Dense Mass Research Articles

Prevalence of pulp stones using digital panoramic radiograph

Background: Isolated calcified masses found in the pulpal space of teeth are called pulp stones (PS). Different populations demonstrate a varied prevalence of PS. Aim: The aim of this preliminary study was to evaluate the prevalence of PS in the Pondicherry population, along with its relationships with gender, age, tooth type, and location using digital panoramic radiographs. Materials and Methods: One hundred good-quality digital panoramic radiographs of healthy individuals between 18 and 70 years were selected from the records of the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology. PS were recognized as well-defined dense radiopaque masses in the intrapulpal space. Two examiners independently analyzed the radiographs for the presence of PS. Results: Out of 100 radiographs, PS were found in 54 radiographs. Males showed a higher incidence (57.4%) than females (42.6%). Furthermore, patients between 20 and 35 years showed a greater prevalence (64.81%) and the incidence was higher in the maxillary arch (70%) than the mandibular arch (30%) with the right side being more frequent. In addition, first molars showed a greater overall prevalence. Conclusion: It was found that the prevalence of PS was 54%. Digital panoramic radiographs can be used as a preliminary investigative technique for the identification of PS.

Electrophysiological effects of adipose graft transposition procedure (AGTP) on the post-myocardial infarction scar: A multimodal characterization of arrhythmogenic substrate.

ObjectiveTo assess the arrhythmic safety profile of the adipose graft transposition procedure (AGTP) and its electrophysiological effects on post-myocardial infarction (MI) scar.BackgroundMyocardial repair is a promising treatment for patients with MI. The AGTP is a cardiac reparative therapy that reduces infarct size and improves cardiac function. The impact of AGTP on arrhythmogenesis has not been addressed.MethodsMI was induced in 20 swine. Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance (ce-MRI), electrophysiological study (EPS), and left-ventricular endocardial high-density mapping were performed 15 days post-MI. Animals were randomized 1:1 to AGTP or sham-surgery group and monitored with ECG-Holter. Repeat EPS, endocardial mapping, and ce-MRI were performed 30 days post-intervention. Myocardial SERCA2, Connexin-43 (Cx43), Ryanodine receptor-2 (RyR2), and cardiac troponin-I (cTnI) gene and protein expression were evaluated.ResultsThe AGTP group showed a significant reduction of the total infarct scar, border zone and dense scar mass by ce-MRI (p = 0.04), and a decreased total scar and border zone area in bipolar voltage mapping (p < 0.001). AGTP treatment significantly reduced the area of very-slow conduction velocity (<0.2 m/s) (p = 0.002), the number of deceleration zones (p = 0.029), and the area of fractionated electrograms (p = 0.005). No differences were detected in number of induced or spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias at EPS and Holter-monitoring. SERCA2, Cx43, and RyR2 gene expression were decreased in the infarct core of AGTP-treated animals (p = 0.021, p = 0.018, p = 0.051, respectively).ConclusionAGTP is a safe reparative therapy in terms of arrhythmic risk and provides additional protective effect against adverse electrophysiological remodeling in ischemic heart disease.

Comprehensive study on the pyrolysis process of chestnut processing waste (chestnut shells): Kinetic triplet, thermodynamic, in-situ monitoring of evolved gasses and analysis biochar

Chestnut shell (CS) is a potential renewable energy source as a typical agricultural waste. CS obtained two kinds of samples of chestnut outer pericarp (COP) and chestnut inner pericarp (CIP) with widely different physicochemical properties by crushing and separation. The kinetic triplet (apparent activation energy (Eα), pre-exponential factor (A), reaction mechanism function (f(α)), thermodynamic and products of COP and CIP are investigated by TGA, FTIR and SEM. Moreover, the Eα and the A are estimated using three isoconversional methods. The value of Eα for COP ranges from 155.63 to 392.95 kJ/mol and the CIP ranges from 185.24 to 337.03 kJ/mol. The Eα and A of CIP are found to be much smaller than COP at high conversion α, indicating that CIP is more susceptible to pyrolysis than COP. The 18 commonly theoretical models can only confirm that the reaction mechanism of COP at low α satisfies the A3, F1, R3 and D3 models, and the CIP satisfies the F1.5, R3, Pn and D1 models. Therefore, the empirical model (Šesták-Berggren) is used to determine f(α) for the whole pyrolysis process of COP and CIP. Through thermodynamic calculations, both CIP and COP were found to have a high potential to generate products as bioenergy through pyrolysis. The analysis of pyrolysis products shows that CIP can release more gaseous products (e.g., CH4, CO and CO2) during pyrolysis due to different physicochemical properties. COP-char and CIP-char exhibited two completely different microscopic morphologies of dense masses and loose bands. The results obtained can contribute to understand the thermal behavior of the CS pyrolysis process and the properties of the pyrolysis products, and give a reference for the high-value utilization of CS.

