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ABSTRACT Taiwanofungus camphoratus mushrooms are a complementary and alternative medicine for hangovers, cancer, hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and inflammation. Though Taiwanofungus camphoratus has attracted considerable biotechnological and pharmacological attention, neither classical genetic nor genomic approaches have been properly established for it. We isolated four sexually competent monokaryons from two T. camphoratus dikaryons used for the commercial cultivation of orange-red (HC1) and milky-white (SN1) mushrooms, respectively. We also sequenced, annotated, and comparatively analyzed high-quality and chromosome-level genome sequences of these four monokaryons. These genomic resources represent a valuable basis for understanding the biology, evolution, and secondary metabolite biosynthesis of this economically important mushrooms. We demonstrate that T. camphoratus has a tetrapolar mating system and that HC1 and SN1 represent two intraspecies isolates displaying karyotypic variation. Compared with several edible mushroom model organisms, T. camphoratus underwent a significant contraction in the gene family and individual gene numbers, most notably for plant, fungal, and bacterial cell-wall-degrading enzymes, explaining why T. camphoratus mushrooms are rare in natural environments, are difficult and time-consuming to artificially cultivate, and are susceptible to fungal and bacterial infections. Our results lay the foundation for an in-depth T. camphoratus study, including precise genetic manipulation, improvements to mushroom fruiting, and synthetic biology applications for producing natural medicinal products. IMPORTANCE Taiwanofungus camphoratus (Tc) is a basidiomycete fungus that causes brown heart rot of the aromatic tree Cinnamomum kanehirae. The Tc fruiting bodies have been used to treat hangovers, abdominal pain, diarrhea, hypertension, and other diseases first by aboriginal Taiwanese and later by people in many countries. To establish classical genetic and genomic approaches for this economically important medicinal mushroom, we first isolated and characterized four sexually competent monokaryons from two dikaryons wildly used for commercial production of Tc mushrooms. We applied PacBio single molecule, real-time sequencing technology to determine the near-completed genome sequences of four monokaryons. These telomere-to-telomere and gapless haploid genome sequences reveal all genomic variants needed to be studied and discovered, including centromeres, telomeres, retrotransposons, mating type loci, biosynthetic, and metabolic gene clusters. Substantial interspecies diversities are also discovered between Tc and several other mushroom model organisms, including Agrocybe aegerita, Coprinopsis cinerea, and Schizophyllum commune, and Ganoderma lucidum.

This paper reports the experimentally measured thermal and electrical conductivities from which the Lorenz numbers as functions of temperature were derived for the solids and melts of elemental Te and samples of Hg1−xCdxTe of x = 0, 0.1, and 0.2. The structural changes in the vicinity of the solid–liquid phase transition of elemental Te and various Hg1−xCdxTe solid solutions were assessed by closely examining these experimental properties and the derived Lorenz numbers. The values of Lorenz numbers for the solids of these samples were higher than the value of L0, i.e., the Lorenz number for the free-electron gas derived by Sommerfeld [Naturwissenschaften 15, 825 (1927)], implying the characteristics of a non-degenerate semiconductor. With the increasing value of x, or the larger bandgap, the materials become more non-degenerate with larger deviation from L0. As the solids started to melt, the measured values of the Lorenz number for all samples started to decrease and eventually reached and maintained at values close to L0 at higher temperatures. The trend of the Lorenz number indicates the transition from a non-degenerate semiconductor of the solid samples to a metal or degenerate semiconductor when the temperatures of the samples reached above their liquidus temperatures.

Chromium- and cobalt-doped zinc selenide nanoparticles were synthesized using a low-temperature reactive solution growth method. The morphological and optical characteristics were compared to those of doped zinc selenide (ZnSe) bulk crystals grown by the physical vapor transport (PVT) method. We observed agglomeration of particles; however, the thioglycerol capping agent has been shown to limit particle grain growth and agglomeration. This process enables doping by addition of chromium and cobalt salts in the solution. A slightly longer refluxing time was required to achieve cobalt doping as compared with chromium doping due to lower refluxing temperature. The nanoparticle growth process showed an average particle size of approximately 300 nm for both Cr- and Co-doped zinc selenide. The optical characterization of Co:ZnSe is ongoing; however, preliminary results showed a very high bandgap compared to that of pure ZnSe bulk crystal. Additionally, Co:ZnSe has an order of magnitude higher fluorescence intensity compared to bulk Cr:ZnSe samples.

