Effect of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor on Endothelial Cells and Osteoblasts

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Effect of Ovariectomy on Stimulating Intracortical Remodeling in Rats

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In-vivo optical detection of cancer using chlorin e6 – polyvinylpyrrolidone induced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Photosensitizer based fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy is fast becoming a promising approach for cancer detection. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of the photosensitizer chlorin e6 (Ce6) formulated in polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a potential exogenous fluorophore for fluorescence imaging and spectroscopic detection of human cancer tissue xenografted in preclinical models as well as in a patient.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fluorescence imaging was performed on MGH human bladder tumor xenografted on both the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) and the murine model using a fluorescence endoscopy imaging system. In addition, fiber optic based fluorescence spectroscopy was performed on tumors and various normal organs in the same mice to validate the macroscopic images. In one patient, fluorescence imaging was performed on angiosarcoma lesions and normal skin in conjunction with fluorescence spectroscopy to validate Ce6-PVP induced fluorescence visual assessment of the lesions.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Margins of tumor xenografts in the CAM model were clearly outlined under fluorescence imaging. Ce6-PVP-induced fluorescence imaging yielded a specificity of 83% on the CAM model. In mice, fluorescence intensity of Ce6-PVP was higher in bladder tumor compared to adjacent muscle and normal bladder. Clinical results confirmed that fluorescence imaging clearly captured the fluorescence of Ce6-PVP in angiosarcoma lesions and good correlation was found between fluorescence imaging and spectral measurement in the patient.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Combination of Ce6-PVP induced fluorescence imaging and spectroscopy could allow for optical detection and discrimination between cancer and the surrounding normal tissues. Ce6-PVP seems to be a promising fluorophore for fluorescence diagnosis of cancer.</p

The Therapeutic Effect of Pamidronate on Lethal Avian Influenza A H7N9 Virus Infected Humanized Mice

A novel avian influenza virus H7N9 infection occurred among human populations since 2013. Although the lack of sustained human-to-human transmission limited the epidemics caused by H7N9, the late presentation of most patients and the emergence of neuraminidase-resistant strains made the development of novel antiviral strategy against H7N9 in urgent demands. In this study, we evaluated the potential of pamidronate, a pharmacological phosphoantigen that can specifically boost human Vδ2-T-cell, on treating H7N9 virus-infected humanized mice. Our results showed that intraperitoneal injection of pamidronate could potently decrease the morbidity and mortality of H7N9-infected mice through controlling both viral replication and inflammation in affected lungs. More importantly, pamidronate treatment starting from 3 days after infection could still significantly ameliorate the severity of diseases in infected mice and improve their survival chance, whereas orally oseltamivir treatment starting at the same time showed no therapeutic effects. As for the mechanisms underlying pamidronate-based therapy, our in vitro data demonstrated that its antiviral effects were partly mediated by IFN-γ secreted from human Vδ2-T cells. Meanwhile, human Vδ2-T cells could directly kill virus-infected host cells in a perforin-, granzyme B- and CD137-dependent manner. As pamidronate has been used for osteoporosis treatment for more than 20 years, pamidronate-based therapy represents for a safe and readily available option for clinical trials to treat H7N9 infection.published_or_final_versio

The Therapeutic Effect of Pamidronate on Lethal Avian Influenza A H7N9 Virus Infected Humanized Mice

A novel avian influenza virus H7N9 infection occurred among human populations since 2013. Although the lack of sustained human-to-human transmission limited the epidemics caused by H7N9, the late presentation of most patients and the emergence of neuraminidase-resistant strains made the development of novel antiviral strategy against H7N9 in urgent demands. In this study, we evaluated the potential of pamidronate, a pharmacological phosphoantigen that can specifically boost human Vδ2-T-cell, on treating H7N9 virus-infected humanized mice. Our results showed that intraperitoneal injection of pamidronate could potently decrease the morbidity and mortality of H7N9-infected mice through controlling both viral replication and inflammation in affected lungs. More importantly, pamidronate treatment starting from 3 days after infection could still significantly ameliorate the severity of diseases in infected mice and improve their survival chance, whereas orally oseltamivir treatment starting at the same time showed no therapeutic effects. As for the mechanisms underlying pamidronate-based therapy, our in vitro data demonstrated that its antiviral effects were partly mediated by IFN-γ secreted from human Vδ2-T cells. Meanwhile, human Vδ2-T cells could directly kill virus-infected host cells in a perforin-, granzyme B- and CD137-dependent manner. As pamidronate has been used for osteoporosis treatment for more than 20 years, pamidronate-based therapy represents for a safe and readily available option for clinical trials to treat H7N9 infection.published_or_final_versio

