Breast cancer stem cells (BCSCs) are characterized by high aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzyme activity and are refractory to current treatment modalities, show a higher risk for metastasis, and ...influence the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), leading to a shorter time to recurrence and death. In this study, we focused on examination of the mechanism of action of a small herbal molecule, psoralidin (Pso) that has been shown to effectively suppress the growth of BSCSs and breast cancer cells (BCCs), in breast cancer (BC) models.
ALDH(-) and ALDH(+) BCCs were isolated from MDA-MB-231 cells, and the anticancer effects of Pso were measured using cell viability, apoptosis, colony formation, invasion, migration, mammosphere formation, immunofluorescence, and western blot analysis.
Psoralidin significantly downregulated NOTCH1 signaling, and this downregulation resulted in growth inhibition and induction of apoptosis in both ALDH(-) and ALDH(+) cells. Molecularly, Pso inhibited NOTCH1 signaling, which facilitated inhibition of EMT markers (β-catenin and vimentin) and upregulated E-cadherin expression, resulting in reduced migration and invasion of both ALDH(-) and ALDH(+) cells.
Together, our results suggest that inhibition of NOTCH1 by Pso resulted in growth arrest and inhibition of EMT in BCSCs and BCCs. Psoralidin appears to be a novel agent that targets both BCSCs and BCCs.
There has been a rapid progress in research activities concerning nanofluids since a large enhancement in their thermal conductivity has been reported a decade ago. While this extraordinary thermal ...conductivity of nanofluids deserves scientific investigation, the inconsistency and controversy of the results reported by different groups for identical nanofluids across the world raises fundamental doubts and poses a hindrance in the potential applications of nanofluids. This paper presents a critical review of the several techniques for the measurement of thermal conductivity of nanofluids employed by the researchers. Additionally, a detailed description of a unique thermal conductivity measurement device based on the thermal comparator principle, developed by the present authors has been described. Besides the principle of this measurement device, the constructional details have been elaborated. Finally, some suggestions have been made for improving the reliability of the measurement of thermal conductivity.
The success of black phosphorus in fast electronic and photonic devices is hindered by its rapid degradation in the presence of oxygen. Orthorhombic tin selenide is a representative of group IV-VI ...binary compounds that are robust and isoelectronic and share the same structure with black phosphorus. We measure the band structure of SnSe and find highly anisotropic valence bands that form several valleys having fast dispersion within the layers and negligible dispersion across. This is exactly the band structure desired for efficient thermoelectric generation where SnSe has shown great promise.
Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT) is a telomere maintenance pathway utilised in 15% of cancers. ALT cancers are strongly associated with inactivating mutations in ATRX; yet loss of ATRX ...alone is insufficient to trigger ALT, suggesting that additional cooperating factors are involved. We identify H3.3
and IDH1/2 mutations as two such factors in ATRX-mutated glioblastomas. Both mutations are capable of inactivating histone demethylases, and we identify KDM4B as the key demethylase inactivated in ALT. Mouse embryonic stem cells inactivated for ATRX, TP53, TERT and KDM4B (KDM4B knockout or H3.3
) show characteristic features of ALT. Conversely, KDM4B over-expression in ALT cancer cells abrogates ALT-associated features. In this work, we demonstrate that inactivation of KDM4B, through H3.3
or IDH1/2 mutations, acts in tandem with ATRX mutations to promote ALT in glioblastomas.
Dye sensitized solar cells are attractive as simple and low cost renewable energy source. In dye sensitized solar cells, photo-anode plays significant role for collection and transportation of ...photo-excited electrons from dye to external electric circuit. Usually, wide band gap semiconducting metal oxides like titania, zinc oxide etc are deposited over transparent conducting substrate to prepare the photo-anodes. The performances of the photo-anodes depend on the band gap, morphology, composition of metal oxides and thickness of metal oxide layers. Enormous research efforts have been accomplished for studying the photo-voltaic characteristics of the dye sensitized solar cells by varying the aforementioned influencing parameters. However, the research activities executed towards the modification of photo-anode for dye sensitized solar cell application are quite scattered. It seems therefore important to summarize the research efforts executed towards the development of photo-anode for dye sensitized solar cell. In the present review, the effect of influencing parameters on the photo-voltaic characteristics of photo-anode for dye sensitized solar cell application is discussed. The descriptions have been made by summarizing the relevant literature reports.
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This paper investigates the mechanism of bitumen surface ageing, which was validated utilizing the atomic force microscopy and the differential scanning calorimetry. To validate the surface ...ageing, three different types of bitumen with different natural wax content were conditioned in four different modes: both ultraviolet and air, only ultraviolet, only air and without any exposure, for 15 and 30 days. From the atomic force microscopy investigation after 15 and 30 days of conditioning period, it was found that regardless the bitumen type, the percentage of microstructure on the surface reduced with the degree of exposure and time. Comparing all the four different exposures, it was observed that ultraviolet radiation caused more surface ageing than the oxidation. It was also found that the combined effect was not simply a summation or multiplication of the individual effects. The differential scanning calorimetry investigation showed that the amount of crystalline fractions in bitumen remain constant even after the systematic conditioning. Interestingly, during the cooling cycle, crystallization of wax molecules started earlier for the exposed specimens than the without exposed one. The analysis of the obtained results indicated that the ageing created a thin film upon the exposed surface, which acts as a barrier and creates difficulty for the wax induced microstructures to float up at the surface. From the differential scanning calorimetry analysis, it can be concluded that the ageing product induced impurities in the bitumen matrix, which acts as a promoter in the crystallization process.
