Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) isomers as anticancer lipids: analysis, bioformation and mechanisms of action in the HT-29 human colon cancer cell line

Conjugated hnoleic acid (CLA), a group of polyunsaturated fatty acids occurring naturally in dairy products but also produced by certain strains of human intestinal bifidobacteria is known to exhibit potent anticancer effect both in vivo and in a range of tumour epithelial cell lines The HT-29 human colon cancer cell line was used in this study as an in vitro model to investigate the effects of CLA and ¿raws-vaccemc acid (¿- VA), a putative precursor of c9, t \ \ CLA on markers of growth, differentiation and apoptosis Sodium butyrate, which maintains a balance between cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis in intestinal epithelium was used as positive control. For comparative purposes, parallel experiments were performed with hnoleic acid HT-29 cells were sensitive to the growth inhibitory effects of a CLA mixture of isomers and to three of its constituent isomers, c9, ¿11 CLA, ¿10, c l2 CLA and t9, t \ \ CLA at physiological levels /-VA was cytotoxic to the HT-29 cells at concentrations greater than 70jjM and was less inhibitory than CLA treatments. The CLA mixture of isomers, c9, t\ 1 CLA and ¿10, c l2 CLA showed evidence of apoptosis of HT-29 cells as reflected by annexin binding, measured by flow cytometry All CLA isomers induced carcinoembryomc antigen (CEA) and showed varying levels of reduction in histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity. Increased level of ceramide was observed when cells were incubated with the CLA mixture of isomers. In this study the gas chromatographic methods for analysis of CLA and ¿-VA m HT-29 cancer cells was validated This study provided evidence for cellular bioconversion of ¿-VA to c9, ¿11 CLA in HT-29 cells CLA isomers altered fatty acid composition in HT-29 cells which may be via modulation of fatty acid synthase (FAS) and stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) activities. This study indicated that the antiproliferative effect of CLA on HT-29 colon cancer cell line may be mediated by differentiation and apoptosis and by modulation of FAS and SCD activities

Population Distribution Model For Oman

Past population census data of Sultanate of Oman are analyzed to find the best-fitted age distribution model applying chi-square goodness of fit test and model selection criteria. It is observed that the age distribution of the Omani population is exponential. The population figures for different age groups of Oman are estimated using exponential distribution. Age distribution of Omani population is compared with that of other Gulf countries and also with some developed nations. It is observed that, unlike other developed countries of the world, the age distribution of Omani population does not change significantly over the last two decades. It is also observed that the median age of the Omani population is about half of that of other developed nations. Ageing is not a problem for Oman or Gulf countries, but it is a big issue for most developed countries. Young populations in Oman are significantly higher than that of developed countries

Age Distribution Model For GCC Countries

Efficient and reliable estimates of the proportions of population at different age levels are essential for making quality budget of any developing or developed nation. These estimates are obtained from the best-fitted age distribution model and can be used to find the number of school age children, number of pensioners etc. Past population census data of GCC countries are analyzed to find the best-fitted age distribution model applying chi-square goodness of fit test and model selection criteria and observed that the age distribution of most of the GCC countries is exponential. A comparative study of the age distributions of six GCC countries with some developed countries is also provided

The Futures Pricing Puzzle

This paper models commodity futures in a rational expectations equilibrium specifically (i) incorporating the conflict of interests between Hedgers (Producers-Consumers) and Speculators and (ii) superimposing constraints to immunize the real sector of the economy from shocks of excessive futures contracting. We extend the framework of Newbery and Stiglitz (1981), Anderson and Danthine (1983) and Britto (1984) to attribute the conflicting and puzzling results in the empirical literature to the presence of multiple equilibria ranked in a pecking order of decreasing pareto-efficiency. Thus, we caution empirical researchers on making inferences on data embedded with moving equilibria, as it can render their analysis of asset pricing mechanism incomprehensible. Finally, we rationalize the imposition of position limits by policy makers to help steer the equilibria to pareto-inferior ones, which make the real sector of the economy more resilient to shocks from the financial sectorContango, Expectations, Normal Backwardations

