Weathering-Resistant Replicas Fabricated by a Three-Dimensional Printing Robotic Platform Induce Shoaling Behavior in Zebrafish.

In recent decades, zebrafish have become an increasingly popular laboratory organism in several fields of research due to their ease of reproduction and rapid maturation. In particular, shoaling behavior has attracted the attention of many researchers. This article presents a fully printed robotic model used to sense and stimulate shoaling behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Specifically, we exposed laboratory-fabricated replicated materials to critical acid/base/salt environments and evaluated the mechanical, optical, and surface properties after a three-month immersion period. Focusing on weatherability, these test samples maintained high tensile strength (~45 MPa) and relatively similar transmission (>85%T in the visible region), as determined by UV−vis/FTIR spectroscopy. Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology allowed printing of models with different sizes and appearances. We describe the sense of zebrafish responses to replicas of different sizes and reveal that replicas approximating the true zebrafish size (3 cm) are more attractive than larger replicas (5 cm). This observation suggests that larger replicas appear as predators to the zebrafish and cause fleeing behavior. In this study, we determined the weatherability of a high-transparency resin and used it to fabricate a fully printed driving device to induce shoaling by zebrafish. Finally, we demonstrate a weathering-resistant (for three months) 3D-printed decoy model with potential utility for future studies of outdoor shoaling behavior, and the result has the potential to replace the traditional metal frame devices used in outdoor experiments.

Salidroside induces apoptosis and triggers endoplasmic reticulum stress in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Salidroside possesses excellent anti-tumor activity in many types of malignant tumor. In present study, we focused on the effects of salidroside on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The viability of human HCC cells was assayed using MTT. Apoptosis in the cells and tissues samples were detected by Annexin V/PI or TUNEL staining assays. The levels of apoptosis and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress related proteins were measured by western blotting analysis. We found salidroside significantly suppressed cell viability and promoted apoptosis in HCC cells. Salidroside could activate intrinsic and extrinsic apoptotic pathways, by increasing activities of caspase-3, caspase-8 and caspase-9, up-regulating levels of Bax, Cytochrome c and decreasing level of Bcl-2 in HepG2 cells. Moreover, it was found salidroside induced ER stress and increased expression of p-PERK, eIF2a, p-eIF2a, ATF-6 and CHOP in HepG2 cells. Interestingly, knockdown of CHOP impaired salidroside induced inhibitory effects on HepG2 cells, suggesting the important role of ER stress in cytotoxic effect of salidroside. Finally, we have confirmed salidroside induced ER stress and inhibited development of HepG2 in an xenograft mouse model. In conclusion, our data suggest salidroside inhibits viability and induces apoptosis of HCC both in vitro and vivo, and this effect is partially mediated by activation of ER stress.

Chiral Second-Harmonic Generation from Monolayer WS2/Aluminum Plasmonic Vortex Metalens.

Two-dimensional spiral plasmonic structures have emerged as a versatile approach to generate near-field vortex fields with tunable topological charges. We demonstrate here a far-field approach to observe the chiral second-harmonic generation (SHG) at designated visible wavelengths from a single plasmonic vortex metalens. This metalens comprises an Archimedean spiral slit fabricated on atomically flat aluminum epitaxial film, which allows for precise tuning of plasmonic resonances and subsequent transfer of two-dimensional materials on top of the spiral slit. The nonlinear optical measurements show a giant SHG circular dichroism. Furthermore, we have achieved an enhanced chiral SHG conversion efficiency (about an order of magnitude greater than the bare aluminum lens) from monolayer tungsten disulfide (WS2)/aluminum metalens, which is designed at the C-exciton resonance of WS2. Since the C-exciton is not a valley exciton, the enhanced chiral SHG in this hybrid system originates from the plasmonic vortex field-enhanced SHG under the optical spin-orbit interaction.

Peniciside, a new triterpenoid glycoside, from the fungus Penicillium sp. 169.

Peniciside, a new fernene triterpenoid glycoside, was isolated from the EtOAc extract of the solid-state fermented rice culture of the fungus Penicillium sp. 169. Its structure was elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analysis, and the absolute configuration was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis and chemical methods. Peniciside is the first example of a fernene triterpenoid glycoside with two hydroxyls at C-19 and C-20.

Cytotoxicity and cellular uptake of iron nanowires.

The toxicity of nanostructured materials and nanoparticles are very important considerations for many nanotechnology applications. Iron nanowires (NWs), as useful magnetic nanomaterials, may be good candidates for several biomedical applications. Here Fe NWs with an average diameter of about 50 nm were prepared by electrodeposition within the nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, and characterized by using scanning electron microcopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The cytotoxicity of the Fe NWs was studied at cell level. Specifically, the influence of concentration and size on the cytotoxicity of Fe NWs to HeLa cells was evaluated by MTT assay combined with direct morphology observations by TEM and phase contrast microscopy. The results clearly showed that the presence of Fe NWs had no significant effect on the cell proliferation and cell viability, even the HeLa cells exposed to Fe NWs at the high concentration of 10,000 per cell for 72 h still showed high cell viability of about 80%. From phase contrast microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and TEM observations, it was found that Fe NWs were indeed internalized by HeLa cells. The cellular uptake process and results of Fe NWs demonstrated that as-prepared Fe NWs had not only a good biocompatibility but also a very low cytotoxicity.

[MIC categorization of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with myeloid surface antigen expression].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the characteristics of morphology, immunophenotype and cytogenetics (MIC) of myeloid surface antigen-expressing acute lymphoblastic leukemia (My+ ALL). METHODS: One hundred and twenty untreated acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients were diagnosed by standard bone marrow smear morphologic analysis and peroxidase staining. Flow cytometry and myeloid monoclonal antibodies (McAb) were used to analyze immunophenotype. Chromosome karyotypes were analyzed by R-band technique. RESULTS: Of 120 cases, 66 (55%) were My+ ALL, including 50 cases of My+ B-ALL (56.8% of B-ALL ), 14 cases of My T-ALL (50% of T-ALL) and 2 cases of My+ T and B-ALL (50% of T and BALL). Of 66 My+ ALL, 10 cases (15.1%) were misdiagnosed as acute non-lymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL), the other 54 My- ALL cases were correctly diagnosed. The inconsistent rate between morphological and immunophenotype classifications was higher in My+ ALL than in My- ALL , and there were more atypical morphology cases in My+ ALL than in My- ALL (P < 0.01). In My+ ALL cases 95.5% expressed CD13, 81.8% CD33, 77.3% CD13 and CD33 simultaneously, and 1.5% CD117, but none CD14, CD15 and MPO. CD34 expression rate in My+ ALL cases was significantly higher than that in My- ALL (P < 0.01 ). Cytogenetic abnormalities rates in My+ ALL and My- ALL were 72.3% and 66.7% (P > 0.05) respectively. t(9;22) and t(9;22) plus other cytogenetic abnormalities were detected more frequently in My+ LL cases than in My- B-ALL (P < 0. 01), and not in My+ T-ALL and My- T-ALL cases. The complete remission (CR) rates was 83.9% in My+ ALL and 79% in My- ALL(P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: My+ ALL had a specific characteristics in morphology, immunophenotype and cytogenetics. Some cases have a myeloid morphologic appearance and might be misdiagnosed as acute myeloid leukemia (AML). My+ ALL have a higher CD34 expression rate than My- ALL. t(9;22) abnormality was more frequently observed in My B-ALL than in My- B-ALL. There was no significant difference in CR rate between My+ ALL and My- ALL.