Persistence with Mammography Screening and Stage at Breast Cancer Diagnosis among Elderly Appalachia-West Virginia Women

The objective of this study is to evaluate the association between persistence with mammography screening and stage at breast cancer diagnosis in elderly Appalachia-West Virginia women diagnosed with first incident breast cancer. The study utilized West Virginia Cancer Registry-Medicare linked database to identify women age 70 and above diagnosed with first incident breast cancer in 2007. Persistence to mammography screening was defined as having had at least three mammography screenings before breast cancer diagnosis. A multiple logistic regression was conducted to assess the association between persistence with mammography screening and stage at breast cancer diagnosis in these women. Of the 221 elderly Appalachia-West Virginia women included in the analysis, 113 women (51.1%) were persistent to mammography screening before their diagnosis with breast cancer. In a multiple logistic regression after adjusting for all the variables, as compared to elderly women who were not persistent with mammography screening, women who were persistent with mammography screening were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with early stage breast cancer (adjusted odds ratio=4.25, 95% confidence interval=1.96-9.19). Persistence with mammography screening is significantly associated with earlier stages of breast cancer in the rural and underserved Appalachia-West Virginia women. The study findings suggest targeting interventions to encourage regular mammography in these women for whom there are no clear guidelines

Carbopol/Chitosan Based pH Triggered In Situ Gelling System for Ocular Delivery of Timolol Maleate

The poor bioavailability and therapeutic response exhibited by conventional ophthalmic preparations due to rapid precorneal elimination, dilution and nasolacrimal drainage of the drug may be vanquished by the use of in situ gelling systems that are instilled as drops in to the eye and undergo a sol-gel transition in the cul-de-sac. Timolol eye drops may cause systemic side effects in glaucoma patients due to absorption of the drug into systemic circulation. In situ gelling system of this drug can provide localized effect with reduced contraindications, improved patient compliance and better therapeutic index. The present work describes the formulation and evaluation of an ophthalmic delivery system of an antiglaucoma drug, timolol maleate (TM) based on the concept of pH-triggered in situ gelation. Polyacrylic acid (carbopol) was used as the gelling agent in combination with chitosan (amine polysaccharide), which was acted as a viscosity-enhancing agent. Formulations were evaluated for pH, viscosity, gelling capacity and drug content. The 0.4% w/v carbopol/0.5% w/v chitosan based in situ gelling system was in liquid state at room temperature and at the pH formulated (pH 6.0) and underwent rapid transition into the viscous gel phase at the pH of the tear fluid (lacrimal fluid) (pH 7.4). The in vitro drug release and in vivo effects of the developed in situ gelling system were compared with that of Glucomol® (a 0.25% TM ophthalmic solution), 0.4% w/v carbopol solution as well as liposomal formulation. The results clearly demonstrated that developed carbopol-chitosan based formulation was therapeutically efficacious and showed a fickian (diffusion controlled) type of release behaviour over 24 h periods. The developed system is thus a viable alternative to conventional eye drops and can also prevent the rapid drainage as in case of liposomes

Nano-vectors for efficient liver specific gene transfer

Recent progress in nanotechnology has triggered the site specific drug/gene delivery research and gained wide acknowledgment in contemporary DNA therapeutics. Amongst various organs, liver plays a crucial role in various body functions and in addition, the site is a primary location of metastatic tumor growth. In past few years, a plethora of nano-vectors have been developed and investigated to target liver associated cells through receptor mediated endocytosis. This emerging paradigm in cellular drug/gene delivery provides promising approach to eradicate genetic as well as acquired diseases affecting the liver. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of potential of various delivery systems, viz., lipoplexes, liposomes, polyplexes, nanoparticles and so forth to selectively relocate foreign therapeutic DNA into liver specific cell type via the receptor mediated endocytosis. Various receptors like asialoglycoprotein receptors (ASGP-R) provide unique opportunity to target liver parenchymal cells. The results obtained so far reveal tremendous promise and offer enormous options to develop novel DNA-based pharmaceuticals for liver disorders in near future

MANAGEMENT OF AMAVATA (RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS) WITH YOGA THERAPY

Amavata may be simulated with Rheumatoid arthritis on the basis of clinical manifestation and pathogenesis. In this clinical study, 43 Amavata (Rheumatoid arthritis) patients were registered from the O.P.D. of the Maharshi Patanjali Institute for Yoga Naturopathy Education and Research, Gujarat Ayurved University, Jamnagar. Among 43, 3 patients discontinued before completion of the treatment. Yoga therapy i.e. Prarthana (Prayer), Sutraneti, Jalaneti, Vaman (kunjal), Kapalbhati, Stretching and Rotations, Asana, Mudra, Pranayam, Relaxation with Dharana, Omkara & Shanti mantra were designed in the treatment of Amavata (Rheumatoid arthritis) patients for three weeks (21 days). The practice was performed on an empty stomach. In the clinical study, 60 % of the participants showed major improvement, 35% minor improvement and 5% no improvement. Complete remission was nil. No complication was found in the clinical study. Maximum participants were women whose age ranged between 30 to 50 years

