Housing and stock market nexus in the US

Purpose: The research aims to study the causality between the US stock and housing markets in the period from 1890 to 2014. Design/Methodology/Approach: The Granger-Causality bootstrap rolling-window test is used for studying the causality between the stock as well as real estate markets in the US. Findings: The results provide robust evidence that the causality running from the housing in the stock markets has positive effects between 1918 and 1922, 1926 and 1931, 1953 and 1955 but negative effects between 1932 and 1934 and from 1971 to 1972, displaying the occurrence of a credit-price effect. In contrast, the S&P 500 stomped the housing market between 1965 and 1970, when the wealth effect dominated in the US economy. Specifically, when the negative causality of both markets happens, investors gain by allocating housing and stocks assets as various portfolios. Practical Implications: This finding specifies that housing markets may be employed to predict stock markets and vice versa in the US. Studying both markets’ causality offers policymakers and practitioners more situation on where the market may be going and how it works over time. Originality/Value: Original research.peer-reviewe

Nanotargeted Radionuclides for Cancer Nuclear Imaging and Internal Radiotherapy

Current progress in nanomedicine has exploited the possibility of designing tumor-targeted nanocarriers being able to deliver radionuclide payloads in a site or molecular selective manner to improve the efficacy and safety of cancer imaging and therapy. Radionuclides of auger electron-, α-, β-, and γ-radiation emitters have been surface-bioconjugated or after-loaded in nanoparticles to improve the efficacy and reduce the toxicity of cancer imaging and therapy in preclinical and clinical studies. This article provides a brief overview of current status of applications, advantages, problems, up-to-date research and development, and future prospects of nanotargeted radionuclides in cancer nuclear imaging and radiotherapy. Passive and active nanotargeting delivery of radionuclides with illustrating examples for tumor imaging and therapy are reviewed and summarized. Research on combing different modes of selective delivery of radionuclides through nanocarriers targeted delivery for tumor imaging and therapy offers the new possibility of large increases in cancer diagnostic efficacy and therapeutic index. However, further efforts and challenges in preclinical and clinical efficacy and toxicity studies are required to translate those advanced technologies to the clinical applications for cancer patients

Molecular Mechanism of Isocupressic Acid Supresses MA-10 Cell Steroidogenesis

Consumption of ponderosa pine needles causes late-term abortions in cattle and is a serious poisonous plant problem in foothill and mountain rangelands. Isocupressic acid (IA) is the component of pine needles responsible for the abortifacient effect, its abortifacient effect may be due to inhibition of steroidogenesis. To investigate the more detail molecular mechanism, we used MA-10 cell, which is wild used to investigate molecular mechanism of steroidogenesis, to characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of IA in more detail. In this report, we focus on the function of IA on important steroidogenic genes, including steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR), cytochrome P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage (P450scc), and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD). We found that IA does not affect enzyme activities of these genes but inhibits transcription of P450scc and translation of StAR and P450scc through attenuating cAMP-PKA signaling. Thus, steroid productions of cells were suppressed

Real-time photoacoustic flow cytography and photothermolysis of single circulating melanoma cells in vivo

Metastasis is responsible for as many as 90% of cancer-related deaths, and the deadliest skin cancer, melanoma, has a high propensity for metastasis. Since hematogenous spread of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is cancer’s main route of metastasis, detecting and destroying CTCs can impede metastasis and improve patients’ prognoses. Extensive studies employing exogenous agents to detect tumor-specific biomarkers and guide therapeutics to CTCs have achieved promising results, but biosafety remains a critical concern. Taking another approach, physical detection and destruction of CTCs is a safer way to evaluate and reduce metastasis risks. Melanoma cells strongly express melanosomes, providing a striking absorption contrast with the blood background in the red to near-infrared spectrum. Exploiting this intrinsic optical absorption contrast of circulating melanoma cells, we coupled dual-wavelength photoacoustic flow cytography with a nanosecond-pulsed laser killing mechanism that specifically targets melanoma CTCs. We have successfully achieved in vivo label-free imaging of rare single CTCs and CTC clusters in mice. Further, the photoacoustic signal from a CTC immediately hardware-triggers a lethal pinpoint laser irradiation that lyses it on the spot in a thermally confined manner. Our technology can facilitate early inhibition of metastasis by clearing circulating tumor cells from vasculature

