Mechanisms of Phytonutrient Modulation of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Inflammation Related to Cancer.

The link between chronic inflammation and cancer involves cytokines and mediators of inflammatory pathways. Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a key enzyme in fatty acid metabolism, is upregulated during both inflammation and cancer. COX-2 is induced by pro-inflammatory cytokines at the site of inflammation and enhanced COX-2-induced synthesis of prostaglandins stimulates cancer cell proliferation, promotes angiogenesis, inhibits apoptosis, and increases metastatic potential.

Report on the NCI Microbial-Based Cancer Therapy Conference.

The National Cancer Institute Inaugural Microbial-Based Cancer Therapy Conference was held in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 11-12, 2017. This interdisciplinary forum included industry leaders, academic investigators, and regulatory officers involved in the development of microbial-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the potential of virus- and bacteria-based therapies to halt tumorigenesis and induce immune responses in cancers where conventional therapy is inadequate.

Streak Imaging Flow Cytometer for Rare Cell Analysis.

There is a need for simple and affordable techniques for cytology for clinical applications, especially for point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostics in resource-poor settings. However, this often requires adapting expensive and complex laboratory-based techniques that often require significant power and are too massive to transport easily. One such technique is flow cytometry, which has great potential for modification due to the simplicity of the principle of optical tracking of cells.

Low-Cost Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) Based Detectors for Shiga Toxins Activity Analysis.

To improve food safety there is a need to develop simple, low-cost sensitive devices for detection of food-borne pathogens and their toxins. We describe a simple, low-cost webcam-based detector which can be used for various optical detection modalities, including fluorescence, chemiluminescence, densitometry, and colorimetric assays. The portable battery-operated CCD-based detection system consists of four modules: (1) a webcam to measure and record light emission, (2) a sample plate to perform assays, (3) a light emitting diode (LED) for illumination, and (4) a portable computer to acquire and analyze images.