Mineralization of Progenitor Cells with Different Implant Topographies

AbstractThe major challenge for dental implants is achieving an optimal osteoregeneration. Different levels of roughness processed through sand-blasting/ acid-etching (SLA) then further treated with silane and peptide were measured. Peptide bonded with silane on the SLA and machine ground titanium (Ti) surface were used as a culture substitute. The sample properties on the osteogenic abilities were compared by testing the interaction with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs, D1). When comparing to the SLA only group, the silane treated Ti surface with peptide bonded had smaller wetting angle and the cell proliferative ability did differ with statistical significance (p<0.05). A rougher surface binding with peptide provided higher hydrophilic ability and had the potential ability to enhance the proliferation and mineralization of the progenitor cell D1. Accordingly, a novel implant surface treatment method having tissues integrated was obtained through the supplement of peptide on the surfaces through SLA treatment of titanium

Atomic-scale visualization of quasiparticle interference on a type-II Weyl semimetal surface

We combine quasiparticle interference simulation (theory) and atomic resolution scanning tunneling spectro-microscopy (experiment) to visualize the interference patterns on a type-II Weyl semimetal Mo$_{x}$W$_{1-x}$Te$_2$ for the first time. Our simulation based on first-principles band topology theoretically reveals the surface electron scattering behavior. We identify the topological Fermi arc states and reveal the scattering properties of the surface states in Mo$_{0.66}$W$_{0.34}$Te$_2$. In addition, our result reveals an experimental signature of the topology via the interconnectivity of bulk and surface states, which is essential for understanding the unusual nature of this material.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Molecular and clinical analyses of 84 patients with tuberous sclerosis complex

BACKGROUND: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is an autosomal dominant disease characterized by the development of multiple hamartomas in many internal organs. Mutations in either one of 2 genes, TSC1 and TSC2, have been attributed to the development of TSC. More than two-thirds of TSC patients are sporadic cases, and a wide variety of mutations in the coding region of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes have been reported. METHODS: Mutational analysis of TSC1 and TSC2 genes was performed in 84 Taiwanese TSC families using denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) and direct sequencing. RESULTS: Mutations were identified in a total of 64 (76 %) cases, including 9 TSC1 mutations (7 sporadic and 2 familial cases) and 55 TSC2 mutations (47 sporadic and 8 familial cases). Thirty-one of the 64 mutations found have not been described previously. The phenotype association is consistent with findings from other large studies, showing that disease resulting from mutations to TSC1 is less severe than disease due to TSC2 mutation. CONCLUSION: This study provides a representative picture of the distribution of mutations of the TSC1 and TSC2 genes in clinically ascertained TSC cases in the Taiwanese population. Although nearly half of the mutations identified were novel, the kinds and distribution of mutation were not different in this population compared to that seen in larger European and American studies

Women with endometriosis have higher comorbidities: Analysis of domestic data in Taiwan

AbstractEndometriosis, defined by the presence of viable extrauterine endometrial glands and stroma, can grow or bleed cyclically, and possesses characteristics including a destructive, invasive, and metastatic nature. Since endometriosis may result in pelvic inflammation, adhesion, chronic pain, and infertility, and can progress to biologically malignant tumors, it is a long-term major health issue in women of reproductive age. In this review, we analyze the Taiwan domestic research addressing associations between endometriosis and other diseases. Concerning malignant tumors, we identified four studies on the links between endometriosis and ovarian cancer, one on breast cancer, two on endometrial cancer, one on colorectal cancer, and one on other malignancies, as well as one on associations between endometriosis and irritable bowel syndrome, one on links with migraine headache, three on links with pelvic inflammatory diseases, four on links with infertility, four on links with obesity, four on links with chronic liver disease, four on links with rheumatoid arthritis, four on links with chronic renal disease, five on links with diabetes mellitus, and five on links with cardiovascular diseases (hypertension, hyperlipidemia, etc.). The data available to date support that women with endometriosis might be at risk of some chronic illnesses and certain malignancies, although we consider the evidence for some comorbidities to be of low quality, for example, the association between colon cancer and adenomyosis/endometriosis. We still believe that the risk of comorbidity might be higher in women with endometriosis than that we supposed before. More research is needed to determine whether women with endometriosis are really at risk of these comorbidities

Clinical Efficacy and Post-Treatment Seromarkers Associated with the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma among Chronic Hepatitis C Patients

This follow-up study enrolled chronic hepatitis C patients to evaluate the treatment efficacy and to identify post-treatment seromarkers associated with risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) among patients with a sustained virological response (SVR) or nonsustained virological response (NSVR). A total of 4639 patients who received pegylated interferon and ribavirin during 2004–2013 were followed until December 2014. HCC was confirmed through health examinations and data linkage with a national database. A total of 233 HCC cases were reported after 26,163 person-years of follow-up, indicating an incidence of 8.9 per 1000 person-years: 6.9 for SVR and 21.6 for NSVR per 1000 person-years. The associated risk of HCC in patients with SVR was 0.37 (0.22–0.63) for those without cirrhosis and 0.54 (0.31–0.92) for those with cirrhosis compared with their respective counterparts with NSVR. Among patients with SVR, advanced age, male gender, cirrhosis, decreased platelet count, and increased aspartate aminotransferase and α-fetoprotein levels were associated with HCC (p < 0.001). The treatment of chronic hepatitis C patients before they developed cirrhosis showed a higher efficacy than did the treatment of those who had already developed cirrhosis. Patients with SVR may still have a risk of HCC and need to be regularly monitored

Feasibility study of fiber taper acoustic sensor by utilizing time domain reconstruction

A fiber taper acoustic sensor utilize the ability of taper structure to modulate vibration signal into the fiber transmission power. Currently, there is a lack of detailed study on the bending effect of fiber taper to the fiber transmission power. In this paper, wide-angle propagation method is used to simulate the effect of fiber taper bending. The reconstructed time-domain signal and time-domain signal modulated from vibration has a nonlinear negative relationship and has a correlation coefficient value of 0.9979

Cytotoxic Prenylflavanones from Taiwanese Propolis

[[abstract]]Two new prenylflavanones, propolin A (2) and propolin B (3), were isolated and characterized from Taiwanese propolis. Both compounds were found to have cytotoxic properties against three cancer cell lines. DNA content analyses and DNA fragmentation indicated that propolin A (2) efficiently induced apoptosis in cancer cell lines, but had no effect on the cell cycle program. Furthermore, both propolin A (2) and B (3) are potential antioxidant agents and show strong scavenging effects against most types of free radicals.[[notice]]補正完

Processing and Electromagnetic Shielding Properties of Multifunctional Metal Composite Knitted Fabric used as Socks

In this research, a type of bamboo charcoal polyester (BC-PET)/antibacterial nylon(AN)/stainless steel wire (SSW) metal composite yarn was prepared with a hollow spindle spinning machine, which using the SSW as the core material, the BC-PET and AN as the outer and inner wrapped yarns, respectively. The wrapping numbers was set at 8.0turns/cm for the produced metal composite yarns. Furthermore, a type of plated knitted fabric was designed and produced by using the automatic jacquard knitting machine. The plated knitted fabric presents the BC-PET/AN/SSW metal composite yarn on the knitted fabric face and the crisscross-section polyester (CSP) on the knit back. The effect of lamination numbers and angles on the electromagnetic shielding effectiveness (EMSE) were discussed in this study. EMSE measurement showed that the lamination angles will influence the EMSE, but not affect the air permeability. Finally, a novel EM shielding socks was designed with the produced plated knitted fabric. Finally, the performance of thermal resistance and evaporation resistance was also test usingThe sweating guarded hot plate apparatus