Utilization of banana crop ligno-cellulosic waste for sustainable development of biomaterials and nanocomposites.

Banana (Musa spp.) is a tropical fruit cultivated in over 130 countries, producing significant lignocellulosic biomass. However, much of the agro-industrial waste from banana plants is neglected, contributing to environmental pollution.

Analysing the performance of the NARX model for forecasting the water level in the Chikugo River estuary, Japan.

Estuaries are dynamic environments which are driven by various natural processes like river discharge, tides, waves, influx of saline water and sediments, etc. These ecosystems are the most sensitive to sea level rise and fluctuations in river discharge associated with climate change. A direct response of sea level rise and river discharge can be observed in the water level of estuaries.

Exploring differences in the physicochemical, functional, structural, and pasting properties of banana starches from dessert, cooking, and plantain cultivars (Musa spp.).

Banana starch, with its nutritional and functional properties, opens up new opportunities for the food industry, which is seeking new starch sources to fulfil rising demand. Herein, physico-chemical, and functional properties of banana starches isolated from dessert, plantain, and cooking cultivars were investigated. Starch yield was higher in Popoulu (30.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma ligand-mediated apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells depends upon modulation of PI3Kinase pathway independent of Akt.

Background: Ligands of Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) can inhibit growth and promote apoptosis in various cancer cells, and thus have the potential to be utilized as anticancer drugs. This potential however, has been seriously challenged by observations that they can lead to tumor promotion in some cancer models, possibly due to activation of different signaling mechanisms in various tumor environments. Elucidation of the specific signaling events that modulate PPARγ ligand-mediated events is thus critical to increase their efficacy.

Caspase-mediated cleavage of beta-catenin precedes drug-induced apoptosis in resistant cancer cells.

A delicate balance between cell death and survival pathways maintains normal physiology, which is altered in many cancers, shifting the balance toward increased survival. Several studies have established a close connection between the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and tumorigenesis, aberrant activation of which might contribute toward increased cancer cell growth and survival. Extensive research is underway to identify therapeutic agents that can induce apoptosis specifically in cancer cells with minimal collateral damage to normal cells.