Curcumin-loaded magnetic nanoparticles for breast cancer therapeutics and imaging applications

Breast cancer is a commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States. It is estimated that 230,480 women were diagnosed with, and 39,520 women died from, breast cancer in 2011 in the United States.1 Basal-like breast cancer accounts for 15% of all breast cancers and has a poor prognosis. The majority of these cancers are referred to as triple-negative breast cancers because they do not over express estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2.2,3 Chemotherapy is an effective option to treat such cancers; however, chemotherapy is always associated with several sets of side effects.4–7 To overcome/avoid issues with side effects, natural compounds which are used as daily food ingredients may be an alternative option

Deep Sequencing the Transcriptome Reveals Seasonal Adaptive Mechanisms in a Hibernating Mammal

Mammalian hibernation is a complex phenotype involving metabolic rate reduction, bradycardia, profound hypothermia, and a reliance on stored fat that allows the animal to survive for months without food in a state of suspended animation. To determine the genes responsible for this phenotype in the thirteen-lined ground squirrel (Ictidomys tridecemlineatus) we used the Roche 454 platform to sequence mRNA isolated at six points throughout the year from three key tissues: heart, skeletal muscle, and white adipose tissue (WAT). Deep sequencing generated approximately 3.7 million cDNA reads from 18 samples (6 time points ×3 tissues) with a mean read length of 335 bases. Of these, 3,125,337 reads were assembled into 140,703 contigs. Approximately 90% of all sequences were matched to proteins in the human UniProt database. The total number of distinct human proteins matched by ground squirrel transcripts was 13,637 for heart, 12,496 for skeletal muscle, and 14,351 for WAT. Extensive mitochondrial RNA sequences enabled a novel approach of using the transcriptome to construct the complete mitochondrial genome for I. tridecemlineatus. Seasonal and activity-specific changes in mRNA levels that met our stringent false discovery rate cutoff (1.0×10−11) were used to identify patterns of gene expression involving various aspects of the hibernation phenotype. Among these patterns are differentially expressed genes encoding heart proteins AT1A1, NAC1 and RYR2 controlling ion transport required for contraction and relaxation at low body temperatures. Abundant RNAs in skeletal muscle coding ubiquitin pathway proteins ASB2, UBC and DDB1 peak in October, suggesting an increase in muscle proteolysis. Finally, genes in WAT that encode proteins involved in lipogenesis (ACOD, FABP4) are highly expressed in August, but gradually decline in expression during the seasonal transition to lipolysis

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Politicking While Female: The Political Lives of Women

Politicking While Female traces the challenges and opportunities that shape the experiences of women who pursue and hold positions of political leadership in the United States. In this volume, Nichole M. Bauer gathers new essays studying the forces that keep women out of political institutions, along with the hurdles faced by female candidates and politicians once they overcome those barriers.Drawing on recent, original data, Politicking While Female examines the life cycle of a woman?s political career. The first section charts the development of political identities that shape women?s participation in politics as voters and as potential candidates, with attention to the patterns of socialization that can discourage women from seeing themselves as political leaders. The next two sections focus on the process of deciding to run for public office, especially the crucial role of mentors, and the challenges female candidates face when campaigning, as they work to raise money, develop effective messages, and overcome voter biases regarding women in leadership roles. The final section explores how women govern once in office, showing the impact of having larger numbers of women in positions of political power.A valuable resource for students, scholars, and voters of all backgrounds, Politicking While Female: The Political Lives of Women offers a comprehensive and accessible collection of essays, supported by new research and analysis, that captures central debates in the study of gender and politics.https://repository.lsu.edu/facultybooks/1330/thumbnail.jp

The Qualifications Gap: Why Women Must Be Better than Men to Win Political Office

What does it take for women to win political office? This book uncovers a gendered qualifications gap, showing that women need to be significantly more qualified than men to win elections. Applying insights from psychology and political science and drawing on experiments, public opinion data, and content analysis, Nichole M. Bauer presents new evidence of how voter biases and informational asymmetries combine to disadvantage female candidates. The book shows that voters conflate masculinity and political leadership, receive less information about the political experiences of female candidates, and hold female candidates to a higher qualifications standard. This higher standard is especially problematic for Republican female candidates. The demand for masculinity in political leaders means these women must look like men but also be better than men to win elections.https://repository.lsu.edu/facultybooks/1333/thumbnail.jp

The Intersection of Candidate Gender and Ethnicity: How Voters Respond to Campaign Messages from Latinas

Despite the recent surge of women of color in elected political office in the U.S., the representation of Latinas is strikingly low. Past research offers unclear conclusions as to whether Latina political candidates face biases due to the intersection of their identities as women and as ethnic minorities, and how Latinas can navigate such biases. In this study, we identify how Latinas draw on their intersectional identities as both women and ethnic minorities to develop strategic campaign messages and how voters respond to such messages. Through an analysis of campaign advertising data and an original survey experiment, we show that Latina candidates do not face an automatic disadvantage based in gender and ethnic biases, but they can benefit from the intersection of these two identities, especially among female minority voters. These results are consequential because they offer insights into how to improve the descriptive and substantive representation of marginalized groups in the U.S

Women Leaders and Policy Compliance during a Public Health Crisis

How does the gender of a political leader affect policy compliance of the public during a public health crisis? State and national leaders have taken a variety of policy measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with varying levels of success. While many female leaders have been credited with containing the spread of COVID-19, often through implementing strict policy measures, there is little understanding of how individuals respond to public health policy recommendations made by female and male leaders. This article investigates whether citizens are more willing to comply with strict policy recommendations about a public health issue when those recommendations are made by a female leader rather than a male leader. Using a survey experiment with American citizens, we compare individuals\u27 willingness to comply with policy along three dimensions: social distancing, face covering, and contact tracing. Our findings show that a leader\u27s gender has little impact on policy compliance in general during the pandemic. These findings carry important implications for successful crisis management as well as understanding how a crisis in a nonmasculine issue context influences the effectiveness of a leader\u27s ability to implement measures to mitigate the crisis