The Effect of Dual Bioactive Compounds Artemisinin and Metformin Co-loaded in PLGA-PEG Nano-particles on Breast Cancer Cell lines: Potential Apoptotic and Anti-proliferative Action.

The most prevalent malignancy among women is breast cancer. Phytochemicals and their derivatives are rapidly being recognized as possible cancer complementary therapies because they can modify signaling pathways that lead to cell cycle control or directly alter cell cycle regulatory molecules. The phytochemicals' poor bioavailability and short half-life make them unsuitable as anticancer drugs. Applying PLGA-PEG NPs improves their solubility and tolerance while also reducing drug adverse effects. According to the findings, combining anti-tumor phytochemicals can be more effective in regulating several signaling pathways linked to tumor cell development. The point of the study was to compare the anti-proliferative impacts of combined artemisinin and metformin on cell cycle arrest and expression of cyclin D1 and apoptotic genes (bcl-2, Bax, survivin, caspase-7, and caspase-3), and also hTERT genes in breast cancer cells. T-47D breast cancer cells were treated with different concentrations of metformin (MET) and artemisinin (ART) co-loaded in PLGA-PEG NPs and free form. The MTT test was applied to assess drug cytotoxicity in T47D cells. The cell cycle distribution was investigated using flow cytometry and the expression levels of cyclin D1, hTERT, Bax, bcl-2, caspase-3, and caspase-7, and survivin genes were then determined using real-time PCR. The findings of the MTT test and flow cytometry revealed that each state was cytotoxic to T47D cells in a time and dose-dependent pattern. Compared to various state of drugs (free and nano state, pure and combination state) Met-Art-PLGA/PEG NPs demonstrated the strongest anti-proliferative impact and considerably inhibited the development of T-47D cells; also, treatment with nano-formulated forms of Met-Art combination resulted in substantial downregulation of hTERT, Bcl-2, cyclin D1, survivin, and upregulation of caspase-3, caspase-7, and Bax, in the cells, as compared to the free forms, as indicated by real-time PCR findings. The findings suggested that combining an ART/MET-loaded PLGA-PEG NP-based therapy for breast cancer could significantly improve treatment effectiveness.

Mechanisms of mercury disposition in the body.

Today the most widespread human exposures to mercury are to mercury vapor emitted from amalgam tooth fillings, to ethylmercury as a preservative in vaccines, and to methylmercury in edible tissues of fish. This review will focus on the mechanisms of transport of these three species of mercury. All three species are freely moveable throughout the body. Inhaled vapor in view of its physical properties as an uncharged atomic gas is believed to be transported by passive diffusion. Methylmercury and ethylmercury also move freely in the body. Methylmercury, and presumably its closely related chemical cousin ethylmercury, cross cell membranes as complexes with small molecular weight thiol compounds, entering the cell in part as a cysteine complex on the large neutral amino acid carriers and exiting the cell in part as a complex with reduced glutathione on endogenous carriers. The implications of these mechanisms with regard to biological monitoring are discussed.

[Lateral ligament replacement of the ankle joint--cialit graft or tendon graft? A comparative clinical study from the Balgrist Orthopedic University Hospital, Zürich]. / Lateraler Bandersatz am Sprunggelenk--Cialithautplastik oder Sehnenplastik? Eine vergleichende klinische Studie aus der Orthopädischen Universitätsklinik Balgrist, Zürich.

Of a total of 268 patients who were operated because of ankle instability, 125 who were treated with cialit skin graft and 101 who received a peroneal tendon graft were interrogated. 36 were clinically and radiologically examined. Apart from some very minor disturbances, neither during the period immediately after surgery nor later, were the subjective or objective results significantly different. This observation demands that no surgical technique should be employed that could interfere with the function of proprioceptive or constraining structures.

Effect of thimerosal concentration on the efficacy of inactivated Newcastle disease oil-emulsion vaccines.

Different quantities of the preservative thimerosal in inactivated Newcastle disease oil-emulsion vaccines were tested to determine the influence on the hemagglutination-inhibition (HI) response of broilers. The effect of thimerosal was measured in vaccines that had been stored for 1, 21, and 52 weeks; HI serology was conducted at 2, 4, and 6 weeks after vaccination. Mean HI titers 4 weeks after vaccination decreased at a significant rate (P less than or equal to 0.001) with increasing concentrations of thimerosal. HI titers 4 weeks after vaccination with 1-week-old vaccine were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) higher than those after vaccination with 52-week-old vaccine at all thimerosal concentrations tested. Titers were also significantly higher (P less than or equal to 0.05) after vaccination with 1-week-old vaccine than after vaccination with 21-week-old vaccine at all thimerosal concentrations below about 8.25 mg/ml of antigen. Thimerosal at the levels recommended in commercial vaccines does not significantly decrease vaccine efficacy.