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Prooxidant state in anticancer drugs and prospect use of mitochondrial cofactors and anti-inflammatory agents in cancer prevention
No full textAn extensive body of literature has associated cancer with redox imbalance and inflammatory conditions. Thus, several studies and current clinical practice have relied on the use of anticancer drugs known to be associated with prooxidant state. On the other hand, a number of studies have reported on the effects of several antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents and of mitochondrial cofactors (also termed mitochondrial nutrients, MNs) in counteracting or slowing carcinogenesis, or in controlling cancer growth. In the available literature, a body of evidence points on the roles of anti-inflammatory agents and of individual MNs against carcinogenesis or in controlling cancer cell proliferation, but only a few reports on the combined use of two or the effect of three MNs. These combinations are proposed as potentially successful tools to counteract carcinogenesis in prospective animal model studies or in adjuvant cancer treatment strategies. A “triad” of MNs are suggested to restore redox balance, mitigate side effects of prooxidative anticancer drugs, or aid in cancer prevention and/or adjuvant therapy. By elucidating their mechanistic underpinnings and appraising their clinical efficacy, we aim to contribute with a comprehensive understanding of these therapeutic modalities
Integrated computational and experimental evaluation of phenolic constituents of Apricot fruit L. for antiqourum sensing, antibiofilm, antioxidant, and 15-lox inhibitory properties
No full textThe present study investigated the antioxidant profile together with the antibacterial potential of Apricot L. with the aim to find a functional food based anti-infective lead. Additionally the study evaluated the biofilm and QS inhibitory potential of the plant using Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 15442) and Chromo bacterium Violaceum (DSM 30191) respectively. Several fractions of the peel of Apricot were subjected to initial antimicrobial and antibiofilm screening. Among all the fractions, methanol and ethyl acetate fractions displayed significant antimicrobial activity against the strains selected with MIC values 1.25 mg/dL and 1.68 mg/dL respectively. Similarly, while evaluating antiqourum-sensing potential, methanol extract showed remarkable zone of inhibition (14mm) with Violaceum inhibition (58%) while aqueous part presented moderately good inhibition (32%) with zone of inhibition of (4mm). N-hexane fraction was least active in this regard. In case of free radicals scavenging aptitudes, Ethanolic fraction displayed the highest free radicals scavenging potential (IC50μg/mL 13.76 ± 23.61) while Aqueous and ethyl acetate part exhibited moderate to good antioxidant behaviors with IC50μg/mL of 26.74 ± 22.00 and 19.49 ± 2.91 respectively. Then the selected compounds were screened for putative binding sites and molecular docking studies followed by enzyme inhibition assays. The negative binding energies and close proximity to residues in the binding pocket of selected targets including human α- soybean lox (PDB ID 1IK3), quorum sensing regulators LasR (2UV0) were observed which indicated high affinity and tight binding capacity of compounds 1 and 5 towards the active sites of LasR 2UV0 and 15-lipoxygenase. The physicochemical characteristics and toxicity expectation were computationally accomplished. Bioactivity prediction study revealed that all of the selected Phytoconstituents displayed incredible Bioactivity score. None of the selected chemical compound was found to be toxic as discovered by toxicity studies. Compound 4 exhibited the highest inhibition of 15-lipoxygenase in vitro (69%, at 0.037 mM final concentration) and that is accompanied by compound 5 (60%) whereas in the biofilm inhibition assay, compound 1 was most active (IC50 0.05 mM), followed by compound 3 (IC50 0.07 mM). It was therefore determined that compounds 1 and 3 had the highest biofilm inhibitory activity, whereas compounds 4 and 5 were potent 15-lipoxygenase inhibitors with potentially anti-inflammatory properties. Future investigations are suggested for the characterization and formulation development
The robot saw it coming: physical human interference, deservingness, and self-efficacy in service robot failures
No full textRobotic services’ popularity continues to increase due to technological advancements, labour shortages, and global crises. Yet, while providing these services, robots are subject to occasional physical interruption by humans to them, thus restricting their functioning and, at times, leading to failure. To investigate this issue, the present study examined the role of third-party human interference in service robot failures and its effects on the observers’ attitudes towards and willingness to engage with the robot. We manipulated human interference resulting in different robotic service failures in two online scenario-based experiments. The results revealed that individuals held less favourable attitudes towards a failed service robot without (vs. with) physical human interference, and they were less willing to engage with the failed service robot without (vs. with) physical human interference. The perceived deservingness of the robot accounted for this effect, moderated by the person’s self-efficacy regarding robots. The results are discussed with their implications for not only the theory of service failures and human-service robot interactions but also for robotic service providers
Brand museums, commodification of cultural heritage and cultural transfer: the case of IKEA museum
No full textThis paper examines how brand museums, as themed environments, commodify and transfer the cultural heritage of organisations to their stakeholders. We conduct a qualitative study based on six in-depth interviews with top management professionals at the IKEA Museum. Rooted deeply in the Swedish socio-cultural ecosystem, the IKEA Museum uses various strategies to commodify its cultural heritage, such as displaying historical artefacts, creating interactive exhibits, narrating stories of innovation and social responsibility, and offering co-creation opportunities to visitors. In doing so it plays a prominent role in enabling cultural transfer and fosters intergenerational cultural memory among its stakeholders. The theoretical conceptualization is presented by proposing the Synthesis of Cultural Transfer, Value Outcomes, and Intergenerational Memory framework (SCTIM), and implications are discussed
Dynamic pricing when consumers have real options
