Significant Inhibition of Tumor Growth following Single Dose Nanoparticle-Enhanced Photodynamic Therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) for cancer treatment involves the pathology’s uptake of photosensitizers, which produce cytotoxic reactive oxygen species by photoirradiation. The use of nanoparticles as carriers of photosensitizers is one promising approach to this endeavor, owing to their small size, unique physicochemical properties, and easy/diverse functionalization. In the current work, we report on the in vivo assessment of PDT efficacy of these nanoconstructs in a murine model of human breast cancer, following a single (one-shot) nanoparticle dose and photoirradiation. Palladium-porphyrin (PdTPP) was administered intratumorally via injection of aqueous suspensions of either free PdTPP or MSN-conjugated PdTPP (MSN-PdTPP) at a dose of 50 μg. Mice were then exposed to a single photoirradiation session with total energy of 80 J. One month after one-shot PDT treatment, significantly greater reductions in tumor growth were observed in MSN-Pd treated animals than in PdTPP cohorts. Electron microscopy of tumor specimens harvested at various timepoints revealed excellent MSN-PdTPP uptake by cancer cells while immunohistologic analysis demonstrated marked increases in apoptotic response of MSN-PdTPP treated animals relative to PdTPP controls. Taken together, these findings suggest that considerable improvements in PDT efficacy can readily be achieved via the use of nanoparticle-based photosensitizers

Purification and Characterization of Hemagglutinating Proteins from Poker-Chip Venus (Meretrix lusoria) and Corbicula Clam (Corbicula fluminea)

Hemagglutinating proteins (HAPs) were purified from Poker-chip Venus (Meretrix lusoria) and Corbicula clam (Corbicula fluminea) using gel-filtration chromatography on a Sephacryl S-300 column. The molecular weights of the HAPs obtained from Poker-chip Venus and Corbicula clam were 358 kDa and 380 kDa, respectively. Purified HAP from Poker-chip Venus yielded two subunits with molecular weights of 26 kDa and 29 kDa. However, only one HAP subunit was purified from Corbicula clam, and its molecular weight was 32 kDa. The two Poker-chip Venus HAPs possessed hemagglutinating ability (HAA) for erythrocytes of some vertebrate animal species, especially tilapia. Moreover, HAA of the HAP purified from Poker-chip Venus was higher than that of the HAP of Corbicula clam. Furthermore, Poker-chip Venus HAPs possessed better HAA at a pH higher than 7.0. When the temperature was at 4°C–10°C or the salinity was less than 0.5‰, the two Poker-chip Venus HAPs possessed better HAA compared with that of Corbicula clam

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

台南地區國小英語老師對字母拼讀法的教學信念及教學成果及困難

[[abstract]]自民國九十年起國小高年級課程實施英語教學，於民國九十四年英語教育更納入中年級正式課程。本研究旨在了解國小英語教師對自然拼讀法的教學信念、課堂的實施狀況以及其成效，並探討教師在課堂上可能面臨的困難。本研究採用問卷調查法，以「國小英語老師對字母拼讀法的教學信念及課堂實施狀況調查問卷」針對34名在職英語教師進行資料蒐集。受測教師依真實教學經驗與狀況自我評估對自然拼讀教學的觀點: (1)對於字母拼讀法的教學認知，(2)字母拼讀法之課堂實施狀況，(3)實施成果以及困難。受測者的回饋以描述統計處理資料。研究結果顯示教師對於字母拼讀法的教學信念大致相同，多數受測者認為字母拼讀法有助於學生的拼讀和字彙辨識能力。在課堂的實施方面，教師多依據字母拼讀法的教學原則。儘管有學生在學習過程較緩慢，多數的教師對於字母拼讀法教學成效仍抱持著正面的態度。期望本研究結果能提供英語教學者對於字母拼讀法教學有更深入的了解。最後提供建議，作為教育研究者進行更深入國小英語教學研究之參考。 English education has been implemented since 2001 to 5^(th) and 6^(th) graders and was further extended to Grade 3 in 2005 as a formal schooling in Taiwan. The aims of this research project are to investigate the views of the in-service English teachers in phonics and its in-class practices and to examine the effectiveness of the phonics instruction as well as the perceived difficulties that the teachers may encounter in their classes. A questionnaire-based survey with a sample of 34 in-service English teachers from Tainan area is administered to explore the teachers' perception on phonics teaching. The research instrument, ＂the Questionnaire of Teachers' Beliefs on Phonics and its Applications＂, is designed to answer the following research questions: (a) what perception do primary school English teachers in Tainan area hold about the phonics instruction? (b) what are their in-class practices? And (c) what are the results of phonics instruction? The responses from the participants are quantified with descriptive statistics. The results shows that the participated teachers share a similar set of beliefs that phonics as a fundamental gateway to early English literacy and an access to promote decoding, encoding and reading automaticity. In-class phonics practices are basically in accordance with the phonics teaching principles. Despite of learning difficulties of some students, the overall effects of phonics instruction are highly praised by the teachers. It is hoped that the outcomes of this study offer an insight into English phonics teaching and learning at the introductory level. Suggestions are put forward for future researchers

Development of High-precision Micro CNC Machine with Three-dimensional Measurement System

This study aims at developing a machine center consisting of high-speed micro-milling machine, micro-EDM and coordinate measuring machine. The machine center uses a commercially available PC-Based CNC controller and micro-EDM power supply. The structure design is based on an open L-shaped granite base, where a Z-axis platform is mounted on the top of an L-type base, while X and Y-axis platforms are assembled by stacking. Additionally, a fuel tank, WEDG winding mechanism and a work piece holder were fixed to the X-axis work platform. Three-axis positioning stages use servomotors to drive lead screws for motion control. Equipped with a commercially available PC-Based CNC controller, any processing path and precision motion control can be achieved. In addition, the Z-axis platform includes a commercially available rapid adapter for the rapid assembly of C-axis rotation, high-speed micro-milling spindle and three-dimensional measuring probe. This means that the machine can quickly switch between micro-EDM, high-speed micro-milling and three-dimensional measurement. The machine center successfully produced micro probes with a front-end sphere with a diameter of less than 100 μm. Combined with a self-developed trigger circuit, it also completed a three-dimensional touch trigger probe. The measurement software was developed with Borland C++ Builder. Integrating the three-dimensional touch trigger probe with the three-axis linear scale, the three-dimensional coordinates of the measured values were calculated and processed. It has been successfully applied to the measurement of point, line, circle and angle.</p

Visualization 2: Optically driven full-angle sample rotation for tomographic imaging in digital holographic microscopy

3-D tomographic reconstruction of the yeast Originally published in Optics Letters on 01 April 2017 (ol-42-7-1321

An analysis of uncertainty in structural design

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D71398/87 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Utilizing an animal model to identify brain neurodegeneration-related biomarkers in aging

10.3390/ijms22063278International Journal of Molecular Sciences226327