Effects of caffeinated coffee consumption on intraocular pressure, ocular perfusion pressure, and ocular pulse amplitude: a randomized controlled trial

PURPOSE

To examine the effects of caffeinated coffee consumption on intraocular pressure (IOP), ocular perfusion pressure (OPP), and ocular pulse amplitude (OPA) in those with or at risk for primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG).

METHODS

We conducted a prospective, double-masked, crossover, randomized controlled trial with 106 subjects: 22 with high tension POAG, 18 with normal tension POAG, 20 with ocular hypertension, 21 POAG suspects, and 25 healthy participants. Subjects ingested either 237 ml of caffeinated (182 mg caffeine) or decaffeinated (4 mg caffeine) coffee for the first visit and the alternate beverage for the second visit. Blood pressure (BP) and pascal dynamic contour tonometer measurements of IOP, OPA, and heart rate were measured before and at 60 and 90 min after coffee ingestion per visit. OPP was calculated from BP and IOP measurements. Results were analysed using paired t-tests. Multivariable models assessed determinants of IOP, OPP, and OPA changes.

RESULTS

There were no significant differences in baseline IOP, OPP, and OPA between the caffeinated and decaffeinated visits. After caffeinated as compared with decaffeinated coffee ingestion, mean mm Hg changes (± SD) in IOP, OPP, and OPA were as follows: 0.99 (± 1.52, P<0.0001), 1.57 (± 6.40, P=0.0129), and 0.23 (± 0.52, P<0.0001) at 60 min, respectively; and 1.06 (± 1.67, P<0.0001), 1.26 (± 6.23, P=0.0398), and 0.18 (± 0.52, P=0.0006) at 90 min, respectively. Regression analyses revealed sporadic and inconsistent associations with IOP, OPP, and OPA changes.

CONCLUSION

Consuming one cup of caffeinated coffee (182 mg caffeine) statistically increases, but likely does not clinically impact, IOP and OPP in those with or at risk for POAG.

Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, protects dopaminergic neurons from neurotoxin-induced damage

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Prevention or disease-modifying therapies are critical for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. However, no such intervention is currently available. Growing evidence has demonstrated that administration of histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors ameliorates a wide range of neurologic and psychiatric disorders in experimental models. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) was the first HDAC inhibitor approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the sole use of cancer therapy. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential new indications of SAHA for therapy of neurodegenerative diseases in in vitro Parkinson's disease models.

EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

Mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures and reconstituted cultures were used to investigate neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of SAHA. We measured toxicity in dopaminergic neurons, using dopamine uptake assay and morphological analysis and expression of neurotrophic substances by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and real-time RT PCR.

KEY RESULTS

In mesencephalic neuron-glia cultures, SAHA displayed dose- and time-dependent prolongation of the survival and protection against neurotoxin-induced neuronal death of dopaminergic neurons. Mechanistic studies revealed that the neuroprotective effects of SAHA were mediated in part by promoting release of neurotrophic factors from astroglia through inhibition of histone deacetylation.

CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS

The novel neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of SAHA demonstrated in this study suggest that further study of this HDAC inhibitor could provide a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.

Phytoremediation of pyrene contaminated soils amended with compost and planted with ryegrass and alfalfa

Ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa) were planted in pots to remediate pyrene contaminated quartz sand (as a control group), alluvial and red soils amended with and without compost. The pyrene degradation percentages in quartz sand, alluvial soil, and red soil amended with compost (5%, w/w) and planted with ryegrass and alfalfa for 90 d growth were 98-99% and 97-99%, respectively, while those of pyrene in the corresponding treatments amended without compost but planted with ryegrass and alfalfa were 91-96% and 58-89%, respectively. Further, those of pyrene in the respective treatments amended with and without compost but unplanted were 54-77% and 51-63%, respectively. Pyrene contents in both roots and aboveground parts of ryegrass and alfalfa after 90 d growth in quartz sand and the two soils amended with or without compost were trace amounts. Statistical analyses for the parameters of ryegrass planted in red and alluvial soils including the concentrations of total water-soluble volatile low molecular weight organic acids, microbial population, pyrene degradation percentage, and spiked pyrene concentration show significant correlations at 5% and mostly 1% probability levels, by the analysis of variance. It was thus suggested that the interactions among the consortia of plant root exudates, microorganisms, and amended compost in rhizosphere soils could facilitate bioavailability of pyrene and subsequently enhance its dissipation.