Background: Candida albicans, a common fungal pathogen that can cause opportunistic infections, is regarded as an apparently asexual, diploid fungus. A parasexual cycle was previously found between homozygotes with opposite mating type-like loci (MTLa/α). Fluconazole-resistant strains had a higher proportion of MTL homozygotes, whereas MTL homozygous C. albicans was found in only about 3.2% of clinical strains. MTL heterozygotes had a low frequency (1.4 Ã 10â4) of whiteâopaque switching to MTL homozygotes in nature. Methods: Here, a reference C. albicans strain (SC5314) was used in a fluconazole-induced assay to obtain standard opaque MTL homozygous strains and first-generation daughter strains from the fluconazole inhibition zone. Further separation methods were employed to produce second- and third-generation daughter strains. Polymerase chain reaction analysis based on MTL genes was used to define MTL genotypes, and microscopic observations, a flow-cytometric assay, and an antifungal E-test were used to compare microbiological characteristics. Results: MTL homozygotes were found at a high frequency (17 of 35; 48.6%) in fluconazole-induced first-generation daughter strains, as were morphological polymorphisms, decreased DNA content, and modified antifungal drug susceptibility. High-frequency MTL homozygosity was identified inside the fluconazole inhibition zone within 24 hours. The DNA content of fluconazole-induced daughter strains was reduced compared with their progenitor SC5314 and standard MTL homozygous strains. Conclusion: Treatment with fluconazole, commonly used to treat invasive candidiasis, inhibited the growth of C. albicans and altered its microbiological characteristics. Our results suggest that fluconazole treatment induces the high frequency of loss of heterozygosity and microbiological polymorphism in C. albicans. Keywords: Candida albicans, fluconazole, loss of heterozygosity, mating type-like gene

The effect of sulfur, iron, and chromium doping on the electrical characteristics of ZnSe single crystals was studied. The crystals, grown by the physical vapor transport method (PVT) at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, were characterized by measuring electrical resistivity, capacitance, and dielectric constant using LCR meter. The morphology was studied by scanning electron microscopy to determine the crystallinity and micro defects. The measured resistivity and dielectric constant showed tunability as the function of frequency in the range of 100 Hz to 100,000 Hz, indicating the suitability of doped material for tuning devices. Besides, for the range from 50 mV to 1000mV, there was no difference in values for the studied frequency range, indicating no degradation or breakdown in the material. All doped ZnSe crystals with sulfur, iron, and chromium showed a similar trend as the function of frequency. Cr-ZnSe showed very high resistivity and lower dielectric constant compared to S-ZnSe and Fe-ZnSe crystals.

Candida albicans (C. albicans) is an opportunistic human pathogen responsible for approximately a half of clinical candidemia. The emerging Candida spp. with resistance to azoles is a major challenge in clinic, suggesting an urgent demand for new drugs and therapeutic strategies. Alpha–enolase (Eno1) is a multifunctional protein and represents an important marker for invasive candidiasis. Thus, C. albicans Eno1 (CaEno1) is believed to be an important target for the development of therapeutic agents and antibody drugs. Recombinant CaEno1 (rCaEno1) was first used to immunize chickens. Subsequently, we used phage display technology to construct two single chain variable fragment (scFv) antibody libraries. A novel biopanning procedure was carried out to screen anti-rCaEno1 scFv antibodies, whose specificities were further characterized. The polyclonal IgY antibodies showed binding to rCaEno1 and native CaEno1. A dominant scFv (CaS1) and its properties were further characterized. CaS1 attenuated the growth of C. albicans and inhibited the binding of CaEno1 to plasminogen. Animal studies showed that CaS1 prolonged the survival rate of mice and zebrafish with candidiasis. The fungal burden in kidney and spleen, as well as level of inflammatory cytokines were significantly reduced in CaS1-treated mice. These results suggest CaS1 has potential of being immunotherapeutic drug against C. albicans infections.

The thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of a vapor-grown CdTe and two melt-grown Cd0.8Zn0.2Te crystals, including In-doped CZT-30 and un-doped CZT-34 samples, were measured from room temperature to 780oC. The measured thermal conductivity of CdTe was higher than the two CdZnTe samples in the low temperature range and the three sets of data merged together at temperature above 750oC. The measured electrical conductivities of CdTe and CZT-30 were close to be intrinsic from 190oC to 780oC. The CZT-34 sample showed higher electrical conductivity value at 290oC and merged with the data of CZT-30 at temperatures above 650oC. The measured Seebeck coefficients for all three samples showed high positive values, between 0.9 and 1.1mV/K, in the intermediate temperature range between 350 and 550oC and, as temperature increased, decreased slowly and converted to n-type. The Figure of Merit for the thermoelectric application, zT, calculated for the three samples were orders of magnitude lower than the state-of-the-art p-type thermoelectric materials mainly due to the low values of the electrical conductivity. A rough estimate was made on the hole concentration needed to improve the value of zT for CdTe to 1.0 at 500oC. A simple interpolation and extrapolation of the present data gives the value of zT for the n-type intrinsic CdTe to be 1.2±0.4 at 1050oC.

A mycelial mattress of Rhizopus stolonifer obtained from a liquid static culture was utilized for wound dressing and biomedical use. Following screening of mutants induced by UV radiation, F6, exhibiting delayed sporangium formation was selected because its sporangium maturation exhibited a 5-day delay without significant loss of mycelial weight compared to the wild type. The sporangium-free mycelial mattress from the sporangiospore culture of F6 was treated with 1N sodium hydroxide NaOH at 85°C for 2 h to produce a sponge-like membrane named Rhizochitin. The trifluoroacetic acid hydrolysate of Rhizochitin contained 36% N-acetylglucosamine and 53% hexose respectively detected by the Elson-Morgen and phenol-sulfuric acid methods. Results indicated the wound area in rats covered with Rhizochitin was 40% less than that of the uncovered group. Rhizochitin decreased the expression of PDGF in the proliferation stage, increased the expression of TGF-β in the inflammation and proliferation stages, and increased the expression of VEGF in the inflammation and proliferation stages. Rhizochitin inhibited secretion of matrix metalloproteinase-9 on days 1, 7, 9, and 12 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 on days 3, 7, 9, and 12. It was concluded that Rhizochitin has beneficial properties of biocompatible, biodegradable, and wound healing.

BACKGROUND: Growth arrest-specific gene 7 (Gas7) has previously been shown to be involved in neurite outgrowth in vitro; however, its actual role has yet to be determined. To investigate the physiological function of Gas7 in vivo, here we generated a Gas7-deficient mouse strain with a labile Gas7 mutant protein whose functions are similar to wild-type Gas7. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Our data show that aged Gas7-deficient mice have motor activity defects due to decreases in the number of spinal motor neurons and in muscle strength, of which the latter may be caused by changes in muscle fiber composition as shown in the soleus. In cross sections of the soleus of Gas7-deficient mice, gross morphological features and levels of myosin heavy chain I (MHC I) and MHC II markers revealed significantly fewer fast fibers. In addition, we found that nerve terminal sprouting, which may be associated with slow and fast muscle fiber composition, was considerably reduced at neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) during aging. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings indicate that Gas7 is involved in motor neuron function associated with muscle strength maintenance.

Abstract Hydroxyapatites have been investigated since past six decades as laser host materials. Because of their important roles in bone and teeth, these have been subjects of recent investigations. Gallium and titanium have great potential for decreasing the depletion of calcium and reducing osteoporosis. The electrical properties and polarity play important roles in regeneration of the bones. We observed growth of grains in selenium‐doped gallium and titanium containing silicate hydroxyapatites. Observed morphology showed non‐facetted microstructures and it helped in achieving larger grains. For the material processed for the period of longer than 70 h, we did not observe any difference in the dielectric constant and resistivity of the selenium‐doped materials. For irradiating the materials, a Cs‐137 γ‐radiation with 5 µm curie dose was used up to 100 h. We observed that the dielectric constant and resistivity at different frequencies ranging from 100 to 100 000 Hz were affected by the high energy radiation. However, bias voltage in the range of 50–1 000 mV did no alter the dielectric constant or resistivity. This indicated that the breakdown of the material did not occur for this bias range.

