The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a central regulator of G1 cell cycle protein synthesis that precedes commitment to normal cellular replication. We have studied the effect of cell cycle inhibitor-779 (CCI-779), a rapamycin ester that inhibits mTOR function, on the proliferation of a panel of breast cancer cell lines. Six of eight lines studied were sensitive (IC(50)< or = 50 nM) and ...

INTRODUCTION Erectile dysfunction (ED) has emerged progressively as a sentinel marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The correlation between ED and the burden arising from multiple comorbid conditions has been incompletely analyzed. AIM Assess whether erectile function, defined with the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function (IIEF-EF) domain score, is associated with hea...

Abnormal histone acetylation occurs during neuropathic pain through an epigenetic mechanism. Silent information regulator 1 (sir2 or SIRT1), a NAD-dependent deacetylase, plays complex systemic roles in a variety of processes through deacetylating acetylated histone and other specific substrates. But the role of SIRT1 in neuropathic pain is not well established yet. The present study was intende...

An ultra-low-power constant charge injector (CCI) circuit is presented for wirelessly-powered electro-acupuncture (EA). The CCI adopts adaptive pulse-width and frequency-drift (APF) calibration loop that not only accommodates to body impedance variation (BIV) of 100-200k but also is tolerable to frequency-drift. The proposed 5Hz current starving clock generator combined with sub-Vth reference ...

BACKGROUND CCI-779 is a novel ester of the immunosuppressive agent sirolimus that exerts cytostatic effects by the inhibition of the translation of cell-cycle regulatory proteins. We investigated the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and pharmacokinetics (PK) of CCI-779 in combination with leucovorin (LV) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in patients with advanced solid tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patien...

PURPOSE To compare a transconjunctival single-plane sclerocorneal incision with 2 tiny conjunctival cuts at both ends and a clear corneal incision (CCI) in cataract surgery. SETTING Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. METHODS Patients having routine cataract surgery were randomly divided into 2 groups based on incision type; th...

In this paper, we present an operational strategy to mitigate co-channel interference (CCI) by using geographically distributed remote radio heads (RRHs). The inter-node CCI becomes a dominant performance degradation factor for heterogeneous network (HetNet) systems. Recently, there are emerging attempts in Third Generation Partnership Project to adopt advanced techniques to Long Term Evolution...

Previously, we have shown that the window of opportunity for nicotinamide (NAM) therapy (50 mg/kg) following cortical contusion injuries (CCI) extended to 4-8 hrs post-CCI when administered over a six day post-CCI interval. The purpose of the present study was to determine if a more chronic NAM treatment protocol administered following CCI would extend the current window of opportunity for effe...

Many mechanisms or pathways are involved in secondary post-traumatic brain injury, such as the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway (UPP), axonal degeneration and neuronal cell apoptosis. UCH-L1 is a protein that is expressed in high levels in neurons and may have important roles in the UPP, autophagy and axonal integrity. The current study aims to evaluate the role of UCH-L1 in post-traumatic brain in...

Central glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and NMDA receptors (NMDARs) have been shown to play a significant role in the mechanisms of neuropathic pain after peripheral nerve injury; however, how central GRs and NMDARs interact in this process remains unknown. Here we show that the expression and function of spinal NMDARs after peripheral nerve injury were modulated by central GRs. Chronic constric...