Investigation into the impact of acetylene on performance and emission characteristics of a compression ignition engine using a blended biodiesel of ethanol and tamanu oil.

Due to the significant increase in transportation, traditional fossil fuels utilised in internal combustion engines will only be accessible for a limited duration. Additionally, the harmful pollutants produced by these fuels, including CO, NO, unburned hydrocarbons, smoke, and a small amount of particulate matter, have a severe negative impact on the environment. Although biodiesel proves efficient without necessitating engine modifications, its performance is hindered by its higher viscosity.

The dynamic therapeutic effect of a targeted photothermal nanovaccine incorporating toll-like receptor 7 agonist enhanced cancer immunotherapy.

Photothermal therapy (PTT) is a noninvasive and effective thermal therapeutic approach. Near-infrared (NIR) light responsive organic nanoparticles (NPs) have been shown to enhance the efficacy of cancer PTT. However, photothermal ablation induced NPs are currently more effective in treating primary and metastatic cancer.

Ultra-small NIR-Responsive Nanotheranostic Agent for Targeted Photothermal Ablation Induced Damage-Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMPs) from Post-PTT of Tumor Cells Activate Immunogenic Cell Death.

Theranostic nanoparticles (TNPs) is an efficient avenue that culminates both diagnosis and therapy into cancer treatment. Herein, we have formulated a theranostic nanocomposite (NC) with CuS being the ultra-small core component. To ensure stability to the NC, PEI was added which is a vital anchoring group polymer, especially on sulfide surfaces, and adds quality by being a better stabilizer and reducing agent.

Targeted Designing of Multimodal Tumor-Seeking Nanomedicine for Breast Cancer-Specific Triple-Therapeutic Effects.

Integrated tumor-seeking nanomedicine (TSN) is designed to achieve a high therapeutic anticancer effect that is highly desirable for effective cancer treatment to overcome the detrimental effects of conventional therapies. However, direct administration of drugs cannot achieve a high level of specificity, which remains a formidable challenge. To address the confines, incorporation of multifunctionalities to maximize the specificity of TSN must be performed; TSN picks up multiple cargoes that are initially arrested at the core location and delivers each type simultaneously to a specified destination.

Synergistic Effect of Photothermally Targeted NIR-Responsive Nanomedicine-Induced Immunogenic Cell Death for Effective Triple Negative Breast Cancer Therapy.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a breast cancer subtype. At present, TNBC patients do not have approved targeted therapy. Therefore, patients primarily depend on forceful systemic chemotherapy that has unavoidable harmful side effects, resulting in inadequate therapeutic outcomes and leading to a high mortality rate.

Effect of Structural Uncertainty in Passive Microwave Soil Moisture Retrieval Algorithm.

Passive microwave sensors use a radiative transfer model (RTM) to retrieve soil moisture (SM) using brightness temperatures () at low microwave frequencies. Vegetation optical depth (VOD) is a key input to the RTM. Retrieval algorithms can analytically invert the RTM using dual-polarized measurements to retrieve the VOD and SM concurrently.

Mechanism of Anti-rotavirus Synergistic Activity by Epigallocatechin Gallate and a Proanthocyanidin-Containing Nutraceutical.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) of green tea and the nutraceutical CystiCran-40 (containing 40% proanthocyanidins) of the cranberry plant have been associated with antiviral activity. The purpose of this work was to determine the mechanism of antiviral synergy between each compound. Coliphage T4II (phage T4) and the rotavirus strain SA-11(RTV) were used as model virus systems.

Comparison of α-glucosyl hesperidin of citrus fruits and epigallocatechin gallate of green tea on the Loss of Rotavirus Infectivity in Cell Culture.

A number of secondary plant metabolites (e.g., flavonoids) possess antiviral/antimicrobial activity.

Effect of pH on anti-rotavirus activity by comestible juices and proanthocyanidins in a cell-free assay system.

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) and grape (Vitis labrusca) juices, and these species' secondary plant metabolites [i.e., proanthocyanidins (PACs)] possess antiviral activity.

Cranberry and Grape Juices Affect Tight Junction Function and Structural Integrity of Rotavirus-Infected Monkey Kidney Epithelial Cell Monolayers.

