Deguelin regulates cell cycle and nuclear pore complex protein Nup98 and Nup88 in U937 cells in vitro

OBJECTIVE: To investigate antitumor activity and molecular mechanism of deguelin to the human U937 leukaemia cells and to explore the mechanisms regulating cell cycle and nucleoporin 98 (Nup98) and nucleoporin 88 (Nup88) in vitro. METHODS: The effects of deguelin on the growth of U937 cells were studied by MTT assay, and the cell cycle of U937 cells by a propidium iodide method. The localization of the nuclear pore complex protein Nup98 and Nup88 was checked by immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy. The expressions of Nup98 and Nup88 in U937 cells were checked by flow cytometry (FCM) and Western blot respectively. RESULTS: The proliferation of U937 cells was significantly inhibited in a time-dose dependent manner in deguelin-treated group with a 24 h IC50 value of 21.61 nmol/L and 36 h IC50 value of 17.07 nmol/L. U937 cells treated with deguelin showed reduction in the percentages of cells in G0/G1, whereas accumulation of cells in S and G2/M phase. The ratio of G1/G0 phase cells were 73.01%, 71.15%, 68.42%, 52.45%, 43.99% and 22.82%, and that of S phase cells were 17.18%, 16.30%, 18.09%, 27.56%, 31.21% and 46.85%, and that of G2/M phase cells were 9.75%, 12.31%, 13.09%, 18.99%, 24.83% and 27.79% at deguelin concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 nmol/L respectively. Nup88 and Nup98 were found on both the nuclear and cytoplasmic side of the U937 cells. The expression of Nup98 was up-regulated and Nup88 down-regulated in deguelin treated U937 cells. CONCLUSION: Deguelin is able to inhibit the proliferation of U937 cells by regulating the cell cycle. The antitumor activity of deguelin was related to up-regulating the expression of Nup98 and down-regulating Nup88 protein.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Sensors for Intelligent Processing of Common Materials

Intelligence, according to a commonly used dictionary, is “the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations”[1]. It is easy to argue that sensors are essential for any system to react intelligently to such situations. In fact, the absence of sensors would in most cases cause the failure to recognize the occurrence of such situations. This also applies to materials processing systems where sensors provide information, which is interpreted in terms of imbedded models and algorithms, which provide the rationale for dealing with the encountered situations.</p

Early tensile bond strengths of several enamel and dentin bonding systems.

Tensile bond strength tests are commonly used for the evaluation of adhesive dental materials. The majority of these tests are carried out after 24 h of storage in water. However, determination of the early tensile bond strength could be more important, especially in relation to gap formation between the cavity surface and the restorative material. This study investigated the tensile bond strengths of five enamel/dentin bonding systems and two experimental dentin bonding systems. Tensile bond strengths were obtained at one min, ten min, and 24 h after the resin composite was cured. Bond strengths at the early stages were always somewhat less than the 24-hour test results. For the enamel/dentin bonding systems, a significant difference was found between the enamel and dentin bond strengths at all time periods, except with Superbond D-liner and Liner Bond. The experimental group with glyceryl methacrylate as the primer produced a good 24-hour result (14.3 MPa), but the early bond strengths were no different from those in the non-primer-treated groups. It was concluded that this material may actually retard the polymerization of the bonding resin. Previous workers have suggested that a tensile bond strength in the order of 20 MPa is necessary for gap-free restorations to be obtained. Should this be the case, then all of the materials tested, from the aspect of early bond strength, lack the strength for prevention of gap formation, although Superbond D-liner and Liner Bond approached this hypothetical figure. These systems, Superbond D-liner and Liner Bond, also exhibit small differences between the enamel and dentin tensile bond strengths.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

Applications of NDE to the Processing of Metals

Presently conceived automated metals processing systems have reached a high degree of complexity and incorporate not only control hardware but algorithms based on computer simulations and models of processes and a multiplicity of sensors for monitoring process and geometrical parameters, as well as material properties during the various stages of processing1-4. In such systems, sensors which can nondestructively measure material properties during processing provide information which can be used to verify, simplify and eventually improve the control algorithms. Also by directly providing the quantities of interest, such sensors relax the requirements on other measurements (such as temperature) from which material properties are traditionally inferred. In addition, material property sensors used near the end of the process insure that specifications are being met, regardless of the performance of automated systems upstream. In some cases the availability of new techniques capable of monitoring the evolution of microstructure during initial phases of processing may also help develop new and simpler metallurgical processes resulting in simultaneous improvements of quality and productivity