Triclosan Disrupts SKN-1/Nrf2- Mediated Oxidative Stress Response in C. elegans and Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Triclosan (TCS), an antimicrobial chemical with potential endocrine-disrupting properties, may pose a risk to early embryonic development and cellular homeostasis during adulthood. Here, we show that TCS induces toxicity in both the nematode C. elegans and human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) by disrupting the SKN-1/Nrf2-mediated oxidative stress response. Specifically, TCS exposure affected C. elegans survival and hMSC proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Cellular analysis showed that TCS inhibited the nuclear localization of SKN-1/Nrf2 and the expression of its target genes, which were associated with oxidative stress response. Notably, TCS-induced toxicity was significantly reduced by either antioxidant treatment or constitutive SKN-1/Nrf2 activation. As Nrf2 is strongly associated with aging and chemoresistance, these findings will provide a novel approach to the identification of therapeutic targets and disease treatment

Exploration Behaviour Is Not Associated with Chick Provisioning in Great Tits

In biparental systems, members of the same pair can vary substantially in the amount of parental care they provide to offspring. The extent of this asymmetry should depend on the relative costs and benefits of care. Individual variation in personality is likely to influence this trade-off, and hence is a promising candidate to explain differences in care. In addition, plasticity in parental care may also be associated with personality differences. Using exploration behaviour (EB) as a measure of personality, we investigated these possibilities using both natural and experimental data from a wild population of great tits (Parus major). Contrary to predictions, we found no association between EB and natural variation in provisioning behaviour. Nor was EB linked to responsiveness to experimentally increased brood demand. These results are initially surprising given substantial data from other studies suggesting personality should influence investment in parental care. However, they are consistent with a recent study showing selection on EB is weak and highly context-specific in the focal population. This emphasises the difficulty faced by personality studies attempting to make predictions based on previous work, given that personalities often vary among populations of the same species

Adjuvant or radical fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy for patients with pituitary functional and nonfunctional macroadenoma

Purpose: To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy (SFRT) for patients with pituitary macroadenoma (PMA).Methods and Materials: Between March 2000 and March 2009, 27 patients (male to female ratio, 1.25) with PMA underwent SFRT (median dose, 50.4 Gy). Mean age of the patients was 56.5 years (range, 20.3 - 77.4). In all but one patient, SFRT was administered for salvage treatment after surgical resection (transphenoidal resection in 23, transphenoidal resection followed by craniotomy in 2 and multiple transphenoidal resections in another patient). In 10 (37%) patients, the PMAs were functional (3 ACTH-secreting, 3 prolactinomas, 2 growth hormone-secreting and 2 multiple hormone-secretion). Three (11.1%) and 9 (33.3%) patients had PMA abutting and compressing the optic chiasm, respectively. Mean tumor volume was 2.9 +/- 4.6 cm(3). Eighteen (66.7%) patients had hypopituitarism prior to SFRT. The mean follow-up period after SFRT was 72.4 +/- 37.2 months.Results: Tumor size decreased for 6 (22.2%) patients and remained unchanged for 19 (70.4%) other patients. Two (7.4%) patients had tumor growth inside the prescribed treatment volume. The estimated 5-year tumor growth control was 95.5% after SFRT. Biochemical remission occurred in 3 (30%) patients with functional PMA. Two patients with normal anterior pituitary function before SFRT developed new deficits 25 and 65 months after treatment. The 5-year survival without new anterior pituitary deficit was thus 95.8%. Five patients with visual field defect had improved visual function and 1 patient with no visual defect prior to SFRT, but an optic chiasm abutting tumor, had a decline in visual function. The estimated 5-year vision and pituitary function preservation rates were 93.2% and 95.8%, respectively.Conclusions: SFRT is a safe and effective treatment for patients with PMA, although longer follow-up is needed to evaluate long-term outcomes. In this study, approximately 1 patient with visual field defect out of two had an improved visual

Selective Microfabrication of Silver Electrodes inside a Microchannel by Multiphase Laminar Flow with Density Difference

In this paper, we propose a selective microfabrication technique of metal electrodes in a microchannel. The technique is based on the chemical deposition and the interface rotation of laminar flows among three multiphase fluids. Silver electrodes were patterned by electroless silver deposition only on the wall of the microchannel where the interface between a silver electroless plating solution and a reducer solution makes contact with the wall. A third fluid having a lower (or higher) density compared to the two solutions was introduced into the microchannel at the same time. The density difference between the two solutions and the third fluid induced the stable rotations of the interfaces between two among the three fluids. The third fluid having a different density, therefore, enabled us to selectively position the interfaces between the electroless plating and reducer solutions on the wall of the microchannel. We have demonstrated the fabrication of a single electrode and double electrodes on the bottom walls of microchannels based on the suggested microfabrication technique by changing number of streams, injection locations, flow rates, and flow duration time. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.X1178sciescopu

Microfabrication of dual-opposite electrodes inside a microchannel by means of multiphase laminar flow with density difference

An alignment-free and low-cost microfabrication technique for dual-opposite silver electrodes inside a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannel is presented using multiphase fluids with density difference in a laminar flow regime without a photolithographic process. The electrode patterns were created using chemical deposition at the interface between a silver electroless plating solution (denser fluid) and a reducer solution (less dense fluid). The gravitational force induced by the density difference causes a slight rotation of the interface in the downstream direction, thereby resulting in the dual-opposite electrodes having individual electrical connection patterned on the top and bottom walls of the PDMS microchannel.X1123sciescopu