Search results for: cancer cell apoptosis
3214 MAFB Expression in LPS-Induced Exosomes: Revealing the Connection to sepsis-trigerred Hepatic Injury
Authors: Gizaw Mamo Gebeyehu, Marianna Pap, Geza Makkai, Tibor Z. Janosi, Shima Rashidian, Tibor A. Rauch
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Sepsis poses a significant global health threat, necessitating extensive exploration of indicators tied to its pathological mechanisms and multi-organ dysfunction. While murine studies have shed light on sepsis, the intricate cellular and molecular landscape in human sepsis remains enigmatic. Exploring the influence of activated monocyte-derived exosomes in sepsis sheds light on a promising pathway for understanding the intricate cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in this condition in humans. In sepsis, exosome-borne mRNA and miRNA orchestrate immune response gene expression in recipient cells. Yet, the specifics of exosome-mediated cell-to-cell communication, especially how mRNA cargoes modulate gene expression in recipient cells, remain poorly understood. This study aims to elucidate the precise molecular pathways through which exosomal mRNA cargo, particularly MAFB, contributes to the developing sepsis-induced molecular aberrations in liver tissues, employing rigorously defined cell culture conditions. THP-1 cells were treated with LPS to induce changes in exosomal RNA profiles. Exosomes were isolated and characterized using microscopy and mass spectrometry. RNA was extracted from exosomes and sequenced. The most abundant exosomal mRNAs were subjected to GO analysis for functional annotation analysis and KEGG database analysis to identify the involved enriched pathways. PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), RNA sequencing, and Western blotting were involved to analyze changes in gene expression, protein levels, and signaling pathways within the liver cells( HepG2) after exposure to exosomal MAFB. This study pinpoints exosomal MAFB as a potential key regulator linked to liver cell damage during sepsis, along with associated genes (miR155HG, H3F3A, and possibly JARD2) forming a crucial molecular pathway contributing to liver cell injury, Together, these elements indicate a vital molecular pathway that plays a significant role in the emergence of liver cell injury during sepsis.. These findings suggest the importance of further research on these components for potential therapeutic interventions in managing acute liver damage in sepsis.Keywords: sepsis, exososome, exosomal MAFB, LPS-induced THP-1 cells, RNA profiles, sepsis-triggered liver injury
Procedia PDF Downloads 643213 Insect Inducible Methanol Production in Plants for Insect Resistance
Authors: Gourav Jain, Sameer Dixit, Surjeet Kumar Arya, Praveen C. Verma
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Plant cell wall plays a major role in defence mechanism against biotic and abiotic stress as it constitutes the physical barrier between the microenvironment and internal component of the cell. It is a complex structure composed of mostly carbohydrates among which cellulose and hemicelluloses are most abundant that is embedded in a matrix of pectins and proteins. Multiple enzymes have been reported which plays a vital role in cell wall modification, Pectin Methylesterase (PME) is one of them which catalyses the demethylesterification of homogalacturonans component of pectin which releases acidic pectin and methanol. As emitted methanol is toxic to the insect pest, we use PME gene for the better methanol production. In the current study we showed overexpression of PME gene isolated from Withania somnifera under the insect inducible promoter causes enhancement of methanol production at the time of insect feeds to plants, and that provides better insect resistance property. We found that the 85-90% mortality causes by transgenic tobacco in both chewing (Spodoptera litura larvae and Helicoverpa armigera) and sap-sucking (Aphid, mealybug, and whitefly) pest. The methanol content and emission level were also enhanced by 10-15 folds at different inducible time point interval (15min, 30min, 45min, 60min) which would be analysed by Purpald/Alcohol Oxidase method.Keywords: methanol, Pectin methylesterase, inducible promoters, Purpald/Alcohol oxidase
Procedia PDF Downloads 2443212 Impact of Glaucoma Surgery on Corneal Endothelium
Authors: Majid Moshirfar, Kyle Margulies, Yasmyne C. Ronquillo, Phillip Hoopes
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A total of 66 articles were reviewed to compare glaucoma and its associated surgeries' effect on central corneal endothelium cell density (CECD). The paper reports the average reported central CECD loss at 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-month post-operation for each glaucoma surgery. ALT, MLT, SLT, CS AGV, VC BGI, Hydrus + phaco, XEN gel + phaco, PRESERFLO, Dual iStent, or Trabectome had no significant impact on postoperative CECD compared to either preoperative CECD or control group CECD. The highest CECD loss was found to be EXPRESS-phaco, AC AGV, CS BGI, CS BGI, AC BGI, and AC BGI at the 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-month follow-ups, respectively. AC AGV, Trab + MMC, Trab, AC BGI, Trab + MMC, Cypass, and Cypass showed the smallest reduction of CECD at the 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-, 36-, 48-, and 60-month follow-ups.Keywords: glaucoma, corneal endothelium, cell density, surgery outcome
Procedia PDF Downloads 993211 Voltage Polarity in Electrospinning: Way to Control Surface Properties of Polymer Fibers
Authors: Urszula Stachewicz
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Surface properties of materials are the key parameter in many applications, especially in the biomedical field, to control cell-material interactions. In our work, we want to achieve the controllability of surface properties of polymer fibers via a single-step electrospinning process by alternating voltage polarities. Voltage polarity defines the charge accumulated on the surface of the liquid jet and the surface of the fibers. Positive polarity attracts negatively charged groups to fibers’ surface, whereas negative polarity moves the negatively charged functional groups away from the surface. This way, we can control the surface chemistry, wettability, and additionally surface potential of electrospun fibers. Within our research, we characterized surface chemistry using X-ray photoelectron microscopy (XPS) and surface potential with Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) on electrospun fibers of commonly used polymers such as PCL, PVDF, and PMMA, often used as biomaterials. We proved the significant effect of fibers' surface potential on cell integration with the scaffolds and further cells development for the regeneration processes based on the osteoblast and fibroblast culture studies. Acknowledgments: The study was conducted within ‘Nanofiber-based sponges for atopic skin treatment’ project, which is carried out within the First TEAM programme of the Foundation for Polish Science co-financed by the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund, project no POIR.04.04.00-00- 4571/18-00.Keywords: cell attachment, fibers, fibroblasts, osteoblast, proliferation, surface potential
Procedia PDF Downloads 1183210 High Productivity Fed-Batch Process for Biosurfactant Production for Enhanced Oil Recovery Applications
Authors: G. A. Amin, A. D. Al-Talhi