Tracers of Dense Gas in the Outer Galaxy

We have mapped and HCO+ (J = 1 → 0) line emission toward a sample of seven star-forming regions (with ranging from 8.34 to 8.69) in the outer Milky Way (Galactocentric distance >9.5 kpc), using the 14 m radio telescope of the Taeduk Radio Astronomy Observatory. We compare these two molecular lines with other conventional tracers of dense gas, millimeter-wave continuum emission from dust and extinction thresholds (A V ≥ 8 mag), inferred from the 13CO line data. and HCO+ correlate better with the millimeter emission than with the extinction criterion. A significant amount of luminosity comes from regions below the extinction criterion and outside the millimeter clump for all the clouds. The average fraction of luminosity from within the regions with A V ≥ 8 mag is 0.343 ± 0.225; for the regions of millimeter emission, it is 0.478 ± 0.149. Based on a comparison with column density maps from Herschel, and HCO+ trace dense gas in high column density regions better than does 13CO. HCO+ is less concentrated than for outer Galaxy targets, in contrast with the inner Galaxy sample, suggesting that metallicity may affect the interpretation of tracers of dense gas. The conversion factor between the dense gas mass (M dense) and line luminosities of and HCO+, when integrated over the whole cloud, is comparable to factors used in extragalactic studies.

From the President andIFSTNews

From the President and<scp>IFST</scp>News

Experimental Study on the Interaction between Backfill and Surrounding Rock in the Overhand Cut-and-Fill Method

Backfilling is commonly used in underground mines to improve the stability of overlying strata. The performance of the backfill and its interaction with surrounding rock are the key issues in backfill mining research. In this paper, the displacement and stress field evolution characteristics of the overlying strata in backfill mining were analyzed by a physical model, as well as the interaction between the backfill and surrounding rock. The research results show that when backfill mining is employed, the backfill mass and the unexcavated rock mass jointly bear the loads of the overlying strata. The loads of the overlying strata are transferred to the dense backfill mass and the surrounding rock. The stress in the near-field area of the surrounding rock increases and stabilizes gradually. The backfill mass improves the stress distribution state and reduces the stress concentration of the surrounding rock, which is conducive to preventing the progressive damage of the overlying strata. In addition, the backfill mass excavation has a significant influence on the stability of the overlying strata and the surrounding rock stress field. The backfill mass is a passive force-bearing structure that can effectively manage the deformation of the overlying strata and the phenomenon of underground pressure.

Circumnuclear dense gas disk fuelling the active galactic nucleus in the nearby radio galaxy NGC 4261

The cold molecular gas in the circumnuclear disk (CND) of radio galaxies provides critical information for understanding the mass accretion onto active galactic nuclei. We present the first detection and maps of HCNJ= 1–0 and HCO+J= 1–0 emission lines from the circumnuclear region of a nearby radio galaxy, NGC 4261, using the Northern Extended Millimeter Array. Both molecular lines are detected at a radial velocity of ±700 km s−1relative to the systemic velocity of the galaxy, and they arise from a CND with an outer radius of 100 pc. The velocity fields of HCN and HCO+are fitted with a Keplerian disk rotation. The enclosed mass is (1.6 ± 0.1) × 109 M⊙, assuming a disk inclination angle of 64°. The continuum image at 80 GHz reveals a weak two-sided jet structure extending over 5 kpc along the east–west direction and a bright core at the centre. The continuum spectrum between 80 and 230 GHz shows a spectral index of −0.34 ± 0.02, which suggests optically thin synchrotron radiation. The dense gas mass associated with the CND is calculated to be 6.03 × 107 M⊙. It supports a positive correlation between the dense gas mass in the CND and the accretion rate onto the supermassive black hole, though there are uncertainties in the parameters of the correlation.

