Antioxidant capacities and polyphenolics of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. Pekinensis) leaves

a b s t r a c t Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. Pekinensis) is a green leafy vegetable used mainly in kimchi, salted and fermented dishes. Consumer preference for the leaf portion differs according to the type of dishes. In this study, Chinese cabbage was divided into three parts, and their antioxidant activities were investigated through in vitro assays. The total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and vitamin C contents were also determined as indicators of antioxidant contents. The phenolic acids and flavonoids were separated and identified using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The outer leaf had the strongest antioxidant activity with the maximum antioxidant contents, followed by the mid-and inner leaves. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed that outer leaf is positively related to caffeic acid, p-coumaric acid, ferulic acid, and myricetin contents, whereas the mid-and inner leaves are negatively related to sinapic acid contents

Carrier generation and transport in bulk heterojunction films processed with 1,8-octanedithiol as a processing additive

Improved performance of polymer-based solar cells based on poly[2,6-(4,4-bis-(2-ethylhexyl)- 4H -cyclopenta[2,1-b;3,4- b???] dithiophene)-alt-4,7-(2,1,3-benzo-thiadiazole)] PCPDTBT has been obtained by using 1,8-octanedithiol (ODT) as a processing additive in the polymer solution used to spin cast the bulk heterojunction films. Although ultrafast spectroscopy studies indicate that the carrier losses are reduced in the films processed with ODT [similar to the reduced carrier losses after thermal annealing of bulk heterojunction (BHJ) materials made from P3HT:PCBM], the magnitude of the reduction is not sufficient to explain the observed factor of 2 increase in the power conversion efficiency. From the analysis of carrier transport in field effect transistors, we find increased electron mobility in the PCPDTBT: PC70 BM composites when fabricated with ODT, which is indicative of enhanced connectivity of PC70 BM networks. The improved electron mobility appears to be the primary origin of the improved power conversion efficiency in BHJ films.open453

Association of mitochondrial haplogroup F with physical performance in korean population

Athletic performance is a complex multifactorial trait involving genetic and environmental factors. The heritability of an athlete status was reported to be about 70% in a twin study, and at least 155 genetic markers are known to be related with athlete status. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes essential proteins for oxidative phosphorylation, which is related to aerobic capacity. Thus, mtDNA is a candidate marker for determining physical performance. Recent studies have suggested that polymorphisms of mtDNA are associated with athlete status and/or physical performance in various populations. Therefore, we analyzed mtDNA haplogroups to assess their association with the physical performance of Korean population. The 20 mtDNA haplogroups were determined using the SNaPshot assay. Our result showed a significant association of the haplogroup F with athlete status (odds ratio, 3.04; 95% confidence interval, 1.094 to 8.464; p = 0.012). Athletes with haplogroup F (60.64 ± 3.04) also demonstrated a higher Sargent jump than athletes with other haplogroups (54.28 ± 1.23) (p = 0.041). Thus, our data imply that haplogroup F may play a crucial role in the physical performance of Korean athletes. Functional studies with larger sample sizes are necessary to further substantiate these findings

Brief Education on Microvasculature and Pit Pattern for Trainees Significantly Improves Estimation of the Invasion Depth of Colorectal Tumors

Objectives. This study was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of education for trainees on the gross findings identified by conventional white-light endoscopy (CWE), the microvascular patterns identified by magnifying narrow-band imaging endoscopy (MNE), and the pit patterns identified by magnifying chromoendoscopy (MCE) in estimation of the invasion depth of colorectal tumors. Methods. A total of 420 endoscopic images of 35 colorectal tumors were used. Five trainees estimated the invasion depth of the tumors by reviewing the CWE images before education. Afterwards, the trainees estimated the invasion depth of the same tumors after brief education on CWE, MNE and MCE images, respectively. Results. The initial diagnostic accuracy for deep submucosal invasion before education and after education on CWE, MNE, and MCE findings was 54.3%, 55.4%, 67.4%, and 76.6%, respectively. The diagnostic accuracy increased significantly after MNE education (P=0.028). The specificity for deep submucosal invasion before education and after education on CWE, MNE, and MCE findings was 47.9%, 45.7%, 65.0%, and 80.7%, respectively. The specificity increased significantly after MNE (P=0.002) and MCE (P=0.005) education. Conclusion. Brief education on microvascular pattern identification by MNE and pit pattern identification by MCE significantly improves trainees’ estimations of the invasion depth of colorectal tumors

Helical tomotherapy with concurrent capecitabine for the treatment of inoperable pancreatic cancer

