β-Caryophyllene attenuates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis in mice via modulation of gene expression associated mainly with colon inflammation

AbstractWe examined the modulatory activity of β-caryophyllene (CA) and gene expression in colitic colon tissues in a dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis model. Experimental colitis was induced by exposing male BALB/c mice to 5% DSS in drinking water for 7 days. CA (30 or 300mg/kg) was administered orally once a day together with DSS. CA administration attenuated the increases in the disease activity index, colon weight/length ratio, inflammation score, and myeloperoxidase activity in DSS-treated mice. Microarray analysis showed that CA administration regulated the expression in colon tissue of inflammation-related genes including those for cytokines and chemokines (Ccl2, Ccl7, Ccl11, Ifitm3, IL-1β, IL-28, Tnfrsf1b, Tnfrsf12a); acute-phase proteins (S100a8, Saa3, Hp); adhesion molecules (Cd14, Cd55, Cd68, Mmp3, Mmp10, Sema6b, Sema7a, Anax13); and signal regulatory proteins induced by DSS. CA significantly suppressed NF-κB activity, which mediates the expression of a different set of genes. These results suggest that CA attenuates DSS-induced colitis, possibly by modulating the expression of genes associated mainly with colon inflammation through inhibition of DSS-induced NF-κB activity

A study on Korean nursing students' educational outcomes

The purpose of this study was to describe outcome indicators of nursing education including critical thinking, professionalism, leadership, and communication and to evaluate differences among nursing programs and academic years. A descriptive research design was employed. A total of 454 students from four year baccalaureate (BS) nursing programs and two three-year associate degree (AD) programs consented to complete self-administered questionnaires. The variables were critical thinking, professionalism, leadership and communication. Descriptive statistics, χ2-test, t-tests, ANOVA, and the Tukey test were utilized for the data analysis. All the mean scores of the variables were above average for the test instruments utilized. Among the BS students, those in the upper classes tended to attain higher scores, but this tendency was not identified in AD students. There were significant differences between BS students and AD students for the mean scores of leadership and communication. These findings suggested the need for further research to define properties of nursing educational outcomes, and to develop standardized instruments for research replication and verification

Hepatocellular carcinoma with Budd-Chiari syndrome due to membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava with long-term follow-up: a case report

Membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava (MOVC) is a rare subset of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) with a subacute onset that is often complicated by cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here we report a case of recurrent HCC in a patient with cirrhosis and BCS that was treated with several episodes of transarterial chemoembolization followed by surgical tumorectomy, whereas the MOVC was successfully treated with balloon angioplasty followed by endovascular stenting. The patient was followed up for 9.9 years without anticoagulation and experienced no stent thrombosis. After the tumorectomy, the patient was HCC-free for 4.4 years of follow-up

Characteristics of Nasal Resonance and Perceptual Rating in Prelingual Hearing Impaired Adults

ObjectivesResonance problems in hearing impaired (HI) individuals have been described as aspects of nasality. However, there are limitations in being able to explain the range of resonance problems. Therefore, this study suggests a perceptual rating that will effectively explain the characteristics of resonance problems in HI individuals.MethodsNasalance scores were obtained from 32 subjects in each of HI and normal hearing (NH) groups using a nasometer. The subjects were categorized into groups based on normal and abnormal nasalance ranges. The abnormal nasalance range group was further divided into hyper-, hypo-, and mixed-nasal groups. Nasalance scores were based the individuals performance in a series of passage and syllable tasks. The perceptual rating was evaluated using a newly introduced tool, 'vertical focus of resonance' (VFR), which focuses on the resonance energy in the frontal, throat, pharyngeal and nasal locations.ResultsThe NH group demonstrated a significantly lower nasalance score in the oral coupling and passage tasks than the HI group. Based on the results of nasalance correlation analysis, the HI group showed highly significant correlations between syllable and passage tasks, as contrasted with the NH group. There were significant differences in VFR between the nasalance types in both the NH and the HI groups.ConclusionThe HI hyper-nasal group showed tendencies of velopharyngeal opening, as opposed to the HI hypo-nasal group which showed tendencies of velopharyngeal closure. The HI mixed-nasal group showed inappropriate coordination of velopharyngeal function. In the HI group, the results of VFR showed that the air flow and the resonance energy were not released from the cavity of resonance. The suggested VFR tool explains the focusing characteristics of resonance energy within a continuation of speech sound regardless of the phonetic environment. Therefore, VFR may be a useful tool in explaining the deviant resonance patterns of HI individuals

