cardiovascular changes, which can be monitored with echocardiography. However, more convenient methods are always encouraged. Radial arterial waves that are used to detect cardiovascular changes can be used to assist in confirming cardiovascular changes.

Effects of curcumin on nitrosyl-iron complex-mediated DNA cleavage and cytotoxicity.

Combination therapy aims to improve the pharmaceutical efficacy of different drugs, thus lowering the dosages used and reducing the side effects. However, interactions between individual drugs may also occur and lead to uncertain consequences. This study demonstrated that curcumin, a natural phenolic compound found in the rhizomes of turmeric, could either inhibit or enhance DNA cleavage caused by the synthetic nitrosyl-iron complex NC10 ([Fe₂(C₂H₅OS)₂(NO)₄]).

Effect of silymarin on curcumin-induced mortality in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and larvae.

In presence of 7.5 microM of curcumin, no embryos or larva of zebrafish survived 3 days of incubation; however, coincubation with 144 microg/ml silymarin increased the survival rates of curcumin-treated embryos and larvae to about 70%. Moreover, in presence of 12.

Genistein and beta-carotene enhance the growth-inhibitory effect of trichostatin A in A549 cells.

Background: The combination of anti-cancer drugs with nutritional factors is a potential strategy for improving the efficacy and decreasing the toxicity of chemotherapy. However, whether nutritional factors enhance the effect of trichostatin A (TSA), a novel anti-cancer drug, is unclear.

Aim: We investigated the individual enhancing effect and its possible mechanisms of genistein, daidzein, beta-carotene, retinoic acid, and alpha-tocopherol on the cell-growth-inhibitory effect of TSA in a human lung carcinoma cell line, A549.

Identification of three proteins up-regulated by raw starch in Cytophaga sp.

Raw starch-digesting amylases (RSDAs) in many microorganisms convert starch granules into maltodextrins and simple sugars. We cloned and sequenced from Cytophaga sp. an RSDA with an excellent raw starch digestion activity.

Associations of the major pseudopilin XpsG with XpsN (GspC) and secretin XpsD of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris type II secretion apparatus revealed by cross-linking analysis.

The major pseudopilin XpsG is an essential component of type II secretion apparatus of Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris. Along with other ancillary pseudopilins, it forms a pilus-like structure spanning between cytoplasmic and outer membranes.

Improving the thermostability of raw-starch-digesting amylase from a Cytophaga sp. by site-directed mutagenesis.

A heat-stable raw-starch-digesting amylase (RSDA) was generated through PCR-based site-directed mutagenesis. At 65 degrees C, the half-life of this mutant RSDA, which, compared with the wild-type RSDA, lacks amino acids R178 and G179, was increased 20-fold. While the wild type was inactivated completely at pH 3.

Cloning of a gene encoding raw-starch-digesting amylase from a Cytophaga sp. and its expression in Escherichia coli.

A raw-starch-digesting amylase (RSDA) gene from a Cytophaga sp. was cloned and sequenced. The predicted protein product contained 519 amino acids and had high amino acid identity to alpha-amylases from three Bacillus species.