A Comprehensive Model for Life Cycle Assessment of Blue Hydrogen Production and Optimization Along with CO2 Enhanced Oil Recovery - Reservoirs in Alberta

AbstractThis study considers the generation of hydrogen by the conventional method of steam methane reforming using natural gas as feed. Natural gas extraction and transportation have been incorporated within the system boundaries of LCA. A base case has been assumed to account for the emissions related to the construction of necessary facilities. Calculations have been performed to determine the CO2 retention percentage based on the HCPV% of CO2 injected into the reservoir. Reservoir field segregation for CO2 sequestration and EOR have been carried out in three levels; initially with respect to location, then based on recovery potential (reserve in place), and finally narrowed down based on petrophysical parameters required for an economic EOR using CO2. The model is designed to perform sensitivity analysis for four major scenarios occurring during the process. This includes the location of the natural gas feed source, point of carbon capture, mode of CO2 transportation, and CO2 sink for sequestration and EOR.</jats:p

A study of comparison and correlation between antegonial notch depth, symphysis morphology, and ramus morphology among different growth patterns in angle's Class II Division 1 Malocclusion

Introduction: In orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics, a thorough knowledge of the skeletal and dental components that contribute to Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion is essential because these elements may influence the approach to treatment. Orthodontic treatment planning is greatly influenced by prediction of mandibular growth pattern. The purpose of this study was to compare and correlate between antegonial notch depth, symphysis morphology, and ramus morphology in different growth patterns in Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion. Objective: (1) To compare antegonial notch depth, symphysis morphology, and ramus morphology in different growth patterns in Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion. (2) To find a correlation between these factors in different growth patterns in Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion. Materials and Methods: In this study, lateral cephalograms of total 90 patients (43 males and 47 females) with Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion patients were traced. The sample was divided into average, horizontal, and vertical growth pattern based on jarabak's ratio. Antegonial notch depth, symphysis height, depth, ratio (height/depth) and symphysis angle, and ramus height and width were evaluated and analyzed statistically. Results: A significantly high proportion of subjects were having lesser ramus height and ramus width in vertical growth pattern than horizontal growth pattern in Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion with sexual dichotomy in favor of males. The correlation coefficient within groups was calculated. In horizontal growth pattern, antegonial notch depth was correlated with anterior facial height, posterior facial height, and ramus height. In vertical growth pattern, antegonial notch depth was correlated with ramus height. In horizontal growth pattern, symphyseal height was found out to be correlated with anterior facial height, posterior facial height, ramus height and width. Symphyseal depth was also found to be correlated with ramus width, ramus height was correlated with symphyseal depth and symphyseal angle in horizontal growth pattern. Conclusion: The antegonial notch depth, symphysis morphology, and ramus morphology are significantly correlated with different growth patterns in Angle's Class II Division 1 malocclusion but was highly significant in horizontal growth pattern

Alternative Promoters Drive Transcriptomic Reprogramming and Prognostic Stratification in TNBC

Abstract Pre-transcriptional regulation through alternative promoter usage is a critical yet underexplored mechanism influencing gene expression in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), a highly aggressive and heterogeneous breast cancer subtype. While short-read RNA sequencing data are widely available, they offer limited resolution in accurately capturing transcript-level diversity. To overcome this, we focused on promoter-level quantification to infer active promoter usage and investigate transcriptional regulation dynamics in TNBC. Using RNA-seq data from 360 TNBC tumors and 88 adjacent normal tissues, we identified TNBC-specific and subtype-enriched Active Alternative Promoters (AAPs). Integration with H3K4me3 and H3K27ac ChIP-seq data confirmed a key promoter switching event in the HDAC9 gene: the promoter pr1077 was downregulated while another promoter pr1079 was specifically activated in TNBCs. This switch was epigenetically supported by differential enrichment of histone marks, implicating HDAC9 promoter switching as a tumor-specific regulatory mechanism. Further, we identified subtype-specific alternative promoters in TNBC, including basal subtype–enriched activity of SEC31A and reduced promoter usage of AKAP9, which were not reflected at the gene expression level but were evident through promoter-level analysis. Next, we identified alternative promoters of HUWE1 and FTX as independent predictors of relapse-free survival (RFS) in TNBC. Their prognostic value remained significant after adjusting for copy number alterations and transcriptomic subtypes. A 4-feature model integrating these two promoter activities with two clinical variables (Tumor size, Ki67 index) achieved an AUROC of 0.73 and improved patient risk stratification, with a Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI) of 0.40-0.48 over the clinical-only model, underscoring the potential of promoter activity as a biomarker in TNBC

Molecular Targeting of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor (VEGFR)

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) are two extensively studied membrane-bound receptor tyrosine kinase proteins that are frequently overexpressed in many cancers. As a result, these receptor families constitute attractive targets for imaging and therapeutic applications in the detection and treatment of cancer. This review explores the dynamic structure and structure-function relationships of these two growth factor receptors and their significance as it relates to theranostics of cancer, followed by some of the common inhibition modalities frequently employed to target EGFR and VEGFR, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), antibodies, nanobodies, and peptides. A summary of the recent advances in molecular imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical imaging (OI), and in particular, near-IR fluorescence imaging using tetrapyrrolic-based fluorophores, concludes this review

Visible-Light Responsive Azobenzene and Cholesterol Based Liquid Crystals as Efficient Solid-State Solar–Thermal Fuels

