Recent analyses with ribosomal RNA-based technologies have revealed the diversity of
bacterial populations within dental biofilms, and have highlighted their important
contributions to oral health ...and disease. Dental biofilms are exceedingly complex and
multispecies ecosystems, where oral bacteria interact cooperatively or competitively
with other members. Bacterial interactions that influence dental biofilm communities
include various different mechanisms. During the early stage of biofilm formation, it
is known that planktonic bacterial cells directly attach to surfaces of the oral
cavity or indirectly bind to other bacterial cells that have already colonized.
Adherence through co-aggregation may be critical for the temporary retention of
bacteria on dental surfaces, and may facilitate eventual bacterial colonization. It
is likely that metabolic communication, genetic exchange, production of inhibitory
factors (e.g., bacteriocins, hydrogen peroxide, etc.), and
quorum-sensing are pivotal regulatory factors that determine the bacterial
composition and/or metabolism. Since each bacterium can easily access a neighboring
bacterial cell and its metabolites, genetic exchanges and metabolic communication may
occur frequently in dental biofilms. Quorum-sensing is defined as gene regulation in
response to cell density, which influences various functions, e.g.,
virulence and bacteriocin production. In this review, we discuss these important
interactions among oral bacteria within the dental biofilm communities.
A British randomised study of gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) combination showed promising results in biliary tract cancer (BTC) patients. In our study, we evaluated the efficacy and safety of this ...combination compared with gemcitabine alone (G) in Japanese BTC patients.
Overall, 84 advanced BTC patients were randomised to either cisplatin 25 mg m(-2) plus gemcitabine 1000 mg m(-2) on days 1, 8 of a 21-day cycle (GC-arm), or single-agent gemcitabine 1000 mg m(-2) on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle (G-arm). Treatments were repeated for at least 12 weeks until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity occurred, up to a maximum of 48 weeks.
A total of 83 patients were included in the analysis. For the GC and G-arms, respectively, the 1-year survival rate was 39.0 vs 31.0%, median survival time 11.2 vs 7.7 months, median progression-free survival time 5.8 vs 3.7 months and overall response rate 19.5 vs 11.9%. The most common grade 3 or 4 toxicities (GC-arm/G-arm) were neutropenia (56.1%/38.1%), thrombocytopenia (39.0%/7.1%), leukopenia (29.3%/19.0%), haemoglobin decrease (36.6%/16.7%) and gamma-GTP increase (29.3%/35.7%).
Gemcitabine plus cisplatin combination therapy was found to be effective and well tolerated, suggesting that it could also be a standard regimen for Japanese patients.
Regulating the intracellular Na+/K+ ratio is an essential process for salinity tolerance. The yeast mutant, can, which is deficient in calcineurin, can not grow on medium containing Na+ because it is ...unable to regulate the intracellular Na+/K+ ratio. Expression of the STO gene of Arabidopsis thaliana in the can mutant complements the salt‐sensitive phenotype. A protein of Arabidopsis, an H‐protein promoter binding factor (HPPBF‐1), that binds to STO protein was isolated. HPPBF‐1 cDNA has a sequence encoding a Myb DNA binding‐motif and its gene expression is induced by salt stress. Furthermore, HPPBF‐1 protein is localized in the nucleus. Although, the expression level of STO is not induced under salt‐stress conditions, overexpression of STO in a transgenic Arabidopsis plant gave it a higher salt tolerance than was observed in the wild type. When STO transgenic plants and wild‐type plants were subjected to salt stress, root growth was increased by 33–70% in the transgenic plants under salt stress. These results suggest that STO is involved in salt‐stress responses in Arabidopsis.
•Near-infrared (NIR) shielding materials using conductive cellulose nanofiber (CNF).•Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) prepared using sulfated CNF (s-CNF).•700 times more conductive than ...simple PEDOT/PSS without adding agent.•The PEDOT/s-CNF thin film suppressed the temperature rise by NIR irradiation.
We synthesized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) thin films by using a microcrystalline sulfated cellulose nanofiber (s-CNF) dopant. Specifically, we examined the ratio of EDOT monomer and CNF dopant, the quantity of initiator for the monomer, and the pH during polymerization. By doing so, we produced a PEDOT/s-CNF thin film with a conductivity that is 700 times higher than commercial simple PEDOT/polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) without adding agent. The optical adsorption of PEDOT/s-CNF thin film in the near-infrared (NIR) range (700–2000 nm) increased in accordance with the electrical conductivity increased. We estimated the visible light (380–700 nm) and NIR (700–2000 nm) transmittance τ by multiplying the spectral transmittance τ(λ) and weighting coefficients (Eλ•Δλ), and taking the weighted average. Although the τvis of the optimized PEDOT/s-CNF thin film with the highest conductivity remained at 85.0%, the τNIR decreased to 69.8%. We dispersed the optimized PEDOT/s-CNF in the polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution and coated the polymer onto a glass plate to provide NIR shielding. By testing the PEDOT-coated glass by irradiation with simulated sunlight, we confirmed that the film suppressed the temperature rise.
The longitudinal and transverse piezoresistance coefficients of Ge at room temperature are represented graphically as a function of the crystal directions for orientation (001), (110) and (211) ...planes. Many valley model of conduction band and stress decoupling decoupling of the degenerate valence band into two bands of prolate and oblate ellipsoidal energy surface are shown to explain origin of the piezoresistance. One this basis, comparison between piezoresistance coefficient and theoretical model is discussed.
ObjectiveTo investigate the contributions of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP) to the increase in skeletal muscle blood flow (MBF) observed following manual acupuncture ...(MA) stimulation in rats.MethodsMale Sprague-Dawley rats were used as experimental animals (300–370 g, n=40). MA was applied to the right tibialis anterior muscle (TA) for 1 min using a stainless steel acupuncture needle. In eight rats, high-performance liquid chromatography with the microdialysis technique was used to measure local extracellular concentrations of ATP, ADP, adenosine monophosphate (AMP), and adenosine in the TA. In the remaining 32 rats, fluorescent microspheres (15 µm in diameter) were used to measure MBF in the TA following pre-treatment with either the P2 receptor antagonist suramin (100 mg/kg intra-arterially) or saline (control) (n=16 each). Rats receiving MA (Suramin+MA and Saline+MA groups, n=8 each) were compared with untreated rats (Suramin and Saline groups, n=8).ResultsMA significantly increased the local extracellular concentration of ATP, ADP, and adenosine (p<0.05, before MA vs 30 min after MA). In addition, MA significantly increased MBF in rats pre-treated with saline or suramin (p<0.01, Saline vs Saline+MA; p<0.05, Suramin vs Suramin+MA, respectively). However, suramin significantly suppressed this MA-induced increase in MBF (p<0.05, Saline+MA vs Suramin+MA).ConclusionsThese results suggest that both ATP and ADP partially contribute to the MA-induced increase in MBF via P2 receptors. However, further studies are needed to clarify the contributions of other vasodilators.
The main theorem of the paper 2 requires a restriction on the prime p. This statement is being modified based on a certain conjecture on the p-adic zeta functions.
A high-resolution monochromator with varied line space plane gratings (VLSG) and spherical focusing mirrors was installed in one of three branches of BL27SU in SPring-8. The performance of the ...monochromator was roughly evaluated from the photo ion yield of nitrogen molecule. Furthermore, the kinetic energy of the photoelectron from Xe 5p
3/2 orbit was also measured at the same photon energy with the N
2 to avoid the influence of natural width. The resolving power over 10
4 has been confirmed at the N K-edge.
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