144 research outputs found
Ultraviolet Radiation-induced Skin Damage and Carcinogenesis: Preclinical Efficacy of Camellia sinensis (Tea)
No full textAlstonia scholaris Linn R Br in the Treatment and Prevention of Cancer: Past, Present, and Future
No full text Alstonia scholaris, commonly known as devil’s tree is an important medicinal plant in the various folk and traditional systems of medicine in Asia, Australia, and Africa. The decoction, mostly prepared from the bark, is used to treat a variety of diseases of which the most important is malaria. Furthermore, ethnomedicinal practices also suggest it to be of use in treating cancer, and preclinical studies performed with cultured neoplastic cells and tumor-bearing animals having validated these observations. Additionally, the phytochemicals like echitamine, alstonine, pleiocarpamine, O-methylmacralstonine, macralstonine, and lupeol are also reported to possess antineoplastic effects. In addition to the cytotoxic effects, A scholaris is also observed to possess radiomodulatory, chemomodulatory, and chemopreventive effects and free-radical scavenging, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and immunomodulatory activities, all of which are properties efficacious in the treatment and prevention of cancer. The current review for the first time summarizes the results related to these properties. An attempt is also made to address the lacunae in these published studies and emphasize aspects that need further investigations for it to be of use in clinics in the future. </jats:p
Automated detection and containment of stealth attacks on the operating system kernel
No full textThe operating system kernel serves as the root of trust for all applications running on the computer system. A compromised system can be exploited by remote attackers stealthily, such as exfiltration of sensitive information, wasteful usage of the system's resources, or involving the system in malicious activities without the user's knowledge or permission. The lack of appropriate detection tools allows such systems to stealthily lie within the attackers realm for indefinite periods of time. Stealth attacks on the kernel are carried out by malware commonly known as rootkits. The goal of the rootkit is to conceal the presence of the attacker on the victim system. Conventionally, kernel rootkits modified the kernel to achieve stealth, while most functionality was provided by accompanying user space programs. The newer kernel rootkits achieve the malice and stealth solely by modifying kernel data. This dissertation explores the threat posed by both types of kernel rootkits and proposes novel automated techniques for their detection and containment. Our first contribution is an automated containment technique built using the virtualization architecture. This technique counters the ongoing damage done to the system by the conventional kernel rootkits. It is well suited for attacks that employ kernel or user mode stealth but provide most of the malicious functionality as user space programs. Our second contribution is to identify a new class of stealth attacks on the kernel, which do not exhibit explicit hiding behavior but are stealthy by design. They achieve their malicious objectives by solely modifying data within the kernel. These attacks demonstrate that the threat posed to kernel data is systemic requiring comprehensive protection.
Our final contribution is a novel automated technique that can be used for detection of such stealth data-centric attacks. The key idea behind this technique is to automatically identify and extract invariants exhibited by kernel data structures during a training phase. These invariants are used as specifications of data structure integrity and are enforced during runtime. Our technique could successfully detect all rootkits that were publicly available. It could also detect more recent stealth attacks developed by us or proposed by
other recent research literature.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-103)by Arati Balig
Sandalwood Oil and Turmeric-Based Cream Prevents Ionizing Radiation-Induced Dermatitis in Breast Cancer Patients: Clinical Study
No full textBackground: The primary objective of this study was to ascertain the benefit of Vicco turmeric Ayurvedic cream (VTC; Vicco Laboratories, Mumbai, India) sandalwood oil and turmeric-based cream in preventing radiodermatitis in women undergoing curative radiotherapy for their breast cancer. Methods and Materials: The study was an investigator-blinded randomized study with Johnsons Baby Oil (JBO; Johnson & Johnson Ltd., Baddi, India) as a comparator, administered daily from the start of radiation therapy for 5 weeks in women receiving breast radiation therapy, 50 Gy in 2 Gy fractions daily for 5 weeks. The endpoints were to ascertain the delay in the appearance and the degree of severity of dermatitis throughout the study period in accordance to the Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) score. Results: The results indicated that the topical application of VTC delayed and mitigated the radiodermatitis. When compared to the Johnson’s Baby Oil, a significant decrease (p = 0.025) in the incidence of grade 1 was seen at week two, and also in grade 2 and 3 at week 3 (p = 0.003) and week 4 (p = 0.02), respectively, in the VTC cohort. A concomitant decrease in the average severity was also observed at week 2 (p = 0.02), week 3 (p = 0.05) and week 4 (p = 0.03). Conclusions: The results indicate that VTC cream significantly reduces radiation dermatitis when applied to the breast during and after radiation therapy. The result of this study indicates the beneficial effects. Double blind randomized control studies are required to further confirm the beneficial effects of VTC in mitigating radiodermatitis is people undergoing radiation treatment for their cancer
Radioprotective potential of mint: A brief review
No full textRadiation is an important modality in cancer treatment and estimates
are that between one third and one half of all patients will require
ionizing irradiation therapy during some point in their clinical
management. However, the radiation-induced damage to the normal tissues
restricts the therapeutic doses of radiation that can be delivered to
tumors and thereby limits the effectiveness of the treatment. The use
of chemical compounds (radioprotectors) represents an obvious strategy
to improve the therapeutic index in radiotherapy. However, most of the
synthetic radioprotective compounds studied have shown inadequate
clinical application owing to their inherent toxicity and high cost.
