123 research outputs found

    A novel diblock copolymer of (monomethoxy poly [ethylene glycol]-oleate) with a small hydrophobic fraction to make stable micelles/polymersomes for curcumin delivery to cancer cells

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    Curcumin is a potent natural anticancer agent, but its effectiveness is limited by properties such as very low solubility, high rate of degradation, and low rate of absorption of its hydrophobic molecules in vivo. To date, various nanocarriers have been used to improve the bioavailability of this hydrophobic biomaterial. This study investigates the encapsulation of curcumin in a novel nanostructure of monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-oleate (mPEG-OA) and its anticancer effect. Tests were done to determine the critical micelle concentration (CMC), encapsulation efficiency, drug-loading efficiency, and cytotoxicity (against U87MG brain carcinoma cells and HFSF-PI3 cells as normal human fibroblasts) of some nanodevice preparations. The results of fluorescence microscopy and cell-cycle analyses indicated that the in vitro bioavailability of the encapsulated curcumin was significantly greater than that of free curcumin. Cytotoxicity evaluations showed that half maximal inhibitory concentrations of free curcumin and curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA for the U87MG cancer cell line were 48 μM and 24 μM, respectively. The Annexin-V-FLUOS assay was used to quantify the apoptotic effect of the prepared nanostructures. Apoptosis induction was observed in a dose-dependent manner after curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA treatments. Two common self-assembling structures, micelles and polymersomes, were observed by atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scat­tering, and the abundance of each structure was dependent on the concentration of the diblock copolymer. The mPEG-OA micelles had a very low CMC (13.24 μM or 0.03 g/L). Moreover, atomic force microscopy and dynamic light scattering showed that the curcumin-loaded mPEG-OA polymersomes had very stable structures, and at concentrations 1,000 times less than the CMC, at which the micelles disappear, polymersomes were the dominant structures in the dispersion with a reduced size distribution below 150 nm. Overall, the results from these tests revealed that this nanocarrier can be considered as an appropriate drug delivery system for delivering curcumin to cancer cells. © 2014 Erfani-Moghadam et al

    Some new Black Mildew, Asterina, collected from North -Western U.P.

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    During the morphotaxonomic studies of Black Mildews from Himalayan foothills of North-Western Uttar Pradesh, 20 species of Asterina were collected. Out of these, Asterina syzygicola collected on Syzygium jambolanum and Asterina heniana collected on Syzygium henianum are described and illustrated as new to scienc

    Waterlogging and salinity management in the Sindh Province. Volume 1 - The irrigated landscape: resource availability across the hydrological divides

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    Irrigation management / River basins / Irrigated farming / Climate / Irrigation systems / Irrigation canals / Discharges / Water balance / Waterlogging / Salinity / Groundwater development / Tube wells / Water table / Drainage / Public sector / Land reclamation / Pakistan / Sindh Province / Indus Basin / Rohri / Larkana / Shikarpur / Hairdin / North Dadu / Ghotki / East Khairpur / Sukkur Barrage

    Eight-Chain and Full-Network Models and Their Modified Versions for Rubber Hyperelasticity: A Comparative Study

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    The eight-chain model, also known as Arruda-Boyce model, is widely used to capture the rate-independent hyperelastic response of rubber-like materials. The parameters of this model are physically based and explained from micromechanics of chain molecules. Despite its excellent performance with only two material parameters to capture bench measurements in uniaxial and pure shear regime, the model is known to be significantly deficient in predicting the equibiaxial data. To ameliorate such drawback, over the years, several modified versions of this successful model have been proposed in the literature. The so-called full-network model is another micromechanically motivated chain model, which has also few modified versions in the literature. For this study, two modified versions of the full-network model have been selected. In this contribution, five modified versions of the Arruda-Boyce model and two modified versions of full-network model are critically compared with the classical eight-chain model for their adequacy in representing equibiaxial data. To do a comparison of all selected models in reproducing the well-known Treloar data, the analytical expressions for the three homogeneous deformation modes, that is, uniaxial tension, equibiaxial tension, and pure shear have been derived and the performances of the selected models are analysed. The comparative study demonstrates that modified Flory-Erman model, Gornet-Desmorat (GD) model, Meissner-Matějka model, and bootstrapped eight-chain model predict well the three deformation modes compare to the classical eight-chain model

    Crustal Contamination and Hybridization of an Embryonic Oceanic Crust during the Red Sea Rifting (Tihama Asir Igneous Complex, Saudi Arabia)

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    The Red Sea rift system represents a key case study of the transition from a continental to an oceanic rift. The Red Sea rifting initiated in Late Oligocene to Early Miocene (24-23 Ma) and was accompanied by extensive magmatism throughout the rifted basin, from Afar and Yemen to northern Egypt. Here, we present a petrological and geochemical study of two gabbro bodies and associated basalts from the Tihama Asir igneous complex, which formed at 24-20 Ma within the rifted Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS). The Tihama Asir is therefore an ideal location to study the initial phase of syn-rift magmatism and its influence on the geodynamic evolution of the Red Sea rift system. The most primitive olivine gabbros present modal, bulk and mineral compositions consistent with formation from Mid-Ocean Ridge Basalt (MORB)-type parental melts, whereas the evolved olivine-free gabbros and oxide-bearing gabbros show saturation of phlogopite and a crystal line of descent diverging from fractional crystallization trends. In detail, whole-rock and mineral compositions in the most evolved lithologies show high Light over Middle Rare Earth Elements (LREE/MREE) ratios (La-N/Sm-N = 0.89-1.31) and selective enrichments in Sr, K and highly incompatible elements (Rb, Ba, U, Th). We relate these geochemical characteristics to a process of progressive assimilation of host continental crust during the emplacement of the gabbroic plutons. Interestingly, high LREE/MREE ratios (La-N/Sm-N = 1.45-4.58) and high Rb, Ba, Th and U contents also characterize the basaltic dike swarms associated to the gabbros. Incompatible trace element compositions of these basalts approach those of the melts that formed the most hybridized gabbros. Therefore, we propose that the dike swarms represent melts partially contaminated by assimilation of continental crust material, extracted from the underlying gabbroic crystal mush. Our results suggest that early syn-rift magmatism led to the partial replacement of the thinned continental crust by MORB-type gabbroic bodies, in turn suggesting that oceanic magmatism started prior to continental break-up. Extensive syn-rift magmatism is consistent with the interpretation of the southern Red Sea rift system as a volcanic rifted margin. One possible implication of this study is that extensive but diffuse syn-rift magmatism possibly hampered continental break-up, leading to a protracted rifting stage

