Polymeric Chloroquine in Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer Therapy

Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) is an established drug that has been used for the treatment of multiple diseases, including malaria, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus erythematosus. Several recently published studies have highlighted its beneficial use in various types of cancers, and a plethora of clinical trials are currently evaluating its use in cancer therapies, wherein some of the results look promising. The preclinical studies to date suggest HCQ can work effectively in conjunction with traditional cancer treatments, as it has been shown to sensitize tumor cells to a wide range of chemotherapeutic agents. Polymeric HCQ (PCQ), a macromolecular multivalent version of HCQ, has been shown to be effective in various cancer models both in vitro and in vivo, especially as an inhibitor of cancer cell migration and experimental lung metastasis. Previous studies have shown comparisons of PCQ with HCQ in some cancer models that indicated that PCQ exhibits improvement in anti-metastatic activity over HCQ. In this current report, it is shown with detailed in vitro experimentation that low concentrations of PCQ can efficiently inhibit cancer cell migration and colony formation and translocate into the cytoplasm of pancreatic cancer cells, all the while showing low levels of cytotoxicity orders of magnitude more effectively compared to HCQ. Furthermore, shortly after the administration of PCQ in vivo, the drug shows a high level of tumor penetration and anti-metastatic activity in PDAC models, especially if administered via intraperitoneal (I.P.) injection. These studies support the idea that PCQ may be effectively used at low concentrations in the therapy of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which is an aggressive form of cancer. In conjunction with previously published literature, these studies further undergird the potential of PCQ as a future anticancer agent

Clustering and detection of good and bad rail line anchors from images

This conference paper was presented in the International Conference on Computer and Information Technology, ICCIT 2015; Military Institute of Science and Technology (MIST)Mirpur CantonmentDhaka; Bangladesh; 21 December 2015 through 23 December 2015 [© 2015 IEEE] The conference paper's definite version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICCITechn.2015.7488072Absence of railway anchors/fasteners is a serious concern as it might lead to severe consequences such as train derailments. Hence regular inspection is an obligation to ensure safety. The third world countries choose the inspection process to be non-automatic where a trained operator moves along the rail line boarding a motor trolley checking for visual anomalies. In the previous research [1], an automatic system was proposed to overcome the cons of the running manual technique by using image processing. Two feature detection algorithms - Shi Tomasi and Harris Stephen - were used and an accuracy of 83.55% was achieved. This research presents an upgraded version of the previous work by introducing Neural Network. The addition of NN has not only speeded up the detection process but increased the accuracy significantly to approximately 93.86%.Publishe

Automatic detection of defective rail anchors

This conference paper was presented in 17th IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Transportation Systems, ITSC 2014; Qingdao; China; 8 October 2014 through 11 October 2014 [© 2014 IEEE] The conference paper's definite version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ITSC.2014.6957919Rail line anchors/fasteners are the metallic components that attach each line with the sleepers. These are essential rail components as absence of these often result in derailments. Therefore in order to prevent dangerous situations and ensuring safety rail lines are periodically inspected. Rail inspection in many countries especially in third world countries, like Bangladesh, is performed manually by a trained human operator who periodically walks along the track searching for visual anomalies. This manual inspection is lengthy, laborious and subjective. This paper presents a machine vision-based technique to automatically detect the presence of rail line anchors/fasteners using Shi - Tomasi and Harris - Stephen feature detection algorithms. This approach has confirmed to successfully detect scenarios with both grounded and missing anchors invoked in the experiment, with an accuracy of 83.55%, thus proving its robustness.Publishe

Automatic measurement of rail line expansion joint gaps

This conference paper was presented in the IEEE International Conference on Vehicular Electronics and Safety, ICVES 2014; Hyderabad; India; 16 December 2014 through 17 December 2014 [© 2014 IEEE] The conference paper's definite version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/ICVES.2014.7063720Expansion joint gaps are the gaps which are deliberately left between the rail ends to allow for expansion of the rails in hot weather. Over gapping of these end to end gaps often result in derailments. Therefore in order to prevent dangerous situations and ensuring safety rail lines are periodically inspected. Rail inspection in many countries especially in third world countries, like Bangladesh, is performed manually by a trained human operator who periodically walks along the track searching for visual anomalies. Such manual inspection is lengthy, laborious and subjective. This paper presents a machine vision-based technique to automatically measure the length of rail line expansion joint gaps using morphological processing. This approach has confirmed to successfully detect scenarios of different condition with an accuracy of 89%, thus proving its robustness.Publishe

