Hydrogel on a Smart Nanomaterial Interface to Carry Therapeutics for Digitalized Glioma Treatment

Glioma is considered the primary brain tumor to cause brain illnesses, and it is difficult to treat and shows resistance to various routine therapeutics. The most common treatments to cure glioma are the surgical removal of tumors followed by adjuvant chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The latest biocompatible interfaces have been incorporated into therapeutic modalities such as the targeted delivery of drugs using hydrogels to treat and manage brain glioma. This review illustrates the applications of the multimodal hydrogel as the carrier of therapeutics, gene therapy, therapeutic tactics, and glioma devices. The scientific articles were retrieved from 2019 to 2022 on Google Scholar and the Scopus database and screened to determine whether they were suitable for review. The 20 articles that fit the study are summarized in this review. These studies indicated that the sizes of the hydrogel range from 28 nm to 500 nm. There are 16 out of 20 articles that also explain the post-surgical application of hydrogels, and 13 out of 20 articles are employed in 3D culture and other structural manifestations of hydrogels. The pros of the hydrogel include the quick formulation for a sufficient filling of irregular damage sites, solubilizing hydrophobic drugs, continuously slowing drug release, provision of a 3D cell growth environment, improving efficacy, targetability of soluble biomolecules, increasing patient compliance, and decreased side effects. The cons of the hydrogel include difficult real-time monitoring, genetic manipulations, the cumbersome synchronized release of components, and lack of safety data. The prospects of the hydrogel may include the development of electronic hydrogel sensors that can be used to enhance guidance for the precise targeting patterns using patient-specific pathological idiosyncrasies. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the precision medicine approaches that would aid in the early detection and management of solid brain tumors

Synergistic Anticancer Response of Curcumin and Piperine Loaded Lignin-g-p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) Gold Nanogels Against Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and commonly diag- 11 nosed brain cancer and presents a strong resistance to routine chemotherapeutic drugs. 12 The present study involves the synthesis of Lignin-g- p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) gold 13 nanogel, loaded with curcumin and piperine to treat GBM. The application has three 14 functions: (1) overcome the limitations of biodistribution, (2) enhance the toxicity of an- 15 ticancer drugs against GBM, (3) identify the uptake pathway. Atom transfer radical 16 polymerization was used to synthesize the Lignin-g-PNIPAM network, crosslinked with 17 the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to self-assemble into nanogels. The size distribution and 18 morphological analysis confirmed that the drug-loaded gold nanogels are spherical and 19 exist in the size of 180 nm. The single and combinatorial toxicity effects of curcumin and 20 piperine loaded Lignin-g- p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) gold nanogels were studied against 21 GBM cells. A cytotoxicity analysis against glioblastoma cells (U-251 MG) displayed an- 22 ticancer properties. IC50 of curcumin and piperine-loaded gold nanogels were recorded 23 at 30 μM and 35 μM respectively. Immunostaining analysis of the drug-loaded nanogel 24 treated cells shows that the F-actin induced cytoskeletal deformations result in the trig- 25 gering of caspase-3 apoptotic pathways. Kinetic drug release revealed the 86% release of 26 hybrid curcumin-piperine from nanogel after 250 mins at pH 4. Atomic absorption 27 spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the drug-loaded nanogels have better internaliza- 28 tion or association with the cancer cells than the GNPs or nanogels alone. Morphology 29 studies further confirmed that the curcumin and piperine nanogels penetrate the cells via 30 endocytic pathways and induce caspase-3 related apoptosis. The experimental evidence 31 shows the enhanced synergistic properties of combinatorial curcumin-piperine gold 32 nanogels (IC 50 : 21 μM) to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapeutic 33 treatments of glioma cells

Enhanced Anticancer Response of Curcumin- and Piperine-Loaded Lignin-g-p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) Gold Nanogels against U-251 MG Glioblastoma Multiforme

