Transfection of glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pi antisense complementary DNA increases the sensitivity of a colon cancer cell line to adriamycin, cisplatin, melphalan, and etoposide

The goal of this study was to demonstrate that glutathione S-transferase (GST)-pi is directly involved in the intrinsic and acquired resistance of cancer cells to anticancer drugs. To this end, GST-pi antisense cDNA was transfected into the cultured human colon cancer cell line M7609, which expresses an innately high level of GST-pi and shows intrinsic drug resistance, and into an M7609 strain with acquired resistance to Adriamycin (ADR;i.e., M7609/ADR cells). The changes in the sensitivity of these transfectants to various anticancer drugs were investigated. The intracellular concentrations of GST-pi in M7609/anti-1 cells and M7609/anti-2 cells, two clones that were established by transfection of GST-pi antisense cDNA into M7609 cells, were decreased to approximately half of those detected in the parent cells (M7609) and in the control cells transfected with vector alone (M7609/pLJ). The sensitivities of the antisense transfectants in relation to ADR, cisplatin, melphalan, and etoposide were increased -3.3-fold, 2.3-fold, 2.2-fold, and 2.1-fold, respectively, compared with those of M7609 and M7609/pLJ. On the other hand, the sensitivities of the antisense transfectants to Taxol, vincristine, 5-fluorouracil, and mitomycin C were not significantly changed. Similarly, the transfection of antisense cDNA into M7609/ADR cells resulted in the reduction of intracellular GST-pi concentration (by about half) and an increased sensitivity to ADR (4.4-fold), but no increase in 5-fluorouracil sensitivity. Thus, GST-pi is considered to be a multidrug resistance factor that is responsible for both the intrinsic and acquired resistance of cancer cells to anticancer drugs such as ADR, cisplatin, melphalan, and etoposide.     

Properties of Starch Films and their Improvement

The tensile strengths and elongations of starch films prepared from various unmodified and modified starches were measured. These properties were improved by addition of urea and polyvinyl alcohol to the starch paste. The results obtained were as follows.

• 1 The heating temperature greatly affected the tensile strength and elongation of various unmodified starches. Potato starch gave the best film.
• 2 Introduction of hydroxyethyl groups into corn starch had unexpectedly little affect on the properties of the films.
• 3 A combination of hydroxyethylation and acid-modification slightly improved the properties of the films.
• 4 No film could be obtained after combinations of hydroxyethylation and hypochlorite-oxidation, pyrodextrinization or α-amylase-dextrinization. However, addition of urea to these modified starches resulted in good films.
• 5 On addition of urea the elongation of starch films increased and the pastes adhered uniformly to water repellent surfaces.
• 6 A film with the best properties was prepared from a mixture of 67% acid-modified hydroxyethyl starch, 13% urea and 20% polyvinyl alcohol.

     

Sulfated Hyaluronan Binds to Heparanase and Blocks Its Enzymatic and Cellular Actions in Carcinoma Cells

We examined whether sulfated hyaluronan exerts inhibitory effects on enzymatic and biological actions of heparanase, a sole endo-beta-glucuronidase implicated in cancer malignancy and inflammation. Degradation of heparan sulfate by human and mouse heparanase was inhibited by sulfated hyaluronan. In particular, high-sulfated hyaluronan modified with approximately 2.5 sulfate groups per disaccharide unit effectively inhibited the enzymatic activity at a lower concentration than heparin. Human and mouse heparanase bound to immobilized sulfated hyaluronan. Invasion of heparanase-positive colon-26 cells and 4T1 cells under 3D culture conditions was significantly suppressed in the presence of high-sulfated hyaluronan. Heparanase-induced release of CCL2 from colon-26 cells was suppressed in the presence of sulfated hyaluronan via blocking of cell surface binding and subsequent intracellular NF-κB-dependent signaling. The inhibitory effect of sulfated hyaluronan is likely due to competitive binding to the heparanase molecule, which antagonizes the heparanase-substrate interaction. Fragment molecular orbital calculation revealed a strong binding of sulfated hyaluronan tetrasaccharide to the heparanase molecule based on electrostatic interactions, particularly characterized by interactions of (−1)- and (−2)-positioned sulfated sugar residues with basic amino acid residues composing the heparin-binding domain-1 of heparanase. These results propose a relevance for sulfated hyaluronan in the blocking of heparanase-mediated enzymatic and cellular actions.     

