Nano-bioceramic synthesis from tropical sea snail shells (Tiger Cowrie - Cypraea Tigris) with simple chemical treatment

In this study several bioceramic materials (i.e. hydroxyapatite, whitlockite) were prepared by using chemical synthesis method from sea snail shells (Tiger Cowrie - Cypraea Tigris), originated from Pacific Ocean. Marine shells usually present aragonite-calcite structures and generally, complicated and pressurized equipment is necessary to convert these structures into bioceramics. Instead of using complicated systems, a basic ultrasonic equipment and simple chemical synthesis method was used in the process. DTA analysis was performed to calculate the required amount of H3PO4 solution in order to set the appropriate stoichiometric ratio of Ca/P equal to 1.667 for HA bioceramic or to 1.5 for β-TCP bioceramic in the titration. The prepared batches were sintered at 800°C and 400 °C for hydroxyapatite (HA) and β-tri calcium phosphate (β-TCP) forms respectively. X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared observations (FTIR) were implemented for both TCP and HA bioceramics. By applying the chemical synthesis with basic ultrasonic equipment, this study proposes a simple way of production for nano-HA/TCP powders from a natural marine sources

Rapid identification of the medicinal plant Taraxacum formosanum and distinguishing of this plant from its adulterants by ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) based DNA barcode

Original identification of medicinal plants is essential for quality control. In this study, the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) nuclear ribosomal DNA served as a DNA barcode and was amplified by allele-specific PCR. This approach was exploited to differentiate Taraxacum formosanum from five related adulterants. Using a set of designed PCR primers, a highly specific 223 bp PCR product of T. formosanum was successfully amplified by PCR. However, no similar DNA fragment was amplified from any of the other adulterants. This indicates that, our allele specific primers have high specificity and can accurately discriminate T. formosanum from its adulterant plants.Key words: Medicinal plant, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), authentication, Taraxacum formosanum, traditional Chinese medicinal, internal transcribed spacers 2 (ITS2)

The impact of SARS on hospital performance

© 2008 Chu et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Multi-objective optimization for optimum tolerance synthesis with process and machine selection using a genetic algorithm

This paper presents a new approach to the tolerance synthesis of the component parts of assemblies by simultaneously optimizing three manufacturing parameters: manufacturing cost, including tolerance cost and quality loss cost; machining time; and machine overhead/idle time cost. A methodology has been developed using the Genetic Algorithm (GA) technique to solve this multi-objective optimization problem. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology has been demonstrated by solving a wheel mounting assembly problem consisting of five components, two subassemblies, two critical dimensions, two functional tolerances, and eight operations. Significant cost saving can be achieved by employing this methodology

A Plant Kavalactone Desmethoxyyangonin PreventsInflammation and Fulminant Hepatitis in Mice

Alpinia pricei Hayata is a Formosan plant which has been popularly used as nutraceutical or folk medicine for inflammation and various disorders. An active compound of the plant rhizomes, desmethoxyyangonin (DMY), was identified in this study for its novel effect against endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated inflammation in murine macrophages and LPS/D-galactosamine (LPS/D-GalN)-induced fulminant hepatitis in mice. DMY was observed to significantly inhibit proliferation and activation of T cells ex vivo and the activity of several pro-inflammatory mediators in vitro. DMY also protected LPS/D-GalN−induced acute hepatic damages in mice through inhibiting aminotransferases activities and infiltrations of inflammatory macrophages, neutrophils and pathogenic T cells into the liver tissues. In addition, pretreatment with DMY significantly improved the survival rate of LPS/D-GalN−treated mice to 90% (9/10), compared to LPS/D-GalN−treated group (40%, 4/10). UPLC/MS platform-based comparative metabolomics approach was used to explore the serum metabolic profile in fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) mice with or without the DMY pretreatment. The results showed that LPS/D-GalN−induced hepatic damage is likely through perturbing amino acid metabolism, which leads to decreased pyruvate formation via catalysis of aminotransferases, and DMY treatment can prevent to a certain degree of these alterations in metabolic network in mouse caused by LPS/D-GalN. Mechanistic investigation demonstrated that DMY protects LPS or LPS/D-GalN−induced damages in cell or liver tissues mainly through de-regulating IKK/NFκB and Jak2/STAT3 signaling pathways. This report provides evidence-based knowledge to support the rationale for the use of A. pricei root extract in anti-inflammation and also its new function as hepatoprotetive agent against fulminant hepatitis

