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1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D3 negatively regulates the renin–angiotensin system (RAS), which plays a critical role in the development of diabetic nephropathy. We tested if mice lacking the vitamin D receptor (VDR) are more susceptible to hyperglycemia-induced renal injury. Diabetic VDR knockout mice developed more severe albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis due to increased glomerular basement membrane thickening and podocyte effacement. More fibronectin (FN) and less nephrin were expressed in the VDR knockout mice compared to diabetic wild-type mice. In receptor knockout mice, increased renin, angiotensinogen, transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and connective tissue growth factor accompanied the more severe renal injury. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitmain D3 inhibited high glucose (HG)-induced FN production in cultured mesangial cells and increased nephrin expression in cultured podocytes. 1,25-Dihydroxyvitmain D3 also suppressed HG-induced activation of the RAS and TGF-β in mesangial and juxtaglomerular cells. Our study suggests that receptor-mediated vitamin D actions are renoprotective in diabetic nephropathy.

An Al2O3/MgO composite coating was synthesized on magnesium alloy AZ33 using a chemical conversion process for the first time. EDTA-2Na was introduced in the Al conversion solution to chelate Al3+, and involved Al3+ in the cogrowth reaction. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and x-ray diffraction results showed that the coating consisted of Al2O3 and MgO with the ratio of 1:6. Visual and cross-sectional analysis revealed that the coating was compact and flat after heat-treatment. The polarization resistance (Rp) of the coated alloy was about three orders of magnitude higher than that of the untreated alloy in 3.5 wt% aqueous NaCl solution. The coated alloy still maintained high corrosion resistance after 72 h immersion in the solution. It is believed that this effective and low-cost method can provide a new coating for the protection of magnesium alloys.

Mdm2 is the major negative regulator of p53 tumor-suppressor activity. This oncoprotein is overexpressed in many human tumors that retain the wild-type p53 allele. As such, targeted inhibition of Mdm2 is being considered as a therapeutic anticancer strategy. The N-terminal hydrophobic pocket of Mdm2 binds to p53 and thereby inhibits the transcription of p53 target genes. Additionally, the C-terminus of Mdm2 contains a RING domain with intrinsic ubiquitin E3 ligase activity. By recruiting E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme(s), Mdm2 acts as a molecular scaffold to facilitate p53 ubiquitination and proteasome-dependent degradation. Mdmx (Mdm4), an Mdm2 homolog, also has a RING domain and hetero-oligomerizes with Mdm2 to stimulate its E3 ligase activity. Recent studies have shown that C-terminal residues adjacent to the RING domain of both Mdm2 and Mdmx contribute to Mdm2 E3 ligase activity. However, the molecular mechanisms mediating this process remain unclear, and the biological consequences of inhibiting Mdm2/Mdmx co-operation or blocking Mdm2 ligase function are relatively unexplored. This study presents biochemical and cell biological data that further elucidate the mechanisms by which Mdm2 and Mdmx co-operate to regulate p53 level and activity. We use chemical and genetic approaches to demonstrate that functional inhibition of Mdm2 ubiquitin ligase activity is insufficient for p53 activation. This unexpected result suggests that concomitant treatment with Mdm2/Mdmx antagonists may be needed to achieve therapeutic benefit.

In the present study, pure titanium (Ti) plates were firstly treated to form various types of oxide layers on the surface and then were immersed into simulated body fluid (SBF) to evaluate the apatite-forming ability. The surface morphology and roughness of the different oxide layers were measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM), and the surface energies were determined based on the Owens–Wendt (OW) methods. It was found that Ti samples after alkali heat (AH) treatment achieved the best apatite formation after soaking in SBF for three weeks, compared with those without treatment, thermal or H2O2 oxidation. Furthermore, contact angle measurement revealed that the oxide layer on the alkali heat treated Ti samples possessed the highest surface energy. The results indicate that the apatite-inducing ability of a titanium oxide layer links to its surface energy. Apatite nucleation is easier on a surface with a higher surface energy.

Cancer stem cells are refractory to conventional therapy, which result to cancer metastasis and chemo-radioresistance. Grp78 is known to have important roles in cytoprotection and tumorigenesis in several cancers. We therefore examined whether Grp78 can serve as a therapeutic target for refractory stemness phenotype of head and neck cancer (HNC). Six HNC cell lines were used. Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis was used to sort [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.SUP.+] and [Grp78.sup.+] cells. The small interfering RNA (siRNA) knockdown and cDNA transfection were applied to examine the effects of Grp78 on cellular function. Western blot and confocol microscopy were used to determine the effects of downstream protein expressions. Xenografted mouse tumors and immunohistochemistry were used to validate the results. We found that Grp78 regulated the conversion of [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+] cells, a characteristic of HNC stem cells. The [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+] [Grp78.sup.+] cells showed superior chemo- radioresistance and invasion ability compared with [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+], [Grp78.sup.+] or the parental cells. Silencing Grp78 increased chemo- radiosensitivity, inhibited cell invasion, reverse epithelial-mesenchymal transition, suppressed cancer stemness, withdrew [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+] cell conversion and induced differentiated phenotype. Study in xenografted mice further showed that [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+] [Grp78.sup.+] cells exhibited highest tumorigenesis, compared with [CD24.sup.-] [CD44.sup.+] [CD24.sup.+] [CD44.sup.+] or the parental cells. Grp78 knockdown dramatically restrained tumor growth along with the inhibition of stem cell regulatory proteins Oct-4 and Slug. Grp78 may serve as a molecular target that can be further developed for eradication of refractory HNC with stemness phenotype. Cancer Gene Therapy (2013) 20, 606-615; doi: 10.1038/cgt.2013.64; published online 8 November 2013 Keywords: Grp78; head and neck cancer; cancer stem cells; cell invasion; chemoresistance; radioresistance

