Incorporation of a tendon graft within the bone tunnel represents a challenging clinical problem. Successful anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction requires solid healing of the tendon graft in the bone tunnel. Enhancement of graft healing to bone is important to facilitate early aggressive rehabilitation and a rapid return to pre-injury activity levels. No convenient, effective or inexpensive procedures exist to enhance tendon-bone (T-B) healing after surgery. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) improves local blood perfusion and angiogenesis, stimulates cartilage maturation, enhances differentiation and proliferation of osteoblasts, and motivates osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), and therefore, appears to be a potential non-invasive tool for T-B healing in early stage of rehabilitation of ACL reconstruction. It is conceivable that LIPUS could be used to stimulate T-B tunnel healing in the home, with the aim of accelerating rehabilitation and an earlier return to normal activities in the near future. The purpose of this review is to demonstrate how LIPUS stimulates T-B healing at the cellular and molecular levels, describe studies in animal models, and provide a future direction for research.

Objective: Biomarker assay is a noninvasive method for the early detection of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Searching for new biomarkers with high specificity and sensitivity is very important for the early detection of ESCC. Serum surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS) is a high throughput technology for identifying cancer biomarkers using drops of sera. Methods: In this study, 185 serum samples were taken from ESCC patients in a high incidence area and screened by SELDI. A support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was adopted to analyze the samples. Results: The SVM patterns successfully distinguished ESCC from pre-cancerous lesions (PCLs). Also, types of PCL, including dysplasia (DYS) and basal cell hyperplasia (BCH), and healthy controls (HC) were distinguished with an accuracy of 95.2% (DYS), 96.6% (BCH), and 93.8% (HC), respectively. A marker of 25.1 kDa was identified in the ESCC patterns whose peak intensity was observed to increase significantly during the development of esophageal carcinogenesis, and to decrease obviously after surgery. Conclusions: We selected five ESCC biomarkers to form a diagnostic pattern which can discriminate among the different stages of esophageal carcinogenesis. This pattern can significantly improve the detection of ESCC.

This study aimed to analyze the volatile chemical profile of Longjing tea, and further develop a prediction model for aroma quality of Longjing tea based on potent odorants. A total of 21 Longjing samples were analyzed by headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Pearson’s linear correlation analysis and partial least square (PLS) regression were applied to investigate the relationship between sensory aroma scores and the volatile compounds. Results showed that 60 volatile compounds could be commonly detected in this famous green tea. Terpenes and esters were two major groups characterized, representing 33.89% and 15.53% of the total peak area respectively. Ten compounds were determined to contribute significantly to the perceived aroma quality of Longjing tea, especially linalool (0.701), nonanal (0.738), (Z)-3-hexenyl hexanoate (−0.785), and β-ionone (−0.763). On the basis of these 10 compounds, a model (correlation coefficient of 89.4% and cross-validated correlation coefficient of 80.4%) was constructed to predict the aroma quality of Longjing tea. Summarily, this study has provided a novel option for quality prediction of green tea based on HS-SPME/GC-MS technique.

Docetaxel (DTX), as a member of taxoid family, has been widely used in the treatment of cancers. The present study prepared pH-sensitive DTX-loaded liposomes (DTX-Lips) by thin-film dispersion method and various physico-chemical and morphological properties were examined. The pH sensitivity of in vitro DTX release and the in vivo pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution using Kunming mice were also investigated. The mean particle size and zeta potential of DTX liposomes were (277±2) nm and (−32.60±0.26) mV, respectively. Additionally, in vitro drug release study showed that the cumulative release rate was 1.3 times more at pH 5.0 than at pH 7.4, suggesting a pH-dependent release ability of DTX-Lips. Pharmacokinetic and pharmaceutical studies in comparison with Duopafei^® showed that the half-time period (t_1/2) and area under the curve (AUC) of DTX-Lips in mouse plasma were 1.8 times longer and 2.6 times higher, respectively, and that DTX-Lips selectively accumulated in macrophage-rich organs such as liver and spleen. These results together suggest that the DTX-Lips could be a promising formulation for the clinical administration of DTX.

