Rothia aeria gluten degradation under gastro-duodenal conditions

INTRODUCTION: Celiac disease is a T-cell mediated-inflammatory disorder of the small intestine precipitated by gluten ingestion. Gluten can be effectively degraded by Rothia aeria, a natural resident oral microbe. Rothia bacteria can potentially be developed as a first probiotic for celiac disease. Aims: To select the optimal culture conditions for R. aeria enzyme expression in vitro and determine the ratio of R. aeria to gluten to achieve digestion within 2 hr incubation, which is the residence time of foods in the stomach/upper intestines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: R. aeria were cultivated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) with different strength (4%, 20% and 100%), and chemical defined media M9 supplemented with different carbon sources (glucose, succinate, glycerol, or casein). The effect of incubation time and temperature (28°C and 37°C) on the enzyme expression of the bacteria grown in BHI was also assessed. The enzyme activities of R. aeria (standardized with OD 0.6) were measured with the para-nitroanilide-derivatized substrate. Gliadin degradation was investigated by incubating a fixed gliadin concentration (250 µg/ml) with different amount of R. aeria cell (OD620 1.0, 0.5, 0.25), and analyzed by SDS-PAGE. RESULTS: The OD620 of 24 hr R. aeria culture in 4%, 20%, and 100% BHI were 0.240, 0.932, and 2.033, respectively. No bacterial growth was observed in M9 broth +2% glucose, succinate, or glycerol, but grew well in M9 broth +2% casein with OD620 19.54. R. aeria exhibited highest activity when grown in 100% BHI (0.22AU/min) and lowest in 4% BHI (0.1AU/min). Enzyme activities in M9+2% casein were low (0.035AU/min), not in proportional to the OD of R. aeria culture. The specific enzyme activities of R. aeria in 100% BHI was high in log phase (9 to 12 hr or 12 to 18 hr), but the yield of total activity was less than that of in stationary phase (20 to 44 hr). The activity of the cells grown at 37°C was higher than at 28°C. R. aeria suspension with an OD620 of 1.0 exhibited rapid degradation of gliadins at 250ug/ml. CONCLUSIONS: Full strength BHI broth and 20 to 44 hr cultivation at 37°C are considered as optimal cultivation condition to obtain a R. aeria cell culture with high enzyme activity. Starvation condition do not enhance enzyme expression

Star Formation in the LMC: Gravitational Instability and Dynamical Triggering

Evidence for triggered star formation is difficult to establish because energy feedback from massive stars tend to erase the interstellar conditions that led to the star formation. Young stellar objects (YSOs) mark sites of {\it current} star formation whose ambient conditions have not been significantly altered. Spitzer observations of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) effectively reveal massive YSOs. The inventory of massive YSOs, in conjunction with surveys of interstellar medium, allows us to examine the conditions for star formation: spontaneous or triggered. We examine the relationship between star formation and gravitational instability on a global scale, and we present evidence of triggered star formation on local scales in the LMC.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, IAU Symposium 237, Triggered Star Formation in a Turbulent Medium, eds. Elmegreen and Palou

THE KINEMATIC ANALYSIS of BASKETBALL THREE POINT SHOOT AFTER HIGH INTENSITY PROGRAM

The purpose of this study was to analyze kinetic and kinematic characteristics of three points shooting by high speed camera. Basketball players have to finish the high intensity program which was designed from simulative basketball games. The high intensity testing program includes dribbling, sprint, slide, jump shooting and three points shooting. The results of the experiments indicated that elbow, wrist, hip and ankle joints angle velocities would decrease, except the knee joint, after the high intensity program. The knee angle of take-off would also increase. It indicated that the upper limb joints angular velocity would decrease and players had to increase knee joint angular velocity to maintain original power. The time from take-off to ball release also decreased which means that there was a change in the coordinates in knee joint and elbow joint. After high intensity program the elbow and knee joints extension were closed to produce more power for the shot

Overcome Cancer Cell Drug Resistance Using Natural Products

Chemotherapy is one of the major treatment methods for cancer. However, failure in chemotherapy is not uncommon, mainly due to dose-limiting toxicity associated with drug resistance. Management of drug resistance is important towards successful chemotherapy. There are many reports in the Chinese literature that natural products can overcome cancer cell drug resistance, which deserve sharing with scientific and industrial communities. We summarized the reports into four categories: (1) in vitro studies using cell line models; (2) serum pharmacology; (3) in vivo studies using animal models; and (4) clinical studies. Fourteen single compounds were reported to have antidrug resistance activity for the first time. In vitro, compounds were able to overcome drug resistance at nontoxic or subtoxic concentrations, in a dose-dependent manner, by inhibiting drug transporters, cell detoxification capacity, or cell apoptosis sensitivity. Studies in vivo showed that single compounds, herbal extract, and formulas had potent antidrug resistance activities. Importantly, many single compounds, herbal extracts, and formulas have been used clinically to treat various diseases including cancer. The review provides comprehensive data on use of natural compounds to overcome cancer cell drug resistance in China, which may facilitate the therapeutic development of natural products for clinical management of cancer drug resistance

