Crocin from Crocus sativus possesses significant antiproliferation effects on human colorectal cancer cells

Aim: To investigate the anti-proliferative effects of Crocus sativus extract and its major constituent, crocin, on three colorectal cancer cell lines (HCT-116, SW-480, and HT-29). The cell growth inhibition effect was compared to that of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. In addition, Crocus sativus’ effect on non-cancer cells was evaluated. Methods: Using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the purity of crocin and the content of crocin extract were determined. Anti-proliferative effects of Crocus sativus extract and crocin on test cells was evaluated by MTS assay. Results: The purity of crocin was found to be 95.9% and the content of crocin in the extract was 22.9%. Significant concentration-related inhibition effects of the extract on all three colorectal cancer cell lines were observed (P < 0.01). The proliferation was reduced most significantly in HCT-116 cells, to 45.5% at 1.0 mg/ml and to 6.8 % at 3.0 mg/ml. Crocin at 1.0 mM, significantly reduced HCT-116, SW-480, and HT-29 cell proliferation to 2.8%, 52%, and 16.8%, respectively (P < 0.01). Since 3.0 mg/ml Crocus sativus extract contained approximately 0.6 mM crocin, the observed effects suggest that crocin is a major responsible constituent in the extract. Significant anti-proliferative effects were also observed in non-small cell lung cancer cells. However, Crocus sativus extract did not significantly affect the growth of non-cancer young adult mouse colon cells. Conclusion: Data from this study demonstrated that Crocus sativus extract and its major constituent, crocin, significantly inhibited the growth of colorectal cancer cells while not affecting normal cells. Crocus sativus extract should be investigated further as a viable option in the treatment of colorectal cancer.Цель: исследовать антипролиферативный эффект экстракта Crocus sativus и его главного действующего вещества, кроцина, на три клеточные линии колоректального рака человека (HCT-116, SW-480 и HT-29). Эффект ингибирования роста клеток оценивали по отношению к таковому для клеток немелкоклеточного рака легкого (НМРЛ) и немалигнизированных клеток. Методы: для очистки кроцина и составляющих экстракта C. sativus применяли высокоэффективную жидкостную хроматографию (ВЭЖХ). Антипролиферативный эффект экстракта и кроцина по отношению к клеткам оценивали при помощи MTS-теста. Результаты: степень очистки кроцина составляла 95,9%, а содержание кроцина в экстракте –22,9%. Отмечали существенное дозозависимое угнетение пролиферации клеток трех линий экстрактом C. sativus (P < 0.01). Наиболее выраженное снижение пролиферативной активности оотмечали для клеток HCT-116 (дo 45,5 % при 1,0 мг/мл и до 6,8 % при 3,0 мг/мл). Кроцин в концентрации 1,0 мM, значительно ингибирует пролиферацию клеток HCT-116, SW-480 и HT-29 (до 2,8, 52 и 16,8% соответственно, P < 0,01). Поскольку 3,0 мг/мл экстракта C. sativus содержат приблизительно 0,6 мM кроцина, отмеченное действие первого подтверждает тот факт, что кроцин — главное действующее начало экстракта. Также показано существенное антипролиферативное действие по отношению к клеткам НМРЛ. Однако C. sativus не оказывал выраженного действия на рост немалигнизированных клеток толстого кишечника молодых мышей. Выводы: данные представленного исследования показывают, что экстракт Crocus sativus и его главный действующий компонент кроцин значительно ингибируют рост клеточных линий колоректального рака и в то же время не влияют на рост нормальных клеток. В дальнейшем следует изучить возможность применения Crocus sativus для лечения больных колоректальным раком

Capability of four sigmoidoscopy-based screening strategies to predict proximal neoplasia in an asymptomatic Chinese population

Background and Aim: A proper colonoscopy referral criterion is essential for flexible sigmoidoscopy‐based colorectal cancer screening. We aimed to compare the predictive capability of four existing criteria to detect proximal neoplasia (PN) and advanced proximal neoplasia (APN) in a Chinese population. Methods: Asymptomatic Chinese participants aged 50–75 years, who received screening colonoscopy, were consecutively recruited. The four criteria included (i) UK flexible sigmoidoscopy; (ii) Italian Screening for COlon REctum; (iii) NORwegian Colorectal Cancer Prevention trial; and (iv) US clinical index. The sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative predictive value, and the number of subjects needed to screen (NNS)/refer (NNR) to detect one APN/PN were examined. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve was evaluated. Results: Among 5833 subjects, 749 (12.8%) and 151 (2.6%) cases were found to have PN and APN, respectively. US criteria achieved the highest sensitivity for PN (49%) and APN (66%), while UK criteria attained the highest specificity (93%) for PN/APN. The lowest NNS was required by US criteria for PN (16 vs 19–38) and APN (58 vs 69–86), while the lowest NNR was required by UK criteria for PN (3.2 vs 4.0–4.8) and APN (7 vs 10–16). The receiver operating characteristic of all four criteria was 0.57–0.61 for PN and 0.68–0.70 for APN. Conclusions: Among all the four criteria, US criteria had the highest sensitivity and lowest NNS, while UK criteria achieved the highest specificity and lowest NNR. Their limited discriminatory capability highlighted the need for a new score to predict PN/APN in Chinese populations

