Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: Membrane potential dynamics of spontaneous and visually evoked gamma activity in V1 of awake mice

Cortical gamma activity (30–80 Hz) is believed to play important functions in neural computation and arises from the interplay of parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (PV) and pyramidal cells (PYRs). However, the subthreshold dynamics underlying its emergence in the cortex of awake animals remain unclear. Here, we characterized the intracellular dynamics of PVs and PYRs during spontaneous and visually evoked gamma activity in layers 2/3 of V1 of awake mice using targeted patch-clamp recordings and synchronous local field potentials (LFPs). Strong gamma activity patterned in short bouts (one to three cycles), occurred when PVs and PYRs were depolarizing and entrained their membrane potential dynamics regardless of the presence of visual stimulation. PV firing phase locked unconditionally to gamma activity. However, PYRs only phase locked to visually evoked gamma bouts. Taken together, our results indicate that gamma activity corresponds to short pulses of correlated background synaptic activity synchronizing the output of cortical neurons depending on external sensory drive.

Data from: Chronic exposure of Hawaii Island spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) to human activities

Habitat selection is strongly influenced by spatial variations in habitat quality and predation risk. Repeated exposure of wildlife to anthropogenic activities in important habitats may affect habitat selection, leading to negative biological consequences. We quantified the cumulative human exposure of a small, genetically-isolated and behaviourally-constrained spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) population, off Hawaii Island, and exposure effects on their daytime cumulative activity budget. Dolphins were exposed to human activities within 100m for 82.7% of the daytime, with a median duration of 10 min between exposure events. Individual dolphins spent on average 61.7% (SD=6.5) of their daytime resting. Of their total rest time, >90% occurred inside sheltered bays. Despite high levels of human exposure, we did not observe an effect on dolphin resting behaviour. The short intervals between exposure events likely prevent dolphins from returning to a natural resting state before the next event. Consequently, 'control' observations may represent a resting behaviour of a more vigilant nature. Chronic levels of exposure to human activities could lead to rest deprivation, displacement from preferred resting habitats and ultimately negative population level effects. These results have implications for new proposed legislation aiming to reduce dolphin exposure to human activities.

Data from: Microglial activation in early Alzheimer trajectory is associated with higher grey matter volume

Objective: To investigate the influence of microglial activation in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease trajectory, we assessed the relationship between microglial activation and grey matter volume and hippocampal volume in MCI patients. Methods: In this study, fifty-five participants (37 early stages MCI and 18 controls) underwent [11C]PBR28 PET, a marker of microglial activation; volumetric MRI to evaluate grey matter and hippocampal volumes as well as clinical and neuropsychometric evaluation. [11C]PBR28 VT (volume of distribution) was calculated using arterial input function and Logan Graphical analysis. Grey matter volume and hippocampal volumes were calculated from MRI for each subject. Statistical parametric mapping software was used to perform voxel-wise correlations and biological parametric mapping analysis. Amyloid status was assessed using [18F]Flutemetamol PET. Results: Higher [11C]PBR28 VT in different cortical areas correlated with higher grey matter volume in both amyloid positive and negative MCI. Additionally, higher hippocampal volume correlated with higher cortical [11C]PBR28 Logan VT. Conclusions: In this in vivo study, we have demonstrated that microglial activation quantified using [11C]PBR28 PET was associated with higher grey matter volume and higher hippocampal volume in MCI patients. This may suggest that microglial activation may not always be associated with neuronal damage, and indeed it may have beneficial effect in early stages of Alzheimer's trajectory. While further longitudinal studies are necessary, these findings have significant implications on therapeutic strategies targeting microglial activation.

opencc-zeroSep 2019View details →

Data from: Plasma assisted CO2 methanation: effects on the low-temperature activity of a Ni-Ce catalyst and reaction performance