Nonequilibrium evolution of strong-field anisotropic ionized electrons towards a delayed plasma-state

Rigorous quantum calculations of the femtosecond ionization of hydrogen atoms in air lead to highly anisotropic electron and ion angular (momentum) distributions. A quantum Monte-Carlo analysis of the subsequent many-body dynamics reveals two distinct relaxation steps, first to a nearly isotropic hot nonequilibrium and then to a quasi-equilibrium configuration. The collective isotropic plasma state is reached on a picosecond timescale well after the ultrashort ionizing pulse has passed.

Expression and significance of lipin1 and AMPKα in hepatic insulin resistance in diet-induced insulin resistance rats

BACKGROUND

Lipin1, a lately indentified adipokine, may link obesity with insulin resistance and diabetes. The present study aimed to investigate the changes and significance of lipin1 expression and lipin1-AMPK signaling in diet-induced hepatic insulin resistance.

METHODS

24 4-week-old Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into 2 groups: (1) control group (CO), (2) high-fat diet group (HF). Insulin sensitivity was evaluated by hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp technique. The mRNA levels of α1 and α2 subunit of AMPKα as well as Lipin1 were measured using Real-time RT-PCR. The activities of AMPKα and Akt were evaluated by detection of p-AMPKα (Thr-172) and p-Akt (ser473) by Western blot.

RESULTS

After treatment of 4 months, HF group showed significantly increased levels of body weight, fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels; Plasma and liver total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG) levels were also markedly elevated; Lipin1 expression at both mRNA and protein levels were significantly deceased. Compared with CO group, the mRNA and protein levels of AMPKα1 and AMPKα2 were not changed, whereas the p-AMPK (Thr-172) and p-AKT (ser473) levels in liver were significantly decreased in HF group.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings indicated that the decrease in lipin1 expression and AMPKα activation may contribute to hepatic insulin resistance in diet-induced obese rats.

High-damage-threshold static laser beam shaping using optically patterned liquid-crystal devices

Beam shaping of coherent laser beams is demonstrated using liquid crystal (LC) cells with optically patterned pixels. The twist angle of a nematic LC is locally set to either 0 or 90° by an alignment layer prepared via exposure to polarized UV light. The two distinct pixel types induce either no polarization rotation or a 90° polarization rotation, respectively, on a linearly polarized optical field. An LC device placed between polarizers functions as a binary transmission beam shaper with a highly improved damage threshold compared to metal beam shapers. Using a coumarin-based photoalignment layer, various devices have been fabricated and tested, with a measured single-shot nanosecond damage threshold higher than 30 J/cm2.

Effect of sunlight irradiation on photocatalytic pyrene degradation in contaminated soils by micro-nano size TiO2

The enhanced catalytic pyrene degradation in quartz sand and alluvial and red soils by micro-nano size TiO(2) in the presence and absence of sunlight was investigated. The results showed that the synergistic effect of sunlight irradiation and TiO(2) was more efficient on pyrene degradation in quartz sand and red and alluvial soils than the corresponding reaction system without sunlight irradiation. In the presence of sunlight irradiation, the photooxidation (without TiO(2)) of pyrene was very pronounced in alluvial and red soils and especially in quartz sand. However, in the absence of sunlight irradiation, the catalytic pyrene degradation by TiO(2) and the photooxidation (without TiO(2)) of pyrene were almost nil. This implicates that ultra-violet (UV) wavelength range of sunlight plays an important role in TiO(2)-enhanced photocatalytic pyrene degradation and in photooxidation (without TiO(2)) of pyrene. The percentages of photocatalytic pyrene degradation by TiO(2) in quartz sand, alluvial and red soils under sunlight irradiation were 78.3, 23.4, and 31.8%, respectively, at 5h reaction period with a 5% (w/w) dose of the amended catalyst. The sequence of TiO(2)-enhanced catalytic pyrene degradation in quartz sand and alluvial and red soils was quartz sand>red soil>alluvial soil, due to different texture and total organic carbon (TOC) contents of the quartz sand and other two soils. The differential Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra of degraded pyrene in alluvial soil corroborate that TiO(2)-enhanced photocatalytic degradation rate of degraded pyrene was much greater than photooxidation (without TiO(2)) rate of degraded pyrene. Based on the data obtained, the importance for the application of TiO(2)-enhanced photocatalytic pyrene degradation and associated organic contaminants in contaminated soils was elucidated.

