Efficacy of Curcumin in the Treatment of Advanced Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Compared to Sole Gemcitabine Chemotherapy

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a leading cause of cancer death in both men and women. Due to the difficulty of diagnosing this malignancy until it has progressed to an advanced stage, treatment is often difficult, expensive and ineffective. The first line treatment for PDAC is Gemcitabine chemotherapy. However, due to its extensive side effect profile and the early chemo-resistance the PDAC cells develop against Gemcitabine, the need for alternative therapeutic methods to manage treatment is necessary. Therefore, this review analyzes if in individuals with advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [P], does the addition of curcumin with the standard Gemcitabine chemotherapy [I] provide reduction in disease progression without causing additional adverse reactions [O] when compared to sole Gemcitabine chemotherapy [C]

Investigating the formation of functional and smart materials by nanospinning and other spinning techniques

Functional, smart fibres and fibres with different morphologies have been produced from different materials using different spinning methods. The effect of processing parameters on different nano fibre morphologies was studied by SEM. The spinning solution properties such as viscosity, surface tension, conductivity, UV-visible spectra were studied. The fibres were characterised by DSC, FTIR, XRD, strength test. Antibacterial, hygroscopic, humectant Manuka honey (MH) functional nanofibres have been produced successfully by single needle electrospinning (SNE) using polyethylene oxide (PEO) as matrix. Electrospinning parameters such as higher feed rate, higher proportion of MH, lower applied voltage, lower needle to collector distance produced merged, thicker, flat 15% (wt/wt) MHPEO nanofibres and vice versa. 15%MHPEO fibres of diameters from 0.198μm to 0.924μm were produced using different parameters. The 50% and 65% (wt) MHPEO mats showed antibacterial property. DSC result showed reduction in melting temperature as the MH proportion increased. FTIR results showed respective peaks for MH and PEO. MHPEO nanofibres can be used for medical end use such as wound healing. Ethyl cellulose (EC) nanofibres have been successfully electrospun using different combination of toluene and ethanol (0:100, 40:60, 50:50, 60:40,100:0) as solvent by SNE. Round and elongated bead on string to smooth bead-less 15% (wt/wt)EC fibres produced as proportion of toluene increased in the solvent mixture. Thin, bead-less fibres were obtained by 60:40 (toluene: ethanol) with average fibre diameters ranging from 0.483μm to 0.631μm. EC nanofibres have been also produced by high output bubble electrospinning (BE) method. EC fibres of diameters from 0.188μm to 0.41μm were produced by BE. Comparison between effect of electorspinning parameters on fibre revealed that the fibre morphologies followed different trends in SNE and BE. The beaded structure can be used for loading drugs in advanced medical textiles and smooth bead-less fibrous mat can be used for application such as filtration. In order to develop thermochromic (smart) nanofibres by meltelectrospinning, thermochromic polypropylene fibres have been developed by meltspinning. The pure polypropylene and thermochromic. DSC and FTIR results showed separate peaks for the thermochromic effect and for the polypropylene. SEM images verified the presence of thermochromic pigments. Thermochromic filaments can be used in garment fashion, or as sensors in yarn or fabric form

Thermal comfort in UK Homes: how suitable is the PMV approach as a prediction tool?

This thesis presents a body of work conducted in the field of domestic thermal comfort. The aim of this research was to determine the suitability of the Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) index in homes within the UK. Two field studies were conducted with a sample of participants living in owner occupied properties in a UK city (London) and a UK provincial town (Loughborough). Research findings indicate that the PMV is indeed a good predictor of thermal sensation in homes when conditions are steady state and people are engaged in near-sedentary activities. When conditions are not steady state and people are engaged in a variety of household activities, the accuracy of the PMV index can be improved by using a metabolic rate coefficient of 1.7. Further research work is required to ascertain this and likewise the range of applicability of the Adaptive Model

Project CALEBRE: Consumer Appealing Low Energy technologies for Building REtrofitting: a summary of the project and its findings

Project CALEBRE ‘Consumer-Appealing Low Energy technologies for Building REtrofitting’ (October 2008 – April 2013) was a £2 million E.ON / RCUK-funded research project comprising a partnership of six leading UK universities, and supported by a Project Advisory Board. Our aim was to contribute to addressing the challenge of reducing UK domestic energy demand and carbon emissions. With our focus largely on solid-wall, ‘hard to heat, hard to treat’ dwellings, we investigated a selection of current, medium and longer-term technologies for domestic energy efficiency refurbishment, with householder perspectives at the heart of our thinking. We approached this from a multi-disciplinary perspective, encompassing a range of techniques that included laboratory testing, simulation modelling, test house field trials and user engagement methods

Design and fabrication of an instrument to evaluate characteristics of fluid handling capacity of wound care dressings