Thyroid metastasis in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma: case report and review of literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite the apparent low incidence of cancer metastatic to the thyroid, autopsy and clinical series suggest it is more common than generally. Although lung, renal, and breast cancer are probably the most common primary sites, a number of cancers have been reported to metastasize to the thyroid synchronously with diagnosis of primary tumor or years after apparently curative treatment.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We report a rare case of a hepatocellular carcinoma metasatic to the thyroid. The patient presented seven months after original diagnosis and treatment with hepatic lobectomy with multiple neck lesions producing a mass effect on the trachea and bilateral lymphadenopathy. Fine-needle aspiration revealed highly anaplastic carcinoma, and immunohistochemistry confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma. The patient received total thyroidectomy as palliative therapy because of the presence of multiple recurrent lesions in the liver.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Clinicians should consider the possibility of metastatic cancer in each patient who presents with a new thyroid mass, especially those with a history of cancer, however remote. In cases where cytology or histology is not diagnostic, immunohistochemistry may be definitive in making the diagnosis.</p

Overcome Cancer Cell Drug Resistance Using Natural Products

Chemotherapy is one of the major treatment methods for cancer. However, failure in chemotherapy is not uncommon, mainly due to dose-limiting toxicity associated with drug resistance. Management of drug resistance is important towards successful chemotherapy. There are many reports in the Chinese literature that natural products can overcome cancer cell drug resistance, which deserve sharing with scientific and industrial communities. We summarized the reports into four categories: (1) in vitro studies using cell line models; (2) serum pharmacology; (3) in vivo studies using animal models; and (4) clinical studies. Fourteen single compounds were reported to have antidrug resistance activity for the first time. In vitro, compounds were able to overcome drug resistance at nontoxic or subtoxic concentrations, in a dose-dependent manner, by inhibiting drug transporters, cell detoxification capacity, or cell apoptosis sensitivity. Studies in vivo showed that single compounds, herbal extract, and formulas had potent antidrug resistance activities. Importantly, many single compounds, herbal extracts, and formulas have been used clinically to treat various diseases including cancer. The review provides comprehensive data on use of natural compounds to overcome cancer cell drug resistance in China, which may facilitate the therapeutic development of natural products for clinical management of cancer drug resistance

Development, test and comparison of two Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis(MCDA) models: A case of healthcare infrastructure location

When planning a new development, location decisions have always been a major issue. This paper examines and compares two modelling methods used to inform a healthcare infrastructure location decision. Two Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) models were developed to support the optimisation of this decision-making process, within a National Health Service (NHS) organisation, in the UK. The proposed model structure is based on seven criteria (environment and safety, size, total cost, accessibility, design, risks and population profile) and 28 sub-criteria. First, Evidential Reasoning (ER) was used to solve the model, then, the processes and results were compared with the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). It was established that using ER or AHP led to the same solutions. However, the scores between the alternatives were significantly different; which impacted the stakeholders‟ decision-making. As the processes differ according to the model selected, ER or AHP, it is relevant to establish the practical and managerial implications for selecting one model or the other and providing evidence of which models best fit this specific environment. To achieve an optimum operational decision it is argued, in this study, that the most transparent and robust framework is achieved by merging ER process with the pair-wise comparison, an element of AHP. This paper makes a defined contribution by developing and examining the use of MCDA models, to rationalise new healthcare infrastructure location, with the proposed model to be used for future decision. Moreover, very few studies comparing different MCDA techniques were found, this study results enable practitioners to consider even further the modelling characteristics to ensure the development of a reliable framework, even if this means applying a hybrid approach

Large-Scale Gravitational Instability and Star Formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud

Large-scale star formation in disk galaxies is hypothesized to be driven by global gravitational instability. The observed gas surface density is commonly used to compute the strength of gravitational instability, but according to this criterion star formation often appears to occur in gravitationally stable regions. One possible reason is that the stellar contribution to the instability has been neglected. We have examined the gravitational instability of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) considering the gas alone, and considering the combination of collisional gas and collisionless stars. We compare the gravitationally unstable regions with the on-going star formation revealed by Spitzer observations of young stellar objects. Although only 62% of the massive young stellar object candidates are in regions where the gas alone is unstable, some 85% lie in regions unstable due to the combination of gas and stars. The combined stability analysis better describes where star formation occurs. In agreement with other observations and numerical models, a small fraction of the star formation occurs in regions with gravitational stability parameter Q > 1. We further measure the dependence of the star formation timescale on the strength of gravitational instability, and quantitatively compare it to the exponential dependence expected from numerical simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 10 pages, 5 figure