Oxidative degradation of pyrene in contaminated soils by δ-MnO2 with or without sunlight irradiation

The enhanced oxidative degradation of pyrene in quartz sand and alluvial and red soils by micro-nano size birnessite (δ-MnO(2)) in the presence and absence of sunlight was investigated. The degradation of pyrene by δ-MnO(2) in quartz sand showed very little synergistic effect of sunlight irradiation on δ-MnO(2) oxidizing power. However, pyrene degradation by δ-MnO(2) in alluvial and red soils was greater under solar irradiation than the combination of photooxidation of pyrene and oxidation of pyrene by δ-MnO(2). The oxidative degradation percentages of pyrene by δ-MnO(2) under sunlight irradiation are 94.8, 97.7, and 100% for alluvial soil, red soil, and quartz sand, respectively. Oxidative degradation percentages of pyrene by δ-MnO(2) in alluvial and red soils with irradiation of sunlight almost attained a maximum at 1 h with a 5% (w/w) dose of the amended oxidant. Due to their different total organic carbon (TOC) contents, the sequence of enhanced oxidative degradation of pyrene by δ-MnO(2) in quartz sand and alluvial and red soils was quartz sand>red soil>alluvial soil. Further, this study revealed that δ-MnO(2)-enhanced oxidative degradation of pyrene is very pronounced in contaminated soils in situ even at deep soil layers where irradiation by sunlight is very limited.

Effects of surface roughness and film thickness on the adhesion of a bioinspired nanofilm

Inspired by the gecko's climbing ability, adhesion between an elastic nanofilm with finite length and a rough substrate with sinusoidal roughness is studied in the present paper, considering the effects of substrate roughness and film thickness. It demonstrates that the normal adhesion force of the nanofilm on a rough substrate depends significantly on the geometrical parameters of the substrate. When the film length is larger than the wavelength of the sinusoidal roughness of the substrate, the normal adhesion force decreases with increasing surface roughness, while the normal adhesion force initially decreases then increases if the wavelength of roughness is larger than the film length. This finding is qualitatively consistent with a previously interesting experimental observation in which the adhesion force of the gecko spatula is found to reduce significantly at an intermediate roughness. Furthermore, it is inferred that the gecko may achieve an optimal spatula thickness not only to follow rough surfaces, but also to saturate the adhesion force. The results in this paper may be helpful for understanding how geckos overcome the influence of natural surface roughness and possess such adhesion to support their weights.

Biosorption of Methylene Blue onto spent corncob substrate: kinetics, equilibrium and thermodynamic studies

This study focuses on the possible use of the spent corncob substrate (SCS), an agricultural waste used after the cultivation of white rot fungus Pleurotus ostreatus, to adsorb Methylene Blue (MB) from aqueous solutions. A batch adsorption study was carried out with variable solution pH, adsorption time, temperature and initial MB concentration. It was found that MB uptake was favorable at pH ranging from 4.0 to 12.0 and the equilibrium adsorption capacity can be reached promptly within about 180 min. The biosorption data were also calculated by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir isotherm model. Thermodynamic parameters show that the adsorption is a spontaneous and endothermic process. The study highlighted a new pathway to develop potential low-cost biosorbent for the removal of dye pollutants from wastewater.

Child physical abuse and the related PTSD in Taiwan: The role of Chinese cultural background and victims' subjective reactions

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate child physical abuse (CPA) while taking into account the more rigorous definitions of CPA in the Chinese societies. The prevalence of CPA and CPA-related PTSD were estimated, together with the examination of peri-traumatic subjective reactions and their impacts on PTSD.

METHODS

In a Taiwanese sample of 1966 4th to 8th graders, the Chinese version of UCLA PTSD Reaction Index for DSM-IV (Steinberg, Brymer, Decker, & Pynoos, 2004) was used to investigate the lifetime exposure to CPA. A sub-sample of 236 traumatized CPA victims was examined with respect to related PTSD symptoms.