Topographic effects on buoyancy driven flows along the slope

The flow and descent of dense water masses formed in shallow regions of the ocean is an important leg in the global overturning circulation. The dense overflow waters tend to flow along the continental slopes as geostrophically balanced gravity plumes, but may be steered downslope by canyons and ridges cross-cutting the slopes. In that process, entrainment and mixing will be greatly enhanced. Ilicak et al. (Ocean Model 38:71–84, 2011) propose a parameterization to include the effects of corrugations in large scale models by increasing the vertical mixing locally. We re-visit the problem using the terrain-following Bergen Ocean Model and a DOME-inspired idealized topography. It is shown that the applied corrugations can move the core of the plume 800 m down the slope, while enhanced mixing raises the center of gravity by only 1–200 m. The overall effect of a corrugation is hence to lower the center of gravity, suggesting that the parameterization proposed by Ilicak et al. (Ocean Model 38:71–84) will act in the wrong vertical direction, if used on its own. A comparison of two bottom drag parameterizations, show that a parameterization consistent with a no-slip boundary condition is needed to correctly represent Ekman drainage, and that the Ekman drainage contribution to plume descent is comparable to that of the corrugation. Ridges are more effective in steering dense water downward than canyons, and we compare the dynamics between the two settings to explain the difference.

Effect of high shear homogenisation on physicochemical, microstructure, particle size and volatile composition of residual pineapple pulp

SummaryWaste or by‐product utilisation is on focus to reduce the environmental threat and acquiring wealth out of waste. This study was planned to understand the effect of high shear homogenisation (SH) on physicochemical, microstructural, particle size, dietary fibre and volatile composition of residual pineapple pulp (RPP) for its utilisation. Shear homogenisation with three levels of rotor speed, that is 5000, 15 000 and 30 000 rpm, was employed for 5, 10 and 15 min. These responses reveal that the shear speed of 15 000 rpm for 10 min was relatively better in colour retention and enhanced soluble dietary fibre (SDF) by 48%. Increased levels of SDF after treatment help in the utilisation of RPP and its suitability for food supplementation. A gradual reduction in particle size from 40 to 400 μm was observed with shear homogenisation. Optical microscopy images revealed that larger cell fragments, fibrous nature and dense hairy mass of pomace were disrupted at 15 000 rpm. Moderate shear speed triggers the release of additional aroma volatiles, whereas higher rpm and time resulted in degradation of volatiles. The shear homogenised RPP is used for the development of fibre‐enriched yoghurt and incorporation at a 5% level resulted in high acceptable sensory scores.

The Effect of Temperature and Moisture on Colonization of Apple Fruit and Branches by Botryosphaeria dothidea.

Botryosphaeria dothidea causes severe disease of apple trees in China. The process of conidium germination, colonization, and infection of apple fruit and branches was examined on 'Fuji' apple and the effect of temperature, surface wetness and relative humidity (RH), and host surface washates on these processes was studied in controlled environments. Initial germ tube development and hyphal growth resulted in the colonization of the host surface without forming an infection structure. Hyphae expanded radially across the host surface and, after entering lenticels, developed into a dense mycelium mass or differentiated pseudoparenchyma. Hyphae from the bottom of the pseudoparenchyma either directly penetrated the lenticel surface intercellularly through the cell layer, or formed an undifferentiated hypha that invaded the lenticel through cracks formed during the lenticel development. Conidial germination and hyphal colonization occurred at 10 to 40°C, with an optimum of approximately 28°C. Conidial germination required an RH > 95% or surface wetness but, for hyphal colonization, an RH > 90% was sufficient. Conidia germinated and formed germ tubes within 1 h under optimum conditions. However, the pathogen required a longer period at RH > 90% or surface wetness for hyphae to colonize and form pseudoparenchyma or dense mycelia on the host surface. Hyphal colonization is a crucial stage for infection of apple tissues by B. dothidea.