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive and commonly diagnosed brain cancer and is highly resistant to routine chemotherapeutic drugs. The present study involves the synthesis of Lignin-g-p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) gold nanogel, loaded with curcumin and piperine, to treat GBM. The ongoing study has the application potential to (1) overcome the limitations of drugs biodistribution, (2) enhance the toxicity of anticancer drugs against GBM, and (3) identify the drugs uptake pathway. Atom transfer radical polymerization was used to synthesize the Lignin-g-PNIPAM network, crosslinked with the gold nanoparticles (GNPs) to self-assemble into nanogels. The size distribution and morphological analysis confirmed that the drug-loaded gold nanogels are spherical and exist in the size of 180 nm. The single and combinatorial toxicity effects of curcumin- and piperine-loaded Lignin-g-p (NIPAM-co-DMAEMA) gold nanogels were studied against U-251 MG GBM cells. A cytotoxicity analysis displayed anticancer properties. IC50 of curcumin- and piperine-loaded gold nanogels were recorded at 30 μM and 35 μM, respectively. Immunostaining and Western blot analysis confirmed the protein expression of caspase-3 and cleaved caspase-3 in cells treated with drug-loaded nanogels. Kinetic drug release revealed 86% release of hybrid curcumin–piperine from gold nanogel after 250 min at pH 4. Atomic absorption spectroscopic analysis confirmed that the drug-loaded nanogels have better internalization or association with the cancer cells than the GNPs or nano-gels alone. Morphological studies further confirmed that the curcumin and piperine nanogels penetrate the cells via endocytic pathways and induce caspase-3-related apoptosis. The experimental evidence shows the enhanced properties of combinatorial curcumin–piperine gold nanogels (IC50: 21 μM) to overcome the limitations of conventional chemotherapeutic treatments of glioma cells

Limits of Detection of Mycotoxins by Laminar Flow Strips: A Review

Mycotoxins are secondary metabolic products of fungi. They are poisonous, carcinogenic, and mutagenic in nature and pose a serious health threat to both humans and animals, causing severe illnesses and even death. Rapid, simple and low-cost methods of detection of mycotoxins are of immense importance and in great demand in the food and beverage industry, as well as in agriculture and environmental monitoring, and, for this purpose, lateral flow immunochromatographic strips (ICSTs) have been widely used in food safety and environmental monitoring. The literature to date describing the development of ICSTs for the detection of different types of mycotoxins using different nanomaterials, nanoparticle size, and replicates was reviewed in an attempt to identify the most important determinants of the limit of detection (LOD). It is found that the particle size and type of materials contribute significantly to determining the LOD. The nanoparticle sizes used in most studies have been in the range 15–45 nm and gold nanoparticle-based ICSTs have been shown to exhibit the lowest LOD. Perspectives for potential future development to reduce the LODs of ICSTs are also discussed

Combining Electrochemical Nitrate Reduction and Anammox for Treatment of Nitrate-Rich Wastewater: A Short Review

Treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater is important but challenging for the conventional biological denitrification process. Here, we propose combining the electrochemical reduction and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) processes together for treatment of nitrate-rich wastewater. This article reviews the mechanism and current research status of electrochemical reduction of nitrate to ammonium as well as the mechanism and applicability of the anammox process. This article discusses the principles, superiorities, and challenges of this combined process. The feasibility of the combined process depends on the efficiency of electrochemical nitrate reduction to ammonium and the conditions in the anammox process to use the reduced ammonium as the substrate to achieve deep nitrogen removal. The article provides a feasible strategy for using the electrochemical reduction and anammox combined process to treat nitrate-rich wastewater

Analysis of internal flow characteristics and entropy generation of low head bulb tubular pump