RESULTS

Thirty-four percent of the children had been exposed to CPA. The estimated current prevalence of full and partial PTSD was 13.6% and 16.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The current CPA prevalence was found to be higher than the Western countries, but lower than the previous findings in other East Asian societies. The full PTSD prevalence was close to the findings in the Western countries, whereas sub-clinical PTSD was less observed in Taiwan. Peri-traumatic subjective reactions, that is, Criterion A2 and perceived threat, were shown to be major predictors of PTSD symptom severity. The role of attitudes of child discipline in the Chinese societies in the prevalence of CPA and CPA-related PTSD is discussed.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

By providing explicit epidemiological information of CPA and CPA-related PTSD in Taiwan, the current study extends our understanding of CPA and CPA-related PTSD more broadly from Western countries to the Eastern societies. By separately investigating CPA relating to different perpetrators, cross-study comparison is enhanced. In the current study, the significance of considering cultural background in defining CPA and examining CPA-related PTSD was pointed out. Meanwhile, the role of victims' subjective reactions in the psychopathology of PTSD is highlighted. The findings and discussions could contribute for generating a more sophisticated clinical practice, especially with Asian or Chinese cases.

Sensitive and rapid detection of Paragonimus westermani infection in humans and animals by loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP)

In the present study, a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was developed and validated for the detection of Paragonimus westermani adults, metacercariae, and eggs in human and animal samples. The LAMP amplification can be finished in 45 min under isothermal condition at 60°C by employing a set of four species-specific primer mixtures and the results can be checked by naked-eye visualization. No amplification products were detected with deoxyribunucleic acid (DNA) of related trematode species including Fasciola hepatica, Fasciola gigantica, Clonorchis sinensis, Opisthorchis viverrini, Schistosoma mansoni, and Schistosoma japonicum. The method was further validated by examining P. westermani DNA in intermediate hosts including freshwater crabs and crayfish, as well as in sputum and pleural fluid samples from patients of paragonimiasis. These results indicated that the LAMP assay was highly specific, sensitive, and rapid, and it was approximately 100 times more sensitive than conventional specific PCR. The LAMP assay established in this study provides a rapid and sensitive tool for the detection of P. westermani DNA in freshwater crabs, crayfish, sputum, and pleural fluid samples, which has important implications for effective control of human paragonimiasis.

Simplified 2-D cubic spline interpolation scheme using direct computation algorithm

It has been shown that the 2-D cubic spline interpolation (CSI) proposed by Truong et al. is one of the best algorithms for image resampling or compression. Such a CSI algorithm together with the image coding standard, e.g., JPEG, can be used to obtain a modified image codec while still maintaining a good quality of the reconstructed image for higher compression ratios. In this paper, a fast direct computation algorithm is developed to improve the computational efficiency of the original FFT-based 2-D CSI methods. In fact, this algorithm computes the 2-D CSI directly without explicitly calculating the complex division usually needed in the FFT or Winograd discrete Fourier transform (WDFT) algorithm. In addition, this paper describes a novel way to derivate the 2-D CSI from the 1-D CSI by using the row-column method. This new fast 2-D CSI provides a regular and simple structure based upon linear correlations. Therefore, it can be implemented by the use of a modification of Kung’s pipeline structure and is naturally suitable for VLSI implementations. Experimental results show that the proposed new fast 2-D CSI algorithm can achieve almost the same CSI performance with much fewer arithmetic operations in comparison with existing efficient algorithms.

Potential clinical role of 18F FDG-PET/CT in detecting hip prosthesis infection: a study in patients undergoing two-stage revision arthroplasty with an interim spacer

AIM

We evaluated the potential role of [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18F]FDG-PET/CT) to identify latent infections at the site of an interim hip spacer after resection arthroplasty for hip prosthesis infection.

METHODS

Twelve patients with an interim hip spacer following resection arthroplasty (Group A) were investigated. Twelve patients with painful primary hip prostheses served as controls (Group B). All underwent PET/CT before surgery. Both non-attenuation-corrected (NAC) and attenuation-corrected (AC) images were analyzed. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured in 22 patients. Elevated CRP level was defined as >/=10 mg/L. The diagnosis of infection was based on the results of intraoperative tissue cultures, intraoperative pathology, and clinical follow-up.

RESULTS

FDG-PET/CT had 100% sensitivity and 100% negative predictive value for detection of latent infection in both groups. However, there were 4 and 3 false positive cases in Group A and Group B, respectively. Specificity improved from 50% to 62.5% in Group A, and from 62.5% to 87.5% in Group B when using NAC instead of AC. Seventeen patients had CRP values >/=10 mg/L, but only 8 were true positive for infection. FDG-PET/CT ruled out infection in 77.8% (7/9) of false-positive cases identified by CRP levels.