Water mass transformation in the Iceland Sea: Contrasting two winters separated by four decades

Dense water masses formed in the Nordic Seas flow across the Greenland–Scotland Ridge and contribute substantially to the lower limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. Originally considered an important source of dense water, the Iceland Sea gained renewed interest when the North Icelandic Jet — a current transporting dense water from the Iceland Sea into Denmark Strait — was discovered in the early 2000s. Here we use recent hydrographic data to quantify water mass transformation in the Iceland Sea and contrast the present conditions with measurements from hydrographic surveys conducted four decades earlier. We demonstrate that the large-scale hydrographic structure of the central Iceland Sea has changed significantly over this period and that the locally transformed water has become less dense, in concert with a retreating sea-ice edge and diminished ocean-to-atmosphere heat fluxes. This has reduced the available supply of dense water to the North Icelandic Jet, but also permitted densification of the East Greenland Current during its transit through the presently ice-free western Iceland Sea in winter. Together, these changes have significantly altered the contribution from the Iceland Sea to the overturning in the Nordic Seas over the four decade period.

Diabetic mastopathy: A rare clinicopathologic entity with considerable autoimmune potential.

Introduction and importanceDiabetic mastopathy is a rare entity affecting diabetic patients. It has been previously linked to type 1 diabetes mellitus; however, due to the several accompanying conditions, a theory of autoimmune factors contributing to the origin of this condition has been on the rise. In this paper, we report a case of diabetic mastopathy associated with several autoimmune diseases to highlight the immunological potential of this condition.Case presentationA 25-year-old female, known to have type 1 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, hypothyroidism, adrenal insufficiency, dilated cardiomyopathy and end-stage renal disease, was referred to our clinic for a breast lump. Radiological investigations showed a dense mass with irregular borders in the retroareolar area of the left breast. A core biopsy was obtained which revealed keloid-like fibrosis along with lymphocytes infiltrated, suggestive of lymphocytic mastopathy.Clinical discussionFibrous mastopathy has been merely attributed to a long-standing use of insulin therapy by diabetic patients; recent observations, however, proved the major contribution of immunity to etiopathogenesis. Even though human leukocyte antigen (HLA) association has not been supported in the literature, the histological changes of breast lymphocytic infiltrate are seen in patients who not only have T1DM, but also thyroiditis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjogren's syndrome, and Addison's disease. The frequent presence of several possible autoimmune conditions has promoted the theory of an autoimmune process affecting connective tissues, however, these claims are yet to be proven by future studies.ConclusionRecent observations have proved the major contribution of immunity to etiopathogenesis of diabetic mastopathy. We shed light on the role of the immune system in triggering the disease process by reporting a case of diabetic mastopathy with a cluster of autoimmune diseases. Future studies should explore the genetic background of the condition as it would potentially have several clinical implications. The discussed pathophysiologic explanations raise the possibility of autoimmunity as a key driver in pathogenesis and indicate the need to change the nomenclature of this condition.

The Dense Gas Mass Fraction and the Relationship to Star Formation in M51

Observations of 12CO J = 1 – 0 and HCN J = 1 – 0 emission from NGC 5194 (M51) made with the 50 m Large Millimeter Telescope and the SEQUOIA focal plane array are presented. Using the HCN-to-CO ratio, we examine the dense gas mass fraction over a range of environmental conditions within the galaxy. Within the disk, the dense gas mass fraction varies along the spiral arms but the average value over all spiral arms is comparable to the mean value of interarm regions. We suggest that the near-constant dense gas mass fraction throughout the disk arises from a population of density-stratified, self-gravitating molecular clouds and the required density threshold to detect each spectral line. The measured dense gas fraction significantly increases in the central bulge in response to the effective pressure, P e , from the weight of the stellar and gas components. This pressure modifies the dynamical state of the molecular cloud population and, possibly, the HCN-emitting regions in the central bulge from self-gravitating to diffuse configurations in which P e is greater than the gravitational energy density of individual clouds. Diffuse molecular clouds comprise a significant fraction of the molecular gas mass in the central bulge, which may account for the measured sublinear relationships between the surface densities of the star formation rate and molecular and dense gas.

The Diurnal Path to Persistent Convective Self-Aggregation.

Clustering of tropical thunderstorms constitutes an important climate feedback because it influences the radiative balance. Convective self‐aggregation (CSA) is a profound modeling paradigm for explaining the clustering of tropical oceanic thunderstorms. However, CSA is hampered in the realistic limit of fine model resolution when cold pools—dense air masses beneath thunderstorm clouds—are well‐resolved. Studies on CSA usually assume the surface temperature to be constant, despite realistic surface temperatures varying significantly between night and day. Here we mimic the diurnal cycle in cloud‐resolving numerical experiments by prescribing a surface temperature oscillation. Our simulations show that the diurnal cycle enables CSA at fine resolutions, and that the process is even accelerated by finer resolutions. We attribute these findings to vigorous combined cold pools emerging in symbiosis with mesoscale convective systems. Such cold pools suppress buoyancy in extended regions (∼100 km) and enable the formation of persistent dry patches. Our findings help clarify how the tropical cloud field forms sustained clusters under the diurnal forcing and may have implications for the origin of extreme thunderstorm rainfall and tropical cyclones.

