Identification of a New Peptide for Fibrosarcoma Tumor Targeting and Imaging In Vivo

A 12-mer amino acid peptide SATTHYRLQAAN, denominated TK4, was isolated from a phage-display library with fibrosarcoma tumor-binding activity. In vivo biodistribution analysis of TK4-displaying phage showed a significant increased phage titer in implanted tumor up to 10-fold in comparison with normal tissues after systemic administration in mouse. Competition assay confirmed that the binding of TK4-phage to tumor cells depends on the TK4 peptide. Intravenous injection of 131I-labeled synthetic TK4 peptide in mice showed a tumor retention of 3.3% and 2.7% ID/g at 1- and 4-hour postinjection, respectively. Tumor-to-muscle ratio was 1.1, 5.7, and 3.2 at 1-, 4-, and 24-hour, respectively, and tumors were imaged on a digital γ-camera at 4-hour postinjection. The present data suggest that TK4 holds promise as a lead structure for tumor targeting, and it could be further applied in the development of diagnostic or therapeutic agent

Efficiency, financial performance, and stock returns of the food and beverage industry: A study on the ASEAN 5

The purpose of this study is to see which of the 5 ASEAN countries; Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam is performing well by using DEA and panel regression analysis to recognize which has the best stock market returns in relation to efficiency, financial performance, and COVID-19. This study used financial ratios such as debt to equity, return on assets, price to earnings ratio, current ratio, accounts receivable turnover, cash conversion cycle, and working capital turnover, including COVID-19, profit efficiency, and productive efficiency, as the independent variable. The figures consist of 10 companies with available data from 2012-2021 from each of the ASEAN 5 stock market exchanges and disclosures. The study’s findings suggest that Indonesia has the highest profit and productive efficiency, with 62.88% and 72.71%. While Thailand and Malaysia got the lowest efficiencies with 24.38% and 23.85%, 24.33%, and 28.29%. All countries have a strong correlation between the financial ratios and dependent variable, stock returns, excluding only Vietnam, with a fair correlation. Lastly, this study concluded that COVID-19 has a significant impact on stock returns in the Food and Beverage Industry in the ASEAN 5