Search

Conventional quantum dots have great potential in cancer-related imaging and diagnostic applications; however, these applications are limited by concerns about the inherent toxicity of their core materials (e.g., cadmium, lead). Virtually all imaging applications require conjugation of the imaging agent to a biologically active molecule to achieve selective uptake or binding. Here, we report a study of biocompatible silicon quantum dots covalently attached to biomolecules including lysine, folate, antimesothelin, and transferrin. The particles possess desirable physical properties, surface chemistry, and optical properties. Folate- and antimesothelin-conjugated silicon quantum dots show selective uptake into Panc-1 cells. This study contributes to the preclinical evaluation of silicon quantum dots and further demonstrates their potential as an imaging agent for cancer applications.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of peer evaluation in a performance-based, Web-enhanced undergraduate instructional technology course. The results of a survey administered at the end of three semesters indicated that learners believe the peer evaluation process helped them improve the quality of their own work, both as a result of being a peer evaluator themselves and from the quality of the feedback received from their classmate-evaluators. Higher quality final projects with fewer mistakes corroborated the students’ assessment. These findings provide valuable information for instructors who are currently utilizing or considering the implementation of a peer evaluation process as a part of their instructional strategy. The results of this study indicate that including peer evaluation in the final project enhanced student performance. Significant technology integration was used to facilitate the projects.

To optimize ethidium monoazide (EMA) coupled with real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) and to evaluate its environmental applicability on quantifying viable legionellae in water and biofilm of cooling towers and hot water systems.EMA (0.9-45.5 microg ml(-1)) and propidium monoazide (PMA, 0.9 and 2.3 microg ml(-1)) combined with qPCR (i.e. EMA-qPCR and PMA-qPCR, respectively) were applied to unheated and heated (70 degrees C for 30 min) Legionella pneumophila to quantify viable cells, which was also simultaneously determined by BacLight Bacterial Viability kit with epifluorogenic microscopic enumeration (BacLight-EM). The effects of nontarget microflora and sample matrix on the performance of EMA-qPCR were also evaluated. In comparison with BacLight-EM results, qPCR with EMA at 2.3 microg ml(-1) was determined as the optimal EMA-qPCR assay, which performed equally well as PMA-qPCR for unheated Leg. pneumophila but better than PMA-qPCR for heated Leg. pneumophila (P0.05). Moreover, qPCR with EMA at 2.3 microg ml(-1) accurately quantified viable Leg. pneumophila, Legionella anisa and Legionella-like amoebal pathogens 6 (LLAP 6) without interferences by heated legionellae, unheated nonlegionellae cells and cooling tower water matrix (P0.05). As for water and biofilm samples collected from cooling towers and hot water systems, the viable legionellae counts determined by EMA-qPCR were mostly greater than the culturable counts by culture assay but consistently lower than the total cell counts quantified by qPCR.The qPCR with EMA at 2.3 microg ml(-1) may accurately quantify viable legionellae (including fastidious LLAP 6) and Leg. pneumophila pretreated with superheating and is applicable for water and biofilm samples obtained from cooling towers and hot water systems.The EMA-qPCR assay may be useful in environmental surveillance for viable legionellae and in evaluation of superheating efficacy against legionellae.

The inlet sampling efficiencies of several commercial bioaerosol samplers have been calculated by use of available and newly-developed equations. Under certain sampling conditions, the bioaerosol concentration was found to be significantly over- or underestimated.

Invadolysin is a metalloprotease conserved in many different organisms, previously shown to be essential in Drosophila with roles in cell division and cell migration. The gene seems to be ubiquitously expressed and four distinct splice variants have been identified in human cells but not in most other species examined. Immunofluorescent detection of human invadolysin in cultured cells reveals the protein to be associated with the surface of lipid droplets. By means of subcellular fractionation, we have independently confirmed the association of invadolysin with lipid droplets. We thus identify invadolysin as the first metalloprotease located on these dynamic organelles. In addition, analysis of larval fat-body morphological appearance and triglyceride levels in the Drosophila invadolysin mutant suggests that invadolysin plays a role in lipid storage or metabolism.

