Targeted nano-sized drug design in cancer treatments: development of new nano-sized formulations for the use of anti-cancerogenic lisinopril in the treatment of colorectal cancer

Background: Colorectal cancer emerges as a serious health problem all over the world and results in approximately 700,000 deaths every year. Therefore, studies are carried out to develop alternative treatment methods to reduce the side effects of anticancer drugs in cancer treatment. Targeted nanoparticle therapies are tried to be developed especially with controlled drug release. Lisinopril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, is a widely used drug in the treatment of hypertension and has been shown to have anticancer activity on various types of cancer.Methods: This study, blank and 3 different amounts of lisinopril loaded nanoparticles were prepared by triblock poly (lactic acid)–poly (ethylene glycol)–poly (lactic acid) (PLA-PEG-PLA) block copolymer which is a biocompatible and biodegradable polymer by using water/oil/water emulsion method and then characterized. The viability of the blank formulations in murine fibroblast (L929) cells, which is the healthy cell line, was determined within the scope of biocompatibility studies.Results: The anticarcinogenic activity of lisinopril drug, blank and lisinopril loaded nanoparticles was determined in caco-2 cells which are human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma cell line.Conclusions: Lisinopril loaded nanoparticles were successfully prepared in this study. It is thought that increasing the amount of drug-loaded can be a promising approach to an alternative treatment method for the use of antihypertensive drugs in the treatment of colorectal cancer

Actively forming Kuroko-type volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) mineralization at Iheya North, Okinawa Trough, Japan

Modern seafloor hydrothermal systems provide important insights into the formation and discovery of ancient volcanic-hosted massive sulfide (VHMS) deposits. In 2010, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 331 drilled five sites in the Iheya North hydrothermal field in the middle Okinawa Trough back-arc basin, Japan. Hydrothermal alteration and sulfide mineralization is hosted in a geologically complex, mixed sequence of coarse pumiceous volcaniclastic and fine hemipelagic sediments, overlying a dacitic to rhyolitic volcanic substrate. At site C0016, located adjacent to the foot of the actively venting North Big Chimney massive sulfide mound, massive sphalerite-(pyrite-chalcopyrite ± galena)-rich sulfides were intersected (to 30.2% Zn, 12.3% Pb, 2.68% Cu, 33.1 ppm Ag and 0.07 ppm Au) that strongly resemble the black ore of the Miocene-age Kuroko deposits of Japan. Sulfide mineralization shows clear evidence of formation through a combination of surface detrital and subsurface chemical processes, with at least some sphalerite precipitating into void space in the rock. Volcanic rocks beneath massive sulfides exhibit quartz-muscovite/illite and quartz-Mg-chlorite alteration reminiscent of VHMS proximal footwall alteration associated with Kuroko-type deposits, characterized by increasing MgO, Fe/Zn and Cu/Zn with depth. Recovered felsic footwall rocks are of FII to FIII affinity with well-developed negative Eu anomalies, consistent with VHMS-hosting felsic rocks in Phanerozoic ensialic arc/back-arc settings worldwide. Site C0013, ∼100 m east of North Big Chimney, represents a likely location of recent high temperature discharge, preserved as surficial coarse-grained sulfidic sediments (43.2% Zn, 4.4% Pb, 5.4% Cu, 42 ppm Ag and 0.02 ppm Au) containing high concentrations of As, Cd, Mo, Sb, and W. Near surface hydrothermal alteration is dominated by kaolinite and muscovite with locally abundant native sulfur, indicative of acidic hydrothermal fluids. Alteration grades to Mg-chlorite dominated assemblages at depths of >5 mbsf (metres below sea floor). Late coarse-grained anhydrite veining overprints earlier alteration and is interpreted to have precipitated from down welling seawater as hydrothermal activity waned. At site C0014, ∼350 m farther east, hydrothermal assemblages are characterized by illite/montmorillonite, with Mg-chlorite present at depths below ∼30 mbsf. Recovered lithologies from distal, recharge site C0017 are unaltered, with low MgO, FeO and base metal concentrations. Mineralization and alteration assemblages are consistent with the Iheya North system representing a modern analogue for Kuroko-type VHMS mineralization. Fluid flow is focussed laterally along pumiceous volcaniclastic strata (compartmentalized between impermeable hemipelagic sediments), and vertically along faults. The abundance of Fe-poor sphalerite and Mg-rich chlorite (clinochlore/penninite) is consistent with the lower Fe budget, temperature and higher oxidation state of felsic volcanic-hosted hydrothermal systems worldwide compared to Mid Ocean Ridge black smoker systems

