Electrically erodible polymer gel for controlled release of drugs

New controlled drug-delivery systems are being explored to overcome the disadvantages of conventional dosage forms. For example, stimulated drug-delivery has been used to overcome the tolerance problems that occur with a constant delivery rate, to mimic the physiological pattern of hormonal concentration and to supply drugs on demand. Stimuli-sensitive polymers, which are potentially useful for pulsed drug delivery, experience changes in either their structure or their chemical properties in response to changes in environmental conditions. Environmental stimuli include temperature, pH, light (ultraviolet or visible), electric field or certain chemicals. Volume changes of stimuli-sensitive gel networks are particularly responsive to external stimuli, but swelling is slow to occur. As well as being useful in the controlled release of drugs, such systems also provide insight into intermolecular interactions. Here we report on a novel polymeric system, which rapidly changes from a solid state to solution in response to small electric currents, by disintegration of the solid polymer complex into two water-soluble polymers. We show that the modulated release of insulin, and by extension other macromolecules, can be achieved with this polymeric system.     

Policy Resistance Case Study Focused on Government's Intervention in the Conflict Between Big-Box Stores and Traditional Market in Korea Based on Systems Thinking Approach

Rapid expansion of big-box store in developing country caused typical archetypal change in market structure: Success to the Successful, because big-box stores armed with modernized infrastructure and management capability are absorbing the once customers of the traditional market like a black hole. Facing rapid change in market structure and surmounting pleas from traditional market merchants, government took an inevitable intervention with law regulating the big-box store's business and improving traditional market's competence building. Not so long, however, did government confront policy resistance from both sides: Still ongoing polarization of both side's sales. This study articulates behavior over time of market structure with causal loop diagrams of which causalities are extracted from literatures. This study provides significant contribution to policy makers and traditional markets' merchants in other developing countries like India and China, as well as Korea.     

The mouse Ames waltzer hearing-loss mutant is caused by mutation of Pcdh15, a novel protocadherin gene

The neuroepithelia of the inner ear contain hair cells that function as mechanoreceptors to transduce sound and motion signals. Mutations affecting these neuroepithelia cause deafness and vestibular dysfuction in humans. Ames waltzer (av) is a recessive mutation found in mice that causes deafness and a balance disorder associated with the degeneration of inner ear neuroepithelia. Here we report that the gene that harbours the av mutation encodes a novel protocadherin. Cochlear hair cells in the av mutants show abnormal stereocilia by 10 days after birth (P10). This is the first evidence for the requirement of a protocadherin for normal function of the mammalian inner ear.     

抗氧化剂抑制内皮细胞表面的白细胞粘附不依赖其抗氧化活性

氧张力是炎症反应、再灌注损伤和动脉粥样硬化形成的致病因素。这些病变的共同点是内皮细胞表面的白细胞粘附增加。我们用几种抗氧化剂：ＤＣＩ,Ｃｈｒｙｓｉｎ,ＰＤＴＣ和Ｐｒｏｂｕｃｏｌ在流动条件下（切变力在０６～２４ｄｙｎ／ｃｍ２）实验其对内皮细胞表面白细胞粘附的影响,用化学发光法分析这几种抗氧化剂的抗氧化活性。结果显示：ＰＤＴＣ和Ｐｒｏｂｕｃｏｌ对外周血有核细胞氧自由基的产生没有抑制作用,Ｃｈｒｙｓｉｎ可轻度抑制,ＤＣＩ可明显抑制活性氧的产生。相反,ＰＤＴＣ（最大半抑制量８×１０－４ｍｏｌ和Ｃｈｒｙｓｉｎ最大半抑制量５×１０－５ｍｏｌ）可抑制细胞对经ＴＮＦα刺激的人脐带静脉内皮细胞（ＨＵＶＥＣ）的粘附。ＤＣＩ和Ｐｒｏｂｕｃｏｌ对各种切变力范围的细胞粘附无作用。抗氧化剂对内皮细胞表面的白细胞粘附的抑制作用不能单用其抗氧性特性来解释。可能的作用机理是这类物质直接作用转录因子ＮＦ－ｋＢ的结果     

Pten regulates neuronal soma size: a mouse model of Lhermitte-Duclos disease.

Somatic inactivation of PTEN occurs in different human tumors including glioblastoma, endometrial carcinoma and prostate carcinoma. Germline mutations in PTEN result in a range of phenotypic abnormalities that occur with variable penetrance, including neurological features such as macrocephaly, seizures, ataxia and Lhermitte-Duclos disease (also described as dysplastic gangliocytoma of the cerebellum). Homozygous deletion of Pten causes embryonic lethality in mice. To investigate function in the brain, we used Cre-loxP technology to selectively inactivate Pten in specific mouse neuronal populations. Loss of Pten resulted in progressive macrocephaly and seizures. Neurons lacking Pten expressed high levels of phosphorylated Akt and showed a progressive increase in soma size without evidence of abnormal proliferation. Cerebellar abnormalities closely resembled the histopathology of human Lhermitte-Duclos disease. These results indicate that Pten regulates neuronal size in vivo in a cell-autonomous manner and provide new insights into the etiology of Lhermitte-Duclos disease.     

Indole-3-carbinol enhances ultraviolet B-induced apoptosis by sensitizing human melanoma cells

Indole-3-carbinol (I3C) has been found to act against several types of cancer, while ultraviolet B (UVB) is known to induce the apoptosis of human melanoma cells. Here, we investigated whether I3C can sensitize G361 human melanoma cells to UVB-induced apoptosis. We examined the effects of combined I3C and UVB (I3C/UVB) at various dosages. I3C (200 μM)/UVB (50 mJ/cm²) synergistically reduced melanoma cell viability, whereas I3C (200 μM) or UVB (50 mJ/cm²), separately, had little effect on cell viability. DNA fragmentation assays indicated that I3C/UVB induced apoptosis. Further results show that I3C/UVB activates caspase-8, −3, and Bid and causes the cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase. Moreover, I3C decreased the expression of the anti-apoptotic protein, Bcl-2, whereas UVB increased the translocation of Bax to mitochondria. Thus, an increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio by I3C/UVB may result in melanoma apoptosis. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that I3C sensitizes human melanoma cells by down-regulating Bcl-2. Received 5 July 2006; received after revision 25 August 2006; accepted 11 September 2006