A novel instrument has been developed to determine the fluid handling capacity of different types of wound dressings, irrespective of their structure and composition. The instrument is developed with custom built wound bed/plate with specially designed path to control the amount and flow rate of wound exudates, simulating the actual wound alike conditions. The instrument has provision to apply compression / pressure over wound dressing while testing to similar realtime compression / pressure applied on wound dressing. The study was carried out using different types of commercially available wound dressings. It is found that the developed instrument is able to test different types of dressings effectively for fluid handling capacity. The results obtained by new instrument are found comparable with the existing methods. The existing methods give only single value of fluid handling capacity at the defined hour as compared to the new instrument which gives online continuous results from zero to 48 h. This real time data may be useful for defining the effectiveness of dressings at a particular time interval. The data obtained from the instrument can also be used to know the saturation point and change with time for a particular dressing. The repeatability of results are also proven. Also the instrument is able to test fluid handling capacity of dressings with and without pressure

Measured winter and spring-time indoor temperatures in UK homes over the period 1969-2010: A review and synthesis

This paper presents a review and synthesis of average winter and spring-time indoor temperatures in UK homes measured over the period 1969-2010. Analysis of measured temperatures in a sample of solid wall dwellings in the UK, conducted as part of the CALEBRE research project, is included. The review suggests that, for periods when occupation was likely, there has been little or no increase in winter and spring-time average living room temperatures over the last 40 years, with average recorded living room temperatures having been historically lower than the WHO-recommended value of 21. °C. Correspondingly, for periods of likely occupation, average bedroom temperatures appear to have increased. Compared with non-domestic buildings, there have been fewer investigations of domestic thermal comfort, either in the UK or elsewhere, and hence the paper also calls for further detailed investigations of domestic indoor temperatures during occupied hours together with thermal comfort evaluations in order to better understand domestic thermal environments. Based on suggestions from the limited range of studies available to date, living room temperatures may need to be maintained within the range 20-22. °C for thermal satisfaction, though this requires confirmation through further research. The study also emphasises that improving the energy efficiency of homes should be the primary means to effect any increases in indoor temperatures that are deemed essential. Considerations for future policy are discussed. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd

Design data for the 3D printer modification to print gels and pastes and the corresponding firmware

In order to deposit gel and paste-like materials, a commercially available HICTOP Prusa i3 plastic 3D printer was modified. The modification included replacing the existing plastic microextruder with a customised 3D printed syringe pump which could hold a syringe containing the printing material. The arrangement also allowed the temperature in the syringe to be controlled. Since the hardware of the printer was changed significantly, a new firmware was loaded on the 3D printer which was customised to enable it to perform its new function.The present data consists of the 3D image files of the syringe pump assembly and instructions on how to assemble the components. It also provides a copy of the modified firmware with a list of the changes made to it.This data will allow the readers to modify a similar type of 3D printer to print pastes and gels. This can be achieved by recreating the entire syringe pump assembly by 3D printing the given 3D image file data. With some changes, these designs can also be adapted to a variety of different printers. Similarly, the given firmware can also be loaded onto a similar type of printer. The list and explanation of the changes made to the firmware also allow such changes to be made to the respective firmwares of a variety of different printers

Identifying a suitable method for studying thermal comfort in people’s homes

In the UK, domestic buildings are responsible for a significant amount of overall carbon emissions from buildings. Together with improving the energy efficiency of the existing domestic stock, an in-depth understanding of thermal comfort in homes is necessary to ensure that acceptable levels of thermal comfort are maintained whilst energy use is being reduced. Currently, there is limited knowledge on domestic thermal comfort in the UK as, compared to non-domestic buildings, conducting thermal comfort studies in homes is challenging. Detailed thermal comfort studies are usually considered to be intrusive in domestic environments. Is it therefore possible to conduct thermal comfort studies that are less intrusive and yet scientifically rigorous? With a view to address this question, the study presented in this paper undertook a comparison of two data collection methods. Data collected using a less-intrusive method, referred to as the ‘Silver standard’ was compared with the data collected using the ASHRAE/ISO recommended method (referred to as the ‘Gold standard’). A strong correlation was observed between PMV values obtained using the Silver Standard method and those obtained using the Gold Standard method. The findings suggest that the less-intrusive method devised and tested in this study provides reliable data for thermal comfort evaluations in homes. The findings also suggest that further work is necessary, particularly in winter conditions to comprehensively validate this non-intrusive method

Figure of eight suturing technique with fiber wire for patella fracture: a novel approach

Modified tension band wiring (TBW) is the most commonly used technique for the management of patella fractures. However, all patella fractures are not-amenable to TBW. Tension band wiring, inter-fragmentary screw fixation, and the combination of cerclage wiring and screw fixation are used for internal fixation of these fractures. Surgical treatment is recommended for fractures that either disrupt the extensor mechanism or have greater than 2 to 3 mm of step-off and greater than 1 to 4 mm of displacement. In this series, we present ten cases managed with open reduction and internal fixation with figure of eight suturing technique using fiber wire. This series included ten patients with fractured patella and managed with open reduction and internal fixation with Tension band wiring with fiber wire. Patient demographics, fracture type, time to union, functional outcome, and complications were recorded. Patients were followed up for minimum of 6 months. All fractures went on to unite with average fracture healing time of 13.8 weeks. Mean Lysholm score and Bostman score were 85 and 27 respectively. Nine patients had excellent to good outcomes. One patient had poor outcome because of knee stiffness. Open reduction and internal fixation with figure of eight suturing technique using fiber wire are an efficient method for the management of severely comminuted and multi-fragmentary patella fractures with minimum complications