To make significant progress in the fight against cancer, treatment should target cells more specifically, produce fewer side effects, be easy to administer and deter tumor viability on multiple levels. We have attained dramatic in vivo tumor shrinkage and tumor vasculature disruption using a ternary biomolecular nanoparticle comprised of polymeric carrier polysaccharide heparin, anticancer drug retinoid and targeting ligand folic acid. The conjugation of retinoid and folic acid to heparin enhanced the water solubility of the drug, enabled selective targeting, and enhanced the role of heparin as anti-cancer drug carrier by eluding the coagulation cascade. This approach for targeting tumor holds great promise for treatment of various types of cancer. The folic acid linked heparin-retinoid conjugates (HFR) reactions was conjugated with ester and amide bonding which was confirmed by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR). The ratio of HFR conjugates was measured with Ultra-Violet spectrometry (UV-spectrometry). The particle size of HFR nanoparticles was measured by dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). HFR conjugates were spherical and showed a diameter range of 200-300 nm in size. The nanoparticles maintained their stability in serum condition for 48hrs and have the high potential for applications in biomedical field.
This study aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of human gut-derived multi-strain probiotics in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This was an open-label, prospective, observational study. Patients with IBS were administered human gut-derived multi-strain probiotics for 4 weeks. The primary and secondary outcomes were based on the overall responder rate of the total IBS severity scoring system (IBS-SSS) score (>50-point decrease) and the IBS quality of life (IBS-QOL) score and IBS-SSS1 subscore (>10-point decrease in both scores), respectively. The estimated response rate is 55%. Of 44 patients, the total IBS-SSS score responder rate was 18.2% and 63.6% of patients at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively (P = .018). Compared with baseline, a significant improvement in the IBS-QOL score was observed in 27.3% and 63.6% of patients at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively (P = .001). Overall improvement rates in the IBS-SSS1 subscore were observed in 29.5% and 61.4% of patients at 2 and 4 weeks, respectively (P < .001). Primary and secondary outcomes were higher at 4 weeks (total IBS-SSS score, 63.6%; IBS-QOL score, 63.6%; IBS-SSS1 subscore, 61.4%) than the estimated responder rate (55%). Human gut-derived multi-strain probiotics have the potential to become an effective and safe treatment option for IBS patients.
Cervical cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer-related mortality in females. Coix lacryma-jobi L. var. ma-yuen (Rom.Caill.) Stapf ex Hook. f. is the most widely recognized medicinal herb for its remedial effects against inflammation, endocrine system dysfunctions, warts, chapped skin, rheumatism, and neuralgia and is also a nourishing food.To investigate the activity of Coix lacryma-jobi sprout extract (CLSE) on cell proliferation in human cervical cancer HeLa cells, we conducted a Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Flow-cytometric analysis and western blot analysis were performed to verify the effect of CLSE on the regulation of the cell cycle and apoptosis in HeLa cells.We observed that CLSE significantly inhibited cell proliferation. Furthermore, CLSE dose-dependently promoted cell cycle arrest at the sub-G1/ S phase in HeLa cells, as detected by bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) staining. The cell-cycle-arrest effects of CLSE in HeLa cells were associated with downregulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) 2, 4, and 6. Moreover, CLSE induced apoptosis, as determined by flow-cytometric analysis and nuclear DNA fragmentation with Annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) and 4'6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining. Induction of apoptosis by CLSE was involved in inhibition of the antiapoptotic protein B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) and upregulation of the apoptotic proteins p53, cleaved poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP), cleaved caspase-3, and cleaved caspase-8. Finally, we observed that CLSE inactivated the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT) pathways.CLSE causes cell cycle arrest and apoptotic cell death through inactivation of the PI3K/AKT pathway in HeLa cells, suggesting it is a viable therapeutic agent for cervical cancer owing to its anticancer effects.
Direct medical control using video conferencing capabilities of smartphones has never been conducted in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. This study was conducted to investigate the feasibility and treatment effectiveness of real-time smartphone video conferencing calls for the management of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.This study was a pre-post-intervention prospective cohort study conducted from January 2013 to July 2015. The intervention was pre-hospital advanced life support under a physician's direction using a smartphone video call.In total, 942 cardiac arrests occurred over the 2-year period; 308 patients were excluded, and 314 (49.5%) and 320 (50.5%) cardiac arrest patients were enrolled during the pre- and post-intervention study periods, respectively. There were 248/320 (77.5%) cases of smartphone video-assisted advanced life support during the post-intervention period. For patients in the pre- and post-intervention groups, the pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation was 6.7 and 20%, respectively (adjusted odds ratio 3.3, 95% confidence interval 1.6-6.8, P < 0.01), and favourable neurological outcomes were ascertained in 1.9 and 6.9%, respectively (adjusted odds ratio 23.6, 95% confidence interval 3.4-164.0, P < 0.01). The smartphone voice and video quality were rated 8.5 and 8.2 out of 10, respectively, in physician evaluation, while the overall utility was rated 9.1.We concluded that a multidisciplinary approach including the re-education of basic life support, simulation training for advanced life support, real-time medical direction via video call, and dispatching two teams rather than one team improved the outcome of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
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