Optical transmission measurements were performed on CdTe bulk single crystals. It was found that when sliced and polished CdTe wafers were used, a white film started to develop on the sample surface and the wafer became opaque when it was heated above 530 K. Therefore, a bulk crystal of CdTe was first grown in the window area by physical vapor transport. The optical transmission was then measured between 304 and 1067 K and from which the energy band gap was derived. The band gaps of CdTe can fit well as a function of temperature by the Varshni expression. Using the band gap data, the high temperature electron-hole equilibrium was numerically calculated by assuming Kane’s conduction band structure and a light-hole and a heavy-hole parabolic valence bands. The calculated intrinsic carrier concentrations agree well with the experimental data previously reported. The calculated intrinsic Fermi levels between 200 and 1200 K were also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kidney stone issues in humans have doubled since the early seventies. A variety of morphologies have been observed during stone removal from the kidney. The formation of these morphologies depends on various factors such as pH, temperature, impurities and composition of the nutrients remaining in the kidney after filtration. Growth kinetics, rate and morphology of stones depend strongly on the local concentration of insoluble species and nucleation surface in the kidney. In this paper, we have investigated the effect of pH, sugar (C6H12O6) and magnesium as an excess impurity on the kidney stone growth. At lower pH of the solution fat prism crystals are observed. Whereas at higher pH (>7), long fat needle crystals with large aspect ratio (length to width) are observed. The coarsening experiments showed further growth in different shapes. The impurity enhanced the colorization. The re-melting experiments were performed to understand the dissolution process of stones, revealing that during dissolution the joining material breaks first leaving the large faceted crystals undissolved. In addition, it was also found that the effect of excess sugar caused significant variations in the morphology and produced brown colored stones. Crystals containing sugar also retained significantly higher quantities of potassium compared to undoped stones. Finally, the effect of additional impurities e.g. magnesium on stone formation and morphology were studied demonstrating the ability to produce mushroom and cauliflower type morphologies. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that characteristics of stones with sugar were very different, with dehydration of stones taking continuously as function of temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lead selenide (PbSe) has been studied as a promising material for room temperature midwave infrared detection. We have investigated pure PbSe, as well as tin (Tn) and cadmium (Cd)-doped PbSe, nanocrystalline materials produced using physical vapor transport methods on glass and high-resistivity silicon substrates. The morphologies were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis. Pure PbSe layers consisted of nanocrystals that change into cubes and cuboids upon annealing. Cuboids generally grew in [100] orientation and ultimately developed in nanorods. Growth on silicon and glass substrates showed different morphologies of pure PbSe material. Parabolic and elongated morphologies resulted in nanowires on the top of thin layers of PbSe nanofilm, which acted as the substrate. Under low gradient annealing conditions (<20 K/cm), elongated morphologies grew into nanorods. Annealing of these samples resulted in coarse nanomorphologies with higher resistivity. In the case of Tn-doped PbSe, annealing dissolved a Tn-rich phase observed in as-grown films. Cd- and iodine-doped films produced through the addition of Cd selenide and Cd iodide, respectively, showed higher resistivity than similarly treated pure PbSe films. Annealing of as-grown materials in the presence of oxygen or iodine showed increased resistivity and significant changes in optical characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taiwanofungus camphoratus (synonym Antrodia camphorata) is a widely used medicinal fungus in the folk medicine of Taiwan with several pharmacological features such as anti-inflammatory, liver protection, antihypertensive, and antioxidative activities. The ethanolic extract of T. camphoratus (TCEE) which contains abundant bioactive compounds including triterpenoids and polysaccharides also has antitumor effects in various human cancer cell lines. The aims of this study are to clarify the antitumor effects of TCEE on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells and also evaluate the combination drug effects with conventional chemotherapy agents, cisplatin and doxorubicin. In the present study, the TCEE treatment induced cell cycle arrest and suppressed cell growth on both Hep3B and HepJ5 cells. Expression of cell cycle inhibitors, P21 and P27, and activation of apoptosis executer enzyme, caspase-3, were also induced by TCEE. In