Basin-scale distribution of salps and doliolids in the transition region of the North Pacific Ocean in summer: Drivers of bloom occurrence and effect on the pelagic ecosystem

The large-scale distribution of thaliaceans in relation to environmental variables was investigated over 4500 km in the transition region of the North Pacific (36°N–43.6° N, 141.5° E–164.5° W) in the summer of 2016–2019. Three main patterns occurred in the thaliacean bloom formations with specific and annual variabilities. Thalia democratica, the most dominant thaliacean species in this region, formed an intensive bloom (>100 ind m−3) of up to 300 km, mainly south of the subarctic boundary between 160° E and 180°. The bloom was accompanied by a dense water mass which was associated with high nutrient concentration and N/P ratio, indicating that this species thrived under the influence of the HNLC water mass from the subarctic region. A Dolioletta gegenbauri bloom was observed east of 180° and the north of the subarctic boundary in association with higher chlorophyll a levels. Doliolum denticulatum and Doliolum nationalis increased with sea surface temperature and pico-sized chlorophyll a, suggesting adaptation to oligotrophic subtropical waters. Estimated grazing and downward flux by Thalia democratica bloom corresponded to 63–80% and 20–26% of daily primary production, respectively, indicating that the bloom enhanced the biological pump in the HNLC-like environment dominated by small phytoplankton. Doliolids function as important components of the microbial food web through the consumption of varied organic matter. Thaliaceans utilise the specific niche which suspension-feeding copepods find difficult to colonise, indicating that bottom-up control of oceanographic conditions determines the mesozooplankton community and food-web structure in the transition region.

Spatial Structure of The Leisure Zone In The Girsang Sipangan Bolon District Urban Waterfront

Girsang Sipangan Bolon is one of the sub-districts under the administration of Simalungun Regency whose territory is partly directly adjacent to the shores of Lake Toba. The development concept of a waterfront culture for sustainable tourism is an importhing to do in this area. Tourism development that only relies on scenic beauty of the landscape will have difficult time to sustain for the future when there is degradation on environmental quality and boredom of visitors to the scenery presented. Identification of the spatial structure of Girsang Sipangan Bolon, morphology and circulation of the waterfront area and the typical type of development of the waterfront area are the objectives to be sought in this paper by using observation and geographic imaging of the area, whether are supports the concept of waterfront culture. Lack of open space to develop waterfront cultural activities, the morphology of the coastal area is not well planned where buildings with dense masses and heights block the view, and the area is more characterized by a recretional waterfront that relies more on the private sector. These characteristics are expected to provide more understanding and consideration for future development to emphasizing the concept of waterfront culture as an attraction and improving the morphology and circulation of the area that support sustainable waterfront tourism

Mushroom-shaped structures formed in Acinetobacter baumannii biofilms grown in a roller bioreactor are associated with quorum sensing-dependent Csu-pilus assembly.

There is currently a need to develop simple biofilm models that facilitate investigation of the architecture/biology of mature bacterial biofilms in a consistent/standardized manner given their environmental and clinical importance and the need for new anti-biofilm interventions. This study introduces a novel biofilm culture system termed the rolling biofilm bioreactor (RBB). This easily operated system allows adherent microbial cells to be repeatedly exposed to air/solid/liquid interfaces optimizing biofilm growth. The RBB was exploited to investigate biofilm formation in Acinetobacter baumannii. High levels of A. baumannii biofilm biomass reproducibly accumulate in the RBB and, importantly, undergo a maturation step to form large mushroom-shaped structures that had not been observed in other models. Based on image analysis of biofilm development and genetic manipulation, we show how N-acylhomoserine lactone-dependent quorum sensing (QS) impacts on biofilm differentiation, composition and antibiotic tolerance. Our results indicate that extracellular DNA (eDNA) is a key matrix component in mature Acinetobacter biofilms as the mushroom-like structures consist of dense cellular masses encased in an eDNA mesh. Moreover, this study reveals the contribution of QS to A. baumannii biofilm differentiation through Csu pilus assembly regulation. Understanding the mechanisms of structural development of mature biofilms helps to identify new biofilm eradication and removal strategies.

