Gastroprotective effects of Leejung-tang, an oriental traditional herbal formula, on ethanol-induced acute gastric injury in rats

Leejung-tang (LJT, Rechu-to in Japanese and Lizhong-tang in Chinese) is an oriental traditional traditional herbal formula. LJT has been used for treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in Korea, Japan, and China for a long time. In present study, we investigated the protective effects of LJT against absolute ethanol induced gastric injuries. Rats in the control groupwere given PBS orally (5 mL/kg body weight) as the vehicle, and the absolute-ethanol group (EtOH group) received absolute ethanol (5 mL/kg body weight) by oral gavage. Rats in the positive control group were given omeprazole orally (50 mg/kg body weight) 2 h prior to the administration of absolute ethanol. The treatment groups received LJT (400 mg/kg body weight) 2 h prior to absolute ethanol administration. All rats were sacrificed 1 h after receiving the ethanol treatment. The stomach was excised for macroscopic examination and biochemical analysis. The administration of LJT protected gastric mucosa against ethanol-induced acute gastric injury, including hemorrhage and hyperemia. LJT reduced the increase in lipidperoxidation in ethanol-induced acute gastric lesions. LJT increased GSH content and activities of the antioxidant enzymes, catalase, glutathione-S-transferase, glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase. These results indicate that LJT protects gastric mucosa against ethanol-induced acute gastric injury by increasing their antioxidant content. We suggest that LJT can be developed as an effective drug for the treatment of acute gastric injury

Macroscopic nucleation phenomena in continuum media with long-range interactions

Nucleation, commonly associated with discontinuous transformations between metastable and stable phases, is crucial in fields as diverse as atmospheric science and nanoscale electronics. Traditionally, it is considered a microscopic process (at most nano-meter), implying the formation of a microscopic nucleus of the stable phase. Here we show for the first time, that considering long-range interactions mediated by elastic distortions, nucleation can be a macroscopic process, with the size of the critical nucleus proportional to the total system size. This provides a new concept of "macroscopic barrier-crossing nucleation". We demonstrate the effect in molecular dynamics simulations of a model spin-crossover system with two molecular states of different sizes, causing elastic distortions.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary information accompanies this paper at http://www.nature.com/scientificreport

Use of the Putamen/Caudate Volume Ratio for Early Differentiation between Parkinsonian Variant of Multiple System Atrophy and Parkinson Disease

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neuropathological studies have demonstrated that multiple system atrophy (MSA) produces selective atrophy of the putamen with sparing of the caudate nucleus, while both structures are spared in idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). In this study we evaluated the clinical efficacy of using putaminal atrophy in brain MRI to differentiate MSA and PD. METHODS: We measured the putamen/caudate volume ratio on brain MRI in 24 patients with MSA and 21 patients with PD. Two clinicians who were blinded to the patients' diagnoses and to each other's assessments measured the volume ratio using a computer program. RESULTS: The measured volume ratios of the two investigators were highly correlated (r=0.72, p<0.0001). The volume ratio was significantly lower in MSA (1.29+/-0.28) than PD (1.91+/-0.29, p<0.0001). Setting an arbitrary cutoff ratio of 1.6 resulted in about 90% of patients with MSA falling into the group with a lower ratio, whereas more than 80% of patients with PD belonged to the other group. CONCLUSIONS: The present results demonstrate that putaminal atrophy in MSA as measured on brain MRI represents an effective tool for differentiating MSA from PD.ope

Transdifferentiation-inducing HCCR-1 oncogene

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cell transdifferentiation is characterized by loss of some phenotypes along with acquisition of new phenotypes in differentiated cells. The differentiated state of a given cell is not irreversible. It depends on the up- and downregulation exerted by specific molecules.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report here that <it>HCCR-1</it>, previously shown to play an oncogenic role in human cancers, induces epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition (MET) in human and mouse, respectively. The stem cell factor receptor CD117/c-Kit was induced in this transdifferentiated (EMT) sarcoma tissues. This MET occurring in <it>HCCR-1 </it>transfected cells is reminiscent of the transdifferentiation process during nephrogenesis. Indeed, expression of <it>HCCR-1 </it>was observed during the embryonic development of the kidney. This suggests that <it>HCCR-1 </it>might be involved in the transdifferentiation process of cancer stem cell.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Therefore, we propose that <it>HCCR-1 </it>may be a regulatory factor that stimulates morphogenesis of epithelia or mesenchyme during neoplastic transformation.</p

