Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester (CAPE) mediated decrease in metastasis of colon cancer cells: an in vitro and in vivo study

Background: Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a phytochemically active component obtained from honeybee hive propolis. CAPE has been reported to show antimitogenic, anticancer, and other beneficial medicinal properties. Many of its activities have been reported to be mediated by inhibiting levels of matrix metalloproteinase, that is, MMP-2 and MMP-9. We hypothesize the effect of CAPE on the metastasis of colon cancer cells in both in vitro and in vivo.Methods: Cell migration, motility, invasion were evaluated also expression of protein and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP-2 and MMP-9 were measured in SW-480 cancer cells in vitro. The cells were exposed to Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and were treated with various concentration of CAPE.Results: The treatment of CAPE caused significant decrease (P<0.05) in both cell motility and invasion. The treatment of CAPE inhibited activity of MMP-2 and MMP-9 and their protein with increasing dose in SW-480 cancerous cells. Antimetastatic activity was evaluated in vivo in BALB/c mice by injecting them with CT-26 mouse colon cancer cells via tail vein and were treated with CAPE (20 mg/kg) orally for 21 days. The CAPE treatment significantly (P<0.05) reduced count of pulmonary nodules. The mice showed decreased plasma MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity after 21 days treatment with CAPE.Conclusion: The study suggested beneficial role of CAPE in preventing invasion of colon cancer and metastasis via MMP- 2 and MMP-9 mediated pathway.Keywords: CAPE, colon cancer, SW-480, CT-26, anti-metastati

Phylogeny and taxonomy on cryptic species of forked ferns of asia

Cryptic species comprise two or more taxa that are grounded under a single name because they are more-or-less indistinguishable morphologically. These species are potentially important for detailed assessments of biodiversity, but there now appear to be many more cryptic species than previously estimated. One taxonomic group likely to contain many cryptic species is Dicranopteris, a genus of forked ferns that occurs commonly along roadsides in Asia. The genus has a complex taxonomical history, and D. linearis has been particularly challenging with many intra-specific taxa dubiously erected to accommodate morphological variation that lacks clear discontinuities. To resolve species boundaries within Dicranopteris, we applied a molecular phylogenetic approach as complementary to morphology. Specifically, we used five chloroplast gene regions (rbcL, atpB, rps4, matK, and trnL-trnF) to generate a well-resolved phylogeny based on 37 samples representing 13 taxa of Dicranopteris, spanning the major distributional area in Asia. The results showed that Dicranopteris consists of ten highly supported clades, and D. linearis is polyphyletic, suggesting cryptic diversity within the species. Further through morphological comparison, we certainly erected Dicranopteris austrosinensis Y.H. Yan & Z.Y. Wei sp. nov. and Dicranopteris baliensis Y.H. Yan & Z.Y. Wei sp. nov. as distinct species and proposed five new combinations. We also inferred that the extant diversity of the genus Dicranopteris may result from relatively recent diversification in the Miocene based on divergence time dating. Overall, our study not only provided additional insights on the Gleicheniaceae tree of life, but also served as a case of integrating molecular and morphological approaches to elucidate cryptic diversity in taxonomically difficult groups

Exponential stability criteria for feedback controlled complex dynamical networks with time delay.

Abstract: Time delays commonly exist in the real world, so it is necessary to study the control of such systems with time delay. In this work, we control complex dynamical networks with time delay onto their homogeneous stationary state by applying local feedback injections to a small fraction of nodes. Both asymptotical stability and exponential stability criteria are derived by Lyapunov's direct method. The efficiency of the derived results was illustrated by simulation study

A Caprock Evaluation Methodology for Underground Gas Storage in a Deep Depleted Gas Reservoir: A Case Study for the X9 Lithologic Trap of Langgu Sag, Bohai Bay Basin, China

The evaluation of caprocks’ sealing capacity is exceedingly important for depleted gas reservoirs to be reconstructed into gas storage. In this paper, based on the physical sealing mechanism of caprock, four aspects of ten indexes of caprock quality evaluation were firstly selected, and the related classification standards were established. Secondly, based on the rock mechanical sealing mechanism, elastic and plastic indexes were selected to characterize the mechanical brittleness of caprock, and a brittleness evaluation method of caprock based on complete stress-strain curves was established. Then, a systematic comprehensive evaluation model (including 5 aspects and 12 evaluation indexes) for the sealing capacity of gas storage caprock was proposed, and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to determine the weight of the 12 indexes in the evaluation model, and the formula for calculating the suitability of the caprock sealing capacity was established. Finally, the geological data, laboratory, and field test data, including X-ray diffraction, poro-permeability test, displacement pressure, and tri-axial compression test, were used for the caprock sealing capacity evaluation of the X9 depleted gas reservoir, and the result from this model showed that the caprock quality is suitable for underground gas storage

Deciphering soil amendments and actinomycetes for remediation of cadmium (Cd) contaminated farmland