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The bacterium B. subtilis produced surfactin in conventional batch culture as a growth associated product and a growth rate (0.4 h-1). A fed-batch process was developed and the fermentative substrate and other nutrients were fed on hourly basis and according to the growth rate of the bacterium. Conversion of different quantities of Maldex-15 into surfactin was investigated in five different fermentation runs. In all runs, most of Maldex-15 was consumed and converted into surfactin and cell biomass with appreciable efficiencies. The best results were obtained with fermentation run supplied with 200 g Maldex-15. Up to 35.4 g.l-1 of surfactin and cell biomass of 30.2 g.l-1 were achieved in 12 hrs. Also, markedly substrate yield of 0.269 g/g and volumetric reactor productivity of 2.61 g.1-1.h-1 were obtained confirming the establishment of a cost effective commercial surfactin production.Keywords: Bacillus subtilis, biosurfactant, exponentially fed-batch fermentation, surfactin
Procedia PDF Downloads 5323209 Multi-Classification Deep Learning Model for Diagnosing Different Chest Diseases
Authors: Bandhan Dey, Muhsina Bintoon Yiasha, Gulam Sulaman Choudhury
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Chest disease is one of the most problematic ailments in our regular life. There are many known chest diseases out there. Diagnosing them correctly plays a vital role in the process of treatment. There are many methods available explicitly developed for different chest diseases. But the most common approach for diagnosing these diseases is through X-ray. In this paper, we proposed a multi-classification deep learning model for diagnosing COVID-19, lung cancer, pneumonia, tuberculosis, and atelectasis from chest X-rays. In the present work, we used the transfer learning method for better accuracy and fast training phase. The performance of three architectures is considered: InceptionV3, VGG-16, and VGG-19. We evaluated these deep learning architectures using public digital chest x-ray datasets with six classes (i.e., COVID-19, lung cancer, pneumonia, tuberculosis, atelectasis, and normal). The experiments are conducted on six-classification, and we found that VGG16 outperforms other proposed models with an accuracy of 95%.Keywords: deep learning, image classification, X-ray images, Tensorflow, Keras, chest diseases, convolutional neural networks, multi-classification
Procedia PDF Downloads 923208 Electro-Winning of Dilute Solution of Copper Metal from Sepon Mine, Lao PDR
Authors: S. Vasailor, C. Rattanakawin
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Electro-winning of copper metal from dilute sulfate solution (13.7 g/L) was performed in a lab electrolytic cell with stainless-steel cathode and lead-alloy anode. The effects of various parameters including cell voltage, electro-winning temperature and time were studied in order to acquire an appropriate current efficiency of copper deposition. The highest efficiency is about 95% obtaining from electro-winning condition of 3V, 55°C and 3,600 s correspondingly. The cathode copper with 95.5% Cu analyzed using atomic absorption spectrometry can be obtained from this single-winning condition. In order to increase the copper grade, solvent extraction should be used to increase the sulfate concentration, say 50 g/L, prior to winning the cathode copper effectively.Keywords: copper metal, current efficiency, dilute sulfate solution, electro-winning
Procedia PDF Downloads 1383207 The Regulation of the Pro-inflammatory Cytokine Interleukin 6 (IL6) by Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
Authors: Liu Xiaohan
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Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a human herpesvirus and is closely related to many malignancies of lymphocyte and epithelial origins, such as gastric cancer, Burkitt’s lymphoma, and nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). NPC is a malignant epithelial tumor which is 100% associated with EBV latent infection. Most of the NPC cases are densely populated in southern China, especially in Guangdong and Hong Kong. To our knowledge, overexpression of pro-inflammatory cytokines may result in a loss of balance of the immune system and cause damage to human bodies. Interleukin-6 (IL6) is a pro-inflammatory cytokine which plays an important role in tumor progression. In addition, gene expression is regulated by both transcriptional and post-transcriptional pathways, while post-transcriptional regulation is an important mechanism to modulate the mature mRNA level in mammalian cells. AU-rich element binding factor 1 (AUF1)/heterogeneous nuclear RNP D (hnRNP D) is known for its function in destabilizing mRNAs, including cytokines and cell cycle regulators. Previous studies have found that overexpression of hnRNP D would lead to tumorigenesis. In this project, our aim is to determine the role played by hnRNP D in EBV-infected cells and how our anti-EBV agents can affect the function of hnRNP D. The results of this study will provide a new insight into how the pro-inflammatory cytokine expression can be regulated by EBV.Keywords: interleukin 6 (IL6), epstein-barr virus (EBV), nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC, epstein-barr nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA1)
Procedia PDF Downloads 623206 The Breast Surgery Movement: A 50 Year Development of the Surgical Specialty
Authors: Lauren Zammerilla Westcott, Ronald C. Jones, James W. Fleshman
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The surgical treatment of breast cancer has rapidly evolved over the past 50 years, progressing from Halsted’s radical mastectomy to a public campaign of surgical options, aesthetic reconstruction, and patient empowerment. This article examines the happenings that led to the transition of breast surgery as a subset of general surgery to its own specialized field. Sparked by the research of Dr. Bernard Fisher and the first National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project trial in 1971, the field of breast surgery underwent significant growth over the next several decades, enabling general surgeons to limit their practices to the breast. High surgical volumes eventually led to the development of the first formal breast surgical oncology fellowship in a large community-based hospital at Baylor University Medical Center in 1982. The establishment of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, as well several landmark clinical trials and public campaign efforts, further contributed to the advancement of breast surgery, making it the specialized field of the current era.Keywords: breast cancer, breast fellowship, breast surgery, surgical history
Procedia PDF Downloads 1333205 Changed Behavior of the Porcine Hemagglutinating Encephalomyelitis Virus (Betacoronavirus) in Respiratory Epithelial Cells
Authors: Ateeqa Aslam, Hans J. Nauwynck