combination with the chemotherapy agents, TCEE treatment further enhanced the tumor suppression efficiency of cisplatin and doxorubicin. These results together suggested that TCEE is a potential ingredient for developing an integrated chemotherapy for human liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of a vaporgrown CdTe and two melt-grown Cd0.8Zn0.2Te crystals, including In-doped CZT-30 and un-doped CZT-34 samples, were measured from room temperature to 780#176;C. The measured thermal conductivity of CdTe was higher than the two CdZnTe samples in the low temperature range and the three sets of data merged together at temperature above 750#176;C. The measured electrical conductivities of CdTe and CZT-30 were close to be intrinsic from 190#176;C to 780#176;C. The CZT-34 sample showed higher electrical conductivity value at 290#176;C and merged with the data of CZT-30 at temperatures above 650#176;C. The measured Seebeck coefficients for all three samples showed high positive values, between 0.9 and 1.1mV/K, in the intermediate temperature range between 350 and 550#176;C and, as temperature increased, decreased slowly and converted to n-type. The Figure of Merit for the thermoelectric application, zT, calculated for the three samples were orders of magnitude lower than the state-of-the-art p-type thermoelectric materials mainly due to the low values of the electrical conductivity. A rough estimate was made on the hole concentration needed to improve the value of zT for CdTe to 1.0 at 500#176;C. A simple interpolation and extrapolation of the present data gives the value of zT for the n-type intrinsic CdTe to be 1.2±0.4 at 1050#176;C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies on the association between adult asthma and dementia are few. We investigated the risk of dementia in patients diagnosed with adult asthma compared with that of people without asthma who were age and sex matched to the study patients. Methods: We used data from the National Health Insurance Research Database. A total of 12 771 patients with newly diagnosed asthma between 2001 and 2003 were evaluated and 51 084 people without asthma were used as the comparison cohort. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was used to measure the HR of dementia for the asthmatic cohort, compared with that of the non-asthmatic cohort. Results: The HR of dementia was 1.27 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15 to 1.41) for the asthmatic cohort, compared with the non-asthmatic cohort after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidities, annual outpatient department visits and medicine used. The HR of dementia development increased substantially as frequency of asthma exacerbation and hospitalisation increased. Conclusions: This nationwide cohort study suggests that the risk of dementia development is significantly increased in patients with asthma compared with that of the general population. In addition, dementia risk increases substantially with asthma exacerbation and hospitalisation frequency increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LUFFACHITIN obtained from the residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca was developed as a weavable skin substitute in this study. A chemical analysis revealed that LUFFACHITIN was composed of a copolymer containing N-acetylglucosamine (∼40%) as a major monomer with a filamentary structure as demonstrated by both optical and scanning electron microscopy. The pulp-like white residue of the sponge-like dried fruit of Luffa aegyptiaca after treatment was then woven into a thin, porous membrane by filtration and lyophilization as a skin substitute for conducting wound-healing study on rats. The results indicated that the LUFFACHITIN membrane showed significant wound-healing enhancement (25 days to complete healing) compared to cotton gauze (>30 days), but not inferior to that of SACCHACHITIN. Furthermore, the LUFFACHITIN membrane had advantages of having a high yield, better physical properties for fabrication, and a more attractive appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is emerging interest in the use of standardized virally inactivated human platelet lysate preparations rich in GFs (growth factors) for cell cultures, cell therapy and clinical applications. In the present paper, we report a simple process to prepare a virally inactivated platelet lysate preparation rich in TGF-β1 (transforming growth factor-β1), EGF (epidermal growth factor) and IGF (insulin-like growth factor) and depleted of PDGF (platelet-derived growth factor) and VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor). Apheresis platelet concentrates were treated by the S/D (solvent/detergent) viral inactivation procedure, then subjected to an oil extraction followed by adsorption with activated charcoal and finally sterile-filtered. The resulting preparation contained a mean of 368.4, 2.4 and 54.7 ng/ml of TGF-β1, EGF and IGF respectively. PDGF-AB and VEGF were essentially completely removed by the charcoal treatment. The mean albumin, IgG, IgM and IgA and fibrinogen contents were approx. 