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Helical tomotherapy, an advanced intensity-modulated radiation therapy with integrated CT imaging, permits highly conformal irradiation with sparing of normal tissue. Capecitabine, a pro-drug of 5-FU that induces thymidine phosphorylase can achieve higher levels of intracellular 5-FU when administered concurrently with radiation. We evaluated the feasibility as well as the clinical outcome of concurrent administration of capecitabine with tomotherapy in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nineteen patients with advanced pancreatic cancer including primarily unresectable disease and recurrence after curative surgery were included in the study. Two planning target volumes (PTV) were entered: PTV1 is gross tumor volume; and PTV2, the volume of the draining lymph nodes. The total doses to target 1 and target 2 were 55 and 50 Gy, respectively. Capecitabine at 1600 mg/m²/day was administered on each day of irradiation.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Twenty six measurable lesions were evaluated. Overall in-field response rate was 42.3%; partial responses were achieved in 53.3% of the pancreatic masses, 28.6% of distant metastatic lesions and 25.0% of regional lymph nodes. The median duration of follow-up after tomotherapy was 6.5 months. None of the lesions showed in-field progression. Treatment was well tolerated with only minor toxicities such as grade 1 nausea (one patient), grade 1 hand-foot syndrome (one patient) and grade 1/2 fatigue (three patients).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Helical tomotherapy with concurrent capecitabine is a feasible option without significant toxicities in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. We achieved excellent conformal distribution of radiation doses and minimal treatment-related toxicities with promising target volume responses.</p

The Balloon Dilatation and Large Profile Catheter Maintenance Method for the Management of the Bile Duct Stricture Following Liver Transplantation

We dated a continuous, ∼22-m long sediment sequence from Lake Challa (Mt. Kilimanjaro area, Kenya/Tanzania) to produce a solid chronological framework for multi-proxy reconstructions of climate and environmental change in equatorial East Africa over the past 25,000 years. The age model is based on a total of 168 AMS 14C dates on bulk-organic matter, combined with a 210Pb chronology for recent sediments and corrected for a variable old-carbon age offset. This offset was estimated by i) pairing bulk-organic 14C dates with either 210Pb-derived time markers or 14C dates on grass charcoal, and ii) wiggle-matching high-density series of bulk-organic 14C dates. Variation in the old-carbon age offset through time is relatively modest, ranging from ∼450 yr during glacial and late glacial time to ∼200 yr during the early and mid-Holocene, and increasing again to ∼250 yr today. The screened and corrected 14C dates were calibrated sequentially, statistically constrained by their stratigraphical order. As a result their constrained calendar-age distributions are much narrower, and the calibrated dates more precise, than if each 14C date had been calibrated on its own. The smooth-spline age-depth model has 95% age uncertainty ranges of ∼50-230 yr during the Holocene and ∼250-550 yr in the glacial section of the record. The δ13C values of paired bulk-organic and grass-charcoal samples, and additional 14C dating on selected turbidite horizons, indicates that the old-carbon age offset in Lake Challa is caused by a variable contribution of old terrestrial organic matter eroded from soils, and controlled mainly by changes in vegetation cover within the crater basin

MDGA1 negatively regulates amyloid precursor protein-mediated synapse inhibition in the hippocampus

Abstract Balanced synaptic inhibition, controlled by multiple synaptic adhesion proteins, is critical for proper brain function. MDGA1 (meprin, A-5 protein, and receptor protein-tyrosine phosphatase mu [MAM] domain-containing glycosylphosphatidylinositol anchor protein 1) suppresses synaptic inhibition in mammalian neurons, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying MDGA1-mediated negative regulation of GABAergic synapses remain unresolved. Here, we show that the MDGA1 MAM domain directly interacts with the extension domain of amyloid precursor protein (APP). Strikingly, MDGA1-mediated synaptic disinhibition requires the MDGA1 MAM domain and is prominent at distal dendrites of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Down-regulation of APP in presynaptic GABAergic interneurons specifically suppressed GABAergic, but not glutamatergic, synaptic transmission strength and inputs onto both the somatic and dendritic compartments of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Moreover, APP deletion manifested differential effects in somatostatin- and parvalbumin-positive interneurons in the hippocampal CA1, resulting in distinct alterations in inhibitory synapse numbers, transmission, and excitability. The infusion of MDGA1 MAM protein mimicked postsynaptic MDGA1 gain-of-function phenotypes that involve the presence of presynaptic APP. The overexpression of MDGA1 wild type or MAM, but not MAM-deleted MDGA1, in the hippocampal CA1 impaired novel object-recognition memory in mice. Thus, our results establish unique roles of APP-MDGA1 complexes in hippocampal neural circuits, providing unprecedented insight into trans-synaptic mechanisms underlying differential tuning of neuronal compartment-specific synaptic inhibition.Peer reviewe