Mechanisms of action and antiproliferative properties of Brassica oleracea juice in human breast cancer cell lines

none7noCruciferous vegetables are an important source of compounds that may be useful for chemoprevention. In this study, we evaluated the antiproliferative activity of juice obtained from leaves of several varieties of Brassica oleracea on both estrogen receptor (ER)-positive (ER; MCF-7 and BT474) and ER-negative (ER; MDA-MB-231 and BT20) human breast cancer cell lines. The effect of juice on cell proliferation was evaluated on DNA synthesis and on cell cycle–related proteins. Juice markedly reduced DNA synthesis, evaluated by [3H]thymidine incorporation, starting from low concentrations (final concentration 5–15 mL/L), and this activity was independent of ER. All cauliflower varieties tested suppressed cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. Cell growth inhibition was accompanied by significant cell death at the higher juice concentrations, although no evidence of apoptosis was found. Interestingly, the juice displayed a preferential activity against breast cancer cells compared with other mammalian cell lines investigated (ECV304, VERO, Hep2, 3T3, and MCF-10A) (P 0.01). At the molecular level, the inhibition of proliferation was associated with significantly reduced CDK6 expression and an increased level of p27 in ER cells but not in ER cells, whereas a common feature in all cell lines was significantly decreased retinoblastoma protein phosphorylation. These results suggest that the edible part of Brassica oleracea contains substances that can markedly inhibit the growth of both ER and ER human breast cancer cells, although through different mechanisms. These results suggest that the widely available cruciferous vegetables are potential chemopreventive agents. JopenBrandi, Giorgio; Schiavano, GIUDITTA FIORELLA; Zaffaroni, N; De Marco, C; Paiardini, M; Cervasi, B; Magnani, MauroBrandi, G; Schiavano, Gf; Zaffaroni, N; De Marco, C; Paiardini, M; Cervasi, B; Magnani, M

A mathematical method to assess the yin-yang balance of commercial complexes' entrances

Shopping malls are important landmarks of modern and sustainable cities as they are substantial business and investment by themselves, and as they also facilitate the social activities of communities. Entrances to shopping malls provide a first impression to customers, thus affecting the business performance of the malls. This paper presents a method to assess the entrances of modern shopping malls by applying traditionally qualitative Feng shui practices quantitatively with an innovative mathematical model. The assessment is based on the manipulation of the yin-and-yang concept applied to the layout of Ming tang (bright court) as the focus of consideration. By applying this novel approach to three shopping malls in Guangzhou, China as a pilot study to match their commercial performance, our hypothesis appears workable. The ideology of balancing yin and yang may be practically meaningful to urban planningandthesuccessfulmeasurementofsuchbalancecouldshedlightonfuturestudies

Reactivity of Heteropolytungstate and Heteropolymolybdate Metal Transition Salts in the Synthesis of Dimethyl Carbonate from Methanol and CO2

A series of Keggin-type heteropoly compounds (HPC) having different countercations (Co, Fe) and different addenda atoms (W, Mo) were synthesized and characterized by means of Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectrometer (FT-IR) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The catalytic properties of the prepared catalysts for the dimethyl carbonate (DMC) synthesis from CO2 and CH3OH were investigated. The experimental results showed that the catalytic activity is significantly influenced by the type of the countercation and addenda atoms transition metal. Among the catalysts examined, Co1.5PW12O40 is the most active for the DMC synthesis, owing to the synergetic effect between Co and W. Investigating the effect of the support showed that the least acidic one (Al2O3) enhanced the conversion but decreased the DMC selectivity in favor of that of methyl formate (MF), while that of dimethoxy methane remained stable

Unexpected elevated alanine aminotransferase, asparte aminotransferase levels and hepatitis E virus infection among persons who work with pigs in accra, ghana