Lean in the Classroom

I denna rapport kommer vi att beskriva hur vi skapat och utvecklat ett skolprogram på Vetenskapens Hus (VH) i samarbete med Scania. Skolprogrammen på VH består av en teoretisk del och en laboration som riktas till elever i grundskolan och på gymnasiet. Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka möjligheter att öka teknikintresset hos högstadieelever genom att skapa ett skolprogram på VH med koppling till den teknik som finns på Scania. Utgångspunkten är de teorier som Knud Illeris använder och hans dimensioner, Harlens teorier om undersökningsbaserad vetenskap samt Peter Senges discipliner. Efter ett besök på Scania, där vi fick se delar av deras produktionslina bestämde vi oss för att skolprogrammet skulle handla om Lean produktion. Detta beslutades eftersom idén gillades av handledaren från Scania samt att det vår något genomförbart på VH och att den inte liknade något av de befintliga skolprogrammen. Datainsamlingen skedde först och främst genom observationer gjorda på elever som går i högstadiet. De tre första grupperna är praoelever som praktiserar på VH och sedan ytterligare tre grupper som kommer från klasser runt omkring Stockholm som vi bjudit in. Det kommer även finnas datainsamling genom enkäter som delas ut till eleverna efter besöket på VH samt intervjuer med respektive lärare. Utifrån dessa data kommer vi fram till att eleverna förlorar fokus då de saknar stimulering i undervisningen och därmed behöver läraren ständigt arbeta med produktiva frågor för att leda eleverna och stimulera dem i deras arbete.This article will describe how we have created and evolved a school program in Vetenskapens Hus (VH) in collaboration with Scania. The purpose is to create a school program about Lean production because this represents many industries way of working. Our starting point is the theories written by Knud Illeris’ and his descriptions about dimensions, Harlen’s theories about inquiry in science education aswell as Peter Senges’ theories. The mission was to create a school program in the subject technical science which reflects Scania’s worksite, where Scania is the main sponsor for VH. We got inspired to make a school program about Lean production after a visit at one of Scania’s production sites since VH did not have any other school programs were the goal was Lean. The collection of data was made by observations on high schoolers, year 13-16. The first three groups will be students who do a work experience program in VH and then three more groups that come from classes in the city Stockholm. There will be more data collection through surveys given to the students after the visit at VH as well as interviews with their respectively teacher. The data collected gives us the insight that these students lose their focus when they are not stimulated. This means that the teacher needs work by asking productive questions to lead the students and stimulate them in their work

Lean in the Classroom

I denna rapport kommer vi att beskriva hur vi skapat och utvecklat ett skolprogram på Vetenskapens Hus (VH) i samarbete med Scania. Skolprogrammen på VH består av en teoretisk del och en laboration som riktas till elever i grundskolan och på gymnasiet. Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka möjligheter att öka teknikintresset hos högstadieelever genom att skapa ett skolprogram på VH med koppling till den teknik som finns på Scania. Utgångspunkten är de teorier som Knud Illeris använder och hans dimensioner, Harlens teorier om undersökningsbaserad vetenskap samt Peter Senges discipliner. Efter ett besök på Scania, där vi fick se delar av deras produktionslina bestämde vi oss för att skolprogrammet skulle handla om Lean produktion. Detta beslutades eftersom idén gillades av handledaren från Scania samt att det vår något genomförbart på VH och att den inte liknade något av de befintliga skolprogrammen. Datainsamlingen skedde först och främst genom observationer gjorda på elever som går i högstadiet. De tre första grupperna är praoelever som praktiserar på VH och sedan ytterligare tre grupper som kommer från klasser runt omkring Stockholm som vi bjudit in. Det kommer även finnas datainsamling genom enkäter som delas ut till eleverna efter besöket på VH samt intervjuer med respektive lärare. Utifrån dessa data kommer vi fram till att eleverna förlorar fokus då de saknar stimulering i undervisningen och därmed behöver läraren ständigt arbeta med produktiva frågor för att leda eleverna och stimulera dem i deras arbete.This article will describe how we have created and evolved a school program in Vetenskapens Hus (VH) in collaboration with Scania. The purpose is to create a school program about Lean production because this represents many industries way of working. Our starting point is the theories written by Knud Illeris’ and his descriptions about dimensions, Harlen’s theories about inquiry in science education aswell as Peter Senges’ theories. The mission was to create a school program in the subject technical science which reflects Scania’s worksite, where Scania is the main sponsor for VH. We got inspired to make a school program about Lean production after a visit at one of Scania’s production sites since VH did not have any other school programs were the goal was Lean. The collection of data was made by observations on high schoolers, year 13-16. The first three groups will be students who do a work experience program in VH and then three more groups that come from classes in the city Stockholm. There will be more data collection through surveys given to the students after the visit at VH as well as interviews with their respectively teacher. The data collected gives us the insight that these students lose their focus when they are not stimulated. This means that the teacher needs work by asking productive questions to lead the students and stimulate them in their work

Design och CFD analys av lyftgenererande ytor för "the TILTLR drone",en ny drönare med fem propellrar för lång räckvidd