The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy

Even though Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of significant interest to the scientific community, its pathogenesis is very complicated and not well-understood. A great deal of progress has been made in AD research recently and with the advent of these new insights more therapeutic benefits may be identified that could help patients around the world. Much of the research in AD thus far has been very neuron-oriented; however, recent studies suggest that glial cells, i.e., microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (NG2 glia), are linked to the pathogenesis of AD and may offer several potential therapeutic targets against AD. In addition to a number of other functions, glial cells are responsible for maintaining homeostasis (i.e., concentration of ions, neurotransmitters, etc.) within the central nervous system (CNS) and are crucial to the structural integrity of neurons. This review explores the: (i) role of glial cells in AD pathogenesis; (ii) complex functionalities of the components involved; and (iii) potential therapeutic targets that could eventually lead to a better quality of life for AD patients

A Review of the Recent Advances Made with SIRT6 and its Implications on Aging Related Processes, Major Human Diseases, and Possible Therapeutic Targets

Sirtuin 6 (SIRT6) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide+ (NAD+) dependent enzyme and stress response protein that has sparked the curiosity of many researchers in different branches of the biomedical sciences. A unique member of the known Sirtuin family, SIRT6 has several different functions in multiple different molecular pathways related to DNA repair, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, tumorigenesis, neurodegeneration, cardiac hypertrophic responses, and more. Only in recent times, however, did the potential usefulness of SIRT6 come to light as we learned more about its biochemical activity, regulation, biological roles, and structure Frye (2000). Even until very recently, SIRT6 was known more for chromatin signaling but, being a nascent topic of study, more information has been ascertained and its potential involvement in major human diseases including diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and heart disease. It is pivotal to explore the mechanistic workings of SIRT6 since future research may hold the key to engendering strategies involving SIRT6 that may have significant implications for human health and expand upon possible treatment options. In this review, we are primarily concerned with exploring the latest advances in understanding SIRT6 and how it can alter the course of several life-threatening diseases such as processes related to aging, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, heart disease, and diabetes (SIRT6 has also shown to be involved in liver disease, inflammation, and bone-related issues) and any recent promising pharmacological investigations or potential therapeutics that are of interest

A Closer Look into the Role of Protein Tau in the Identification of Promising Therapeutic Targets for Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the most commonly known chronic neurodegenerative disorders, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), manifests the common type of dementia in 60–80% of cases. From a clinical standpoint, a patent cognitive decline and a severe change in personality, as caused by a loss of neurons, is usually evident in AD with about 50 million people affected in 2016. The disease progression in patients is distinguished by a gradual plummet in cognitive functions, eliciting symptoms such as memory loss, and eventually requiring full-time medical care. From a histopathological standpoint, the defining characteristics are intracellular aggregations of hyper-phosphorylated tau protein, known as neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), and depositions of amyloid β-peptides (Aβ) in the brain. The abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein is attributed to a wide gamut of neurological disorders known as tauopathies. In addition to the hyperphosphorylated tau lesions, neuroinflammatory processes could occur in a sustained manner through astro-glial activation, resulting in the disease progression. Recent findings have suggested a strong interplay between the mechanism of Tau phosphorylation, disruption of microtubules, and synaptic loss and pathology of AD. The mechanisms underlying these interactions along with their respective consequences in Tau pathology are still ill-defined. Thus, in this review: (1) we highlight the interplays existing between Tau pathology and AD; and (2) take a closer look into its role while identifying some promising therapeutic advances including state of the art imaging techniques

Prospect of Moringa seed oil as a sustainable biodiesel fuel in Australia a review /

Moringa oleifera is one of the most widely cultivated crops in tropical and sub-tropical areas in the world. The common name is drumstick which contains 6 to10 seeds. The matured seeds yield 38 - 40% of colourless and odorless vegetable oil. The oil contains concentrated oleic acid which has the potential to be used as a biodiesel. The study reviewed the prospect of moringa oleifera seed oil as a source of alternative transport fuel in Australia. The distributions, habitat, growth, production, oil extraction and biodiesel conversion techniques are briefly discussed. The literatures available on engine performance test and emission studies are also summarized for better understanding of the prospect of the moringa oleifera as a sustainable and alternative source of transport fuel. A review of the literatures indicates that moringa oleifera oil could be one of the prospective sources of biodiesel in Australia. Further studies are recommended on issues such as engine combustion characteristics, emission parameters, environmental impact and economic analysis of the species before it can be considered for commercial application