40.0, 8.5, 0.87, 1.66 and 2.65 mg/ml respectively, cholesterol and triglycerides were at 15 and 20.7 mg/ml respectively and TnBP (tri-n-butyl phosphate) and Triton X-45 were at 8.7 and 8.8 p.p.m. respectively. Supplementing MEM (minimum essential medium) with 1–10% of this S/D-treated platelet lysate promoted the proliferation of MG63 and SIRC cell lines as well as, or better than, 10% (v/v) FBS (fetal bovine serum), as based on the MTS [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium] assay. The process used to prepare such S/D-treated platelet lysates is easily scalable for industrial production. Our results open up the possibility to evaluate the potential of this new preparation for stem cell expansion and/or bone tissue engineering and regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asthma is a chronic disease characterized by airway inflammation caused by the dysregulated production of cytokines secreted by allergen-specific type 2 T helper (Th2) cells. Antrodia camphorata is a commonly used fungus in Asian folk medicine, and A. camphorata polysaccharides are reported to possess anti-cancer activities. In this study, the immunomodulatory effects of purified fractionated polysaccharides (GF2) from A. camphorata on dendritic cells (DCs) and their potential preventive effects against ovalbumin (OVA) -induced asthma were investigated. In the presence of GF2, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) -activated DCs exhibited up-regulated expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II and co-stimulatory molecules, as well as enhanced interleukin-10 (IL-10) and IL-12 production. GF2 treatment on LPS-activated DCs suppressed naïve CD4+ T-cell proliferation and Th2 cell polarization with IL-10 production in an allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction. In animal experiments, a high dose of GF2 efficiently reduced expression levels of OVA-specific immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) and IgE. However, lower doses of GF2 significantly enhanced OVA-specific IgG2a production. Our data also showed that administration of GF2 dose-dependently inhibited the development of airway hyperresponsiveness, airway eosinophilia and Th2 responses. OVA-specific CD4+ T cells from higher doses of GF2-treated mice had significantly lower proliferative capacities compared with control mice. Moreover, treatment with GF2 significantly increased the high levels of IL-10 and low levels of interferon-γ produced by T cells. Taken together, these data indicate that administration of A. camphorata polysaccharides (GF2) may have therapeutic potential when used as an adjuvant for the immunomodulatory treatment of allergic asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study that evaluates the possibility that Taiwanofungus camphoratus (T. Camphoratus), a well-known Chinese medicine, can activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR γ) in vitro and hypolipidemic activity in vivo. It uses an extract of the wild fruiting body (WFT) and solid-state culture (SSS) of T. camphoratus to evaluate the activation of PPAR and hypolipidemic effect on rats, which are fed on a high-cholesterol diet.

Microbial control plays an important role in the clinical efficacy of dental practice. The purpose of this study was to develop a long-lasting antibacterial guided-tissue regeneration (GTR) barrier containing the non-shellfish chitosan from the fruiting body residue of Ganoderma tsugae. The powder of ground up G. tsugae fruiting body residue was processed to prepare the chitosan. The molecular weight, degree of deacetylation (DD), and yield of these non-shellfish chitosan derivatives were characterized. This material was also combined with other biomaterials to prepare polylactic acid (PLA)IChitosanl amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) GTR barrier films for periodontal applications. By washing with deionized water, these GTR films were coagulated from the lactic acid solution. The film morphology was investigated using scanning electron microscopy, and the antibacterial function was also evaluated. The yields and DDs of the sacchachitin and chitosan were 39% ± 1% and 1% ± 0.2%, and 25% ± 2% and 68% ± 2%, respectively. Tests for chitosan against Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans showed that the antibacterial ability of the GTR barrier films, containing 2.08 wt% of the resultant chitosan, was 2.25 times higher, compared to 5 wt% doxycycline after the 8th day. The GTR barrier film maintained 56.58% of its antibacterial ability after the 18th day. We concluded that sacchachitin and chitosan from G. tsugae fruiting body residues possess excellent, long-lasting antibacterial function for potential dental applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article studies the extraction of wild and solid-state cultures of Taiwanofungus camphoratus with cold water, methanol and hot water to get cold-water-soluble, methanol-soluble and hot-water-soluble extracts. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitory activities were exhibited only by the methanol-soluble extract.