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Porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV) is a betacoronavirus that has been studied in the past as a cause of vomiting and wasting disease (VWD) in young piglets (<3 weeks). Nowadays, the virus is still circulating on most farms in Belgium, but there are no descriptions anymore of VWD. Therefore, we are interested in differences between the old and new strains. We compared the replication kinetics of the old well-studied strain VW572 (1972) and the recent isolate P412 (2020) in a susceptible continuous cell line (RPD cells) and in primary porcine respiratory epithelial cells (PoRECs). The RPD cell line was inoculated with each PHEV strain at an m.o.i. of 1 the supernatant was collected, and the cells were fixed at different time points post-inoculation. The supernatant was titrated (extracellular virus titer), and the infected cells were revealed by immunofluorescence staining and quantitated by fluorescence microscopy. We found that VW572 replicated better in the RPD cell line at earlier time points when compared to P412. Porcine respiratory epithelial cells (PoREC) were isolated, grown at air-liquid interphase in transwells and inoculated with both strains of PHEV at a virus titer of 106.6TCID50 per 200 µl either at the apical side or at the basal side of the cells. At different time points after inoculation, the transwells were fixed and stained for infected cells. VW572 preferentially infected the epithelial cells via the basolateral side of porcine nasal epithelial cells, whereas P412 preferred the apical side. These findings suggest that there has been an evolution of PHEV in its interaction with the respiratory epithelial cells. In the future, more virus strains will be enclosed and the tropism of the strains for different neuronal cell types will be examined for the change in virus neurotropism.Keywords: porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV), primary porcine respiratory epithelial cells (PoRECs), virus tropism, vomiting and wasting disease (VWD)
Procedia PDF Downloads 593204 Inhibition of Glutamate Carboxypeptidase Activity Protects Retinal Ganglionic Cell Death Induced by Ischemia-Reperfusion by Reducing the Astroglial Activation in Rat
Authors: Dugeree Otgongerel, Kyong Jin Cho, Yu-Han Kim, Sangmee Ahn Jo
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Excessive activation of glutamate receptor is thought to be involved in retinal ganglion cell (RGC) death after ischemia- reperfusion damage. Glutamate carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) is an enzyme responsible for the synthesis of glutamate. Several studies showed that inhibition of GCPII prevents or reduces cellular damage in brain diseases. Thus, in this study, we examined the expression of GCPII in rat retina and the role of GCPII in acute high IOP ischemia-reperfusion damage of eye by using a GCPII inhibitor, 2-(phosphonomethyl) pentanedioic acid (2-PMPA). Animal model of ischemia-reperfusion was induced by raising the intraocular pressure for 60 min and followed by reperfusion for 3 days. Rats were randomly divided into four groups: either intra-vitreous injection of 2-PMPA (11 or 110 ng per eye) or PBS after ischemia-reperfusion, 2-PMPA treatment without ischemia-reperfusion and sham-operated normal control. GCPII immunoreactivity in normal rat retina was detected weakly in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) and retinal ganglionic cell layer (RGL) and also inner plexiform layer (IPL) and outer plexiform layer (OPL) strongly where are co-stained with an anti-GFAP antibody, suggesting that GCPII is expressed mostly in Muller and astrocytes. Immunostaining with anti-BRN antibody showed that ischemia- reperfusion caused RGC death (31.5 %) and decreased retinal thickness in all layers of damaged retina, but the treatment of 2-PMPA twice at 0 and 48 hour after reperfusion blocked these retinal damages. GCPII level in RNFL layer was enhanced after ischemia-reperfusion but was blocked by PMPA treatment. This result was confirmed by western blot analysis showing that the level of GCPII protein after ischemia- reperfusion increased by 2.2- fold compared to control, but this increase was blocked almost completely by 110 ng PMPA treatment. Interestingly, GFAP immunoreactivity in the retina after ischemia- reperfusion followed by treatment with PMPA showed similar pattern to GCPII, increase after ischemia-reperfusion but reduction to the normal level by PMPA treatment. Our data demonstrate that increase of GCPII protein level after ischemia-reperfusion injury is likely to cause glial activation and/or retinal cell death which are mediated by glutamate, and GCPII inhibitors may be useful in treatment of retinal disorders in which glutamate excitotoxicity is pathogenic.Keywords: glutamate carboxypepptidase II, glutamate excitotoxicity, ischemia-reperfusion, retinal ganglion cell
Procedia PDF Downloads 3403203 Environmental and Toxicological Impacts of Glyphosate with Its Formulating Adjuvant
Authors: I. Székács, Á. Fejes, S. Klátyik, E. Takács, D. Patkó, J. Pomóthy, M. Mörtl, R. Horváth, E. Madarász, B. Darvas, A. Székács
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Environmental and toxicological characteristics of formulated pesticides may substantially differ from those of their active ingredients or other components alone. This phenomenon is demonstrated in the case of the herbicide active ingredient glyphosate. Due to its extensive application, this active ingredient was found in surface and ground water samples collected in Békés County, Hungary, in the concentration range of 0.54–0.98 ng/ml. The occurrence of glyphosate appeared to be somewhat higher at areas under intensive agriculture, industrial activities and public road services, but the compound was detected at areas under organic (ecological) farming or natural grasslands, indicating environmental mobility. Increased toxicity of the formulated herbicide product Roundup, compared to that of glyphosate was observed on the indicator aquatic organism Daphnia magna Straus. Acute LC50 values of Roundup and its formulating adjuvant Polyethoxylated Tallowamine (POEA) exceeded 20 and 3.1 mg/ml, respectively, while that of glyphosate (as isopropyl salt) was found to be substantially lower (690-900 mg/ml) showing good agreement with literature data. Cytotoxicity of Roundup, POEA and glyphosate has been determined on the neuroectodermal cell line, NE-4C measured both by cell viability test and holographic microscopy. Acute toxicity (LC50) of Roundup, POEA and glyphosate on NE-4C cells was found to be 0.013±0.002%, 0.017±0.009% and 6.46±2.25%, respectively (in equivalents of diluted Roundup solution), corresponding to 0.022±0.003 and 53.1±18.5 mg/ml for POEA and glyphosate, respectively, indicating no statistical difference between Roundup and POEA and 2.5 orders of magnitude difference between these and glyphosate. The same order of cellular toxicity seen in average cell area has been indicated under quantitative cell visualization. The results indicate that toxicity of the formulated herbicide is caused by the formulating agent, but in some parameters toxicological synergy occurs between POEA and glyphosate.Keywords: glyphosate, polyethoxylated tallowamine, Roundup, combined aquatic and cellular toxicity, synergy
Procedia PDF Downloads 3193202 Magneto-Luminescent Biocompatible Complexes Based on Alloyed Quantum Dots and Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles
Authors: A. Matiushkina, A. Bazhenova, I. Litvinov, E. Kornilova, A. Dubavik, A. Orlova
