Synthetic Triterpenoid Cyano Enone of Methyl Boswellate Activates Intrinsic, Extrinsic, and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress Cell Death Pathways in Tumor Cell Lines

We explored the effect of a novel synthetic triterpenoid compound cyano enone of methyl boswellates (CEMB) on various prostate cancer and glioma cancer cell lines. CEMB displayed concentration-dependent cytotoxic activity with submicromolar lethal dose 50% (LD(50)) values in 10 of 10 tumor cell lines tested. CEMB-induced cytotoxicity is accompanied by activation of downstream effector caspases (caspases 3 and 7) and by upstream initiator caspases involved in both the extrinsic (caspase 8) and intrinsic (caspase 9) apoptotic pathways. By using short interfering RNAs (siRNA), we show evidence that knockdown of caspase 8, DR4, Apaf-1, and Bid impairs CEMB-induced cell death. Similar to other proapoptotic synthetic triterpenoid compounds, CEMB-induced apoptosis involved endoplasmic reticulum stress, as shown by partial rescue of tumor cells by siRNA-mediated knockdown of expression of genes involved in the unfolded protein response such as IRE1 alpha, PERK, and ATF6. Altogether, our results suggest that CEMB stimulates several apoptotic pathways in cancer cells, suggesting that this compound should be evaluated further as a potential agent for cancer therapy. Mol Cancer Ther; 10(9); 1635-43. (C)2011 AACR.

Geographic Resources Decision Support System – an Open Source GIS

Fully structured and matured open source spatial and temporal analysis technology seems to be the official carrier of the future for planning of the natural resources especially in the developing nations. This technology has gained enormous momentum because of technical superiority, affordability and ability to join expertise from all sections of the society. Sustainable development of a region depends on the integrated planning approaches adopted in decision making which requires timely and accurate spatial data. With the increased developmental programmes, the need for appropriate decision support system has increased in order to analyse and visualise the decisions associated with spatial and temporal aspects of natural resources. In this regard Geographic Information System (GIS) along with remote sensing data support the applications that involve spatial and temporal analysis on digital thematic maps and the remotely sensed images. Open source GIS would help in wide scale applications involving decisions at various hierarchical levels (for example from village panchayat to planning commission) on economic viability, social acceptance apart from technical feasibility. GRASS (Geographic Resources Analysis Support System, http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/grass) is an open source GIS that works on Linux platform (freeware), but most of the applications are in command line argument, necessitating a user friendly and cost effective graphical user interface (GUI). Keeping these aspects in mind, Geographic Resources Decision Support System (GRDSS) has been developed with functionality such as raster, topological vector, image processing, statistical analysis, geographical analysis, graphics production, etc. This operates through a GUI developed in Tcltk (Tool command language / Tool kit) under Linux as well as with a shell in X-Windows. GRDSS include options such as Import /Export of different data formats, Display, Digital Image processing, Map editing, Raster Analysis, Vector Analysis, Point Analysis, Spatial Query, which are required for regional planning such as watershed Analysis, Landscape Analysis etc. This is customised to Indian context with an option to extract individual band from the IRS (Indian Remote Sensing Satellites) data, which is in BIL (Band Interleaved by Lines) format. The integration of PostgreSQL (a freeware) in GRDSS aids as an efficient database management system.

Fault-Diagnostic System using Support Vector Machines for Power Transmission Systems

This paper presents an approach for identifying the faulted line section and fault location on transmission systems using support vector machines (SVMs) for diagnosis/post-fault analysis purpose. Power system disturbances are often caused by faults on transmission lines. When fault occurs on a transmission system, the protective relay detects the fault and initiates the tripping operation, which isolates the affected part from the rest of the power system. Based on the fault section identified, rapid and corrective restoration procedures can thus be taken to minimize the power interruption and limit the impact of outage on the system. The approach is particularly important for post-fault diagnosis of any mal-operation of relays following a disturbance in the neighboring line connected to the same substation. This may help in improving the fault monitoring/diagnosis process, thus assuring secure operation of the power systems. In this paper we compare SVMs with radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) in data sets corresponding to different faults on a transmission system. Classification and regression accuracy is reported for both strategies. Studies on a practical 24-Bus equivalent EHV transmission system of the Indian Southern region is presented for indicating the improved generalization with the large margin classifiers in enhancing the efficacy of the chosen model.

