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There's an exciting history between these two teams, one from Pictou County and the other from Colchester County. The Mount Thom matchup has provided some powerful, entertaining hockey over the years, both during regular season play as well as in the playoffs. Archrivals, the Bearcats and Crushers always give the fans their money's worth.
Adding to the excitement is a very tight Eastlink Division race. The Valley Wildcats hold down first place but are tied with Pictou County in points at 41. Truro sits three points back in third spot. The top two positions are very much up for grabs.
To get a player's perspective, we talked to Cameron MacLeod, a fast-skating rookie left winger with the Bearcats. MacLeod, who plays on a line centred by Jimmy Soper with Justin Doiron on the right side, was both calm and enthusiastic as we discussed tonight's game.
"We'll try to work hard and focus on playing our game. It's always a lot of fun playing Pictou County," MacLeod, 18, of Dartmouth, said. Fans go back and forth between the two counties, adding to the excitement. "When we go to New Glasgow, a number of our fans make the trip and sit beside our bench. It's the same for the Crushers when they play in Truro. They have their own following."
MacLeod likes how the Bearcats have performed of late.
"We're really beginning to click as a group. We're gelling well together and looking to get better every game. It's important to pick up two points every night. I love playing in Truro; this is the best place to play in the league. Shawn Evans and the coaches run a good program and the fans in the area are very friendly and give us great support."
The five-foot-nine, 170-pound forward is a 2015 graduate of Dartmouth High School. A former elite soccer player, MacLeod played for Dartmouth United up until age 14. While in Truro he is taking business courses at the Nova Scotia Community College. Noticeably a dedicated athlete, MacLeod takes off-ice training seriously.
"I go to the gym to work out every day except game day. Jamie Barbour, a Bearcats assistant coach, has drawn up workout plans tailored for forwards and defencemen. They are a great help for having us ready for scheduled games. These workouts are good for conditioning, movement and flexibility and help prevent injuries."
MacLeod comes to the Bearcats after playing major midget the past two seasons with Newbridge Gladiators under general manager-coach Steve Crowell. The Gladiators were both Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada major midget champions in 2014-2015.
"Cameron MacLeod was an exceptional young man to coach," Crowell recalled. "Cameron was always prepared and ready to play every game. He played strong every night – he worked hard whenever he was on the ice. Cameron is was very strong defensively, he's a very good two-way hockey player."
The opening face-off tonight at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre takes place at 7 p.m.
Crowell a major midget fixture
I believe it was Steve Crowell who once said, "Be kind to animals – hug a Bearcat."
Crowell, who has lived in Valley near Truro since the summer of 1997, was the general manager-coach of Truro Bearcats during their inaugural Maritime Junior Hockey League season, 1997-1998. Following four seasons as GM and coach, Crowell stepped back to be the general manager for the Bearcats' fifth season.
Building an outstanding record in major midget hockey, Crowell has coached teams to an amazing eight Nova Scotia titles and six Atlantic Canada Championships. Last season was another milestone year for Crowell as his Newbridge Gladiators went on to compete in the TELUS Cup.
Crowell is in his familiar duel-role position with Dartmouth Steele Subaru Major Midgets this season. Dartmouth, with three Truro-area players, Ryan Porter, Matt Crowell and Luke MacMillan, were recent winners of the Ice Jam tournament. They are in second place in the Nova Scotia Major Midget Hockey League, trailing only Cole Harbour.
Crowell is also the head scout for the Bearcats junior A team.
Note: Lyle Carter's sports column appears Saturdays in the Truro Daily News. If you have a story idea, contact him at 902 673-2857.