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Magnetic-luminescent complexes based on superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) have been recognized as a new class of materials that have high potential in modern medicine. These materials can serve for theranostics of oncological diseases, and also as a target agent for drug delivery. They combine the qualities characteristic of magnetic nanoparticles, that is, magneto-controllability and the ability to local heating under the influence of an external magnetic field, as well as phosphors, due to luminescence of which, for example, early tumor imaging is possible. The complexity of creating complexes is the energy transfer between particles, which quenches the luminescence of QDs in complexes with SPIONs. In this regard, a relatively new type of alloyed (CdₓZn₁₋ₓSeᵧS₁₋ᵧ)-ZnS QDs is used in our work. The presence of a sufficiently thick gradient semiconductor shell in alloyed QDs makes it possible to reduce the probability of energy transfer from QDs to SPIONs in complexes. At the same time, Forster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) is a perfect instrument to confirm the formation of complexes based on QDs and different-type energy acceptors. The formation of complexes in the aprotic bipolar solvent dimethyl sulfoxide is ensured by the coordination of the carboxyl group of the stabilizing QD molecule (L-cysteine) on the surface iron atoms of the SPIONs. An analysis of the photoluminescence (PL) spectra has shown that a sequential increase in the SPIONs concentration in the samples is accompanied by effective quenching of the luminescence of QDs. However, it has not confirmed the formation of complexes yet, because of a decrease in the PL intensity of QDs due to reabsorption of light by SPIONs. Therefore, a study of the PL kinetics of QDs at different SPIONs concentrations was made, which demonstrates that an increase in the SPIONs concentration is accompanied by a symbatic reduction in all characteristic PL decay times. It confirms the FRET from QDs to SPIONs, which indicates the QDs/SPIONs complex formation, rather than a spontaneous aggregation of QDs, which is usually accompanied by a sharp increase in the percentage of the QD fraction with the shortest characteristic PL decay time. The complexes have been studied by the magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy that allows one to estimate the response of magnetic material to the applied magnetic field and also can be useful to check SPIONs aggregation. An analysis of the MCD spectra has shown that the complexes have zero residual magnetization, which is an important factor for using in biomedical applications, and don't contain SPIONs aggregates. Cell penetration, biocompatibility, and stability of QDs/SPIONs complexes in cancer cells have been studied using HeLa cell line. We have found that the complexes penetrate in HeLa cell and don't demonstrate cytotoxic effect up to 25 nM concentration. Our results clearly demonstrate that alloyed (CdₓZn₁₋ₓSeᵧS₁₋ᵧ)-ZnS QDs can be successfully used in complexes with SPIONs reached new hybrid nanostructures, which combine bright luminescence for tumor imaging and magnetic properties for targeted drug delivery and magnetic hyperthermia of tumors. Acknowledgements: This work was supported by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russian Federation, goszadanie no. 2019-1080 and was financially supported by Government of Russian Federation, Grant 08-08.Keywords: alloyed quantum dots, magnetic circular dichroism, magneto-luminescent complexes, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles
Procedia PDF Downloads 1183201 Sickle Cell Disease: Review of Managements in Pregnancy and the Outcome in Ampang Hospital, Selangor
Authors: Z. Nurzaireena, K. Azalea, T. Azirawaty, S. Jameela, G. Muralitharan
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The aim of this study is the review of the management practices of sickle cell disease patients during pregnancy, as well as the maternal and neonatal outcome at Ampang Hospital, Selangor. The study consisted of a review of pregnant patients with sickle cell disease under follow up at the Hematology Clinic, Ampang Hospital over the last seven years to assess their management and maternal-fetal outcome. The results of the review show that Ampang Hospital is considered the public hematology centre for sickle cell disease and had successfully managed three pregnancies throughout the last seven years. Patients’ presentations, managements and maternal-fetal outcome were compared and reviewed for academic improvements. All three patients were seen very early in their pregnancy and had been given a regime of folic acid, antibiotics and thrombo-prophylactic drugs. Close monitoring of maternal and fetal well being was done by the hematologists and obstetricians. Among the patients, there were multiple admissions during the pregnancy for either a painful sickle cell bone crisis, haemolysis following an infection and anemia requiring phenotype- matched blood and exchange transfusions. Broad spectrum antibiotics coverage during and infection, hydration, pain management and venous-thrombolism prophylaxis were mandatory. The pregnancies managed to reach near term in the third trimester but all required emergency caesarean section for obstetric indications. All pregnancies resulted in live births with good fetal outcome. During post partum all were nursed closely in the high dependency units for further complications and were discharged well. Post partum follow up and contraception counseling was comprehensively given for future pregnancies. Sickle cell disease is uncommonly seen in the East, especially in the South East Asian region, yet more cases are seen in the current decade due to improved medical expertise and advance medical laboratory technologies. Pregnancy itself is a risk factor for sickle cell patients as increased thrombosis event and risk of infections can lead to multiple crisis, haemolysis, anemia and vaso-occlusive complications including eclampsia, cerebrovasular accidents and acute bone pain. Patients mostly require multiple blood product transfusions thus phenotype-matched blood is required to reduce the risk of alloimmunozation. Emphasizing the risks and complications in preconception counseling and establishing an ultimate pregnancy plan would probably reduce the risk of morbidity and mortality to the mother and unborn child. Early management for risk of infection, thromboembolic events and adequate hydration is mandatory. A holistic approach involving multidisciplinary team care between the hematologist, obstetricians, anesthetist, neonatologist and close nursing care for both mother and baby would ensure the best outcome. In conclusion, sickle cell disease by itself is a high risk medical condition and pregnancy would further amplify the risk. Thus, close monitoring with combine multidisciplinary care, counseling and educating the patients are crucial in achieving the safe outcome.Keywords: anaemia, haemoglobinopathies, pregnancy, sickle cell disease
Procedia PDF Downloads 2583200 Exploring the Relationship Between Helicobacter Pylori Infection and the Incidence of Bronchogenic Carcinoma
Authors: Jose R. Garcia, Lexi Frankel, Amalia Ardeljan, Sergio Medina, Ali Yasback, Omar Rashid
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Background: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) is a gram-negative, spiral-shaped bacterium that affects nearly half of the population worldwide and humans serve as the principal reservoir. Infection rates usually follow an inverse relationship with hygiene practices and are higher in developing countries than developed countries. Incidence varies significantly by geographic area, race, ethnicity, age, and socioeconomic status. H. pylori is primarily associated with conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as atrophic gastritis and duodenal peptic ulcers. Infection is also associated with an increased risk of carcinogenesis as there is evidence to show that H. pylori infection may lead to gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma. It is suggested that H. pylori infection may be considered as a systemic condition, leading to various novel associations with several different neoplasms such as colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and lung cancer, although further research is needed. Emerging evidence suggests that H. pylori infection may offer protective effects against Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a result of non-specific induction of interferon- γ (IFN- γ). Similar methods of enhanced immunity may affect the development of bronchogenic carcinoma due to the antiproliferative, pro-apoptotic and cytostatic functions of IFN- γ. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between Helicobacter pylori infection and the incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma. Methods: The data was provided by a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliant national database to evaluate the patients infected versus patients not infected with H. pylori using ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes. Access to the database was granted by the Holy Cross Health, Fort Lauderdale for the purpose of academic research. Standard statistical methods were used. Results:-Between January 2010 and December 2019, the query was analyzed and resulted in 163,224 in both the infected and control group, respectively. The two groups were matched by age range and CCI score. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.853% with 3,024 patients in the H. pylori group compared to 4.785% with 7,810 patients in the control group. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.367 (0.353 - 0.383) with a confidence interval of 95%. The two groups were matched by treatment and incidence of cancer, which resulted in a total of 101,739 patients analyzed after this match. The incidence of bronchogenic carcinoma was 1.929% with 1,962 patients in the H. pylori and treatment group compared to 4.618% with 4,698 patients in the control group with treatment. The difference was statistically significant (p < 2.22x10-16) with an odds ratio of 0.403 (0.383 - 0.425) with a confidence interval of 95%.Keywords: bronchogenic carcinoma, helicobacter pylori, lung cancer, pathogen-associated molecular patterns
Procedia PDF Downloads 1833199 Modified 'Perturb and Observe' with 'Incremental Conductance' Algorithm for Maximum Power Point Tracking
Authors: H. Fuad Usman, M. Rafay Khan Sial, Shahzaib Hamid
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The trend of renewable energy resources has been amplified due to global warming and other environmental related complications in the 21st century. Recent research has very much emphasized on the generation of electrical power through renewable resources like solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, etc. The use of the photovoltaic cell has become very public as it is very useful for the domestic and commercial purpose overall the world. Although a single cell gives the low voltage output but connecting a number of cells in a series formed a complete module of the photovoltaic cells, it is becoming a financial investment as the use of it fetching popular. This also reduced the prices of the photovoltaic cell which gives the customers a confident of using this source for their electrical use. Photovoltaic cell gives the MPPT at single specific point of operation at a given temperature and level of solar intensity received at a given surface whereas the focal point changes over a large range depending upon the manufacturing factor, temperature conditions, intensity for insolation, instantaneous conditions for shading and aging factor for the photovoltaic cells. Two improved algorithms have been proposed in this article for the MPPT. The widely used algorithms are the ‘Incremental Conductance’ and ‘Perturb and Observe’ algorithms. To extract the maximum power from the source to the load, the duty cycle of the convertor will be effectively controlled. After assessing the previous techniques, this paper presents the improved and reformed idea of harvesting maximum power point from the photovoltaic cells. A thoroughly go through of the previous ideas has been observed before constructing the improvement in the traditional technique of MPP. Each technique has its own importance and boundaries at various weather conditions. An improved technique of implementing the use of both ‘Perturb and Observe’ and ‘Incremental Conductance’ is introduced.Keywords: duty cycle, MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking), perturb and observe (P&O), photovoltaic module
Procedia PDF Downloads 1763198 Clinicopathological and Immunohistochemical Study of Ovarian Sex Cord-Stromal Tumors and Their Histological Mimics
Authors: Ghada Esheba, Ebtisam Aljerayan, Afnan Al-Ghamdi, Atheer Alsharif, Hanan alzahrani
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Background: Primary ovarian neoplasms comprise a heterogeneous group of tumors of three main subtypes: surface epithelial, germ cell, and sex cord-stromal. The wide morphological variation within and between these groups can result in diagnostic difficulties. Gonadal sex cord-stromal tumors (SCST) represent one of the most heterogeneous categories of human neoplasms, because they may contain various combinations of different gonadal sex cord and stromal element. Aim: The aim of this work is to highlight the clinicopathological characteristics of SCST and to assess the value of alpha-inhibin and calretinin in the distinction between SCST and their mimics. Material and methods: This study was carried out on 100 cases using full tissue sections; 70 cases were SCST and 30 cases were histological mimics of SCST. The cases were studied using immunohistochemically using alpha-inhibin. In addition, an ovarian tissue microarray containing 170 benign and malignant ovarian neoplasms was also studied immunohistochemically for calretinin expression. The ovarian microarray included 14 SCST, 59 ovarian serous borderline tumors, 17 mucinous borderline tumors, 10 mucinous adenocarcinomas, 32 endometrioid adenocarcinomas, 34 clear cell carcinomas, and 4 germ cell tumors. Results: 99% of SCST examined using full tissue sections exhibited positive cytoplasmic staining for inhibin. On the contrary, only 7% of the histological mimics (P value < 0.0001). 86% of SCST in the tissue microarray were positive for calretinin with nuclear and/or cytoplasmic staining compared to only 7% of the other tumor types (P value < 0.0001). Conclusions: SCST have characteristic clinicopathological and immunohistochemical features and their recognition is crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment. Alpha-inhibin and calretinin are of great help in the diagnosis of sex cord-stromal tumors.Keywords: calretinin, granulosa cell tumor, inhibin, sex cord-stromal tumors
Procedia PDF Downloads 2093197 The Endocrinology of Obesity and Dejenerative Joint Disease
Authors: Kebret Kebede, Anthony Scinta
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Obesity is the most prevalent global problem that continues to rise at alarming rates both in the industrialized and developing countries. Adipose tissue is an endocrine tissue that secretes numerous chemical signals, hormones, lipids, cytokines and coagulation factors as well as prompting insulin resistance which is a primary contributor to Type II Diabetes- one of its most common adverse effects on health. Other hormones whose levels are linked to obesity and nutritional state are leptin, IGF-1, and adiponectin. Several studies indicate that obesity is the leading cause of high levels of cholesterol that leads to fatty liver disease, gallstones, hypertension, increased risk for cancer and degenerative joint disease that primarily affects the weight bearing joints of the lower extremities. The activation of inflammatory pathways promotes synovial pathology that results in accelerated degeneration of the joints. The study examines the prevalence of obesity in the US female population in comparison to that of the developing world and its emergence as a significant and potentially modifiable risk factor in degenerative disease of the hip and knee joints that has resulted in staggering healthcare cost. Studies have shown that as the prevalence of obesity rises, we continue to see a rise in degenerative joint disease. The percentage of arthritis cases linked directly to obesity has risen from 3 percent in 1971 to 18 percent in 2002. A person with obesity is around 60 percent more likely to develop arthritis than someone of normal body weight. In women, obesity is associated with increased mortality from breast, cervical, endometrial and ovarian cancer that may accompany debilitating joint diseases and restricted mobility.Keywords: obesity, endocrine, degenerative, mortality, joint diseases, cancer, debilitating, mobility
