Acute exposure to diesel particulate matter promotes collective cell migration in thyroid cancer cells

Several ecological studies suggest that ambient air pollution is associated with the occurrence of thyroid cancer. In this study, we used certified diesel particulate matter as a proxy for fine particulate matter. Human thyroid cancer cell lines 8505C and TPC-1 were incubated with different concentrations of NIST1650b for 5 days and subjected to functional assays. We found that NIST1650b treatment did not affect short-term cell growth but reduced colony formation at high concentrations. Notably, NIST1650b-treated cells showed altered morphology toward cluster coalescence following treatment. Wound healing assays revealed that leading-edge cells formed protruding tips while maintaining cell-cell adhesion, and a significantly higher ratio of wound closure following treatment at 10 μg/mL was seen in both cell lines. A weak stimulatory effect on transwell cell migration was observed in 8505C cells. Taken together, our results suggest that fine particulate matter induced a coherent phenotype accompanied by augmented collective cell migration in thyroid cancer cells

Precipitation Dynamics for the Formation of Nylon-6 Polyamide Membranes by Isothermal Precipitation in Water/Formic Acid Solutions

[[abstract]]The ternary mass transfer equations that describe the isothermal immersion process for polyamide membrane preparation were solved. To account for the moving boundary conditions, coordinate transformations were performed both for the membrane and the bath regions. Mutual diffusion coefficients between solvent and polymer were measured and used to derive ternary phenomenological coefficients for mass transfer equations. The calculated precipitation times, concentration profiles, and diffusion trajectories were found to agree with the measured light transmittance data and the membrane morphologies presented previously.[[notice]]補正完畢[[incitationindex]]SCI[[booktype]]紙

Determining the physical conditions of extremely young Class 0 circumbinary disk around VLA1623A

We present detailed analysis of high-resolution C18O (2-1), SO (88-77), CO (3-2) and DCO+ (3-2) data obtained by the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) towards a Class 0 Keplerian circumbinary disk around VLA1623A, which represents one of the most complete analysis towards a Class 0 source. From the dendrogram analysis, we identified several accretion flows feeding the circumbinary disk in a highly anisotropic manner. Stream-like SO emission around the circumbinary disk reveals the complicated shocks caused by the interactions between the disk, accretion flows and outflows. A wall-like structure is discovered south of VLA1623B. The discovery of two outflow cavity walls at the same position traveling at different velocities suggests the two outflows from both VLA1623A and VLA1623B overlays on top of each other in the plane of sky. Our detailed flat and flared disk modeling shows that Cycle 2 C18O J = 2-1 data is inconsistent with the combined binary mass of 0.2 Msun as suggested by early Cycle 0 studies. The combined binary mass for VLA1623A should be modified to 0.3 ~ 0.5 Msun.Comment: 26 pages, 20 figures, accepted by ApJ 2020.2.2

Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells to a Parathyroid-Like Phenotype

Iatrogenic hypoparathyroidism is the most common complication of cervical endocrine surgery. Current management is limited and palliative. As the molecular steps in parathyroid development have been defined, they may be replicable in vitro, with a goal of cellular replacement therapy. Human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines were investigated as a model for parathyroid regeneration in vitro. BG01 was selected as a model based on expression of genes of interest in embryoid bodies (EBs). Established strategies for mouse embryonic stem cell differentiation into definitive endoderm were modified and extended to maximize the expression of definitive markers of parathyroid development. The optimal approach included the use of Activin A at 100 ng/mL with BG01 cells grown on murine embryonic fibroblasts for 5 days under conditions of increasing serum concentration. After 5 days, the cells were allowed to mature further in tissue culture without murine fibroblasts but with continuous Activin A. Our strategy produced differentiated cell cultures that expressed intermediate markers of endoderm and parathyroid development (CXCR4, EYA1, Six1, and Pax1), as well as markers of committed parathyroid precursors or developed parathyroid glands (glial cell missing-2 [Gcm2], CCL21, calcium sensing receptor [CaSR], and parathyroid hormone [PTH]). We further characterized the cells by testing conditioned medium from various time points in our differentiation scheme for the presence of PTH. We found that by keeping the cells in culture 2 weeks after the withdrawal of Activin A, the cells were able to produce PTH. Further in vivo work will be needed to demonstrate proper functionality of the cells developed in this way.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78132/1/scd.2008.0337.pd

Northern Hemisphere Urban Heat Stress and Associated Labor Hour Hazard from ERA5 Reanalysis

Increasing surface air temperature is a fundamental characteristic of a warming world. Rising temperatures have potential impacts on human health through heat stress. One heat stress metric is the wet-bulb globe temperature, which takes into consideration the effects of radiation, humidity, and wind speed. It also has broad health and environmental implications. This study presents wet-bulb globe temperatures calculated from the fifth-generation European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts atmospheric reanalysis and combines it with health guidelines to assess heat stress variability and the potential for reduction in labor hours over the past decade on both the continental and urban scale. Compared to 2010–2014, there was a general increase in heat stress during the period from 2015 to 2019 throughout the northern hemisphere, with the largest warming found in tropical regions, especially in the northern part of the Indian Peninsula. On the urban scale, our results suggest that heat stress might have led to a reduction in labor hours by up to ~20% in some Asian cities subject to work–rest regulations. Extremes in heat stress can be explained by changes in radiation and circulation. The resultant threat is highest in developing countries in tropical areas where workers often have limited legal protection and healthcare. The effect of heat stress exposure is therefore a collective challenge with environmental, economic, and social implications.publishedVersio

The Inhibitory Effect of Ellagic Acid on Cell Growth of Ovarian Carcinoma Cells

Ellagic acid (EA) is able to inhibit the growth of several cancer cells; however, its effect on human ovarian carcinoma cells has not yet been investigated. Ovarian carcinoma ES-2 and PA-1 cells were treated with EA (10~100 μM) and assessed for viability, cell cycle, apoptosis, anoikis, autophagy, and chemosensitivity to doxorubicin and their molecular mechanisms. EA inhibited cell proliferation in a dose- and time-dependent manner by arresting both cell lines at the G1 phase of the cell cycle, which were from elevating p53 and Cip1/p21 and decreasing cyclin D1 and E levels. EA also induced caspase-3-mediated apoptosis by increasing the Bax : Bcl-2 ratio and restored anoikis in both cell lines. The enhancement of apoptosis and/or inhibition of autophagy in these cells by EA assisted the chemotherapy efficacy. The results indicated that EA is a potential novel chemoprevention and treatment assistant agent for human ovarian carcinoma