Growth and Characteristics of High-quality InN by Plasma- Assisted Molecular Beam Epitaxy

The high-quality InN epifilms and InN microdisks have been grown with InGaN buffer layers at low temperatures by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy. The samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and photoluminescence. The characteristics of the InN epifilms and InN microdisks were studied, and the role of InGaN buffer was evaluated

Assessment of density functional approximations for the hemibonded structure of water dimer radical cation

Due to the severe self-interaction errors associated with some density functional approximations, conventional density functionals often fail to dissociate the hemibonded structure of water dimer radical cation (H2O)2+ into the correct fragments: H2O and H2O+. Consequently, the binding energy of the hemibonded structure (H2O)2+ is not well-defined. For a comprehensive comparison of different functionals for this system, we propose three criteria: (i) The binding energies, (ii) the relative energies between the conformers of the water dimer radical cation, and (iii) the dissociation curves predicted by different functionals. The long-range corrected (LC) double-hybrid functional, omegaB97X-2(LP) [J.-D. Chai and M. Head-Gordon, J. Chem. Phys., 2009, 131, 174105.], is shown to perform reasonably well based on these three criteria. Reasons that LC hybrid functionals generally work better than conventional density functionals for hemibonded systems are also explained in this work.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Association of Alpha B-Crystallin Genotypes with Oral Cancer Susceptibility, Survival, and Recurrence in Taiwan

BACKGROUND: Alpha B-crystallin (CRYAB) is a protein that functions as "molecular chaperone" in preserving intracellular architecture and cell membrane. Also, CRYAB is highly antiapoptotic. Abnormal CRYAB expression is a prognostic biomarker for oral cancer, while its genomic variations and the association with carcinogenesis have never been studied. METHODOLOGY/FINDING: Therefore, we hypothesized that CRYAB single nucleotide polymorphisms may be associated with oral cancer risk. In this hospital-based study, the association of CRYAB A-1215G (rs2228387), C-802G (rs14133) and intron2 (rs2070894) polymorphisms with oral cancer in a Taiwan population was investigated. In total, 496 oral cancer patients and 992 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were genotyped and analyzed. A significantly different frequency distribution was found in CRYAB C-802G genotypes, but not in A-1215G and intron2 genotypes, between the oral cancer and control groups. The CRYAB C-802G G allele conferred an increased risk of oral cancer (P = 1.49×10(-5)). Patients carrying CG/GG at CRYAB C-802G were of lower 5-year survival and higher recurrence rate than those of CC (P<0.05). CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Our results provide the first evidence that the G allele of CRYAB C-802G is correlated with oral cancer risk and this polymorphism may be a useful marker for oral cancer recurrence and survival prediction for clinical reference

Biosafety of Non-Surface Modified Carbon Nanocapsules as a Potential Alternative to Carbon Nanotubes for Drug Delivery Purposes

BACKGROUND: Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have found wide success in circuitry, photovoltaics, and other applications. In contrast, several hurdles exist in using CNTs towards applications in drug delivery. Raw, non-modified CNTs are widely known for their toxicity. As such, many have attempted to reduce CNT toxicity for intravenous drug delivery purposes by post-process surface modification. Alternatively, a novel sphere-like carbon nanocapsule (CNC) developed by the arc-discharge method holds similar electric and thermal conductivities, as well as high strength. This study investigated the systemic toxicity and biocompatibility of different non-surface modified carbon nanomaterials in mice, including multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), carbon nanocapsules (CNCs), and C ₆₀ fullerene (C ₆₀). The retention of the nanomaterials and systemic effects after intravenous injections were studied. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: MWCNTs, SWCNTs, CNCs, and C ₆₀ were injected intravenously into FVB mice and then sacrificed for tissue section examination. Inflammatory cytokine levels were evaluated with ELISA. Mice receiving injection of MWCNTs or SWCNTs at 50 µg/g b.w. died while C ₆₀ injected group survived at a 50% rate. Surprisingly, mortality rate of mice injected with CNCs was only at 10%. Tissue sections revealed that most carbon nanomaterials retained in the lung. Furthermore, serum and lung-tissue cytokine levels did not reveal any inflammatory response compared to those in mice receiving normal saline injection. CONCLUSION: Carbon nanocapsules are more biocompatible than other carbon nanomaterials and are more suitable for intravenous drug delivery. These results indicate potential biomedical use of non-surface modified carbon allotrope. Additionally, functionalization of the carbon nanocapsules could further enhance dispersion and biocompatibility for intravenous injection

The Efficacy of Endoscopic Papillary Balloon Dilation for Patients with Acute Biliary Pancreatitis

Background. No study investigated the efficacy and safety of endoscopic papillary balloon dilation (EPBD) for the treatment of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP). Method. We retrospectively reviewed the effects of EPBD on patients with ABP from February 2003 to December 2012. The general data, findings of image studies, details of the procedure, and outcomes after EPBD were analyzed. Result. Total 183 patients (male/female: 110/73) were enrolled. The mean age was 65.9 years. Among them, 155 patients had mild pancreatitis. The meantime from admission to EPBD was 3.3 days. Cholangiogram revealed filling defects inside the common bile duct (CBD) in 149 patients. The mean dilating balloon size was 10.5 mm and mean duration of the dilating procedure was 4.3 minutes. Overall, 124 patients had gross stones retrieved from CBD. Four (2.2%) adverse events and 2 (1.1%) intraprocedure bleeding incidents but no procedure-related mortality were noted. Bilirubin and amylase levels significantly decreased after EPBD. On average, patients resumed oral intake within 1.4 days. The clinical parameters and outcomes were similar in patients with different severity of pancreatitis. Conclusion. EPBD can be effective and safe for the treatment of ABP, even in patients presenting with severe disease

Induction of Apoptosis Coupled to Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Human Prostate Cancer Cells by n-butylidenephthalide

BACKGROUND: N-butylidenephthalide (BP) exhibits antitumor effect in a variety of cancer cell lines. The objective of this study was to obtain additional insights into the mechanisms involved in BP induced cell death in human prostate cancer cells. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Two human prostate cancer cell lines, PC-3 and LNCaP, were treated with BP, and subsequently evaluated for their viability and cell cycle profiles. BP caused cell cycle arrest and cell death in both cell lines. The G0/G1 phase arrest was correlated with increase levels of CDK inhibitors (p16, p21 and p27) and decrease of the checkpoint proteins. To determine the mechanisms of BP-induced growth arrest and cell death in prostate cancer cell lines, we performed a microarray study to identify alterations in gene expression induced by BP in the LNCaP cells. Several BP-induced genes, including the GADD153/CHOP, an endoplasmic reticulum stress (ER stress)-regulated gene, were identified. BP-induced ER stress was evidenced by increased expression of the downstream molecules GRP78/BiP, IRE1-α and GADD153/CHOP in both cell lines. Blockage of IRE1-α or GADD153/CHOP expression by siRNA significantly reduced BP-induced cell death in LNCaP cells. Furthermore, blockage of JNK1/2 signaling by JNK siRNA resulted in decreased expression of IRE1-α and GADD153/CHOP genes, implicating that BP-induced ER stress may be elicited via JNK1/2 signaling in prostate cancer cells. BP also suppressed LNCaP xenograft tumor growth in NOD-SCID mice. It caused 68% reduction in tumor volume after 18 days of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that BP can cause G0/G1 phase arrest in prostate cancer cells and its cytotoxicity is mediated by ER stress induction. Thus, BP may serve as an anticancer agent by inducing ER stress in prostate cancer