Ultra Violet (UV)-caused skin cell damage is a main cause of skin cancer. Here, we studied the activity of MHY1485, a mTOR activator, in UV-treated skin cells. In primary human skin keratinocytes, HaCaT keratinocytes and human skin fibroblasts, MHY1485 ameliorated UV-induced cell death and apoptosis. mTOR activation is required for MHY1485-induced above cytoprotective actions. mTOR kinase inhib...

Tapered silicon photonic crystals (PhCs) with smooth sidewalls are realized using a novel single-step deep reactive ion etching. The PhCs can significantly reduce the surface reflection over the wavelength range between the ultra-violet and near-infrared regions. From the measurements using a spectrophotometer and an angle-variable spectroscopic ellipsometer, the sub-wavelength periodic structu...

The present study examined the effects of ATP on the striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats. Intrastriatal administration of ATP produced dose-dependent striatal lesions as confirmed by cresyl violet staining. Additional immunostaining using neuronal nuclear protein (NeuN), OX-42 and GFAP antibodies revealed that ATP caused death of both neurons and glial cells. The nonmetabolizable ATP analogue ATPga...

Activation of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling could protect cells from ultra violet (UV) radiation. We aim to provoke Nrf2 activation via downregulating its inhibitor Keap1 by microRNA-141 ("miR-141"). In both human retinal pigment epithelium cells (RPEs) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), forced-expression of miR-141 downregulated Keap1, causing Nrf2 stabilization, accumulation and nuc...

In the original communication of Churchman 1 on the selective bactericidal action of gentian violet, published two years ago, the suggestion was made that similar studies should be carried out on the effect of the dye on growing tissue. This communication contains the report s of work undertaken in that direction. The work was primarily undertaken to settle two questions raised by the observati...

Cellular identification of color receptors in crayfish compound eyes has been made by selective adaptation at 450 nm and 570 nm, wavelengths near the lambda(max)'s of the two retinular cell classes previously demonstrated. By utilizing earlier evidence, the concentration of lysosome-related bodies (LRB) was used to measure relative light adaptation and thus wavelength sensitivity in 665 retinul...

Response functions used in crop simulation models are usually different for different physiological processes and cultivars, resulting in many unknown coefficients in the response functions. This is the case of African violet (Saintpaulia ionantha Wendl.), where a generalized temperature response for leaf growth and development has not been developed yet. The objective of this study was to deve...

The outstanding combination of high tensile strength and extensibility of spider silk is believed to contribute to the material's toughness. Thus, there is great interest in engineering silk for biomedical products such as suture or implants. Additionally, over the years, many studies have also sought to enhance the mechanical properties of spider silk for wider applicability, e.g., by irradiat...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of violet laser stimulation on three acupuncture points in anesthetized rats and to test the hypothesis that violet laser light can modulate neurovegetative parameters like heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and mean arterial blood pressure (MAP). Recordings were performed in 10 male anesthetized rats under three conditions in Beijin...

Endogenous melatonin is a known free radical scavenger that removes reactive oxygen species (ROS), thus, alleviating oxidative stress. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate its effect against kainic acid (KA)-induced oxidative stress in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures (OHSCs). To observe neuroprotective effects of melatonin, different concentrations (0.01, 0.1 and 1 mM) of melaton...