In the thesis, a lifting body has been designed aiming to generate lift force for the pentacopter,called TILT LR (Long Range), at higher velocities during flights to improve the aerodynamicperformances. The configuration, which is used as the skeleton of the long range drone for upto 75 kilometers flights, is based upon a tilting system allowing the rotors to rotate around theirown axis in both pitch and roll angles. This offers the possibility to the TILT LR flying withoutany vertical excess thrust at a proper angle of attack and velocity. This new drone can be directlyapplied to missions require long flight time or cover long distance, such as Search & Rescue(SAR), power lines and off-shore structures inspection, fire monitoring or surveillance.Several main CAD models have been created during the process of design and presented in thereport together with the final design. For each model in the process, CFD simulations have beenapplied to observe the behaviors of the flows around the surfaces of the body during steadyflights, followed by a brief analysis for further modification. A series of simulations withvarying velocities and angle of attack have been performed for the final design, analyzing itsperformances under different air conditions. Flight envelope of the design has been presentedalso, together with some ideas of possible further studies on the pentacopter

Asymmetrically fair rules for an indivisible good problem with a budget constraint

We study a particular restitution problem where there is an indivisible good (land or property) over which two agents have rights: the dispossessed agent and the owner. A third party, possibly the government, seeks to resolve the situation by assigning rights to one and compensate the other. There is also a maximum amount of money available for the compensation. We characterize a family of asymmetrically fair rules that are immune to strategic behavior, guarantee minimal welfare levels for the agents, and satisfy the budget constraint

The Impact of Private Hospital Insurance on Utilization of Hospital Care in Australia: Evidence from the National Health Survey

We use the 2004-'05 wave of the Australian National Health Survey to estimate the impact of private hospital insurance on the utilization of hospital care services in Australia. We employ the two-stage residual inclusion approach (2SRI) to account for the endogeneity of supplementary private hospital insurance purchases. Health care consumption is measured by two variables: hospitalization, and the number of nights spent in hospital. We apply a negative binomial type II model to estimate the utilization of hospital services. We calculate moral hazard based on a difference-of-means estimator. Our three-stage estimation framework provides evidence of selection into private hospital insurance in Australia. We find strong evidence of moral hazard when we treat private hospital insurance as exogenous. After controlling for the endogeneity of hospital insurance, we find strong and robust evidence of substitution from public to private hospital care but no evidence of ex-post moral hazard in the number of nights spent in hospital.Health Insurance, Health Care Consumption, Moral Hazard EDIRC Provider-Institution: RePEc:edi:smlatau

Understanding of the diversity of earthquake turbiditic flows in a single lake: the case of the Lake Hazar on the East Anatolian Fault

The East Anatolian Fault (EAF) is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault accommodating with the conjugate North Anatolian Fault the westward extrusion of the Anatolian Plate away from the Arabia-Eurasia collision zone. The East Anatolian Fault ruptured over most of its length during the 19th century in a series of magnitude ~7 earthquakes. During the 20th century this fault was less active with only two events of magnitude greater than 6. This absence of large earthquakes has resulted in relatively little attention being paid to the East Anatolian Fault compared to the North Anatolian Fault, which has ruptured during the last century in several earthquakes of Ms~7. To constrain the seismic history of the East Anatolian Fault in its central part, we focus on the Hazar Lake, occupying a 20 km long pull-apart basin. Short cores and long sedimentary cores were collected at three different sites to retrieve a paleoseismic record. Small correlative coarse-grained sedimentary events are identified in all cores. The age of the events is inferred combining radiocarbon and radionuclide (137 Cs and 210Pb) dating. We present here detailed analyses of three sedimentary events assigned respectively to the historical earthquakes occurring in 1789, 1513-1514, 1285. The source of the sedimentary events is different at the three sites. We combine X-ray imagery, magnetic susceptibility, grain-size and XRF measurements with thin section analysis to investigate the nature of sedimentary events. The analyses show first that the three sedimentary events are different. The magnitude of the terrigenous signal varies significantly. Second the correlative events have a different expression at the three sites. So each site has a different and specific sensitivity. In particular, an individual event can be composed of several coarse-grained sub-events of different magnitude with a time lapse in between greater than a week. The latter is reveals by the presence of bioturbation in particular by chironomids in individual thin sand layers. Thin section also shows that subevents are gradded. Each coarse-grained layer is thus a separated turbiditic flow. The site with the highest sensitivity is the one located near the near-shore steep submarine southern slopes overhanged by the steep subaerial slopes of the Hazar Mountains. The rivers draining the Hazar Mountains are ephemeral and provide a restricted sedimentary supply. In addition, seismic reflection data show that the submarine slopes do not to accumulate a significant sedimentary load. However on these steep slopes, an earthquake intensity of 6 or less is enough to trigger a slope failure and the associated turbiditic flow. We conclude that the different sub-events at this site may record a complete earthquake sequence, i.e the main-shock and its foreshocks and aftershocks