Background/Purpose The emergence of multiple drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae is of particular concern. The aim of this study was to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility and screen for the ampC gene in three members of the Enterobacteriaceae family ( Enterobacter cloacae , Citrobacter freundii , and Serratia marcescens ) found at Taichung Veterans General Hospital during the past 5 years using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Methods The susceptibility of thirty isolates from each of the three Enterobacteriaceae family members to five antimicrobial agents (ceftazidime, flomoxef, imipenem, moxifloxacin, and colistin) was assessed. The susceptibility was analyzed by disk diffusion, screening and confirmatory tests for extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and minimum inhibitory concentration tests according to the recommendations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The detection of ampC genes (3 families, including DHA, EBC and CIT) was performed by multiplex PCR. To detect the coexistence of ESBL genes, PCR was performed using five primer pairs: TEM, SHV, SHV-5, CTX-M-3, and CTX-M-14. Results Of the 90 isolates, 53 (58.9%) were positive in the screening test for ESBL. Resistance genes were detected in 12 (22.6%) of these isolates: ampC gene of DHA type in one E. cloacae isolate and EBC type in three E. cloacae isolates; ampC gene of CIT type in four C. freundii isolates; CTX-M-3-like in one C. freundii isolate and one S. marcescens isolate; TEM in three E. cloacae isolates, three C. freundii isolates and two S. marcescens isolates; SHV in one C. freundii isolate. Conclusion Antibiotic phenotypes cannot accurately distinguish the resistance mechanisms caused by ampC or ESBL, and especially in ESBL- ampC combinations. However, PCR is a useful technique for the identification of the different types of resistance genes.

Glial cell missing Drosophila homolog a (GCMa) is an essential transcription factor for placental development, which controls the differentiation of the syncytiotrophoblast layer. Although the activity of GCMa can be post-translationally regulated by protein phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and acetylation, it is unknown whether GCMa activity can be regulated by sumoylation. In this report, we investigated the role of sumoylation in the regulation of GCMa activity. We demonstrated that Ubc9, the E2 component of the sumoylation machinery, specifically interacts with the N-terminal domain of GCMa and promotes GCMa sumoylation on lysine 156. Moreover, GCMa-mediated transcriptional activation was repressed by sumoylation but was enhanced in the presence of the SUMO-specific protease, SENP1. The repressive effect of sumoylation on GCMa transcriptional activity was attributed to decreased DNA binding activity of GCMa. Furthermore, structural analysis revealed a steric clash between the SUMO1 moiety of sumoylated GCMa and the DNA-binding surfaces of GCMa, which may destabilize the interaction between GCMa and its cognate DNA sequence. Our study demonstrates that GCMa is a new sumoylation substrate and its activity is down-regulated by sumoylation.

Rarely has childhood stroke been compared with adult stroke for incidence or cost. This population study compared the stroke incidence and the associated hospitalization care costs between children and adults in Taiwan.We used reimbursement claims data from the National Health Insurance program to identify stroke diagnoses in 1997 to 2003. The inpatient costs of both the first admission and recurrent stroke from 1979 childhood cases and 365,169 adult cases were compared by age and stroke subtype, excluding those less than 1 month of age.The mean inpatient costs were higher for patients10 and 10 to 19 years of age ($3565 per case) compared with adult cases ($1933), including both first and recurrent hospitalizations, and they were higher for the recurrent cases. Patients10 years old had the highest proportional incidence of hemorrhage events (71.4%), followed by patients in the 10- to 19-year-old group (61.4%), and the lowest for adults (21.3%). Hemorrhagic events incurred 2 to 12 times higher cost than other types of stroke.The hospitalization care costs for stroke are higher for children than for adults because of a greater proportion of hemorrhagic cases among children.

