Mesenchymal stem cells differentiate into hepatocyte-like cells under different induction systems in hepatitis B patients with liver failure

This study aimed to investigate and compare induced differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells from hepatitis B (HB) patients with liver failure into hepatocytes-like cells with different induction systems in vitro. The differentiation of MSCs from HB patients with liver failure was induced in vitro into hepatocytes-like cells by three cell culture media (serum-free medium (group 1), auto serum-containing medium (group 2) and medium supplemented with fetal bovine serum (FBS) (group 3)). Cell morphology,cell growth curve, amount of urea and glycogen and mRNA expressions of ALB, CK18 and AFP were detected and compared. Morphological changes in group 1 and 2 were more evident than that in group 3 and cell growth in group 3 was faster than the other two groups. The amount of urea and glycogen in group 1 and 2 was significantly elevated when compared with that in group 3 after 6 days of culture. RT-PCR analysis indicated the mRNA expressions of ALB, CK18 and AFP in group 1 and 2 were markedly increased as compared to that in group 3. The differentiation of MSCs from HB patients with liver failure into hepatocytes-like cells can be induced by three different cell culture media and the inductive effects were more profound in cells grown in the serum-free medium and auto serum-containing medium.Key words: Liver failure, mesenchymal stem cells, hepatogenic differentiation, in vitro

Exploring the Impact of Galaxy Interactions over Seven Billion Years with CAS

We explore galaxy assembly over the last seven billion years by characterizing "normal" galaxies along the Hubble sequence, against strongly disturbed merging/interacting galaxies with the widely used CAS system of concentration (C), asymmetry (A), and 'clumpiness' (S) parameters, as well as visual classification. We analyze Hubble Space Telescope (HST) ACS images of ~4000 intermediate and high mass (> 10^9 solar masses) galaxies from the GEMS survey, one of the largest HST surveys conducted to date in two filters. We explore the effectiveness of the CAS criteria [A>S and A>~0.35] in separating normal and strongly disturbed galaxies at different redshifts, and quantify the recovery and contamination rate. We also compare the average star formation rate and the cosmic star formation rate density as a function of redshift between normal and interacting systems identified by CAS.Comment: ASP conference proceedings of 2007 Bash Symposium. Latex with asp2006.sty. 4 pages, 4 figure

Coexistence of Itinerant Electrons and Local Moments in Iron-Based Superconductors

In view of the recent experimental facts in the iron-pnictides, we make a proposal that the itinerant electrons and local moments are simultaneously present in such multiband materials. We study a minimal model composed of coupled itinerant electrons and local moments to illustrate how a consistent explanation of the experimental measurements can be obtained in the leading order approximation. In this mean-field approach, the spin-density-wave (SDW) order and superconducting pairing of the itinerant electrons are not directly driven by the Fermi surface nesting, but are mainly induced by their coupling to the local moments. The presence of the local moments as independent degrees of freedom naturally provides strong pairing strength for superconductivity and also explains the normal-state linear-temperature magnetic susceptibility above the SDW transition temperature. We show that this simple model is supported by various anomalous magnetic properties and isotope effect which are in quantitative agreement with experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; an expanded versio

Fast thermal relaxation in cavity-coupled graphene bolometers with a Johnson noise read-out

Since the invention of the bolometer, its main design principles relied on efficient light absorption into a low-heat-capacity material and its exceptional thermal isolation from the environment. While the reduced thermal coupling to its surroundings allows for an enhanced thermal response, it in turn strongly reduces the thermal time constant and dramatically lowers the detector's bandwidth. With its unique combination of a record small electronic heat capacity and a weak electron-phonon coupling, graphene has emerged as an extreme bolometric medium that allows for both, high sensitivity and high bandwidths. Here, we introduce a hot-electron bolometer based on a novel Johnson noise readout of the electron gas in graphene, which is critically coupled to incident radiation through a photonic nanocavity. This proof-of-concept operates in the telecom spectrum, achieves an enhanced bolometric response at charge neutrality with a noise equivalent power NEP < 5pW/ Sqrt(Hz), a thermal relaxation time of {\tau} < 34ps, an improved light absorption by a factor ~3, and an operation temperature up to T=300K

Boron Nitride Monolayer: A Strain-Tunable Nanosensor

The influence of triaxial in-plane strain on the electronic properties of a hexagonal boron-nitride sheet is investigated using density functional theory. Different from graphene, the triaxial strain localizes the molecular orbitals of the boron-nitride flake in its center depending on the direction of the applied strain. The proposed technique for localizing the molecular orbitals that are close to the Fermi level in the center of boron nitride flakes can be used to actualize engineered nanosensors, for instance, to selectively detect gas molecules. We show that the central part of the strained flake adsorbs polar molecules more strongly as compared with an unstrained sheet.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Contribution of the cyclic nucleotide gated channel subunit, CNG-3, to olfactory plasticity in Caenorhabditis elegans.

In Caenorhabditis elegans, the AWC neurons are thought to deploy a cGMP signaling cascade in the detection of and response to AWC sensed odors. Prolonged exposure to an AWC sensed odor in the absence of food leads to reversible decreases in the animal's attraction to that odor. This adaptation exhibits two stages referred to as short-term and long-term adaptation. Previously, the protein kinase G (PKG), EGL-4/PKG-1, was shown necessary for both stages of adaptation and phosphorylation of its target, the beta-type cyclic nucleotide gated (CNG) channel subunit, TAX-2, was implicated in the short term stage. Here we uncover a novel role for the CNG channel subunit, CNG-3, in short term adaptation. We demonstrate that CNG-3 is required in the AWC for adaptation to short (thirty minute) exposures of odor, and contains a candidate PKG phosphorylation site required to tune odor sensitivity. We also provide in vivo data suggesting that CNG-3 forms a complex with both TAX-2 and TAX-4 CNG channel subunits in AWC. Finally, we examine the physiology of different CNG channel subunit combinations

PDZK1 inhibits the development and progression of renal cell carcinoma by suppression of SHP-1 phosphorylation

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most aggressive urologic cancers, however, the mechanism on supporting RCC carcinogenesis is still not clear. By using gene expression profile analysis and functional clustering, PDZ domain-containing 1 (PDZK1) was revealed to be downregulated in human clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) samples, which was also verified in several independent public ccRCC data sets. Using PDZK1 overexpression and knockdown models in ccRCC cell lines, we demonstrated that PDZK1 inhibited cell proliferation, cell cycle G1/S phase transition, cell migration and invasion, indicating a tumor-suppressor role in the development and progression of ccRCC. Our study further demonstrated that PDZK1 inhibited cell proliferation and migration of ccRCC via targeting SHP-1. PDZK1 was further identified to suppress cell proliferation by blocking SHP-1 phosphorylation at Tyr536 via inhibition of the association between SHP-1 and PLCβ3, and then retarding Akt phosphorylation and promoting STAT5 phosphorylation in ccRCC cells. Moreover, the inhibitive effects of PDZK1 on SHP-1 phosphorylation and the tumor growth were verified in vivo by xenograft tumor studies. Accordingly, PDZK1 expression was negatively correlated with SHP-1 activation and phosphorylation, advanced pathologic stage, tumor weight and size, and prognosis of ccRCC patients. These findings have provided first lines of evidences that PDZK1 expression is negatively correlated with SHP-1 activation and poor clinical outcomes in ccRCC. PDZK1 was identified as a novel tumor suppressor in ccRCC by negating SHP-1 activity