Cranberry juice (CJ) and grape juice (GJ) from Vaccinium macrocarpon and Vitis labrusca, respectively, and purified proanthocyanidins (PACs) from these species are recognized to possess antiviral activity. The effects of CJ and GJ on tight junction (TJ) structure and function among rotavirus-infected monkey kidney epithelial cells (MA-104) in monolayer cultures were evaluated. Antiviral activity by cranberry PACs of rotavirus in cell-free suspension was investigated by a rotavirus antigen [i.

Overexpression of torsinA in PC12 cells protects against toxicity.

Childhood-onset dystonia is an autosomal dominant movement disorder associated with a three base pair (GAG) deletion mutation in the DYT1 gene. This gene encodes a novel ATP-binding protein called torsinA, which in the central nervous system is expressed exclusively in neurons. Neither the function of torsinA nor its role in the pathophysiology of DYT1 dystonia is known.

Interactions of the chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan phosphacan, the extracellular domain of a receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase, with neurons, glia, and neural cell adhesion molecules.

Phosphacan is a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan produced by glial cells in the central nervous system, and represents the extracellular domain of a receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase (RPTP zeta/beta). We previously demonstrated that soluble phosphacan inhibited the aggregation of microbeads coated with N-CAM or Ng-CAM, and have now found that soluble 125I-phosphacan bound reversibly to these neural cell adhesion molecules, but not to a number of other cell surface and extracellular matrix proteins. The binding was saturable, and Scatchard plots indicated a single high affinity binding site with a Kd of approximately 0.

Immunocytochemical and in situ hybridization studies of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan, glypican, in nervous tissue.

Using immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization histochemistry, we have investigated in embryonic and postnatal rat nervous tissue the localization and cellular sites of synthesis of glypican, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol-anchored heparan sulfate proteoglycan. Glypican immunoreactivity is present in the marginal layer (prospective white matter) and in the dorsal root entry zone of E13-16 spinal cord, as well as in the optic nerve and retina at this stage, but does not appear at significant levels in brain until approximately E19. The proteoglycan shows a wide distribution in grey matter and axonal projections of postnatal brain, including the hippocampal formation, the parallel fibers of cerebellar granule cells, and in the medulla and brainstem.

The neuronal chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan neurocan binds to the neural cell adhesion molecules Ng-CAM/L1/NILE and N-CAM, and inhibits neuronal adhesion and neurite outgrowth.

We have previously shown that aggregation of microbeads coated with N-CAM and Ng-CAM is inhibited by incubation with soluble neurocan, a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of brain, suggesting that neurocan binds to these cell adhesion molecules (Grumet, M., A. Flaccus, and R.

Interactions with tenascin and differential effects on cell adhesion of neurocan and phosphacan, two major chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans of nervous tissue.

We have studied interactions of tenascin with two chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, neurocan and phosphacan. Neurocan is a multi-domain proteoglycan with a 136-kDa core protein that is synthesized by neurons and binds to hyaluronic acid, whereas the 173-kDa core protein of phosphacan, which is synthesized by glia, represents an extracellular variant of the receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase RPTP zeta/beta. Keratan sulfate-containing glycoforms of phosphacan (designated phosphacan-KS) are also present in brain.

Cloning of a major heparan sulfate proteoglycan from brain and identification as the rat form of glypican.

We have obtained the complete coding sequence of a highly conserved heparan sulfate proteoglycan which we previously characterized biochemically after isolation from rat brain. An open reading frame of 558 amino acids encodes a protein with a molecular mass of 62 kDa containing three peptide sequences present in the isolated proteoglycan. The total sequence obtained is 3.

Cloning and primary structure of neurocan, a developmentally regulated, aggregating chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of brain.

We have obtained the complete coding sequence of neurocan, a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of rat brain which is developmentally regulated with respect to its molecular size, concentration, carbohydrate composition, sulfation, and immunocytochemical localization. Two degenerate oligonucleotides, based on amino acid sequence data from the proteoglycan isolated from adult brain by immunoaffinity chromatography with the 1D1 monoclonal antibody, were used as sense and antisense primers in the polymerase chain reaction with a brain cDNA library as template to generate an unambiguous cDNA probe. A second probe for the N-terminal portion of the early postnatal form of the proteoglycan was obtained by reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction.