Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease of humans, highly prevalent in parts of the tropics, subtropics, and southern Europe. The disease mainly occurs in three different clinical forms namely ...cutaneous, mucocutaneous, and visceral leishmaniasis (VL). The VL affects several internal organs and is the deadliest form of the disease. Epidemiology and clinical manifestations of VL are variable based on the vector, parasite (e.g., species, strains, and antigen diversity), host (e.g., genetic background, nutrition, diversity in antigen presentation and immunity) and the environment (e.g., temperature, humidity, and hygiene). Chemotherapy of VL is limited to a few drugs which is expensive and associated with profound toxicity, and could become ineffective due to the parasites developing resistance. Till date, there are no licensed vaccines for humans against leishmaniasis. Recently, immunotherapy has become an attractive strategy as it is cost-effective, causes limited side-effects and do not suffer from the downside of pathogens developing resistance. Among various immunotherapeutic approaches, cytokines (produced by helper T-lymphocytes) based immunotherapy has received great attention especially for drug refractive cases of human VL. Therefore, a comprehensive knowledge on the molecular interactions of immune cells or components and on cytokines interplay in the host defense or pathogenesis is important to determine appropriate immunotherapies for leishmaniasis. Here, we summarized the current understanding of a wide-spectrum of cytokines and their interaction with immune cells that determine the clinical outcome of leishmaniasis. We have also highlighted opportunities for the development of novel diagnostics and intervention therapies for VL.
Randomization as a method of experimental control has been extensively used in human clinical trials and other biological experiments. It prevents the selection bias and insures against the ...accidental bias. It produces the comparable groups and eliminates the source of bias in treatment assignments. Finally, it permits the use of probability theory to express the likelihood of chance as a source for the difference of end outcome. This paper discusses the different methods of randomization and use of online statistical computing web programming (www.graphpad.com/quickcalcs or www.randomization.com) to generate the randomization schedule. Issues related to randomization are also discussed in this paper.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Tumor-derived exosomes (TDEs) participate in formation and progression of different cancer processes, including tumor microenvironment (TME) remodeling, angiogenesis, invasion, metastasis and ...drug-resistance. Exosomes initiate or suppress various signaling pathways in the recipient cells via transmitting heterogeneous cargoes. In this review we discuss exosome biogenesis, exosome mediated metastasis and chemoresistance. Furthermore, tumor derived exosomes role in tumor microenvironment remodeling, and angiogenesis is reviewed. Also, exosome induction of epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) is highlighted. More importantly, we discuss extensively how exosomes regulate drug resistance in several cancers. Thus, understanding exosome biogenesis, their contents and the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways that are responsible for metastasis and drug-resistance mediated by TDEs may help to devise novel therapeutic approaches for cancer progression particularly to overcome therapy-resistance and preventing metastasis as major factors of cancer mortality.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a biological process in which a non-motile epithelial cell changes to a mesenchymal phenotype with invasive capacities. This phenomenon has been well ...documented in multiple biological processes including embryogenesis, fibrosis, tumor progression and metastasis. The hallmark of EMT is the loss of epithelial surface markers, most notably E-cadherin, and the acquisition of mesenchymal markers including vimentin and N-cadherin. The downregulation of E-cadherin during EMT can be mediated by its transcriptional repression through the binding of EMT transcription factors (EMT-TFs) such as SNAIL, SLUG and TWIST to E-boxes present in the E-cadherin promoter. Additionally, EMT-TFs can also cooperate with several enzymes to repress the expression of E-cadherin and regulate EMT at the epigenetic and post- translational level. In this review, we will focus on epigenetic and post- translational modifications that are important in EMT. In addition, we will provide an overview of the various therapeutic approaches currently being investigated to undermine EMT and hence, the metastatic progression of cancer as well.
Full text
Available for:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
•Stable PEG-PDMS segmented copolymer was used for membrane preparation.•Copolymer undergoes surface segregation on membrane surface.•Blend membranes were useful for oil-water emulsion ...separation.•Blend membranes showed fouling release behaviors depending on amount of copolymer.•Membranes showed good antifouling property during oil-water emulsion separation.
Copolymers are used as additive for membrane preparation. Hydrolytic stability of a copolymer is enormous important for use in membrane preparation. Most of the polymers or macromonomers (methacrylate-terminated oligomers) contain vulnerable ester linkage. Herein, a relatively hydrolytically stable segmented amphiphilic copolymer (PDMS-PEG, containing urethane linkage) of poly(dimethylsiloxane) and poly(ethylene glycol) was used for the preparation blend membranes. Membranes were prepared from a blend of copolymer, poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) by the non-solvent induced phase separation process. The copolymer is miscible with the membrane forming polymer and PVP and influences the properties of the membranes in terms of water wetting, compaction factor, and surface morphology. A membrane PVDF-PVP-copolymer(1.7) prepared by the addition of 1.7% w/w of copolymer in casting solution showed permeate water flux of about 280 L m−2 h−1, and oil rejection of >99%, with flux recovery ratio as high as >99% after filtration of surfactant free and surfactant stabilized oil-in-water emulsions at applied pressure of 0.35 bar. The good antifouling property of the membrane is attributed to the hydration effect of PEG segments and fouling release property of PDMS segments.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Several deep learning algorithms have emerged for the automatic classification of environmental sounds. However, the non-availability of adequate labeled data for training limits the performance of ...these algorithms. Data augmentation is an appropriate solution to this problem. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) can successfully generate synthetic speech and sounds of musical instruments for classification applications. In this paper, we present a method for GAN-based augmentation in the context of environmental sound classification. We introduce an architecture named EnvGAN for the adversarial generation of environmental sounds. To validate the quality of the generated sounds, we have conducted subjective and objective evaluations. The results indicate that EnvGAN can produce samples of various domains with an acceptable target quality. We applied this augmentation technique on three benchmark ESC datasets (ESC-10, UrbanSound8K, and TUT Urban Acoustic Scenes development dataset) and used it for training a CNN-based classifier. Experimental results show that this new augmentation method can outperform a baseline method with no augmentation by a relatively wide margin (10–12% on ESC-10, 5–7% on UrbanSound8K, and 4–5% on TUT). In particular, the GAN-based approach reduces the confusion between all pairs of classes on UrbanSound8K. That is, the proposed method is especially suitable for handling class-imbalanced datasets.
