BACKGROUND Homeobox B7 (HOXB7) has been identified associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the specific mechanism by which HOXB7 promotes the malignant progression of HCC remains to be determined. METHODS Immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used to detect the expression level of HOXB7 in 77-paired HCC tissue samples, and the correlation between HOXB7 and HCC prog...

Defining growth factor requirements for progenitors facilitates their characterization and amplification. We characterize a peripheral nervous system embryonic dorsal root ganglion progenitor population using in vitro clonal sphere-formation assays. Cells differentiate into glial cells, smooth muscle/fibroblast (SM/Fb)-like cells, and neurons. Genetic and pharmacologic tools revealed that spher...

Glioma stem cells (GSCs) have been proven to play key roles in tumorigenesis, metastasis and recurrence. Although dihydroartemisinin (DHA), a derivative of the antimalaria drug artemisinin, has been shown to have anti-cancer activity, it is still unclear whether DHA affects GSCs. This study investigated the effects of DHA on the growth and apoptosis of GSCs, as well as the possible molecular me...

The various aromatic hydrocarbons (Chart 2) constitute a sharply graded series of sterically encumbered (unhindered, partially hindered, and heavily hindered) donors in electron transfer (ET) to quinones (Chart 1). As such, steric effects provide the quantitative basis to modulate (and differentiate) outer-sphere and inner-sphere pathways provided by matched pairs of hindered and unhindered don...

BACKGROUND Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an aggressive cancer with poor survival rates. The presence of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) is believed to be among the underlying reasons for the aggressiveness of PDAC, which contributes to chemoresistance and recurrence. However, the mechanisms that induce chemoresistance and inhibit apoptosis remain largely unknown. METHODS We used se...

Cancer stem cells (CSCs) have been implicated in many cancers and build up an intratumor heterogeneity bestowing multiple competences on the tumor for metastasis and resistance to anti-cancer drugs [1]. Neuroblastoma is a childhood cancer arising mostly in adrenal gland and sympathetic ganglia [2]. CSCs hypothesis in neuroblastoma recently appeared [3] and was experimentally supported by the ab...

Biofilms are communities of microbes attached to surfaces, which can be found in medical, industrial and natural settings. In fact, life in a biofilm probably represents the predominate mode of growth for microbes in most environments. Mature biofilms have a few distinct characteristics. Biofilm microbes are typically surrounded by an extracellular matrix that provides structure and protection ...

background: photorefractive keratectomy is a popular mean to correct refractive errors of the eye and haze formation is one of the most important complications of the surgery. although standard dose of intraoperative mitomycin c has shown to be effective in reduction of this complication, potential side effects of mitomycin c promote us to show if the lower concentration of mitomycin c has t he...

The sinking of an intruder sphere into a powder bed in the apparently fixed bed regime exhibits complex behavior in the sinking rate and the final depth when the sphere density is close to the powder bed density. Evidence is adduced that the intruder sphere locally fluidizes the apparently fixed powder bed, allowing the formation of voids and percolation bubbles that facilitates spheres to sink...