No full textWe study optimal dynamic pricing under uncertainty in a platform ecosystem subject to technological uncertainty. We highlight that users joining the platform before the full development of the complementary goods and services obtain real options to benefit from future improvements in platform quality and network effects. The platform owner influences the network effects and equilibrium outcomes through its dynamic price policy that trades off building an earlier consumer base versus extracting rents from early adopters. A price-skimming policy is optimal when the cost of developing a complementary good is small. Interestingly, price-skimming becomes optimal when the development cost is high, as long as the value of the improved platform is either small or relatively high. For intermediate values, however, the platform adopts a price-penetration policy. Our paper provides new insights for building markets subject to the network effect under uncertainty
Alliance formation across clusters:Firm responses to aspiratıon gaps under market and technological uncertainty
Get PDFForming alliances beyond local clusters allows firms to access non-redundant knowledgeunavailable within their local network. Although prior research has exploredthe antecedents of between-cluster ties (BCTs), it has largely overlooked the role ofexternal uncertainty. This study addresses this gap, motivated by the rising prominenceof market and technological uncertainty and the growing call to integrate theseconditions into theories of strategic management. Under uncertainty, conventionalrisk analysis becomes less effective, and managers rely on heuristics that weigh bothinternal performance and external conditions. Under market uncertainty—wheredemand is volatile and attribution is ambiguous—managers heuristically give someweight to external, uncontrollable, and transient factors when interpreting underperformance,which reduces the urgency to engage in exploratory search. When performanceexceeds aspirations, market uncertainty is seen as an opportunity, promptingthe formation of BCTs to leverage success and buffer against potential downturns.Under technological uncertainty—where the direction of change is unpredictable andemerging technologies are difficult to evaluate—managers heuristically attribute underperformancepartly to external technological shifts, which suggests a misalignmentbetween current capabilities and future needs. This drives firms to form moreBCTs in search of novel knowledge to adapt. When performance exceeds aspirations,firms still pursue more BCTs to reinforce their position and influence the direction of technological change, though with less urgency. Using panel data from NorthAmerican public firms in 12 high-tech manufacturing industries (1990–2022), thestudy finds partial support for these hypotheses. The results show that market uncertaintyamplifies the formation of BCTs when firms exceed their social aspirations.These findings contribute to the interorganizational network literature by clarifyinghow external uncertainty influences alliance behavior and network dynamics, andextend the firm’s behavioral theory to unce
Through Dust And Light: Constraining The Distance To The GBHT 4U 1630-47 Through High Resolution MM And X-RAY Observations
Get PDFAccurately determining the distance to Galactic blackhole X-ray binaries is criticalfor understanding their intrinsic luminosities, accretion physics, and jet properties.However, for sources which are highly obscured by dust, traditional distance estimationmethods often fail. In this thesis, we present a novel imaging-based methodologywhich utilizes high-resolution millimeter observations from the Atacama PathfinderExperiment APEX combined with X-ray data from Chandra to constrain the distanceto the galactic blackhole transient (GBHT) 4U 1630-47 through the modelingof its dust scattering halo (DSH).We identify 15 molecular clouds from the 12CO data and generate synthetic DSHimages for all possible near/far configurations of these clouds across a grid of candidatesource distances and subsequently fit the images both radially and azimuthally.Our analysis favors a source distance of 11.5 kpc, with strong constraints on severalmolecular clouds. We perform Monte Carlo analysis to quantify uncertainties andfind a robust peak in best-fit distances at 11.5 kpc. While 13.6 kpc also yieldedgood statistical fits, it is ultimately discarded due to observational inconsistencies.This thesis demonstrates the power of combining high-resolution mm observationswith X-ray imaging to resolve kinematic distance ambiguities and constrain thesource distance. The methodology developed here builds upon the foundation laidin Kalemci, Maccarone & Tomsick (2018), and is also presented in E. Kalemci (2025)
A Pluripotential Theory For Banach Lattice Valued Functions
Get PDFIn this thesis, we establish a foundation of a pluripotential theory for functionsattaining values in a Banach lattice. For this purpose, we generalize notions suchas semi-continuity, subharmonicity, plurisubharmonicity and maximality for vectorvalued functions, study their properties and the cones of plurisubharmonic functions.Moreover, we investigate operator valued Jensen measures for a given cone of vectorvalued functions, and upper, lower envelopes of a given function with respect tothe given cone. With these at our disposal, we prove Edwards’ Theorem in Banachlattice settings. As an result our findings, we provide a Perron method of solution fora Dirichlet Problem for vector valued harmonic/maximal plurisubharmonic functionswith continuous boundary dat
Bent Partitions And Lp-Packings
Get PDFThis thesis investigates the recently introduced concepts of bent partitions, LPpackings,and their interrelations, including their connection to vectorial dual-bentfunctions. We begin by showing that LP-packings give rise to (normal) bent partitions.Using examples involving ternary bent functions, we demonstrate that LPpackingsand bent partitions represent fundamentally different concepts.We then extend a known lifting procedure from Desarguesian spreads to LP-packingsin non-elementary abelian groups to a lifting procedure from generalized Desarguesianspreads to LP-packings in non-elementary abelian groups as well as largerelementary abelian groups. This generalization broadens the scope of known constructionsof LP-packings.In the final part, we explore secondary constructions of a class of vectorial dual-bentfunctions corresponding to bent partitions with a specific property. One constructionis based on the direct sum of vectorial functions, while the other generalizes a methodoriginally introduced by Wang, Fu, and Wei in [34]. These approaches yield a widevariety of vectorial bent functions, bent partitions