Increased vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in rats with spinal cord injury by transplantation of bone marrow stromal cells

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a well known angiogenic factor, has been shown to have direct and/or indirect influence on spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this study is to observe VEGF expression changes in rats with SCI by bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) treatment. The mRNA expression of VEGF in rats was analyzed by semi-quantitative RT- PCR and the protein expression level was quantified by means of western blot and immunohistochemistry technology. It was found that VEGF was significantly up-regulated in BMSCs treatment group in comparison to the sham group and DMEM group on mRNA level. On protein level, VEGF was also highly increased in BMSCs treatment group, which reached the highest level after 14 days treatment. The present study suggests a potential local role for VEGF as mediators of SCI which might provide a certain reasonable clue to clarify molecular mechanisms of BMSCs treatment in SCI.Key words: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), spinal cord injury, bone marrow stromal cells, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot, immunohistochemistry

Optical loss compensation in a bulk left-handed metamaterial by the gain in quantum dots

A bulk left-handed metamaterial with fishnet structure is investigated to show the optical loss compensation via surface plasmon amplification, with the assistance of a Gaussian gain in PbS quantum dots. The optical resonance enhancement around 200 THz is confirmed by the retrieval method. By exploring the dependence of propagation loss on the gain coefficient and metamaterial thickness, we verify numerically that the left-handed response can endure a large propagation thickness with ultralow and stable loss under a certain gain coefficient.Comment: 6 pages with 4 figure

Superconductivity up to 30 K in the vicinity of quantum critical point in BaFe2_{2}(As1−x_{1-x}Px_{x})2_{2}

We report bulk superconductivity induced by an isovalent doping of phosphorus in BaFe$_{2}$(As$_{1-x}$P$_{x}$)$_{2}$. The P-for-As substitution results in shrinkage of lattice, especially for the FeAs block layers. The resistivity anomaly associated with the spin-density-wave (SDW) transition in the undoped compound is gradually suppressed by the P doping. Superconductivity with the maximum $T_c$ of 30 K emerges at $x$=0.32, coinciding with a magnetic quantum critical point (QCP) which is evidenced by the disappearance of SDW order and the linear temperature-dependent resistivity in the normal state. The $T_c$ values were found to decrease with further P doping, and no superconductivity was observed down to 2 K for $x\geq$ 0.77. The appearance of superconductivity in the vicinity of QCP hints to the superconductivity mechanism in iron-based arsenides.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures; more data; to appear in Journal of Physics: Condensed Matte

Efficient inhibition of lung cancer in murine model by plasmid-encoding VEGF short hairpin RNA in combination with low-dose DDP

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>VEGF is a well-validated target for antiangiogenic intervention in cancer. To date, RNAi technology has been proven to be a promising approach for targeted therapy. DDP is frequently used as a first-line drug in chemotherapy for lung cancer but usually causes severe toxicity. In this study, we investigated a novel strategy of administering and combining RNAi mediated VEGF-targeted therapy with DDP for treatment of lung cancer, with the aim of increasing efficacy and decreasing toxicity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this study, a plasmid encoding VEGF shRNA was constructed to knockdown VEGF both in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, specificity and potency of the targeting sequence were validated in A549 lung adenocarcinoma cells by RT-PCR and ELISA assays. In vivo, therapy experiments were conducted on nude mice bearing A549 xenograft tumors. The VEGF shRNA expressing plasmids were administered systemically in combination with low-dose DDP on a frequent basis. The tumor volume and weight were measured. MVD, the number of apoptotic cells and proliferation index in tumor tissues were assessed by CD31, TUNEL and PCNA immunostaining.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The VEGF shRNA was highly effective in attenuating VEGF expression both in vitro and in vivo. The treatment with the VEGF shRNA alone reduced the mean tumor weight by 49.40% compared with the blank control (P < 0.05). The treatment with the VEGF shRNA plus DDP yielded maximal benefits by reducing the mean tumor weight by 83.13% compared with the blank control (P < 0.01). The enhanced antitumor efficacy was associated with decreased angiogenesis and increased induction of apoptosis.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study demonstrated synergistic antitumor activity of combined VEGF shRNA expressing plasmids and low-dose DDP with no overt toxicity, suggesting potential applications of the combined approach in the treatment of lung cancer.</p