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Several studies have suggested that elevated serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and asparte aminotransferase (AST) may be markers of hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection. Thus, individuals with elevated ALT and AST may have ongoing subclinical infection of HEV. We estimated the prevalence of anti-HEV antibodies and serum ALT and AST levels among persons who work with pigs in Accra, Ghana.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three hundred and fifty- persons who work with pigs provided blood samples for unlinked anonymous testing for the presence of antibodies to HEV, ALT and AST levels. The median age of participants was 32.85 ± 11.38 years (range 15-70 years). HEV seroprevelance was 34.84%. Anti-HEV IgG was detected in 19.26% while anti-HEV IgM was detected in 15.58% of the persons who tested positive. On multivariate analysis, the independent determinants of HEV infection were, being employed on the farm for less than six months [odds ratio (OR) 8.96; 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 5.43-14.80], having piped water in the household and/or on the farm (OR 13.33; 95% CI 5.23-33.93) and consumption of alcohol (OR 4.91: 95% CI 2.65-9.10). Levels >3× the expected maximum were found for both ALT and AST among individuals who tested positive for anti-HEV IgG (ALT, 210.17 ± 11.64 U/L; AST, 127.18 ± 11.12 U/L) and anti-HEV IgM (ALT, 200.97 ± 10.76 U/L; AST, 120.00 ± 15.96 U/L).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Consistent with similar studies worldwide, the results of our studies revealed a high prevalence of HEV infection, ALT and AST values in pig handlers.</p

二甲基矽氧烷可撓式熱發電器之研製

This study develops the fabrication of PDMS (Polydimethylsiloxane) flexible thermoelectric generators. The thermoelectric structure is composed of 24 pairs thermocouple that is made of P-type thermoelectric material 〖'Bi' 〗_'2' 〖'Te' 〗_'3' and N-type thermoelectric material 〖'Sb' 〗_'2' 〖'Te' 〗_'3' . Each thermocouple is 4 mm wide, 1.5 mm long and 2 mm high, the space between thermocouples is 0.7 mm, and the surface area is 50×50 〖'cm' 〗^'2' . The flexible thermoelectric generators is designed by Solidworks and AutoCAD, and then assembled by turning over the mold. In order to achieve more flexible, perfused PDMS is used to manufacture the supporting base and package the thermoelectric generators. When the hot part temperature is 373 k and cold part temperature 293 k, the practical effect of the thermoelectric generators temperature difference between internal 55 K. The experimental results show The generators have an output voltage 3.37 V and a output power of 25.81 'μW' at temperature difference of 55 K. The voltage factor of the thermoelectric generators is 2.45 mV/' c' 'm' ^'2' K, and the power factor is '1.38×' 〖'10' 〗^'-2' 'μW/' 〖'cm' 〗^'2' 'K' ^'2' .本研究利用高分子材料二甲基矽氧烷（Polydimethylsiloxane ,PDMS）配合P型熱電材料鍗化鉍和N型熱電材料鍗化銻製作具高度可撓性的熱發電元件，熱發電元件的面積為50×50 cm2 ，由24對熱電偶串連成熱發電結構，單一熱電偶結構尺寸為寬度4 mm、長度1.5 mm、高度2 mm、間距0.7 mm。利用Solidworks和AutoCAD繪製熱發電元件的結構設計圖後，再利用翻模的方式，製備熱電偶的形狀後進行熱發電結構的組裝，並灌注二甲基矽氧烷作為支撐基板和封裝，完成熱發電元件的製作。透過有限元素分析軟體ANSYS模擬結果可知，當熱發電元件冷熱端溫度分別為373 K和293 K時，熱發電元件內部實際作用溫差為55 K，而實驗結果顯示在此溫差下，熱發電元件輸出電位差訊號為3.37 V，輸出功率為25.81 μW，熱發電元件的電壓因子為2.45 mV/ cm2 K，功率因子為1.38×〖10〗^(-2 ) μW/ cm2 K^2 。第一章 緒論 1 1.1 前言 1 1.2文獻回顧 2 1.3 研究動機 5 第二章 可撓式熱發電元件的設計 6 2.1熱電效應 6 2.2熱發電元件的性能推算: 7 2.3熱發電元件的結構設計 10 第三章 熱發電元件的性能模擬 12 3.1熱發電元件的熱傳分析模擬 12 3.2熱發電元件的功率輸出模擬 16 3.3熱發電元件的電壓輸出模擬 17 第四章 可撓式熱發電元件的製作 18 4.1電化學沉積原理 18 4.1.1 電化學沉積製程設備 19 4.1.2 電化學沉積合金製程 20 4.2可撓式熱發電元件製作流程 23 4.3熱發電元件的製程 24 4.3.1 電鍍溶液的調製 24 4.3.2熱發電塊材的製作 27 4.3.3 熱發電元件的製作 29 4.4 製程結果和討論 31 第五章 量測結果與討論 35 5.1 量測架設和流程 35 5.2 熱發電元件的性能測試 37 5.2.1單位面積內熱電偶數量對熱發電元件的輸出比較 38 5.2.2單位面積內熱電偶尺寸大小對熱發電元件的輸出比較 39 5.2.3單位面積內熱電偶數量和尺寸對熱發電元件的輸出比較 41 5.2.4熱發電元件實際輸出和模擬輸出的比較討論 42 5.3 熱發電元件的撓度測試 46 5.4 AC-DC升壓整能電路設計和製作 47 第六章 結論和未來展望 53 6.1結論 53 6.2未來展望 54 參考文獻 5