Ni-Ce three-dimensional material with macropore diameter of 146.6±8.4 nm were synthesized and used for methanation catalyst. Firstly, H2-reduction of catalyst was conducted in thermal fixed bed and plasma reactor respectively, then X-ray diffraction (XRD) and CO2 Temperature Programmed Desorption (TPD) experiments on the two reduced samples were carried out to reveal the plasma effect on catalyst's physicochemical properties. It was found that plasma reduction created more abundant basic sites for CO2 adsorption, especially the medium basic sites were even doubled compared with the thermal reduced catalysts. The plasma reduced catalyst exhibited excellent low-temperature activity, ca. 50~60 oC lower than the thermal catalyst (the maximum CO2 conversion point). Based on the optimum reduced catalyst, plasma effect in the reactor level was further investigated under high gas hour space velocity (GHSV) ~50000 h-1. The plasma reactor showed higher CO2 conversion capacity and efficiency than the thermal reactor.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Vascular disease in COPD: systemic and pulmonary expression of PARC (Pulmonary and Activation-Regulated Chemokine)

Introduction. The role of Pulmonary and Activation-Regulated Chemokine (PARC) in the physiopathology of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is not fully understood. The aim of the present study is to analyze the expression of PARC in lung tissue and its relationship with the vascular remodeling of the systemic and pulmonary arteries of COPD subjects. Methods. To achieve this objective, protein and gene expression experiments, together with ELISA assays, were performed on the lung tissue, intercostal arteries and serum samples from COPD patients, non-obstructed smokers (NOS) and never-smokers (NS). Results. A total of 57 subjects were included in the analysis (23 COPD, 18 NOS and 16 NS). In the comparisons between groups, a significantly increased lung protein expression of PARC was observed in the COPD group compared to the NOS group (1.96±0.22 vs. 1.29±0.27, P-adjusted=0.038). PARC was located predominantly in the smooth muscle cells of the remodeled pulmonary muscular arteries and the macrophage-rich area of the alveolar parenchyma. No differences were detected in PARC gene expression analyses. The protein content of PARC in the intercostal arteries were similar between groups, though little remodeling was observed in these arteries. Circulating levels of PARC were numerically higher in patients with COPD compared to NOS and NS. Conclusion. The results of the present study suggest an increased lung protein expression of PARC in COPD subjects. This protein was mainly localized in the smooth muscle cells of the pulmonary muscular arteries and was associated with the severity of intimal thickening, indicating its possible role in this remodeling process.

Data from: Beyond novelty effect: a mixed-methods exploration into the motivation for long-term activity tracker use

Objectives: Activity trackers hold the promise to support people in managing their health through quantified measurements about their daily physical activities. Monitoring personal health with quantified activity tracker-generated data provides patients with an opportunity to self-manage their health. Many activity tracker user studies have been conducted within short time frames, however, which makes it difficult to discover the impact of the activity tracker's novelty effect or the reasons for the device's long-term use. This study explores the impact of novelty effect on activity tracker adoption and the motivation for sustained use beyond the novelty period. Materials and Methods: This study uses a mixed-methods approach that combines both quantitative activity tracker log analysis and qualitative one-on-one interviews to develop a deeper behavioral understanding of 23 Fitbit device users who have used their trackers for at least two months (range of use = 69 - 1073 days). Results: Log data from users' Fitbit devices revealed two stages in their activity tracker use: the novelty period and the long-term use period. The novelty period for Fitbit users in this study was approximately three months, during which they might have discontinued using their devices. Discussion: The qualitative interview data identified various factors that motivate users to continuously use Fitbit devices in different stages. The discussion of these results provides design implications to guide future development of activity tracking technology. Conclusion: This study reveals important dynamics emerging over long-term activity tracker use, contributes new knowledge to consumer health informatics and human-computer interaction, and offers design implications to guide future development of similar health-monitoring technologies that better account for long-term use in support of patient care and health self-management.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Recurrently connected and localized neuronal communities initiate coordinated spontaneous activity in neuronal networks

Developing neuronal systems intrinsically generate coordinated spontaneous activity that propagates by involving a large number of synchronously firing neurons. In vivo, waves of spikes transiently characterize the activity of developing brain circuits and are fundamental for activity-dependent circuit formation. In vitro, coordinated spontaneous spiking activity, or network bursts (NBs), interleaved within periods of asynchronous spikes emerge during the development of 2D and 3D neuronal cultures. Several studies have investigated this type of activity and its dynamics, but how a neuronal system generates these coordinated events remains unclear. Here, we investigate at a cellular level the generation of network bursts in spontaneously active neuronal cultures by exploiting high-resolution multielectrode array recordings and computational network modelling. Our analysis reveals that NBs are generated in specialized regions of the network (functional neuronal communities) that feature neuronal links with high cross-correlation peak values, sub-millisecond lags and that share very similar structural connectivity motifs providing recurrent interactions. We show that the particular properties of these local structures enable locally amplifying spontaneous asynchronous spikes and that this mechanism can lead to the initiation of NBs. Through the analysis of simulated and experimental data, we also show that AMPA currents drive the coordinated activity, while NMDA and GABA currents are only involved in shaping the dynamics of NBs. Overall, our results suggest that the presence of functional neuronal communities with recurrent local connections allows a neuronal system to generate spontaneous coordinated spiking activity events. As suggested by the rules used for implementing our computational model, such functional communities might naturally emerge during network development by following simple constraints on distance-based connectivity.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

