Platinum complexes of curcumin delivered by dual-responsive polymeric nanoparticles improve chemotherapeutic efficacy based on the enhanced anti-metastasis activity and reduce side effects

Platinum-based chemotherapy is used for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, it has side effects and minimum efficacy against lung cancer metastasis. In this study, platinum-curcumin complexes were loaded into pH and redox dual-responsive nanoparticles (denoted as Pt-CUR@PSPPN) to facilitate intracellular release and synergistic anti-cancer effects. Pt-CUR@PSPPN was prepared by a nano-precipitation method and had a diameter of ∼100 nm. The nanoparticles showed increased anti-cancer effects both and . In addition, Pt-CUR@PSPPN blocked PI3K/AKT signal transduction pathway and inhibited MMP2 and VEGFR2, resulting in enhanced anti-metastatic activity. Furthermore, reduced side effects were also observed. In conclusion, Pt-CUR@PSPPN provided a novel and attractive therapeutic strategy for NSCLC.

Pre-employment screening of latent tuberculosis infection among healthcare workers using tuberculin skin test and QuantiFERON-TB Gold test at a tertiary care hospital in Saudi Arabia

To assess the agreement between the tuberculin skin test [TST] and the QuantiFERON-TB Gold test [QFT-G] as pre-employment screening tests for latent tuberculosis infection [LTBI] among healthcare workers. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted among 1412 healthcare workers who were screened for LTBI during the period from August 2009 to May 2011 at a tertiary-care hospital in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [KSA]. The studied population was screened for LTBI using both TST and QFT-G simultaneously. The agreement between both tests was quantified using the Kappa coefficient [k]. Comparing the results of QFT-G with TST, the tests had a significant overall agreement of 73.7% [1040/1412; k = 0.33; p < 0.01]. Negative concordance comprised 60.1% of the results, and positive concordance comprised 13.5%. However, positive TST but negative QFT comprised 16.3% of the results, and negative TST but positive QFT-G comprised 10.1%. Concordance was significantly associated with young age, female gender, Saudi-born nationals, and early career but not job type [clinical versus non-clinical] nor status of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin [BCG] vaccination. This study demonstrated 73.7% overall agreement between TST and QFT-G results among healthcare workers during pre-employment screening for LTBI. The results need to be confirmed in future studies before recommending QFT-G as a pre-employment screening test for LTBI

Pakhtun social organization [pakhtunwali] and gendered decision-making process in mate selection among pakhtuns of district malakand, KPK, Pakistan

The current study examined to explore gender based discrimination in mate selection among Pakhtuns. This research was conducted in Batkhela, [the capital of District Malakand], Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Data was collected from 200 respondents [both male and female] selected by stratified random sampling technique. A structured interview schedule was used as a tool of data collection. The results show that the process of decision-making in mate selection is highly gendered that is, caused by the practice of patriarchy, male dominance and rigidity of Pakhtun social organization. Such values tend to define the code of life that is mostly gender biased and women are particularly the victims of disparity in their mate selection process