Potential identity of multi-potential cancer stem-like subpopulation after radiation of cultured brain glioma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequently encountered brain cancer. Although the existence of cancer stem cells in GBM has been previously established, there is little evidence to explain the difference between cancer stem cells and radio-resistant cells in GBM. In an effort to increase our understanding of whether cellular radio-resistance is a characteristic associated with cancer stem cells, we developed a dissociated cell system of subpopulations derived from GBM, and demonstrated radiotherapy resistance therein.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The radio-resistant cancer cell subpopulations of GBM abundantly express CD133, CD117, CD71, and CD45 surface markers, and these radio-resistant cancer cell subpopulations have the capacity for extensive proliferation, self-renewal, and pluripotency. These radio-resistant cancer subpopulations have been shown to initiate tumorigenesis when transplanted into SCID mouse brains. Moreover, these tumors evidenced highly peculiar nest-like shapes harboring both vascular and cancerous tissue structures, which expressed the blood vessel specific marker, the von Willebrand factor. Accordingly, subpopulations of radio-resistant cells in GBM have been shown to be very similar to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the circulating blood. This similarity may contribute to increased tumor growth and GBM recurrence.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the present study provide further evidence for radio resistant subpopulations of cancer stem cells in GBM. Also, our results will assist in the identification and characterization of cancer stem cell populations in glioma, and will help to improve the therapeutic outcomes of GBM.</p

Consensus of Corporate E-Learning System Stakeholders Regarding the Satisfaction of End-Users

The purpose of this study is to call attention to the consensus of stakeholders of corporate e-Learning system regarding success. We identified the critical success factors (contents, technical features, management, and organizational support) as major components of corporate eLearning systems and questioned whether stakeholders’ consensus on the importance of these components facilitates the implementation of these components to achieve good quality or well. We also questioned whether the influence of these components on user satisfaction could be moderated by contextual factors. Based on empirical testing of 18 eLearning user companies, we verified that the consensus of stakeholders regarding the importance of content, technological features, and organizational support has a positive influence on the perceived quality of these factors in their e-Learning systems, which in turn is positively related to user satisfaction. The learning subjects and learning style did significantly moderate the influences of these perceived qualities on user satisfaction

miRNA regulation of cytotoxic effects in mouse Sertoli cells exposed to nonylphenol

Background: It is known that some environmental chemicals affect the human endocrine system. The harmful effects of endocrine disrupting chemical (EDC) nonylphenol (NP) have been studied since the 1980s. It is known that NP adversely affects physiological functions by mimicking the natural hormone 17 beta-estradiol. In the present study, we analyzed the expression of miRNAs and their target genes in mouse Sertoli TM4 cells to better understand the regulatory roles of miRNAs on Sertoli cells after NP exposure. Methods: Mouse TM4 Sertoli cells were treated with NP for 3 or 24 h, and global gene and miRNA expression were analyzed using Agilent mouse whole genome and mouse miRNA v13 arrays. Results: We identified genes that were &gt; 2-fold differentially expressed in NP-treated cells and control cells (P &lt; 0.05) and analyzed their functions through Gene Ontology analysis. We also identified miRNAs that were differentially expressed in NP-treated and control cells. Of the 186 miRNAs the expression of which differed between NP-treated and control cells, 59 and 147 miRNAs exhibited 1.3-fold increased or decreased expression at 3 and 24 h, respectively. Network analysis of deregulated miRNAs suggested that Ppara may regulate the expression of certain miRNAs, including miR-378, miR-125a-3p miR-20a, miR-203, and miR-101a, after exposure to NP. Additionally, comprehensive analysis of predicted target genes for miRNAs showed that the expression of genes with roles in cell proliferation, the cell cycle, and cell death were regulated by miRNA in NP-treated TM4 cells. Levels of expression of the miRNAs miR-135a* and miR-199a-5p were validated by qRT-PCR. Finally, miR-135a* target gene analysis suggests that the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) following exposure to NP exposure may be mediated by miR-135a* through regulation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway. Conclusions: Collectively, these data help to determine NP&#39;s actions on mouse TM4 Sertoli cells and increase our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying the adverse effects of xenoestrogens on the reproductive system.This work was supported an Eco-Technopia 21 project grant from the Ministry of Environment (Development of Decision Method of Chromosomal Abnormality in Reproductive System by Toxic Substances at the Korea Institute of Toxicology)

CVD-grown monolayer MoS2 in bioabsorbable electronics and biosensors

Transient electronics entails the capability of electronic components to dissolve or reabsorb in a controlled manner when used in biomedical implants. Here, the authors perform a systematic study of the processes of hydrolysis, bioabsorption, cytotoxicity and immunological biocompatibility of monolayer MoS2

In-situ fabrication of cobalt-doped SrFe2As2 thin films by using pulsed laser deposition with excimer laser