Remediation of nutrients runoff from feedlot by hydroponic treatment

Nutrient runoff from feedlot can contaminate surface and groundwater and may cause eutrophication if not managed properly. In this study, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly hydroponic treatment was compared with the standard Hoagland solution for treating feedlot runoff and evaluating plant growth and nutrient removal under greenhouse conditions. The hydroponic remediation method was evaluated in batches using 10 L of feedlot runoff and Hoagland solution individually applied in a plastic tub planted with water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Postia stratiotes), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) separately. Water samples were collected weekly and plant biomass were collected at the beginning and the end of the experiment. The sorghum plants grown in the Hoagland solution produced 3.0 and 2.6 times higher biomass than the runoff in first and second batch experiment, respectively, due to balanced nutrient availability, especially nitrogen. Nutrients from the feedlot runoff and Hoagland solution were reduced by all plants as they uptake nutrients, but sorghum outperformed other plants. Plants grown in feedlot runoff, reduced >90% ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) through the root absorption. Total phosphorus (TP) reduction by sorghum ranged 52%-92% from the Hoagland solution and 70%-100% from the feedlot runoff. Water hyacinth reduced TP by 61%-74% from the feedlot runoff, but only 9%-33% in the Hoagland solution. The TP reduction by water lettuce ranged 49%-93% from the feedlot runoff, but its reduction was not significant in the Hoagland solution. Water lettuce reduced significantly more (75%) Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) from the undiluted feedlot runoff than the sorghum (61%) and water hyacinth (66%). Overall, sorghum outperformed water lettuce and water hyacinth by taking up more TP, NH4-N, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen (NO2-N+NO3-N), ortho-phosphorus (Ortho-OP), and potassium (K) from the undiluted feedlot runoff in both batch experiments

A Hybrid Technique of Energy Harvesting from Mechanical Vibration and Ambient Illumination

Hybrid energy harvesting is a concept applied for improving the performance of the conventional stand-alone energy harvesters. The thesis presents the analytical formulations and characterization of a hybrid energy harvester that incorporates photovoltaic, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, and electrostatic mechanisms. The initial voltage required for electrostatic mechanism is obtained by the photovoltaic technique. Other mechanisms are embedded into a bimorph piezoelectric cantilever beam having a tip magnet and two sets of comb electrodes on two sides of its substructure. All the segments are interconnected by an electric circuit to generate combined output when subjected to vibration and solar illumination. Results for power output have been obtained at resonance frequency using an optimum load resistance. As the power transduced by each of the mechanisms is combined, more power is generated than those obtained by stand-alone mechanisms. The synergistic feature of this research is further promoted by adding fatigue analysis using finite element method

Thermo-Fluid Characterizations of the Powder-Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Processes using Laser and Electron Beam

The powder-bed fusion (PBF) process is a subdivision of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology where a heat source at a controlled speed selectively fuses regions of a powder-bed material to form three-dimensional (3-D) parts. Two of the most effective PBF processes are selective laser melting (SLM) and electron beam additive manufacturing (EBAM), which can fabricate full-density metallic parts in a layer-by-layer fashion. In this study, thermal behavior and melt-pool dynamics in the PBF process are investigated by developing 3-D multiphysics-based thermo-fluid models for both SLM and EBAM, containing Ti-6Al-4V alloy as a powder-bed material. The laser and electron beams are modeled as conical volumetric heat sources having the Gaussian distribution. The temperature-dependent properties of Ti-6Al-4V and the heat source parameters are incorporated in the models as the user-defined functions. The melt-pool geometry and its thermo-fluid behavior are investigated numerically using computational fluid dynamics, and results for temperature profile, variation in thermo-physical properties, the melt-pool velocity and geometry, and cooling rate are obtained under various heat source specifications. The modeling results for SLM and EBAM under the same irradiation conditions are compared to describe their deterministic features to be considered for industrial applications. The comparison shows that under the same energy density and beam interaction time, the SLM process gives a smaller melt-pool volume but a faster average cooling rate than those in the EBAM process. The thermo-fluid models are validated by comparing the simulation results for the melt-pool geometry with experimental results and resembling the numerical melt-front position with the analytical solution for the classical Stephan problem of melting of a phase-change material

Scattering of electromagnetic waves by two parallel chiral circular cylinders

The electromagnetic scattering from two parallel chiral circular cylinders is analyzed using a boundary value problem approach. Both cylinders are assumed to be illuminated by either a transverse electric (TE) or transverse magnetic (TM) wave. The separation of variable technique and proper transformation theorems are used to formulate the solution. The incident fields, scattered fields, and transmitted fields are expanded in terms of the cylindrical vector wave functions. Drude-Born-Fedorov (DBF) constitutive relations and Bohren decomposition formula are used to express the electromagnetic fields inside the chiral cylinders. The boundary conditions are imposed in conjunction with the addition theorem of the Hankel function on the boundary surface of each cylinder. The boundary conditions yield a system of linear equations for each type of polarization which can be numerically solved to obtain the unknown expansion coefficients by a proper truncation of the infinite sums into finite sums. Numerical results are given to show the effects on co- and cross-polarized echo widths for some selected parameters and geometries. The effects on the back and forward scattering co- and cross-polarized echo widths are also given with respect to the separation distance between two cylinders and angle of incidence. From the numerical results, it can be evident that chirality parameter plays an important role controlling the echo width. The validity and accuracy of the results are compared with available published results for special and limiting cases. Several numerical results are also given for the scattering of electromagnetic waves by single chiral cylinder for both the TM and TE cases and validated with existing published results

The Environment and Animals: Eco-consciousness in The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh

Abstract: Thi