The primitive face is composed of neural crest cell (NCC) derived prominences. The medial nasal processes (MNP) give rise to the upper lip and vomeronasal organ, and are essential for normal craniofacial development, but the mechanism of MNP development remains largely unknown. PDGFRα signaling is known to be critical for NCC development and craniofacial morphogenesis. In this study, we show th...

In this study we report the first generation of force by long-term intracellular magnetic nanoparticles (MNP) using a guinea pig middle ear model. Synthesis of magnetite nanoparticles was done using a modified precipitation technique. We used different methods to characterize MNP. The mechanism for internalizing 16 ± 2.3 nm diameter, silica coated, superparamagnetic, MNP was likely magnetically...

Curcumin (CUR), a naturally occurring polyphenol derived from the root of Curcuma longa, has showed potent anticancer and cancer prevention activity in a variety of cancers. However, the clinical translation of CUR has been significantly hampered due to its extensive degradation, suboptimal pharmacokinetics, and poor bioavailability. To address these clinically relevant issues, we have develope...

OBJECTIVE The influenza vaccine coverage rate of children is low in Hong Kong. Microneedle patches (MNPs) is a technology under development for painless delivery of vaccines. This study aimed to examine the potential clinical outcomes and direct medical costs of an influenza program offering MNP vaccine to children who have declined intramuscular (IM) vaccine in Hong Kong. METHODS A decision ...

Manganese peroxidase (MnP) is the one of the important ligninolytic enzymes produced by lignin-degrading fungi which has the great application value in the field of environmental biotechnology. Searching for new MnP with stronger tolerance to metal ions and organic solvents is important for the maximization of potential of MnP in the biodegradation of recalcitrant xenobiotics. In this study, it...

Previous work has shown that Trametes (Coriolus) versicolor bleaches kraft pulp brownstock with the concomitant release of methanol. In this work, the fungus is shown to produce both laccase and manganese peroxidase (MnP) but not lignin peroxidase during pulp bleaching. MnP production was enhanced by the presence of pulp and/or Mn(II) ions. The maximum level of secreted MnP was coincident with ...

OBJECTIVE To synthesize mesoporous silica-core-shell magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) encapsulated by liposomes (Lipo [MNP@m-SiO2]) in order to enhance their stability, allow them to be used in any buffer solution, and to produce trastuzumab-conjugated (Lipo[MNP@m-SiO2]-Her2Ab) nanoparticles to be utilized in vitro for the targeting of breast cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS The physiochemical char...

BACKGROUND Multidrug resistance in cancer is a major obstacle for clinical therapeutics, and is the reason for 90% of treatment failures. This study investigated the efficiency of novel multifunctional Fe(3)O(4) magnetic nanoparticles (Fe(3)O(4)-MNP) combined with chemotherapy and hyperthermia for overcoming multidrug resistance in an in vivo model of leukemia. METHODS Nude mice with tumor xe...

Four isozymes of manganese peroxidase (MnP) were identified in the culture fluid of the hyperlignolytic fungus IZU-154 under nitrogen starvation conditions. One of them was purified and characterized kinetically. The specific activity and Kcat/K(m) value of the MnP from IZU-154 were 1.6 times higher than those of the MnP from a typical lignin-degrading fungus, Phanerochaete chrysosporium. Two c...