The effects of gastric cancer interstitial fluid on tumors based on traditional Chinese medicine 'phlegm' theory and the investigation on the mechanism through microRNA-21 regulation.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of gastric cancer interstitial fluid (GCIF) on tumors and explore the possible mechanism of Xiaotan Sanjie decoction (XTSJ) on treatment of gastric cancer from the view of regulating microRNA-21 (miR-21) expression. The GCIF was extracted and identified by measuring the levels of interleukin-8 (IL-8), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) and miR-21. The effects of GCIF on the proliferation of SGC-7901 cells and tumor growing were assessed by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay and subcutaneously transplanted tumor-bearing nude mice model, respectively. Additionally, inhibition effect of XTSJ decoction on proliferation of SGC-7901 cells intervened by GCIF were assessed in vitro and anti-cancer effect of it was further assessed using orthotopic transplanted tumor-bearing nude mice model. The concentration of SGC-7901 gastric cancer cells were dependent on the concentration of the added GCIF. After 72 hours of continuous culture, the interstitial fluid had an obvious proliferative effect on the SGC-7901 tumor cells, which was the most significant in the high concentration group. XTSJ decoction could inhibit the growth-promoting effect (P < 0.01) of GCIF on gastric cancer cells. Intervention of the GCIF might promote the growth (P < 0.05) of the subcutaneously transplanted tumors in nude mice and decrease the net weight of the tumor-bearing nude mice (P < 0.05) after tumor removal. The GCIF was able to up-regulate the expression (P < 0.001) of miR-21 in the subcutaneously transplanted tumors. XTSJ decoction could downregulate the expression (P < 0.05) of miR-21 in SGC-7901 orthotopically transplanted tumors. XTSJ decoction can inhibit the multiplicative effect of GCIF on gastric cancer cells, growth of gastric tumor and promotion effect of GCIF on tumors, probably due to the down-regulating miR-21 expression in tumor tissues.

Color variation in periodic Ag line arrays patterned by using electron-beam lithography.

Periodic Ag line arrays with different line pitches from 500 nm to 950 nm on ITO coated glass substrates have been fabricated by using electron-beam lithography (EBL) technique for studying the color light guide in a display system. The patterned Ag line array is used as a light outcoupling and color-selection component due to the emission wavelength changed by the Ag line arrays with different periodic distances that could achieve color variation. We have demonstrated that the ITO coated glass substrates containing periodic Ag line arrays with varied line pitches can be used as a color filter in a display device. This means that with a proper metallic nanostructure layer, the red, green, and blue colors in a display system can be obtained without a traditional color filter for modern multi-applications of optoelectronic display devices.

Coupled waveguide-surface plasmon resonance biosensor with subwavelength grating.

This study develops a coupled waveguide-surface plasmon resonance (CWSPR) biosensor with a subwavelength grating structure for the real-time analysis of biomolecular interactions. In the proposed optical metrology system, normally incident white light is coupled into the waveguide layer through the subwavelength grating structure thereby enhancing the wave vector which excites the surface plasmons on the metal sensing surface. The proposed CWSPR biosensor not only retains the same sensing sensitivity as that of a conventional surface plasmon resonance device, but also yields a sharper dip in the reflectivity spectrum and therefore provides an improved measurement precision. Moreover, the metrology setup overcomes the limitations of the conventional Kretschmann attenuated total reflection approach and is less sensitive to slight variations in the angle of the incident light. The experimental results confirm that the current CWSPR biosensor provides a straightforward yet powerful technique for real-time biomolecular interaction analysis.

Systematic variation of polymer jacketed fibres and the effects on tip etching dynamics.

Using a chemically etched fibre probe through a plastic jacket provides a simple way to smooth a tip's surface. Convection flow in the plastic tube and lateral diffusion with fixed meniscus height has been proposed to explain such improvement. Fibres with additive thin polymer layers and bare fibres with thick untapered/tapered plastic layers have been prepared to verify the dominant mechanism. The additive layers greatly change the tip's geometry and bare-fibres with untapered plastics cannot form tips. This confirmed that lateral diffusion dominates the etching process. Based on our investigation, we propose a new non-meniscus end-etching method by using tapered plastics. Unlike etching methods with meniscus, the end-etching method can regularly form very smooth tips. It is insensitive to vibrations and temperature drifts and also suitable for most fibres.

Soluble electroluminescent poly(phenylene vinylene)s with balanced electron- and hole injections.