Background: Cancer-initiating cells (CICs) contribute to tumor initiation, progression and therapy resistance through critical physiology mechanisms. Redox homeostasis plays an important role in the regulation of cancer stemness. We recently have reported that cancer cells containing differential level of ROS display distinct physiological properties of stemness, proliferative activity, chemoresistance and tumorigenicity. Therefore, to uncover the regulatory physiological mechanisms by which to sustain the low lever of ROS in CICs warrants an important study for future therapy development. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that lower ROS levels in head and neck CICs (HN-CIC) enriched population are associated with increased expression of ROS scavenger such as catalase and SOD2. Pharmacological and genetic inhibition of SOD2 or catalase caused the increased expression of differentiation marker, cytokeratin 18, but the decreased expression of CIC marker in HN-CICs. In addition, the sphere formation abilities of HN-CICs under genetic inhibition of SOD2 or catalase were also significantly abolished. Notably, combinatorial treatment with ROS scavenger inhibitors and conventional anticancer drugs synergistically reduced the stemness properties and tumorigenicity both in vitro and in vivo. Using the Oncomine database, we found associations between SOD2 and catalase expression and increasing head and neck cancer recurrence, tumor invasion and resistance to Gemcitabine treatment. Conclusion: Together, these data demonstrate the importance of antioxidant defense to maintain the low ROS level, cell viability and chemosensitivity of HN-CICs. Pharmacological inhibition of ROS scavenger (SOD2 and catalase) might be a future alternative HNSCC treatment in combination with conventional chemotherapy Citation Format: Ching-Wen Chang, Jeng-Fan Lo. Targeting head and neck cancer-initiating cells with combinatorial therapeutics through pharmacological inhibition of ROS scavenger and conventional chemotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 4217. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-4217

Background: Currently, benefits of robotic surgery in patients with benign gynecological conditions remain unclear. In this study, we compared the surgical outcome of robotic and laparoscopic total hysterectomies and evaluated the feasibility of robotic surgery in cases with pelvic adhesions or large uterus. Materials and Methods: A total of 216 patients receiving total hysterectomy via robotic or laparoscopic approach were included in this study. Of all 216 patients, 88 underwent robotic total hysterectomy and 128 underwent laparoscopic total hysterectomy. All cases were grouped by surgical type, adhesion score, and uterine weight to evaluate the interaction or individual effect to the surgical outcomes. The perioperative parameters, including operation time, blood loss, postoperative pain score, time to full diet resumption, length of hospital stay, conversion rate, and surgery-related complications were compared between the groups. Results: Operation time and blood loss were affected by both surgical type and adhesion score. For cases with severe adhesions (adhesion score greater than 4), robotic surgery was associated with a shortened operation time (113.9 ± 38.4 min versus 164.3 ± 81.4 min, P = 0.007) and reduced blood loss (187.5 ± 148.7 mL versus 385.7 ± 482.6, P=0.044) compared with laparoscopy. Moreover, robotic group showed a lower postoperative pain score than laparoscopic group, as the effect was found to be independent of adhesion score or uterine weight. The grade-II complication rate was also found to be lower in the robotic group. Conclusions: Comparing to laparoscopic approach, robotic surgery is a feasible and potential alternative for performing total hysterectomy with severe adhesions.

Even though cervical cancer is largely considered to be a sexually transmitted disease with a viral etiology, other modes of transmission are theoretically possible.A 38-year-old woman with cervical squamous cell carcinoma adamantly denied having ever had sexual intercourse due to personal, religious and cultural beliefs.Because the human papillomavirus may be spread via nonsexual means, Pap smear screening in sexually active and inexperienced women is important.