The remarkably high superconducting transition temperature and upper critical field of iron(Fe)-based layered superconductors, despite ferromagnetic material base, open the prospect for superconducting electronics. However, success in superconducting electronics has been limited because of difficulties in fabricating high-quality thin films. We report the growth of high-quality c-axis-oriented cobalt(Co)-doped SrFe2As2 thin films with bulk superconductivity by using an in-situ pulsed laser deposition technique with a 248-nm-wavelength KrF excimer laser and an arsenic(As)-rich phase target. The temperature and field dependences of the magnetization showing strong diamagnetism and transport critical current density with superior Jc-H performance are reported. These results provide necessary information for practical applications of Fe-based superconductors.Comment: 8 pages, 3figures. to be published at Appl. Phys. Let

Prognosis Prediction for Class III Malocclusion Treatment by Feature Wrapping Method

Objective: To use the feature wrapping (FW) method to identify which cephalometric markers show the highest classification accuracy in prognosis prediction for Class III malocclusion and to compare the prediction accuracy between the FW method and conventional statistical methods such as discriminant analysis (DA). Materials and Methods: The sample set consisted of 38 patients (15 boys and 23 girls, mean age 8.53 ± 1.36 years) who were diagnosed with Class III malocclusion and received both first-phase (orthopedic) and second-phase (fixed orthodontic) treatments. Lateral cephalograms were taken before (T0) and after first-phase treatment (T1) and after second-phase treatment and retention (T2). Based on the measurements taken at the T2 stage, the patients were allocated into good (n = 20) or poor (n = 18) prognosis groups. Forty-six cephalometric variables on T0 lateral cephalograms were analyzed by the FW method to identify key determinants for discriminating between the two groups. Sequential forward search (SFS) algorism and support vector machine (SVM) were used in conjunction with the FW method to improve classification accuracy. To compare the prediction accuracy of the FW method with conventional statistical methods, DA was performed for the same data set. Results: AB to mandibular plane angle (°) and A to N-perpendicular (mm) were selected as the most accurate cephalometric predictors by both the FW and DA methods. However, classification accuracy was higher with the FW method (97.2%) compared with DA (92.1%), because the FW method with SFS and SVM has a more precise classification algorithm. Conclusions: The FW method, which uses a learning algorithm, might be an effective alternative to DA for prognosis prediction

Potassium chloride elicits enhancement of bilobalide and Ginkgolides production by Ginkgo biloba cell cultures

This study investigated the ability of potassium chloride (KCl) to elicit the production of bilobalide (BB), ginkgolide A (GA) and ginkgolide B (GB) by Ginkgo biloba cell suspension cultures. The salt stress by KCl treatments increased production of BB, GA and GB in both suspended cells and cultured medium. Especially, treatment of KCl 800 mM of highest concentration was stimulated emission into cultured medium BB, GA and GB compounds accumulated in cells. Although KCl 800 mM severely inhibited cells growth, the maximum content of GA and GB in cells was obtained in the treatment of KCl 800 mM, which was 1.9 and 4.0 times higher than the control. These results thus suggest that salt stress can afford enhanced production of secondary metabolites by plant cell cultures

Good Glycemic Control Is Associated with Better Survival in Diabetic Patients on Peritoneal Dialysis: A Prospective Observational Study

BACKGROUND: The effect of glycemic control after starting peritoneal dialysis (PD) on the survival of diabetic PD patients has largely been unexplored, especially in Asian population. METHODS: We conducted a prospective observational study, in which 140 incident PD patients with diabetes were recruited. Patients were divided into tertiles according to the means of quarterly HbA1C levels measured during the first year after starting PD. We examined the association between HbA1C and all-cause mortality using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: The mean age was 58.7 years, 59.3% were male, and the mean follow-up duration was 3.5 years (range 0.4-9.5 years). The mean HbA1C levels were 6.3%, 7.1%, and 8.5% in the 1(st), 2(nd), and 3(rd) tertiles, respectively. Compared to the 1(st) tertile, the all-cause mortality rates were higher in the 2(nd) [hazard ratio (HR), 4.16; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.91-18.94; p = 0.065] and significantly higher in the 3(rd) (HR, 13.16; 95% CI, 2.67-64.92; p = 0.002) tertiles (p for trend = 0.005), after adjusting for confounding factors. Cardiovascular mortality, however, did not differ significantly among the tertiles (p for trend = 0.682). In contrast, non-cardiovascular deaths, most of which were caused by infection, were more frequent in the 2(nd) (HR, 7.67; 95% CI, 0.68-86.37; p = 0.099) and the 3(rd) (HR, 51.24; 95% CI, 3.85-681.35; p = 0.003) tertiles than the 1(st) tertile (p for trend = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: Poor glycemic control is associated with high mortality rates in diabetic PD patients, suggesting that better glycemic control may improve the outcomes of these patients

Japanese Spotted Fever, South Korea

We describe the first case of Japanese spotted fever and the first isolate of spotted fever group rickettsia from a patient in South Korea. The isolated rickettsia from the patient was identified as Rickettsia japonica by analysis of the nucleotide sequences of 16S rRNA, gltA, ompA, ompB, and sca4 genes