Procedia PDF Downloads 4493196 Biocompatible Chitosan Nanoparticles as an Efficient Delivery Vehicle for Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Lipids to Induce Potent Cytokines and Antibody Response through Activation of γδ T-Cells in Mice
Authors: Ishani Das, Avinash Padhi, Sitabja Mukherjee, Santosh Kar, Avinash Sonawane
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Activation of cell mediated and humoral immune responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) are critical for protection. Herein, we show that mice immunized with Mtb lipid bound chitosan nanoparticles(NPs) induce secretion of prominent Th1 and Th2 cytokines in lymph node and spleen cells, and also induced significantly higher levels of IgG, IgG1, IgG2 and IgM in comparison to control mice measured by ELISA. Furthermore, significantly enhanced γδ-T cell activation was observed in lymph node cells isolated from mice immunized with Mtb lipid coated chitosan-NPs as compared to mice immunized with chitosan-NPs alone or Mtb lipid liposomes through flow cytometric analysis. Also, it was observed that in comparison to CD8+ cells, significantly higher CD4+ cells were present in both the lymph node and spleen cells isolated from mice immunized with Mtb lipid coated chitosan NP. In conclusion, this study represents a promising new strategy for efficient delivery of Mtb lipids using chitosan NPs to trigger enhanced cell mediated and antibody response against Mtb lipids.Keywords: antibody response, chitosan nanoparticles, cytokines, mycobacterium tuberculosis lipids
Procedia PDF Downloads 2803195 Early Detection of Lymphedema in Post-Surgery Oncology Patients
Authors: Sneha Noble, Rahul Krishnan, Uma G., D. K. Vijaykumar
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Breast-Cancer related Lymphedema is a major problem that affects many women. Lymphedema is the swelling that generally occurs in the arms or legs caused by the removal of or damage to lymph nodes as a part of cancer treatment. Treating it at the earliest possible stage is the best way to manage the condition and prevent it from leading to pain, recurrent infection, reduced mobility, and impaired function. So, this project aims to focus on the multi-modal approaches to identify the risks of Lymphedema in post-surgical oncology patients and prevent it at the earliest. The Kinect IR Sensor is utilized to capture the images of the body and after image processing techniques, the region of interest is obtained. Then, performing the voxelization method will provide volume measurements in pre-operative and post-operative periods in patients. The formation of a mathematical model will help in the comparison of values. Clinical pathological data of patients will be investigated to assess the factors responsible for the development of lymphedema and its risks.Keywords: Kinect IR sensor, Lymphedema, voxelization, lymph nodes
Procedia PDF Downloads 1383194 Chemical Analysis and Cytotoxic Evaluation of Asphodelus Aestivus Brot. Flowers
Authors: Mai M. Farid, Mona El-Shabrawy, Sameh R. Hussein, Ahmed Elkhateeb, El-Said S. Abdel-Hameed, Mona M. Marzouk
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Asphodelus aestivus Brot. Is a wild plant distributed in Egypt and is considered one of the five Asphodelus spp. from the family Asphodelaceae; it grows in dry grasslands and on rocky or sandy soil. The chemical components of A. aestivus flowers extract were analyzed using different chromatographic and spectral techniques and led to the isolation of two anthraquinones identified as emodin and emodin-O-glucoside. In addition to, five flavonoid compounds;kaempferol,Kaempferol-3-O-glucoside,Apigenin-6-C-glucoside-7-O-glucoside (Saponarine), luteolin 7-O-β-glucopyranoside, Isoorientin-O-malic acid which is a new compound in nature. The LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis of the flower extract of A. aestivus led to the identification of twenty- two compounds characterized by the presence of flavones, flavonols, and flavone C-glycosides. While GC/MS analysis led to the identification of 24 compounds comprising 98.32% of the oil, the major components of the oil were 9, 12, 15-Octadecatrieoic acid methyl ester 28.72%, and 9, 12-Octadecadieroic acid (Z, Z)-methyl ester 19.96%. In vitro cytotoxic activity of the aqueous methanol extract of A. aestivus flowers against HEPG2, HCT-116, MCF-7, and A549 culture was examined and showed moderate inhibition (62.3±1.1)% on HEPG2 cell line followed by (36.8±0.2)% inhibition on HCT-116 and a weak inhibition (5.7± 0.0.2) on MCF-7 cell line followed by (4.5± 0.4) % inhibition on A549 cell line and this is considered the first cytotoxic report of A. aestivus flowers.Keywords: Anthraquinones, Asphodelus aestivus, Cytotoxic activity, Flavonoids, LC-ESI-MS/MS
Procedia PDF Downloads 2223193 Rapid Start-Up and Efficient Long-Term Nitritation of Low Strength Ammonium Wastewater with a Sequencing Batch Reactor Containing Immobilized Cells
Authors: Hammad Khan, Wookeun Bae
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Major concerns regarding nitritation of low-strength ammonium wastewaters include low ammonium loading rates (usually below 0.2 kg/m3-d) and uncertainty about long-term stability of the process. The purpose of this study was to test a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) filled with cell-immobilized polyethylene glycol (PEG) pellets to see if it could achieve efficient and stable nitritation under various environmental conditions. SBR was fed with synthetic ammonium wastewater of 30±2 mg-N/L and pH: 8±0.05, maintaining the dissolved oxygen concentration of 1.7±0.2 mg/L and the temperature at 30±1oC. The reaction was easily converted to partial nitrification mode within a month by feeding relatively high ammonium substrate (~100 mg-N/L) in the beginning. We observed stable nitritation over 300 days with high ammonium loading rates (as high as ~1.1 kg-N/m3-d), nitrite accumulation rates (mostly over 97%) and ammonium removal rate (mostly over 95%). DO was a major limiting substrate when the DO concentration was below ~4 mg/L and the NH4+-N concentration was above 5 mg/L, giving almost linear increase in the ammonium oxidation rate with the bulk DO increase. Low temperatures mainly affected the reaction rate, which could be compensated for by increasing the pellet volume (i.e. biomass). Our results demonstrated that an SBR filled with small cell-immobilized PEG pellets could achieve very efficient and stable nitritation of a low-strength ammonium wastewater.Keywords: ammonium loading rate (ALR), cell-immobilization, long-term nitritation, sequencing batch reactor (SBR), sewage treatment
Procedia PDF Downloads 2733192 Effects of Anti-FGL2 Monoclonal Antibody SPF89 on Vascular Inflammation
Authors: Ying Sun, Biao Cheng, Qing Lu, Xuefei Tao, Xiaoyu Lai, Cheng Guo, Dan Wang