Human GCMa is a zinc-containing transcription factor primarily expressed in placenta. GCMa regulates expression of syncytin gene, which encodes for a placenta-specific membrane protein that mediates trophoblastic fusion and the formation of syncytiotrophoblast layer required for efficient fetal-maternal exchange of nutrients and oxygen. The adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, stimulates syncytin gene expression and cell fusion in cultured placental cells. Here we present evidence that cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling pathway activates the syncytin gene expression by regulating GCMa activity. We found that forskolin and protein kinase A (PKA) enhances GCMa-mediated transcriptional activation. Furthermore, PKA treatment stimulates the association of GCMa with CBP and increases GCMa acetylation. CBP primarily acetylates GCMa at lysine367, lysine406, and lysine409 in the transactivation domain (TAD). We found that acetylation of these residues is required to protect GCMa from ubiquitination and increases the TAD stability with a concomitant increase in transcriptional activity, supporting the importance of acetylation in PKA-dependent GCMa activation. Our results reveal a novel regulation of GCMa activity by cAMP-dependent protein acetylation and provide a molecular mechanism by which cAMP signaling regulates trophoblastic fusion.

BACKGROUND Hatching is an important process for early embryo development, differentiation and implantation. However, little is known about its regulatory mechanisms. By integrating the technologies of RNA amplification and cDNA microarrays, it has become possible to study the gene expression profile at this critical stage. METHODS Pre-hatched and hatched ICR mouse embryos (25 blastocysts in each group were used in the triplicate experiments) were collected for RNA extraction, amplification, and microarray analysis (the mouse cDNA microarray, 6144 genes, including expressed sequence tags). RESULTS According to cDNA microarray data, we have identified 85 genes that were expressed at a higher level in hatched blastocyst than in pre-hatched blastocysts. In this study, 47 hatching-related candidate genes were verified via re-sequencing. Some of these genes have been selected and confirmed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR. These hatching-specific genes were also expressed at a lower level in the delayed growth embryos (morula or blastocyst without hatching at day 6 post hCG). These genes included: cell adhesion and migration molecules [E-cadherin, neuronal cell adhesion molecule (NCAM), lectin, galactose binding, soluble 7 (Lgals7), vanin 3 and biglycan], epigenetic regulators (Dnmt1, and SIN3 yeast homolog A), stress response regulators (heme oxygenase 1) and immunoresponse regulators [interleukin (IL)-2-inducible T-cell kinase, IL-4R, interferon-gamma receptor 2, and neurotrophin]. The immunostaining of E-cadherin and NCAM showed strong and specific localization in hatched blastocyst. CONCLUSIONS This work provides important information for studying the mechanisms of blastocyst hatching and implantation. These hatching-specific genes may have potential as new drug targets for controlling fertility.

The GCM proteins GCMa/1 and GCMb/2 are novel zinc-containing transcription factors critical for glial cell differentiation in fly and for placental as well as parathyroid gland development in mouse. Previous pulse-chase experiments have demonstrated differential protein stabilities of GCM proteins with half-lives from approximately 30 min to 2 h (Tuerk, E. E., Schreiber, J., and Wegner, M. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 4774-4782). However, little is known about the machinery that controls GCM protein degradation. Here, we report the identification of an SCF complex as the GCM ubiquitin-protein isopeptide ligase (E3) that regulates human GCMa (hGCMa) degradation. We found that SKP1 and CUL1, two key components of the SCF complex, associate with hGCMa in vivo. We further identify the human F-box protein FBW2 (hFBW2) as the substrate recognition subunit in the SCF E3 complex for hGCMa. We show that hFBW2 interacts with hGCMa in a phosphorylation-dependent manner and promotes hGCMa ubiquitination. Supporting a critical role for hFBW2 in hGCMa degradation, knockdown of hFBW2 expression by RNA interference leads to a reduction in hGCMa ubiquitination and a concomitant increase in hGCMa protein stability. Our study identifies the SCF(hFBW2) E3 complex as the key machinery that targets hGCMa to the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation system.

In a retrospective university hospital-based study of spontaneously conceived (SC), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) groups, this study finds maternal complications or the neonatal outcomes of twins to be similar between the groups.

We have previously identified a new centrosomal protein, centrosomal protein 4.1-associated protein (CPAP), which is associated with the γ-tubulin complex. Here, we report that CPAP carries a novel microtubule-destabilizing motif that not only inhibits microtubule nucleation from the centrosome but also depolymerizes taxol-stabilized microtubules. Deletion mapping and functional analyses have defined a 112-residue CPAP that is necessary and sufficient for microtubule destabilization. This 112-residue CPAP directly recognizes the plus end of a microtubule and inhibits microtubule nucleation from the centrosome. Biochemical and functional analyses revealed that this 112-residue CPAP also binds to tubulin dimers, resulting in the destabilization of microtubules. Using the tetracycline-controlled system (tet-off), we observed that overexpression of this 112-residue CPAP inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis after G2/M arrest. The possible mechanisms of how this 112-residue motif in CPAP that inhibits microtubule nucleation from the centrosome and disassembles preformed microtubules are discussed.

The authors determined fungi concentrations and genera from onion fields located in monsoon and nonmonsoon areas of Taiwan, as well as concentrations from a county housing location, which served as the comparison site. The authors explored the relationship(s) among onion harvesting, monsoon characteristics, airborne fungal levels, and mycotic eye infection. Airborne fungal levels in the onion field in the nonmonsoon area were the highest, followed by decreasing levels in the monsoon area and control sites, regardless of the sampling periods. The geometric mean of airborne fungal concentrations was the highest during onion harvesting. Cladosporium was the most dominant fungus during pre- and postharvest seasons, whereas Aspergillus, Fusraium, Acremonium, Alternaria, Penicillium, Monilia, Mycelia, and Rhizopus were increased significantly during harvesting. Although fungal concentrations in monsoon onion fields were lower than concentrations measured in the nonmonsoon area, the invasion of dangerous fungal pathogens following eye trauma by airborne sharp exotics (e.g., onion flakes) dispersed in high wind may account for the increase in corneal ulcer cases that occur in the monsoon area.

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the use of a structural equation model to explore the complicated lead exposure pathways in a lead battery plant. A total of 96 out of 113 assembly workers were recruited in this study. Lead measurements included blood lead, respirable airborne lead, and body surface lead loadings. Latent variables of inadvertent contact of lead on fingers and ingested lead had indirect and direct effects on the blood lead levels, respectively, and so did the variables of respirable airborne lead, smoking, and the working-place clothes being washed. A model chi(22)2 value of 31.1 (P=0.094) for a goodness of fit test indicates that the derived structural equation model appropriately accounted for the variation of blood lead levels. It is concluded that lead loadings on fingers and lips had significant effects on occupational lead uptake, and, after-work hours and break times at work were the critical time periods for inadvertent lead exposure.

Background: Cancer initiating cells (CICs), also termed as Cancer stem cells (CSCs), represent a rare subpopulation of cells, which are responsible for tumor growth. CICs such as head and neck cancer initiating cells (HN-CICs), are often resistant to either radio- or chemotherapy. Therefore, development for drug candidates that target HN-CICs specifically will be effective for future oral cancer therapy. Methods: In this study, we used the in vitro cell-based aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity assay system, which has been demonstrated as a CICs marker, to screen for the active purified components from Antrodia Camphorata Mycelia extract (ACME), which can target HN-CICs. Next, the antitumorigenicity of combinatorial treatment with active components from ACME and conventional chemotherapy on HNSCC will be examined in vitro and in vivo. Results: Herein, we first screened for the active components from natural products of ACM significantly down regulate the ALDH activity and CD44 positivity of Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Consequently, treatment of YMGKI-2 (analogue of ergosterol), a single and active compound purified from ACME, not only inhibited the ALDH activity but also reduced self-renewal property and expression of stemness genes (Oct-4 and Nanog) in enriched HN-CICs. Moreover, the repressive HN-CICs properties by YMGKI-2 treatment were caused by promoting cell differentiation. Additionally, treatment of YMGKI-2 results in down-regulation of Cox-2 and Src molecular mechanisms which both play important role in CICs. Further, the tumorigenic properties of HNSCC cells were attenuated by YMGKI-2 treatment in vivo. Lastly, combinatorial treatments with YMGKI-2 and standard chemotherapeutic drugs reveal synergistic effects on killing both HN-CICs and non-HN-CICs in vitro and in vivo. Conclusion: Together, our results indicate that YMGKI-2 treatment significantly and selectively abolished the stemness properties and tumorigenicity of HN-CICs. These findings provide a new drug candidate from purified components of ACM as an alternative therapy in combination with conventional chemotherapy treatment modalities for head and neck cancer in the future. Citation Format: Ching-Wen Chang, Jeng-Fan Lo. Combinatorial therapeutics with targeting head and neck cancer initiating cells using active components from antrodia cinnamomea and conventional chemotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1705. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1705