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subset: commoncrawl


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Due to increases in net access while the growth rate of smart phones and tablets sales amounts, net individual figures have significantly increased worldwide. In personal treatment devices, online has grown to become a substantial selling station for manufacturers along with an advertising channel in which products have now been widely marketed and marketed. Owners of global individual attention device brands such as for instance Panasonic, Braun and Philips more and more promote their products or services via social networking such as for instance Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to introduce new services, launch beauty tutorials or share marketing promotions and advertising and marketing tasks. Since smart phones and pills are expected to post greater volumes across next 5 years, social media marketing will therefore be constantly used as an impactful advertising and marketing platform by personal attention appliance makers.
Private care devices drive the best net selling amount in 2014
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text:
West Nile Fever Symptoms.
What is West Nile?
Summer is a wonderful time of year for outdoor activities: Swimming, Canoeing, Camping, Water sports etc are just a few of them. Unfortunately with summer comes lots of outdoor bugs. One of the most dangerous bugs believe it or not is the mosquito. The mosquito has the ability to carry illness within one bite of the infected. They can affect animals not only humans. Not only can a mosquito in-fect an animal with heart worms, but also the West Nile as well. Humans are susceptible to West Nile, Dengue Fever, Malaria,Yellow fever, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, even the swine flu thru one mosquito bite. The West Nile along with the others listed is a virus. An illness that can get you extremely sick and even die if not treated. It is so important to know the warning signs of the West Nile and to seek medical help if you have any of the symptoms. West Nile statistics in your state is here.
Here is a list of the Symptoms of the West Nile.Please print this for your records: Stiff neck,Muscle weakness, Muscle ache, Body aches, Diarrhea, Swollen Lymph Glands,Skin rash,Vomiting,consistent headache, Lethargy, chest pains and fever. The infected can also have seizures, and even gone into a coma.
Just like tick and louse disease a sudden spike in fever is one of the first signs which goes on for approx 3-6 days, where it is followed by a dropped temperature and excessive sweating. Then the normal infected produces a rash on the trunk where most of the above listed follows. Since everyone is different on how their body reacts to the virus, some of the above symptoms might not occur, but the sudden fever is one of the first signs.
What to do if you are infected?
If you suspect any of the listed symptoms I would contact your psycian immediately. People have been known to die from this disease if not treated properly with medical attention. Dont just think you have the flu and stay home in bed. The West Nile virus is extremely dangerious and in quite a few cases deadly.
History of West Nile Virus?
In 1937 a women was infected with this virus in the West Nile. This is where the name originated. From then on- it showed up in Israel in 1957 where a big outbreak occurred. At that point the easily spread virus was recognized as version of severe meningitis which is an inflammation of the brain and spinal cord. This is where the muscle weakness and muscle ache comes from. Once the virus was spread to Israel it continued to spread across all surrounding areas- where it has not only reached Africa, but Egypt, Europe and even North America.
How to protect yourself.
This question is very simple. The best way to protect yourself is to wear mosquito repellent, or basically not go out when it starts to get dark.If you don't like wearing Mosquito repellent; another way is to plant mosquito citronella plants in areas where you will be outside to help detour the pesky mosquitoes; and or use citronella candles. You can also use an outdoor Bug zapper this also works very well.
Protect yourself, and most important protect your family.
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text:
Role of artesunate in TGF‑β1‑induced renal tubular epithelial‑mesenchymal transdifferentiation in NRK‑52E cells
- Authors:
- Yaqian Zhang
- Huanhuan Li
- Jiajun Zhu
- Tiantian Wei
- Yingxian Peng
- Ran Li
- Rui Xu
- Mei Li
- Anzhou Xia
- Published online on: October 5, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2017.7728
- Pages: 8891-8899
Copyright: © Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.
Renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a prominent pathological characteristic of chronic kidney disease, and is characterized by extensive interstitial myofibroblast activation and excessive matrix protein accumulation, which are the common attributes of numerous types of chronic kidney disease leading to end-stage renal disease (1,2). Previous studies have demonstrated that transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 serves an important role in mediating chronic inflammation, myofibroblast activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation (3–5). At present, there are no effective treatments for renal interstitial fibrosis or ways to impede the progress of the associated chronic kidney disease. Therefore, it is of importance to investigate potential strategies to prevent the development of renal interstitial fibrosis in the diseased kidneys.
Although studies have focused on renal interstitial fibrosis, the mechanism underlying its prevalence remains to be elucidated. Among the putative mechanisms, epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has become a popular hypothesis (6). The primary events of EMT include the adoption of a mesenchymal-like cellular phenotype and migration through the tubular basement membrane towards the tubular interstitium. It has been established that a number of factors are involved in the process of EMT, which include the profibrotic factor TGF-β1 and the antifibrotic cytokine bone morphogenetic protein-7 (BMP-7). These are the important molecules that determine the fate of the kidney as they hold the potential to initiate and complete the process of EMT (7,8).
It was previously demonstrated that the product of uterine sensitization-associated gene 1 (USAG-1) acts as a kidney-specific BMP antagonist, which binds to and inhibits the biological activity of BMP-7 (9–14). A previous study revealed USAG-1-deficient mice to be resistant to in vivo kidney injury, while genetic ablation of USAG-1 in the chronic renal injury model of unilateral uretral obstruction (UUO) resisted kidney injury and therefore prolonged survival (15). However, following administration of USAG-l−/− mouse anti-BMP-7 neutralizing antibody, the USAG−/− renal protective effect in mice was inhibited. Since USAG-1 may serve a notable role in the regulation of BMP-7 renal protection, inhibiting USAG-1 expression may represent a promising therapeutic measure for the treatment or management of renal interstitial fibrosis.
Artemisinin, extracted and isolated from Artemisia annua compositae leaves, is a sesquiterpene compound with a peroxide bridge. In addition to exhibiting anti-malarial effects, artemisinin has anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor and anti-fibrotic effects (16,17). Artesunate (ART) is an artemisinin derivative, and has been demonstrated to exhibit a therapeutic effect in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis and myocardial fibrosis (18,19). Additionally, a previous study confirmed that ART was able to effectively alleviate renal fibrosis caused by UUO (20); however, whether ART inhibits the occurrence of EMT by inhibiting the activity of USAG-1 or activating the activity of BMP-7 remains unclear.
In the present study, the effect of ART on TGF-β1-induced EMT was investigated with the aim of examining the potential underlying mechanism. The mechanism may be used to elucidate the association between the effect of ART and the abnormal expression of BMP-7 and USAG-1.
Materials and methods
Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM)/high glucose was purchased from Gibco® (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Waltham, MA, USA), Ausbian fetal bovine serum (FBS) was purchased from Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., and penicillin-streptomycin solution was purchased from Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology (Haimen, China). Trypsin/EDTA solution was purchased from Beijing Solarbio Science and Technology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China) and the semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (sq-PCR) kit was obtained from Tiangen Biotech Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China). For western blotting, BMP-7 (cat. no. ab56023), USAG-1 (cat no. ab99340), E-cadherin (cat. no. 5409-1) and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) (cat. no. 1184-1) antibodies were all purchased from Abcam (Cambridge, UK), GAPDH antibody was obtained from Zhongshan Jinqiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China), and for immunofluorescence staining, USAG-1 (cat. no. sc-162253) antibody was obtained from Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc. (Dallas, TX, USA), the secondary antibodies were from Zhongshan Jinqiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China).
Cell culture and treatment
Normal rat kidney tubular epithelial cells (NRK-52E) were purchased from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Cell Bank (Shanghai, China) and maintained in DMEM/high-glucose medium supplemented with 1% penicillin-streptomycin and 10% FBS, in a humidified incubator containing 95% air and 5% CO2 at 37°C atmosphere. For EMT experiments, cells were treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 (Peprotech, Inc., Rocky Hill, NJ, USA) for 48 h (21). ART (>98% purity; molecular weight, 384.43) was purchased from TCI (Shanghai) Development Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). In order to determine the effect of ART on the activity and proliferation of NRK-52E cells induced by TGF-β1, cells were seeded at 60–70% confluence in complete medium containing 10% FBS for 24 h, and subsequently serum-starved for 12 h. The cells were subsequently induced with TGF-β1 (5 ng/ml), treated with different ART concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/ml) containing 1% FBS and incubated for 48 h. The groups for the experiment were as follows: Control group, TGF-β1 group (normal NRK-52E cells treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β1), ART-L group (0.01 µg/ml ART), ART-M group (0.1 µg/ml ART), and ART-H group (1 µg/ml ART). Cells were harvested, following which the expression of associated proteins and genes was determined.
MTT assay for cell viability
NRK-52E cells were seeded into 96-well culture plates and treated with various ART concentrations (0, 0.01, 0.1 1, 5 and 10 µg/ml) for 48 h. Cell viability was determined via an MTT assay and cells were incubated with 20 µl MTT solution (0.5 mg/ml) for 4 h at 37°C. The purple formazan crystals derived from the MTT were dissolved in 150 µl dimethyl sulfoxide and agitated for 10 min. The absorbance at 490 nm was measured with a microplate reader (Elx808; BioTek Instruments, Inc., Winooski, VT, USA).
Morpholopy observation
After treatment with TGF-β1 combined with or without ART for 48 h, cells were washed with PBS twice. The morphological changes of NRK-52E cells were observed under a phase-contrast photomicroscope (Leica Microsystems GmbH, Wetzlar, Germany) and photographed using a digital camera.
Reverse transcription (RT)-sqPCR analysis