Data from: EdAl-2 (Educació en Alimentació) programme: reproducibility of a cluster randomised, interventional, primary-school-based study to induce healthier lifestyle activities in children

Objectives: To assess the reproducibility of an educational intervention EdAl-2 (Educació en Alimentació) programme in 'Terres de l'Ebre' (Spain), over 22 months, to improve lifestyles, including diet and physical activity (PA). Design: Reproduction of a cluster randomised controlled trial. Setting: Two semi-rural town-group primary-school clusters were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Participants: Pupils (n=690) of whom 320 constituted the intervention group (1 cluster) and 370 constituted the control group (1 cluster). Ethnicity was 78% Western European. The mean age (±SD) was 8.04±0.6 years (47.7% females) at baseline. Inclusion criteria for clusters were towns from the southern part of Catalonia having a minimum of 500 children aged 7–8 year; complete data for participants, including name, gender, date and place of birth, and written informed consent from parents or guardians. Intervention: The intervention focused on eight lifestyle topics covered in 12 activities (1 h/activity/session) implemented by health promoting agents in the primary school over three academic years. Primary and secondary outcomes: The primary outcome was obesity (OB) prevalence and the secondary outcomes were body mass index (BMI) collected every year and dietary habits and lifestyles collected by questionnaires filled in by parents at baseline and end-of-study. Results: At 22 months, the OB prevalence and BMI values were similar in intervention and control groups. Relative to children in control schools, the percentage of boys in the intervention group who performed ≥4 after-school PA h/week was 15% higher (p=0.027), whereas the percentage of girls in both groups remained similar. Also, 16.6% more boys in the intervention group watched ≤2 television (TV) h/day (p=0.009), compared to controls; and no changes were observed in girls in both groups. Conclusions: Our school-based intervention is feasible and reproducible by increasing after-school PA (to ≥4 h/week) in boys. Despite this improvement, there was no change in BMI and prevalence of OB.

opencc-zeroAug 2019View details →

Data from: Synthesis of activated carbon from biowaste of fir bark for methylene blue removal

Activated carbon (AC) was successfully prepared from low-cost forestry fir bark (FB) waste using KOH activation method. Morphology and texture properties of ACFB was studied by scanning and high-resolution transmission electron microscopies (SEM and HRTEM), respectively. The resulting of fir bark based activated carbon (ACFB) demonstrated high surface area (1552 m2/g) and pore volume (0.84 cm3/g), both of which reflect excellent potential adsorption properties of ACFB towards methylene blue (MB). The effect of various factors, such as pH, initial concentration, adsorbent content as well as adsorption duration were studied individually. Adsorption isotherms of MB were fitted using all three non-linear models (Freundlich, Langmuir and Tempkin). The best fitting of MB adsorption results was obtained using Freundlich and Temkin. Experimental results showed that kinetics of MB adsorption by our ACFB adsorbent followed pseudo-second order model. Maximum adsorption capacity obtained was 330 mg/g, which indicated that fir bark is an excellent raw material for low-cost production of activated carbon suitable for cationic dye removal.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

Data from: Occipital alpha activity during stimulus processing gates the information flow to object-selective cortex

