Retinal S-antigen Th1 cell epitope mapping in patients with Behcet's disease

Background - Retinal S-antigen (S-Ag) is a most characterized autoantigen of autoimmune uveitis. The recognized immunodominant epitope of human S-Ag in patients with uveitis has not been identified. In this study, we selected certain patients with active uveitis to map the Th1 cell epitope spectrum of human S-Ag in Behcet's disease(BD). Methods - Blood samples were taken from eight active BD patients who showed an immune response to 40 mixed overlapping peptides spanning the entire sequence of human S-Ag. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and stimulated with single S-Ag peptide at 5 mu g/ml or 20 mu g/ml. Single-cell immune responses were measured by IFN-gamma ELIspot assay. Results - BD patients heterogeneously responded to the S-Ag peptides at two concentrations. In general, the responses to 5 mu g/ml peptides were slightly stronger than those to 20 mu g/ml peptides, while the maximum SFC frequency to single peptide at the two concentrations was similar. Several peptides including P31, P35 and P40 induced a prominent response, with the frequency of S-Ag specific cells being about 0.007%. Significant reactivity pattern shift was noted in patients with different disease courses. Conclusions - Certain active BD patients have S-Ag specific Th1 cells with a low frequency. The S-Ag epitope specificity between patients is highly heterogeneous, and varies with the uveitis cours

Does Tourist–Host Social Contact Reduce Perceived Cultural Distance?

Tourist–host social contact significantly influences the perceptions of tourists and deserves more attention from scholars in the field of tourism research. However, studies on the relationship between these two constructs are limited. To address this research gap, the present study develops and validates instruments for measuring social contact and perceived cultural distance in the context of tourism, explores the effects of social contact on perceived cultural distance, and provides implications for tourism stakeholders, including governments, tourism operators, and local communities. A survey was conducted among Hong Kong tourists traveling to Mainland China. The study had two significant findings: (1) the quality of contact negatively influences tourists’ perceived cultural distance and (2) in terms of the quantity of contact, social-oriented contacts negatively influence perceived cultural distance, whereas service-oriented contacts positively affect perceived cultural distance. Implications were provided to contribute to theoretical and empirical realms, and to guide policy formulation

Microfluidic Preparation of Polymer-Nucleic Acid Nanocomplexes Improves Nonviral Gene Transfer

As the designs of polymer systems used to deliver nucleic acids continue to evolve, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the basic bulk manufacturing techniques of the past will be insufficient to produce polymer-nucleic acid nanocomplexes that possess the uniformity, stability, and potency required for their successful clinical translation and widespread commercialization. Traditional bulk-prepared products are often physicochemically heterogeneous and may vary significantly from one batch to the next. Here we show that preparation of bioreducible nanocomplexes with an emulsion-based droplet microfluidic system produces significantly improved nanoparticles that are up to fifty percent smaller, more uniform, and are less prone to aggregation. The intracellular integrity of nanocomplexes prepared with this microfluidic method is significantly prolonged, as detected using a high-throughput flow cytometric quantum dot Förster resonance energy transfer nanosensor system. These physical attributes conspire to consistently enhance the delivery of both plasmid DNA and messenger RNA payloads in stem cells, primary cells, and human cell lines. Innovation in processing is necessary to move the field toward the broader clinical implementation of safe and effective nonviral nucleic acid therapeutics, and preparation with droplet microfluidics represents a step forward in addressing the critical barrier of robust and reproducible nanocomplex productio

Epitope recognition of peptide-imprinted polymers for Regenerating protein 1 (REG1)

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were developed to replace natural antibodies with a cost-effective and durable synthetic material. Molecular imprinting of proteins conventionally utilizes the whole protein as the template, which is complex (as many different epitopes may be imprinted) and expensive. In this work, seven peptides (13–18 amino acids) were synthesized and used as templates for the imprinting and recognition of Regenerating Protein 1 (REG1). REG1 is involved in the proliferation and differentiation of diverse cell types, and was recently described as a urinary biomarker for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Peptide-imprinted poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol)s (PIPs), containing four different mole fractions of ethylene were cast on screen-printed electrodes to find the optimum composition for both the sensing and the extraction of REG1 in an E. coli culture medium. Peptides with fewer than 16 amino acids and two or three aromatic and hydrophobic groups have a higher affinity for MIPs of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVAL) with 27 mol% of ethylene, while those with four aromatic and hydrophobic groups have a higher affinity for MIPs with EVALs that contain 32 mol% of ethylene. The peptide / EVAL combination that maximized both imprinting effectiveness and response to REG1B was the sequence NEDRETWVDADLY imprinted into 32 mol% EVAL. This EVAL composition and template peptide were then modified by incorporation of magnetic nanoparticles, thus extending applications for PIPs to include extraction of REG1 protein from E. coli culture medium