To study the internal flow characteristics and energy characteristics of a large bulb perfusion pump. Based on the CFX software of the ANSYS platform, the steady calculation of the three-dimensional model of the pump device is carried out. The numerical simulation results obtained by SST k-ω and RNG k-ε turbulence models are compared with the experimental results. Finally, SST k-ω is selected for subsequent calculation. With the help of the flow line diagram and turbulent kinetic energy table of the whole flow channel of the pump device, the flow components of the pump device under different working conditions are analyzed, and the pressure and velocity distribution at the impeller and guide vane are analyzed by pressure cloud diagram and velocity cloud diagram. It is found that there are three high-pressure areas in the impeller and guide vane section, and the high-pressure regions are mainly distributed in the middle of the impeller channel. As the head decreases, the pressure at the impeller and guide vane positions decreases gradually, and the flow rate increases. Based on the entropy production principle, the wall entropy production and the distribution of mainstream entropy production at the impeller and guide vane parts are analyzed

Quantitative identification of complexity of microscopic fracture structure of coal seam floor composite rock layer

Under mining conditions, the micro crack structure of the composite strata of the coal seam floor affects the uplift and seepage of the groundwater in the underlying high water pressure aquifer, and its complexity is of great significance for the prediction and early warning of the water disaster in the coal seam floor. In this paper, a total of 57 groups of rock samples extracted from three adjacent mines in the east of Pingdingshan Coalfield are taken as the object. Based on the comprehensive information of SEM image acquisition and N2 adsorption test, the fissure ratio of rock stratum area, equivalent crack diameter of rock stratum, fractal dimension value of fissure area, specific surface area, crevice volume and its fractal dimension are the main controlling factors. Using entropy weighted TOPSIS mathematical model, the complexity of the micro fracture structure of the composite rock stratum between the Ji16-17 coal seam and the Cambrian limestone top interface is quantitatively evaluated. The results show that the micro crack structure of the composite strata in the floor of the Ji16-17 coal seam is very simple, simple, medium, complex and extremely complex, accounting for 25.00%, 21.43%, 39.29%, 7.14% and 7.14% respectively. The micro crack structure of the composite strata in the study section is relatively uncomplicated; Compared with the four rock sections, the order of the quantitative mean value of the complexity of the rock stratum micro fracture structure is: L1−L2 limestone section>L5−L7 limestone section>sandstone section>bauxite mudstone section. The complexity of the rock stratum micro fracture structure better reflects the development of the rock stratum fracture. The paper considers the coupling effect of multiple factors on the composite rock stratum, realizes the quantitative classification and zoning discrimination of the micro crack structure in the vertical section of the composite rock stratum, which is of great significance for accurately describing the aquifer performance of the composite rock stratum in the coal seam floor and scientifically guiding the prevention and control of the water hazard in the coal seam floor

Th17/Treg Cells Imbalance and GITRL Profile in Patients with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis

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Probing the Galactic halo with RR Lyrae stars -- IV. On the Oosterhoff dichotomy of RR Lyrae stars

We use 3653 (2661 RRab, 992 RRc) RR Lyrae stars (RRLs) with 7D (3D position, 3D velocity, and metallicity) information selected from SDSS, LAMOST, and Gaia EDR3, and divide the sample into two Oosterhoff groups (Oo I and Oo II) according to their amplitude-period behaviour in the Bailey Diagram. We present a comparative study of these two groups based on chemistry, kinematics, and dynamics. We find that Oo I RRLs are relatively more metal rich, with predominately radially dominated orbits and large eccentricities, while Oo II RRLs are relatively more metal poor, and have mildly radially dominated orbits. The Oosterhoff dichotomy of the Milky Way's halo is more apparent for the inner-halo region than for the outer-halo region. Additionally, we also search for this phenomenon in the halos of the two largest satellite galaxies, the Large and Small Magellanic clouds (LMC, SMC), and compare over different bins in metallicity. We find that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is not immutable, and varies based on position in the Galaxy and from galaxy-to-galaxy. We conclude that the Oosterhoff dichotomy is the result of a combination of stellar and galactic evolution, and that it is much more complex than the dichotomy originally identified in Galactic globular clusters