Given the limited processing capabilities of the sensory system, it is essential that attended information is gated to downstream areas, whereas unattended information is blocked. While it has been proposed that alpha band (8–13 Hz) activity serves to route information to downstream regions by inhibiting neuronal processing in task-irrelevant regions, this hypothesis remains untested. Here we investigate how neuronal oscillations detected by electroencephalography in visual areas during working memory encoding serve to gate information reflected in the simultaneously recorded blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signals recorded by functional magnetic resonance imaging in downstream ventral regions. We used a paradigm in which 16 participants were presented with faces and landscapes in the right and left hemifields; one hemifield was attended and the other unattended. We observed that decreased alpha power contralateral to the attended object predicted the BOLD signal representing the attended object in ventral object-selective regions. Furthermore, increased alpha power ipsilateral to the attended object predicted a decrease in the BOLD signal representing the unattended object. We also found that the BOLD signal in the dorsal attention network inversely correlated with visual alpha power. This is the first demonstration, to our knowledge, that oscillations in the alpha band are implicated in the gating of information from the visual cortex to the ventral stream, as reflected in the representationally specific BOLD signal. This link of sensory alpha to downstream activity provides a neurophysiological substrate for the mechanism of selective attention during stimulus processing, which not only boosts the attended information but also suppresses distraction. Although previous studies have shown a relation between the BOLD signal from the dorsal attention network and the alpha band at rest, we demonstrate such a relation during a visuospatial task, indicating that the dorsal attention network exercises top-down control of visual alpha activity.

Data from: Active buoyancy adjustment increases dispersal potential in benthic marine animals

1. While the study of dispersal and connectivity in the ocean typically centers on pelagic species and planktonic larval stages of benthic species, the present work explores an overlooked locomotor means in post-settlement benthic stages that redefines their dispersal potential. 2. Members of the echinoderm class Holothuroidea colonize a diversity of marine environments worldwide, where they play key ecological and economical roles, making their conservation a priority. Holothuroids are commonly called sea cucumbers or sea slugs to reflect their slow movements and are assumed to disperse chiefly through pelagic larvae. 3. The present study documents and explores their unexpected ability to actively modify their buoyancy, leading them to tumble or float at speeds orders of magnitudes faster than through benthic crawling. Two focal species representing different taxonomic orders, geographic distributions and reproductive strategies were studied over several years. 4. Active buoyancy adjustment (ABA) was achieved through a rapid increase in seawater to flesh ratio by up to 740%, leading to bloating, and simultaneously detachment from the substrate. It occurred as early as 6 months post settlement in juveniles and was recorded in wild adult populations. In experimental trials, ABA was triggered by high conspecific density, decreasing salinity and increasing water turbidity. Based on field video footage, ABA-assisted movements generated speeds of up to 90 km d-1. 5. These findings imply that displacement during planktonic larval stages may not supersede the locomotor capacity of benthic stages, challenging the notion of sedentarity. Combining the present results and anecdotal reports, ABA emerges as a generalized means of dispersal among benthic animals, with critical implications for worldwide management and conservation of commercially and ecologically significant species.

Data from: Neural activation following offensive aggression in Japanese quail

Aggression is a fundamental part of animal social behaviour. In avian species, little is known about its neural representation. In particular, neural activity following offensive aggression has not been studied in detail. Here, we investigated the patterns of brain activation using immediate-early gene (IEG) expression in male Japanese quail that showed pronounced aggressive behaviours during a 30 min male-male interaction and compared them to those of males that did not interact with a conspecific. In aggressive males, we found a massive induction of the IEG zenk in pallial brain structures such as the intermediate medial mesopallium, the caudomedial mesopallium and the intermediate medial nidopallium. To a lesser extent, activation was observed in subpallial areas such as the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala and in the medial portion of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis. Our data suggest that the modulation of aggressive behaviour involves the integration of multisensory information.

opencc-zeroDec 2016View details →

Data from: Prediction limits of mobile phone activity modelling

Thanks to their widespread usage, mobile devices have become one of the main sensors of human behaviour and digital traces left behind can be used as a proxy to study urban environments. Exploring the nature of the spatio-temporal patterns of mobile phone activity could thus be a crucial step towards understanding the full spectrum of human activities. Using 10 months of mobile phone records from Greater London resolved in both space and time, we investigate the regularity of human telecommunication activity on urban scales. We evaluate several options for decomposing activity timelines into typical and residual patterns, accounting for the strong periodic and seasonal components. We carry out our analysis on various spatial scales, showing that regularity increases as we look at aggregated activity in larger spatial units with more activity in them. We examine the statistical properties of the residuals and show that it can be explained by noise and specific outliers. Also, we look at sources of deviations from the general trends, which we find to be explainable based on knowledge of the city structure and places of attractions. We show examples how some of the outliers can be related to external factors such as specific social events.

