The ever-growing perception of cancer stem cells (CSCs) as a plastic state rather than a hardwired defined entity has evolved our understanding of the functional and biological plasticity of these ...elusive components in malignancies. Pancreatic cancer (PC), based on its biological features and clinical evolution, is a prototypical example of a CSC-driven disease. Since the discovery of pancreatic CSCs (PCSCs) in 2007, evidence has unraveled their control over many facets of the natural history of PC, including primary tumor growth, metastatic progression, disease recurrence, and acquired drug resistance. Consequently, the current near-ubiquitous treatment regimens for PC using aggressive cytotoxic agents, aimed at ‘‘tumor debulking’’ rather than eradication of CSCs, have proven ineffective in providing clinically convincing improvements in patients with this dreadful disease. Herein, we review the key hallmarks as well as the intrinsic and extrinsic resistance mechanisms of CSCs that mediate treatment failure in PC and enlist the potential CSC-targeting ‘natural agents’ that are gaining popularity in recent years. A better understanding of the molecular and functional landscape of PCSC-intrinsic evasion of chemotherapeutic drugs offers a facile opportunity for treating PC, an intractable cancer with a grim prognosis and in dire need of effective therapeutic advances.
The preparation and applications of transition metal oxide (TMOs) nano and micro structures continues inspiring to material science. This is due to TMOs are imperative and to discover in a various ...fields. Over a long range of nano & micro structure materials, especially, manganese oxide (Mn
3
O
4
) structures have numerous technological applications in various fields such as wastewater treatment, catalysis, sensors, supercapacitors, alkaline and rechargeable batteries etc. The solution process was adopted, which is the best way to follow the preparation of manganese oxide structures and the material was well characterized. The present work shows the formation of Mn
3
O
4
microrods (referred to as Mn
3
O
4
MRs) and applied against the pathogenic bacteria’s (
E.coli and S.aureus
) at different concentrations of MRs (50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 µg/mL) for to control the proliferation rate and accessed via UV–vis spectroscopy. The crystallite size and their morphology was examined via TEM and it reveals that the individual particle is very small in size (~ 7.5 nm) with spherical shaped morphology. The morphology after the interaction of MRs on bacteria’s were also examined through Bio-TEM, which revels that the particles interns to the bacterial cells and reacted. The statistical analytical methods was applied and determined the suitable concentration of Mn
3
O
4
MRs under the different statistical parameters such as accuracy, precision methods, LOD and LOQ (for
E.coli
0.050 and 0.153) and (for
S.aureus
0.135 and 0.409 μg mL
−1
) respectively, were accomplished for to know the calculative and mechanistic approach and their role of Mn
3
O
4
MRs against
E.coli and S.aureus
.
Natural α-helical cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAP) sequences are predominantly amphipathic, with only ca. 2% containing four or more consecutive positively charged amino acids (Lys/Arg). We have ...designed synthetic CAPs that deviate from these natural sequences, as typified by the charge-clustered peptide KKKKKKAAFAAWAAFAA-NH2, (termed 6K-F17), which displays high antimicrobial activity with no toxicity to mammalian cells. We created a series of peptides varying in charge patterning, increasing the amphipathic character of 6K-F17 to mimic the design of natural CAPs (e.g., KAAKKFAKAWAKAFAA-NH2). Amphipathic sequences displayed increased antimicrobial activity against bacteria but were significantly more toxic to mammalian cells and more susceptible to protease degradation than their corresponding charge-clustered variants, suggesting that amphipathic sequences may be desirable in nature to allow for more versatile functions (i.e., antibacterial, antifungal, antipredator) and rapid clearance from vulnerable host cells. Our approach to clustering of charges may therefore allow for specialization against bacteria, in concert with prolonged peptide half-life.
Introduction
Depression management is affected by restricted budgets for mental health care in sub-Saharan Africa countries. There is need for integration of non-pharmacological interventions in ...primary care. This scoping review aimed to summarize research on available non-pharmacological interventions and their effectiveness against depression in Kenya.
Methods
We searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, AJOL, EBSCOhost, ProQuest and Cochrane Library databases for articles reporting non-pharmacological interventions in Kenya published in English between 2000 and May 2023.
Findings
Twenty-four articles that reported psychosocial (n = 20) and socioeconomic (n = 4) interventions were included in the review. Most interventions were delivered by lay professionals. Clinical outcomes included significant reduction in depression scores and symptom severity posttreatment and reduction in likelihood of having depression symptoms. Interventions were also found to be feasible and acceptable.
Conclusion
Non-pharmacological interventions can be upscaled for the management of depression in Kenya.
In the recent years, there has been an emerging research interest in the domain of C−C bond‐cleavage reactions. The present contribution deals with the redox‐mediated dioxygen activation and C−C bond ...cleavage in a diruthenium complex (acac)2RuII(μ‐L1)RuII(acac)2, 1 (acac=acetylacetonate) incorporating 2,2′‐pyridil (L1) as the bridging ligand. The above process leads to a C−C‐cleaved monomeric product (acac)2RuIII(pic−), 2 (pic−=piconilate). Intriguingly, similar diastereomeric complexes (acac)2RuII(μ‐L2)RuII(acac)2, meso (ΔΛ): 3 a and rac (ΔΔ/ΛΛ): 3 b, involving an analogous diimine bridge (L2=N1,N2‐diphenyl‐1,2‐di(pyridin‐2‐yl)ethane‐1,2‐diimine), were stable towards such oxidative transformations. Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical studies, in combination, establish the potential non‐innocent feature of the 2,2′‐Pyridil (L1) and its derivative (L2) both in oxidation and reduction processes. Additionally, theoretical calculations have been employed to verify the redox states and their behavior. Furthermore, transition state (TS) calculations at the M06L/6‐31G*/LANL2DZ level of theory together with detailed kinetic studies outline a putative mechanism for the selective transformation of 1→2 involving the formation of an intermediate bearing peroxide linkage to complex 1.