Borneol, a monoterpenoid alcohol, is used widely, particularly in combined formulas for preventing and curing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. In order to understand the blood and brain pharmacokinetics after intravenous, intranasal, or oral administration and to investigate the superiority and feasibility of intranasal administration, a simple gas chromatographic (GC) method with flame ionization detection (FID) was developed for the quantification of borneol. Blood samples and brain were collected from mice at 1, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min after intravenous, intranasal, or oral administration of borneol at a dosage of 30.0 mg/kg. Sample preparations were carried out by liquid-liquid extraction with an internal standard solution of octadecane. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by the software of Kinetica. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.11–84.24 μg/ml and 0.16–63.18 μg/g for borneol in plasma and brain, respectively. The methodological and extraction recoveries were both in the range of 85%–115%. The intra-day and inter-day variabilities for plasma and brain samples were ≤5.00% relative standard deviation (RSD). The absolute bioavailabilities F of intranasal and oral administrations were 90.68% and 42.99%. The relative brain targeted coefficients Re of intranasal and oral administrations were 68.37% and 38.40%. The GC-FID method developed could be applied to determination and pharmacokinetic study. The borneol from injection was distributed and metabolized fast without absorption process. The borneol from oral administration was distributed more slowly and had the lowest absolute bioavailability. Nasal administration of borneol was quickly absorbed into the blood and brain, was easy to use and had a greater safety than infection, which makes it worthy of further development as an administration route for encephalopathy treatment.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of mitomycin on the growth of human dermal fibroblast and immortalized human keratinocyte line (HaCat cell), particularly the effect of mitomycin on intracellular messenger RNA (mRNA) synthesis of collagen and growth factors of fibroblast. Methods: The normal dermal fibroblast and HaCat cell were cultured in vitro. Cell cultures were exposed to 0.4 and 0.04 mg/ml of mitomycin solution, and serum-free culture medium was used as control. The cellular morphology change, growth characteristics, cell proliferation, and apoptosis were observed at different intervals. For the fibroblasts, the mRNA expression changes of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), procollagen I, and III were detected by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Results: The cultured normal human skin fibroblast and HaCat cell grew exponentially. A 5-min exposure to mitomycin at either 0.4 or 0.04 mg/ml caused marked dose-dependent cell proliferation inhibition on both fibroblasts and HaCat cells. Cell morphology changed, cell density decreased, and the growth curves were without an exponential phase. The fibroblast proliferated on the 5th day after the 5-min exposure of mitomycin at 0.04 mg/ml. Meanwhile, 5-min application of mitomycin at either 0.04 or 0.4 mg/ml induced fibroblast apoptosis but not necrosis. The apoptosis rate of the fibroblast increased with a higher concentration of mytomycin (p<0.05). A 5-min exposure to mitomycin at 0.4 mg/ml resulted in a marked decrease in the mRNA production of TGF-β1, procollagen I and III, and a marked increase in the mRNA production of bFGF. Conclusions: Mitomycin can inhibit fibroblast proliferation, induce fibroblast apoptosis, and regulate intracellular protein expression on mRNA levels. In addition, mitomycin can inhibit HaCat cell proliferation, so epithelial cell needs more protecting to avoid mitomycin’s side effect when it is applied clinically.

The gene AtCSR encodes peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases (PPIases) that accelerate energetically unfavorable cis/trans isomerization of the peptide bond preceding proline production. In our studies, we found that AtCSR was associated with cadmium (Cd)-sensitive response in Arabidopsis. Our results show that AtCSR expression was triggered by Cd-stress in wild type Arabidopsis. The expression of some genes responsible for Cd²⁺ transportation into vacuoles was induced, and the expression of the iron-regulated transporter 1 (IRT1) related to Cd²⁺ absorption from the environment was not induced in wild type with Cd²⁺ treatment. The expression of Cd-transportation related genes was not in response to Cd-stress, whereas IRT expression increased dramatically in atcsr-2 with Cd²⁺ treatment. The expression of glutathione 1 (GSH1) was consistent with GSH being much lower in atcsr-2 in comparison with the wild type with Cd²⁺ treatment. Additionally, malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide, and Cd²⁺ contents, and activities of some antioxidative enzymes, differed between the wild type and atcsr-2. Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has been confirmed as the third gas-transmitter over recent years. The findings revealed that the expression pattern of H₂S-releasing related genes and that of Cd-induced chelation and transportation genes matched well in the wild type and atcsr-2, and H₂S could regulate the expression of the Cd-induced genes and alleviate Cd-triggered toxicity. Finally, one possible suggestion was given: down-regulation of atcsr-2, depending on H₂S gas-transmitter not only weakened Cd²⁺ chelation, but also reduced Cd²⁺ transportation into vacuoles, as well as enhancing the Cd²⁺ assimilation, thus rendering atcsr-2 mutant sensitive to Cd-stress.

Responses of 302 mitral/tufted (M/T) cells in the olfactory bulb were recorded from 42 anesthetized freely breathing rats using a 16-channel microwire electrode array. Saturated vapors of four pure chemicals, anisole, carvone, citral and isoamyl acetate were applied. After aligning spike trains to the initial phase of the inhalation after odor onset, the responses of M/T cells showed transient temporal features including excitatory and inhibitory patterns. Both odor-evoked patterns indicated that mammals recognize odors within a short respiration cycle after odor stimulus. Due to the small amount of information received from a single cell, we pooled results from all responsive M/T cells to study the ensemble activity. The firing rates of the cell ensembles were computed over 100 ms bins and population vectors were constructed. The high dimension vectors were condensed into three dimensions for visualization using principal component analysis. The trajectories of both excitatory and inhibitory cell ensembles displayed strong dynamics during odor stimulation. The distances among cluster centers were enlarged compared to those of the resting state. Thus, we presumed that pictures of odor information sent to higher brain regions were depicted and odor discrimination was completed within the first breathing cycle.

Silver carp, Hypopthalmichthys molitrix is one of the most economically valuable fish species in Bangladesh. However, its production is often hindered by parasite-induced mortality. The present study reports the intensity of parasitic infestation in 216 specimens of H. molitrix collected from different fish markets in Rajshahi City, Bangladesh. Nine different parasite species (Trichodina pediculatus, Dactylogyrus vastator, Ichthyophthirius multifilis, Gyrodactylus elegans, Lernaea sp., Apiosoma sp., Myxobolus rohitae, Camallanus ophiocephali, and Pallisentis ophiocephali) were recovered from the gill, skin, stomach, and intestine of host fish. The highest level of infection was observed for host skin, while lower levels were observed for host gill, stomach, and intestine. The results also revealed that the intensity of parasite infection in different organs of H. molitrix varied with the season. In particular, the highest levels of infection were recorded during the winter period (November–February), when fish are most susceptible to parasites. The findings of the study will help in the management and conservation of H. molitrix.

I read with great interest the recent article 鈥淎rtesunate inhibits growth and induces apoptosis in human osteosarcoma HOS cell line in vitro and in vivo鈥?by Xu et al. (2011), published in Journal of Zhejiang University-SCIENCE B (Biomedicine & Biotechnology). Artesunate exerts anti-neoplastic effects in a number of systemic malignancies besides osteosarcomas.