Human intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration often initiated from the human nucleus pulposus (hNP) with aging leading to IVD destruction and extracellular matrix (ECM) depletion. Previously, we have successfully employed transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) to promote chondrogenesis of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) and immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells. In this study, we examine the role of TGF-β1 in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on disc regeneration, including proliferation, redifferentiation, and the reconstitution of tissue-engineered NP. hNP cells were isolated from volunteers with different ages and cultured in the presence of PRP. We found that the most effective concentration for hNP proliferation was 1 ng/ml TGF-β1 in PRP, which was further applied in the following experiments. hNP cell proliferation in all age groups were increased time-dependently by PRP and cell morphologies showed aggregation. The mRNA of Sox9, type II collagen, and aggrecan were all significantly upregulated by PRP through RT-PCR. Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation reached the highest value at day 7 and continued to day 9 culture. PRP promoted NP regeneration via the Smad pathway was also determined and highly activated p-Smad2/3 at 30 min and continuously sustained to 120 min. Immunostaining of type II collagen indicates that PRP participates in chondrogenesis of tissue-engineered NP with collagen scaffolds. We concluded that growth factors in PRP can effectively react as a growth factor cocktail to induce hNP proliferation and differentiation, and also promote tissue-engineered NP formation. These findings are the first to demonstrate that PRP might be a therapeutic candidate for prevention of disc degeneration. J. Cell. Physiol. 209: 744–754, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rotating cup measurements of the viscosity of the pseudo-binary melt, HgZnTe have shown that the isothermal liquid with ZnTe mole fraction 0.16 requires tens of hours of equilibration time before a steady viscous state can be achieved. Over this relaxation period, the viscosity at 790°C increases by a factor of two, while the viscosity at 810°C increases by 40%. Noting that the Group VI elements tend to polymerize when molten, we suggest that the viscosity of the melt is enhanced by the slow formation of Te atom chains. To explain the build-up of linear Te n -mers, we propose a scheme, which contains formation reactions with second-order kinetics that increase the molecular weight, and decomposition reactions with first-order kinetics that inactivate the chains. The resulting rate equations can be solved for the time dependence of each molecular weight fraction. Using these molecular weight fractions, we calculate the time dependence of the average molecular weight. Using the standard semi-empirical relation between polymer average molecular weight and viscosity, we then calculate the viscosity relaxation curve. By curve fitting, we find that the data imply that the rate constant for n -mer formation is much smaller than the rate constant for n -mer deactivation, suggesting that Te atoms only weakly polymerize in molten HgZnTe. The steady-state toward which the melt relaxes occurs as the rate of formation of an n -mer becomes exactly balanced by the sum of the rate for its deactivation and the rate for its polymerization to form an ( n + 1)-mer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context • Taiwanofungus camphoratus is a parasitic mushroom found in the heartwood of Cinnamomum kanehirai and is used as a nutritional supplement. It has an anticancer action, both alone and synergistically with amphotericin B (AmB). Objective • The study intended to assess the efficacy of a T camphoratus ethanol extract (TCEE) combined with AmB for patients with metastatic cancer whose cancer did not respond to multiline chemotherapy or who were unwilling to receive chemotherapy. Design • The research team performed a retrospective analysis as a pilot study. Setting • The study took place at a single hospital (Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan). Participants • Participants were 9 patients at the hospital who were terminally ill with metastatic cancer. Interventions • The participants had received daily doses of 2-3 g of the TCEE in combination with a weekly dose of 20-25 mg of AmB in 500 cc of 5% glucose water, given intravenously in 4-6 h. Outcome Measures • Outcome measures included (1) a primary evaluation index measuring the efficacy of the treatment; (2) a measure of tumor burden that was estimated using the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors (RECIST 1.1), (3) a secondary evaluation index measuring survival duration, and (4) safety. Results • The mean treatment time was 54.4 ± 18.3 wk. At the end of the study, 2 patients showed a continued complete response, 1 patient had a continued partial response, and 1 patient showed a stable disease. The other 5 participants had times to progression ranging from 24 to 48 wk, with a mean of 35.6 wk. The mean survival time was 57.8 ± 18.5 wk, and 5 patients were still alive at the end of the study. Conclusions • For patients whose metastatic cancer did not respond to multiline chemotherapy or who were unwilling to receive chemotherapy, the use of TCEE as an adjuvant therapy to AmB resulted in tumor suppression and a delay in time to disease progression. The preliminary results reported here can be used to guide a future, more extensive clinical study of the combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]