Early Detection of Tumor Response by FLT/MicroPET Imaging in a C26 Murine Colon Carcinoma Solid Tumor Animal Model

Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) imaging demonstrated the change of glucose consumption of tumor cells, but problems with specificity and difficulties in early detection of tumor response to chemotherapy have led to the development of new PET tracers. Fluorine-18-fluorothymidine (18F-FLT) images cellular proliferation by entering the salvage pathway of DNA synthesis. In this study, we evaluate the early response of colon carcinoma to the chemotherapeutic drug, lipo-Dox, in C26 murine colorectal carcinoma-bearing mice by 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT. The male BALB/c mice were bilaterally inoculated with 1 × 105 and 1 × 106 C26 tumor cells per flank. Mice were intravenously treated with 10 mg/kg lipo-Dox at day 8 after 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT imaging. The biodistribution of 18F-FDG and 18F-FLT were followed by the microPET imaging at day 9. For the quantitative measurement of microPET imaging at day 9, 18F-FLT was superior to 18F-FDG for early detection of tumor response to Lipo-DOX at various tumor sizes (P < 0.05). The data of biodistribution showed similar results with those from the quantification of SUV (standard uptake value) by microPET imaging. The study indicates that 18F-FLT/microPET is a useful imaging modality for early detection of chemotherapy in the colorectal mouse model

A water-immersible 2-axis scanning mirror microsystem for ultrasound and photoacoustic microscopic imaging applications

For both ultrasound and photoacoustic microscopic imaging, a fast scanning ability is required, whereas the liquid environment for acoustic propagation limits the usage of traditional MEMS scanning mirrors. In this paper, a new waterimmersible scanning mirror microsystem has been designed, fabricated and tested. To achieve reliable underwater scanning, flexible polymer torsion hinges fabricated by laser micromachining were used to support the reflective silicon mirror plate. Two efficient electromagnetic microactuators consisting of compact RF choke inductors and high-strength neodymium magnet disc were constructed to drive the silicon mirror plate around a fast axis and a slow axis, respectively. The performance of the water-immersible scanning mirror microsystem in both air and water were tested using the laser tracing method. For the fast axis, the resonance frequency reached 224 Hz in air and 164 Hz in water, respectively. The scanning angles in air and water under ±10 V AC driving (at the resonance frequencies) were ±13.6° and ±10°. The scanning angles in both air and water under ±16 V DC driving were ±12°. For the slow axis, the resonance frequency reached 55 Hz in air and 38 Hz in water, respectively. The scanning angles in air and water under ±10 V AC driving (at the resonance frequencies) were ±8.5° and ±6°. The scanning angles in both air and water under ±10 V DC driving were ± 6.5°. The feasibility of using such a water-immersible scanning mirror microsystem for scanning ultrasound microscopic (SAM) imaging has been demonstrated with a 25-MHz ultrasound pulse/echo system and a target consisting of three optical fibers

Near-Field Acousto Monitoring Shear Interactions Inside a Drop of Fluid: The Role of the Zero-Slip condition

A full understanding of nanometer-range (near-field) interactions between two sliding solid boundaries, with a mesoscopic fluid layer sandwiched in between, remains challenging. In particular, the origin of the blue-shift resonance frequency experienced by a laterally oscillating probe when approaching a substrate is still a matter of controversy. A simpler problem is addressed here, where a laterally oscillating solid probe interacts with a more sizable drop of fluid that rests on a substrate, aiming at identifying interaction mechanisms that could also be present in the near-field interaction case. It is found that the inelastic component of the probe-fluid interaction does not constitute the main energy-dissipation channel and has a weak dependence on fluid’s viscosity, which is attributed to the zero-slip hydrodynamic condition. In contrast, the acoustic signal engendered by the fluid has a stronger dependence on the fluid’s viscosity(attributed also to the zero-slip hydrodynamic condition) and correlates well with the probe’s resonancefrequency red-shift. We propose a similar mechanism happens in near field experiments, but a blue-shift in the probe’s resonance results as a consequence of the fluid molecules (subjected to the zero-slip condition at both the probe and substrate boundaries) exerting instead a spring type restoring force on the probe