Redox induced transformation: 2,2′‐Pyridil and its derivative (N1,N2‐diphenyl‐1,2‐di(pyridin‐2‐yl)ethane‐1,2‐diimine) have been explored as bridging ligands in diruthenium frameworks. The bridging ligands are potentially non‐innocent and a differing response is observed amongst the two dimeric ruthenium complexes on interaction with atmospheric oxygen.
Redox active ligands are an integral part of many biological events and significant natural processes. Transformations assisted by such ligands gather the limelight owing to their excellent activity ...and selectivity towards the transformation of organic functionalities as well as activation of small molecules. The past few decades have seen an increasing demand of the field featuring its significance as the concept derived products find applications in chemical, pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Besides, the mechanistic insights allow for a grass root understanding of the underlining chemistry. The present article aims to highlight bond activations platformed on this concept by citing a few recent examples.
The phenomenon of redox activity has remained a pivotal concept underlining various electronic processes. This minireview focuses on the diverse bond activations mediated by redox active ligands that have been documented recently.
In the past decades, the branch of complementary and alternative medicine based therapeutics has gained considerable attention worldwide. Pharmacological efficacy of various traditional medicinal ...plants, their products and/or product derivatives have been explored on an increasing scale. Tanshinone IIA (Tan IIA) is a pharmacologically active lipophilic component of Salvia miltiorrhiza extract. Tan IIA shares a history of high repute in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Reckoning with these, the present review collates the pharmacological properties of Tan IIA with a special emphasis on its therapeutic potential against diverse diseases including cardiovascular diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, obesity and neurogenerative diseases. Further, possible applications of various therapeutic preparations of Tan IIA were discussed with special emphasis on nano-based drug delivery formulations. Considering the tremendous advancement in the field of nanomedicine and the therapeutic potential of Tan IIA, the convergence of these two aspects can be foreseen with great promise in clinical application.
Lung cancer is among the most aggressive types of malignant tumors that contributes to cancer‐associated deaths worldwide with a high occurrence and fatality rate. Histone deacetylase 2 (HDAC2), ...prevent the aberrant transcription of a number of genes that are primarily responsible for controlling the cell cycle, cell proliferation, and signaling pathways in numerous cancers. Previous studies reported the role of HDACs and YY1 in the growth and development of several cancers. Although, it is noteworthy that remarkable efforts have been taken for the treatment of lung cancer using molecularly targeted therapies and chemotherapeutic agents, but the outcome is still poor for this critically persistent cancer. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to identify an efficacious, novel therapeutic biomarkers for the successful diagnosis of lung cancer at the early stage of the disease and the molecular insights involved. In the present study, qPCR and western bot data revealed that the expression level of HDAC2 and YY1 were upregulated in the cell lines and tumor samples of lung cancer patients. Moreover, MTT, qPCR, western blot, cell cycle analysis, and migration assays showed that inhibition of HDAC2 reduced YY1 expression, similarly, depletion of YY1 using knockdown approach inhibited the proliferation, migration, invasion, and blockage of the cell cycle by suppressing c‐Myc in lung cancer cell lines. In conclusion, the current study findings support the notion that HDAC2's anticancer role was attributed through YY1 regulation by targeting c‐Myc and could act as potential novel candidate biomarker for the lung cancer diagnosis.
Purpose>This study aims to contribute to literature on mobile learning (m-learning) by proposing four research clusters whereby scholars can expand m-learning research to facilitate effective ...learning experiences for students.Design/methodology/approach>This study reviews student-centric literature on m-learning since 2010 and presents insights on m-learning while applying well-established bibliometric techniques. Consequently, 722 articles published in the past decade were evaluated by identifying key research areas, most influential authors, countries, journals and organisations. Most influential studies based on number of citations were also examined.Findings>Through article co-citation analysis, four clusters representing m-learning literature were identified: concept of m-learning, application of m-learning in education, designing framework for model learning/acceptance and emerging technologies.Originality/value>As mobile learning (m-learning) has undergone an evolution from being an emerging field to a significant teaching and research tool, it is pertinent to explore and identify the trends of m-learning research.
Myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis represent important contributing factors for development of hypertension-induced heart failure. The present study aims to investigate the potential effects of
leaf ...extract (EJLE) against hypertension-induced cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Twelve-week-old male rats were randomly divided into four different groups; control Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats, hypertensive SHR rats, SHR rats treated with a low dose (100 mg/kg body weight) of EJLE and SHR rats treated with a high dose (300 mg/kg body weight) of EJLE. Animals were acclimatized for 4 weeks and thereafter were gastric fed for 8 weeks with two doses of EJLE per week. The rats were then euthanized following cardiac functional analysis by echocardiography. The cardiac tissue sections were examined by Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-Mediated Deoxyuridine Triphosphate (dUTP) Nick End-Labeling (TUNEL) assay, histological staining and Western blotting to assess the cardio-protective effects of EJ in SHR animals. Echocardiographic measurements provided convincing evidence to support the ability of EJ to ameliorate crucial cardiac functional characteristics. Furthermore, our results reveal that supplementation of EJLE effectively attenuated cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis and also enhanced cell survival in hypertensive SHR hearts. Thus, the present study concludes that EJLE potentially provides cardio-protective effects against hypertension-induced cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis in SHR animals.
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