On-line control of feed-speed in circular sawing

An adaptive control optimization system was developed to produce a desired surface finish roughness by automatic control of the work-piece feed-rate in circular sawing. The system developed in this study consists of the interconnection of an adaptive controller with a numerically controlled circular saw. The AE signals and cutting forces were measured to monitor the machining process continuously in this system. The signals were provided to the adaptive controller to evaluate the surface finish roughness and adjust the workpiece feed-rate automatically in the machining process. Sensing of AE signals and of cutting forces was compared to determine which technique is more convenient. Experiments were carried out with a carbide-tipped circular saw. Cross cutting was done with counter-cutting during the experiments. The cutting parameters controlled were workpiece feed-rates and cutting speeds. Japanese beech (Fagus crenata Blume) and Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis Carr.) were used as the workpiece. Experimental results indicated that adaptive control optimization took place in the system developed for circular sawing. The desired surface finish roughness was produced by automatic control of the workpiece feed-rate using the sensing technique of AE signals as well as that of cutting force. However, the system using AE signals is more convenient than taht using cutting force.     

A 1-Gb/s/pin 512-Mb DDRII SDRAM using a digital DLL and a slew-rate-controlled output buffer

A 1-Gb/s/pin 512-Mb DDRII SDRAM has been developed using a digital delay-locked loop (DLL) and a slew-rate-controlled output buffer. The digital DLL has a frequency divider for DLL input, performs at an operating frequency of up to 500 MHz at 1.6 V, and provides internal clocking with 50% duty-cycle correction. The DLL has a current-mirror-type interpolator, which enables a resolution as high as 14 ps, needs no standby current, and can operate at voltages as low as 0.8 V. The slew-rate impedance-controlled output buffer circuit reduces the output skew from 107 to 10 ps. This SDRAM was tested using a 0.13-/spl mu/m 126.5-mm/sup 2/ 512-Mb chip.     

An optically clocked transistor array with dual serial-to-parallel and parallel-to-serial conversion capability for optical label swapping

We propose an optically clocked transistor array optoelectronic integrated circuit (OEIC) for both serial-to-parallel and parallel-to-serial conversion (demux/mux), enabling an interface between high-speed asynchronous burst optical labels and CMOS circuitry for optical label swapping. Dual functionality of the OEIC reduces size, power, and cost of the optical label swapper. The capability for greater than 20-Gb/s conversion operation is demonstrated.     

Incentive‐rewarding mechanism to stimulate activities in social networking services

We have developed an incentive‐rewarding mechanism that stimulates activities in social networking services (SNSs), including content uploading and link establishment. We particularly focus on changing the reward assignment ratio based on the different risks users perceive when uploading content with different privacy settings: public‐open and friend‐limited. Learning‐based simulation allowed us to observe that SNS activity, which we measured as the amount of browsed content within a certain period, can be controlled by a rewarding assignment ratio. We then analyzed how the amount of uploaded content and the increase of established links affect SNS activity. Results suggested that the optimal reward assignment ratio to maximize SNS activity changes depending on the total amount of available reward resources. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optical neurochip with learning capability

A dynamic optical neurochip with variable synaptic interconnection capability has been reported. A novel type of photodetector called a variable sensitivity photodetector has been developed for the synaptic interconnection of neural networks. It utilizes a metal-semiconductor-metal structure whose quantum efficiency can be modulated by an applied bias voltage. The fabricated dynamic optical neurochip consists of an 8×8 variable sensitivity photodetector (VSPD) array and an 8 line-shaped LED array. It is shown that this device is suitable for learning in neural networks. The application to pattern classification is demonstrated     

A differential photoconductive AND gate with Be-dopedlow-temperature-grown InGaAs-InAlAs MQW MSM-PD's

A novel photoconductive AND gate that overcomes the problems of: 1) the long tail of photoconductive switches and 2) signal leakage via switch capacitance (signal feedthrough) is proposed. We use Be-doped low-temperature (LT)-grown InGaAs-InAlAs MQW metal-semiconductor-metal photodetectors (MSM-PD's) to get a shorter turn-off time and propose a differential AND gate to cancel the signal feedthrough. A comparison between LT-grown MSM-PD's and those fabricated by ion implantation shows that the LT-grown ones are ultrafast with a full width at half maximum of 5.3 ps and are suitable for low-bias operation. It is experimentally confirmed that the differential AND gate completely cancels the signal feedthrough in the picosecond region. The differential AND gate: with the LT MSM-PD's achieves return-to-zero (RZ) 20 Gb/s AND operation