Using EWOD (electrowetting-on-dielectric) actuation in a micro conveyor system

This paper reports the development of a novel application of electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) actuation in a micro conveyor system. Using the movement of liquid droplets by EWOD actuation as a part of active mechanical moving components, a simple and effective mechanism of the micro conveyor system can be realized. Now, we are expanding the use of EWOD actuation as a part of mechanical moving components of the micro conveyor system for the first time. The concept, fabrication and test of the initial devices are reported and various possible applications are discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.X116365sciescopu

Novel thrombospondin-1 transcript exhibits distinctive expression and activity in thyroid tumorigenesis

Thrombospondin 1 (TSP1) is known for its cell-specific functions in cancer progression, such as proliferation and migration. It contains 22 exons that may potentially produce several different transcripts. Here, we identified TSP1V as a novel TSP1-splicing variant produced by intron retention (IR) in human thyroid cancer cells and tissues. We observed that TSP1V functionally inhibited tumorigenesis contrary to TSP1 wild-type, as identified in vivo and in vitro. These activities of TSP1V are caused by inhibiting phospho-Smad and phospho-focal adhesion kinase. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and minigene experiments revealed that some phytochemicals/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs enhanced IR. We further found that RNA-binding motif protein 5 (RBM5) suppressed IR induced by sulindac sulfide treatment. Additionally, sulindac sulfide reduced phospho-RBM5 levels in a time-dependent manner. Furthermore, trans-chalcone demethylated TSP1V, thereby preventing methyl-CpG-binding protein 2 binding to TSP1V gene. In addition, TSP1V levels were significantly lower in patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma than in those with benign thyroid nodule, indicating its potential application as a diagnostic biomarker in tumor progression.Y