Total RNA was extracted using TRIzol reagent (Tiangen Biotech Co., Ltd.), according to manufacturer's instructions, and the cDNA was synthesized using a TIANScript RT kit (Tiangen Biotech Co., Ltd.) (22). Primers were synthesized by Sangon Biotech Co., Ltd. (Shanghai, China). sqPCR was performed as previously described (22). The sequences of the primers used were as follows: α-SMA forward, 5′-GCATCCACGAAACCACCT-3′ and reverse, 5′-CGCCGATCCAGACAGAAT-3′ (210 bp); E-cadherin forward, 5′-TTCAACCCAAGCACGTACCA-3′ and reverse, 5′-CAGAATGCCCTCGTTGGTCT-3′ (186 bp); BMP-7 forward, 5′-GCACCTCCAGGGAAAAC-3′ and reverse, 5′-AAGCCCAGATGGTACGG-3′ (443 bp); USAG-1 forward, 5′-AGATTTGATTGCGTGGAAGAC-3′ and reverse, 5′-GGTTCGGAGGGATTTAGTTTG-3′ (311 bp); collagen type I (Col I) forward, 5′-TCAGGGGCGAAGGCAACAGT-3′ and reverse, TTGGGATGGAGGGAGTTTACACGA-3′ (219 bp); and GAP DH forward, 5′-TGCTGAGTATGTCGTGGAGT-3′ and reverse, 5′-AGTCTTCTGAGTGGCAGTGAT-3′ (289 bp). PCR amplification was performed with initial denaturation at 94°C for 5 min, followed by 30 consecutive cycles of denaturation at 94°C for 30 sec, annealing at 58–62°C for 30 sec and extension at 72°C for 1 min, with a final extension at 72°C for 7 min. The amplified products were analyzed by electrophoresis on a 1.5% (w/v) agarose gel and stained with fluorescence staining dye Goldview (Beijing Solarbio Science and Technology Co., Ltd.) alongside a DNA marker (Tiangen Biotech Co., Ltd.) The relative mRNA levels of various genes were calculated following normalization to GAPDH. The signal intensity of the images was analyzed using ImageJ version 1.48 software (National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA).
Western blot analysis
Cells were lysed with radioimmunoprecipitation assay buffer (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology), supplemented with phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The protein samples were quantified using bicinchoninic acid protein assay reagents (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology). Western blot analysis was performed as previously described (23). Following boiling for 10 min in a 5X loading buffer (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology), protein samples (45 µg) were separated by SDS-PAGE on an 8% gel and transferred onto nitrocellulose membranes (EMD Millipore, Billerica, MA, USA). The membranes were subsequently blocked in PBS containing 3% BSA (Sigma-Aldrich; Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany) and incubated with primary antibodies at a 1:1,000 dilution overnight at 4°C. The primary antibodies used were as follows: Anti-α-SMA, anti-E-cadherin, anti-BMP-7 and anti-USAG-1. Following washing with PBS-Tween-20, the membrane was incubated with alkaline phosphatase-conjugated goat anti-rabbit and horse anti-mouse secondary antibodies at a 1:1,000 dilution at room temperature for 2 h. Signal detection was performed using an enhanced chemiluminescence kit (Shanghai Tianneng Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China). The band density was measured using ImageJ software.
Immunofluorescent staining
The expressions of E-cadherin, α-SMA, BMP-7 and USAG-1 in NRK-52E cells were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining. Cells (2×104 cells/ml) were cultured on glass coverslips and treated with TGF-β1 with or without 1 µg/ml ART for 48 h. Following treatment for 48 h, cells in the basement layer were washed three times with PBS and fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min at room temperature. Following three extensive washes with PBS, the cells were treated with 0.5% Triton X-100 for 10 min and blocked with 2% normal donkey serum (Sigma-Aldrich; Merck KGaA) for 1 h at room temperature, and subsequently incubated with primary antibodies (1:200) at 4°C overnight. Cells were washed with PBS for 3–5 min and incubated with goat anti-rabbit and rabbit anti-goat secondary antibodies (Zhongshan Jinqiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China) at a dilution of 1:200 for 2 h. Following washing in PBS, cells were stained with DAPI (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology) at room temperature to visualize the nuclei. Following washing in PBS, the device was mounted with anti-fluorescence quenching agent (Beyotime Institute of Biotechnology) and cover-slipped; digital images were captured using an inverted fluorescent microscope (magnification, ×400).
Statistical analysis
All data were reported as the mean ± standard deviation. Statistical analysis was performed using the statistical package SPSS for Windows, version 13.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) and GraphPad Prism v. 5.0 (GraphPad Software, Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA). The comparisons among different groups were made using one-way analysis of variance followed by least significant difference/Dunett-T3 tests. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. All experiments were repeated ≥3 times.
Effect of TGF-β1 on NRK-52E cells
In order to investigate the effect of TGF-β1 on NRK-52E cells, cells were treated with different concentrations of TGF-β1 (2, 5 and 10 µg/ml) for 48 h. The results demonstrated that 5 and 10 µg/ml TGF-β1 was able to significantly increase the expression of α-SMA mRNA and protein. In addition, TGF-β1 (5 and 10 µg/ml) was able to downregulate the expression of E-cadherin mRNA, while a concentration of 2 µg/ml TGF-β1 had no significant effect on α-SMA mRNA and protein and E-cadherin mRNA compared with the control group. Additionally, TGF-β1 was able to decrease cell-cell contact and the cells adopted a more elongated morphology at a concentration of 5 ng/ml. However, TGF-β1 did not influence cell morphology at a concentration of 2 ng/ml. Therefore, 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 was selected as the concentration to be used in the following experiment (data not shown). Subsequently, NRK-52E cells were treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 24, 48 and 72 h, and the results demonstrated that the expression of α-SMA mRNA was significantly upregulated compared with the control group when treated for 48 h, while TGF-β1 had no marked effect on α-SMA mRNA expression when cells were treated for 24 h. In addition, the cellular morphology gradually altered from oval to a long spindle shape over time, and this alteration was apparent at 48 h; however, cellular morphology was almost unaltered compared with the control group at 24 h (data not shown). According to the above results, 5 ng/ml TGF-β1 for 48 h was selected as the treatment to be used for the remainder of the experiments.
Effect of ART on cellular viability
In order to determine the effect of ART on cell viability, NRK-52E cells (2.5×104 cells/ml) were seeded into 96-well culture plates and treated with different concentrations of ART (0.01, 0.1, 1, 5 and 10 µg/ml) for 48 h, following which cell viability was determined. The results demonstrated that there was little or no effect on cell viability low-doses of ART (0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/ml). However, treatment with 5 or 10 µg/ml ART resulted in a significant decrease in cell viability (Fig. 1). Therefore, 0.01, 0.1 and 1 µg/ml were used for the following experiments.
Figure 1.
Effect of ART on the cell viability of NRK-52E. NRK-52E cells were incubated with different concentrations of ART for 48 h. All data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. n=3. **P<0.01 vs. control. ART, artesunate.
Effect of ART on cell morphology
In order to observe the alterations in cellular morphology caused by treatment with ART, the morphological alterations in NRK-52E cells were observed under a phase-contrast photomicroscope (Leica Microsystems GmbH) and photographed using a digital camera. The control cells exhibited a typical epithelial cuboidal shape with cobblestone morphology (Fig. 2A). Treatment with ART alone (ART group) had no effect on morphology compared with the control group (Fig. 2B); therefore, this group was not included in the following experiment. By contrast, NRK-52E cells exposed to TGF-β1 (5 ng/ml) exhibited a decrease in cell-cell contacts and adopted a more elongated morphological shape. Notably, treatment with TGF-β1 resulted in a morphology which was fibroblast-like in nature and identifiable by the presence of elongated lamellipodia and a spindle shape, as presented in Fig. 2C. However, ART was able to improve the morphology of cells to different degrees and a dose of ART at 1 µg/ml rendered the cellular morphology close to the normal cellular morphology (Fig. 2D-F). These results indicated that ART was able to improve TGF-β1-induced morphological alterations in cells.
Figure 2.
Effect of ART on the morphology of NRK-52E cells. Incubation of NRK-52E cells with different concentrations of ART with or without transforming growth factor-β1 for 48 h. Representative images are presented: (A) Control group; (B) ART group; (C) TGF-β1 group; (D) ART low dose group; (E) ART moderate dose group; (F) ART high dose group. Magnification, ×100. ART, artesunate.
Effects of ART on the levels of E-cadherin, α-SMA and Col I in NRK-52E cells
In order to evaluate the regulatory effects of ART in TGF-β1-induced EMT, the expression of E-cadherin and α-SMA was examined at the mRNA and protein levels in epithelial cells. The level of α-SMA expression was low, while E-cadherin expression was high in normal renal tubular epithelial cells. The results suggested that TGF-β1-induced cells exhibited a significant decrease in the gene expression of E-cadherin (Fig. 3A; P<0.01), and ART-L had no significant effect on the expression of E-cadherin. The expression of E-cadherin was significantly increased in the ART-M and ART-H groups, particularly at the highest concentration of ART (Fig. 3A). The mRNA expression of α-SMA in TGF-β1-induced EMT was significantly upregulated compared with the control group. Treatment with ART significantly attenuated the TGF-β1-induced increase in the mRNA expression of α-SMA, and this was more apparent at moderate and high doses of ART (Fig. 3B). These results confirmed that EMT served a role in tubulointerstitial fibrosis, and that ART may improve renal fibrosis by inhibiting the process of EMT. The occurrence of EMT ultimately leads to deposition of the ECM, and Col I is the ECM deposit which results from EMT occurrence. To evaluate the regulatory effects of ART in TGF-β1-induced ECM protein accumulation, the mRNA expression of Col I was examined. The results demonstrated that the expression of Col I was increased in cells undergoing EMT, which was pathologically associated with fibrosis, while treatment with ART in the low concentration group decreased the level of Col I and the difference was statistically significant with moderate and high concentrations of ART (Fig. 3C). The results demonstrated that the ECM was significantly accumulated in renal fibrosis, and that ART was able to decrease the accumulation of the ECM.
Figure 3.
Effect of ART on the expression of E-cadherin, α-SMA and Col I at the mRNA and protein levels in NRK-52E cells. Incubation of NRK-52E cells with different concentrations of ART with or without TGF-β1 for 48 h. Reverse transcription-semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to detect the expression of (A) E-cadherin, (B) α-SMA and (C) Col I mRNA. Western blotting was applied to examine the protein levels of (D) E-cadherin and (E) α-SMA. GAPDH was used as the internal loading control. All data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. n=3. **P<0.01 vs. control; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 vs. TGF-β1. ART, artesunate; ART-L, low-dose ART; ART-M, moderate-dose ART; ART-H, high-dose ART; α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin; Col I, collagen type I; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1.