Soil heavy metal pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems in China, especially cadmium (Cd), which has the most extensive contaminated soil coverage. Therefore, more economical and efficient remediation methods and measures are needed to control soil Cd contamination. In this study, different amendments (biochar (B), organic fertilizer (F), lime (L)) and actinomycetes (A) inoculants were applied to Cd contaminated farmland to explore their effects on wheat growth. Compared with Control, all treatments except A treatment were able to significantly increase the underground parts dry mass of wheat, with the highest increase of 57.19 %. The results showed that the B treatment significantly increased the plant height of wheat by 3.45 %. All treatments increased wheat SOD activity and chlorophyll content and reduced the MDA, which contributes to wheat stress resistance under Cd contamination. F, L and AF treatments can significantly reduce the Cd content in wheat above- and underground parts by up to 56.39 %. Soil amendments can modify the physical and chemical properties of the soil, which in turn affects the absorption of Cd by wheat. Moreover, the addition of soil amendments significantly affects the composition and structure of the rhizospheric soil bacterial community at the wheat jointing stage. The application of organic fertilizer increases the richness and diversity of the bacterial community, while lime makes it significantly decreases it. T-test and microbiome co-occurrence networks show that actinomycetes could not only effectively colonize in local soil, but also effectively enhance the complexity and stability of the rhizosphere microbial community. Considering the practical impact of different treatments on wheat, soil microorganisms, economic benefits and restoration of soil Cd contamination, the application of organic fertilizer and actinomycetes in Cd contaminated soil is a more ideal remediation strategy. This conclusion can be further verified by studying larger repair regions and longer consecutive repair cycles to gain insight into the repair mechanism

CAFFEIC ACID PHENETHYL ESTER (CAPE) MEDIATED DECREASE IN METASTASIS OF COLON CANCER CELLS: AN IN VITRO AND IN VIVO STUDY

Background: Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a phytochemically active component obtained from honeybee hive propolis. CAPE has been reported to show antimitogenic, anticancer, and other beneficial medicinal properties. Many of its activities have been reported to be mediated by inhibiting levels of matrix metalloproteinase, that is, MMP-2 and MMP-9. We hypothesize the effect of CAPE on the metastasis of colon cancer cells in both in vitro and in vivo. Methods: Cell migration, motility, invasion were evaluated also expression of protein and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) such as MMP-2 and MMP-9 were measured in SW-480 cancer cells in vitro. The cells were exposed to Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and were treated with various concentration of CAPE. Results: The treatment of CAPE caused significant decrease (

Decreased functional connectivity of the amygdala in Alzheimer's disease revealed by resting-state fMRI

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is thought to be a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is clinically characterised by a decline of memory and other cognitive functions. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is considered to be the prodromal stage of AD. However, the relationship between AD and MCI and the development process remains unclear. The amygdala is one of the most vulnerable structures in the early stages of AD. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the alteration of the functional connectivity of the amygdala in AD and MCI subjects. We hypothesised that the amygdala-cortical loop is impaired in AD and that these alterations relate to the disease severity. In our study, we used resting-state functional MRIs to investigate the altered amygdala connectivity patterns in 35 AD patients, 27 MCI patients and 27 age- and gender-matched normal controls (NC). Compared with the NC, the decreased functional connectivity found in the AD patients was mainly located between the amygdala and the regions that are included in the default mode, context conditioning and extinction networks. Importantly, the decreased functional connectivity between the amygdala and some of the identified regions was positively correlated with MMSE, which indicated that the cognitive function impairment is related to an altered functional connectivity patter

Perceptual and response interference in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment

Objectives: The ability to resolve conflicts is indispensable to the function of daily life and decreases with cognitive decline. We hypothesized that subjects with different levels of cognitive impairment exhibit different conflict resolution performances and may be susceptible to interference effects at different stages. Methods: Sixteen normal controls (NC), 15 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and seven Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients were recruited to perform in a modified Eriksen flanker task. Results: We observed that the AD and MCI patients exhibited smaller accuracy rate and longer response time compared to NC subjects. Longer N2 and P300 latencies were observed in the AD group. Furthermore, the MCI group showed a longer latency than the NC group in the P300 latency. The magnitude of the perceptual and response interference effects was larger in the AD group than the other groups, and the MCI group significantly differed from the NC group at the perceptual level. Conclusion: The ability to resolve conflict decreased with impaired cognition and the perceptual and response interference effects may be useful in distinguishing MCI and AD. Significance: The perceptual or response interference effect may potentially be employed as a useful non-invasive probe for the clinical diagnosis of MCI and AD

Altered spontaneous activity in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment revealed by Regional Homogeneity

Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most prevalent cause of dementia in the elderly, is characterized by progressive cognitive and intellectual deficits. Most patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are thought to be in a very early stage of AD. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging reflects spontaneous brain activities and/or the endogenous/background neurophysiological process of the human brain. Regional Homogeneity (ReHo) can provide a fast method for mapping regional activity across the whole brain. Little has been previously published about where or how spontaneous activity differs between MCI and AD, although many previous fMRI studies have shown that the activity pattern is altered in MCI/AD. In the present study, we first used the ReHo method to explore differences in regional spontaneous activities throughout the whole brain between normal controls (NC) and people with MCI and with AD. A one-way ANOVA was performed to determine the regions in which the ReHo differs between the three groups, and then a post hoc analysis was performed to evaluate differences in the pattern among the three groups. Finally a correlation analysis was done between the ReHo index of these regions and clinical variables in order to evaluate the relationship between ReHo and cognitive measures in the AD and MCI groups. An exploratory classification analysis also demonstrated that ReHo measures were able to correctly separate subjects in 71.4% of the cases. Altered brain spontaneous activations were found in the medial prefrontal cortex, the bilateral posterior cingulate gyrus/precuneus and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in both MCI and AD. In MCI, the ReHo index in the left IPL was higher than that of the NC, which could indicate the presence of a compensatory mechanism in MCI. More obviously, the correlation analysis indicated that the lower the memory and other cognitive abilities, the lower the ReHo in patients with MCI and AD. Combining our findings with the results in earlier studies, we propose that the spontaneous activity pattern in the resting state could potentially be used as a clinical marker for MCI/AD