In this study, the design and fabrication schemes of back-side illuminated InGaN/GaN solar cells with periodic via-holes etching and Bragg mirror processes are presented. Compared to typical front-side illuminated solar cells, the improvements of open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) from 1.88 to 1.94 V and short-circuit current density (J(sc)) from 0.84 to 1.02 mA/cm(2) are observed. Most significantly, the back-side illuminated InGaN/GaN solar cells exhibit an extremely high fill factor up to 85.5%, leading to a conversion efficiency of 1.69% from 0.66% of typical front-side illuminated solar cells under air mass 1.5 global illuminations. Moreover, the effects of bottom Bragg mirrors on the photovoltaic characteristics of back-side illuminated solar cells are studied by an advanced simulation program. The results show that the J(sc) could further be improved with a factor of 10% from the original back-side illuminated solar cell by the structure optimization of bottom Bragg mirrors.

This study quantified the levels of airborne microorganisms in six swine farms with more than 10,000 pigs in subtropical Taiwan. We evaluated breeding, growing, and finishing stalls, which were primarily open-air buildings, as well as partially enclosed farrowing and nursery piggeries. Airborne culturable bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and fungi were placed on appropriate media by using an all-glass impinger or single-stage Andersen microbial sampler. Results showed that mean concentrations of culturable bacteria and gram-negative bacteria were 3.3 × 10 5 and 143.7 CFU/m 3 , respectively. The concentration of airborne culturable fungi was about 10 3 CFU/m 3 , with Cladosporium the predominant genus. The highest airborne levels of culturable bacteria and gram-negative bacteria were identified in the finishing units. The air of the nursery stalls was the least contaminated with culturable and gram-negative bacteria. Irregular and infrequent cleaning, high pig density, no separation of wastes from pen floors, and accumulation of water as a result of the processes for cleaning and reducing pig temperature possibly compromise the benefits of the open characteristic of the finishing units with respect to airborne bacterial concentration.

The prevalence of bioaerosol particles has gained significant attention in the past decades and is considered to be a potential health hazard for people in a variety of environments. To identify and quantify airborne microorganisms, the bioaerosols are collected directly on semisolid culture media, or trapped from air into liquid substrates, followed by culturing, counting, and identification of the resulting colony forming units. Studies on error due to overcrowding of the colonies have concluded that the bias did not become significant until about 300 colonies\plate were present, but no study has taken the non-homogeneity of colony size into account. In the present study, a Cartesian coordinate system was used to simulate the surface area of standard 100 mm diameter colony culture plates and the colonies growing on them. A resolution of 1000×1000 was found to be accurate enough to represent the actual size of the colony. The capacity of distinguishing overlapping colonies (defined as resolution index) the covering fraction, the colony surface density, and the colony size distribution were among the primary parameters investigated in this study. The counting efficiency was found to consistently decrease with increasing surface density and decreasing resolution index. The recommended upper limit of colony counts on each plate depended not only on the number concentration but also the size distribution of the colonies. To have a minimum counting efficiency of 95%, the colony densities should not exceed 1290, 200 and 71 colonies\plate, for colony sizes of 2, 5 and 8 mm, respectively. This was based on the assumption that the colony size was uniform and resolution index was 0.8. As the geometric standard deviation (GSD) kept increasing, the larger GSDs resulted in higher covering fraction, and thus, lower counting efficiency. This phenomenon was independent of resolution index.