The expression of E-cadherin and α-SMA protein was examined in total cell lysates using western blotting. The results demonstrated that TGF-β1 was able to increase the expression of α-SMA and decrease the E-cadherin expression in NRK-52E cells, demonstrating that TGF-β1 stimulated EMT in tubular cells, which is consistent with previous reports (6). However, treatment with ART significantly increased E-cadherin expression and downregulated α-SMA protein expression, which is in line with previous findings in the UUO model (20). In addition, the effect was more marked at moderate and high doses of ART (Fig. 3D and E).
The involvement of α-SMA and E-cadherin in TGF-β1-induced EMT was further investigated via a fluorescence confocal assay. Under basal condition, the expression of E-cadherin was abundant in renal tubular epithelial cells, and was primarily localized to the plasma membrane (Fig. 4A). When the renal tubular cells were stimulated by TGF-β1, the expression of E-cadherin was markedly decreased, as exhibited by decreased green fluorescence; when cells were pretreated with ART, the TGF-β1-induced E-cadherin delocalization was inhibited (Fig. 4A). By contrast, the abundance of the mesenchymal marker α-SMA was low in renal tubular cells under control conditions, as indicated by the weak fluorescence in confocal images (Fig. 4B). When the cells were stimulated by TGF-β1, the expression of α-SMA was markedly increased, as exhibited by the increased fluorescence in the confocal images (Fig. 4B). When renal tubular cells were pretreated with ART, TGF-β1 failed to increase α-SMA expression (Fig. 4B). These results further confirmed that ART may improve TGF-β1-induced EMT progression.
Figure 4.
Immunofluorescence staining was performed to determine the expression of (A) E-cadherin and (B) α-SMA. Magnification, ×400. α-SMA, α-smooth muscle actin; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1; ART, artesunate.
Effect of ART on the expression of USAG-1 and BMP-7 at the mRNA and protein levels in NRK-52E cells
TGF-β1 is considered to be an important cytokine for the induction of renal interstitial fibrosis, and BMP-7 is a member of the TGF-β1 superfamily. A previous study reported that BMP-7 may be able to reverse the renal structural alterations and the degree of fibrosis in UUO rats by regulating the downstream mothers against decapentaplegic homolog (Smad)1/5/8 signaling pathway (24). USAG-1 serves as the endogenous antagonist of BMP-7. Therefore, the present study examined the expression of USAG-1 and BMP-7, and the underlying mechanism.
In order to determine the regulatory effects of ART in TGF-β1-induced BMP-7 and USAG-1 expression, RT-sqPCR analysis and western blotting were performed (Fig. 5). TGF-β1 upregulated the expression of USAG-1 in NRK-52E cells as presented in Fig. 5A and C. Treatment with ART (0.1 and 1 µg/ml) significantly decreased the expression of USAG-1 in a dose-dependent manner compared with the TGF-β1 treated group (Fig. 5A and C). The effect of ART on the expression of BMP-7 was additionally detected. Compared with the control group, the expression of BMP-7 significantly decreased when treated with TGF-β1; however, ART was able to restore the expression of BMP-7, and the highest dose of ART exerted the most marked effect (Fig. 5B and D). The results of the RT-sqPCR analysis of USAG-1 and BMP-7 were consistent with those of the western blot analysis.
Figure 5.
Effect of ART on the expression of USAG-1 and BMP-7 at the mRNA and protein levels in NRK-52E cells. NRK-52E cells were incubated with different concentrations of ART, with or without TGF-β1, for 48 h. Reverse transcription-semi-quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to detect the expression of (A) USAG-1 and (B) BMP-7 mRNA. Western blotting was applied to examine the protein levels of (C) USAG-1 and (D) BMP-7. GAPDH was used as the internal loading control. All data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. n=3. **P<0.01 vs. control; ##P<0.01 vs. TGF-β1. ART, artesunate; ART-L, low-dose ART; ART-M, moderate-dose ART; ART-H, high-dose ART; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1; USAG-1, uterine sensitization-associated gene 1; BMP-7, bone morphogenetic protein 7.
In order to observe the localization of BMP-7 and USAG-1 in NRK-52E cells, immunofluorescent staining was performed to detect the two proteins (Fig. 6). The results demonstrated that the expression of USAG-1 in NRK-52E cells was minimal, while the expression of USAG-1 was markedly increased when treated with 5 ng/ml TGF-β1. Notably, ART inhibited the increased expression of USAG-1 (Fig. 6A). Additionally, BMP-7 was abundantly expressed in NRK-52E cells; however, the expression of BMP-7 was significantly decreased when induced by TGF-β1, and ART was able to reverse this effect (Fig. 6B). The results further clarified that the expression of BMP-7 and USAG-1 may alter when induced by TGF-β1, and suggested that ART may reverse these effects.
Figure 6.
Immunofluorescence staining was performed to determine the expression of (A) USAG-1 and (B) BMP-7. Magnification, ×400. TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1; ART, artesunate; USAG-1, uterine sensitization-associated gene 1; BMP-7, bone morphogenetic protein 7.
Effect of ART on the ratio of USAG-1 to BMP-7
In order to demonstrate the role of BMP-7 and USAG-1 in EMT, the effects of ART on the protein ratio of USAG-1 to BMP-7 were evaluated following treatment with TGF-β1. The ratio increased in the TGF-β1 group compared with the control group (Fig. 7). However, the three doses of ART in the experiment inhibited the elevation of the ratio, and this was significant in the ART-H and ART-M groups, demonstrating that the ameliorative effect of ART in EMT may be achieved by restoring the ratio of USAG-1 and BMP-7.
Figure 7.
Effects of ART on the protein ratio of USAG-1 to BMP-7. Data are presented as the mean ± standard deviation. n=3. **P<0.01 vs. control; #P<0.05, ##P<0.01 vs. TGF-β1. ART, artesunate; ART-L, low-dose ART; ART-M, moderate-dose ART; ART-H, high-dose ART; TGF-β1, transforming growth factor-β1; USAG-1, uterine sensitization-associated gene 1; BMP-7, bone morphogenetic protein 7.
The primary aim of the present study was to investigate the role of ART in EMT induced by TGF-β1. In the present study, 2 days of exposure to TGF-β1 in renal proximal tubular cells significantly increased the levels of α-SMA and decreased the expression of E-cadherin, suggesting that TGF-β1 was able to induce the occurrence of EMT (25). In addition, it was demonstrated that ART was able to ameliorate TGF-β1-induced renal interstitial fibrosis. Notably, ART reversed the TGF-β-induced increase in USAG-1 and decrease in BMP-7. The downregulation of USAG-1 expression resulted in the inhibition of EMT. These results provided evidence for a possible antifibrotic mechanism in renal interstitial fibrosis.
Renal interstitial fibrosis, which is characterized by the accumulation of the ECM, is the principal underlying pathology in the progression of chronic kidney diseases, and is a common pathway of chronic kidney disease progression to end-stage renal failure (1). The pathogenesis of renal fibrosis is characterized by tubular atrophy, tubular cell loss, myofibroblast accumulation and excessive ECM protein deposition (26). EMT is a process through which epithelial cells lose their epithelial-specific biomarkers, undergo cytoskeletal remodeling, and gain a mesenchymal phenotype (4). It has been reported that the TGF-β-Smad signaling pathway may promote the occurrence of EMT. Studies have demonstrated that tubular EMT is an important resource of fibrogenic myofibroblasts and serves a central role in tubulointerstitial fibrosis, including in diabetes nephropathy. In the present study, ART-treated cells displayed a significant decrease in the levels of α-SMA and an increase the expression of E-cadherin, and ART was able to improve the morphological alterations induced by TGF-β1 and restore the morphology of the epithelial cells; these results indicated that ART may improve renal fibrosis induced by TGF-β1. Additionally, ART reversed the process of EMT induced by TGF-β1.
BMP-7, a morphogenetic protein, has been hypothesized to serve a role in antifibrosis in renal tubular epithelial cells (27). Under normal circumstances, there is abundant BMP-7 expression in renal tubular epithelial cells, and BMP-7 is able to maintain the normal functioning of renal tubular epithelial cells (28). The expression of BMP-7 has been demonstrated to be significantly downregulated under disease conditions, including hypertension, aristolochic acid nephropathy, diabetic nephropathy and other disease states (29,30). In addition, it was reported that exogenous administration of recombinant human BMP-7 was able to reverse the alterations in renal structure and the degree of fibrosis in UUO rats by regulating the downstream Smad1/5/8 signaling pathway (24). A previous study demonstrated that BMP-7 inhibited TGF-β1-induced fibrogenesis and EMT, and induced EMT in vitro (31). In the present study, the levels of BMP-7 mRNA and protein levels decreased during the process of EMT, which was further confirmed by the immunofluorescent staining results. However, ART was able to inhibit the process of EMT and significantly increase the levels of BMP-7, indicating that ART may inhibit the EMT process via an upregulation of BMP-7 expression.
It has been demonstrated that the local activity of endogenous BMP-7 is controlled by the regulation of its expression, in addition to certain classes of molecules termed BMP antagonists (13). USAG-1, a dominant antagonist of BMP-7, is primarily expressed in renal tubular epithelial cells and contributes to renal injury (9,10). In previous studies, it was demonstrated that USAG-1-knockout mice exhibited reduced tubulointerstitial fibrosis in a UUO model, and improved renal function in acute and chronic kidney injury. The above results illustrated that the upregulation of USAG-1 may serve an important role in the process of renal interstitial fibrosis (12). In the present study, the expression of USAG-1 was upregulated when induced by TGF-β1, although it significantly decreased when treated with ART, particularly the high dose of ART. In addition, the reduction of USAG-1 expression may improve other indicators of fibrosis. The results stated above suggested that one of the possible mechanisms underlying the antifibrotic effects of ART may be associated with inhibition of the expression of USAG-1 in NRK-52E cells.
In conclusion, the results above demonstrate that ART was able to inhibit EMT induced by TGF-β1. These effects may be associated with the upregulation of BMP-7 or the inhibition of USAG-1 expression, although the exact mechanisms require further investigation.
The present study were funded by grants from the Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Drug Research and Clinical Pharmacy (grant no. ZR-XY201408), and the College of Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University (grant no. 2015YKYCX009).
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Lim AI, Chan LY, Tang SC, Yiu WH, Li R, Lai KN and Leung JC: BMP-7 represses albumin-induced chemokine synthesis in kidney tubular epithelial cells through destabilization of NF-κB inducing kinase. Immunol Cell Biol. 92:427–435. 2014. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
Bramlage CP, Tampe B, Koziolek M, Maatouk I, Bevanda J, Bramlage P, Ahrens K, Lange K, Schmid H, Cohen CD, et al: Bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-7 expression is decreased in human hypertensive nephrosclerosis. BMC Nephrol. 11:312010. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI
Ivanac-Janković R, Ćorić M, Furić-Čunko V, Lovičić V, Bašić-Jukić N and Kes P: BMP-7 protein expression is downregulated in human diabetic nephropathy. Acta Clin Croat. 54:164–168. 2015.PubMed/NCBI
Zeisberg M, Hanai J, Sugimoto H, Mammoto T, Charytan D, Strutz F and Kalluri R: BMP-7 counteracts TGF-beta1-induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and reverses chronic renal injury. Nat Med. 9:964–968. 2003. View Article : Google Scholar : PubMed/NCBI


