Silicon-mediated changes on some physiological and enzymatic parameters symptomatic of oxidative stress in barley grown in sodic-B toxic soil

The effect of silicon (Si) on the growth, sodium (Na), chloride (Cl), boron (B) concentrations, lipid peroxidation (MDA), membrane permeability (MP), lypoxygenase activity (LOX), proline (PRO) and H(2)O(2) accumulation, and the activities of major antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT and ascorbate peroxidase, APX) of barley grown in original sodic-B toxic soil were investigated. Si applied to the sodic-B toxic soil at 70, 140 and 280 mg kg(-1) levels significantly increased Si concentrations of the plants and counteracted the deleterious effects of sodicity (Na ions) and B on shoot growth. Membrane permeability and the concentrations of H(2)O(2) and MDA increased, while PRO concentration decreased in plants grown in sodic-B toxic soil without Si. LOX activity was increased by applied Si. Compared with control plants, the activities of SOD and CAT were decreased, but APX was increased by applied Si levels.     

Lensfree fluorescent on-chip imaging of transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans over an ultra-wide field-of-view

We demonstrate lensfree on-chip fluorescent imaging of transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) over an ultra-wide field-of-view (FOV) of e.g., >2-8 cm(2) with a spatial resolution of ～10 μm. This is the first time that a lensfree on-chip platform has successfully imaged fluorescent C. elegans samples. In our wide-field lensfree imaging platform, the transgenic samples are excited using a prism interface from the side, where the pump light is rejected through total internal reflection occurring at the bottom facet of the substrate. The emitted fluorescent signal from C. elegans samples is then recorded on a large area opto-electronic sensor-array over an FOV of e.g., >2-8 cm(2), without the use of any lenses, thin-film interference filters or mechanical scanners. Because fluorescent emission rapidly diverges, such lensfree fluorescent images recorded on a chip look blurred due to broad point-spread-function of our platform. To combat this resolution challenge, we use a compressive sampling algorithm to uniquely decode the recorded lensfree fluorescent patterns into higher resolution images, demonstrating ～10 μm resolution. We tested the efficacy of this compressive decoding approach with different types of opto-electronic sensors to achieve a similar resolution level, independent of the imaging chip. We further demonstrate that this wide FOV lensfree fluorescent imaging platform can also perform sequential bright-field imaging of the same samples using partially-coherent lensfree digital in-line holography that is coupled from the top facet of the same prism used in fluorescent excitation. This unique combination permits ultra-wide field dual-mode imaging of C. elegans on a chip which could especially provide a useful tool for high-throughput screening applications in biomedical research.     

Lensless Fluorescent Microscopy on a Chip

On-chip lensless imaging in general aims to replace bulky lens-based optical microscopes with simpler and more compact designs, especially for high-throughput screening applications. This emerging technology platform has the potential to eliminate the need for bulky and/or costly optical components through the help of novel theories and digital reconstruction algorithms. Along the same lines, here we demonstrate an on-chip fluorescent microscopy modality that can achieve e.g., <4μm spatial resolution over an ultra-wide field-of-view (FOV) of >0.6-8 cm² without the use of any lenses, mechanical-scanning or thin-film based interference filters. In this technique, fluorescent excitation is achieved through a prism or hemispherical-glass interface illuminated by an incoherent source. After interacting with the entire object volume, this excitation light is rejected by total-internal-reflection (TIR) process that is occurring at the bottom of the sample micro-fluidic chip. The fluorescent emission from the excited objects is then collected by a fiber-optic faceplate or a taper and is delivered to an optoelectronic sensor array such as a charge-coupled-device (CCD). By using a compressive-sampling based decoding algorithm, the acquired lensfree raw fluorescent images of the sample can be rapidly processed to yield e.g., <4μm resolution over an FOV of >0.6-8 cm². Moreover, vertically stacked micro-channels that are separated by e.g., 50-100 μm can also be successfully imaged using the same lensfree on-chip microscopy platform, which further increases the overall throughput of this modality. This compact on-chip fluorescent imaging platform, with a rapid compressive decoder behind it, could be rather valuable for high-throughput cytometry, rare-cell research and microarray-analysis.Download video file.^{(70M, mov)}     

The effect of venous thromboembolism on survival of cancer patients and its relationship with serum levels of factor VIII and vascular endothelial growth factor: a prospective matched-paired study

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VT) increases mortality and morbidity in cancer patients. The primary aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of VT on the survival of cancer patients and its relationship with serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and plasma factor VIII levels. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Eighty-two patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer were included in this study between September 2001 and March 2004, and 31 of them had VT. Fifty-one matched-paired cancer patients without VT were prospectively selected as a control group in the same period. Criteria for the selection of control group patients were having the same malignancy, stage, metastatic site, performance status and age (+/-5 years) as patients in the VT group. RESULTS: Plasma factor VIII and serum D-dimer levels in the VT group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p=0.030 and p=0.016, respectively). However, mean serum VEGF levels were similar in both groups (p=0.199). In the VT group, the median survival of patients who had higher serum VEGF levels (>150 pg/mL) was significantly shorter than that of patients in the same group with lower serum VEGF levels (p=0.005). The median survival of the VT group was 14 months, whereas it was 25 months in the control group (p=0.199). CONCLUSION: There was a worse prognostic trend for cancer patients with VT. Nevertheless, the difference in survival was not statistically significant between the groups. Plasma factor VIII and serum D-dimer levels might have prognostic value in cancer patients with VT. Cancer patients with VT and higher serum VEGF levels had a significantly poorer prognosis.     

