RANKL Deletion in Periodontal Ligament and Bone Lining Cells Blocks Orthodontic Tooth Movement

The bone remodeling process in response to orthodontic forces requires the activity of osteoclasts to allow teeth to move in the direction of the force applied. Receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) is essential for this process although its cellular source in response to orthodontic forces has not been determined. Orthodontic tooth movement is considered to be an aseptic inflammatory process that is stimulated by leukocytes inclduing T and B lymphocytes which are presumed to stimulate bone resorption. We determined whether periodontal ligament and bone lining cells were an essential source of RANKL by tamoxifen induced deletion of RANKL in which Cre recombinase was driven by a 3.2 kb reporter element of the Col1α1 gene in experimental mice (Col1α1.CreERTM+.RANKLf/f) and compared results with littermate controls (Col1α1.CreERTM-.RANKLf/f). By examination of Col1α1.CreERTM+.ROSA26 reporter mice we showed tissue specificity of tamoxifen induced Cre recombinase predominantly in the periodontal ligament and bone lining cells. Surprisingly we found that most of the orthodontic tooth movement and formation of osteoclasts was blocked in the experimental mice, which also had a reduced periodontal ligament space. Thus, we demonstrate for the first time that RANKL produced by periodontal ligament and bone lining cells provide the major driving force for tooth movement and osteoclastogenesis in response to orthodontic forces

The Construct of the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale Revision 4 for the Population of Taiwan

This study examines the factor structure of the Schizophrenia Quality of Life Scale Revision 4 (SQLS-R4) for inpatients with schizophrenia in a psychiatric hospital in southern Taiwan. All the participants (n=100) filled out the SQLS-R4, Mini Mental Status Examination (MMSE), and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) under the supervision of one experienced occupational therapist. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we first determined that a 29-item model was more satisfactory than the original 33-item model based on the findings of better fit indices for the 29-item model. We then found that a three-correlated-factor structure was best for the SQLS-R4 after four models (namely, two-correlated-factor, three-correlated-factor, seven-correlated-factor, and second-order models) had been compared. In addition, the three constructs (psychosocial, physical, and vitality) were moderately to highly correlated with the constructs of the World Health Organization Quality of Life- (WHOQOL-) BREF (r=-0.38 to -0.69), except for one low correlation between the vitality construct of the SQLS-R4 and the psychological construct of the WHOQOL-BREF (r=-0.26). We tentatively conclude that the SQLS-R4 with a three-correlated-factor structure is a valid and reliable instrument for examining the quality of life of people with schizophrenia

Co-Overexpression of Cyclooxygenase-2 and Microsomal Prostaglandin E Synthase-1 Adversely Affects the Postoperative Survival in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

IntroductionCyclooxygenase (COX)-2 and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase (mPGES)-1 have been found to be overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to investigate the expression profiles of COX-2 and mPGES-1 and their correlation with the clinical characteristics and survival outcomes in patients with resected NSCLC.Methods/ResultsSeventy-nine paired adjacent normal-tumor matched samples were prospectively procured from patients undergoing surgery for NSCLC. The protein levels of COX-2 and mPGES-1 were assessed by Western blot analysis. Overexpression in the tumor sample was defined as more than twofold increase in protein expression compared with the corresponding adjacent normal tissue. Co-overexpression of COX-2 and mPGES-1 were further confirmed by immunohistochemistry. COX-2 was overexpressed in 58% and mPGES-1 in 70% of the tumor samples (p < 0.0001). Co-overexpression of mPGES-1 and COX-2 was noted in 43%, and they were unrelated to each other (p = 0.232). Co-overexpression of both proteins was significantly associated with less tumor differentiation (p = 0.046), tumor size larger than 5 cm (p = 0.038), and worse survival status during the follow-up (p = 0.036). Multivariate analysis showed that in addition to overall stage, co-overexpression of both proteins adversely affected the overall (hazard ratio, 2.40; p = 0.045) and disease-free survivals (hazard ratio, 2.27; p = 0.029).ConclusionsOverexpression of either COX-2 or mPGES-1 is common but unrelated in NSCLC. Co-overexpression of both COX-2 and mPGES-1 adversely affects postoperative overall and disease-free survivals