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Condition: Standard
All Product Details
Food Choices and Nutrient Intake.
Nutrients and Their Functions.
Nutrition in Health and Disease.
Choosing a Healthy Diet.
Evaluating Nutrition Information.
2 Guidelines for a Healthy Diet.
Nutrition Recommendations.
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs).
Tools for Diet Planning.
Food and Supplement Labels.
3 Digestion: From Meals to Molecules.
The Organization of Life.
The Digestive System.
Digestion and Absorption of Nutrients.
Digestion in Health and Disease.
Delivering Nutrients and Eliminating Wastes.
An Overview of Metabolism.
4 Carbohydrates: Sugars, Starches, and Fibers.
Carbohydrates in Our Food.
Types of Carbohydrates.
Carbohydrate Digestion and Absorption.
Carbohydrate Functions.
Carbohydrates in Health and Disease.
Meeting Carbohydrate Needs.
5 Lipids: Fats, Phospholipids, and Sterols.
Fats in Our Food.
Types of Lipids.
Absorbing and Transporting Lipids.
Lipid Functions.
Lipids in Health and Disease.
Meeting Lipid Needs.
6 Proteins and Amino Acids.
Proteins in Our Food.
The Structure of Amino Acids and Proteins.
Protein Digestion and Absorption.
Protein Synthesis and Functions.
Protein in Health and Disease.
Meeting Protein Needs.
7 Vitamins.
A Vitamin Primer.
The Water-Soluble Vitamins.
The Fat-Soluble Vitamins.
Meeting Needs with Dietary Supplements.
8 Water and Minerals.
An Overview of Minerals.
Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium, and Chloride.
Major Minerals and Bone Health.
Trace Minerals.
9 Energy Balance and Weight Management.
Body Weight and Health.
Energy Balance.
What Determines Body Size and Shape?
Managing Body Weight.
Eating Disorders.
10 Nutrition, Fitness, and Physical Activity.
Physical Activity, Fitness, and Health.
Exercise Recommendations.
Fueling Exercise.
Energy and Nutrient Needs for Physical Activity.
Ergogenic Aids.
11 Nutrition During Pregnancy and Infancy.
Changes in the Body During Pregnancy.
Nutritional Needs During Pregnancy.
Factors That Increase the Risks Associated with Pregnancy.
Nutrition for Infants.
12 Nutrition from 1 to 100.
Nutrition for Children.
Nutrition for Adolescents.
Nutrition for the Adult Years.
The Impact of Alcohol Throughout Life.
13 How Safe Is Our Food Supply?
Keeping Food Safe.
Pathogens in Food.
Agricultural and Industrial Chemicals in Food.
Technology for Keeping Food Safe.
14 Feeding the World.
The Two Faces of Malnutrition.
Causes of Hunger Around the World.
Causes of Hunger in the United States.
Eliminating Hunger.
Appendix A: Additional DRI Tables.
Table and Line Art Credits.
Photo Credits.


