The pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), which represents over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases,
has the highest proliferative and metastatic rate in comparison to other pancreatic cancer compartments. This
study is designed to determine whether small nucleolar RNA, H/ACA box 64 (snoRNA64) is associated with
pancreatic cancer initiation and progression. Gene expression data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO)
repository have shown that snoRNA64 expression is reduced in primary and metastatic pancreatic cancer as
compared to normal tissues based on statistical analysis of the in Silico analysis. Using qPCR techniques,
pancreatic cancer cell lines include PK-1, PK-8, PK-4, and Mia PaCa-2 with different levels of snoRNA64,
including PK-1, PK-8, PK-4, and Mia PaCa-2. The level of expression is correlated with the cell line epithelial
or mesenchymal characteristics. Cell lines displaying epithelial characteristics such as PK-1, PK-8 show high
levels of snoRNA64 meanwhile, cell lines displaying mesenchymal characteristics such as PK-4, Mia PaCa-2
show low levels of snoRNA64. The level of expression is correlated with the cell line epithelial or
mesenchymal characteristics. After knocking down the PK-8 with high snoRNA64 expression, the epithelial
markers E. cadherin (E-cad) and Cytokeratin-8 (CK-8) are decreased, while mesenchymal markers Vimentin
(Vim), Cytokeratin-19 (CK-19), Metalloprotease -2 (MMP-2), and Metalloprotease-3 (MMP-3) are activated.
Those changes suggest that PK-8 responding to the snoRNA64 knock down protocol and increase in
mesenchymal function. Together, snoRNA64 expression may participate in epithelial to mesenchymal
transition (EMT) and mesenchymal to epithelial transition (MET), in which during metastasis these processes
are crucial. In addition, snoRNA64 may be considered as a potential diagnostic biomarker for both early and
invasive stages of PDAC. And due to its gradual expression decreases, it may be considered a barrier in tumor
progression.
Use of computer simulation to quantify the effectiveness of blowing agents can be an effective tool for optimizing formulations and for the adopting of new blowing agents. This paper focuses on a mass balance on blowing agent during foaming including the quantification of the amount that stays in the resin, the amount that ends up in the foam cells, and the pressure of the blowing agent in the foam cells. Experimental data is presented both in the sense of developing the simulation capabilities and the validating of simulation results.
The road network serves as a hub for opportunities in production and consumption, resource extraction, and social cohabitation. In turn, this promotes a higher standard of living and the expansion of cities. This research explores the road network's spatial connectedness and its effects on travel and urban form in the Al-Kadhimiya and Al-Adhamiya municipalities. Satellite images and paper maps have been employed to extract information on the existing road network, including their kinds, conditions, density, and lengths. The spatial structure of the road network was then generated using the ArcGIS software environment. The road pattern connectivity was evaluated using graph theory indices. The study demands the abstraction and examin
... Show MoreOndansetron HCl (OND) is a potent antiemetic drug used for control of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer chemotherapy. It exhibits only 60 – 70 % of oral bioavailability due to first pass metabolism and has a relative short half-life of 3-5 hours. Poor bioavailability not only leads to the frequent dosing but also shows very poor patient adherence. Hence, in the present study an approach has been made to develop OND nanoparticles using eudragit® RS100 and eudragit® RL100 polymer to control release of OND for transdermal delivery and to improve patient compliance.
Six formulas of OND nanoparticles were prepared using nanoprecipitation technique. The particles sizes and zeta potential were measured
... Show MoreAlginate is one of the natural biopolymers that is widely used for drug formulations, combination of alginate with other polymers, such as gum acacia, pectin, and carrageenan can increase mechanical strength, therefore, can reduce leakage of the encapsulated active pharmaceutical ingredient from the polymer matrix. Interaction of alginate and these polymers can occur via intermolecular hydrogen bonds causing synergism, which is determined from the viscosity of polymer mixture.
Alginate was combined with gum acacia/pectin/carrageenan in different blending ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100) with and without addition of CaCl2. The synergism effect is obtained from the design of experimental (DoE), and calculati
... Show MoreThis study offers a new Mixed Meta Heuristics algorithm (HGSABAT) for estimating the parameter values of each of the six categories of Non-Linear regression models examined (Misrald, Meyer4, Meyer7, Militky4, Militky2, and MGH09) by combining the Gravitational Search Algorithm and Bat Algorithm. Some models have different numbers of parameters. For example, the Misrald and Militky2 models of the Non-Linear Regression model have two parameters (Bl, B2). In contrast, the MGH09 and Militky4 models have four parameters (MGHl, MGH2, MGH3, and MGH4), in which location as the Meyer4 and Meyer7 models have three attributes (Meyerl, MGH2, and MGH3). To examine the effectiveness of the suggested Hybrid Meta Heuristics algorithm (HGSABAT), a simulatio
... Show MoreWastewater projects are one of the most important infrastructure projects, which require developing strategic plans to manage these projects. Most of the wastewater projects in Iraq don’t have a maintenance plan. This research aims to prepare the maintenance management plan (MMP) for wastewater projects. The objective of the research is to predict the cost and time of maintenance projects by building a model using ANN. The research sample included (15) completed projects in Wasit Governorate, where the researcher was able to obtain the data of these projects through the historical information of the Wasit Sewage Directorate. In this research artificial neural networks (ANN) technique was used to build two models (cost
... Show MoreThe green synthesis of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NP) was investigated using Ni(NO3)2 as a precursor, olive tree leaves as a reducing agent, and D-sorbitol as a capping agent. The structural, optical, and morphology of the synthesized NiO-NP have been characterized using ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis), X-ray crystallography (XRD) pattern, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The SEM analysis showed that the nanoparticles have a spherical shape and highly crystalline as well as highly agglomerated and appear as cluster of nanoparticles with a size range of (30 to 65 nm). The Scherrer relation has been used to estimate the crystallite size of NiO-NP which ha
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