Crystal structure of Tpa1 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a component of the messenger ribonucleoprotein complex

Tpa1 (for termination and polyadenylation) from Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a component of a messenger ribonucleoprotein (mRNP) complex at the 3′ untranslated region of mRNAs. It comprises an N-terminal Fe(II)- and 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) dependent dioxygenase domain and a C-terminal domain. The N-terminal dioxygenase domain of a homologous Ofd1 protein from Schizosaccharomyces pombe was proposed to serve as an oxygen sensor that regulates the activity of the C-terminal degradation domain. Members of the Tpa1 family are also present in higher eukaryotes including humans. Here we report the crystal structure of S. cerevisiae Tpa1 as a representative member of the Tpa1 family. Structures have been determined as a binary complex with Fe(III) and as a ternary complex with Fe(III) and 2OG. The structures reveal that both domains of Tpa1 have the double-stranded β-helix fold and are similar to prolyl 4-hydroxylases. However, the binding of Fe(III) and 2OG is observed in the N-terminal domain only. We also show that Tpa1 binds to poly(rA), suggesting its direct interaction with mRNA in the mRNP complex. The structural and functional data reported in this study support a role of the Tpa1 family as a hydroxylase in the mRNP complex and as an oxygen sensor

Dietary fat increases solid tumor growth and metastasis of 4T1 murine mammary carcinoma cells and mortality in obesity-resistant BALB/c mice

Introduction High-fat diets (HFDs) are known to cause obesity and are associated with breast cancer progression and metastasis. Because obesity is associated with breast cancer progression, it is important to determine whether dietary fat per se stimulates breast cancer progression in the absence of obesity. This study investigated whether an HFD increases breast cancer growth and metastasis, as well as mortality, in obesity-resistant BALB/c mice. Methods The 4-week-old, female BALB/c mice were fed HFD (60% kcal fat) or control diet (CD, 10% kcal fat) for 16 weeks. Subsequently, 4T1 mammary carcinoma cells were injected into the inguinal mammary fat pads of mice fed continuously on their respective diets. Cell-cycle progression, angiogenesis, and immune cells in tumor tissues, proteases and adhesion molecules in the lungs, and serum cytokine levels were analyzed with immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In vitro studies were also conducted to evaluate the effects of cytokines on 4T1 cell viability, migration, and adhesion. Results Spleen and gonadal fat-pad weights, tumor weight, the number and volume of tumor nodules in the lung and liver, and tumor-associated mortality were increased in the HFD group, with only slight increases in energy intake and body weight. HF feeding increased macrophage infiltration into adipose tissues, the number of lipid vacuoles and the expression of cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)2, cyclin D1, cyclin A, Ki67, CD31, CD45, and CD68 in the tumor tissues, and elevated serum levels of complement fragment 5a (C5a), interleukin (IL)-16, macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM)-1, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, leptin, and triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM)-1. Protein levels of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator, ICAM-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 were increased, but plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels were decreased in the lungs of the HFD group. In vitro assays using 4T1 cells showed that sICAM-1 increased viability; TREM-1, TIMP-1, M-CSF, and sICAM-1 increased migration; and C5a, sICAM-1, IL-16, M-CSF, TIMP-1, and TREM-1 increased adhesion. Conclusions Dietary fat increases mammary tumor growth and metastasis, thereby increasing mortality in obesity-resistant mice