Effects of calorie restriction and IGF-1 receptor blockade on the progression of 22Rv1 prostate cancer xenografts.

Calorie restriction (CR) inhibits prostate cancer progression, partially through modulation of the IGF axis. IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) blockade reduces prostate cancer xenograft growth. We hypothesized that combining calorie restriction with IGF-1R blockade would have an additive effect on prostate cancer growth. Severe combined immunodeficient mice were subcutaneously injected with 22Rv1 cells and randomized to: (1) Ad libitum feeding/intraperitoneal saline (Ad-lib); (2) Ad-lib/20 mg/kg twice weekly, intraperitoneal ganitumab [anti-IGF-1R antibody (Ad-lib/Ab)]; (3) 40% calorie restriction/intraperitoneal saline (CR); (4) CR/ intraperitoneal ganitumab, (CR/Ab). CR and ganitumab treatment were initiated one week after tumor injection. Euthanasia occurred 19 days post treatment. Results showed that CR alone decreased final tumor weight, plasma insulin and IGF-1 levels, and increased apoptosis. Ganitumab therapy alone reduced tumor growth but had no effect on final tumor weight. The combination therapy (CR/Ab) further decreased final tumor weight and proliferation, increased apoptosis in comparison to the Ad-lib group, and lowered plasma insulin levels relative to the Ad-lib and Ad-lib/Ab groups. Tumor AKT activation directly correlated with plasma IGF-1 levels. In conclusion, whereas ganitumab therapy modestly affected 22Rv1 tumor growth, combining IGF-1R blockade with calorie restriction resulted in a significant decrease in final tumor weight and improved metabolic profile

A Novel W-Band Dual-Polarized Cassegrain Antenna for Cloud Radar

Abstract-A W-band dual-polarized Cassegrain antenna for cloud radar is proposed. The aperture diameter of the main reflector of the antenna is 50 cm. By using a modified Magic-T structure in the feed horn, the antenna is dual-polarized with high port isolation. The measured results show that the port isolation is 44.7 dB. The gains are 47.3 dB and 49.5 dB for the two ports at 94 GHz, respectively, and the efficiency of the antenna is better than 87%

The derivation of scaling relationship between acoustic and electromagnetic scattering by spheres

The rigorous theory of the conversion between the scattering of uniform plane electromagnetic wave by a perfectly conducting sphere and the scattering of uniform plane acoustic wave by a rigid sphere is studied in this paper. The conversion formula between these two different scattering based on two calibration curves is derived, which describes the quantitative relationship between acoustic and electromagnetic wave scattering at arbitrary frequencies by spheres of arbitrary sizes. In addition, the scaling relationship of the sizes of those two spheres and the corresponding frequencies are discussed in detail, and an indirect method of measurement of electromagnetic scattering by the spheres is proposed

Absolute Humidity, Relative Humidity: Which Is More Important in Representing Severity of Electrostatic Discharge

Humidity is a very important factor in representing the severity of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Low humidity indicates high risk of ESD problems; high humidity indicates low risk of ESD problems. Both relative humidity and absolute humidity can represent the level of humidity: which one is more important? The reported measurement result shows that relative humidity is more important in the discharge phase. The qualitative analysis is given

Effect of Humanin G (HNG) on inflammation in age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Inflammation plays a crucial role in the etiology and pathogenesis of AMD (Age-related Macular Degeneration). Humanin G (HNG) is a Mitochondrial Derived Peptide (MDP) that is cytoprotective in AMD and can protect against mitochondrial and cellular stress induced by damaged AMD mitochondria. The goal of this study was to test our hypothesis that inflammation-associated marker protein levels are increased in AMD and treatment with HNG leads to reduction in their protein levels. Humanin protein levels were measured in the plasma of AMD patients and normal subjects using ELISA assay. Humanin G was added to AMD and normal (control) cybrids which had identical nuclei from mitochondria-deficient ARPE-19 cells but differed in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) content derived from clinically characterized AMD patients and normal (control) subjects. Cell lysates were extracted from untreated and HNG-treated AMD and normal cybrids, and the Luminex XMAP multiplex assay was used to measure the levels of inflammatory proteins. AMD plasma showed reduced Humanin protein levels, but higher protein levels of inflammation markers compared to control plasma samples. In AMD RPE cybrid cells, Humanin G reduced the CD62E/ E-Selectin, CD62P/ P-Selectin, ICAM-1, TNF-α, MIP-1α, IFN-γ, IL-1β, IL-13, and IL-17A protein levels, thereby suggesting that Humanin G may rescue from mtDNA-mediated inflammation in AMD cybrids. In conclusion, we present novel findings that: A) show reduced Humanin protein levels in AMD plasma vs. normal plasma; B) suggest the role of inflammatory markers in AMD pathogenesis, and C) highlight the positive effects of Humanin G in reducing inflammation in AMD

High-level productivity of alpha,omega-dodecanedioic acid with a newly isolated Candida viswanathii strain

alpha,omega-Dicarboxylic acids (DC) are versatile chemical intermediates with different chain lengths, which are well-known as polymer building block. In this work, a new strain with high productivity of DC was isolated from oil-contaminated soil. Based on the morphology and phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer sequences, it was characterized as Candida viswanathii. It was found that the contribution of carbon flux to the cell growth and DC production from n-dodecane could be regulated by the sucrose and yeast extract concentrations in the medium, and besides the broth pH, a suitable proportioning of sucrose and yeast extract was the key to achieve the optimal transition from cell growth phase to DC production phase. By optimizing culture conditions in a 7.5-L bioreactor, a higher DC productivity of 1.59 g center dot L-1 h(-1) with a corresponding concentration of 181.6 g/L was obtained. After the purification of DC from the culture, the results from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy and H-1-NMR showed that alpha,omega-dodecanedioic acid (DC12) was the major product of C. viswanathii ipe-1 using pure n-dodecane as substrate. For the first time, we reported that a high productivity of DC12 could be produced by C. viswanathii.</p

alpha, omega-Dodecanedioic acid production by Candida viswanathii ipe-1 with co-utilization of wheat straw hydrolysates and n-dodecane

Candida viswanathii ipe-1 was used to produce alpha, omega-dodecanedioic acid (DC12), which showed capability to ferment xylose and glucose simultaneously, while arabinose utilization was less efficient. A low concentration of furfural enhanced cell growth, and the addition of 4.0 g/L sodium acetate largely increased DC12 production. It indicated that detoxification of the wheat straw hydrolysates was not necessary for the biosynthesis of DC12. Based on the promising features of our strain, an efficient process was developed to produce DC12 from co-utilization of wheat straw hydrolysates and n-dodecane. Using this process, 129.7 g/L DC12 with a corresponding productivity of 1.13 g.L-1.h(-1) could be produced, which was increased by 40.0% compared with a sole carbon of glucose. The improved DC12 yield by the coutilization of wheat straw hydrolysates and n-dodecane using C. viswanathii ipe-1 demonstrates the great potential of using biomass as a feedstock in the production of DC12. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.</p