Microfluidic Assessment of Stem Cell-Derived Pancreatic Beta Cells

Contemporary and traditional methods of perifusional analysis of cells, pancreatic β cells in particular, involve the utilization of costly equipment exhibiting difficulties in setup and inflexibilities in operation and application. Microfluidic devices in general are inexpensive, easy to fabricate and are capable of screening multiple microenvironmental conditions, with the potential to generate concentration gradients for the study of biological phenomena such as cell migration. Utilization of these devices for cellular fluorescence imaging is also possible, paving the way for more sophisticated methods of dynamic assessment. Herein, we fabricated a pre-designed microfluidic device from photolithography, containing microwells capable of immobilizing human β islet or stem cell-derived β cells for perifusional analysis with low (2mM) and high (20mM) concentrations of glucose, following subsequent dynamic estimation of insulin produced using the insulin ELISA. The main aim was to compare and contrast insulin secretory behavior of human islet and stem cell-derived β cells with dynamic study of calcium ion activity during insulin exocytosis through fluorescence imaging, using an alternative method of assessment, namely, microfluidics

An artificial intelligence approach to goal programming goal structure development using AHP

An expert system is proposed to help non-operation research users to formulate goal programs. The developmental tool being used is VP-Expert. The proposed expert system will used constraint information to assist users in goal selection. Goal structure will be constructed using a pairwise comparison technique, similar to the AHP approach

Future Of Trading And Investment Plan: Stocks Or Cryptocurrency?

This paper mentions the price fluctuations of cryptocurrency and stocks under speculative environment. We have been seeing that the market trend points out an existence of a highly speculative bubble. Over the period of last 10 years, the trend in price movements of bitcoin has proved to be strongly speculative and on the other hand due to drastic change the world is seeing the prices of stocks has even been drastically upscaled. In this particular regard, investors might be curious about where and what instances might be fundamental point in these speculative price changes. When it comes to endogenous market movements, stocks have a significant issue to distinguish it from cryptocurrencies for the exogenous market movements to understand speculative bubbles better

The MDRF- ADA post graduate course in diabetology - scientific highlights

This article covers the scientific highlights of the MDRF-ADA Postgraduate Course in Diabetology, which was held first time in India, at Chennai during 20-22 September, 2002. Topics presented at the course included prevention of diabetes, management of diabetes and its complications like diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy and neuropathy, management of associated comorbities like obesity and hypertension, pregnancy in diabetic women, newer insulin delivery systems, insulin regimens, oral hypoglycemic agents, current and future trends in self monitoring of blood glucose, developing standards for diabetic education and optimal strategies for delivering effective self management education

Genetic divergence assessment in Kale (Brassica oleracea L var. acephala (DC.) Alef.) by using the multivariate analysis

A total of 87 genotypes collected from different geographical areas of Kashmir valley evaluated at one site to determinate genetic variability. Considerable diversity was found in different traits of horticultural importance. High coefficient of variation and wide range and mean differences of studied traits indicated the existence of wide genetic variability. Three principal component having eigen value more than one and cumulatively accounted for 84.85 percent of total variability of evaluated horticultural traits. The leaf weight, leaf length, leaf width, leaf yield / plant and yield (q/ha) were major contributing traits towards the first principal component. Similarly number of number of leaves/plant was impotent contributed traits toward principal component -II, whereas plant height was main contributing traits to principal component -III. The maximum inter cluster D2 value (731.04) was observed between cluster IV and cluster -I and followed by between cluster -V and cluster- I (677.29) and between cluster II and I (430.13).It indicated that genotypes belongings with these groups were genetically most divergent and may be use for hybridization to get better segregants

Repression of Esophageal Neoplasia and Inflammatory Signaling by Anti-miR-31 Delivery In Vivo.

BACKGROUND: Overexpression of microRNA-31 (miR-31) is implicated in the pathogenesis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), a deadly disease associated with dietary zinc deficiency. Using a rat model that recapitulates features of human ESCC, the mechanism whereby Zn regulates miR-31 expression to promote ESCC is examined. METHODS: To inhibit in vivo esophageal miR-31 overexpression in Zn-deficient rats (n = 12-20 per group), locked nucleic acid-modified anti-miR-31 oligonucleotides were administered over five weeks. miR-31 expression was determined by northern blotting, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and in situ hybridization. Physiological miR-31 targets were identified by microarray analysis and verified by luciferase reporter assay. Cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and expression of inflammation genes were determined by immunoblotting, caspase assays, and immunohistochemistry. The miR-31 promoter in Zn-deficient esophagus was identified by ChIP-seq using an antibody for histone mark H3K4me3. Data were analyzed with t test and analysis of variance. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: In vivo, anti-miR-31 reduced miR-31 overexpression (P = .002) and suppressed the esophageal preneoplasia in Zn-deficient rats. At the same time, the miR-31 target Stk40 was derepressed, thereby inhibiting the STK40-NF-κΒ-controlled inflammatory pathway, with resultant decreased cellular proliferation and activated apoptosis (caspase 3/7 activities, fold change = 10.7, P = .005). This same connection between miR-31 overexpression and STK40/NF-κΒ expression was also documented in human ESCC cell lines. In Zn-deficient esophagus, the miR-31 promoter region and NF-κΒ binding site were activated. Zn replenishment restored the regulation of this genomic region and a normal esophageal phenotype. CONCLUSIONS: The data define the in vivo signaling pathway underlying interaction of Zn deficiency and miR-31 overexpression in esophageal neoplasia and provide a mechanistic rationale for miR-31 as a therapeutic target for ESCC