Evaluation of potential anti‐cancer activity of cationic liposomal nanoformulated Lycopodium clavatum in colon cancer cells

Research dealing with early diagnosis and efficient treatment in colon cancer to improve patient''s survival is still under investigation. Chemotherapeutic agent result in high systemic toxicity due to their non‐specific actions on DNA repair and/or cell replication. Traditional medicine such as Lycopodium clavatum (LC) has been claimed to have therapeutic potentials against cancer. The present study focuses on targeted drug delivery of cationic liposomal nanoformulated LC (CL‐LC) in colon cancer cells (HCT15) and comparing the efficacy with an anti‐colon cancer drug, 7‐ethyl‐10‐hydroxy‐camptothecin (SN38) along with its nanoformulated form (CL‐SN38). The colloidal suspension of LC was made using thin film hydration method. The drugs were characterised using ultraviolet, dynamic light scattering, scanning electron microscopy, energy, dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy. In vitro drug release showed kinetics of 49 and 89% of SN38 and LC, whereas CL‐SN38 and CL‐LC showed 73 and 74% of sustained drug release, respectively. Studies on morphological changes, cell viability, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cancer‐associated gene expression analysis of Bcl‐2, Bax, p53 by real‐time polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis of Bad and p53 protein were performed. Nanoformulated LC significantly inhibited growth and increased the apoptosis of colon cancer cells indicating its potential anti‐cancer activity against colon cancer cells.Inspec keywords: cancer, biological organs, cellular biophysics, drug delivery systems, drugs, nanomedicine, genetics, DNA, molecular biophysics, biochemistry, lipid bilayers, toxicology, suspensions, colloids, light scattering, X‐ray chemical analysis, solvation, enzymes, nanostructured materialsOther keywords: energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy, in vitro drug release, morphological changes, cell viability, cytotoxicity, apoptosis, cancer‐associated gene expression analysis, Bcl‐2, Bax, real‐time polymerase chain reaction, western blot analysis, Bad protein, p53 protein, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering, ultraviolet scattering, thin film hydration method, colloidal suspension, nanoformulated form CL‐SN38, 7‐ethyl‐10‐hydroxy‐camptothecin, anticolon cancer drug, colon cancer cells HCT15, cationic liposomal nanoformulated LC, targeted drug delivery, therapeutic potentials, Lycopodium clavatum, traditional medicines, cell replication, DNA repair, nonspecific actions, high systemic toxicity, chemotherapeutic agents, patient survival, colon cancer treatment, colon cancer diagnosis, CL‐LC, potential anticancer activity     

Role-based access to facilities lifecycle information on RFID tags

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based systems have been used in different applications in the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Owner and Operator (AECOO) industry. Applications are mainly designed for specific lifecycle stage of the facility and serve the needs of only one of the stakeholders. This would increase the cost and the labor for adding and removing tags and eliminate the chance of using shared resources. In this paper, the usage of tags permanently attached to components is proposed where the memory of the tags is used during the lifecycle by different stakeholders for data storage and handover. A Building Information Model (BIM) database is used for tackling the interoperability issues allowing different users to access and share the data. To securely and efficiently store data on RFID tags in ifcXML format, multi-level encryption together with role-based access control is applied on the data stored on RFID tags. Each user is assigned a certain role and can only access the part of data for which he has authorization according to a predefined role and the Access Control Policy. To explore the technical feasibility of the proposed approach, a case study considering both facilities management and emergency management has been implemented and tested at Concordia University.     

Effect of aluminium doping on structural and gas sensing properties of zinc oxide thin films deposited by spray pyrolysis

A facile spray pyrolysis route is used to deposit aluminium doped ZnO (AZO) thin films on to the glass substrates. It is observed that on aluminium doping the particle size of ZnO reduces significantly; moreover, uniformity of particle also gets enhanced. Their XRD study reveals that intensity ratio of crystal planes depend on the aluminium doping concentration. The gas response studies of; ∼800 nm thick Al-doped ZnO films at different operating temperatures show that 5 at% Al-doped ZnO thin film exhibits highest response towards H₂S gas at 200 °C. The results suggest that the gas response strongly depends on the particle size and aluminium doping in the ZnO.     