The Annual Salinity Cycle of the Denmark Strait Overflow

AbstractThe Denmark Strait Overflow (DSO) is an important source of dense water input to the deep limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC). It is fed by separate currents from the north that advect dense water masses formed in the Nordic Seas and Arctic Ocean which then converge at Denmark Strait. Here we identify an annual salinity cycle of the DSO, characterized by freshening in winter and spring. The freshening is linked to freshening of the Shelfbreak East Greenland Current in the Blosseville Basin north of the Denmark Strait. We demonstrate that the East Greenland Current advects fresh pycnocline water above the recirculating Atlantic Water, which forms a low salinity lid for the overflow in Denmark Strait and in the Irminger Basin. This concept is supported by intensified freshening of the DSO in lighter density classes on the Greenland side of the overflow. The salinity of the DSO in the Irminger Basin is significantly correlated with northerly/northeasterly winds in the Blosseville Basin at a lag of 3–4 months, consistent with estimated transit times. This suggests that wind driven variability of DSO source water exerts an important influence on the salinity variability of the downstream DSO, and hence the composition of the deep limb of the AMOC.

DENSE GAS PROPERTIES IN ARP 220

Studying dense gas is of fundamental importance for understanding star formation and galaxy evolution. We present data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) for the dense molecular gas tracers HNC (hydrogen isocyanide) with transition J = 2-1, CS (carbon monosulfide) with transition J = 4-3, and CO (carbon monoxide) with transition J = 6-5. We studied some properties of dense gases to find their effect on star formation in Arp 220 galaxy. We identify Arp 220 into two regions in which we reveal emission from every one of the three molecules, including the east and west nuclei. We calculate the ratios of LHNC/LCO, LCS/LCO, and LCS/LHNC at a sub-arcsecond scale. The ratios of LHNC / LCO and LCS / LCO represent fractions of the dense molecular gas. The values of these ratios are found equal to (0.31, 0.67) and (0.15, 0.31) in the west and east nuclei, respectively. We detect that these ratios are greater in the east nucleus than in the west nucleus. We also calculated the star formation efficiency (SFEdense), which is the rate of star formation per unit dense gas mass at a sub-arcsecond scale. We found that this galaxy has a long depletion time and low SFEdense compared to the global scale.

Effects of brucine on mitochondrial apoptosis and expression of HSP70 in prostate cancer cells.

BackgroundMost prostate cancer patients are already in the middle/advanced stages of the disease at the time of detection. Whether brucine can regulate apoptosis in prostate cancer cells through the expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) has not been reported. We preliminarily investigated the effects of brucine on the mitochondrial apoptosis and HSP70 expression of prostate cancer cells and analyzed brucine’s possible mechanisms in the hope of providing an experimental basis for its clinical application.MethodsThe effect of brucine on the activity of PC-3 cells was determined by the methodology of tetrazolium (MTT) assay method. The effect of brucine on apoptosis was measured by Hoechst 33258 staining and flow cytometry, and western blotting was used to detect the expression levels of the apoptosis-related heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), anti-apoptotic protease activating factor 1 (Apaf-1) and anti-cysteine protease-3 (caspase-3).ResultsAt 24 and 48 h, the activity of human prostate cancer PC-3 cells in the low, medium, and high dose brucine groups was significantly lower than that of the control group, with a dose-dependent difference (P<0.01). The nuclei of the control group fluoresced uniformly with intact nuclei, whereas the nuclei of the brucine group appeared crinkled, and dense granular masses of strong blue fluorescence were visible. The apoptosis rate of human prostate cancer PC-3 cells in the low, medium, and high dose brucine groups was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.01) and was dose-dependent. The expression levels of the HSP70 protein in the human prostate cancer PC-3 cells in the low, medium, and high dose brucine groups were significantly lower than those in the control group, while the expression levels of the Apaf-1 and caspase-3 proteins were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.01) and showed a dose-dependent relationship.ConclusionsBrucine downregulated HSP70 expression in human prostate cancer PC-3 cells and inhibited the mitochondrial apoptotic signaling pathway, thus acting as an anti-apoptotic agent.