Data from: Towards large scale automated cage monitoring – Diurnal rhythm and impact of interventions on in-cage activity of C57BL/6J mice recorded 24/7 with a non-disrupting capacitive-based technique

Abstract Background and aims Automated recording of laboratory animal's home cage behavior is receiving increasing attention since such non-intruding surveillance will aid in the unbiased understanding of the normal animal cage behavior potentially improving animal experimental reproducibility. Material and methods Here we investigate activity of group held (5 mice/cage) female C57BL/6J mice (mus musculus) housed in standard Individually Ventilated Cages (IVC cages) across three test-sites: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Rome, Italy), The Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, USA) and Karolinska Insititutet (Stockholm, Sweden). Additionally, comparison of female and male C57BL/6J mice was done at KI. Activity was recorded using a capacitive-based sensor placed non-intrusively on the cage rack under the home cage collecting activity data every 250 msec, 24/7. The data collection was analyzed using non-parametric rank-based analysis of variance (nparLD) for longitudinal data comparing sites, weekdays and sex. Results The system detected an increase in activity preceding and peaking around lights-on followed by a decrease to a rest pattern. At lights off, activity increased substantially displaying a distinct temporal variation across this period. We also documented impact on mouse activity that standard animal handling procedures have, e.g. cage-changes, and show that even simple procedures are stressors impacting in-cage activity. These key observations replicated across the three test-sites, however, it is also clear that, apparently minor local environmental differences generate significant behavioral variances between the sites and within sites across weeks. Comparison of gender revealed differences in activity in the response to cage-change lasting for days in male but not female mice; and apparently also impacting the response to other events such as lights-on in males. Females but not males showed a larger tendency for week-to-week variance in activity possibly reflecting estrous cycling. Conclusions These data demonstrate that real-time home cage monitoring is scalable and run in real time, providing complementary information for animal welfare measures, experimental design and phenotype characterization.

Data from: Comparing diel activity patterns of wildlife across latitudes and seasons: time transformations using day length

(1) Camera trapping allows scientists to study activity patterns of animals under natural conditions. However, comparisons of activity patterns across seasons or latitudes can be biased, because activity is often attuned to sunrise and sunset, the timing of which varies with latitude and season. Existing transformation methods to solve this problem have limitations. (2) Here, we explore whether and how activity patterns can be transformed more accurately using two alternative 'double anchoring' transformations – equinoctial and average anchoring – that anchor activity time to two chosen anchor points during the study period. (3) Using simulated noisy datasets mimicking species with either crepuscular, diurnal or cathemeral activity patterns, we compared the ability of different transformation methods to extract the latent pattern and activity levels under different study conditions. We found that average anchoring best retrieved the original diel activity pattern and yielded accurate estimates of activity level. Two alternative transformation methods – single anchoring and equinoctial anchoring – performed less well. Bias in estimates from using untransformed clock times was most marked (up to 2.5-fold over-estimation) for longer studies covering 4-5 months either side of an equinox at high latitude, and focusing on crepuscular species. (4) We applied the average anchoring method to 9 months of data on Red deer (Cervus elaphus), Wild boar (Sus scrofa) and Mouflon (Ovis amon musimon) activity as captured by camera traps in National Park Hoge Veluwe, the Netherlands. Average anchoring revealed more pronounced peaks of activity after sunset than was apparent from untransformed data in red deer and wild boar, but not for mouflon, a cathemeral species. Similarly, activity level was lower when calculated using average-anchored time for red deer and wild boar, but no difference was observed for mouflon. (5) We conclude that transformation of time might not be necessary at latitudes below 20°, or in studies with a duration of less than a month (below 40° latitude). For longer study periods and/or higher latitudes, average-anchoring resolves the problem of variable day length. Code is provided. The transformation functions are incorporated in the R-package 'activity'.