PHP61 The Financial Impacts of Pharmacist Intervention in Inpatient Department of a Local Hospital in Taiwan

Morphometric analysis of S. mortenseni. (DOC 44 kb

Lamellar Phase of Stacked Two-Dimensional Rafts of Actin Filaments

We examined liquid crystalline phases of the cytoskeletal polyelectrolyte filamentous (F-)actin in the presence of multivalent counterions. As a function of increasing ion concentration, the F-actin rods in either an isotropic or a nematic phase will transform into a new and unexpected lamellar phase of crosslinked rafts (LXR phase), before condensing into a bundled phase of parallel, close-packed rods. This behavior is generic for alkali earth divalent ions Mg2+, Ca2+, Sr2+, and Ba2+, and the structural transitions are achieved without any architecture-specific actin-binding linker proteins

Hamiltonian Formalism of the de-Sitter Invariant Special Relativity

Lagrangian of the Einstein's special relativity with universal parameter $c$ ($\mathcal{SR}_c$) is invariant under Poincar\'e transformation which preserves Lorentz metric $\eta_{\mu\nu}$. The $\mathcal{SR}_c$ has been extended to be one which is invariant under de Sitter transformation that preserves so called Beltrami metric $B_{\mu\nu}$. There are two universal parameters $c$ and $R$ in this Special Relativity (denote it as $\mathcal{SR}_{cR}$). The Lagrangian-Hamiltonian formulism of $\mathcal{SR}_{cR}$ is formulated in this paper. The canonic energy, canonic momenta, and 10 Noether charges corresponding to the space-time's de Sitter symmetry are derived. The canonical quantization of the mechanics for $\mathcal{SR}_{cR}$-free particle is performed. The physics related to it is discussed.Comment: 24 pages, no figur

Study of the Anti-Proliferative Activity of 5-Substituted 4,7-Dimethoxy-1,3-Benzodioxole Derivatives of SY-1 from Antrodia camphorata on Human COLO 205 Colon Cancer Cells

A set of 10 4,7-dimethoxy-1,3-benzodioxole derivatives based on a lead compound previously discovered by our group, SY-1, which was isolated from Antrodia camphorata, were evaluated for their in vitro inhibitory activity on human colorectal carcinoma cells (COLO 205). Structure-activity relationship studies of the 10 compounds indicated the importance of the chain length of the alkyl group at the 5-position, and the 2-propenyl substituent named “apiole” exhibited the most potent inhibitory activity. In the present study, we demonstrate that the SY-1 analogue “apiole” decreased the proliferation of COLO 205 cells, but not that of normal human colonic epithelial cells (FHC). The G0/G1 cell cycle arrest induced by apiole (75–225 μM) was associated with significantly increased levels of p53, p21 and p27 and decreased levels of cyclin D1. Concerning COLO 205 cell apoptosis, apiole (>150 μM) treatment significantly increased the levels of cleaved caspases 3, 8, 9 and bax/bcl-2 ratio and induced ladder formation in DNA fragmentation assay and sub-G1 peak in flow cytometry analysis. These findings suggest that apiole can suppress COLO 205 cell growth; however, the detailed mechanisms of these processes require further investigation

Characterization study of GaN-based epitaxial layer and light-emitting diode on nature-patterned sapphire substrate

[[abstract]]Chemical wet etching on c-plane sapphire wafers by three etching solutions (H3PO4, H2SO4, and H3PO4/H2SO4 mixing solution) was studied. Among these etching agents, the mixing H3PO4/H2SO4 solution has the fastest etching rate (1.5 μm/min). Interestingly, we found that H2SO4 does not etch the c-plane sapphire wafer in thickness; instead, a facet pyramidal pattern is formed on the c-plane sapphire wafer. GaN light-emitting diode (LED) epitaxial structure was grown on the sapphire wafer with the pyramidal pattern and the standard flat sapphire wafer. X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence measurement show that the pyramidal pattern on the sapphire wafer improved crystalline quality but augmented the compressive stress level in the GaN LED epilayer. The horizontal LED chips fabricated on the pyramidal-patterned sapphire wafer have a larger light output than the horizontal LED chips fabricated on the standard flat sapphire wafer by 20%.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙本[[booktype]]電子