Influence of the Addition of Dispersible Color Powder and Polyacrylic Emulsion on the Durability of Cement Mortar

Cement mortar can be colored using color additive technology to give colorful facades to the surfaces of buildings, and to beautify the environment. In this study, weight ratios of color powder/cement at 1:80, 1:40, and 1:27, and polyacrylic emulsion/cement at a ratio of 1:5 were added as pigments to cement mortar; the fresh properties, slump, slump flow, hardened properties, compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, durability, surface electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity of the colored cement mortar were then examined. The results showed that adding color powder/cement at 1:80 and polyacrylic emulsion/cement at 1:5 gives the best water/cement (W/C) ratio, which equals 0.5; this can effectively improve the hardness and durability of colored cement mortar. At 28 days of aging, the strength of the various colored cement mortars was maintained at 33.1–36.8 MPa. The acrylic-based emulsion significantly improved the flexural strength of the specimen. At 91 days of aging, all of the cement mortars exceeded the control group, with an anti-bay strength of 19.9–21.7 MPa, and the strength increased with aging. Adding appropriate amounts of inorganic color powder and mixing water can effectively enhance the fresh and hardened properties and durability of the colored cement mortar, while polyacrylic emulsion may significantly improve the test pieces and flexural strength, which increases with age. Moreover, natural α-Fe₂O₃ (rust layer) is formed on the surface of the colored cement mortar samples through the addition of inorganic color powder that contains Fe(III) ion; this prevents the intrusion of noxious ions and thus increases the durability. All of the test pieces of colored cement mortar in this study had a surface resistance of over 20 kΩ-cm on the seventh day of the test period, meaning good surface compactness. In addition, because the thermal conductivity of the added inorganic color powder was higher than that of cement, the thermal conductivity was significantly improved.     

Assessing the selective therapeutic efficacy of superparamagnetic erlotinib nanoparticles in lung cancer by using quantitative magnetic resonance imaging and a nuclear factor kappa-B reporter gene system

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common type of lung cancer. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors are commonly used as the first-line treatment for advanced NSCLC; however, the efficacy of drug delivery remains unknown. Hence, we successfully developed erlotinib-conjugated iron oxide nanoparticles (FeDC-E NPs) as theranostic probe that can potentially provide a new avenue for monitoring drug delivering through noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging. MRI ΔR2* relaxivity measurements offer an opportunity to quantitatively evaluate the uptake of FeDC-E NPs at cellular and tumoral levels. Additionally, NF-κB reporter gene system provides NF-κB activation status monitoring to validate the therapeutic efficiency of FeDC-E NPs. FeDC-E NPs not only inhibit the tumor growth and NF-κB-modulated antiapoptotic mechanism but also trigger extrinsic and intrinsic apoptotic pathways. Taken together, dual functional FeDC-E NPs offer diagnostic and therapeutic benefits against lung cancers, indicating that our presented probe could be applied in clinical.     

Investigation of cell cytotoxic activity and molecular mechanism of 5β,19-epoxycucurbita-6,23(E)-diene-3β,19(R),25-triol isolated from Momordica charantia on hepatoma cells

ContextMomordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), known as bitter melon, is an edible fruit cultivated in the tropics. In this study, an active compound, 5β,19-epoxycucurbita-6,23(E)-diene-3β,19(R),25-triol (ECDT), isolated from M. charantia was investigated in regard to its cytotoxic effect on human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells.ObjectiveTo examine the mechanisms of ECDT-induced apoptosis in HCC cells.Materials and methodsThe inhibitive activity of ECDT on HA22T HCC cells was examined by MTT assay, colony formation assay, wound healing assay, TUNEL/DAPI staining, annexin V-fluorescein isothiocyanate/propidium iodide (PI) staining and JC-1 dye. HA22T cells were treated with ECDT (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 μM) for 24 h, and the molecular mechanism of cells apoptosis was examined by Western blot. Cells treated with vehicle DMSO were used as the negative control.ResultsECDT inhibited the cell proliferation of HA22T cells in a dose-dependent manner. Flow cytometry showed that ECDT treatment at 10–20 μM increased early apoptosis by 10–14% and late apoptosis by 2–5%. Western blot revealed that ECDT treatment activated the mitochondrial-dependent apoptotic pathway, and ECDT-induced apoptosis was mediated by the caspase signalling pathway and activation of JNK and p38MAPK. Pre-treatment of cells with MAPK inhibitors (SB203580 or SP600125) reversed the ECDT-induced cell death, which further supported the involvement of the p38MAPK and JNK pathways.Discussion and conclusionsOur results indicated that ECDT can induce apoptosis through the p38MAPK and JNK pathways in HA22T cells. The findings suggested that ECDT has a valuable anticancer property with the potential to be developed as a new chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of HCC.     

Quality of end-of-life care of home-based care with or without palliative services for patients with advanced illnesses

Palliative care has improved quality of end-of-life (EOL) care for patients with cancer, and these benefits may be extended to patients with other serious illnesses. EOL care quality for patients with home-based care is a critical problem for health care providers. We compare EOL quality care between patients with advanced illnesses receiving home-based care with and without palliative services.The medical records of deceased patients who received home-based care at a community teaching hospital in south Taiwan from January to December 2019 were collected retrospectively. We analyzed EOL care quality indicators during the last month of life.A total of 164 patients were included for analysis. Fifty-two (31.7%) received palliative services (HP group), and 112 (68.3%) did not receive palliative services (non-HP group). Regarding the quality indicators of EOL care, we discovered that a lower percentage of the HP group died in a hospital than did that of the non-HP group (34.6% vs 62.5%, P = .001) through univariate analysis. We found that the HP group had lower scores on the aggressiveness of EOL care than did the non-HP group (0.5 ± 0.9 vs 1.0 ± 1.0, P<.001). Furthermore, palliative services were a significant and negative factor of dying in a hospital after adjustment (OR = 0.13, 95%CI = 0.05–0.36, P < .001).For patients with advanced illnesses receiving home-based care, palliative services are associated with lower scores on the aggressiveness of EOL care and a reduced probability of dying in a hospital.