Injection Scheme with Deflecting Cavity for Ultimate Storage Ring

We suggest a new on-axis injection scheme that uses two deflecting cavities to remove the tilt of the stored beam, and to kick the injected beam into the ring. In this new injection scheme, an injected beam with a certain angle is overlaid on the stored beam position in transverse phase space through the second deflecting cavity. (Note that the injected beam has separated phase with the stored beam in longitudinal phase space). We present theoretical analysis and numerical simulations of the stored beam and injected beam with the new injection scheme

siRNA-based targeting of antiapoptotic genes can reverse chemoresistance in P-glycoprotein expressing chondrosarcoma cells

Background: High expression of P-glycoprotein is one of the well-known mechanisms of chemoresistance in chondrosarcomas. However, the role of antiapoptotic proteins, a common mechanism responsible for chemoresistance in other tumors, has not been well studied in chondrosarcomas. We examined the importance of P-glycoprotein and antiapoptotic proteins in the chemoresistance to doxorubicin of two Grade II chondrosarcoma cell lines, JJ012 and SW1353. Results: We confirmed that both chondrosarcoma cell types expressed P-glycoprotein and antiapoptotic proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and XIAP). siRNA knockdown as well as pharmacologic inhibitors of cell survival proteins (Bcl-2, Bcl-xL and XIAP) enhanced apoptosis of chemoresistant chondrosarcoma cells by up to 5.5 fold at 0.1 μmol and 5.5 fold at 1 μmol doxorubicin. These chemosensitizing effects were comparable to those of P-glycoprotein inhibition by siRNA or pharmacologic inhibitor. Conclusion: These findings suggest that antiapoptotic proteins play a significant role in the chemoresistance of chondrosarcoma cells independent of P-glycoprotein. Based on the results, a new siRNA-based therapeutic strategy targeting antiapoptotic genes can be designed to overcome the chemoresistance of chondrosarcomas which is often conferred by P-glycoprotein

First Results from the AMoRE-Pilot neutrinoless double beta decay experiment

The Advanced Molybdenum-based Rare process Experiment (AMoRE) aims to search for neutrinoless double beta decay (0$\nu\beta\beta$) of $^{100}$Mo with $\sim$100 kg of $^{100}$Mo-enriched molybdenum embedded in cryogenic detectors with a dual heat and light readout. At the current, pilot stage of the AMoRE project we employ six calcium molybdate crystals with a total mass of 1.9 kg, produced from $^{48}$Ca-depleted calcium and $^{100}$Mo-enriched molybdenum ($^{48\textrm{depl}}$Ca$^{100}$MoO$_4$). The simultaneous detection of heat(phonon) and scintillation (photon) signals is realized with high resolution metallic magnetic calorimeter sensors that operate at milli-Kelvin temperatures. This stage of the project is carried out in the Yangyang underground laboratory at a depth of 700 m. We report first results from the AMoRE-Pilot $0\nu\beta\beta$ search with a 111 kg$\cdot$d live exposure of $^{48\textrm{depl}}$Ca$^{100}$MoO$_4$ crystals. No evidence for $0\nu\beta\beta$ decay of $^{100}$Mo is found, and a upper limit is set for the half-life of 0$\nu\beta\beta$ of $^{100}$Mo of $T^{0\nu}_{1/2} > 9.5\times10^{22}$ y at 90% C.L.. This limit corresponds to an effective Majorana neutrino mass limit in the range $\langle m_{\beta\beta}\rangle\le(1.2-2.1)$ eV

Lowering the energy threshold in COSINE-100 dark matter searches

COSINE-100 is a dark matter detection experiment that uses NaI(Tl) crystal detectors operating at the Yangyang underground laboratory in Korea since September 2016. Its main goal is to test the annual modulation observed by the DAMA/LIBRA experiment with the same target medium. Recently DAMA/LIBRA has released data with an energy threshold lowered to 1 keV, and the persistent annual modulation behavior is still observed at 9.5$\sigma$. By lowering the energy threshold for electron recoils to 1 keV, COSINE-100 annual modulation results can be compared to those of DAMA/LIBRA in a model-independent way. Additionally, the event selection methods provide an access to a few to sub-GeV dark matter particles using constant rate studies. In this article, we discuss the COSINE-100 event selection algorithm, its validation, and efficiencies near the threshold