Synthesis of amino-cosubstituted polyorganophosphazenes and fabrication of their nanoparticles for anticancer drug delivery

The development of safe drug carriers is cardinal in cancer therapy, which can target the cancer cells and release the loaded drug on-demand without damaging the healthy cells of the body. In our work, we synthesized three different biodegradable polymers, poly[(ethyl aminobezoate) (ethyl glycinato) phosphazenes] (PABGPs), in different mole ratio of side groups. The successful synthesis of these PABGPs was confirmed by ¹H NMR, ³¹P NMR, FT-IR, and gel permeation chromatography. These PABGPs were fabricated into drug (camptothecin, CPT, a hydrophobic anticancer drug) loaded nanoparticles. These drug-loaded nanoparticles showed good drug release behaviors under normal physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and temperature 37°C). These PABGPs-based nanoparticles may find their application as effective drug carriers for cancer therapy.     

LCZ696 Protects against Diabetic Cardiomyopathy-Induced Myocardial Inflammation,ER Stress,and Apoptosis through Inhibiting AGEs/NF-κB and PERK/CHOP Signaling Pathways

The present study is designed to determine the effect of LCZ696 on DCM in rats and investigate the underlying mechanism involved. Diabetes was induced by feeding rats with a high-fat diet for six weeks following a single injection of STZ (30 mg/kg). Diabetic rats were divided into three groups (n = 10). LCZ696 and valsartan treatment was started two weeks after diabetic induction and continued for eight weeks. At the end of the treatment, serum and cardiac tissues were analyzed by RT-PCR, Western blot, and ELISA kits. LCZ696 and valsartan ameliorated DCM progression by inhibiting AGEs formation at activity levels; pro-apoptotic markers (BAX/Bcl2 ratio and caspase-3) in mRNA and protein expressions, the NF-κB at mRNA; and protein levels associated with the restoration of elevated proinflammatory cytokines such as the TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β at the activity level. Furthermore, LCZ696 and valsartan contribute to restoring the induction of ER stress parameters (GRP78, PERK, eIF2a, ATF4, and CHOP) at mRNA and protein levels. LCZ696 and valsartan attenuated DCM by inhibiting the myocardial inflammation, ER stress, and apoptosis through AGEs/NF-κB and PERK/CHOP signaling cascades. Collectively, the present results reveal that LCZ696 had a more protective solid effect against DCM than valsartan.     

Recent progress in the modification of carbon materials and their application in composites for electromagnetic interference shielding

With the development in the modern technologies such as telecommunication instruments and scientific electronic devices, large amount of the electromagnetic radiations are produced, which lead to harmful effect on the highly sensitive electronic devices as well as on the health of human beings. To minimize the effect of electromagnetic radiations produced by different technologies, more efficient shielding materials are required which must be cost-effective, lightweight and good corrosion resistive. In this review, we focused on the shielding materials based on composites of carbon nanotubes and graphene. The typical surface modification of carbon nanotubes and graphene to optimize their interactions with polymers matrix has also summarized. It was found that the composites based on these carbon fillers were more efficient for electromagnetic interference shielding due to their unique properties (i.e., superior electrical, mechanical and thermal) together with lightweight, easy processing. Hence, the carbon nanotubes and graphene-based composites are excellent shielding materials against the electromagnetic radiations.     

Cloisite clay‐infused phenolic foam nanocomposites

A sonochemical technique was developed to infuse Cloisite clay nanoparticles into phenolic foam materials. Phenolic resin solution (Part A) was mixed with clay particles, and irradiated using a high intensity ultrasonic liquid processor. In the next step, the modified phenolic resin solution containing clay particles was mixed with Part B (containing phenol sulfonic acid, catalyst) through a high‐speed mechanical stirrer. The reaction mixture was then cast into rectangular molds to make nanophased foam panels. Test coupons were cut precisely from the panels to carry out thermal, morphological, and mechanical characterizations. The as‐prepared foam samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The SEM studies have shown that the particles are well dispersed over the entire volume of the matrix with minimal agglomeration. The foam cells structures are well‐ordered and uniform in size and shape. The TGA and DSC analyses show that the nanophased foams are thermally more stable than the corresponding neat system. Quasistatic compression tests have been carried out for both nanophased and neat foams systems. The test results show that there is a significant increase (approximately in the range of 150–180%) in the compressive strength and modulus of the nanophased foams over the neat system. This improvement in compressive properties has been noted repeatedly for multiple batches and with a minimum of three specimens tested from each batch. Details of the synthesis, thermal and mechanical characterization are presented in this paper. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 308‐314, 2007     

A Comparative Analysis of RAD and Agile Technique for Management of Computing Graduation Projects

Computing students face the problem with time and quality of the work while managing their graduation/senior projects. Rapid Application Development (RAD) model is based on continual user involvement for the process of requirement gathering via prototyping. After each iteration, the developers can validate the requirements that are completed in the iteration. Managing a project with RAD is easier but not flexible. On the other hand, Agile project management techniques focus on flexibility, agility, teamwork and quality based on user stories. Continual user involvement is avoided, which requires extensive maintenance time for fixing iteration and release of the story points. This also makes it necessary to provide onsite training to the users of the application. This research provides the pros and cons of RAD and Agile project management techniques, to help students in deciding the best approach for managing their graduation projects. For the evaluation of these techniques, similar case studies were given to the senior project students (having similar CGPAs) for building similar functionality-based applications. The two projects “Life Organizer” developed and managed using RAD and “Smart Patient Assistant (SPA)” developed and managed through Agile methodology were evaluated against the quality assurance criteria for senior projects. The study found that the project developed with RAD methodology performed 13.33% better in providing extensive and elaborated documentation than the students following the Agile technique. On the other hand, SPA-Agile based project, due to teamwork had 2.5% better implementation than Life Organizer-RAD based project.     

Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System for diagnosis risk in dengue patients

Dengue disease is considered as one of the life threatening disease that has no vaccine to reduce its case fatality. In clinical practice the case fatality of dengue disease can be reduced to 1% if the dengue patients are hospitalized and prompt intravenous fluid therapy is administrated. Yet, it has been a great challenge to the physicians to decide whether to hospitalize the dengue patients or not due to the overlapping of the medical diagnosis criteria of the disease. Beside that physicians cannot decide to admit all patients because this will have major impact on health care cost saving due to the huge incident of dengue disease in the country. Even if the physicians managed to identify the critical cases to be hospitalized, most of the tools that have been used for monitoring those patients are invasive. Therefore, this study was conducted to develop a non-invasive accurate diagnostic system that can assist the physicians to diagnose the risk in dengue patients and therefore attain the correct decision. Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis measurements, Symptoms and Signs presented with dengue patients were incorporated with Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) to construct two diagnostic models. The first model was developed by systematically optimizing the initial ANFIS model parameters while the second model was developed by employing the subtractive clustering algorithm to optimize the initial ANFIS model parameters. The results showed that the ANFIS model based on subtractive clustering technique has superior performance compared with the other model. Overall diagnostic accuracy of the proposed system is 86.13% with 87.5% sensitivity and 86.7% specificity.     

A 3D In Vitro Cancer Model as a Platform for Nanoparticle Uptake and Imaging Investigations

In order to maximize the potential of nanoparticles (NPs) in cancer imaging and therapy, their mechanisms of interaction with host tissue need to be fully understood. NP uptake is known to be dramatically influenced by the tumor microenvironment, and an imaging platform that could replicate in vivo cellular conditions would make big strides in NP uptake studies. Here, a novel NP uptake platform consisting of a tissue‐engineered 3D in vitro cancer model (tumoroid), which mimics the microarchitecture of a solid cancer mass and stroma, is presented. As the tumoroid exhibits fundamental characteristics of solid cancer tissue and its cellular and biochemical parameters are controllable, it provides a real alternative to animal models. Furthermore, an X‐ray fluorescence imaging system is developed to demonstrate 3D imaging of GNPs and to determine uptake efficiency within the tumoroid. This platform has implications for optimizing the targeted delivery of NPs to cells to benefit cancer diagnostics and therapy.     

Synthesis and characterization of (Fe3O4/MWCNTs)/ epoxy nanocomposites

A sonochemical technique is used for in situ coating of iron oxide (Fe₃O₄) nanoparticles on outer surface of MWCNTs. These Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs were characterized using a high‐resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), X‐ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The as‐prepared Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs composite nanoparticles were further used as reinforcing fillers in epoxy‐based resin (Epon‐828). The nanocomposites of epoxy were prepared by infusion of (0.5 and 1.0 wt %) pristine MWCNTs and Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs composite nanoparticles. For comparison purposes, the neat epoxy resin was also prepared in the same procedure as the nanocomposites, only without nanoparticles. The thermal, mechanical, and morphological tests were carried out for neat and nanocomposites. The compression test results show that the highest improvements in compressive modulus (38%) and strength (8%) were observed for 0.5 wt % loading of Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs. HRTEM results show the uniform dispersion of Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs nanoparticles in epoxy when compared with the dispersion of MWCNTs. These Fe₃O₄/MWCNTs nanoparticles‐infused epoxy nanocomposite shows an increase in glass transition (T_g) temperature. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Mechanical and thermal properties of bio‐based CaCO3/soybean‐based hybrid unsaturated polyester nanocomposites

Bio‐based calcium carbonate nanoparticles (CaCO₃) were synthesized via size reduction of eggshell powder using mechanical attrition followed by high intensity ultrasonic irradiation. The transmission electron microscopic (TEM) and BET surface area measurements show that these particles are less than 10 nm in size and a surface area of ～44 m²/g. Bio‐based nanocomposites were fabricated by infusion of different weight fractions of as‐prepared CaCO₃ nanoparticles into Polylite® 31325‐00 resin system using a non‐contact Thinky® mixing method. As‐prepared bio‐nanocomposites were characterized for their thermal and mechanical properties. TEM studies showed that the particles were well dispersed over the entire volume of the matrix. Thermal analyses indicated that the bio‐nanocomposites are thermally more stable than the corresponding neat systems. Nanocomposite with 2% by weight loading of bio‐CaCO₃ nanoparticles exhibited an 18°C increase in the glass transition temperature over the neat Polylite 31325 system. Mechanical tests have been carried out for both bio‐nanocomposites and neat resin systems. The compression test results of the 2% Bio‐CaCO₃/Polylite 31325 nanocomposite showed an improvement of 14% and 27% in compressive strength and modulus respectively compared with the neat system. Details of the fabrication procedure and thermal and mechanical characterizations are presented in this article. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 1442–1452, 2013     

Diagnosing Breast Cancer Accurately Based on Weighting of Heterogeneous Classification Sub-Models

In developed and developing countries, breast cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer affecting women alike. As a consequence of growing life expectancy, increasing urbanization and embracing Western lifestyles, the high prevalence of this cancer is noted in the developed world. This paper aims to develop a novel model that diagnoses Breast Cancer by using heterogeneous datasets. The model can work as a strong decision support system to help doctors to make the right decision in diagnosing breast cancer patients. The proposed model is based on three datasets to develop three sub-models. Each sub-model works independently. The final diagnosis decision is taken by the three sub-models independently. The power of the model comes from the diversity checks of patients and this reduces the risk of wrong diagnosing. The model has been developed by conducting intensive experiments. Several classification algorithms were used to select the best one in each sub-model. As the final results, the sub-model accuracies were 72%, 74% and 97%.