IN VITRO EVALUATION OF LECTINIZED CISPLATIN BEARING LIPOSOMES SYSTEM

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the extent and mechanism anti-cancer drug-loaded liposomes using wheat germ agglutinin as a guiding molecule. Methods: For the drug-loaded liposome synthesis, the thin film hydration method was used and the drug cisplatin was loaded during the synthesis and followed by the surface modification using wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) lectin. The developed system was confirmed based on transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), particle size (PS) analyzer, polydispersity index and Zeta Potential analyzer. Results: The results showed the surface modified by liposomes had the particle size 200±5 nm. The wheat germ agglutinin coated on the surface to liposome led to a reduction in zeta potential and drug entrapment efficiency while particle size increased. Plain liposomes containing cisplatin had less effect than WGA modified liposome on MCF-7 cell lines. Conclusion: The MTT studies indicated that the drug molecules were initially get delivered to the inside the cell. This formulation offered new simple approach and effectively kill the cells via targeting the nucleus

Adsorption Behaviour of Diisopropyl Flourophosphate on Whetlerite Carbon

Breakthrough behaviour of diisopropyl florophosphate (DFP) vapour on whetlerite carbon has been studied by using modified wheeler equation. The kinetic saturation capacity and pseudo first order rate constant with respect to the effect of various parameters such as bed weight, flow rate, concentration and temperature were correlated. The results of this study indicate that breakthrough time is increased with increase of the bed weight of carbon. Rate constant value increases as flow rate increases, while kinetic saturation capacity value is invariable.Defence Science Journal, 2013, 63(5), pp.473-477, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.63.251

Genome-wide characterization, molecular evolution and mexpression profiling of the metacaspases in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Metacaspases are distant relatives of animal caspases found in plants, protozoa and fungi. Some recent studies have demonstrated that metacaspases are involved in regulating the developmental and environmentally induced programmed cell death in plants. In this study, we identified metacaspase gene family in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) and analyzed their expression pattern in various developmental tissues and stress responses of plants. There were eight metacaspase genes identified in the Peptidase (Cysteine protease) C14 family and based upon sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis, a systematic nomenclature of potato metacaspases (SotubMCs) has been proposed. Three of the eight candidate genes showing homology with Arabidopsis thaliana type I metacaspase, AtMC1 were given name SotubMC1, SotubMC2 and SotubMC3 as per the degree of relatedness. Similarly, the next three being homologous to A. thaliana type I metacaspase, AtMC3 were named SotubMC4, SotubMC5, and SotubMC6. The remaining two were named SotubMC7 and SotubMC8, showing significant similarity with type II metacaspases of A. thaliana, AtMC4 and AtMC9, respectively. Evolutionary divergence analysis of SotubMCs from its orthologs in seven other members of Solanaceae family as well as with A. thaliana, Vitis vinifera and Oryza sativa was also carried out. The dN/dS ratios of the orthologous pairs suggested the SotubMCs were under purifying (negative) selection in course of plant evolution. Splicing patterns of potato metacaspases were also analyzed. Amongst all SotubMCs, SotubMC2, SotubMC4, SotubMC6 and SotubMC7 genes appeared to produce multiple alternative spliced variants of different lengths. Furthermore using protein modeling tools, we have predicted the protein structure of identified metacaspases. The cis-regulatory elements analysis was also performed exhibiting the presence of development, stress and hormones related cis-elements in the promoter regions of the SotubMCs. This indicates that potato metacaspases might be playing important roles in the development, stress and hormone responsive pathways. Moreover, relative expression analysis of identified genes was carried out using qRT-PCR in various developmental tissues that also include stolons and tubers. The eight metacaspases showed differential expression in different tissues. Some of the tissues such as leaf undergoing senescence among different leaf developmental stages (immature, mature and senescent) displayed higher relative expression of some of the metacaspases, implying their involvement in leaf senescence. The expression pattern of SotubMCs under various abiotic, biotic and hormonal stresses was also analysed. The results showed that many members of the potato metacaspase gene family displayed differential expression patterns under various stress conditions. Taken together, the study could provide crucial resources for further investigations to understand the functional roles of the identified metacaspases in potato

Development and Characterization of Core Shell Nanoparticle for Enhanced Drug Delivery to Treat Solid Tumor: Preparation and In-Vitro Assessment

Mortalities from cancer in the world are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 9 million and 11.4 million people dying from cancer in 2015 and 2030, respectively. Rates are rising as more people live to an old age and as mass lifestyle changes occur in the developing world. With present treating regimen for cancer, dose-limited toxicity is a big reason that reduces the efficacy of cancer treatments. In search for more effective cancer treatments, nanosized drug delivery systems, those are capable of delivering their drug payload selectively to cancer cells such as nanoparticles, solid lipid nanoparticles, liposomes are among the most promising approaches. Core shell nanoparticles are one of the investigated moieties in recent years that are seeking much attention nowadays for biomedical applications including the field of oncology.The present work aims at developing a core shell nanoparticle comprising Poly (D, L –lactide –co –glycolide) (PLGA) core and polyethyleneimine (PEI) shell loaded with anticancer bioactive docetaxel (DTX) for passive targeting of the tumor tissue. It is expected that incorporation of PEI will improve the uptake and subsequent release of the drug in the cytosol due to endosomal escape phenomenon. Keywords: Solid tumor; nanotechnology; nanoparticle; PLG

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MIGRATING A CODE FROM A FIRST FORMAT TO A SECOND FORMAT

The present disclosure relates to a migration tool to convert a code in a first format to a code in a second format. The source code received can be from a user (108) or from a database (106). The input code is said to be in the first format. An Abstract Syntax tree (AST) of the code in the first format is generated by a system (104) by parsing the code. A modified AST is generated based on the AST of the code in the first format. A code in the second format is generated from the modified AST