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Notes: The aim of glaucoma therapy is to preserve vision by reducing intraocular pressure (IOP). Following recent National Eye Institute sponsored studies, it is becoming increasingly apparent that every mmHg of extra IOP lowering counts.Bimatoprost is the newest and most effective addition to the physician's armamentarium of ocular hypotensive drugs. Direct clinical comparisons have demonstrated that it is more efficacious than the prostaglandin (PG) FP receptor agonist prodrugs, latanoprost and travoprost, as well as a β-adrenoceptor antagonist, timolol, alone or in fixed combination with the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, dorzolamide. Moreover, patients that are refractory to latanoprost therapy may be successfully treated with bimatoprost. Such evidence provides support, at the clinical level, for the contention that bimatoprost is pharmacologically distinct from PG FP receptor agonist prodrugs.Bimatoprost is a structural analog of PGF2α-ethanolamide (prostamide F2α), which is formed from the endocannabinoid anandamide by a biosynthetic pathway involving cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Their pharmacology is remarkably similar, such that bimatoprost may be regarded as a prostamide mimetic. The target receptor for bimatoprost and the prostamides appears unique and unrelated to PG- and endocannabinoid-sensitive receptors. Extensive ocular distribution/metabolism studies in non-human primates demonstrate that bimatoprost is not a prodrug, it remains essentially intact. Its profound ocular hypotensive effects may, therefore, be attributed to its prostamide-mimetic properties.

Notes: This paper presents new findings on ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of zirconium hydroxyl acetate precursor drops whose sizes were precisely measured using laser light diffraction technique. Precursor concentration plays a predominant role in determination of product particle size. At 0.01 wt% precursor concentration, conventional spray pyrolysis at 750°C using precursor drops 5–8 μm in diameter, generated by an ultrasonic nebulizer at 2.66 MHz, yielded uniform spherical yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) particles 73 nm in diameter measured by scanning electron microscopy. The YSZ particle diameters were much smaller than those predicted by the one-particle-per-drop mechanism. Under similar reaction conditions, the high-throughput ultrasound-modulated two-fluid (UMTF) spray pyrolysis of larger precursor drops (28-μm peak diameter) also yielded spherical dense particles; they were significantly smaller in size than those produced by the low-throughput conventional ultrasonic spray pyrolysis of smaller drops (6.8-μm peak diameter).

Notes: Haplotype associations of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) have been demonstrated in different racial or ethnic populations. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the different haplotype associations of the MHC in Chinese patients with psoriasis according to the type of onset and their sex. One hundred and thirty-eight patients with PV and 149 normal control subjects without psoriasis were typed for HLA-A, -B, -C, -DQA1, -DQB1 and -DRB1 by using the PCR with sequence-specific primers. The results showed: (i) HLA-A*26 (26.1% vs. 12.1%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−5), -B*27 (17.03% vs. 1.01%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−7), -Cw*0602 (15.58% vs. 5.03%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−2), -DQA1*0104 (19.93% vs. 9.40%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−3), -DQA1*0201 (22.40% vs. 10.74%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−3), -DQB1*0303 (18.12% vs. 9.73%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−7), and -DRB1*0701/02 (26.09% vs. 9.73%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−7) were significantly increased in PV patients, while HLA-B*57, -DQB1*0201 were slightly increased in PV patients. HLA-Cw*0304 (5.07% vs. 14.43%, Pc 〈 1 × 10−3), -DQA1*0501 (5.79% vs. 14.09%, Pc 〈 0.05) were found to be negatively associated with PV, but HLA-A*2 (2.54% vs. 6.38%, Pc 〈 0.5) was decreased in PV patients without statistical significance. (ii) HLA-A*26-B*27 [P 〈 0.0001, odds ratio (OR) = 48.38], -A*26-Cw*0602 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 11.84), -B*27-Cw*0602 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = undefined), -DRB1*0701/02-B*27 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 22.62), -DRB1*0701/02-DQA1*0104 (P 〈 0.0002, OR = 3.59), -DRB1*0701/02-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 5.63), -DQA1*0201-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.0002, OR = 7.77), -A*26-B*27-Cw*0602 (P 〈 0.0004, OR = undefined), -A*26-DRB1*0701/02-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.01, OR = undefined) were identified as risk haplotypes for patients with PV in China. (iii) HLA-A*26 -B*27 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 58.47), -DQA1*0201-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 8.62), -DRB1*0701/02 -DQA1*0104 (P 〈 0.0002, OR = 4.13), -DRB1*0701/02-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 6.68) and -A*26-DRB1*0701-DQA1*0201 -DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.006, OR = undefined) were only significantly associated with type I psoriasis compared with controls, while others showed no differences in either type I or type II psoriasis. (iv) These associated haplotypes with PV were not different by sex, except that the frequency of DRB1*0701/02-DQB1*0303 (P 〈 0.0001, OR = 10.14) was higher in male patients with psoriasis. To summarize, this study demonstrated a differential association of HLA and identified some special risk haplotypes in Chinese patients with PV compared with other ethnic or racial populations.

