Role of moxibustion in inflammatory responses during treatment of rat ulcerative colitis

AIM: To investigate the efficacy of moxibustion in ulcerative colitis (UC) rats from morphological, immunological and molecular biological perspectives. METHODS: Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to a blank control group (normal rats, n = 6) and a model replication (MR) group (UC rats, n = 26). A UC model was established by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid/dextran sulfate sodium enema. Rats in the MR group were further randomly assigned to a 9-min moxibustion (9M) group (9 moxa-cone, n = 6), 6-min moxibustion (6M) group (6 moxa-cone, n = 6), 3-min moxibustion (3M) group (3 moxa-cone, n = 6), and a waiting list control (WLC) group (no moxibustion treatment, n = 6). Rats in the moxibustion treatment group were treated in 14 sessions over 28 d. Disease activity, local tissue morphology, serum level of interleukin (IL)-8 and IL-10, and expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR)9 as well as nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B p65 in colonic tissue were determined by disease activity index (DAI), hematoxylin and eosin staining, electron microscopy, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blotting, respectively. RESULTS: DAI was lowest in the 9M group and highest in the WLC group. The differences in DAI between the moxibustion treatment (3M, 6M, 9M) and no treatment groups were significant for all one-to-one comparisons (0.60 +/- 0.54 vs 1.20 +/- 0.44, 0.60 +/- 0.54 vs 1.80 +/- 0.45, 0.60 +/- 0.54 vs 3.0 +/- 0.45, respectively, P < 0.05). Light and electron microscopy showed that the neatness of the glandular arrangement in colonic mucosal epithelia gradually increased in the WLC, 3M, 6M to 9M groups. IL-8 level successively decreased while IL-10 level increased from the WLC to 3M, 6M and 9M groups. The differences among these groups were significant for all comparisons (105.46 +/- 8.75 vs 76.61 +/- 3.58, 105.46 +/- 8.75 vs 69.78 +/- 1.87, 105.46 +/- 8.75 vs 67.41 +/- 1.84, respectively, P < 0.01 for IL-8; and 30.83 +/- 1.29 vs 75.64 +/- 1.90, 30.83 +/- 1.29 vs 80.90 +/- 3.16, 30.83 +/- 1.29 vs 83.46 +/- 2.37, respectively, P < 0.01 for IL-10), except comparison of 6M vs 9M. Expression of TLR9 and NF-kappa B p65 decreased in order: highest in the WLC group and lowest in the 9M group. In addition, the differences among the WLC, 3M, 6M and 9M groups were significant for all comparisons (0.492 +/- 0.026 vs 0.380 +/- 0.022, 0.492 +/- 0.026 vs 0.355 +/- 0.005, 0.492 +/- 0.026 vs 0.327 +/- 0.015, respectively, P < 0.05 for TLR9; and 0.436 +/- 0.041 vs 0.326 +/- 0.022, 0.436 +/- 0.041 vs 0.293 +/- 0.006, 0.436 +/- 0.041 vs 0.265 +/- 0.017, respectively, P < 0.05 for NF-kappa B p65). CONCLUSION: Moxibustion repairs damaged colonic mucosa, suppresses serum IL-8, activates serum IL-10 level, and decreases expression of TLR-9 and NF-kappa B p65 in UC rats. (C) 2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.

Strong optical nonlinearities of self-assembled polymorphic microstructures of phenylethynyl functionalized fluorenones

Highly efficient nonlinear optical（NLO） materials with well-defined architectures in the wavelength and subwavelength length scales are of particular importance for next generation of integrated photonic circuits. Fluorenone analogues have been demonstrated to be promising candidates as building blocks for assembly of organic NLO materials thanks to their synergistic supramolecular interactions and brilliant optical properties. Here we have studied the polymorphs of a phenylethynyl functionalized fluorenone derivative, and their controlled self-assembly for microstructures with different morphologies. These polymorphic microcrystals exhibit very distinctive NLO properties, highly related to their supramolecular and electronic structures.

Observation of ferromagnetic domains of a Nd-Fe-B single crystal using photoelectron microscopy

The Nd-Fe-B class alloy is the third generation of rare-earth permanent-magnet materi-al which has significant technological applications because it exhibits large magnetic ener-gy product. Compared with other permanent-magnet materials, Nd-Fe-B alloys are relative-ly easy to prapare and the raw materials of Nd, Fe and B are relatively economical. This note reports the first observation of Nd2Fe14B single crystal by means ofphotoelectron microscopy.

Calcium regulation of nucleocytoplasmic transport

Bidirectional trafficking of macromolecules between the cytoplasm and the nucleus is mediated by the nuclear pore complexes(NPCs)embedded in the nuclear envelope(NE)of eukaryotic cell.The NPC functions as the sole pathway to allow for the passive diffusion of small molecules and the facilitated translocation of larger molecules.Evidence shows that these two transport modes and the conformation of NPC can be regulated by calcium stored in the lumen of nuclear envelope and endoplasmic reticulum.However,the mechanism of calcium regulation remains poorly understood.In this review,we integrate data on the observations of calciumregulated structure and function of the NPC over the past years.Furthermore,we highlight challenges in the measurements of dynamic conformational changes and transient transport kinetics in the NPC.Finally,an innovative imaging approach,single-molecule superresolution fluorescence microscopy,is introduced and expected to provide more insights into the mechanism of calcium-regulated nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Defects and solarization in YAG transparent ceramics

Transparent ceramics are emerging as future materials for lasers, scintillation, and illumination. In this paper, an interesting and surprising phenomenon in YAG transparent ceramics is reported. UV light leads to significant changes in the microstructure of open volume defects and nano clusters as well as in the optical properties. Lightinduced lattice relaxation is suggested as the mechanism behind this intriguing behavior. The complex F-type color center with broad absorption bands is caused by the aliovalent sintering additives(Ca^2+∕Mg^2+) and Fe ion impurities. Two individual peaks in the thermoluminescence spectra illustrate both shallow and deep level traps.From positron annihilation lifetime data, vacancy clusters and nanovoids are detected and characterized, although these free-volume defects could not be observed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The solarization induced by UV irradiation is associated with a change in the structure and size of defect clusters due to lattice relaxation. Therefore, this work shows how UV irradiation leads not only to a change in the charge state of defects, but also to a permanent change in defect structure and size. It significantly affects the optical properties of YAG ceramics and their performance in lasers and other optical applications. These results are crucial for advancing transparent ceramics technology.