Wattsbatchelor7720
Remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) is an important part in the development and progression of many epithelial cancers. However, the biological significance of collagen alterations in ovarian cancer has not been well established. Here we investigated the role of collagen fiber morphology on cancer cell migration using tissue engineered scaffolds based on high-resolution Second-Harmonic Generation (SHG) images of ovarian tumors. The collagen-based scaffolds are fabricated by multiphoton excited (MPE) polymerization, which is a freeform 3D method affording submicron resolution feature sizes (~0.5 µm). This capability allows the replication of the collagen fiber architecture, where we constructed models representing normal stroma, high-risk tissue, benign tumors, and high-grade tumors. These were seeded with normal and ovarian cancer cell lines to investigate the separate roles of the cell type and matrix morphology on migration dynamics. The primary finding is that key cell-matrix interactions such as motility, cell spreading, f-actin alignment, focal adhesion, and cadherin expression are mainly determined by the collagen fiber morphology to a larger extent than the initial cell type. Moreover, we found these aspects were all enhanced for cells on the highly aligned, high-grade tumor model. Conversely, the weakest corresponding responses were observed on the more random mesh-like normal stromal matrix, with the partially aligned benign tumor and high-risk models demonstrating intermediate behavior. These results are all consistent with a contact guidance mechanism. These models cannot be synthesized by other conventional fabrication methods, and we suggest this approach will enable a variety of studies in cancer biology.Background The biological mechanisms that contribute to atrophic long bone non-union are poorly understood. Multipotential mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are key contributors to bone formation and are recognised as important mediators of blood vessel formation. This study examines the role of MSCs in tissue formation at the site of atrophic non-union. Materials and methods Tissue and MSCs from non-union sites (n = 20) and induced periosteal (IP) membrane formed following the Masquelet bone reconstruction technique (n = 15) or bone marrow (n = 8) were compared. MSC content, differentiation, and influence on angiogenesis were measured in vitro. Cell content and vasculature measurements were performed by flow cytometry and histology, and gene expression was measured by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Results MSCs from non-union sites had comparable differentiation potential to bone marrow MSCs. Compared with induced periosteum, non-union tissue contained similar proportion of colony-forming cells, but a greater proportion of pericytes (p = 0.036), and endothelial cells (p = 0.016) and blood vessels were more numerous (p = 0.001) with smaller luminal diameter (p = 0.046). MSCs showed marked differences in angiogenic transcripts depending on the source, and those from induced periosteum, but not non-union tissue, inhibited early stages of in vitro angiogenesis. Conclusions In vitro, non-union site derived MSCs have no impairment of differentiation capacity, but they differ from IP-derived MSCs in mediating angiogenesis. Local MSCs may thus be strongly implicated in the formation of the immature vascular network at the non-union site. Attention should be given to their angiogenic support profile when selecting MSCs for regenerative therapy.The first step leading to metastasis, or for the acquisition of local invasiveness, involves changes in the phenotype of neoplastic cells in the primary tumor. The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process that determines the acquisition of a form and a transcriptional program that are characteristic of mesenchymal cells, in epithelial cells. The factors involved in this process are E-cadherin and N-cadherin adhesion proteins and some transcription factors such as Slug and Twist. EMT is a site-specific mechanism that is also active in embryogenesis-embryonic cells are affected if invested in certain points, probably due to the signals emanating from the cells or groups of surrounding cells. It is known that neuroendocrine neoplasms have a biological behavior that differs in grading, staging, and site. The aim of our study was to investigate the immunohistochemical expression of EMT factors (Twist, Slug, and E-cadherin) in the neuroendocrine neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract, the pancreas, and lungs, in 65 cases retrieved from the archives of the Department of Pathology, of three hospitals. MAPK inhibitor The immunoscores were compared in each site and correlated with the clinico-pathological parameters. Statistical evaluation revealed an association between the higher Twist immunoscore and higher grading (p value less then 0.0001) and staging (p value = 0.0055). Slug was detected only in pancreatic cases where its reduced expression was associated with a higher grading (p value = 0.0033). This data could be of diagnostic utility in the case of metastases from neuroendocrine neoplasm, to define the site of the primitive tumor when the traditional immunohistochemical panel is not sufficient. In summary, our results indicated, first that the EMT is also an active process in neuroendocrine neoplasms. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study that evaluated the expression of EMT factors in neuroendocrine neoplasms of different districts.Olivacine is an alkaloid-containing pyridocarbazole structure. It is isolated from the bark of the evergreen timber tree, Aspidosperma olivaceum. Its well-documented anticancer activity led to the synthesis of new derivatives, which are semisynthetic and fully synthetic pyridocarbazoles. This study aimed to evaluate the potential antineoplastic activity of four newly synthesized olivacine derivatives. Multidrug resistance is a common phenomenon causing failure in the chemotherapy of many tumors. It is mainly related to increased function of P-glycoprotein, an efflux pump removing cytostatic out of the cells. The cell lines used in the study were colorectal carcinoma cell lines LoVo (doxorubicin-sensitive) and LoVo/DX (doxorubicin-resistant). link2 The NHDF cell line was used to assess cell viability. First, the cells were incubated with olivacine derivatives. In the next step, the following assays were performed DCF-DA assay, MTT assay, rhodamine 123 assay, detection of apoptosis, proliferation inhibition-mitotic index. The tested compounds showed higher antineoplastic potential and lower toxicity than the reference compound ellipticine. The results indicate that the new olivacine derivatives are good candidates for future anticancer drugs.Ivermectin (IVM) is an anthelmintic compound commonly used off-label in mules due to its broad-spectrum of activity. Despite the general use of IVM in mules with the same dose and route of administration licensed for horses, significant pharmacokinetic differences might exist between horses and mules, as already observed for donkeys. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile and anthelmintic efficacy of an oral paste of IVM in mules naturally infected with cyathostomins. Fifteen adult mules with fecal egg counts (FEC) ≥200 eggs per gram (EPG), with exclusive presence of cyathostomins, were included in the study. All mules were orally treated with IVM according to the manufacturer's recommended horse dosage (200 µg/kg body weight). FECs were performed before (day-10 and day-3) and after treatment at days 14 and 28 by using a modified McMaster method. The FEC reduction (FECR%) was also calculated. Blood samples were collected from five animals at various times between 0.5 h up to 30 days post treatment to determine pharmacokinetic parameters. The maximum IVM serum concentration (Cmax) was 42.31 ± 10.20 ng/mL and was achieved at 16.80 ± 9.96 hours post-treatment (Tmax), area under the curve (AUC) was 135.56 ± 43.71 ng × day/mL. FECR% remained high (>95%) until the 28th day.A light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensor can obtain richer and more detailed traffic flow information than traditional traffic detectors, which could be valuable data input for various novel intelligent transportation applications. link3 However, the point cloud generated by LiDAR scanning not only includes road user points but also other surrounding object points. It is necessary to remove the worthless points from the point cloud by using a suitable background filtering algorithm to accelerate the micro-level traffic data extraction. This paper presents a background point filtering algorithm using a slice-based projection filtering (SPF) method. First, a 3-D point cloud is projected to 2-D polar coordinates to reduce the point data dimensions and improve the processing efficiency. Then, the point cloud is classified into four categories in a slice unit Valuable object points (VOPs), worthless object points (WOPs), abnormal ground points (AGPs), and normal ground points (NGPs). Based on the point cloud classification results, the traffic objects (pedestrians and vehicles) and their surrounding information can be easily identified from an individual frame of the point cloud. We proposed an artificial neuron network (ANN)-based model to improve the adaptability of the algorithm in dealing with the road gradient and LiDAR-employing inclination. The experimental results showed that the algorithm of this paper successfully extracted the valuable points, such as road users and curbstones. Compared to the random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithm and 3-D density-statistic-filtering (3-D-DSF) algorithm, the proposed algorithm in this paper demonstrated better performance in terms of the run-time and background filtering accuracy.Phoenix canariensis Hort. Ex Chabaud, also known as the Canary Island palm or ornamental palm, is an endemic species of the Canary Islands and has been widely propagated globally. It has become one of the most important and appreciated ornamental plants, especially in the Mediterranean climate. The fruits are edible but used only for feed as they are bitter. Despite its diffusion, not much data on the composition of these fruits and their application as food are available. The aim of this study was to define the chemical characteristics, especially those of the polyphenolic constituents, of red and yellow varieties of Canary palm dates, and to evaluate their use alone or in different mixes in biscuit production. The yellow variety had higher quantities of fiber (36.88% DW (Dry Weight)) and polyphenolic compounds, while the red variety had a high content of sugars, mainly glucose (22.8% DW). Epicatechin is the most important polyphenol of dates (562 mg/g DW). The use of date palm powder on biscuit production resulted in an increase in hardness, polyphenol and fiber content, and antioxidant activity. Sensory analysis showed that the biscuits obtained with a 25/75 mix of red/yellow date powder had the most overall liking.Corrosion in underground and submerged steel pipes is a global problem. Coatings serve as an impermeable barrier or a sacrificial element to the transport of corrosive fluids. When this barrier fails, corrosion in the metal initiates. There is a critical need for sensors at the metal/coating interface as an early alert system. Current options utilize metal sensors, leading to accelerating corrosion. In this paper, a non-conductive sensor textile as a viable solution was investigated. For this purpose, non-woven Zinc (II) Oxide-Polyvinylidene Fluoride (ZnO-PVDF) nanocomposite fiber textiles were prepared in a range of weight fractions (1%, 3%, and 5% ZnO) and placed at the coating/steel interface. The properties of ZnO-PVDF nanocomposite meshes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and d33 meter. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) testing was performed during the immersion of the coated samples to validate the effectiveness of the sensor textile.