Notes: The first successful production of a sterile interspecific hybrid obtained from a cross between Cucumis hystrix Chakr. (2n = 2x = 24) and Cucumis sativus var. sativus L. (2n =2x = 14), and its subsequent fertility restoration through chromosome doubling provide an effective means for investigating genetic relationships among Cucumis spp. In this study, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to investigate relationships among C. s. var. sativus L., C. s. var. hardwickii (R.) Alef., C hystrix, C. hytivus Chen & Kirkbride (the amphidiploid species from chromosome doubling of the C. sativus x C. hystrix interspecific hybrid, 2n = 38), C. melo (2n =2x = 24) and C. metuliferus Meyer and Naudin (2n =2x= 24). A total of 109 SSR bands and 398 RAPD primed sites were used to calculate Jaccard's distance coefficients for cluster analysis using a unweighted pair-group method using an arithmetic averaging (UPGMA) algorithm. The genetic relationships identified using SSR and RAPDmarkers were highly concordant, such that the correlation between SSR and RAPDgenetic distance (GD) estimates was r = 0.94. SSR and RAPDanalysis of 22 accessions allowed for their grouping into two distinct groups designated as CS and CM. While group CS consisted of 11 C. sativus genotypes, and the C. hytivus and C. hystrix accessions, group CM included six C. melo genotypes and C. metuliferus. The GD values between C. hystrix and C. sativus ascribed by SSR and RAPD matrices were 0.59 and 0.57, respectively. These GDs were smaller than those detected between C. hystrix and C melo (0.87 and 0.70 derived from SSR and RAPD markers, respectively).

Notes: We recently cloned a new member of cancer/testis antigen named HCA587, which was highly expressed in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues. To investigate it as a potential tumour-specific target for immunotherapy, the immunogenicity of this protein, especially the ability to induce specific cellular immune responses, was evaluated in the present study. As dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells, DC-based vaccination has recently shown marked promise for the treatment of human malignancies by immunological intervention. Here, we demonstrate that autologous DC loaded with HCA587 protein could induce specific T-cell responses in healthy individuals by in vitro stimulations. Enzyme-linked immunospot analysis for interferon-γ (IFN-γ) secretion demonstrated HCA587-specific CD8+ T cells in the antigen-stimulated peripheral blood lymphocytes, and the analysis of CD4+ T cells by proliferation assay also showed antigen-specific reactivities in normal donors. Two-colour flow cytometric analysis of surface markers and intracellular cytokine expression demonstrated that HCA587-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes exhibited a heterogeneous CD8+/CD56+ expression, and a striking T-helper 1 cytokine bias (IFN-γhigh/IL-4low) was observed for both CD4+ and CD8+ HCA587-specific lymphocyte populations. We conclude that HCA587 is a potent immunogen that can induce CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell-mediated specific immune responses, and these findings propose HCA587 as a good candidate for the development of a therapeutic protein-based DC tumour vaccine for the treatment of HCC patients.