A Three-Stage Stirling Pulse Tube Cryocooler Approaching 4 K

Presented at the 16th International Cryocooler Conference, held May 17-20, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.It is a great challenge for a Stirling Pulse tube cryocooler (PTC) to reach liquid-helium temperature, where there are promising applications such as superconducting digital electronics, midinfrared instrument, heterodyne detectors. Lockheed Martin first achieved a temperature below 4 K with a four-stage configuration with He-3 as working fluid. A single-stage Stirling PTC precooled by a self-made two-stage GM-type PTC has been constructed and tested to explore the loss mechanism of 4 K PTC working at high frequency at Zhejiang University. Temperature as low as 4.2 K has been successfully obtained with He-4 as working fluid by the end of 2008. In this paper, we report a newly-designed three-stage PTC, which aims to reach 4 K. The 4 K cooler is a thermalcoupled type, whose mass flows are easier t ocontrol and whose energy flows are more readily monitored. It will be working with He-4 instead of He-3. The first and second stages have been finished. A bottom temperature of 35 K and 9 W at 77 K with 300 We input has been achieved in the first stage. The bottom temperature of second stage is as low as 20.6 K, and the cooling power is measured as 1.0 W at 28.6 K. The test results are in good agreement with the model for both stages. The first and second stage is designed to couple with the a stage, which is expected to reach below 5.0 K at 30 Hz

The chinese version of achilles tendon total rupture score: cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity

Background The Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS), which is originally developed in 2007 in Swedish, is the only patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) for specific outcome assessment of an Achilles tendon rupture.Purpose of this study is to translate and cross-culturally adapt Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) into simplified Chinese, and primarily evaluate the responsiveness, reliability and validity. Methods International recognized guideline which was designed by Beaton was followed to make the translation of ATRS from English into simplified Chinese version (CH-ATRS). A prospective cohort study was carried out for the cross-cultural adaptation. There were 112 participants included into the study. Psychometric properties including floor and ceiling effects, Cronbach’s alpha, intraclass correlation coefficient, effect size, standard response mean, and construct validity were tested. Results The mean scores of CH-ATRS are 57.42 ± 13.70. No sign of floor or ceiling effect was found of CH-ATRS. High level of internal consistency was supported by the value of Cronbach’s alpha (0.893). ICC (0.979, 95%CI: 0.984-0.993) was high to indicate the high test-retest reliability. Great responsive ness was proved with the high absolute value of ES and SRM (0.84 and 8.98, respectively). The total CH-ATRS score had very good correlation with physical function and body pain subscales of SF-36 (r = −0.758 and r = −0.694, respectively, p < 0.001), while poor correlation with vitality and role physical subscales of SF-36 (r = −0.033 and r = −0.025, respectively, p ≥ 0.05), which supported construct validity of CH-ATRS. Conclusion This Chinese version of Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (CH-ATRS) can be used as a reliable and valid instrument for Achilles tendon rupture assessing in Chinese-speaking population

Control of an Underactuated Three-Link Passive-Active- Active Manipulator Based on Three Stages and Stability Analysis

This paper presents a novel three-stage control strategy for the motion control of an underactuated three-link passive-active-active (PAA) manipulator. First, a nonlinear control law is designed to make the angle and angular velocity of the third link convergent to zero. Then, a swing-up control law is designed to increase the system energy and control the posture of the second link. Finally, an integrated method with linear control and nonlinear control is introduced to stabilize the manipulator at the straight-up position. The stability of the control system is guaranteed by Lyapunov theory and LaSalle&apos;s invariance principle. Compared to other approaches, the proposed strategy innovatively introduces a preparatory stage to drive the third link to stretch-out toward the second link in a natural way, which makes the swing-up control easy and quick. Besides, the intergraded method ensures the manipulator moving into the balancing stage smoothly and easily. The effectiveness and efficiency of the control strategy are demonstrated by numerical simulations

Resonance amplification of left-handed transmission at optical frequencies by stimulated emission of radiation in active metamaterials

We demonstrate that left-handed resonance transmission from metallic metamaterial, composed of periodically arranged double rings, can be extended to visible spectrum by introducing an active medium layer as the substrate. The severe ohmic loss inside metals at optical frequencies is compensated by stimulated emission of radiation in this active system. Due to the resonance amplification mechanism of recently proposed lasing spaser, the left-handed transmission band can be restored up to 610 nm wavelength, in dependence on the gain coefficient of the active layer. Additionally, threshold gains for different scaling levels of the double-ring unit are investigated to evaluate the gain requirement of left-handed transmission restoration at different frequency ranges.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Operator entanglement of two-qubit joint unitary operations revisited: Schmidt number approach

Operator entanglement of two-qubit joint unitary operations is revisited. Schmidt number is an important attribute of a two-qubit unitary operation, and may have connection with the entanglement measure of the unitary operator. We found the entanglement measure of two-qubit unitary operators is classified by the Schmidt number of the unitary operators. The exact relation between the operator entanglement and the parameters of the unitary operator is clarified too.Comment: To appear in the Brazilian Journal of Physic