Phase Transition Behavior of Poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-N,Ndimethylaminopropylacrylamide) Hydrogels

The copolymer hydrogel of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide (DMAPAA) was synthesized by free radical copolymerization. The phase transition behavior of p(NIPAAmco-DMAPAA) hydrogels as a function of temperature and SDS concentration was studied. The p(NIPAAmco-DMAPAA) hydrogels exhibited larger swelling capacity than the homo p(NIPAAm) hydrogel. The phase transition temperature of p(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAA) hydrogels increased with an increase of DMAPAA content. In aqueous SDS solution, the swelling capacity of p(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAA) hydrogel decreased with an increase of SDS concentration. The phase transition temperature of p(NIPAAm-co-DMAPAA) hydrogels was found to be almost independent of the SDS concentration

High-performance organic semiconductors for thin-film transistors based on 2,6-bis(2-thienylvinyl)anthracene

We have synthesized two novel organic semiconductors, which have a symmetrically substituted thienylvinylene anthracene backbone. They show good electrical performances on SiO2/Si, with high field-effect mobilities of up to 0.4 cm2 V-1 s-1, and can easily be synthesized in large quantities. In addition, the high mobility of such semiconductors can be achieved at low substrate deposition temperatures.This work was supported by grants (F0004030-2007-23, F0004071-2007-23) from the Information Display R&D Center, one of the 21st Century Frontier R&D Programs funded by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy of the Korean Government, and Seoul R&BD

A Single-Center, Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study Evaluating the Effects of Poly-Gamma-Glutamate on Human NK Cell Activity after an 8-Week Oral Administration in Healthy Volunteers

A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled immunity study involving 99 healthy volunteers was performed to investigate the effect of poly-γ-glutamate (γ-PGA) on human natural killer (NK) cell activity in peripheral blood. The volunteers were randomly assigned to one of three groups and orally treated with solutions (25 mL) containing 0 mg (placebo), 250 mg (low dosage), or 500 mg (high dosage) of γ-PGA. Each volunteer took one dose every 12 hours for 8 weeks. Blood samples were drawn before the initial treatment and at the 4th and the 8th weeks of treatment. NK cell activity was assessed by measuring its degranulation, cytokine production, and cytotoxicity against the K562 cell line. Our results revealed that the cytotoxic activities of NK cells from the high-dosage γ-PGA group were significantly higher (P<0.05 for all comparisons) compared to the low dosage and placebo groups at weeks 4 and 8 after the initial treatment. This increase in the NK cell activity among peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of healthy individuals was also confirmed in vitro (as assessed by the degranulation and cytokine production). These results suggest that the oral administration of γ-PGA induces a cell-mediated immunity by increasing the NK cell activity in humans

Cavernous Hemangioma of the Tympanic Membrane

Cavernous hemangioma seems to most frequently arise in the posterior portion of the external auditory canal. However, they rarely occur in the tympanic membrane. A 49-year-old male patient was referred for evaluation of right-sided pulsatile tinnitus that he'd experienced for the previous 2 years. Temporal bone computerized tomography showed an isolated soft tissue mass just lateral to the tympanic membrane. There was no evidence of bony erosion or middle ear invasion. The patient underwent excision of the mass using a postauricular approach. The mass was removed en bloc and the defect of the tympanic membrane was repaired by tympanoplasty type I. There was no recurrence after 1 year of follow-up

The Globular Cluster System of M60 (NGC 4649). I. CFHT MOS Spectroscopy and Database

We present the measurement of radial velocities for globular clusters in M60, giant elliptical galaxy in the Virgo cluster. Target globular cluster candidates were selected using the Washington photometry based on the deep 16\arcmin \times 16\arcmin images taken at the KPNO 4m and using the $VI$ photometry derived from the HST/WFPC2 archive images. The spectra of the target objects were obtained using the Multi-Object Spectrograph (MOS) at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). We have measured the radial velocity for 111 objects in the field of M60: 93 globular clusters (72 blue globular clusters with $1.0\le(C-T_1)<1.7$ and 21 red globular clusters with $1.7\le(C-T_1)<2.4$), 11 foreground stars, 6 small galaxies, and the nucleus of M60. The measured velocities of the 93 globular clusters range from $\sim 500$ km s$^{-1}$ to $\sim 1600$ km s$^{-1}$, with a mean value of $1070_{-25}^{+27}$ km s$^{-1}$, which is in good agreement with the velocity of the nucleus of M60 ($v_{\rm gal}=1056$ km s$^{-1}$). Combining our results with data in the literature, we present a master catalog of radial velocities for 121 globular clusters in M60. The velocity dispersion of the globular clusters in the master catalog is found to be $234_{-14}^{+13}$ km s$^{-1}$ for the entire sample, $223_{-16}^{+13}$ km s$^{-1}$ for 83 blue globular clusters, and $258_{-31}^{+21}$ km s$^{-1}$ for 38 red globular clusters.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Ap

β-Glucan enhanced apoptosis in human colon cancer cells SNU-C4

The apoptotic effect of bacteria-derived β-glucan was investigated in human colon cancer cells SNU-C4 using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) expressions of Bcl-2, Bax, and Caspase-3 genes, and assay of caspase-3 enzyme activity. β-Glucan of 10, 50, and 100 µg/mL decreased cell viability in a dose-dependent manner with typical apoptotic characteristics, such as morphological changes of chromatin condensation and apoptotic body formation from TUNEL assay. In addition, β-glucan (100 µg/mL) decreased the expression of Bcl-2 by 0.6 times, whereas the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 were increased by 3.1 and 2.3 times, respectively, compared to untreated control group. Furthermore, the caspase-3 activity in the β-glucan-treated group was significantly increased compared to those in control group (P < 0.05). Bacterial derived β-glucan could be used as an effective compound inducing apoptosis in human colon cancer