Modulation of MDR1 and MRP3 Gene Expression in Lung Cancer Cells after Paclitaxel and Carboplatin Exposure

Carboplatin-paclitaxel is a reference regimen in the treatment of locally advanced or disseminated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This paper discusses the multidrug resistance developed with this drug combination, which is one of the major obstacles to successful treatment. In order to understand and overcome the drug resistance pattern of NSCLC after carboplatin plus paclitaxel exposure, levels of mRNA expression of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1) and multidrug resistance-associated protein 3 (MRP3) were investigated in primary NSCLC cell lines (A-549 and A-427) and a metastasis-derived NSCLC cell line (NODO). Our results showed that exposure of the three NSCLC lines to plasma concentrations of paclitaxel (5 μM) produced an increase in MDR1 expression, while MRP3 showed no alteration in expression. By contrast, the same cells exposed to carboplatin plasma concentrations (30 μM) showed overexpression of MRP3. In these cells, MDR1 showed no expression changes. Interestingly, the combination of both paclitaxel and carboplatin caused increased expression of the MDR1 drug resistance gene rather than the individual treatments. These results suggest that carboplatin and paclitaxel may induce drug resistance mediated by MDR1 and MRP3, which may be enhanced by the simultaneous use of both drugs.     

Effect of alternative fuels on exhaust emissions during diesel engine operation with matched combustion phasing

The present work focuses on an experimental comparison of diesel emissions produced by three fuels: an ultra low sulfur diesel fuel (BP15), a pure soybean methyl-ester biodiesel fuel (B100), and a synthetic Fischer-Tropsch fuel (FT), practically free of sulfur and aromatic compounds, and produced in a gas-to-liquid process. The study was carried out using a 2.5 L direct injection common-rail turbodiesel engine operated at 2400 rpm and 64 N m torque (19% of maximum torque). The engine was tested with single and split (pilot and main) injections and without exhaust gas recirculation (EGR). The study has two objectives. The first objective is to investigate the impact of the start of injection (SOI) on performance and emissions of each fuel. The second objective is to study the isolated impacts of the test fuels on pollutant emissions by adjusting the injection parameters (SOI and fuel rail pressure) for each fuel, while producing practically the same combustion phasing. When the combustion phasing occurs similarly, this study has confirmed that the FT fuel can reduce all regulated diesel emissions under both single and split injection strategies. Finally, it has been confirmed that biodiesel can reduce particle mean diameter in comparison with BP15. However, higher PM mass emission for B100 has been observed under the condition of matched combustion phasing. The increase of the PM mass emission is probably due to the unburned or partially burned hydrocarbon (HC) emissions.     

Effect of miscibility on mechanical and thermal properties of poly(lactic acid)/ polycaprolactone blends

Binary blends based on poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) were prepared by melt mixing in a twin‐screw co‐rotating extruder in order to increase the low intrinsic elongation at break of PLA for packaging applications. Although PLA and PCL show low miscibility, the presence of PCL leads to a marked improvement in the ductile properties of PLA. Various mechanical properties were evaluated in terms of PCL content up to 30 wt% PCL. In addition to tensile and flexural properties, Poisson's ratio was obtained using biaxial extensometry to evaluate transversal deformations when axial loads are applied. Very slight changes in the melt temperature and glass transition temperature of PLA are observed thus indicating the low miscibility of the PLA–PCL system. Field emission scanning electron microscopy reveals some interactions between the two components of the blend since the morphology is characterized by non‐spherical polycaprolactone drops dispersed into the PLA matrix. In addition to the improvement of mechanical ductile properties, PCL provides higher degradation rates of blends under conditions of composting for contents below 22.5% PCL. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Social relationships impact adoption of agricultural technologies: the case of food crop varieties in Timor-Leste

Factors related to adoption of new agricultural technologies have been given increasing attention, especially in developing countries where such technologies offer opportunities to increase food production. One of the most immediate ways to improve food production significantly is through the adoption of high yielding varieties of food crops, but rates of adoption are often low, especially among the rural poor. In Timor-Leste, improved varieties of food crops with yield advantages across all agro-ecological zones have been introduced. However, despite yield advantages, suitability and high levels of food insecurity, discontinuance occurs and adoption rates are low. To identify factors related to adoption of the improved varieties across agro-ecological zones, binary logistic regression was performed on data collected from 1511 rural households. The results identified several factors related to adoption and showed that their impact varied across agro-ecological zones. The factor most strongly related to adoption was having a relationship to a grower of an improved variety of food crop and the closeness of this relationship. Furthermore, the following factors were related to adoption with variation across agro-ecological zones: age; education; size of farming plots; travel time between household and farming plot; involvement with the programme developing the improved varieties of food crops and participation in groups and training programmes. Overall, the findings of this study emphasize that dissemination strategies should embrace social relationships and be sensitive to agro-ecological zones.     

Cyclic steps: A phenomenon of supercritical shallow flow from the high mountains to the bottom of the ocean

Cyclic steps constitute a characteristic bedform of Froude-supercritical shallow flow over an erodible bed. They are long-wave features that are bounded by hydraulic jumps and migrate upstream. They can be seen in alluvial streams, stream in cohesive sediment, bedrock streams, and on the seafloor in response to turbidity currents. Recent progress in the modeling of cyclic steps is summarized.     

Analyticity of Semigroups Associated with Thermoviscoelastic Mixtures of Solids

In this paper we investigate the asymptotic behavior of solutions to the initial boundary value problem for a one-dimensional theory of mixtures of thermoviscoelastic solids. Our main goal is to present conditions which insure the analyticity and the lack of analyticity of the corresponding semigroup.     

Synthesis and characterization of styrene‐butyl acrylate polymers,varying feed composition in a semicontinuous emulsion process

Two‐stage polymerization has been used to improve properties of two‐component polymers. In this work, a semicontinuous emulsion process varying feed composition along the reaction is used to produce copolymer chains of different composition as conversion proceeds. Polymer composition and evidence of branching were determined by ¹H‐NMR. Polymer molecular weight values determined by GPC are beyond the range where mechanical properties depend on molecular weight. Mechanodynamic properties show a copolymer type behavior with a synergistic effect around the 50/50 styrene/butyl acrylate composition ratio. For such composition, mechanical performance superiority of variable composition copolymer with respect to two‐stage polymer was confirmed with stress–strain tests carried out at several temperatures. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3964–3971, 2007     

Porous MoxCy/SiO2 Material for CO2 Hydrogenation

The synthesis and characterization of an inexpensive porous Mo_xC_y/SiO₂ material is presented, which was obtained by mixing ammonium hexamolybdate, sucrose, and a mesoporous silica (SBA-15), with a subsequent heat treatment under inert atmosphere. This porous material presented a specific surface area of 170 m²/g. The catalytic behavior in CO₂ hydrogenation was compared with that of Mo₂C and α-MoC_1?x obtained from ammonium hexamolybdate and sucrose, using different Mo/C ratios. CO₂ hydrogenation tests were performed at moderate (100 kPa) and high pressures (2.0 MPa), and it was found that only CO, H₂O and CH₄ are formed at moderate pressures by the three materials, while at higher pressures, methanol and hydrocarbons (C₂H₆, C₃H₈) are also obtained. Differences in selectivity were observed at the high pressure tests. Mo₂C presented higher selectivity to CO and methanol compared with MoC_1?x, which showed preferential selectivity to hydrocarbons (CH₄, C₂H₆). The porous Mo_xC_y/SiO₂ material showed the highest CO₂ hydrogenation activity at high temperatures (270 and 300 °C), being a promising material for the conversion of CO₂ to CO and CH₄.