CONCLUSION

FDG-PET/CT is highly sensitive to detect latent infections in prosthetic hips and in interim hip spacers. The high negative predictive value of PET/CT scans is useful to rule out infections in patients with persistently elevated CRP levels. PET/CT might serve as an auxiliary tool to exclude latent infections in patients posing a clinical diagnostic dilemma.

Neutron structure factors of in-vivo deuterated amorphous protein C-phycocyanin

Neutron powder diffraction measurements of fully deuterated protein C-phycocyanin have been made at three temperatures, 295, 200, and 77 K, using dry and partially hydrated samples. The average coherent structure factors and the corresponding radial distribution functions d(r) are determined. The changes in d(r) functions observed in hydrated samples depend strongly on the level of hydration and most of these changes are due to water-protein interactions. At 0.365 gram D(2)O per gram of protein, the water crystallized into hexagonal ice at 200 K and below, but at 0.175 gram D(2)O per gram of protein, no crystallization of water was observed. At the higher hydration a peak appears in the radial distribution function which indicates that the average distance of the water molecule in the first hydration shell from the amino acid residues is 3.5 A.

Sorption of toluene by humic acids derived from lake sediment and mountain soil at different pH

Contamination of soil and groundwater with BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene) depends on the sorption behavior of these compounds by soil organic matter (SOM) and humic acids (HAs). In this study sorption of toluene by HAs extracted from lake sediment and mountain soil was investigated. HA suspensions were adjusted to pH 4.00, 6.00, or 8.00 and made to the concentration of 200 mg L(-1). Each HA suspension or solution was subjected to particle size analysis using high performance particle sizer (HPPS). The particle size of HA from lake sediment was around 1000-1200 nm while that from mountain soil was 220-320 nm at suspension pH 4.00. Kinetic studies showed that sorption of toluene by the two HAs followed pseudo-first-order and mainly pseudo-zero-order kinetics. At suspension pH 4.00, the sorption of toluene by the two HAs was best described by Langmuir and Temkin adsorption isotherm models. Further, sorption of toluene by the lake sediment HA was significantly greater than that by mountain soil HA. It was thus suggested that the lake sediment HA with larger particle size may develop beneficially chemical conformation for sorption of toluene and related compounds in soil and associated environments.

Evidence of dynamic crossover phenomena in water and other glass-forming liquids: experiments, MD simulations and theory

In a recent quasi-elastic neutron scattering experiment on water confined in a Portland cement paste, we find that this 3D confined water shows a dynamic crossover phenomenon at T(L) = 227 ± 5 K. The DSC heat-flow scan upon cooling and an independent measurement of specific heat at constant pressure of confined water in silica gel show a prominent peak at the same temperature. We show in this paper that this type of behavior is common to many other glassy liquids, which also show the crossover temperature in coincidence with the temperature of a small specific heat peak. We also demonstrate with MD simulations that the dynamic crossover phenomenon in confined water is an intrinsic property of bulk water, and is not due to the confinement effect. Recently, an extended version of the mode coupling theory (MCT) including the hopping effect was developed. This theory shows that, instead of a structural arrest transition at T(C) predicted by the idealized MCT, a fragile-to-strong dynamic crossover phenomenon takes place instead at T(C), confirming both the experimental and the numerical results. The coherent and incoherent α relaxation times can be scaled with the calculated viscosity, showing the same crossover phenomenon. We thus demonstrated with experiments, simulations and theory that a genuine change of dynamical behavior of both water and many glassy liquids happens at the crossover temperature T(L), which is 10-30% higher than the calorimetric glass transition temperature T(g).

Social relations and PTSD symptoms: a prospective study on earthquake-impacted adolescents in Taiwan

This prospective longitudinal study examined two competing models, a traditional social support model and a supportive and detrimental social relations model, to clarify the association of PTSD symptoms with supportive and detrimental social relations. Seven-hundred five adolescents living near the epicenter of the Taiwan Chi-Chi Earthquake participated in the study. The models were evaluated and cross-validated using structural equation modeling. The supportive and detrimental social relations model appeared to be a better fit. After further evaluation of three nested versions of the supportive and detrimental social relations model, detrimental social relations was found to partially mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms 1 and 2 years following the earthquake. The findings suggest that helping adolescents deal with detrimental social relations can contribute to postdisaster adjustment.

