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BACKGROUND Calycosin is a bioactive isoflavonoid of the medicinal plant Astragalus membranaceus that exhibits a wide range of pharmacological properties. In the present study, we have attempted to explore the anti-tumorigenic potential of calycosin in pancreatic cancer. METHODS MTT assay was used to determine cancer cell viability. Cell cycle analysis and detection of apoptosis were performed using flow cytometry. A wound healing assay was employed to study the migratory activity of cancer cells. Western blotting and RT-PCR were used to explore the mechanism by assessing the target proteins and genes. An orthotopic tumor xenograft mouse model was also used to study the drug effects in vivo. RESULTS Calycosin inhibited the growth of pancreatic cancer cells by inducing p21Waf1/Cip1-induced cell cycle arrest and caspase-dependent apoptosis. Alternatively, it also promoted MIA PaCa-2 cell migration by eliciting epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and matrix metalloproteinase activation. In vivo study has confirmed that calycosin would provoke the pro-invasive and angiogenic drive and subsequent EMT in pancreatic tumors. Further mechanistic study suggests that induction of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway and facilitated polarization of M2 tumor-associated macrophage in the tumor microenvironment both contribute to the pro-metastatic potential of calycosin. These events appear to be associated with increased expression of TGF-β1 at both transcriptional and post-translational levels, which may explain the paradoxical drug actions since TGF-β has been implicated to play dual roles as both tumor suppressor and tumor promoter in pancreatic cancer development. CONCLUSION Findings of this study provide innovative insights about the impact of calycosin in pancreatic cancer progression through induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis while possessing certain tumor-promoting property by modulation of the tumor microenvironment. BACKGROUND Gallbladder cancer is rare but associated with significant morbidity and mortality necessitating the early identification of premalignant and malignant lesions to improve overall prognosis. Despite limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of transabdominal ultrasound (US) in the detection of gallbladder polyps, it plays a key role in current European guidelines. The aim of this study was to investigate gallbladder polyp prevalence in a western European population and assess the diagnostic accuracy of transabdominal US. METHODS Data from patients who underwent cholecystectomy for US detected gallbladder polypoid lesions at four hospitals in Ireland and the United Kingdom between 2010 and 2018 were retrospectively collected. Patient demographics, ultrasonographic, and histopathologic findings were analyzed. RESULTS A total of 134 patients underwent cholecystectomy for US-detected gallbladder polyps. After histopathologic examination, pseudopolyps were found in 75 (56%) specimens with dysplastic or malignant polyps seen in only six (4.5%) specimens. Mean size for neoplastic polyps was 33 mm. The positive predictive value for US in detecting neoplastic polyps in this study was 4.5%, which is significantly lower than the 10%-15% reported previously. CONCLUSIONS Although the prevalence of neoplastic polyps in this study is higher than in the previous literature, the distribution of pseudopolyps and true polyps is as expected. With all malignant polyps being >10 mm in diameter, these findings support the current size thresholds stated in European guidelines. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/dynasore.html The poor diagnostic accuracy of US demonstrated may have led to significant number of patients undergoing unnecessary surgical intervention, further supporting the argument for improved strategies for the investigation of gallbladder polyps. Crown All rights reserved.The purpose of this research is twofold first, the spatial distribution of 911 emergency calls for service to the police for suicides in progress and threats of suicide in the City of Detroit, Michigan will be explored to determine whether these events exhibit different patterns of spatial clustering. Second, this research will explore the utility of Risk Terrain Modeling (RTM) to assist in our understanding of the locations of calls for service to the police related to suicide threats and suicides in progress. The results suggest that these events are different social phenomenon, both with respect to the spatial clustering of these events as well as qualitative differences in the environmental factors that may contribute to their occurrence. Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the predominant plasticizer and an endocrine disrupting chemical occurring almost in all partitions of the environment. Though DEHP occur at lower concentration, reluctance arises due to their ability to disrupt endocrine system even lower concentration. In the present study, DEHP was assessed for degradation at minimal level (1-100 μg L-1) by a novel bacterial strain, Rhodococcus jostii PEVJ9. In the experimental design, significant variables were concentration of silver nitrate and DEHP, pH, temperature, time and agitation. Degradation without SAM-silver nanoparticles was 30-66% (predicted value = 30.8-66.8%, R2 = 99.7%) while, degradation in the presence of SAM-silver nanoparticles onto bacterial cells was 100% (predicted value = 98.4-102.1%, R2 = 99.6%) within 72 h. In short, this is the first report illustrating the experimental designs in biogenic synthesis of SAM-silver nanoparticles and enhanced degradation of DEHP at minimal level. The study overcomes poor bioavailability and assimilation of DEHP at lower concentration by the microbial population present in the environment. Thus, an efficient clean-up would prevent or minimize DEHP exposure at all trophic levels ranging from feminization of fishes to reproductive disorders in humans. The granulation of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (Anammox) biomass plays a key role in high rate performance of upflow-type Anammox reactors. However, the formation of cavitation inside granules may result in sludge flotation problem, which negatively affects the operation stability. For quantitative evaluation of the Anammox granules flotation in upflow reactors, an integrated mathematical model was formulated based on the principles that the limitation of substrate diffusion would result in bacterial starvation, lysis and subsequently aiding the formation of cavitation in the inner zone of granules. The proposed model is used to investigate the possible mechanism of cavitation formation and granules flotation. The combined modelling and experimental results showed that the model predictions matched well with the actual floating behavior of granules (R2 = 0.83 for settled sludge and 0.76 for floating sludge). Based on the model results, the granule flotation could be divided into three zones namely (i) no-flotation zone (no flotation occurrence), (ii) transition zone (flotation with a part of granules), and (iii) flotation zone (inevitable flotation occurrence).