Tie lines and activities in the system CoO MgO SiO2 at 1373 K

The tie lines between (CoXMg1−X)O solid solution with rock salt structure and orthosilicate solid solution (CoYMg1−Y)-Si0.5O2, and between orthosilicate and metasilicate (CoZMg1-Z)SiO3 crystalline solutions, have been determined experimentally at 1373 K. The compositions of coexisting phases have been determined by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and lattice parameter measurement on equilibrated samples. The metasilicate solid solution exists only for 0 > Z > 0.213. The activity of CoO in the rock salt solid solution was determined as a function of composition and temperature in the range of 1023 to 1373 K using a solid-state galvanic cell: Pt, (CoXMg1−X)O+Co|(Y2O3)ZrO2|Co+CoO, Pt The free energy of mixing of (CoXMg1−X)O crystalline solution can be expressed by the equation ΔGE=X(1 −X)[(6048 − 2.146T)X+ (8745 − 3.09T)(1 −X)] J·mol−1 The thermodynamic data for the rock salt phase is combined with information on interphase partitioning of Co and Mg to generate the mixing properties for the ortho- and metasilicate solid solutions. For the orthosilicate solution (CoYMg1 −Y)Si0.5O2 at 1373 K, the excess Gibbs free energy of mixing is given by the relation ΔGE=Y(1 −Y)[2805Y+ 3261(1 −Y)] J·mol−1 For the metasilicate solution (CoZMg1 −Z)SiO3 at the same temperature, the excess free energy can be expressed by the relation ΔGE=Z(1 −Z)[2570Z+ 3627(1 −Z)] J·mol−1

Performance of Tuned Half-Wave-Length Power Transmission Lines

The basic concepts of tuned half-wave lines were covered by Hubert and Gent [1]. In this paper the problem of overvoltages during faults and the stability of the system incorporating such tuned lines are discussed. The type of tuning bank and the line arrangements that will be satisfactory from the point of view of stability are suggested. The behavior of a line tuned by distributed capacitor is analyzed, and its performance is compared with the other type of tuned line.

Ground-fault-arc suppression on series-and shunt-compensated lines

An extension of Rizk's analysis to cover any type of switching is presented for calculating the residual current and recovery voltage in a singlephase switched transmission system. Equations for the determination of the current and voltage are shown, and the method has been used for the analysis of a series- and shunt-compensated line.Three possible switching methods for the effective control of the recovery voltage and residual current are discussed: normal switching, switching at the ends of the line and switching of the series capacitors.

Analysis of Natural Half-Wave-Length Power Transmission Lines

This paper provides additional theoretical information on half-wave-length power transmission. The analysis is rendered more general by consideration of a natural half-wave line instead of a short line tuned to half-wave. The effects of line loading and its power factor on the voltage and current profiles of the line and ganerator excitation have been included. Some of the operating problems such as charging of the line and synchronization of the half-wave system are also discussed. The inevitability of power-frequency overvoltages during faults is established. Stability studies have indicated that the use of switching stations is not beneficial. Typical swing curves are also presented.

Effectiveness of Series Capacitors in Long Distance Transmission Lines

The effectiveness of series capacitors used with long distance transmission lines in improving system stability is analyzed. Compensation efficiency is defined as the effectiveness of series capacitors. The influence of various factors on compensation efficiency such as capacitor location, line length, and degree of series compensation is investigated. Proper use of shunt reactors with series capacitors, in addition to limiting power frequency over- voltages, increases the maximum power transfer. Analytical expressions are included to aid in the calculation of compensation efficiency for a few typical cases. Curves are also presented indicating the critical value of shunt Mvar required for various degrees of series compensation and line lengths.

Some aids in the design of microstrip components II: Nomograms

Nomograms have been developed for coupled microstrips. With the help of these, it is possible to design various microstrip components. The design of a multiplexer using the directional filter is described and experimental results are given. Nomograms relating the even and odd mode impedances of coupled microstrip lines to the width to height rate and spacing to height ratio have been developed using the relations formulated by Schwarzmann. A multiplexer using directional filters is designed to operate with three channels at frequencies of 3÷3, 3÷4 and 3÷5 GHz and bandwidths of 10 MHz in each channel. Experimental results are given. The design specifications are satisfied reasonably well.