Solar–thermal fuels (STFs) based on photoresponsive molecules, which can harvest and store solar energy by the configurational change of molecules and can release it in the form of heat on demand, have been investigated recently. So far, azobenzene has been the most widely studied molecule for these applications. However, until now, only solid and liquid derivatives of azobenzene have been explored which suffer from several limitations. Here, we are reporting for the first time visible-light responsive STFs based on liquid crystals (LCs). We have prepared a series of compounds based on azobenzene and cholesterol with varying spacer and ortho-substitution on azobenzene. All of these derivatives exhibit enantiotropic chiral nematic (N*) mesophases. Moreover, they showed excellent photostability, photocyclability, and long half-life times of cis-states. We have further evaluated the thin films of these compounds for charging, i.e., trans to cis conversion under solar irradiation using various bandpass filters, and also studied the kinetics of the conversion. These compounds exhibited a maximum charging of up to 70% for the derivative with ortho-fluoro azobenzene. The charged thin films were further evaluated for their heat release properties by infrared (IR) thermal imaging. The maximum heat release observed was around 5.4 °C from the surrounding temperature which was significantly higher as compared to similarly substituted azobenzene-based derivative without a LC phase

Lingual thyroid with absent thyroid gland in neck

&lt;p class="abstract"&gt;Lingual thyroid is defined as an ectopic thyroid gland tissue located in the midline of the tongue base. Patients with lingual thyroid tissue usually present with symptoms such as dysphagia, choking, haemorrhage, dyspnea and occasionally life threatening airway obstruction. Lingual thyroid is a rare anomaly with an incidence of 1 in 3000 of the thyroid cases seen, with overall prevalence of 1 in 100,000. Here we presented a case with complaint of difficulty in swallowing and foreign body sensation throat. The intraoral examination showed spherical mass with 2 cm of diameter, covered with intact mucosa, located midline at base of tongue. She was diagnosed clinically as lingual thyroid and evaluated further. By proper transdisciplinary approach correct diagnosis can be made and patient can be managed. In present case, thyroid profile, USG neck and thyroid scintigraphy helped in diagnosis. Patient was managed medically with tablet levothyroxine which relieved her symptoms. Surgical management was not considered as patient improved with levothyroxine and surgical excision would have made patient further hypothyroid as there was no thyroid gland in neck.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p

Molecular Targeting of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor (VEGFR)

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) are two extensively studied membrane-bound receptor tyrosine kinase proteins that are frequently overexpressed in many cancers. As a result, these receptor families constitute attractive targets for imaging and therapeutic applications in the detection and treatment of cancer. This review explores the dynamic structure and structure-function relationships of these two growth factor receptors and their significance as it relates to theranostics of cancer, followed by some of the common inhibition modalities frequently employed to target EGFR and VEGFR, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), antibodies, nanobodies, and peptides. A summary of the recent advances in molecular imaging techniques, including positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT), computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and optical imaging (OI), and in particular, near-IR fluorescence imaging using tetrapyrrolic-based fluorophores, concludes this review.</jats:p

The Synthesis of BODIPY-TKI Conjugates and Investigation of Their Ability to Target the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor

A near-IR BODIPY was covalently conjugated via its isothiocyanate groups to one or two Erlotinib molecules, a known tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), via triethylene glycol spacers, to produce two novel BODIPY-monoTKI and BODIPY-diTKI conjugates. The ability of these conjugates to target the intracellular domain of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was investigated using molecular modeling, surface plasma resonance (SPR), EGFR kinase binding assay, time-dependent cellular uptake, and fluorescence microscopy. While both the BODIPY-monoTKI and the BODIPY-diTKI conjugates were shown to bind to the EGFR kinase by SPR and accumulated more efficiently within human HEp2 cells that over-express EGFR than BODIPY alone, only the BODIPY-monoTKI exhibited kinase inhibition activity. This is due to the high hydrophobic character and aggregation behavior of the BODIPY-diTKI in aqueous solutions, as shown by fluorescence quenching. Furthermore, the competition of the two Erlotinibs in the diTKI conjugate for the active site of the kinase, as suggested by computational modeling, might lead to a decrease in binding relative to the monoTKI conjugate. Nevertheless, the efficient cellular uptake and intracellular localization of both conjugates with no observed cytotoxicity suggest that both could be used as near-IR fluorescent markers for cells that over-express EGFR

Lignin-chitosan-based biocomposite film for the localized delivery of TLR7 agonist imiquimod

Abstract Background As the leading form of non-melanoma skin cancer, basal cell carcinoma (BCC) presents a considerable challenge to healthcare systems, owing to its widespread occurrence. Current treatment options, such as surgical excision, cryotherapy, and localized therapies like imiquimod or 5-fluorouracil, face challenges, especially in designing drug delivery systems that provide prolonged therapeutic effects. This study aims to develop bio-composite polymeric films for localized drug delivery using natural polymers, lignin, and chitosan, to enhance the delivery of the TLR7 agonist imiquimod for BCC treatment. Results The optimized biofilms were prepared by adjusting the polymer ratio and drying techniques to achieve a balanced composition for localized imiquimod delivery. FTIR and DSC characterization confirmed successful drug incorporation into the biofilms, while microscopic studies revealed the biofilms homogeneity and fibrous nature. Drug release studies demonstrated pH-dependent kinetics, with higher release rates at neutral pH. The biofilms exhibited slow and sustained drug release, promising prolonged therapeutic effects. Additionally, the biofilms were non-hemolytic, showed significant antioxidant activity, and demonstrated selective cytotoxicity against B16–F10 mouse skin melanoma cells. Conclusions This study suggests that lignin-chitosan-based imiquimod-loaded biofilms hold potential as an effective topical treatment for BCC. The biofilm’s ability to provide sustained drug release, along with their biocompatibility and selective cytotoxicity, indicates a promising approach to enhancing BCC therapy. Graphical abstrac