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Fibrinogen-like protein 2 (FGL2) has recently been identified to play an important role in inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis through a thrombin-dependent manner. Here, a murine monoclonal antibody was raised against the critical residue Ser(89) of FGL2, and the effects of the anti-FGL2 mAb (SPF89) were analyzed in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and THP-1 cells. Firstly, it was proved that SPF89, which belongs to the IgG1 subtype with a KD value of 44.5 pM, could specifically show the expression levels of protein FGL2 in different cell lines of known target gene status. The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated endothelial cell proliferation was significantly inhibited with a decline of phosphorylation nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in a dose-dependent manner after SPF89 treatment. Furthermore, SPF89 reduced LPS-induced expression of adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines such as vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, Matrix metalloproteinase MMP-2, Integrin αvβ3, and interleukin-6 in HUVECs. In macrophage-like THP-1 cells, SPF89 effectively inhibited LPS and low-density lipoprotein-induced foam cell formation. However, these anti-inflammatory and anti-atherosclerotic effects of anti-FGL2 mAb in HUVECs and THP-1 cells were significantly reduced after treatment with an NF-κB inhibitor PDTC. All the above suggest, by efficiently inhibiting LPS-induced pro-inflammatory effects in vascular endothelial cells by attenuating NF-κB dependent pathway, the new anti-FGL2 mAb SPF89 could to be a potential therapeutic candidate for protecting the vascular endothelium against inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis. This work was supported by the Program of Sichuan Science and Technology Department (2017FZ0069) and Collaborative Innovation Program of Sichuan for Elderly Care and Health(YLZBZ1511).Keywords: monoclonal antibody, fibrinogen like protein 2, inflammation, endothelial cells
Procedia PDF Downloads 2713191 Method of Visual Prosthesis Design Based on Biologically Inspired Design
Authors: Shen Jian, Hu Jie, Zhu Guo Niu, Peng Ying Hong
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There are two issues exited in the traditional visual prosthesis: lacking systematic method and the low level of humanization. To tackcle those obstacles, a visual prosthesis design method based on biologically inspired design is proposed. Firstly, a constrained FBS knowledge cell model is applied to construct the functional model of visual prosthesis in biological field. Then the clustering results of engineering domain are ob-tained with the use of the cross-domain knowledge cell clustering algorithm. Finally, a prototype system is designed to support the bio-logically inspired design where the conflict is digested by TRIZ and other tools, and the validity of the method is verified by the solution schemeKeywords: knowledge-based engineering, visual prosthesis, biologically inspired design, biomedical engineering
Procedia PDF Downloads 1923190 Effect of Total Body Irradiation for Metastatic Lymph Node and Lung Metastasis in Early Stage
Authors: Shouta Sora, Shizuki Kuriu, Radhika Mishra, Ariunbuyan Sukhbaatar, Maya Sakamoto, Shiro Mori, Tetsuya Kodama
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Lymph node (LN) metastasis accounts for 20 - 30 % of all deaths in patients with head and neck cancer. Therefore, the control of metastatic lymph nodes (MLNs) is necessary to improve the life prognosis of patients with cancer. In a classical metastatic theory, tumor cells are thought to metastasize hematogenously through a bead-like network of lymph nodes. Recently, a lymph node-mediated hematogenous metastasis theory has been proposed, in which sentinel LNs are regarded as a source of distant metastasis. Therefore, the treatment of MLNs at the early stage is essential to prevent distant metastasis. Radiation therapy is one of the primary therapeutic modalities in cancer treatment. In addition, total body irradiation (TBI) has been reported to act as activation of natural killer cells and increase of infiltration of CD4+ T-cells to tumor tissues. However, the treatment effect of TBI for MLNs remains unclear. This study evaluated the possibilities of low-dose total body irradiation (L-TBI) and middle-dose total body irradiation (M-TBI) for the treatment of MLNs. Mouse breast cancer FM3A-Luc cells were injected into subiliac lymph node (SiLN) of MXH10/Mo/LPR mice to induce the metastasis to the proper axillary lymph node (PALN) and lung. Mice were irradiated for the whole body on 4 days after tumor injection. The L-TBI and M-TBI were defined as irradiations to the whole body at 0.2 Gy and 1.0 Gy, respectively. Tumor growth was evaluated by in vivo bioluminescence imaging system. In the non-irradiated group, tumor activities on SiLN and PALN significantly increased over time, and the metastasis to the lung from LNs was confirmed 28 days after tumor injection. The L-TBI led to a tumor growth delay in PALN but did not control tumor growth in SiLN and metastasis to the lung. In contrast, it was found that the M-TBI significantly delayed the tumor growth of both SiLN and PALN and controlled the distant metastasis to the lung compared with non-irradiated and L-TBI groups. These results suggest that the M-TBI is an effective treatment method for MLNs in the early stage and distant metastasis from lymph nodes via blood vessels connected with LNs.Keywords: metastatic lymph node, lung metastasis, radiation therapy, total body irradiation, lymphatic system
Procedia PDF Downloads 1813189 Myeloid Zinc Finger 1/Ets-Like Protein-1/Protein Kinase C Alpha Associated with Poor Prognosis in Patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
Authors: Jer-Yuh Liu, Je-Chiuan Ye, Jin-Ming Hwang
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Protein kinase C alpha (PKCα) is a key signaling molecule in human cancer development. As a therapeutic strategy, targeting PKCα is difficult because the molecule is ubiquitously expressed in non-malignant cells. PKCα is regulated by the cooperative interaction of the transcription factors myeloid zinc finger 1 (MZF-1) and Ets-like protein-1 (Elk-1) in human cancer cells. By conducting tissue array analysis, herein, we determined the protein expression of MZF-1/Elk-1/PKCα in various cancers. The data show that the expression of MZF-1/Elk-1 is correlated with that of PKCα in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but not in bladder and lung cancers. In addition, the PKCα down-regulation by shRNA Elk-1 was only observed in the HCC SK-Hep-1 cells. Blocking the interaction between MZF-1 and Elk-1 through the transfection of their binding domain MZF-160–72 decreased PKCα expression. This step ultimately depressed the epithelial-mesenchymal transition potential of the HCC cells. These findings could be used to develop an alternative therapeutic strategy for patients with the PKCα-derived HCC.Keywords: protein kinase C alpha, myeloid zinc finger 1, ets-like protein-1, hepatocellular carcinoma
Procedia PDF Downloads 2273188 Assessment of Selected Marine Organisms from Malaysian Coastal Areas for Inhibitory Activity against the Chikungunya Virus
Authors: Yik Sin Chan, Nam Weng Sit, Fook Yee Chye, van Ofwegen Leen, de Voogd Nicole, Kong Soo Khoo