Automated process planning method to machine A B-Spline free-form feature on a mill–turn center

In this paper, we present a methodology for automating the process planning and NC code generation for a widely encountered class of free-form features that can be machined on a 3-axis mill–turn center. The free-form feature family that is considered is that of extruded protrusions whose cross-section is a closed, periodic B-Spline curve. In this methodology, for machining a part with B-Spline protrusion located at the free end, the part is first rough turned to the maximum profile diameter of the B-Spline, followed by rough profile cutting and finish profiling with axially mounted end mill tools. The identification and sequencing of machining volumes is completely automated, as is the generation of actual NC code. The approach supports both convex and non-convex profiles. In the case of non-convex profiles, the process planning algorithm ensures that there is no gouging of the work piece by the tool. The algorithm also identifies when sections of the tool path lie outside the work piece and utilizes rapid traverses in these regions to reduce cutting time. This methodology presents an integrated turn–mill process planning where by making the process fully automated from design with no user intervention making the overall process planning efficient. The algorithm was tested on several examples and test parts using the unmodified NC code obtained from the implementation were run on a Moriseiki mill–turn center. The parts that were produced met the dimensional specifications of the desired part.     

Some fixed point theorems in 1-M-complete fuzzy metric-like spaces

Very recently, in order to unify the notions of fuzzy metric space and metric-like space, Shukla and Abbas introduced the concept of fuzzy metric-like space and proved some fixed-point results in this setting. In this article, we modify the notion of Cauchy sequence and completeness to generalize their results. Thus, we extend their theorems to a more general framework, which is also appropriate to generalize some recent, well-known results in this line of research. Furthermore, several examples are presented to illustrate the significance of our results.     

Determining the Impact of Personal Mobility Carbon Allowance Schemes in Transportation Networks

Personal mobility carbon allowance (PMCA) schemes are designed to reduce carbon consumption from transportation networks. PMCA schemes influence the travel decision process of users and accordingly impact the system metrics including travel time and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We develop a multi-user class dynamic user equilibrium model to evaluate the transportation system performance when PMCA scheme is implemented. The results using Sioux-Falls test network indicate that PMCA schemes can achieve the emissions reduction goals for transportation networks. Further, users characterized by high value of travel time are found to be less sensitive to carbon budget in the context of work trips. Results also show that PMCA scheme can lead to higher emissions for a path compared with the case without PMCA because of flow redistribution. The developed network equilibrium model allows to examine the change in system states at different carbon allocation levels and to design parameters of PMCA schemes accounting for population heterogeneity.     

Linear Programming Models for the User and System Optimal Dynamic Network Design Problem: Formulations,Comparisons and Extensions

In this paper we formulate a network design model in which the traffic flows satisfy dynamic user equilibrium conditions for a single destination. The model presented here incorporates the Cell Transmission Model (CTM); a traffic flow model capable of capturing shockwaves and link spillovers. Comparisons are made between the properties of the Dynamic User equilibrium Network Design Problem (DUE NDP) and an existing Dynamic System Optimal (DSO) NDP formulation. Both network design models have different objective functions with similar constraint sets which are linear and convex. Numerical demonstrations are made on multiple networks to demonstrate the efficacy of the model and demonstrate important differences between the DUE and DSO NDP approaches. In addition, the flexibility of the approach is demonstrated by extending the formulation to account for demand uncertainty. This is formulated as a stochastic programming problem and initial test results are demonstrated on test networks. It is observed that not accounting for demand uncertainty explicitly, provides sub-optimal solution to the DUE NDP problem.     

A Simulation Study on the Behavior of Magnetorheological Fluid on Herringbone-Grooved Hybrid Slot-Entry Bearing

Abstract

In recent years, extensive use of smart lubricants has been made in order to control the tribological performance of fluid film bearings. The grooved surfaces of the journal bearing greatly influence the performance of bearings. In the present work, various geometric shapes of herringbone grooves (rectangular, triangular, and parabolic) with groove angles (30° and 60°) have been considered to numerically simulate the performance of slot-entry bearings. The work reported in this article deals with the numerical simulation of magnetorheological (MR) fluid–lubricated slot-entry herringbone-grooved hybrid journal bearings. Dave equation, a constitutive relation of the Bingham model, was employed to simulate the flow behavior of MR fluid. Using the finite element method (FEM), the governing Reynolds equation for a hybrid slot-entry bearing model was solved. The result shows that the use of a herringbone-grooved surface and application of MR fluid in a slot-entry bearing offers better stability and higher fluid film stiffness and minimizes frictional torque.     

Activation Energy of the Photo Induced Q2 Oxygen Ordered Phase in the La2CuO4.08 Superconductor

The interstitial oxygen ordering in a La₂CuO_{4+ y} (y = 0.08) single crystal with a T _c = 38 K has been investigated. We have studied the growth dynamics of the three dimensional (3D) ordered phase, called Q2, at different temperatures under X-ray illumination. The critical temperature T ₀～334 K of the order-disorder transition for the Q2 phase has been determined. We have found that the illumination of the sample with a continuous polarized synchrotron radiation X-ray flux stimulates the oxygen ordering kinetics. The photoinduced ordering process shows a threshold characteristic of cooperative phenomena and its kinetics shows a temperature dependence that is controlled by the activation energy E _A = 100 meV.