Efficient production of hydrogen, approximately ten times greater than reported in the literature, could be achieved using Clostridium bifermentans isolated from waste water sludge as inoculum. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry

Background: Cancer stem cells (CSCs), also termed as Cancer initiating cells (CICs), represent a rare subpopulation of cells, which are responsible for tumor growth. CICs such as oral cancer -cancer initiating cells (OC-CICs), are often resistant to either radio- or chemotherapy. Therefore, development of drug candidates that specifically target OC-CICs will be effective for future oral cancer therapy. Methods: In this study, we used the in vitro cell-based ALDH activity assay system, which has been demonstrated as a CICs marker, to screen for the active purified components from Antrodia Cinnamomea Mycelia extract (ACME), which can target OC-CICs. In combination with the active components from ACME that targeting OC-CICs, we evaluated the synergistic effect of above active components from ACMS on target oral cancer stem cells. Results: We first found ACME purified compounds (CH-190-WS-A and CH-190-WS-D) can significantly down regulate the ALDH activity of oral cancer cells or OC-CICs, respectively. Treatment of CH-190-WS-A and CH-190-WS-D significantly induced cell death and enhanced the differentiation capability of OC-CICs. Moreover, we found that treatment of CH-190-WS-A and CH-190-WS-D reduced the self-renewal ability, tumorigenic properties and stemness properties of OC-CICs in vitro. Additionally, treatment with CH-190-WS-A or CH-190-WS-D suppressed tumor growth of nude mice bearing tumor xenografts, respectively. Furthermore, treatment of CH-190-WS-D results in down-regulation of mTOR/PI3K/pAKT molecular mechanisms which play an important role in CICs. Whereas treatment of CH-190-WS-A inactivated Notch pathway, which can restore AKT activity then overcome cell death. Finally, combined treatment of CH-190-WS-D and CH-190-WS-A also dramatically caused cell death of OC-CICs through dual-pathway blockage. Conclusion: Our studies reveal combination of ACME purified components can target OC-CICs. Eventually, we can develop therapeutic protocol for alternative oral cancer treatment. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3385A. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-3385A

Quantum dots are known for their superior optical properties; however, when transferred into aqueous media, their luminescent properties are frequently compromised. When encapsulated in micelles for bioimaging applications, luminescent silicon quantum dots can lose as much as 50% of their luminescence depending on the formulation used. Here, we create an energy transfer micelle platform that combines silicon quantum dots with an anthracene-based dye in the hydrophobic core of 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine-N-[methoxy(polyethylene glycol)-2000] (DSPE-PEG) micelles. These phospholipid micelles are water dispersible, stable, and surrounded by a PEGylated layer with modifiable functional groups. The spectroscopic properties of energy transfer between the anthracene donors and silicon quantum dot acceptors were analyzed based on the observed dependence of the steady-state emission spectrum on concentration ratio, excitation wavelength, pH, and temperature. The luminescence of silicon quantum dots from the core of a 150 nm micelle is enhanced by more than 80% when the anthracene dye is added. This work provides a simple yet readily applicable solution to the long-standing problem of luminescence enhancement of silicon quantum dots and can serve as a template for improving the quantum dot emission yield for biological applications where luminescence signal enhancements are desirable and for solar applications where energy transfer plays a critical role in device performance.

