300 research outputs found

    Multicomponent targeted proapoptotic anticancer drug delivery system

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    Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in United States. The current approaches for the treatment of solid tumor available are the surgery for the removal of primary tumor followed by chemotherapy and /or radiation. The efficacy of chemotherapy is limited by the following factors; (1) adverse side-effects on healthy organs, (2) development of cellular resistance and (3) low solubility of many anticancer drugs. The primary objective of this dissertation is to overcome all the above stated limitations. The methods employed in this dissertation includes designing, synthesizing and evaluating a novel drug delivery system comprising of 1) multiple copies of an anticancer drug, Camptothecin (CPT) ; 2) a polymeric carrier, Polyethylene glycol (PEG); 3) multiple copies of a targeting moiety to cancer cells, Luteinizing hormone releasing hormone (LHRH) peptide; 4) multiple copies of a suppressor of antiapoptotic cellular defense, BH3 peptide both in vitro and in vivo on A2780 human ovarian carcinoma cells and malignant ascites and animal models respectively. Conjugates of CPT, LHRH and CPT, LHRH, BH3 were evaluated for cytotoxicity, cancer specificity and antitumor activity. The multicomponent anticancer delivery system will significantly enhance the efficacy of an anticancer drug in the treatment of all the stages of cancer when compared with free drug, non-targeted delivery systems or the system consisting of one copy of each active component.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical referencesIncludes vitaby Pooja Chandn

    Offshoring and outsourcing of core corporate activities: the global relocation of pharmaceutical industry clinical trials

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    This dissertation examines the offshoring and outsourcing of core activities in the pharmaceutical industry. Using primary and secondary data sources, the dissertation adopts a multi-level approach to examine four research questions related to the sourcing strategies of core activities such as clinical trials. Specifically, I look at operational and strategic factors that influence the decision to relocate core activities both organizationally (in-house versus external vendors) and geographically (activities conducted in home nation versus trials in foreign countries). Drawing on Dunning's framework, the dissertation next examines the role of four motives (resource, market, efficiency and strategic asset seeking) in the offshoring decisions while distinguishing between offshore outsourcing and offshoring to foreign affiliates. Using multiple case studies, the third study further investigates the evolution of firms sourcing strategies from conducting core activities in-house to increasingly outsourcing and offshoring them. The final study in the dissertation examines the impact of offshoring and outsourcing on the performance of core activities. Data for this dissertation comes from multiple sources: Primary data from in-depth structured interviews and online survey of vice presidents of clinical affairs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms, as well as secondary data from Medidata, Orbis, and World Development Indicators. The dissertation offers evidence that firms tend to use different sourcing strategies for different motives. Specifically, offshoring to foreign affiliates is primarily driven by strategic factors and firms tend to prefer this strategy for strategic asset seeking purposes. Offshore outsourcing on the other hand is motivated by resource and efficiency seeking behavior and the important determinants for this strategy are mainly operational. The third type of sourcing strategy is domestic outsourcing and firms are driven by both strategic as well as operational determinants for this strategy. The qualitative study on strategy evolution points towards a five stage process which begins with in-house sourcing followed by domestic outsourcing, foreign affiliates, offshore outsourcing and finally backsourcing of core activities. Evidence from the dissertation suggests that outsourcing has a positive impact on performance when compared to in-house while offshoring has a negative impact compared to domestic sourcing.Ph.D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Pooja Thaku

    Target reliability indices for quay walls, jetties, and flexible dolphins

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    Structural codes rely on generalised target reliability indices, which are mainly derived for buildings. It is unclear, however, whether these indices are applicable to the specific risk-profile of quay walls, jetties, and flexible dolphins. In this study, target reliability indices for marine structures were derived from various risk acceptance criteria, such as economic optimisation, individual risk, societal risk, the life quality index, and the social and environmental repercussion index. This article uses a method to determine reliability targets distinguishing time-dependent and time-independent variables, because some important stochastic design variables in the design of marine structures, such as soil and material properties, are largely time-independent. The assessment framework of ISO 2394, taking into account social, economic, and environmental impact, has proven to be a solid basis for reliability differentiation. The method of approach considered in this paper can also be used for evaluating target reliability indices of other geotechnical structures.Accepted Author ManuscriptHydraulic Structures and Flood Ris

    Dynamic Planning for Flexible Port Infrastructure after Panama Canal Expansion: A Real Case Study

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    This paper presents a study carried out to first assess the impact of the Panama Canal expansion (PCE) on selected Caribbean ports, and thereafter, to examine how the ports can adapt in order to seize new opportunities created by the expansion. An applied case of long-term dynamic planning and flexibility in engineering design is presented for a new port terminal in Barranquilla, Colombia. Furthermore, this paper presents the results of a stochastic method for quantifying opportunities from containerized traffic using dynamic forecasting, real options analysis, and Monte Carlo simulation, within the framework and spirit of adaptive port planning under uncertainty.Accepted Author ManuscriptRivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineerin

    Expression of Keratin 19 in Relation to CDK Inhibiting Treatment of Breast Cancer

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    A presentation that was delivered in the Fifth University Research Day at the Catholic University of America in 2020.This research was collaborated with Pooja Sharm