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Chikungunya fever is an arboviral disease transmitted by the Aedes mosquitoes. It has resulted in epidemics of the disease in tropical countries in the Indian Ocean and South East Asian regions. The recent spread of this disease to the temperate countries such as France and Italy, coupled with the absence of vaccines and effective antiviral drugs make chikungunya fever a worldwide health threat. This study aims to investigate the anti-chikungunya virus activity of selected marine organism samples collected from Malaysian coastal areas, including seaweeds (Caulerpa racemosa, Caulerpa sertularioides and Kappaphycus alvarezii), a soft coral (Lobophytum microlobulatum) and a sponge (Spheciospongia vagabunda). Following lyophilization (oven drying at 40C for K. alvarezii) and grinding to powder form, each sample was subjected to sequential solvent extraction using hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol, methanol and distilled water in order to extract bioactive compounds. The antiviral activity was evaluated using monkey kidney epithelial (Vero) cells infected with the virus (multiplicity of infection=1). The cell viability was determined by Neutral Red uptake assay. 70% of the 30 extracts showed weak inhibitory activity with cell viability ≤30%. Seven of the extracts exhibited moderate inhibitory activity (cell viability: 31%-69%). These were the chloroform, ethyl acetate, ethanol and methanol extracts of C. racemosa; chloroform and ethyl acetate extracts of L. microlobulatum; and the chloroform extract of C. sertularioides. Only the hexane and ethanol extracts of L. microlobulatum showed strong inhibitory activity against the virus, resulting in cell viabilities (mean±SD; n=3) of 73.3±2.6% and 79.2±0.9%, respectively. The corresponding mean 50% effective concentrations (EC50) for the extracts were 14.2±0.2 and 115.3±1.2 µg/mL, respectively. The ethanol extract of the soft coral L. microlobulatum appears to hold the most promise for further characterization of active principles as it possessed greater selectivity index (SI>5.6) compared to the hexane extract (SI=2.1).Keywords: antiviral, seaweed, sponge, soft coral, vero cell
Procedia PDF Downloads 2893187 Sirt1 Promotes C2C12 Myoblast Cell Proliferation by Myostatin Signaling Pathway
Authors: Cuili Yang, Chengcao Sun, Ruilin Xue, Yongyong Xi, Liang Wang, Dejia Li
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Backgrounds: Previous studies showed that Sirt1 plays an important role in C2C12 myoblast cell proliferation, but the mechanism(s) involved in this process remains unclear. This work was undertaken to determine if Myostatin participates in the regulation of C2C12 proliferation by Sirt1. Methods: We administrated the Sirt1 activator resveratrol, inhibitor Nicotinamide (NAM) and Myostatin inhibitor SB431542 on C2C12 myoblast cells. Cell viability was evaluated by CCK8 assay. The expression of Sirt1 and MyoD were detected by qRT-PCR. Utilizing western blot to determinate the expression of myostatin, P107 and p-P107. Results: Our results showed that resveratrol promoted the proliferation of C2C12 myoblast cells, while NAM suppressed the proliferation of C2C12 myoblast cells; SB431542 promoted the proliferation of C2C12 myoblast cells and attenuated the inhibition effect of NAM on C2C12 myoblast cells proliferation; Resveratrol can significantly increase the expression of Sirt1 and MyoD, decrease the expression of Myostatin, while NAM can significantly down-regulate the expression of Sirt1, MyoD and the phosphorylation of P107(p-P107), but up-regulate the expression of Myostatin and the protein P107; SB431542 can significantly mitigate the effect of NAM on the expression of MyoD, P107, and p-P107. Conclusions: Taken together, these results indicate that Sirt1 promotes the proliferation of C2C12 myoblast cells via Myostatin signaling pathway.Keywords: Sirt1, C2C12 cells, proliferation, myostatin signaling pathway
Procedia PDF Downloads 4503186 A Comparison of Clinical and Pathological TNM Staging in a COVID-19 Era
Authors: Sophie Mills, Leila L. Touil, Richard Sisson
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Introduction: The TNM classification is the global standard for the staging of head and neck cancers. Accurate clinical-radiological staging of tumours (cTNM) is essential to predict prognosis, facilitate surgical planning and determine the need for other therapeutic modalities. This study aims to determine the accuracy of pre-operative cTNM staging using pathological TNM (pTNM) and consider possible causes of TNM stage migration, noting any variation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study examined records of patients with surgical management of head and neck cancer at a tertiary head and neck centre from November 2019 to November 2020. Data was extracted from Somerset Cancer Registry and histopathology reports. cTNM and pTNM were compared before and during the first wave of COVID-19, as well as with other potential prognostic factors such as tumour site and tumour stage. Results: 119 cases were identified, of which 52.1% (n=62) were male, and 47.9% (n=57) were female with a mean age of 67 years. Clinical and pathological staging differed in 54.6% (n=65) of cases. Of the patients with stage migration, 40.4% (n=23) were up-staged and 59.6% (n=34) were down-staged compared with pTNM. There was no significant difference in the accuracy of cTNM staging compared with age, sex, or tumour site. There was a statistically highly significant (p < 0.001) correlation between cTNM accuracy and tumour stage, with the accuracy of cTNM staging decreasing with the advancement of pTNM staging. No statistically significant variation was noted between patients staged prior to and during COVID-19. Conclusions: Discrepancies in staging can impact management and outcomes for patients. This study found that the higher the pTNM, the more likely stage migration will occur. These findings are concordant with the oncology literature, which highlights the need to improve the accuracy of cTNM staging for more advanced tumours.Keywords: COVID-19, head and neck cancer, stage migration, TNM staging
Procedia PDF Downloads 1093185 Revolutionizing Mobility: Decoding Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles (HFCVs)
Authors: Samarjeet Singh, Shubhank Arya, Shubham Chauhan
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In recent years, the rise in carbon emissions and the widespread effects of global warming have brought new energy vehicles into the spotlight. Electric vehicles (EVs) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (HFCVs), both producing zero tailpipe emissions, are seen as promising alternatives. This paper examines the working, structural characteristics, and safety designs of EVs and HFCVs, comparing their carbon emissions, charging infrastructure, energy efficiency, and safety features. The analysis reveals that both EVs and HFCVs significantly reduce carbon emissions and enhance safety compared to traditional vehicles, with EVs showing greater emission reductions. Moreover, EVs are advancing more rapidly in terms of charging infrastructure compared to hydrogen energy vehicles. However, HFCVs exhibit lower energy efficiency than EVs. In terms of safety, both types surpass conventional vehicles, though EVs are more prone to overheating and fire hazards due to battery design issues. Current research suggests that EV technology and its supporting infrastructure are more comprehensive, cost-effective, and efficient in reducing carbon emissions. With continued investment in the development of new energy vehicles and potential advancements in hydrogen energy production, the future for HFCVs appears promising. The paper also expresses optimism for innovative solutions that could accelerate the growth of hydrogen energy vehicles.Keywords: electric vehicles, fuel cell electric vehicles, automotive engineering, energy transition
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