Long-Term Mortality of Patients with Septic Ocular or Central Nervous System Complications from Pyogenic Liver Abscess: A Population-Based Study

Background: Taiwan is endemic for pyogenic liver abscess (PLA). Septic ocular or central nervous system (CNS) complications derived from PLA can result in catastrophic disability. We investigated the epidemiology and long-term prognosis of PLA patients with septic ocular or CNS complications over an 8-year period. Methodology/Principal Findings: We extracted 21,307 patients with newly diagnosed PLA from a nationwide health registry in Taiwan between 2000 and 2007. The frequency of and risk factors for PLA with septic ocular or CNS complications were determined. The 2-year survival of these patients was compared between those with and without septic ocular or CNS complications. Septic ocular or CNS complications accounted for 2.1 % of all PLA patients. Age and the Charlson comorbidity index were significantly lower in PLA patients with ocular or CNS complications than those without. Diabetes and age,65 years were independent predictors of septic ocular or CNS complications. The 2-year mortality of patients with septic ocular or CNS complications was similar to those without complications (24.8 % vs. 27.5%, p = 0.502). However, among patients,65 years old and a Charlson index #1, the 2-year mortality was significantly higher in those with than without complications (18.6 % vs. 11.8%, p = 0.001). Conclusions/Significance: Physicians should recognize that catastrophic disability due to ocular or neurologica

MicroRNA profiling of cisplatinresistant oral squamous cell carcinoma cell lines enriched withcancer-stem-cell-like and epithelial-mesenchymal transition-type features

Oral cancer is of major public health problem in India. Current investigation was aimed to identify the specific deregulated miRNAs which are responsible for development of resistance phenotype through regulating their resistance related target gene expression in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines were developed from their parental human OSCC cell lines and subsequently characterised. The resistant cells exhibited enhanced proliferative, clonogenic capacity with significant up-regulation of P-glycoprotein (ABCB1), c-Myc, survivin, β-catenin and a putative cancer-stem-like signature with increased expression of CD44, whereas the loss of E-cadherin signifies induced EMT phenotype. A comparative analysis of miRNA expression profiling in parental and cisplatin-resistant OSCC cell lines for a selected sets (deregulated miRNAs in head and neck cancer) revealed resistance specific signature. Moreover, we observed similar expression pattern for these resistance specific signature miRNAs in neoadjuvant chemotherapy treated and recurrent tumours compared to those with newly diagnosed primary tumours in patients with OSCC. All these results revealed that these miRNAs play an important role in the development of cisplatin-resistance mainly through modulating cancer stem-cell-like and EMT-type properties in OSCC

Clinical implications of insulin-like growth factor 1 system in early-stage cervical cancer

This study was aimed to identify the expression and the correlation of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) system and their prognostic impacts in cervical cancer. Seventy-two patients with early-stage cervical cancer were eligible. We obtained the serum levels of total IGF-1 and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and the expression of IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) in cancerous tissue by immuno-fluorescent (IF) stains. The 5-year recurrence-free and overall survival rates were significantly lower (P=0.003 and P=0.01, respectively) among patients with high-grade expression of tissue IGF-1R, compared with those with low-grade expression. After adjustment for other factors, preoperative serum total IGF-1 or IGFBP-3 levels failed to predict cancer death and recurrence. High-grade expression of IGF-1R and elevated preoperative squamous cell carcinoma antigen level were independent predictors of both death and recurrence, and combination of both factors could further help identify the subgroup of patients at higher death risk. The IF staining indicates the colocalisation of IGF-1 and IGF-1R in the cancerous tissues, whereas the IGF-1R expression is not correlated with circulating levels of IGF-1 or IGFBP-3. In early-stage cervical cancer, IGF-1 system may have a paracrine or autocrine function and the adverse impacts on prognosis by IGF-1R overexpression are implicated