These observations necessitated a search for alternative agents that
are less toxic and highly effective. Studies in the recent past have
shown that some medicinal plants possess radioprotective effects. Two
species of the commonly used aromatic herb mint, Mentha piperita and M.
arvensis protected mice against the γ-radiation-induced sickness
and mortality. Detail investigations have also shown that the aqueous
extract of M. piperita protected the vital radiosensitive organs: the
testis, gastrointestinal and hemopoetic systems in mice. The
radioprotective effects are possibly due to free radical scavenging,
antioxidant, metal chelating, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and
enhancement of the DNA repair processes. This review for the first time
summarizes the observations and elucidates the possible mechanisms
responsible for the beneficial effects. The lacunae in the existing
knowledge and directions for future research are also addressed
Radioprotective potential of mint: A brief review
No full textRadiation is an important modality in cancer treatment and estimates
are that between one third and one half of all patients will require
ionizing irradiation therapy during some point in their clinical
management. However, the radiation-induced damage to the normal tissues
restricts the therapeutic doses of radiation that can be delivered to
tumors and thereby limits the effectiveness of the treatment. The use
of chemical compounds (radioprotectors) represents an obvious strategy
to improve the therapeutic index in radiotherapy. However, most of the
synthetic radioprotective compounds studied have shown inadequate
clinical application owing to their inherent toxicity and high cost.
These observations necessitated a search for alternative agents that
are less toxic and highly effective. Studies in the recent past have
shown that some medicinal plants possess radioprotective effects. Two
species of the commonly used aromatic herb mint, Mentha piperita and M.
arvensis protected mice against the γ-radiation-induced sickness
and mortality. Detail investigations have also shown that the aqueous
extract of M. piperita protected the vital radiosensitive organs: the
testis, gastrointestinal and hemopoetic systems in mice. The
radioprotective effects are possibly due to free radical scavenging,
antioxidant, metal chelating, anti-inflammatory, antimutagenic, and
enhancement of the DNA repair processes. This review for the first time
summarizes the observations and elucidates the possible mechanisms
responsible for the beneficial effects. The lacunae in the existing
knowledge and directions for future research are also addressed
Acetaminophen confers neuroprotection during early cerebral ischemia-reperfusion
No full textStroke is the leading cause of disability in the United States. It usually occurs from a clot blocking a cerebral artery, resulting in cerebral ischemia and infarction. Few stroke therapeutics are available that definitively improve patient outcome. Acetaminophen is a readily available, inexpensive drug with a good safety profile - properties desirable of a neuroprotectant. We have previously shown acetaminophen to be effective following myocardial infarction. Since similar cell-destructive events occur during cerebral ischemia as in myocardial infarction, we sought to determine whether acetaminophen would protect neuronal cells in a similar fashion. Biochemical and molecular assays were employed to assess cell death and mitochondrial function. Acetaminophen significantly reduced cerebral infarct size, mitochondrial swelling and rupture as well as apoptosis. Acetaminophen also preserved mitochondrial membrane potential. Furthermore, acetaminophen prevented cerebral edema, as seen histopathologically. Taken together, these data suggest that acetaminophen is effective in preventing neuronal stroke damage.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 95-114)by Sunanda S. Balig
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