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Franklin City Council hopes to bring visitors to town
Fri, 02/24/2017 - 5:00am
Angela Schlieker
The Franklin City Council heard ideas for putting "heads in beds" at Monday's meeting as it approved hotel owner Jerry Baxter's request for $5,000 in Hotel Occupancy Tax funding. Area hotels come close to selling out on tournament weekends because of events held at the Franklin Ranch Community Park, Baxter told the council.
To view more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition http://etypeservices.com/Franklin%20AdvocateID516/


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One of the biggest regrets when I joined Weight Watchers was that sweet potatoes are not 'free'…. meaning that they do cost you some points. I felt a bit miffed because most vegetables, including butternut squash are completely point free! Still, sweet potato is at least a bit 'cheaper' for points than normal potatoes, so I've not been totally put off them!
Now whilst I usually love to cover them in oil and bake them as wedges, I thought I'd try to find a more healthy way to enjoy the big batch of sweet potatoes I bought at the market last week. And because I'm all about the soups at the minute, that seemed like a good idea. The result was pretty dreamy actually….sweet and creamy, but with a good punch! AND each serving is only a few Weight Watchers points!
What you will need to make four servings:
- 1 tbspn butter
- 1 large white onion, chopped fine
- 1.5kg sweet potatoes, pink fleshed, peeled and diced in 1cm cubes
- 4 cloves of garlic, sliced fine
- 1 tbspn grated ginger
- 2 large red chillies, seeds removed and chopped fine
- 1 tspn lime juice
- 1 tspn Aromat
- 750ml hot vegetable stock
- 50g creamed coconut
- dried, crushed chillies to garnish
How to make it:
- Melt the butter in a large sauce pan
- Tip in the onions and fry until soft
- Add the sweet potato, garlic, ginger and chillies
- Cook until the sweet potato starts to soften
- Now add the Aromat, lime juice and hot stock
- Simmer for around 15-20 minutes, until the potato is tender and 'mashable'
- Remove from the heat and blend until smooth
- Pop back on a low heat and crumble in the creamed coconut, stirring through
- Once piping hot and well blended, serve up with a scatter of crushed chillies on top
I find this one pretty filling, so I don't think it needs anything else like bread for dipping (and this coming from a bread fiend!).
Ems x


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Crescent Moon Pose Side Stretch Photo
Woman doing crescent moon yoga pose on city building rooftop.
Start your own yoga business
Download our free image set and start your own yoga business today! Whether you want to sell mats, blocks, lessons or apparel, these photos are free for you to use.
Your photo is downloading now…


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Stereoboard.com is a Ticket Comparison Service. Prices are set by sellers/promoters & may be above, below or at face value
Drake White Tickets, Tour Dates & Concerts 2018 / 2019 ♫
Drake White is a country, blues, funk, rock n roll, and reggae singer songwriter from Alabama. He grew up singing in his local church, and began playing the guitar at 14.


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(Screenshot of NBA 2K15 running on my PC)
- PC Specs
- Processor: Intel® Core™ i3-4130 CPU @ 3.40 GHz (4 CPUs)
- Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GT 630 with Integrated RAMDAC
- Operating System: Windows 7 (64-bit)
- Hard Drive Memory: 1 TB
- Motherboard: ASUS H81M-A
- DirectX Version: DirectX 11
Apparently, my PC can run NBA 2K15 on "medium" settings with player detail set to high, texture detail set to medium, special effects off and at my monitor's maximum native resolution. I get around an unstable 40 to 50 FPS (frames per second) which has microstuttering. Configuring the video settings, I can lock it in at 30 FPS to avoid the microstuttering completely since I can't reach 60 FPS without sacrificing the graphical fidelity of the game.
However, there is an EXTREME amount of input lag using either the keyboard or a gamepad. It takes around half a second or almost a second to process any actions which makes the game "literally unplayable". According to what I've read on the internet, the game has input lag when not running at 60 FPS, so basically you really need to have a powerful computer to run this at 60 FPS or else you'll be playing on the lowest settings imaginable just to be able to play the game without any input lag. I'm not sure if this is the case as well though for NBA 2K16 or NBA 2K17, I would still like to find out.
Playing with low settings on everything, but with anti-aliasing set to 4 with anti-aliasing quality of 4 allows me to play at around 55 to 60 FPS (frames per second) with V-Sync turned on and little to no input lag.
(NBA 2K15 locked in at 30 FPS with input lag)
(NBA 2K15 logged in at 60 FPS without input lag)
|Video Settings with Input Lag at 30 FPS
Video Resolution: 1600x900
VSync: On
Texture Detail: Medium
Player Detail: High
Anti-Alias: 2
Anti-Alias Quality: 0
Special Effects: Off
Shader Detail: Low
|Video Settings without Input Lag at 60 FPS
Video Resolution: 1600x900
VSync: On
Texture Detail: Low
Player Detail: Low
Anti-Alias: 4
Anti-Alias Quality: 4
Special Effects: Off
Shader Detail: Low
Nonetheless, while the graphical improvements are good and the ability to step back in NBA 2K16/17 without gathering the ball is nice. It's probably the only thing I envy from next-gen NBA 2K titles. The fact that most of the stuff in these titles cannot be fully modified is the dealbreaker for me. Seeing Russell Westbrook's tiny head, inaccurate hairstyles, etc. without being able to modify them properly is only depressing compared to what we have in NBA 2K14. Plus the fact that there is no fully pledged roster editing software for these games for a primarily roster modder like me is probably the nail in the coffin. We custom roster lovers know that there are so many incorrect animations assigned to the players in official NBA 2K rosters, as well as incorrect accessories or ratings (which have been prioritized updated since NBA 2K13 in their defense surprisingly) and having no roster editor to do this quicker is too unproductive for my liking.
I'm not saying NBA 2K14 is better than next-gen titles such as NBA 2K15/16/17. However, as modder who likes to take control of what happens in the game I'm playing which means fully modifying the entire league to create something entirely new (PBA, FIBA & Kuroko V Slam Dunk) and that isn't possible in these next-gen titles. Sure, you can always Create-A-Player, import jersey textures, but you can only do so much until you realize that what you want to achieve is currently not possible. The addition of these enormous file sizes is just a dealbreaker as well for my poor internet connection. The argument of NBA 2K14 vs Next-Gen NBA 2K is relative, but a fully modifiable NBA 2K14 is exactly what I want right now compared to a barely modifiable console port.
I'd probably enjoy a game or two of next-gen NBA 2K, but it's more about playing what I love right now and that's custom content. I play PBA 2K most of the time because it's a much more unique experience from playing the NBA roster that we're all used to. A lot of people still can't play these next-gen titles due to many constraints and there needs to be updates for that specific audience (which includes me, of course). I can only imagine those people who want to play next-gen titles but are relieved to still be able to play NBA 2K14 with a roster that constantly gets updates for free with no redirecting or advertisement walls.
Needless to say, I'll still be here continuing to play and mod NBA 2K14.


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This time last year, we were smack dab in the middle of production. I can't believe it's been a year! In honor of the anniversary, I went back at looked at some of the coverage we got from the local Crescent City paper, the Del Norte Triplicate. First, we arrived a month before production started…Read more
Crescent City Luncheon/Press Conference
While on the scout up north, we had an opportunity to meet with the Chamber of Commerce and local powers-that-be in Crescent City, CA, which is the largest city near to our shooting location. [caption id="attachment_1438" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Introductions"][/caption] It was a wonderful experience, and I even got to use my long lost Speech Communication…Read more