The effects of a controlled release urea (CRU) on concentration of N in root zones, activities of N metabolism enzymes in leaves, and N use efficiency of rice (Oryza sativa L.) grown on a silt loam soil in lysimeters were investigated. The entire amount (100–300 kg N ha−1) of the CRU was incorporated into a plug for growing the rice seedlings while the regular urea was split into three applications (the standard practice). Results indicated that the N release of CRU closely matched the N requirements of the rice, and the commingling of the CRU with the rice seeds increased N concentration within the root zone and enhanced the activities of glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamine 2-oxoglutarate amidotransferase (GOGAT) and nitrate reductase (NR) in leaves. At the same N rate, the apparent N use efficiency of the CRU applied at 300 kg N ha−1 was 27.6 and 22.9% higher than that of conventional urea treatment in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Although the CRU at 200 kg N ha−1 supplied one-third less N than the urea at 300 kg N ha−1, the CRU produced 3 to 5.9% more grain than the urea. Placing the CRU with rice seeds without additional fertilizer application during the entire growing season significantly increased N availability in soils and improved rice growth and led to use of less N fertilizers for greater rice grain yield.

Phosphorus (P) is essential for crop production. Adequate application P rate is critical for enhancing productivity and profitability of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The goal of this study was to optimize P application rate for commercial snap bean production in south Florida. Six trials were conducted on sandy soils and muck soils in Hendry County and Palm Beach County, Florida, USA. Before planting cv. Caprice snap bean, plots were fertilized with different P application rates in the form of triple superphosphate (0-45-0). An increase in P2O5 application rates up to 134 kg/ha P2O5 significantly increased the marketable bean yields. However, beyond that point, significant field gains did not occur with further increased application. At 134 kg/ha P2O5, bean appearance quality was the best compared to the other treatments. These results indicate that 134 kg/ha P2O5 produced best bean appearance quality and was the optimum rate for commercial production of snap bean in high-pH soils in south Florida.

High-pressure in situ angular dispersive x-ray diffraction study on the wurtzite-type InN nanowires has been carried out by means of the image-plate technique and diamond-anvil cell (DAC) up to about 31.8 GPa. The pressure-induced structural transition from the wurtzite to a rocksalt-type phase occurs at about 14.6 GPa, which is slightly higher than the transition pressure of InN bulk materials (~12.1 GPa). The relative volume reduction at the transition point is close to 17.88%, and the bulk modulus B0 is determined through fitting the relative volume-pressure experimental data related to the wurtzite and rocksalt phases to the Birch-Murnaghan equation of states. Moreover, high-pressure Raman scattering for InN nanowires were also investigated in DAC at room temperature. The corresponding structural transition was confirmed by assignment of phonon modes. We calculated the mode Griineisen parameters for the wurtzite and rocksalt phases of InN nanowires.

With the advantage of simplicity and low cost, ink jet printing has the potential to replace the traditional chemical and physical deposition technology in thin film fabrication. In this work, silver conductive thin films are deposited on glass and polyimide substrates by ink jet printing, where some major characteristics of the printed thin films are investigated and compared to those deposited by sputtering. The micro texture and residual stresses of the thin films are measured with X-ray diffractometry (XRD). Using thin film scratch tester, the adhesion of thin films deposited by both ink jet printing and sputtering is studied. Further observations on electric and optical performance by using visible wavelength photospectrometry, four-point probe, and surface profiler are also discussed. The result shows that the micro texture of the printed thin film behaves as good as the sputtered thin film. Furthermore, the micro scratch result illustrates that the adhesion of the printed thin film is even better than the sputtered thin film. It emphasizes that, after certain baking process, the ink jet printing has the possibility to replace sputtering in thin film deposition, especially for the polymer substrates.

With the growth of industrialization, the global manufacturing industry is continually evolving and reforming in the direction of intelligence and green production. Industrial robots have replaced human workers because of the benefit of production efficiency. However, the large-scale application of robots requires a large amount of energy consumption and generates a large amount of CO2, which will lead to energy waste and environmental pollution. In addition, in term of performing some particular tasks, current robot technology cannot achieve the same level of intelligence as human. Therefore, the design trend of assembly lines in industry has shifted from traditional configuration to human-robot collaboration to achieve higher productivity and flexibility. This paper investigates the human-robot collaboration (HRC) assembly line balancing problem, taking cycle time and carbon emission as primary and secondary objectives. A new mixed-integer programming model that features a cross-station design is formulated. A particle swarm algorithm (PSO) with two improvement rules is designed to solve the problems. The comparative experiments on ten benchmark datasets are conducted to assess the performance of the proposed algorithm. The experimental results indicate that the improved particle swarm algorithm is superior to the other two heuristics: simulated annealing (SA) and the late acceptance hill-climbing heuristic (LAHC).