Self-assembled hyaluronan nanocapsules for the intracellular delivery of anticancer drugs

Preparation of sophisticated delivery systems for nanomedicine applications generally involve multi-step procedures using organic solvents. In this study, we have developed a simple self-assembling process to prepare docetaxel-loaded hyaluronic acid (HA) nanocapsules by using a self-emulsification process without the need of organic solvents, heat or high shear forces. These nanocapsules, which comprise an oily core and a shell consisting of an assembly of surfactants and hydrophobically modified HA, have a mean size of 130 nm, a zeta potential of −20 mV, and exhibit high docetaxel encapsulation efficiency. The nanocapsules exhibited an adequate stability in plasma. Furthermore, in vitro studies performed using A549 lung cancer cells, showed effective intracellular delivery of docetaxel. On the other hand, blank nanocapsules showed very low cytotoxicity. Overall, these results highlight the potential of self-emulsifying HA nanocapsules for intracellular drug delivery

Classification of current anticancer immunotherapies

During the past decades, anticancer immunotherapy has evolved from a promising therapeutic option to a robust clinical reality. Many immunotherapeutic regimens are now approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for use in cancer patients, and many others are being investigated as standalone therapeutic interventions or combined with conventional treatments in clinical studies. Immunotherapies may be subdivided into “passive” and “active” based on their ability to engage the host immune system against cancer. Since the anticancer activity of most passive immunotherapeutics (including tumor-targeting monoclonal antibodies) also relies on the host immune system, this classification does not properly reflect the complexity of the drug-host-tumor interaction. Alternatively, anticancer immunotherapeutics can be classified according to their antigen specificity. While some immunotherapies specifically target one (or a few) defined tumor-associated antigen(s), others operate in a relatively non-specific manner and boost natural or therapy-elicited anticancer immune responses of unknown and often broad specificity. Here, we propose a critical, integrated classification of anticancer immunotherapies and discuss the clinical relevance of these approaches

Using life cycle analysis to internalize environmental and social costs of production via VAT

info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublishe

L'avenir des charpentiers de marine en Guinée n'est pas inexorablement bouché : le développement de la pêche artisanale dépend aussi d'eux !

La pêche maritime artisanale en Guinée est l'objet d'une grande attention de la part du gouvernement et des bailleurs de fonds internationaux depuis le changement de régime en 1984. Toutefois, dans de nombreux projets de développement, la construction des embarcations fait figure de chaînon manquant. Sans doute, le désintérêt ou l'intérêt distant pour la charpenterie de marine doivent-ils être interprétés de façon positive : en dépit du manque de matériaux et fournitures les embarcations fabriquées en Guinée sont fiables et adaptées à la demande; le sous-secteur construction navale artisanale ne pose pas de problèmes majeurs. L'article qui suit livre une première analyse centrée sur Conakry, de l'organisation sociale de la profession et une évaluation de sa contribution à l'économie guinéenne. En partie structurée autour d'un axe Conakry-Freetown, la production de la charpenterie de marine, dont les composantes consommations intermédiaires et valeur ajoutée sont décrites, n'échappera pas aux artisans indépendants : il est difficile de remettre en cause leur savoir-faire, leur capacité d'évolution et l'efficacité de leur système de formation. (Résumé d'auteur

Input and discussion on the concept of Damage and Value Added Tax based on life-cycle analyses of products

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The political economy of public support of higher education : Chile, France and Malaysia

Référence interne : 8300

Oxytocinergic innervation of autonomic nuclei controlling penile erection in the rat

International audienc

Intraspecific variation in testis asymmetry in birds: evidence for naturally occurring compensation

In many taxa, the left and right testes often differ in size. The compensation hypothesis states that one testis of the pair serves as a ‘back-up’ for any reduced function in the other and provides a mechanism to explain intraspecific variation in degree and direction of gonad asymmetry. Although testis asymmetry is common in birds, evidence for natural testis compensation is unknown. Using a novel quantitative approach that can be applied to any bilateral organ or structure, we show that testis compensation occurs naturally in birds and can be complete when one testis fails to develop. Owing to a recurrent risk of testis impairment and an evolutionary trade-off between natural and sexual selections acting on the arrangement of internal organs in species with abdominal and/or seasonal testes, compensation adds an important, but neglected, dimension to measures of male reproductive investment