Dynamically generated 0^+ heavy mesons in a heavy chiral unitary approach

In terms of the heavy chiral Lagrangian and the unitarized coupled-channel scattering amplitude, interaction between the heavy meson and the light pseudoscalar meson is studied. By looking for the pole of scattering matrix on an appropriate Riemann sheet, a $DK$ bound state $D_{s0}^*$ with the mass of $2.312\pm0.041$ GeV is found. This state can be associated as the narrow $D_{sJ}^*(2317)$ state found recently. In the same way, a $B{\bar K}$ bound state $B_{s0}^*$ is found, and its mass of $5.725\pm0.039$ GeV is predicted. The spectra of $D_0^*$ and $B_0^*$ with $I=1/2$ are further investigated. One broad and one narrow states are predicted in both charm and bottom sectors. The coupling constants and decay widths of the predicted states are also calculated.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure. One numerical error in Eq.16 correcte

Combined Phytochemistry and Chemotaxis Assays for Identification and Mechanistic Analysis of Anti-Inflammatory Phytochemicals in Fallopia japonica

Plants provide a rich source of lead compounds for a variety of diseases. A novel approach combining phytochemistry and chemotaxis assays was developed and used to identify and study the mechanisms of action of the active compounds in F. japonica, a medicinal herb traditionally used to treat inflammation. Based on a bioactivity-guided purification strategy, two anthranoids, emodin and physcion, were identified from F. japonica. Spectroscopic techniques were used to characterize its crude extract, fractions and phytochemicals. The crude extract, chloroform fraction, and anthranoids of F. japonica significantly inhibited CXCR4-mediated chemotaxis. Mechanistic studies showed that emodin and physcion inhibited chemotaxis via inactivating the MEK/ERK pathway. Moreover, the crude extract and emodin could prevent or treat type 1 diabetes in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice. This study illustrates the applicability of a combinational approach for the study of anti-inflammatory medicine and shows the potential of F. japonica and its anthranoids for anti-inflammatory therapy

Catenarin Prevents Type 1 Diabetes in Nonobese Diabetic Mice via Inhibition of Leukocyte Migration Involving the MEK6/p38 and MEK7/JNK Pathways

Inflammation contributes to leukocyte migration, termed insulitis, and β-cell loss in type 1 diabetes (T1D). Naturally occurring anthraquinones are claimed as anti-inflammatory compounds; however, their actions are not clear. This study aimed to investigate the effect and mechanism of catenarin on the inflammatory disease, T1D. Catenarin and/or its anthraquinone analogs dose-dependently suppressed C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4)- and C-C chemokine receptor type 5 (CCR5)-implicated chemotaxis in leukocytes. Catenarin, the most potent anthraquinone tested in the study, prevented T1D in nonobese diabetic mice. Mechanistic study showed that catenarin did not act on the expression of CCR5 and CXCR4. On the contrary, catenarin inhibited CCR5- and CXCR4-mediated chemotaxis via the reduction of the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 and JNK) and their upstream kinases (MKK6 and MKK7), and calcium mobilization. Overall, the data demonstrate the preventive effect and molecular mechanism of action of catenarin on T1D, suggesting its novel use as a prophylactic agent in T1D

Epidemiology of anti-tuberculosis drug resistance in a chinese population: current situation and challenges ahead

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Drug resistance has been a cause of concern for tuberculosis (TB) control in both developed and developing countries. Careful monitoring of the patterns and trends of drug resistance should remain a priority.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Strains were collected from 1824 diagnosed sputum smear positive pulmonary TB patients in Jiangsu province of China and then tested for drug susceptibility against rifampicin, isoniazid, ethambutol and streptomycin. The prevalence and patterns of drug resistance in mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates were investigated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify the risk factors for multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial infection. The strength of association was estimated by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The drug susceptibility tests showed that 1077(59.05%) MTB strains were sensitive to all the four antibiotics and the other 747(40.95%) strains were resistant to at least one drug. The proportions of mono-drug resistance were 28.73% for isoniazid, 19.41% for rifampicin, 29.33% for streptomycin, and 13.98% for ethambutol, respectively. The prevalence of MDR-TB was 16.61%, which was significantly different between new cases (7.63%) and those with previous treatment history (33.07%). Geographical variation of drug resistance was observed, where the proportion of MDR-TB among new cases was higher in the central (9.50%) or north part (9.57%) than that in the south area (4.91%) of Jiangsu province. The age of patients was significantly associated with the risk of drug resistance (P < 0.001) and the adjusted OR (95% CI) was 1.88(1.26-2.81) for patients aged 35-44 years when compared with those 65 years or older. Patients with previous treatment history had a more than 5-fold increased risk of MDR-TB (adjusted OR: 6.14, 95% CI: 4.61-8.17), compared with those previously not having been treated.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The high prevalence of drug resistance has been a major challenge for TB control. Prevention and control of drug-resistant TB should be emphasized by the revised DOTS (direct observed therapy, short course) program through prompt case detection, routine and quality-assured drug susceptibility test for patients at high risk of resistance, programmatic treatment with both first and second-line medicines, and systematic treatment observation, with priority for high MDR-TB settings.</p

