Designing of pH-Sensitive Hydrogels for Colon Targeted Drug Delivery; Characterization and In Vitro Evaluation.

In the current research work, pH-sensitive hydrogels were prepared via a free radical polymerization technique for the targeted delivery of 5-aminosalicylic acid to the colon. Various proportions of chitosan, β-Cyclodextrin, and acrylic acid were cross-linked by ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. Ammonium persulfate was employed as an initiator.

Formulation and In-Vitro Characterization of pH-Responsive Semi-Interpenetrating Polymer Network Hydrogels for Controlled Release of Ketorolac Tromethamine.

Ketorolac tromethamine is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in the management of severe pain. The half-life of Ketorolac tromethamine is within the range of 2.5-4 h.

Performance and microbial community analysis of Combined Denitrification and Biofloc Technology (CDBFT) system treating nitrogen-rich aquaculture wastewater.

This study proposed two novel Combined Denitrification and Biofloc Technology (CDBFT) systems (one under blue LED light (L1) and the other without light (C1), each containing a denitrification (DE) reactor and a biofloc-based reactor) for the enhanced total nitrogen (TN) removal. Long-term operation (110 days) suggested that simultaneous nitrification and denitrification was achieved in both C1 and L1. Significantly higher total nitrogen removal efficiency (TNRE) was observed in L1-CDBFT (92.

Mongoliimonas terrestris gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from desert soil.

A Gram-stain-negative, non-motile, aerobic, non-spore-forming, spherical bacterium (strain MIMtkB18T) was isolated from desert soil collected from part of a Mongolian Plateau, territory of Inner Mongolia, PR China. Cell growth could be observed at 20-45 °C (optimum at 40 °C), at a pH of 6-9 (optimum at pH 8.6) and in the presence of 0-1 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum 0 %).

Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi inoculation on arsenic accumulation by tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.).

A pot experiment was conducted to study the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi (from contaminated or uncontaminated soils) on arsenic (As) uptake of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) in As-contaminated soil. Mycorrhizal colonization rate, dry weight, As and P uptake by plants, concentrations of water-extractable As and As fractions were determined.

PHAPI/pp32 suppresses tumorigenesis by stimulating apoptosis.

PHAPI/pp32 is a tumor suppressor whose expression is altered in various human cancers. Although PHAPI possesses multiple biochemical activities, the molecular basis for its tumor-suppressive function has remained obscure. Recently we identified PHAPI as an apoptotic enhancer that stimulates apoptosome-mediated caspase activation.

The kinase domain of mitochondrial PINK1 faces the cytoplasm.

Mutations in PTEN-induced putative kinase 1 (PINK1) are a cause of autosomal recessive familial Parkinson's disease (PD). Efforts in deducing the PINK1 signaling pathway have been hindered by controversy around its subcellular and submitochondrial localization and the authenticity of its reported substrates. We show here that this mitochondrial protein exhibits a topology in which the kinase domain faces the cytoplasm and the N-terminal tail is inside the mitochondria.

A high density assay format for the detection of novel cytotoxic agents in large chemical libraries.

In response to the need for inexpensive high throughput assays for anti-cancer drug screening, a 1536-well microtiter plate based assay utilizing the Alamar Blue fluorescent dye as a measure of cellular growth was validated in 10 microL assay volume. Its robustness was assessed in a screen against a library of 2000 known bioactives; with an overall Z' value of 0.89 for assay robustness, several known cytotoxic agents were identified including and not limited to anthracyclines, cardiac glycosides, gamboges, and quinones.

Trk-signaling endosomes are generated by Rac-dependent macroendocytosis.

Why neurotrophins and their Trk receptors promote neuronal differentiation and survival whereas receptor tyrosine kinases for other growth factors, such as EGF, do not, has been a long-standing question in neurobiology. We provide evidence that one difference lies in the selective ability of Trk to generate long-lived signaling endosomes. We show that Trk endocytosis is distinguished from the classical clathrin-based endocytosis of EGF receptor (EGFR).

Stimulation of ATG12-ATG5 conjugation by ribonucleic acid.

The ubiquitin-like conjugation reactions, ATG8/microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3/MAP1LC3 (LC3) to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) and ATG12 to ATG5, are biochemical hallmarks for autophagy, a cellular process that degrades bulk cellular proteins and organelles. The two conjugation reactions share the same E1-like enzyme ATG7 but have different E2-like enzymes, ATG3 for LC3-PE and ATG10 for ATG12-ATG5. In cells, ATG12-ATG5 conjugation appears to be required for LC3-PE conjugation.

Essential roles of the Bcl-2 family of proteins in caspase-2-induced apoptosis.

Caspase-2 is an initiating caspase required for stress-induced apoptosis in various human cancer cells. Recent studies suggest that it can mediate the death function of tumor suppressor p53 and is activated by a multimeric protein complex, PIDDosome. However, it is not clear how caspase-2 exerts its apoptotic function in cells and whether its enzymatic activity is required for the apoptotic function.

Apoptotic and autophagic cell death induced by histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors can induce programmed cell death in cancer cells, although the underlying mechanism is obscure. In this study, we show that two distinct HDAC inhibitors, butyrate and suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), induced caspase-3 activation and cell death in multiple human cancer cell lines. The activation of caspase-3 was via the mitochondria/cytochrome c-mediated apoptotic pathway because it was abrogated in mouse embryonic fibroblasts with knockout of Apaf-1, the essential mediator of the pathway.

Pincher, a pinocytic chaperone for nerve growth factor/TrkA signaling endosomes.

A central tenet of nerve growth factor (NGF) action that is poorly understood is its ability to mediate cytoplasmic signaling, through its receptor TrkA, that is initiated at the nerve terminal and conveyed to the soma. We identified an NGF-induced protein that we termed Pincher (pinocytic chaperone) that mediates endocytosis and trafficking of NGF and its receptor TrkA. In PC12 cells, overexpression of Pincher dramatically stimulated NGF-induced endocytosis of TrkA, unexpectedly at sites of clathrin-independent macropinocytosis within cell surface ruffles.