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Sunday, July 26, 2009
Meeting New People
So we have finished yet another day in Shanghai! Today's weather was beautiful, though decidedly abnormal for this area. It was warm, about 83 degrees, and pretty overcast- though we did see the sun at least twice. The best part was that there was no threat of rain!!
We began breakfast in the hotel restaurant again and went for a stroll outside and tried to find a phone booth that would accept my phone card. (We never did!) Alli began to glare at me after 15 minutes, so we came back to our room. As soon as we got onto the elevator, I swear I heard her stomach scream! We ran back to the room and dashed inside just in time...yup, travelers tummy. She was extremely upset and could not understand why her tummy was hurting so badly. Luckily, I brought Pepto, so after a dose and some quiet time, she was as good as new.
I was able to contact my former teacher, Weimin, today and she met us at the hotel around 11am to take us to lunch. She drives (not most Shanghai residents do) and the best part was that her car has a Chinese GPS. Amazing!
We had planned to go to the Shanghai Museum, but it was impossibly crowded, so we just went to lunch instead. We had a great time- Allison and Weimin really took to one another, it was sweet!
After Weimin went home, Allison and I decided to walk down Nanjing Road again and met two new friends, Daisy and Chao. Its amazing how people in China just befriend you at once (kind of like adoption for the day). They were very nice students from Qingdao University (amazingly, very close to Jinan city- where I will soon live) and invited us to accompany them to an authentic Chinese tea ceremony. Apparently the tea is approved by the Chinese government and is only available once every three years, so it was a not to be missed experience.
Allison and I went with Daisy and Chao (with Allison holding Daisy's hand, no less) and went to tea! It was amazing! And very expensive!! We tasted 8 different teas, along with several tea snacks. We learned which teas were good for which parts of the body, and best- I could understand most of it! The worst part was when the bill came- $752 yuan (convert that yourself- I'm still in denial) but we did get several boxes of tea...yes Claude, one is for you!
After all this, we went back to the hotel for a much earned rest and slept the rest of the afternoon away! When we next awoke, it was 10:30pm, and Alli and I were hungry. Contrary to her repeated requests, we could not just "order something and have it delivered" so I decided that we would try to find a night market. I consulted the internet and the map, and finally located one nearby, so we decided to walk. Yes, I took my 6 year old out walking at 12am in a search for street food. Mother of the Year, here I come!
Unfortunately, the market was closed by the time we got there, bu happily, we made another friend, Liu FuChao a 25 year old Chinese guy from Beijing on vacation in Shanghai. He spoke a little English (he proudly told me that he is self taught)and he was great company. For late dinner, we ate spring rolls, fried noodles and steamed dumplings (饺子jiao zi,say jaowe tzi). It was nearly 1:30, so we said goodbye and promised Fuchao that we would call him when we go to Beijing.
So, here we are again, at the ungodly hour of 2am, trying to go back to sleep...
3 comments:
Oh, it sounds like you guys are having such a great time!! Kensie and I laughed b/c you posted this blog tomorrow!! It was quite trouble-some to explain to a 6yr old! I love hearing about your adventures.... keep reporting!ReplyDelete
Hey Sweeties!ReplyDelete
I'm so glad that you are enjoying yourselves and discovering so many new places and things. Please tell Alli that I am very proud of her eating new foods.
Nadja and I are enjoying reading of your adventures, although she said that she'd rather hear you say it. She loves the way that you punctuate words as you speak. You should hear her trying to figure out how you would say it...."Mommy, I think Auntie Mone would say 'NO MORE noodles!'..." And I bet she's right.
We miss you bunches and can't wait to see the pictures. I'm keeping a list of chinese phrases for Nadja. Let's see how many she remembers when you get home. :-)
- AnonymousJuly 27, 2009 at 2:45 AM
How cool that you don't feel nervous walking around a strange city in the middle of the night. (That's a callback to the last post.)ReplyDelete
I make that tea bill as about $110, American. But the rules about tipping are different, I presume. Something tells me that I'm going to get a box of tea and a $35 invoice. (-;


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Make them Receptive
You may be teaching a tiny tot, a school/college student or an adult. Whoever may be the student the basic requirement is that he needs to be receptive to your lesson to understand it. That means your student should be in a "receptive" mood or in other words, emotionally and intellectually ready to receive and comprehend what you are teaching. There are different teaching and training strategies that you can employ to make your students more receptive and to help them more focused and attentive. There is no sure-fire way to make students receptive, but these tips will help you to achieve your goals to a certain extent.
The first and foremost step towards making your students receptive is to develop an emotional relationship with them. Along with this, be prepared to answer the two key questions such as 'why is this topic important to me, as an individual?', 'How is it going to help me in my life/work?' If your sessions address their needs, naturally they will get receptive and oriented. When your students realize that you care and pay attention to them, they will also pay attention to and get engaged with whatever you are trying to teach. Your care and attentiveness can be displayed by way of feedback. Share comments for everything your students do. Let them know whether or not they are on the right track. Share formative feedback on classroom behaviour, homework, assignments, performance in tests and engage in serious academic discussions with them. Being precise and making your plans to the point will definitely help the students to be more receptive. They will not have patience to follow a long winded lesson plan. Make it bite sized, to give them an effective learning experience.
Once they turn receptive take care to retain it. Give them activities that make them think more and go above and beyond their existing level. Provide assignments of a higher level that stimulate their academic and intellectual growth. Ask direct questions, encourage them saying that they can do something beneficial outside their curriculum. When they get due recognition for doing different things, you will start to win them over to your side. These are some strategies that can help you to make your students more receptive and engaged. The best thing you can do for receptive students is to keep you also engaged together with them. If you are not enthusiastic, excited, and committed about what you are teaching, you can't expect your students to be engaged and receptive to your discussions.


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Hummer H3
The hummer H3 is the smallest from the 3 Hummer models.The Hummer H3 was a pickup truck but the final version is a conventional SUV.It is built on a heavily modified Colorado/Canyon pickup truck frame.The Hummer H3 is build in Shreveport, Louisiana at GM's factory.Export versions will be produced at the General Motors South Africa facility in Struandale and Port Elizabeth.In the USA the price for a Hummer H3 starts from 30.000$ and ends just over 40.000$.In the first months of 2006,about 8000 Hummers were sold.It's about 74% of all Hummer sales.The H3 uses the 3.7 L (3464 cc) Atlas straight-5 engine,It produces 242HP(164kW) at 5600RPM.It is available with a 5 speed manual transmission of a 4 speed automatic transmission that includes GM's Stabilitrak vehicle stability control.It includes an electronically-controlled dual-speed transfer case and electronic locking differential.The H3 Hummer can handle 0.6 m of water. The H3 is the only vehicle in its class to have a 2-speed transfer case standard. It weights about 3.8tones.The Hummer H3 sufered some modifications and the H3x and H3t appeared


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Frederick County Firefighter Trainee Death Case Settled for $300,000
The County of Frederick has agreed to pay $300,000 to the family of a firefighter trainee who died from heatstroke after an outdoor workout in July 2002 at the Public Safety Training Center in Frederick. In addition to the financial settlement, the County has agreed to place a plaque in memory of Andrew Waybright, the trainee who died. The $3 million lawsuit had alleged that the County failed to recognize the symptoms of hyperthermia and failed to timely administer first aid. According to allegations within the suit, Mr. Waybright's body temperature upon arrival at the hospital was 107.4 degrees. The case was set for a two week jury trial in August of this year.
Municipalities usually enjoy limited sovereign immunity from lawsuits. The Maryland General Assembly also has enacted local tort legislation that places caps on the amount negligence victims may recover. A survival claim was brought on behalf of the estate of Andrew Waybright; wrongful death claims were brought by his surviving heirs. Frederick County had engaged outside counsel to represent it. The settlement was reached after a seven hour mediation session.