    MyFutures: Imagining speculative care and support futures in The Netherlands

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    In many Western societies, decisions about leaving home and spending your last years in a care home are often taken suddenly. Immediate health issues force family, friends and neighbours who offer informal support to ask for immediate formal support. Such urgent situations do not lead to the best solutions.Design Conceptualization and Communicatio

    Characterization of the arsenate and selenate reducing bacterial community of agricultural soils of the Mekong River Delta, Vietnam

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    Arsenic and selenium occur as metalloids in the Earth’s crust and microorganisms can utilize the oxyanions of arsenic and selenium as terminal electron acceptors for respiration in the process of dissimilatory reduction. In this study the microbially mediated reduction of selenium and arsenic in agricultural soils of the Mekong River delta, Vietnam was investigated. By employing culture dependent enrichment setup and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) community fingerprinting, we have been able to show the microbially mediated reduction of As and Se oxyanions in agricultural soils and sediments of staple crops such as rice and cabbage. An arsenate and selenate reducing bacterium belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae was isolated from the rice soil irrigated by ground water. Microbially mediated transformations of As and Se may modulate the toxicity of these elements and change their mobility and bioavailability, which affects their translocation and accumulation in plants. This study is providing preliminary information on the role of bacteria in As and Se biotransformation in agricultural soils of the Mekong river delta.M.S.Includes bibliographical referencesby Pooja Mishr

    Environmental and economic assessment of transportation fuels from municipal solid waste

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    Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2016.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (pages 76-86).Municipal solid waste (MSW), comprising food waste, residential rubbish and commercial waste, has been identified as a potential feedstock for the production of alternative fuels. Conversion of MSW to fuel could displace petroleum-derived fuels to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from transportation, and also avoid the GHG emissions associated with existing waste management strategies such as landfilling. This thesis quantifies the lifecycle GHG emissions and economic feasibility of middle distillate (MD) fuel, including diesel and jet fuel, derived from MSW in the United States via three thermochemical conversion pathways: conventional gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (FT MD), plasma gasification and Fischer-Tropsch (Plasma FT MD) and, conventional gasification, catalytic alcohol synthesis and alcohol-to-jet upgrading (ATJ MD). Expanded system boundaries are used to capture the change in existing MSW use and disposal, and parameter uncertainty is accounted for with Monte Carlo simulations. The median lifecycle GHG emissions are calculated to be 32.9, 62.3 and 52.7 gCO2e/MJ with standard deviations of 7.2, 9.5 and 13.2 gCO2e/MJ for FT, Plasma FT and ATJ MD fuels, respectively, compared to a baseline of 90 gCO2e/MJ for conventional MD fuels. These results are found to be sensitive to MSW composition, the waste management strategy displaced, plant scale and associated fuel yield, feedstock transportation distance and the co-product allocation method. Median minimum selling prices are estimated at 0.99, 1.78 and 1.20 perlitreandstandarddeviationsof0.14,0.29and0.27 per litre and standard deviations of 0.14, 0.29 and 0.27 per litre with the probability of achieving a positive net present value of fuel production at market prices of 14%, 0.1% and 7% for FT, Plasma FT and ATJ MD fuels, respectively. The sensitivity of these results to the discount rate, income tax rate, implementation of carbon price, feedstock cost, scale and process efficiency indicate that policy measures, MSW tipping fees and technological advancements can improve the economic viability of MSW fuels. Considering a societal perspective (e.g. social opportunity cost of capital, social costs of GHG emissions) increases the probability of positive net present value of fuel production to 93%, 67% and 92.5% for the FT, Plasma FT, and ATJ MD fuels, respectively.by Pooja Suresh.S.M

    A theoretical study on Cerium-Nickel intermetallic compound

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    Correction: Gut-associated cGMP mediates colitis and dysbiosis in a mouse model of an activating mutation in GUCY2C

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    Skip Nav Destination Correction|October 06 2021 Correction: Gut-associated cGMP mediates colitis and dysbiosis in a mouse model of an activating mutation in GUCY2C Vishwas Mishra, Avipsa Bose, Shashi Kiran, Sanghita Banerjee, Idrees A. Shah, Pooja Chaukimath, Mudasir M. Reshi, Swarna Srinivas, Anaxee Barman, Sandhya S. Visweswariah Crossmark: Check for Updates Author and Article Information Vishwas Mishra Avipsa Bose Shashi Kiran Sanghita Banerjee Idrees A. Shah Pooja Chaukimath Mudasir M. Reshi Swarna Srinivas Anaxee Barman Sandhya S. Visweswariah Online ISSN: 1540-9538 Print ISSN: 0022-1007 © 2021 Mishra et al. This article is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution 4.0 International, as described at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). J Exp Med (2021) 218 (11): e2021047909292021c. https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.2021047909292021c Connected Content Corrected article Gut-associated cGMP mediates colitis and dysbiosis in a mouse model of an activating mutation in GUCY2C Standard View Open the PDFfor in another window Share Icon Share Tools Icon Tools Vol. 218, No. 11 | 10.1084/jem.20210479 | September 21, 2021 The authors regret that the legends to Fig. 3 (C, D, and I) and Fig. 4 (B, C, and E) did not originally specify that the values shown are adjusted P values. In addition, the colors used in the bar graph in Fig. 4 B were not correct nor defined. The corrected legends, with new text underlined, and corrected Fig. 4 are shown here. The errors appear only in PDFs downloaded before September 27, 2021
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