Pinus roxburghii essential oil anticancer activity and chemical composition evaluation

The present study was conducted to appraise the anticancer activity of Pinus roxburghii essential oil along with chemical composition evaluation. MTT assay revealed cytotoxicity induction in colon, leukemia, multiple myeloma, pancreatic, head and neck and lung cancer cells exposed to essential oil. Cancer cell death was also observed through live/dead cell viability assay and FACS analysis. Apoptosis induced by essential oil was confirmed by cleavage of PARP and caspase-3 that suppressed the colony-forming ability of tumor cells and 50 % inhibition occurred at a dose of 25 μg/mL. Moreover, essential oil inhibited the activation of inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB and inhibited expression of NF-κB regulated gene products linked to cell survival (survivin, c-FLIP, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, c-Myc, c-IAP2), proliferation (Cyclin D1) and metastasis (MMP-9). P. roxburghii essential oil has considerable anticancer activity and could be used as anticancer agent, which needs further investigation to identify and purify the bioactive compounds followed by in vivo studies

Construct and Validate the Scale of Research Needs for Mashhad City High School Teachers Based on Self -determination Theory

The aim of this research was to construct, measure the validity and factor structure a questionnaire for assessment of Research needs of Mashhad city high schools teachers. In this study a descriptive design of type of test development was used. The researcher obtained the data for the study from a sample of the 235 Male and female teachers in secondary schools in Mashhad city. Through using self-determination theory, a 45-item questionnaire were developed and Teachers responded to the questionnaire. The Collected data was analyzed by the exploratory factor analysis, the method of principal components and varimax rotation, internal equivalence validity and Cronbach's alpha and also, descriptive measures of mean, standard deviation scores were used. Also t scores and percent ranks for each one of independence subscale, relevance and competency were reported. Analysis of Principal Component showed that, questionnaire of Research needs was formed of three factors i.e.: autonomy, competence and communication and in total, these factors Can explain, 44/01% of the variance in instrument. Also the covariance between all factors were positive and significant which shows the internal equivalence validity. The Cronbach's alpha each of the subscales of competence, communication, and autonomy in the research sample respectively were estimated: 0/93, 0/89 and 0 /77. Findings from ANOVA in assessing condition of needs in research samples show that the teachers in dimension of competency have the highest need for research with score of 1.97 and in dimension of relation have the lowest amount of need with score of 0.70 points. This indicates that, Cronbach's alpha of total instrument and each of it subscales are in the average values and in acceptable level. Also, the examination of the situation of needs in the research sample showed that, Teachers have stated a most feeling of need to research in competence dimension and a lowest feeling of need to research in communication dimension. According to the findings of the study, we can say that, questionnaire of research needs is a valid and reliable instrument in field of Identify of research needs and the use of this instrument can help to career development of teachers

Hydatid cysts of the liver opening in the biliary tracts: about 120 cases comparative study between radical and conservative treatment

Background. Hepatic hydatid disease is still common in Tunisia, is deemed benign disease but concerns its complications; the most frequent is the rupture in biliary ducts. The aim of the work was to study the results of surgical treatment of hydatid cysts of the open liver in the bile ducts and to deduce the predictive factors of postoperative complications. Methods. This was a retrospective study, done in the Department of General Surgery of Mongi Slim Hospital, over a period of 11 years (from January 2000 to December 2013) and collecting 115 patients. Judging criteria were specific morbidity, length of postoperative stay and recurrence. Results. The median age was 43 years (62 women and 53 men). The clinic consisted of typical cholangitis episodes (6.95%), 6.95% of patients were asymptomatic. 50 radical interventions and 65 conservative interventions were performed, supplemented by treatment of the fistula as follows: Fistula blindness (43.47%), trans-fistulo-oddian drainage (3.4%), bipolar drainage (2.6%), PERDOMO (6.95%). The overall mortality was zero. The overall morbidity was 27.69% with an overall specific morality of 14.7% mainly represented by the suppuration of the CR and the external biliary fistulas. The median postoperative stay was 6 days; the recurrence rate was 1.7% with a delay of 30 months. The predictive factors of postoperative complications in bi variance were: The size of the cyst (p = 0.02), The location of a cyst in the hepatic dome (p = 0.002), Surgical treatment: radical or conservative (p = 0.02), The sex factor (p = 0.015). The multivariate study who found a significant association between sex only and postoperative complications. Conclusion. Advances in hepatobiliary surgery and anesthesia are changing the surgical attitude in favor of radical procedures with favorable consequences in terms of morbidity, length of stay and recurrence. It is believed that the surgeon’s experience is the most important factor in the success of surgical treatment. This helps to prevent complications