Removal of Ni(II) from aqueous solution by adsorption onto hazelnut shell activated carbon: equilibrium studies

Carps are the mainstay of Indian aquaculture, contributing over 90% to the total fish production, which was estimated to be 1.77 million metric tonnes in 1996. Carp culture has a great potential for waste utilization and thus for pollution abatement. Many wastes such as cow, poultry, pig, duck, goat, and sheep excreta, biogas slurry, effluents from different kinds of factories/industries have been efficiently used for enhancing the productivity of natural food of carps and related species. Besides, several organic wastes/byproducts such as plant products, wastes from animal husbandry, and industrial by-products have been used as carp feed ingredients to lower the cost of supplementary feeding. However, to ensure the continued expansion of fish ponds and the pollution control, there must be a market for the fish (carps) produced in these ponds. The carps have, however, a low market value due to the presence of intra-muscular bones, which reduces their consumer acceptability. Thus, a need was felt to develop some boneless convenience products for enhancing the consumer acceptability of the carps. Efforts were made to prepare three value-added fish products, namely fish patty, fish finger and fish salad from carp flesh and were compared with a reference product ('fish pakoura'). Sensory evaluation of these products gave highly encouraging results. The methods of preparation of these products were transferred to some progressive farmers of the region who prepared and sold these products at very attractive prices. Carp processing has a great potential for the establishment of a fish ancillary industry and thus for boosting the production of these species. In Punjab alone, there is a potential of consuming 32,448 metric tonnes per annum of such value-added products (which would require 54,080 metric tonnes of raw fish). The development of value-added products has a significant role in raising the socio-economic status of the people associated with carp culture. The average cost of production of these products was estimated to be INR 80 per kg. With a sale price of INR 110 per kg, and a sale of 50 kg per day of the value-added products (26 days a month), the average monthly income of a carp-processing unit comes to be INR 39,000 (929 USD, approximately).     

UV radiation resistance-associated gene (UVRAG) promotes cell proliferation,migration, invasion by regulating cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and integrin-β/Src signaling in breast cancer cells

Breast cancer is a highly heterogeneous group of human cancer with distinct genetic, biological and clinicopathological features. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is the most aggressive and metastatic type of breast cancer and associated with poor patient survival. However, the role of UV Radiation Resistance-Associated Gene (UVRAG) in TNBC remains unknown. Here, we report that UVRAG is highly upregulated in all TNBC cells and its knockdown leads to the inhibition of cell proliferation, colony formation and progression of cell cycle, which is associated with and reduced expression of cell cycle related protein expression, including Cyclin A2, B1, D1, cdc2 and cdk6 in TNBC cells. Inhibition of UVRAG also suppressed cell motility, migration and invasion of TNBC cells by inhibition of Integrin β1 and β3 and Src activity. Our findings suggest for the first time that UVRAG expression contributes to proliferation, cell cycle progression, motility/migration and invasion of TNBC cells. Thus, targeting UVRAG could be a potential strategy in breast cancer especially against TNBC.

     

The Effects of Chronomodulated Therapy with 5-Fluorouracil (5-Fu) and Folinic Acid (Fa) on the Toxicity and Quality of Life in Patients with Advanced Gastric Cancer

This study was designed to assess the tolerability of chronomodulated infusion chemotherapy, individualized by the rhythm of peripheral blood cells. Twenty patients with metastatic gastric cancer were randomized to chronotherapy or day-time arms of 5-fluorouracil (FU) (600 mg/m², 8 h inf.d1-5) and folinic acid (FA) (20 mg/m², iv, d1-5) in the first cycle and crossed-over to the other arm in the following cycles. Ten of 18 evaluable patients were assigned to chronotherapy arm and eight to day-time in the first cycle. Although there was no significant difference between two arms on enrollment, chronotherapy arm yielded an improvement of 45% of QLQ-C30 scores (p = 0.021) and the day-time arm had 11% improvement (p = 0.575). After the crossing-over, chronotherapy arm, again, had a significant improvement in QLQ-C30 scores, compared to the day-time arm (14% vs. -18%, p = 0.001, respectively). Mucositis/diarrhea was significantly higher in the day-time arm compared to chronotherapy arm (p = 0.015). In conclusion, chronomodulated infusion of 5-FU might improve the quality of life.