The association between distal findings and proximal colorectal neoplasia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: Whether screening participants with distal hyperplastic polyps (HPs) detected by flexible sigmoidoscopy (FS) should be followed by subsequent colonoscopy is controversial. We evaluated the association between distal HPs and proximal neoplasia (PN)/advanced proximal neoplasia (APN) in asymptomatic, average-risk patients. Methods: We searched Ovid Medline, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library from inception to 30 June 2016 and included all screening studies that examined the relationship between different distal findings and PN/APN. Data were independently extracted by two reviewers with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. We pooled absolute risks and odds ratios (ORs) with a random effects meta-analysis. Seven subgroup analyses were performed according to study characteristics. Heterogeneity was characterized with theI2 statistics. Results: We analyzed 28 studies (104,961 subjects). When compared with normal distal findings, distal HP was not associated with PN (OR=1.16, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.89–1.51,P=0.14,I2=40%) or APN (OR=1.09, 95% CI=0.87–1.36,P=0.39,I2=5%), while subjects with distal non-advanced or advanced adenoma had higher odds of PN/APN. Higher odds of PN/APN were observed for more severe distal lesions. Weaker association between distal and proximal findings was noticed in studies with higher quality, larger sample size, population-based design, and more stringent endoscopy quality-control measures. The Egger’s regression tests showed allP&gt;0.05. Conclusions: Distal HP is not associated with PN/APN in asymptomatic screening population when compared with normal distal findings. Hence, the presence of distal HP alone detected by FS does not automatically indicate colonoscopy referral for all screening participants, as other risk factors of PN/APN should be considered

A measurement of parity-violating gamma-ray asymmetries in polarized cold neutron capture on 35Cl, 113Cd, and 139La

An apparatus for measuring parity-violating asymmetries in gamma-ray emission following polarized cold neutron capture was constructed as a 1/10th scale test of the design for the forthcoming n+p->d+gamma experiment at LANSCE. The elements of the polarized neutron beam, including a polarized 3He neutron spin filter and a radio frequency neutron spin rotator, are described. Using CsI(Tl) detectors and photodiode current mode readout, measurements were made of asymmetries in gamma-ray emission following neutron capture on 35Cl, 113Cd, and 139La targets. Upper limits on the parity-allowed asymmetry $s_n \cdot (k_{\gamma} \times k_n)$ were set at the level of 7 x 10^-6 for all three targets. Parity-violating asymmetries $s_n \cdot k_{\gamma}$ were observed in 35Cl, A_gamma = (-29.1 +- 6.7) x 10^-6, and 139La, A_gamma = (-15.5 +- 7.1) x 10^-6, values consistent with previous measurements.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth.

Low-Luminosity Accretion in Black Hole X-ray Binaries and Active Galactic Nuclei

At luminosities below a few percent of Eddington, accreting black holes switch to a hard spectral state which is very different from the soft blackbody-like spectral state that is found at higher luminosities. The hard state is well-described by a two-temperature, optically thin, geometrically thick, advection-dominated accretion flow (ADAF) in which the ions are extremely hot (up to $10^{12}$ K near the black hole), the electrons are also hot ($\sim10^{9-10.5}$ K), and thermal Comptonization dominates the X-ray emission. The radiative efficiency of an ADAF decreases rapidly with decreasing mass accretion rate, becoming extremely low when a source reaches quiescence. ADAFs are expected to have strong outflows, which may explain why relativistic jets are often inferred from the radio emission of these sources. It has been suggested that most of the X-ray emission also comes from a jet, but this is less well established.Comment: To appear in "From X-ray Binaries to Quasars: Black Hole Accretion on All Mass Scales" edited by T. Maccarone, R. Fender, L. Ho, to be published as a special edition of "Astrophysics and Space Science" by Kluwe

Non-perturbative momentum dependence of the coupling constant and hadronic models