Data from: Distal-less activates butterfly eyespots consistent with a reaction diffusion process

Eyespots on the wings of nymphalid butterflies represent colorful examples of pattern formation, yet the developmental origins and mechanisms underlying eyespot center differentiation are still poorly understood. Using CRISPR-Cas9 we re-examine the function of Distal-less (Dll) as an activator or repressor of eyespots, a topic that remains controversial. We show that the phenotypic outcome of CRISPR mutations depends upon which specific exon is targeted. In Bicyclus anynana, exon 2 mutations are associated with both missing and ectopic eyespots and also exon-skipping. Exon 3 mutations, which do not lead to exon-skipping, produce only null phenotypes including missing eyespots, lighter wing coloration and loss of scales. Reaction-diffusion modeling of Dll function, using Wnt and Dpp as candidate morphogens, accurately replicates these complex crispant phenotypes. These results provide new insight into the function of Dll as a potential activator of eyespot development, scale growth, and melanization, and suggest that the tuning of Dll expression levels can generate a diversity of eyespot phenotypes, including their appearance on the wing.

opencc-zeroDec 2015View details →

Data from: The replication of Frataxin gene is assured by activation of dormant origins in the presence of a GAA-repeat expansion

It is well known that DNA replication affects the stability of several trinucleotide repeats, but whether replication profiles of human loci carrying an expanded repeat differ from those of normal alleles is poorly understood in the endogenous context. We investigated this issue using cell lines from Friedreich's ataxia patients, homozygous for a GAA-repeat expansion in intron 1 of the Frataxin gene. By interphase, FISH we found that in comparison to the normal Frataxin sequence the replication of expanded alleles is slowed or delayed. According to molecular combing, origins never fired within the normal Frataxin allele. In contrast, in mutant alleles dormant origins are recruited within the gene, causing a switch of the prevalent fork direction through the expanded repeat. Furthermore, a global modification of the replication profile, involving origin choice and a differential distribution of unidirectional forks, was observed in the surrounding 850 kb region. These data provide a wide-view of the interplay of events occurring during replication of genes carrying an expanded repeat.

opencc-zeroJun 2019View details →

Data from: Visual modelling supports the potential for prey detection by means of diurnal active photolocation in a small cryptobenthic fish

Active sensing has been well documented in animals that use echolocation and electrolocation. Active photolocation, or active sensing using light, has received much less attention, and only in bioluminescent nocturnal species. However, evidence has suggested the diurnal triplefin Tripterygion delaisi uses controlled iris radiance, termed ocular sparks, for prey detection. While this form of diurnal active photolocation was behaviourally described, a study exploring the physical process would provide compelling support for this mechanism. In this paper, we investigate the conditions under which diurnal active photolocation could assist T. delaisi in detecting potential prey. In the field, we sampled gammarids (genus Cheirocratus) and characterized the spectral properties of their eyes, which possess strong directional reflectors. In the laboratory, we quantified ocular sparks size and their angle-dependent radiance. Combined with environmental light measurements and known properties of the visual system of T. delaisi, we modeled diurnal active photolocation under various scenarios. Our results corroborate that diurnal active photolocation should help T. delaisi detect gammarids at distances relevant to foraging, 4.5 cm under favourable conditions and up to 2.5 cm under average conditions. To determine the prevalence of diurnal active photolocation for micro-prey, we encourage further theoretical and empirical work.

Data from: Polycaprolactone nanofibers loaded with 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol for in vitro and vivo antitumor activity study

In this work, 20(S)-Protopanaxadiol (PPD) loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibers were successfully fabricated by electrospinning technique using tween-80 as a solubilizer. Firstly, smooth and continuous nanofibers were collected by using suitable solvent and appropriate spinning conditions. Secondly, nanofiber mats were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and mechanical test. Finally, nanofibrous membranes were evaluated using water contact angle, in vitro drug release, biodegradation test, in vitro and vivo antitumor activity and cell apoptosis assay. As a result, scanning electron microscopy observations indicated that diameter of the drug-loaded nanofibers increased with drug concentration increasing. Thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and mechanical test showed nanofibers equipped with great thermal and mechanical properties. Biodegradation test exhibited that the structure of fabricated nanofibers had a certain degree of change after 15 days. In vitro release study showed that PPD from drug-loaded nanofibers could be released in a sustained and prolonged mode. The cytotoxic effect of drug-loaded nanofiber mats examined on the human laryngeal carcinoma cells (Hep-2 cells) demonstrated that the prepared nanofibers had a remarkable antitumor effect. Meanwhile, the drug-loaded fiber mats showed a super antitumor effect in vivo antitumor study. All in all, PCL nanofibers could be a potential carrier of PPD for cancer treatment.