Full text
Available for:
CEKLJ, EMUNI, FZAB, GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Spray ignition represents a critical process in numerous propulsion and energy conversion devices. Compared to a gaseous mixture, ignition in a spray is significantly more complex, as the state of ...ignition in the latter case can be defined by three distinct ignition modes namely, droplet ignition, droplet cluster ignition, and spray ignition. Ignition for an individual droplet represents the appearance of a flame surrounding the droplet or in the wake region, with a dimension on the order of droplet diameter. The cluster or group ignition refers to the ignition around or inside a droplet cloud, while the spray ignition implies the appearance of a global flame with a characteristic dimension few orders of magnitude larger than a droplet. In all three modes, ignition is preceded by the evaporation of fuel droplets, formation of a combustible gaseous fuel–air mixture, and initiation of chemical reactions producing sufficient radical species. The identification of the dominant ignition mode for given two-phase properties represents a problem of significant fundamental and practical importance. Research dealing with laminar and turbulent spray ignition has been reviewed by Aggarwal 1 and Mastorakos 2, respectively, while Annamalai and Ryan 3 have provided a review of droplet group combustion/ignition. In the present review, we discuss experimental, theoretical, and computational research dealing with individual droplet ignition. Topics include the quasi-steady and unsteady models for the ignition of a fuel droplet in a stagnant environment, the droplet ignition in a high-pressure environment, the convective effects on droplet ignition, and multicomponent fuel droplet ignition. Studies dealing with the two-stage and NTC ignition behavior for a droplet are also discussed. Finally, relationship between the droplet ignition mode to droplet cluster and spray ignition modes is briefly described. Potential topics for further research are outlined.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding, double-stranded RNA molecules that can mediate the expression of target genes with complementary sequences. About 5,300 human genes have been implicated as ...targets for miRNAs, making them one of the most abundant classes of regulatory genes in humans. MiRNAs recognize their target mRNAs based on sequence complementarity and act on them to cause the inhibition of protein translation by degradation of mRNA. Besides contributing to development and normal function, microRNAs have functions in various human diseases. Given the importance of miRNAs in regulating cellular differentiation and proliferation, it is not surprising that their misregulation is linked to cancer. In cancer, miRNAs function as regulatory molecules, acting as oncogenes or tumor suppressors. Amplification or overexpression of miRNAs can down-regulate tumor suppressors or other genes involved in cell differentiation, thereby contributing to tumor formation by stimulating proliferation, angiogenesis, and invasion; i.e., they act as oncogenes. Similarly, miRNAs can down-regulate different proteins with oncogenic activity; i.e., they act as tumor suppressors. This review will highlight the recent discoveries regarding miRNAs and their importance in cancer.
Full text
Available for:
EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Determining the optimal sample size for a study assures an adequate power to detect statistical significance. Hence, it is a critical step in the design of a planned research protocol. Using too many ...participants in a study is expensive and exposes more number of subjects to procedure. Similarly, if study is underpowered, it will be statistically inconclusive and may make the whole protocol a failure. This paper covers the essentials in calculating power and sample size for a variety of applied study designs. Sample size computation for single group mean, survey type of studies, 2 group studies based on means and proportions or rates, correlation studies and for case-control for assessing the categorical outcome are presented in detail.
Full text
Available for:
IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
Chlorophyll a fluorescence is established as a rapid, non-intrusive technique to monitor photosynthetic performance of plants and algae, as well as to analyze their protective responses. Apart from ...its utility in determining the physiological status of photosynthesizers in the natural environment, chlorophyll a fluorescence-based methods are applied in ecophysiological and toxicological studies to examine the effect of environmental changes and pollutants on plants and algae (microalgae and seaweeds). Pollutants or environmental changes cause alteration of the photosynthetic capacity which could be evaluated by fluorescence kinetics. Hence, evaluating key fluorescence parameters and assessing photosynthetic performances would provide an insight regarding the probable causes of changes in photosynthetic performances. This technique quintessentially provides non-invasive determination of changes in the photosynthetic apparatus prior to the appearance of visible damage. It is reliable, economically feasible, time-saving, highly sensitive, versatile, accurate, non-invasive and portable; thereby comprising an excellent alternative for detecting pollution. The present review demonstrates the applicability of chlorophyll a fluorescence in determining photochemical responses of algae exposed to environmental toxicants (such as toxic metals and herbicides).
•Chl a fluorescence helps evaluate responses of xenobiotics in plants and algae.•It is a portable, rapid, and cost-effective technique.•This review discusses algal photosynthetic responses to toxic metals and herbicides.
Full text
Available for:
GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
PDF