Lay Description
This paper investigates the mechanism of bitumen surface ageing which has been investigated utilizing the atomic force microscopy (AFM) and the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). To do so, three different types of bitumen with different natural wax content were conditioned in four different modes: both UV and air, only UV, only air and without any exposure, for 15 and 30 days. From the AFM investigation after 15 and 30 days of conditioning period, it was found that regardless the bitumen type, the percentage of microstructure on the surface reduced with the degree of exposure and time. Comparing all the four different exposures, it was observed that UV radiation caused more surface ageing than the oxidation. It was also found that the combined effect was not simply a summation or multiplication of the individual effects. The DSC investigation showed that the amount of crystalline fractions in bitumen remain constant even after the systematic conditioning. From the experimental evidence, it could be concluded that the ageing created a thin film upon the exposed surface, which acts as a barrier and creates difficulty for the wax induced microstructures to float up at the surface.
In the present work, we consider a parabolic convection‐diffusion‐reaction problem where the diffusion and convection terms are multiplied by two small parameters, respectively. In addition, we ...assume that the convection coefficient and the source term of the partial differential equation have a jump discontinuity. The presence of perturbation parameters leads to the boundary and interior layers phenomena whose appropriate numerical approximation is the main goal of this paper. We have developed a uniform numerical method, which converges almost linearly in space and time on a piecewise uniform space adaptive Shishkin‐type mesh and uniform mesh in time. Error tables based on several examples show the convergence of the numerical solutions. In addition, several numerical simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of resolving layer behavior and their locations.
Biopolymers are crucial in pharmaceuticals, particularly for controlled drug release. In this study, we loaded the broad-spectrum antibacterial drug amoxicillin into sodium alginate, a well-known ...biopolymer. Graphene oxide was incorporated into the composite, and the hydrogel beads were coated with chitosan for its mucoadhesive properties. Various composites were formulated by adjusting the weight percentage of graphene oxide (GO). The fabricated beads demonstrated controlled and sustained drug release, with 98 % of the loaded drug molecules released over 24 h at gastric pH. The antibacterial test using the disc diffusion technique confirmed the drug release, exhibiting greater effectiveness against the gram-positive bacterium S. aureus than the gram-negative bacterium E. coli. The drug release data were optimized using zero order, first order, Higuchi, and Korsmeyer-Peppas models. The experimental data were best fit to the Korsmeyer-Peppas model with a relatively higher correlation coefficient value. Biocompatibility was evaluated through a cell viability test using mouse fibroblast cell lines (L929). The MTT viability assay confirmed high levels of cytocompatibility, even at higher concentrations (100 μg/mL), with 98.15 % viable cells. These results highlight the potential of the fabricated beads as an effective amoxicillin drug delivery system with biomedical applications.
The mycofabricated metal nanoparticles (NPs) plays a significant role in cancer therapeutics and imparts a strategy in medicine. The current investigation focused to synthesize the Copper Oxide ...Nanoparticles (CuONPs) using an endophytic fungus isolated from Aegle marmelosa medicinal tree located in Western Ghats, India. The endophytic fungus FCBY1 explored the highest antagonistic and antioxidant activities among the 16 pigmented endophytic fungal strains which were isolated from the collected samples. The fungus FCBY1 was identified for its morphological and molecular characteristics where the (Internal Transcribed Spacer) ITS 1, 5.8 ribosomal gene and ITS 2 were sequenced; and the organism FCBY1 is Aspergillus terreus. The endophyte was put through for the synthesis of CuONPs and the size and structure of the synthesized particles were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The confirmation of the CuONPs was characterized by FT-IR, EDAX and XRD analyses. The CuONPs exhibited the maximized antibacterial and antifungal activities against the human clinical pathogens; moreover the particles also explicated the free radicals/ROS scavenging at minimum concentration, which was assessed through DPPH, nitric oxide radical scavenging assays, and reductive power ability. The anti-cancer activity of CuONPs on colon cancer cell lines (HT-29) was evaluated by MTT (IC50: 22 μg/mL) and FACS analyses (32.11% cells gated in S phase of cell cycle). Angiogenesis inhibition in tumor cells was estimated through in vivo HET- CAM assessment and the highest concentration 60 μL tested inhibited the blood vessels at the percentage of 31.36% and 81.81%. The CuONPs explicated the anti-cancer activities in a concentration – dependent manner and the results of this investigation manifest the significant role of the CuONPs in cancer therapeutics.
•Copper oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using Aspergillus terreus FCBY1.•Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using FTIR, XRD and SEM.•Nanoparticles displayed antibacterial, antifungal and radical scavenging activities.•Anti-cancer properties of nanoparticles evaluated on HT-29 cell lines.•The inhibition of angiogenesis was assessed via in vivo HET- CAM assessment.
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