Induction of G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest via p38/p21Waf1/Cip1-Dependent Signaling Pathway Activation by Bavachinin in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignant cancer in the world. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the major category of lung cancer. Although effective therapies have been administered, for improving the NSCLC patient’s survival, the incident rate is still high. Therefore, searching for a good strategy for preventing NSCLC is urgent. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are brilliant materials for cancer chemoprevention, because of their high biological safety and low cost. Bavachinin, which is an active flavanone of Proralea corylifolia L., possesses anti-inflammation, anti-angiogenesis, and anti-cancer activities. The present study’s aim was to evaluate the anti-cancer activity of bavachinin on NSCLC, and its regulating molecular mechanisms. The results exhibited that a dose-dependent decrease in the cell viability and colony formation capacity of three NSCLC cell lines, by bavachinin, were through G2/M cell cycle arrest induction. Meanwhile, the expression of the G2/M cell cycle regulators, such as cyclin B, p-cdc2^Y15, p-cdc2^T161, and p-wee1, was suppressed. With the dramatic up-regulation of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, p21^Waf1/Cip1, the expression and association of p21^Waf1/Cip1 with the cyclin B/cdc2 complex was observed. Silencing the p21^Waf1/Cip1 expression significantly rescued bavachinin-induced G2/M cell accumulation. Furthermore, the expression of p21^Waf1/Cip1 mRNA was up-regulated in bavachinin-treated NSCLC cells. In addition, MAPK and AKT signaling were activated in bavachinin-added NSCLC cells. Interestingly, bavachinin-induced p21^Waf1/Cip1 expression was repressed after restraint p38 MAPK activation. The inhibition of p38 MAPK activation reversed bavachinin-induced p21^Waf1/Cip1 mRNA expression and G2/M cell cycle arrest. Collectively, bavachinin-induced G2/M cell cycle arrest was through the p38 MAPK-mediated p21^Waf1/Cip1-dependent signaling pathway in the NSCLC cells.     

An analysis of the logic of Riesz spaces with strong unit

We study ?ukasiewicz logic enriched by a scalar multiplication with scalars in $[0,1]$. Its algebraic models, called Riesz MV-algebras, are, up to isomorphism, unit intervals of Riesz spaces with strong unit endowed with an appropriate structure. When only rational scalars are considered, one gets the class of DMV-algebras and a corresponding logical system. Our research follows two objectives. The first one is to deepen the connections between functional analysis and the logic of Riesz MV-algebras. The second one is to study the finitely presented MV-algebras, DMV-algebras and Riesz MV-algebras, connecting them from logical, algebraic and geometric perspective.     

Maximal residuated lattices with lifting boolean center

In this paper, we define, inspired by ring theory, the class of maximal residuated lattices with lifting boolean center and prove a structure theorem for them: any maximal residuated lattice with lifting boolean center is isomorphic to a finite direct product of local residuated lattices.     

Properties of reactively sputtered W–B–N thin film as a diffusion barrier for Cu metallization on Si

Thin films of W–B–N (10 nm) have been evaluated as diffusion barriers for Cu interconnects. The amorphous W–B–N thin films were prepared at room temperature via reactive magnetron sputtering using a W₂B target at various N₂/(Ar + N₂) flow ratios. Cu diffusion tests were performed after in-situ deposition of 200 nm Cu. Thermal annealing of the barrier stacks was carried out in vacuum at elevated temperatures for one hour. X-ray diffraction patterns, sheet resistance measurement, cross-section transmission electron microscopy images, and energy-dispersive spectrometer scans on the samples annealed at 500°C revealed no Cu diffusion through the barrier. The results indicate that amorphous W–B–N is a promising low resistivity diffusion barrier material for copper interconnects.     