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Have you ever wonder how some people seem to have all the luck in the world? Whether or not you believe in luck ( I don't), there's still something to be said for being in the right place at exactly the right time. That for me is what being lucky means.
You were just walking down the street, doing your own thing, minding your own business, and lo and behold, a lottery ticket came flying down your way. And yes, it's the winning ticket of the day! You're suddenly a millionaire. Is that great, or what? Lucky?
That does seem what most people view as lucky, but you should also try to see another scenario. It's quite simple, actually: a person has financial intelligence, worked hard AND worked smart for a period of time, networked his way in the industry, learned from the best mentors, didn't fear failures, and then he succeeded. Simple, right?
I'm sure the same thing will be heard from people: "He's so lucky! He succeeded!"
Well, not quite. Your "good luck", as well as the luck enjoyed by most successful people, can be attributed to the combined force of three simple things:
It takes action and constant practice.
Ask any professional athlete about a shining moment in their years of experience and they'll tell you that "luck" came only after long hours of practice. The best players in the Olympic games succeeded after years of doing nothing but preparing for that single day event. How about you? I'm sure you've read millions of words before arriving at this article. Don't you just consider yourself lucky? But see, you had to do something first. You looked for this article. You did the works, that's why you arrived to where you wanted to be.
One sad truth of existence is that most people give up long before they should—and just right before they would have arrived at success. Being in the right place at the right time involves being in a lot of places at a lot of times! You've heard that luck favors the well-prepared but have you also heard that "luck" does favor the persistent? Every successful—or okay, "lucky" person I know has come very close to giving up many times. They've looked failure directly in the eyes and ALMOST gave up, but they said, "Not yet. Just one more." Sure, they experienced many failures, but they never stopped trying. They never gave up.
Be where the action is.
The people you think of as lucky often put a lot of effort into being near as many pertinent opportunities as possible. Be in the know. Go where things are happening. Go where you want to be in the future. Have the necessary skill to succeed and be always present so that when the right time comes, you'll be there to have it. You can put yourself in the right place at the right time more often by identifying an area in which you have the necessary skills and knowledge to capitalize on sudden opportunities.
So is it luck? Who knows? What's important is that you achieved what you want to achieve and got what you've always wanted.
Your thoughts
What about you? What for you is luck? Do you believe in luck? What do you like to add?
Let us all know in the comments!


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Get ready for an exciting race around the railway as Thomas and Percy compete for first place! Inspired by the Thomas & Friends DVD, The Great Race, Thomas & Percy's Railway Race Set from Fisher-Price delivers fun, fast thrills with cool motorized action! Place these two motorized toy trains behind the starting line and flip their switches to start them up, then release the brake-tracks to send them on their way. Watch as Thomas and Percy head for the bridge – and watch as it bursts apart to make way for the two speeding engines! They'll each complete a full loop on separate tracks as they head for the finish line. Will Thomas take the prize, or will Percy pass the No. 1 engine? When the first train crosses the finish line, a checkered flag will signal his victory as the celebratory fireworks burst from the gantry! This Thomas train set features a uniquely designed racing Percy engine, and a special streamlined racing Thomas, so you can experience high-speed suspense as they go head-to-head in a rousing railway race!.
Product Features
- Inspired by the Thomas & Friends DVD movie, The Great Race
- Includes uniquely designed, racing-themed Thomas and Percy motorized toy trains
- Track layout is over 6 feet long with two separate tracks for head-to-head racing,
- Layout features curved section of track with flags that wave as train passes
- Two brake-tracks allow you to start the trains at the same time


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Lateral elbow pain, commonly called 'tennis elbow' is an extremely common presentation amongst sportspeople and manual workers. The most common cause is an overuse syndrome related to excessive wrist extension. However, it's name is misleading as it is actually more common in non-tennis players despite its name!
Treatment for this common ailment will address the tendinosis whilst also addressing the underlying cause of the condition whether for the athlete or non-athlete.


text: Listings >> Realistic >>Black and Grey >>Portrait Six One Three United Supply Co Facebook @sixonethree Write a review Review Share Share Share this:ShareFacebookTwitterPinterestEmail Kurt Staudinger AKA Six One three is currently located in Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, QLD. Specialising in black and white work, realism and portraiture. Rate and write a review Cancel replyYou must be logged in to post a comment. United Supply Co Surfers Paradise QLD AU Get directions Photo gallery All photos (6)


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But a diet based on milk proteins stopped the progression and preserved heart function, reported Leslie Leinwand, Ph.D., the chair of molecular cellular and developmental biology at the University of Colorado.
Female mice with the same genetic make-up were relatively unaffected by diet, Dr. Leinwand and colleagues reported in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
The finding "shocked" the researchers, Dr. Leinwand said. "This study shows that, at least in mice, diet can have a more profound effect on heart disease than any drug that we could imagine."
It also showed that differences between the sexes -- at least in mice -- can have an important interaction with diet and disease, she said.
The finding is hard to extrapolate to humans, Dr. Leinwand said in an interview, if only because we usually have a more varied diet than lab animals. "These mice eat a lot of soy," she said. "It's their only source of protein."
She said she was "trying to do a calculation of how many tofu-burgers you would have to eat (to get a similar intake of soy protein) and I think it would be a lot."
She added: "It would be a huge extrapolation to say people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy shouldn't eat soy."
Soy products, of course, are highly regarded among humans for their supposed health-giving properties; American consumers spend nearly $5 billion a year on soy-based foods and dietary supplements.
And hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death in people under 30.
So, should men in particular be wary of soya-burgers and soy sauce? Probably not, Dr. Leinwand said. "I don't think normal, healthy people should be alarmed by the results of this study," she said.
On the other hand, she added, the medical community is increasingly cautious about heavy use of dietary supplements, such as the phytoestrogens found in soy.
In fact, she and colleagues suggested, it may be that the phytoestrogen compounds found in soy cause a cascade of biochemical reactions leading to increases in programmed cell death in the hearts of male mice with a genetic predisposition to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Females, which already have higher baseline levels of estrogens in the body, face a proportionately smaller increase in estrogen activity on a soy diet and would therefore be less likely to develop heart failure, the researchers hypothesized.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has been estimated to affect as many as one in 500 Americans.
It is characterized by a thickening of the heart muscle, obstructing blood flow. In the late stages of the disease, the ventricles enlarge and the heart wall thins, leading to heart failure. In men, heart muscle contractions are usually impaired, but not generally in women, so that women have a better survival rate, the researchers noted.
The mice in the experiment carried a specific mutation in the alpha-myosin heavy chain gene, which predisposes them to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a manner that is similar to the clinical picture in humans. In other words, Dr. Leinwand and colleagues noted, the males are more likely to progress to heart failure and death than the females.
The hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice were compared with wild-type mice on both a soy- and milk-based diet and on a milk-based diet with two important soy phytoestrogens, daidzein and genistein, added.
The study found:
- At eight months of age, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy males fed a soy diet had significantly depressed contractile function (p < 0.0001), but those on a milk-based diet were not different from the wild-type mice.
- The decrease in contractile function was accompanied by significant wall thinning and left ventricular chamber dilation.
- In male hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice, cardiac hypertrophy was greater (compared to wild-type mice) when both groups were fed a milk-based diet than when they were both fed a soy-based diet - 17% versus 9%.
- In contrast, diet had no effect on hypertrophy in female hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice.
- When phytoestrogens were added to the milk-based diet, there was no effect on the wild-type mice, but the heart weight/body weight ratio of the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy animals increased significantly (p < 0.01).
In addition, the milk-based diet prevented a number of pathologic indicators in males, including fibrosis, induction of β-myosin heavy chain, inactivation of glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta, and caspase-3 activation.
The data suggest a role for apoptosis. The authors wrote that "these results suggest that the dilated phenotype observed in the male hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice on the soy diet is a result of an augmented growth pathway and an augmented programmed cell death pathway. It is likely that the decompensated phenotype results from a transition from a balance to an imbalance of cell growth and cell death."
- Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD Emeritus Professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Primary Source
Journal of Clinical InvestigationSource Reference: Stauffer BL et al. Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice. J. Clin. Invest. 2006;116:209-216.


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NMotion Fellows
Supporting founders in the community who are ready to grow their startups.
The Nebraska Fellows is a program designed to help founders who are growing their startups through a series of monthly events, workshops, and relationships.
What happens in the Nebraska Fellows program?
Peer Network – Building relationships among founders who are all CEO's or leaders of startups at similar stages.
Educational Topics – Various workshops and speakers tailored to the stage the companies are at.
- Sales Funnel Optimization
- Leadership Skills
- Team Culture
- And Much More…
Monthly Gatherings – Monthly meetups to bring the cohort of fellows together.
Want to be part of the Nebraska Fellows? Contact firstname.lastname@example.com for more information.