Suppression and creation of chaos in a periodically forced Lorenz system.

Periodic forcing is introduced into the Lorenz model to study the effects of time-dependent forcing on the behavior of the system. Such a nonautonomous system stays dissipative and has a bounded attracting set which all trajectories finally enter. The possible kinds of attracting sets are restricted to periodic orbits and strange attractors. A large-scale survey of parameter space shows that periodic forcing has mainly three effects in the Lorenz system depending on the forcing frequency: (i) Fixed points are replaced by oscillations around them; (ii) resonant periodic orbits are created both in the stable and the chaotic region; (iii) chaos is created in the stable region near the resonance frequency and in periodic windows. A comparison to other studies shows that part of this behavior has been observed in simulations of higher truncations and real world experiments. Since very small modulations can already have a considerable effect, this suggests that periodic processes such as annual or diurnal cycles should not be omitted even in simple climate models

雙官能配位基與第四族過渡金屬鍵結錯化合物之合成､鑑定及結構探討

本研究主要可分為兩個主題：一、雙官能配位基鍵結同核金屬錯化合物。利用(1R, 2S,3R)-3-mercapto-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo [2,2,1] heptan-2-ol 上的氧原子 與硫原子的配位能力，與第四族過渡金屬鈦和鋯所形成單核或雙核之錯化合物。二 、雙官能配位基鍵結異核金屬錯化合物。利用羧酸環戊二烯基架橋第四族過渡金屬 鈦、鋯與晚期過渡金屬鐵所形成雙核、參核或多核之錯化合物。 具旋光性樟瑙衍生物 (1R,2S,3R)-3-mercapto-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo [2,2,1] heptan-2-ol 與相同莫耳比例之第四族metallocene 錯化合物反應得到產物CpM (OCHS) (Cp=cyclopentadienyl; M=Ti(1)或Zr(2); OCHS=(1R,2S,3R)-3- thiolate-1,7,7-trimethylbicyclo [2,2,1] heptan-2-oxo) 。在CDCl溶液中， 錯化合物３呈現單核結構與雙核結構間的平衡狀態。錯化合物２極易水解為以氧原 子為架橋、具空氣穩定性之錯化合物 [(μ-O)(μ-OCHS)(CpZr)] (3)。錯 化合物３以X-ray 單晶繞射得證實其結構。 早晚期過渡金屬錯化合物之合成，則以ferrocene之衍生物Fe(η-CHCOOH) 為起始物，與CpM(CH)(Cp=cyclopentadienyl; M=Ti 或Zr) 或 CpZr( CH)(Cp=pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) 反應而得。當２莫耳比例之Cp'M (CH)與之反應生成Fe(η-CHCO (CH)MCp'], (Cp'=Cp 或 Cp; M=Ti或Zr) ，這些化合物經H NMR, C NMR 及IR 光譜數據得以證實。而以相同 莫耳當量之Fe(η-CHCOOH與 CpZr(CH) 反應的情況下，生成了橘 色產物，由H NMR, C NMR 及IR 光譜無法定出其結構，但推測可能為一多核錯 化合物，當待X-ray 單晶繞射之解析

Rainfall and Temperature as Environmental Factors Impacting Beach Water Quality in Coastal Georgia

Presentation given at the Georgia Southern University Research Symposium