Feasibility of Integrating Tripterygium wilfordii into Modern Cancer Therapy for Increased Efficacy with Minimal Toxicity

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., and millions of novel cancer cases are being diagnosed each year. While chemotherapy and ionizing radiation are effective treatments against these malignant tumors, the adverse effects that accompany such treatments are devastating. In order to find alternative treatment methods with less side effects, we turn to Eastern herbal medicine. Recent scientific research has found that Tripterygium wilfordii, an herbal medicine traditionally used to treat inflammation in China, contains compounds (triptolide and celastrol) that prevent the growth of solid tumors, induce apoptosis, and prevent metastasis of developed tumors. Investigations on these compounds on various cancer cells lines (in vitro and in vivo) have revealed insight into their mechanism, mode of action, and toxicity. In order to circumvent the potentially fatal side effects of triptolide and celastrol, it was proposed that roots of T. wilfordii, from which the compounds are extracted, be used as a treatment for cancer. Methods for testing the efficacy and toxicity of the roots on the different cell lines previously studied are outlined in this paper. If the results from the proposed experiment conflict with expectation, then future studies on combination drugs using triptolide and celastrol with other non-bioactive compounds within the roots should be done to develop new anti-cancer drugs with low toxicity

What ever happened to post-Marxism?

This short article details a brief history of post-Marxism with particular reference to Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe's Hegemony and Socialist Strategy (1985)

The think-tank model has passed its use by date. We need an alternative model for quality research to impact on evidence-based policy-making

Think-tanks are in crisis yet there is still a need for evidence-based policy prescriptions. Dr Andy Williamson believes that if think-tanks are to have a greater impact, they must embrace principles of quality, transparency and balance

Twenty years at the margins: the Herman-Chomsky propaganda model, 1988-2008

2008 marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky. This comment briefly assesses how the Herman-Chomsky Propaganda Model (PM) has been received within the field of media and communication studies in the United Kingdom

The legend of St Catherine’s well

A short story written from the research of local history sources and produced as an audio work. The piece was commissioned by Nottinghamshire County Council for the development of the successful £1.3m Heritage Lottery bid to renovate historical features within Sconce & Devon Park, Newark, Nottinghamshire