Fast X-ray Micro-Tomography of Multiphase Flow in Berea Sandstone: A Sensitivity Study on Image Processing

Synchrotron-based fast micro-tomography is the method of choice to observe in situ multiphase flow and displacement dynamics on the pore scale. However, the image processing workflow is sensitive to a suite of manually selected parameters which can lead to ambiguous results. In this work, the relationship between porosity and permeability in response to systematically varied gray-scale threshold values was studied for different segmentation approaches on a dataset of Berea sandstone at a voxel length of 3  \(\upmu \) m. For validation of the image processing workflow, porosity, permeability, and capillary pressure were compared to laboratory measurements on a larger-sized core plug of the same material. It was found that for global thresholding, minor variations in the visually permissive range lead to large variations in porosity and even larger variations in permeability. The latter is caused by changes in the pore-scale flow paths. Pore throats were found to be open for flow at large thresholds but closed for smaller thresholds. Watershed-based segmentation was found to be significantly more robust to manually chosen input parameters. Permeability and capillary pressure closely match experimental values; for capillary pressure measurements, the plateau of calculated capillary pressure curves was similar to experimental curves. Modeling on structures segmented with hysteresis thresholding was found to overpredict experimental capillary pressure values, while calculated permeability showed reasonable agreement to experimental data. This demonstrates that a good representation of permeability or capillary pressure alone is not a sufficient quality criterion for appropriate segmentation, but the data should be validated with both parameters. However, porosity is the least reliable quality criterion. In the segmented images, always a lower porosity was found compared to experimental values due to micro-porosity below the imaging resolution. As a result, it is recommended to base the validation of image processing workflows on permeability and capillary pressure and not on porosity. Decane-brine distributions from a multiphase flow experiment were modeled in a thus validated \(\upmu \) -CT pore space using a morphological approach which captures only capillary forces. A good overall correspondence was found when comparing (capillary-controlled) equilibrium fluid distributions before and after pore-scale displacement events.     

Chaos synchronization and parameter identification for loudspeaker systems

The identical two-degrees-of-freedom loudspeaker systems are discussed for synchronization of chaos in this paper. Two methods are used to synchronize two identical chaotic systems with different initial condition: the adaptive control and the Gerschgorin's theorem. Finally we research the parameter identification for two identical two-degrees-of-freedom loudspeaker systems by adaptive control and random optimization method.     

Synthesis and characterization of hyperbranched aromatic poly(ether imide)s with terminal amino groups

We synthesized an AB₂‐type monomer, 4‐{4‐[di(4‐aminophenyl)methyl]phenoxy}phthalic acid, which contained one phthalic acid group and two aminophenyl functionalities. The direct self‐polycondensation of the AB₂‐type monomer in the presence of triphenylphosphite as an activator afforded a hyperbranched poly(ether imide) with a large number of terminal amino groups. This polymer was characterized with ¹H NMR and IR spectroscopy. The degree of branching of the hyperbranched poly(ether imide) was approximately 56%, as determined by a combination of model compound studies and an analysis of ¹H NMR spectroscopy integration data. The terminal amino groups underwent functionalization readily. The solubility and thermal properties of the resulting polymers depended on the nature of the chain end groups. In addition, the hyperbranched poly(ether imide) was grafted with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS). Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that the grafted POSS molecules aggregated to form a nanocomposite material. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3726–3735, 2003     

Rheo-Dielectric behavior of low molecular weight liquid crystals.

Dielectric relaxation behavior was examined for 4-4′-n-pentyl-cyanobiphenyl (5CB) and 4-4′-n-heptyl-cyanobiphenyl (7CB) under flow. In quiescent states at all temperatures examined, both 5CB and 7CB exhibited dispersions in their complex dielectric constant ε*(ω) at characteristic frequencies ω _c above 10⁶ rad s^–1. This dispersion reflected orientational fluctuation of individual 5CB and 7CB molecules having large dipoles parallel to their principal axis (in the direction of C≡N bond). In the isotropic state at high temperatures, these molecules exhibited no detectable changes of ε*(ω) under flow at shear rates . In contrast, in the nematic state at lower temperatures the terminal relaxation intensity of ε*(ω) as well as the static dielectric constant ε′(0) decreased under flow at . This rheo-dielectric change was discussed in relation to the flow effects on the nematic texture (director distribution) and anisotropy in motion of individual molecules with respect to the director. Received: 14 April 1998 Accepted: 29 July 1998