Opisthorchiasis from Imported Raw Fish

Acute liver fluke infection results from eating raw fish illegally imported from Siberia

Essential oil and leaves from Lantana camara significantly ameliorate different cancer cell lines by suppressing the NF-κB pathway

The anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities of wild-sage (Lantana camara) leaves essential oil were evaluated against various human cell lines. In this regard, steam hydro-distillation technique was used for oil extraction. Chemical characterization of L. camara essential oil (LCEO) was done by GC-MS, and forty one chemical components (98.69%) were detected in leaves of LCEO. The major constituents were caryophyllene oxide (19.63%), caryophyllene (6.68%), β-phellandrene (6.48%), humulene epoxide II (5.68%), spathulenol (4.17%), α-pinene (3.27%), eucalyptol (3.09%), α-cyclocitral (2.89%), β-pinene (2.38%), and nerolidol II (2.33%). Moreover, the antioxidant and antimicrobial potential of LCEO were also examined. LCEO also showed good anti-inflammatory activity. Interestingly, it was found that the L. camara essential oil was active against a set of microbial strains along with promising antioxidant activity. The MTT assay showed that LCEO possessed good anticancer potential against U-266, A-549, HCT-116, SCC-4, MiaPaCa 2, and KBM-5 cancer cell lines. In these cell lines, it was depicted that the LCEO blocked the tumor cell proliferation via NF-κB pathway suppression. The promising and potent bioactivities of LCEO support the candidature of these essential oils as an anticancer agent

Human-Centered Design Components in Spiral Model to Improve Mobility of Older Adults

As humans grow older, their cognitive needs change more frequently due to distal and proximal life events. Designers and developers need to come up with better designs that integrate older users’ needs in a short period of time with more interaction with the users. Therefore, the positioning of human end users in the center of the design itself is not the key to the success of design artifacts while designing applications for older adults to use a smartphone as a promising tool for journey planner while using public transportation. This study analyzed the use of human-centered design (HCD) components, the spiral model, and the design for failure (DfF) approach to improve the interactions between older users and designers/developers in gathering usability needs in the concept stage and during the development of the app with short iterative cycles. To illustrate the importance of the applied approach, a case study with particular focus on older adults is presented.The results presented in this study are based on “Assistant” project funded by AAL JP, co-funded by the European Union. The authors would like to thank Dr. Stefan Carmien, my colleague in Assistant, for mentoring and for reading and making comments in the earlier versions of this chapter; participating research institutes; funding agencies; and companies from Finland, Spain, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom for their active support throughout the project

Patterns of soil-transmitted helminth infection and impact of four-monthly albendazole treatments in preschool children from semi-urban communities in Nigeria: a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial

Background Children aged between one and five years are particularly vulnerable to disease caused by soil-transmitted helminths (STH). Periodic deworming has been shown to improve growth, micronutrient status (iron and vitamin A), and motor and language development in preschool children and justifies the inclusion of this age group in deworming programmes. Our objectives were to describe the prevalence and intensity of STH infection and to investigate the effectiveness of repeated four-monthly albendazole treatments on STH infection in children aged one to four years. Methods The study was carried out in four semi-urban villages situated near Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. The study was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomised trial. Children aged one to four years were randomly assigned to receive either albendazole or placebo every four months for 12 months with a follow-up at 14 months. Results The results presented here revealed that 50% of the preschool children in these semi-urban communities were infected by one or more helminths, the most prevalent STH being Ascaris lumbricoides (47.6%). Our study demonstrated that repeated four-monthly anthelminthic treatments with albendazole were successful in reducing prevalence and intensity of A. lumbricoides infections. At the end of the follow-up period, 12% and 43% of the children were infected with A. lumbricoides and mean epg was 117 (S.E. 50) and 1740 (S.E. 291) in the treatment and placebo groups respectively compared to 45% and 45% of the children being infected with Ascaris and mean epg being 1095 (S.E. 237) and 1126 (S.E. 182) in the treatment and placebo group respectively at baseline. Conclusion Results from this study show that the moderate prevalence and low intensity of STH infection in these preschool children necessitates systematic treatment of the children in child health programmes