Numerical Analysis on Color Preference and Visual Comfort from Eye Tracking Technique

Color preferences in engineering are very important, and there exists relationship between color preference and visual comfort. In this study, there are thirty university students who participated in the experiment, supplemented by pre- and posttest questionnaires, which lasted about an hour. The main purpose of this study is to explore the visual effects of different color assignment with subjective color preferences via eye tracking technology. Eye-movement data through a nonlinear analysis detect slight differences in color preferences and visual comfort, suggesting effective physiological indicators as extensive future research discussed. Results found that the average pupil size of eye-movement indicators can effectively reflect the differences of color preferences and visual comfort. This study more confirmed that the subjective feeling will make people have misjudgment

MetaSquare: An integrated metadatabase of 16S rRNA gene amplicon for microbiome taxonomic classification

MOTIVATION: Taxonomic classification of 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon is an efficient and economic approach in microbiome analysis. 16S rRNA sequence databases like SILVA, RDP, EzBioCloud and HOMD used in downstream bioinformatic pipelines have limitations on either the sequence redundancy or the delay on new sequence recruitment. To improve the 16S rRNA gene-based taxonomic classification, we merged these widely used databases and a collection of novel sequences systemically into an integrated resource. RESULTS: MetaSquare version 1.0 is an integrated 16S rRNA sequence database. It is composed of more than 6 million sequences and improves taxonomic classification resolution on both long-read and short-read methods. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: Accessible at https://hub.docker.com/r/lsbnb/metasquare_db and https://github.com/lsbnb/MetaSquare. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

Validation of the Action Research Arm Test using item response theory in patients after stroke

Objective: To validate the unidimensionality of the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) using Mokken analysis and to examine whether scores of the ARAT can be transformed into interval scores using Rasch analysis. Subjects and methods: A total of 351 patients with stroke were recruited from 5 rehabilitation departments located in 4 regions of Taiwan. The 19-item ARAT was administered to all the subjects by a physical therapist. The data were analysed using item response theory by non-parametric Mokken analysis followed by Rasch analysis. Results: The results supported a unidimensional scale of the 19-item ARAT by Mokken analysis, with the scalability coefficient H = 0.95. Except for the item pinch ball bearing 3rd finger and thumb'', the remaining 18 items have a consistently hierarchical order along the upper extremity function's continuum. In contrast, the Rasch analysis, with a stepwise deletion of misfit items, showed that only 4 items (grasp ball'', grasp block 5 cm(3)'', grasp block 2.5 cm(3)'', and grip tube 1 cm(3)'') fit the Rasch rating scale model's expectations. Conclusion: Our findings indicated that the 19-item ARAT constituted a unidimensional construct measuring upper extremity function in stroke patients. However, the results did not support the premise that the raw sum scores of the ARAT can be transformed into interval Rasch scores. Thus, the raw sum scores of the ARAT can provide information only about order of patients on their upper extremity functional abilities, but not represent each patient's exact functioning

Label-free quantitative proteomics of CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells

Abstract Background CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells, which are characterized by their resistance to conventional chemotherapy and their tumor initiation ability at limited dilutions, have been recognized as a critical target in liver cancer therapeutics. In the current work, we developed a label-free quantitative method to investigate the proteome of CD133-positive liver cancer stem cells for the purpose of identifying unique biomarkers that can be utilized for targeting liver cancer stem cells. Label-free quantitation was performed in combination with ID-based Elution time Alignment by Linear regression Quantitation (IDEAL-Q) and MaxQuant. Results Initially, IDEAL-Q analysis revealed that 151 proteins were differentially expressed in the CD133-positive hepatoma cells when compared with CD133-negative cells. We then analyzed these 151 differentially expressed proteins by MaxQuant software and identified 10 significantly up-regulated proteins. The results were further validated by RT-PCR, western blot, flow cytometry or immunofluorescent staining which revealed that prominin-1, annexin A1, annexin A3, transgelin, creatine kinase B, vimentin, and EpCAM were indeed highly expressed in the CD133-positive hepatoma cells. Conclusions These findings confirmed that mass spectrometry-based label-free quantitative proteomics can be used to gain insights into liver cancer stem cells.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113089/1/12953_2012_Article_407.pd