Arc Discharge Synthesis and Photoluminescence of 3D Feather-like AlN Nanostructures

A complex three-dimensional (3D) feather-like AlN nanostructure was synthesized by a direct reaction of high-purity Al granules with nitrogen using an arc discharge method. By adjusting the discharge time, a coral-like nanostructure, which evolved from the feather-like nanostructure, has also been observed. The novel 3D feather-like AlN nanostructure has a hierarchical dendritic structure, which means that the angle between the trunk stem and its branch is always about 30° in any part of the structure. The fine branches on the surface of the feather-like nanostructure have shown a uniform fish scale shape, which are about 100 nm long, 10 nm thick and several tens of nanometers in width. An alternate growth model has been proposed to explain the novel nanostructure. The spectrum of the feather-like products shows a strong blue emission band centered at 438 nm (2.84 eV), which indicates their potential application as blue light-emitting diodes

Disentangling Cooper-pair formation above Tc from the pseudogap state in the cuprates

The discovery of the pseudogap in the cuprates created significant excitement amongst physicists as it was believed to be a signature of pairing, in some cases well above the room temperature. In this "pre-formed pairs" scenario, the formation of pairs without quantum phase rigidity occurs below T*. These pairs condense and develop phase coherence only below Tc. In contrast, several recent experiments reported that the pseudogap and superconducting states are characterized by two different energy scales, pointing to a scenario, where the two compete. However a number of transport, magnetic, thermodynamic and tunneling spectroscopy experiments consistently detect a signature of phase-fluctuating superconductivity above leaving open the question of whether the pseudogap is caused by pair formation or not. Here we report the discovery of a spectroscopic signature of pair formation and demonstrate that in a region of the phase diagram commonly referred to as the "pseudogap", two distinct states coexist: one that persists to an intermediate temperature Tpair and a second that extends up to T*. The first state is characterized by a doping independent scaling behavior and is due to pairing above Tc, but significantly below T*. The second state is the "proper" pseudogap - characterized by a "checker board" pattern in STM images, the absence of pair formation, and is likely linked to Mott physics of pristine CuO2 planes. Tpair has a universal value around 130-150K even for materials with very different Tc, likely setting limit on highest, attainable Tc in cuprates. The observed universal scaling behavior with respect to Tpair indicates a breakdown of the classical picture of phase fluctuations in the cuprates.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure

30 inch Roll-Based Production of High-Quality Graphene Films for Flexible Transparent Electrodes

We report that 30-inch scale multiple roll-to-roll transfer and wet chemical doping considerably enhance the electrical properties of the graphene films grown on roll-type Cu substrates by chemical vapor deposition. The resulting graphene films shows a sheet resistance as low as ~30 Ohm/sq at ~90 % transparency which is superior to commercial transparent electrodes such as indium tin oxides (ITO). The monolayer of graphene shows sheet resistances as low as ~125 Ohm/sq with 97.4% optical transmittance and half-integer quantum Hall effect, indicating the high-quality of these graphene films. As a practical application, we also fabricated a touch screen panel device based on the graphene transparent electrodes, showing extraordinary mechanical and electrical performances

Statistical estimates of absenteeism attributable to seasonal and pandemic influenza from the Canadian Labour Force Survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>As many respiratory viruses are responsible for influenza like symptoms, accurate measures of the disease burden are not available and estimates are generally based on statistical methods. The objective of this study was to estimate absenteeism rates and hours lost due to seasonal influenza and compare these estimates with estimates of absenteeism attributable to the two H1N1 pandemic waves that occurred in 2009.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Key absenteeism variables were extracted from Statistics Canada's monthly labour force survey (LFS). Absenteeism and the proportion of hours lost due to own illness or disability were modelled as a function of trend, seasonality and proxy variables for influenza activity from 1998 to 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Hours lost due to the H1N1/09 pandemic strain were elevated compared to seasonal influenza, accounting for a loss of 0.2% of potential hours worked annually. In comparison, an estimated 0.08% of hours worked annually were lost due to seasonal influenza illnesses. Absenteeism rates due to influenza were estimated at 12% per year for seasonal influenza over the 1997/98 to 2008/09 seasons, and 13% for the two H1N1/09 pandemic waves. Employees who took time off due to a seasonal influenza infection took an average of 14 hours off. For the pandemic strain, the average absence was 25 hours.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This study confirms that absenteeism due to seasonal influenza has typically ranged from 5% to 20%, with higher rates associated with multiple circulating strains. Absenteeism rates for the 2009 pandemic were similar to those occurring for seasonal influenza. Employees took more time off due to the pandemic strain than was typical for seasonal influenza.</p