Thermal Conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes and their Polymer Nanocomposites: A Review

Thermally conductive polymer composites offer new possibilities for replacing metal parts in several applications, including power electronics, electric motors and generators, heat exchangers, etc., thanks to the polymer advantages such as light weight, corrosion resistance and ease of processing. Current interest to improve the thermal conductivity of polymers is focused on the selective addition of nanofillers with high thermal conductivity. Unusually high thermal conductivity makes carbon nanotube (CNT) the best promising candidate material for thermally conductive composites. However, the thermal conductivities of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are relatively low compared with expectations from the intrinsic thermal conductivity of CNTs. The challenge primarily comes from the large interfacial thermal resistance between the CNT and the surrounding polymer matrix, which hinders the transfer of phonon dominating heat conduction in polymer and CNT. This article reviews the status of worldwide research in the thermal conductivity of CNTs and their polymer nanocomposites. The dependence of thermal conductivity of nanotubes on the atomic structure, the tube size, the morphology, the defect and the purification is reviewed. The roles of particle/polymer and particle/particle interfaces on the thermal conductivity of polymer/CNT nanocomposites are discussed in detail, as well as the relationship between the thermal conductivity and the micro- and nano-structure of the composite

Lead-free piezoceramics - Where to move on?

Lead-free piezoceramics aiming at replacing the market-dominant lead-based ones have been extensively searched for more than a decade worldwide. Some noteworthy outcomes such as the advent of commercial products for certain applications have been reported, but the goal, i.e., the invention of a lead-free piezocermic, the performance of which is equivalent or even superior to that of PZT-based piezoceramics, does not seem to be fulfilled yet. Nevertheless, the academic effort already seems to be culminated, waiting for a guideline to a future research direction. We believe that a driving force for a restoration of this research field needs to be found elsewhere, for example, intimate collaborations with related industries. For this to be effectively realized, it would be helpful for academic side to understand the interests and demands of the industry side as well as to provide the industry with new scientific insights that would eventually lead to new applications. Therefore, this review covers some of the issues that are to be studied further and deeper, so-to-speak, lessons from the history of piezoceramics, and some technical issues that could be useful in better understanding the industry demands. As well, the efforts made in the industry side will be briefly introduced for the academic people to catch up with the recent trends and to be guided for setting up their future research direction effectively.ope

Electrodeposited lead dioxide coatings

Lead dioxide coatings on inert substrates such as titanium and carbon now offer new opportunities for a material known for 150 years. It is now recognised that electrodeposition allows the preparation of stable coatings with different phase structures and a wide range of surface morphologies. In addition, substantial modification to the physical properties and catalytic activities of the coatings are possible through doping and the fabrication of nanostructured deposits or composites. In addition to applications as a cheap anode material in electrochemical technology, lead dioxide coatings provide unique possibilities for probing the dependence of catalytic activity on layer composition and structure (critical review, 256 references)

MiR-138 induces cell cycle arrest by targeting cyclin D3 in hepatocellular carcinoma

The deregulation of microRNA (miRNA) is frequently associated with a variety of cancers, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In this study, we identified 10 upregulated miRNAs (miR-217, miR-518b, miR-517c, miR-520g, miR-519a, miR-522, miR-518e, miR-525-3p, miR-512-3p and miR-518a-3p) and 10 downregulated miRNAs (miR-138, miR-214, miR-214#, miR-27a#, miR-199a-5p, miR-433, miR-511, miR-592, miR-483-5p and miR-483-3p) by Taqman miRNAs array and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT–PCR) confirmation. Additionally, we investigated the expression and possible role of miR-138 in HCC. qRT–PCR results showed that miR-138 was downregulated in 77.8%(14/18) of HCC tissues compared with adjacent non-tumor tissues. Overexpression of miR-138 reduced cell viability and colony formation by induction of cell arrest in HCC cell lines and inhibited tumor cell growth in xenograft nude mice. The use of miR-138 inhibitor increased cell viability and colony formation in HCC cell lines and tumor cell growth in xenograft nude mice. Using TargetScan predictions, CCND3 was defined as a potential direct target of miR-138. Furthermore, CCND3 protein expression was observed to be negatively correlated with miR-138 expression in HCC tissues. The dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results showed that CCND3 was a direct target of miR-138. The use of miR-138 mimic or inhibitor could decrease or increase CCND3 protein levels in HCC cell lines. We conclude that the frequently downregulated miR-138 can regulate CCND3 and function as a tumor suppressor in HCC. Therefore, miR-138 may serve as a useful therapeutic agent for miRNA-based HCC therapy