Notes: A replication-defective adenovirus-LacZ recombinant virus (AdLacZ) was injected intravenously into IRF-1–/– mice and wild-type mice to characterize the contribution of IRF-1 to the immune-mediated clearance of Ad vector. Compared with wild-type mice, IRF-1–/– mice expressed higher levels of the LacZ gene product in the liver. After infusion of the AdLacZ, the expression of IRF-1 mRNA was upregulated in the liver of wild-type mice, but not in IRF-1–/– mice. Both spleen and liver mononuclear cells from IRF-1–/– mice initially exhibited a markedly lower number of NK, NK-T and CD8 T cells. At day 7 after the administration of AdLacZ, there was a significantly increased population of NK, NK-T and CD8 T cells in both spleen and liver, and also CD11b+ cells in liver of IRF-1–/– mice, compared with the increased in wild-type mice. As IRF-1 is an important signal for production of IFN-γ by CD8 T and NK cells as well as production of IL-12 by CD11b+ cells, we determined whether there were lower levels of these cytokines in IRF-1–/– mice after Ad challenge. Surprisingly, there were lower levels of IL-12, but higher levels of IFN-γ and IL-18 in IRF-1–/– compared with wild-type mice at day 7 after administration with AdLacZ. These results indicate that delayed clearance of Ad is associated with partial correction of defects of the NK, NK-T and CD8 T cells and increased production of IFN-γ and IL-18 in IRF-1–/– mice.

Notes: Acupuncture has been practiced empirically in China for several millennia, and is being increasingly accepted by practitioners and patients worldwide. Functional gastrointestinal disorders are common in clinical gastroenterology. The prevalence of one or more functional gastrointestinal disorders is estimated to be as high as 70% in general population using Rome diagnostic criteria. Since functional gastrointestinal disorders are diagnosed based on symptoms and the exact aetiologies for most of functional gastrointestinal disorders are not completely known, it is not unusual that the treatment for these disorders is unsatisfactory and alternative therapies are attractive to both patients and practitioners. During the latest decades, a considerable number of studies have been performed on acupuncture for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders and underlying mechanisms. In this article, we reviewed available data in the literature on the applications and mechanisms of acupuncture for the treatment of functional gastrointestinal disorders, including functional oesophageal disorders, nausea and vomiting, functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, etc. A summary is provided based on the quality and quantity of published studies regarding the efficacy of acupuncture in treating these various disorders. In addition, the methodology of acupuncture is also introduced.

Notes: Abstract. Several intramolecular junctions (IMJs) connecting two semiconductor single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) have been realized by using the layer-divided technique and introducing the pentagon-heptagon topological defects. The atomic structure of each IMJ is optimized with a combination of density-functional theory (DFT) and the universal force field (UFF) method, based upon which a $\pi $ -orbital tight-binding calculation is performed on its electronic properties. Obtained results indicate that different topological defects and their distributions on the interfaces of the IMJs have decisive effects on the electronic properties of the IMJs. The specific geometrical defects control the localized defect states chiefly, while the diameters of the SWNTs on both sides are also related to them. The influence on the experimental observation brought by the choice of the scanning line is also presented by comparing the scanning results performed on the defect side with those on the defect-free side. A new IMJ structure has been found, and it probably reflects the real atomic structures of the semiconductor-semiconductor (S-S) IMJ [Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 216107 (2003)].

Notes: The dynamic anti-plane crack problem in a functionally graded smart structure is considered. Integral transforms are employed to reduce the problem to the solution of singular integral equations. Numerical results are presented to show the nfluences of electrical crack condition, crack position, electromechanical combination factor and material gradient parameter on the fracture behavior