Affect recognition as an independent social function determinant in schizophrenia

INTRODUCTION

Facial affect recognition deficits may represent specific deficits and contribute to social dysfunction in patients with schizophrenia. Whether their impacts on social dysfunction are independent to those caused by deficits in basic neurocognition and clinical symptoms needs to be further delineated.

METHOD

Association patterns between affect recognition and basic neurocognitive abilities in 40 acute and 33 stable patients with schizophrenia were compared to explore whether their interrelationships changed across clinical stages. The independent contribution of affect recognition deficits to social dysfunction was explored by multivariate models controlling for general intellectual ability, basic neurocognition, and clinical symptoms.

RESULTS

Affect recognition deficits were associated with social role performances, self-care, and contributed independently to global social functioning in stable patients but not in acute patients. Conversely, affect recognition deficits were associated with impaired basic neurocognitions in acute patients but not in stable patients.

CONCLUSION

In stabilized community patients with schizophrenia, affect recognition deficits were relatively independent to basic neurocognition and had significant social functional consequences.

Proposed diagnostic criteria and the screening and diagnosing tool of Internet addiction in college students

The aims of this study were to develop diagnostic criteria of Internet addiction for college students (DC-IA-C) with diagnostic interviews and to establish the optimal cutoff points of the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) for the purposes of screening for and making the diagnosis of Internet addiction. A total of 216 college students (132 male and 84 female) were recruited in the study. The results demonstrated that 5/6 cutoff points of criteria A in DC-IA-C had the best diagnostic accuracy (95.9%). Besides, 63/64 and 67/68 cutoff points of the CIAS were evaluated to be the best screening and diagnostic cutoff points, respectively. The DC-IA-C can provide health care professionals with a means to diagnose and communicate about Internet addiction among college students, and the screening and diagnostic cutoff points of CIAS could provide a screening instrument or a discriminative instrument in surveys for Internet addiction among college students.

Decreased T-cell receptor excision DNA circles in peripheral blood mononuclear cells among benzene-exposed workers

Benzene is a volatile aromatic hydrocarbon solvent which is widely used in many industries. The chronic exposure of humans to benzene in the workplace has been associated with blood disorders, as well as toxicity in lymphopoiesis, including aplastic anaemia and leukaemia. However, the mechanisms of benzene-induced haematotoxicity and leukaemogenesis remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the level of T-cell receptor excision DNA circles (TRECs) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) in benzene-exposed workers. This would therefore be considered as a potential marker for estimates of thymic output and an evaluation of the content of naïve T-cells. It is hoped that the data will bring a comprehensive understanding on the influence of benzene exposure in the host T-cell immune function. Quantitative detection of TRECs in DNA of PBMCs from benzene-exposed workers was preformed by real-time polymerase chain reaction using the TaqMan technique. The benzene-exposed workers were divided into four groups, and 27 normal individuals were served as controls. The result indicated that the TRECs levels of all benzene-exposed groups were significantly decreased as compared with those of controls. In conclusion, the recent thymic output function and the T-cell immune function were apparently impaired in workers after benzene exposure.

Using direct nanoimprinting of ferroelectric films to prepare devices exhibiting bi-directionally tunable surface plasmon resonances

In this paper, we describe an imprint method for the fabrication of bi-directionally tunable surface plasmon resonance (SPR) filters. A periodic metal/ferroelectric film stack exhibiting SPR phenomena was directly imprinted using a sharp mold without the need for a polymer-based resist. Both the refractive index of the surrounding lead zirconate titanate (PZT) films and the period of the textured PZT/metal/PZT structure were dependent upon both the absolute value and sign of the applied potential. The SPR wavelength of the PZT/gold/PZT-based tunable filter varied over a range of greater than 100 nm when applying potentials ranging from 0 to -15 V. This imprinting method has great potential for use in the fabrication of tunable optical filters without the need for complicated processes or specific materials.

Methods for cancer gene therapy

First, the testing of therapeutic gene vectors in vitro is described. This is followed by a discussion of the administration of therapeutic vectors in vivo. Two methods for assessing the development of anti-tumor immunity after cytokine gene therapy are provided. In addition, two methods for the generation of murine tumor models in syngeneic hostsone subcutaneous and one orthotopicare also included.