Graphene as a Nanocarrier for Tamoxifen Induces Apoptosis in Transformed Cancer Cell Lines of Different Origins

A cationic amphiphile, cholest-5en-3 beta-oxyethyl pyridinium bromide (PY(+)-Chol), is able to efficiently disperse exfoliated graphene (GR) in water by the physical adsorption of PY(+)-Chol on the surface of GR to form stable, dark aqueous suspensions at room temperature. The GRPY(+)-Chol suspension can then be used to solubilize Tamoxifen Citrate (TmC), a breast cancer drug, in water. The resulting TmCGRPY(+)-Chol is stable for a long time without any precipitation. Fluorescence emission and UV absorption spectra indicate the existence of noncovalent interactions between TmC, GR, and PY(+)-Chol in these suspensions. Electron microscopy shows the existence of segregated GR sheets and TmC ribbons in the composite suspensions. Atomic force microscopy indicates the presence of extended structures of GRPY(+)-Chol, which grows wider in the presence of TmC. The slow time-dependent release of TmC is noticed in a reconstituted cell culture medium, a property useful as a drug carrier. TmCGRPY(+)-Chol selectively enhanced the cell death (apoptosis) of the transformed cancer cells compared to normal cells. This potency is found to be true for a wide range of transformed cancer cells viz. HeLa, A549, ras oncogene-transformed NIH3T3, HepG2, MDA-MB231, MCF-7, and HEK293T compared to the normal cell HEK293 in vitro. Confocal microscopy confirmed the high efficiency of TmCGRPY(+)-Chol in delivering the drug to the cells, compared to the suspensions devoid of GR.

Intelligent Approach for Fault Diagnosis in Power Transmission Systems Using Support Vector Machines

This paper presents an approach for identifying the faulted line section and fault location on transmission systems using support vector machines (SVMs) for diagnosis/post-fault analysis purpose. Power system disturbances are often caused by faults on transmission lines. When fault occurs on a transmission system, the protective relay detects the fault and initiates the tripping operation, which isolates the affected part from the rest of the power system. Based on the fault section identified, rapid and corrective restoration procedures can thus be taken to minimize the power interruption and limit the impact of outage on the system. The approach is particularly important for post-fault diagnosis of any mal-operation of relays following a disturbance in the neighboring line connected to the same substation. This may help in improving the fault monitoring/diagnosis process, thus assuring secure operation of the power systems. In this paper we compare SVMs with radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) in data sets corresponding to different faults on a transmission system. Classification and regression accuracy is reported for both strategies. Studies on a practical 24-Bus equivalent EHV transmission system of the Indian Southern region is presented for indicating the improved generalization with the large margin classifiers in enhancing the efficacy of the chosen model.

On isentropic lines and isentropic exponents

The three indicators of isentropic lines, namely, the isentropic index, the ratio of pressure and density p/rho and the derivative (partial derivative p/partial derivative rho)s are investigated for all of the fluids in the RefProp 9.0 program. The behaviour of these three entities is evaluated along the saturated vapour line as well as in the superheated vapour region. There is a distinct demarcation of fluids whose isentropic indices can be less than 1 and others for which this behaviour is absent. The critical molar volume is found to be the characterizing feature. Several other interesting features of those three thermodynamic properties are also highlighted. It is observed that most practical engineering compression and expansion processes occur along the decreasing direction of the sound speed.

Development of micro-shock wave assisted dry particle and fluid jet delivery system

Small quantity of energetic material coated on the inner wall of a polymer tube is proposed as a new method to generate micro-shock waves in the laboratory. These micro-shock waves have been harnessed to develop a novel method of delivering dry particle and liquid jet into the target. We have generated micro-shock waves with the help of reactive explosive compound high melting explosive (octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine) and traces of aluminium] coated polymer tube, utilising 9 J of energy. The detonation process is initiated electrically from one end of the tube, while the micro-shock wave followed by the products of detonation escape from the open end of the polymer tube. The energy available at the open end of the polymer tube is used to accelerate tungsten micro-particles coated on the other side of the diaphragm or force a liquid jet out of a small cavity filled with the liquid. The micro-particles deposited on a thin metal diaphragm (typically 100-mu m thick) were accelerated to high velocity using micro-shock waves to penetrate the target. Tungsten particles of 0.7 mu m diameter have been successfully delivered into agarose gel targets of various strengths (0.6-1.0 %). The device has been tested by delivering micro-particles into potato tuber and Arachis hypogaea Linnaeus (ground nut) stem tissue. Along similar lines, liquid jets of diameter 200-250 mu m (methylene blue, water and oils) have been successfully delivered into agarose gel targets of various strengths. Successful vaccination against murine salmonellosis was demonstrated as a biological application of this device. The penetration depths achieved in the experimental targets are very encouraging to develop a future device for biological and biomedical applications.

Generation of a short-duration ultrawideband chirped-pulse using CRLH transmission lines

In this paper we present the various design issues related to CRLH-Transmission lines for the generation of short duration Ultra-Wideband chirped-pulse. The major parameters of the CRLH Transmission lines affecting the BandWidth are discussed and methods to increase BandWidth are also suggested. Also presented is the role of components of CRLH Transmission lines in determining the chirp duration. The techniques of controlling the chirp duration by regulating these components are also discussed. Simulations results are also included.