Models of hadron structure are associated with a hadronic scale which allows by perturbative evolution to calculate observables in the deep inelastic region. The resolution of Dyson-Schwinger equations leads to the freezing of the QCD running coupling (effective charge) in the infrared, which is best understood as a dynamical generation of a gluon mass function, giving rise to a momentum dependence which is free from infrared divergences. We use this new development to understand why perturbative treatments are working reasonably well despite the smallness of the hadronic scale.Comment: Changes in Acknowledgments and PACS number

Recent glitches detected in the Crab pulsar

From 2000 to 2010, monitoring of radio emission from the Crab pulsar at Xinjiang Observatory detected a total of nine glitches. The occurrence of glitches appears to be a random process as described by previous researches. A persistent change in pulse frequency and pulse frequency derivative after each glitch was found. There is no obvious correlation between glitch sizes and the time since last glitch. For these glitches $\Delta\nu_{p}$ and $\Delta\dot{\nu}_{p}$ span two orders of magnitude. The pulsar suffered the largest frequency jump ever seen on MJD 53067.1. The size of the glitch is $\sim$ 6.8 $\times 10^{-6}$ Hz, $\sim$ 3.5 times that of the glitch occured in 1989 glitch, with a very large permanent changes in frequency and pulse frequency derivative and followed by a decay with time constant $\sim$ 21 days. The braking index presents significant changes. We attribute this variation to a varying particle wind strength which may be caused by glitch activities. We discuss the properties of detected glitches in Crab pulsar and compare them with glitches in the Vela pulsar.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Relation Between Chiral Susceptibility and Solutions of Gap Equation in Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model

We study the solutions of the gap equation, the thermodynamic potential and the chiral susceptibility in and beyond the chiral limit at finite chemical potential in the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio (NJL) model. We give an explicit relation between the chiral susceptibility and the thermodynamic potential in the NJL model. We find that the chiral susceptibility is a quantity being able to represent the furcation of the solutions of the gap equation and the concavo-convexity of the thermodynamic potential in NJL model. It indicates that the chiral susceptibility can identify the stable state and the possibility of the chiral phase transition in NJL model.Comment: 21 pages, 6 figures, misprints are correcte

Ganoderma lucidum extract inhibits proliferation of SW 480 human colorectal cancer cells

Aim: Ganoderma lucidum is a commonly used Chinese herb and an important ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine herbal formulations for immune dysfunction related illnesses. The effects of this medicinal mushroom on human colorectal cancer cells have not yet been evaluated. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ganoderma lucidum extract using SW 480 human colorectal cancer cell line. Materials and Methods: Two different fractions of Ganoderma lucidum extract, i.e., a fraction containing mainly polysaccharides (GLE-1), and a triterpenoid fraction without polysaccharides (GLE-2) were analyzed. Their antiproliferative activity was evaluated by cell proliferation assay and 3H-thymidine incorporation assay. Scavenging effects of DPPH radical were assessed using ESR-spectroscopy. Results: Our data showed that both GLE-1 and GLE-2 significantly inhibited the proliferation of SW 480 cells. The inhibitory effect of GLE-2 was much stronger than that of GLE-1. GLE-1 inhibited DNA synthesis in the cells and reduced the formation of DPPH radicals. Conclusion: Ganoderma lucidum extract inhibits proliferation of human colorectal cancer cells and possesses antioxidant properties.Цель: для лечения заболеваний, связанных с нарушениями функционирования иммунной системы, в традиционной китайской медицине часто используют препараты на основе Ganoderma lucidum. В данной работе было изучено влияние экстракта Ganoderma lucidum на клетки колоректального рака человека линии SW 480. Материалы и методы: изучали две фракции экстракта Ganoderma lucidum: фракцию GLE-1, содержащую полисахариды, и тритерпеноидную фракцию GLE-2. Их рост-ингибирующую активность определяли с помощью анализа клеточной пролиферации и по включению 3 H-тимидина. Для оценки антиоксидантной активности использовали ЕСР-спектроскопию. Результаты: обе фракции Ganoderma lucidum подавляли пролиферацию клеток SW 480. Рост-ингибирующий эффект GLE-2 был более выраженным, чем фракции GLE-1. Фракция GLE-1 подавляла синтез ДНК в клетках линии SW 480 и понижала уровень формирования DPPH радикалов. Выводы: экстракт Ganoderma lucidum подавляет пролиферацию клеток колоректального рака человека и обладает антиоксидантными свойствами

The fully differential single-top-quark cross section in next-to-leading order QCD

We present a new next-to-leading order calculation for fully differential single-top-quark final states. The calculation is performed using phase space slicing and dipole subtraction methods. The results of the methods are found to be in agreement. The dipole subtraction method calculation retains the full spin dependence of the final state particles. We show a few numerical results to illustrate the utility and consistency of the resulting computer implementations.Comment: 37 pages, latex, 2 ps figure