    Association between GSTM1, GSTT1, and GSTP1 variants and the risk of end stage renal disease

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    Introduction: There are some evidences indicating DNA damage by oxidant and mutant agents has an essential role in the chronic renal failure and end stage renal disease (ESRD). To investigate the possible association of GSTs variants with ESRD, we investigated the frequency of GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes, and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) in patients with ESRD.Materials and methods: The present case-control study consisted of 136 ESRD patients treated with maintenance hemodialysis and 137 gender- and age-matched, unrelated healthy controls from the population of west of Iran. The GST- T1, M1, and P1 genotypes were determined in all individuals using multiplex-PCR and PCR-RFLP. The level of MDA was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).Results: We found that GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes (GSTT1-/GSTM1-) increased the risk of ESRD by 1.8 times (p<0.001) and the increased risk of ESRD for GSTM-null (T1+-M1-) genotype was 3.04 times (p=0.002). ESRD patients carriers the GST (GSTM1-null+GSTT1-null+GST-null) genotypes compared to GST normal genotype increased the risk of ESRD by 3.3 (p<0.001) times. ESRD patients carriers of GST-null, GSTM1-null, and GSTT1-null genotypes had greater MDA concentration compared with the same genotypes of control subjects. Our results indicated that the GST-null allele (GSTT1-null/GSTM1-null) is a risk factor for ESRD and carriers of this allele have high levels of MDA.Conclusion: Our findings indicate that oxidative stress, impairment of the antioxidant system and abnormal lipid metabolism may play a role in the pathogenesis and progression of ESRD and its related complications. These data suggest that patients with ESRD are more susceptible to vascular diseases

    Waterlogging and salinity management in the Sindh Province. Volume 1 - the irrigated landscape: resource availability across the hydrological divides. Annexes

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    Hydrology / Land classification / Soils / Irrigation canals / Pakistan / Sindh Province / Ghotki Canal Command / Begari Canal Command / Desert Canal Command / Dadu Canal Command / Rice Canal Command / North West Canal Command / Khairpur East Canal Command / Khairpur West Canal Command / Rohri Canal Command / Nara Canal Command / Jamrao Canal Command / Fuleli Canal Command / Pinyari Canal Command / Akram Wah (Lined Channel) Command

    Incidence of first stroke and ethnic differences in stroke pattern in Bradford, UK: Bradford Stroke Study

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    Background: Information on ethnic disparities in stroke between White and Pakistani population in Europe is scarce. Bradford District has the largest proportion of Pakistani people in England; this provides a unique opportunity to study the difference in stroke between the two major ethnic groups. Aim: To determine the first-ever-stroke incidence and examine the disparities in stroke patterns between Whites and Pakistanis in Bradford. Methods: Prospective 12 months study consisting of 273,327 adults (≥18 years) residents. Stroke cases were identified by multiple overlapping approaches. Results: In the study period, 541 first-ever-strokes were recorded. The crude incidence rate was 198 per 100,000 person-years. Age adjusted-standardized rate to the World Health Organization world population of first-ever-stroke is 155 and 101 per 100,000 person-years in Pakistanis and Whites respectively. Four hundred and thirty-eight patients (81%) were Whites, 83 (15.3%) were Pakistanis, 11 (2%) were Indian and Bangladeshis, and 9 (1.7%) were of other ethnic origin. Pakistanis were significantly younger and had more obesity (p = 0.049), and diabetes mellitus (DM) (p = <0.001). They were less likely to suffer from atrial fibrillation (p = <0.001), be ex- or current smokers (p = <0.001), and drink alcohol above the recommended level (p = 0.007) compared with Whites. In comparison with Whites, higher rates of age-adjusted stroke (1.5-fold), lacunar infarction (threefold), and ischemic infarction due to large artery disease (twofold) were found in the Pakistanis. Conclusions: The incidence of first-ever-stroke is higher in the Pakistanis compared with the Whites in Bradford, UK. Etiology and vascular risk factors vary between the ethnic groups. This information should be considered when investigating stroke etiology, and when planning prevention and care provision to improve outcomes after stroke

    IoT enable relay network for demand based light intensity controlled seamless highway lighting system

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    Highway authority spends huge amount of money per year for Highway Lighting System worldwide (e.g., Malaysia USD 25 Million per year). Internet of Things (IoT) becomes one of the popular concepts that provides prominent solutions in various paradigms. Exploiting IoT, this work develops a prototype for efficient highway lighting system at lower energy consumption. Two key features need to be taken into account for designing such a system are: i) Road users’ point of view (i.e., Comfort and safety) ii) Road service providers’ point of view (i.e., Reduce Energy Consumption and Maintenance Cost). The characteristics of this prototype revile the effectiveness of the proposal
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