We report a new route for the design of efficient soluble electroluminescent PPV-based copolymers bearing electron-deficient oxadiazole (OXD) moieties on side chains. The introduction of OXD through a long alkylene spacer with PPV backbone provides a molecular dispersion of OXD in the film; both the side chain OXD and the main chain PPV do retain their own electron-transport and emissive properties, respectively. The use of phenylene vinylene derivatives with asymmetric and branched substituents and a long spacer provides solubility for ease of device fabrication as well as amorphous structure to allow a well-mixing of OXD groups with the main chains. By properly adjusting the OXD content through copolymerization, we can tailor the chemical structure of electroluminescent material to give a balance of hole- and electron injections for various metal cathodes, such that the quantum efficiency is significantly improved and the turn-on voltage is reduced for the devices with aluminum and calcium. For the device with calcium fabricated in open air, a maximum brightness of 15000 cd/m(2) at 15 V/100 nm and a maximum luminance efficiency of 2.27 cd/A can be obtained, respectively, about 30 times brighter and 9.4 times more efficient than those with the corresponding homopolymer, poly[2-methoxy-5-(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylenevinylene] (MEH-PPV). The use of physical blends to simulate the copolymers provides no significant improvement, since phase-separation structures appear, causing an inefficient utilization of OXD and sometimes voltage-dependent emission spectra. The present route permits a fabrication of single layer PLED with high brightness, high efficiency, and low turn-on voltage.

The correlation between polarization modulated near-field optical images and the anisotropy of the probe.

The true anisotropic images taken with the polarization modulation near-field optical microscope are often influenced by the linear dichroism of the tapered fibre probe. In this paper, we develop a new method to separate the anisotropic image form probe's dichroism. Our calculations show that the near-field optical image is simply a vector sum of the sample's dichroism and the probe's dichroism, when the probe's anisotropy is small. With this result, we demonstrate the true anisotropic images of poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV) thin films. The PPV films show non-uniform mesoscale dichroic domains with average domain size, approximately 0.3 mm, and the coefficient for linear dichroism is 1.25 x 10(4) cm(-1).

Interactions between hydrophobic and hydrophilic silicon surfaces using a tapered probe in near-field scanning optical microscopy.

We examined the tip-sample interaction of a Si(111) surface processed with HF solution. The interaction length of the probe with its hydrophobic surface is approximately 30, and the frequency responses show an interaction force of elastic type. By contrast, the damping curve on a hydrophilic surface, Si with thin oxide, operates on a longer length of 100. Here, the frequency responses indicate an interaction force of the viscous type.

Phase separation in polyaniline with near-field scanning optical microscopy.

We report the studies of conjugated polymers, polyaniline thin films, with a near-field scanning optical microscope. Because of the absorption variation in different oxidation states, transmission-mode near-field scanning optical microscope images were employed to map out the distribution of the oxidation states on a submicrometer scale. When the near-field wavelength is varied (between 632.8 and 543.5 nm), the phase separation between the oxidized and the reduced repeated units, with domain sizes on a nanometer-length scale, is observed.

Two-dimensional near-field intensity distribution of tapered fiber probes.

The near-field intensity distribution perpendicular to the light-propagation direction was measured by photochemical processes on conjugated-polymer thin films. The shape of the distribution is elliptical, with the long axis along the direction of the incident polarization. The results are compared with calculations based on the realistic tapered probe geometry. The asymmetry distribution is due to the simultaneous presence of horizontal and vertical electric fields in the near field.

Dual-optical-mode near-field scanning optical microscopy.

The simultaneous operation of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) in reflection and transmission modes is demonstrated. In the transmission mode, a low-noise, large-area silicon photodetector was mounted between the piezoelectric transducer scanning stage and the sample. In the reflection mode, either a photomultiplier tube or two large-area silicon detectors was used for signal collection. The reflection-mode setup consisting of two silicon detectors provides a large numerical aperture of 0.9 as well as symmetrical detection of emitting photons. The dielectric thin films and the light-emitting polymers were used to demonstrate the capability of these two modes of NSOM. A comparison between these two different setups is also presented.

[Clinical application of a decoction of "fast-developing liquid for gastrointestinal ultrasound"].

B-ultrasound has been widely used in examination of the human organs. Because of the gas and mucus interference in the ultrasound, the ultrasonic examination of stomach so far has been still a knotty problem. On the basis of TCM theory that the drugs for promoting Qi flow and resolving dampness have the function of elimination of gas and mucus, the authors have successfully made a high effective Fast-developing Liquid for Gastrointestinal Ultrasound for B-ultrasound examination of stomach with satisfactory picture-developing results, excellent development rate of the control group and the gastric cancer group being 94.9% and more than 90%, respectively. After the decoction being taken, the tissue structures in the milieu interne were not changed physiologically and pathologically. The five layers of the gastric walls could be distinguished clearly and the values of the normal stomach be measured correctly. Some signs about the gastric cancer, e.g. the size and property of the cancer, the translocation of the cancer inside and outside the gastric cavity as well as of the other organs and lymph nodes could be observed distinctly. The consistent rate of B-ultrasound with gastroscopy, biopsy, X-ray and surgical operation diagnosis for the gastric cancer is over 94%. But no significant differences between B-ultrasound and the above other examinations were found statistically with all the P greater than 0.05. B-ultrasound diagnosis of the gastric cancer is not only highly efficient, but also can be used to observe the infiltration of the cancer cells into the lower layer of the mucous membrane.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)