Colony counting error due to indistinguishable colony overlap (i.e., masking) was evaluated theoretically and experimentally. A theoretical model to predict colony masking was used to determine colony counting efficiency by Monte Carlo computer simulation of microorganism collection and development into CFU. The computer simulation was verified experimentally by collecting aerosolized Bacillus subtilis spores and examining micro- and macroscopic colonies. Colony counting efficiency decreased (i) with increasing density of collected culturable microorganisms, (ii) with increasing colony size, and (iii) with decreasing ability of an observation system to distinguish adjacent colonies as separate units. Counting efficiency for 2-mm colonies, at optimal resolution, decreased from 98 to 85% when colony density increased from 1 to 10 microorganisms cm-2, in contrast to an efficiency decrease from 90 to 45% for 5-mm colonies. No statistically significant difference (alpha = 0.05) between experimental and theoretical results was found when colony shape was used to estimate the number of individual colonies in a CFU. Experimental colony counts were 1.2 times simulation estimates when colony shape was not considered, because of nonuniformity of actual colony size and the better discrimination ability of the human eye relative to the model. Colony surface densities associated with high counting accuracy were compared with recommended upper plate count limits and found to depend on colony size and an observation system's ability to identify overlapped colonies. Correction factors were developed to estimate the actual number of collected microorganisms from observed colony counts.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Background: Cancer initiating cells (CICs) represent a rare subpopulation of cancer cells, which are responsible for tumor growth. Cancer initiating cells such as oral cancer-cancer initiating cells (OC-CICs), are often resistant to either radiotherapy or chemotherapy. Therefore, screening and development for drug candidates that target OC-CICs specifically will benefit for future oral cancer therapy. Methods: First, we used the in vitro cell-based ALDH activity assay system, which has been demonstrated as a CICs marker, to screen for the active components from purified compounds of Antrodia Camphorata Mycelia extract (ACME), which can target OC-CICs. The growth inhibition and cell differentiation ability of OC-CICs treated with purified compounds from ACME were evaluated. In addition, the self-renewal ability and stemness properties of ACMEs treated OC-CICs were examined. Furthermore, xenotransplantation assay was applied to test the tumorigenicity of OC-CICs treated with isolated ACMEs. Finally, we investigated the molecular mechanisms mediated by ACME treatment on OC-CICs. Results: Herein, we first found out that an ACME's purified components, CH-190-WS-D, significantly downregulated the ALDH activity of oral cancer cells. Treatment of CH-190-WS-D significantly induced cell death and enhanced the differentiation capability of OC-CICs but not the major population of oral cancer cells. Moreover, we found that treatment of CH-190-WS-D reduced the self-renewal ability and stemness properties of OC-CICs. The in vitro tumorigenic properties, including cell migration and anchorage independent growth of OC-CICs, were lessened by CH-190-WS-D treatment. Furthermore, treatment of CH-190-WS-D suppressed tumor growth of nude mice bearing xenografts. Finally, treatment of CH-190-WS-D results in down-regulation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR molecular mechanisms which play important roles in CICs. Conclusion: Our studies reveal the ACME's purified components can reduce stemness properties and tumorigenicity of OC-CICs. Eventually, we can discover drug candidates from ACME's purified components for alternative oral cancer therapy. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4374. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-4374

AIM: To evaluate the influence of multiple samplings during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) on the accuracy of the rapid urease test, and the validity of newly developed rapid urease tests, HelicotecUT plus test and HelicotecUT test, CLO test and ProntoDry test. METHODS: A total of 355 patients undergoing EGD for dyspepsia were included. Their Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) treatment status was either naive or eradicated. Six biopsy specimens from antrum and gastric body, respectively, were obtained during EGD. Single antral specimens and dual (antrum + body) specimens were compared. Infection status of H. pylori was evaluated by three different tests: culture, histology, and four different commercially available rapid urease tests (RUTs)-including the newly developed HelicotecUT plus test and HelicotecUT test, and established CLO test and ProntoDry test. H. pylori status was defined as positive when the culture was positive or if there were concordant positive results among histology, CLO test and ProntoDry test. RESULTS: When dual specimens were applied, sensitivity was enhanced and RUT reaction time was significantly reduced, regardless of their treatment status. Thirty minutes were enough to achieve an agreeable positive rate in all the RUTs. Both newly developed RUTs showed comparable sensitivity, specificity and accuracy to the established RUTs, regardless of patient treatment status, RUT reaction duration, and EGD biopsy sites. CONCLUSION: Combination of antrum and body biopsy specimens greatly enhances the sensitivity of rapid urease test and reduces the reaction duration to 30 min.