Modeling the effect of water quality on the recreational shellfishing cultural ecosystem service of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.

Estuaries provide significant cultural ecosystem services, including recreation and tourism. Disruptions of estuarine biogeochemical processes resulting from environmental degradation could interrupt the flow of these services, reducing benefits and diminishing the welfare of local communities. This study focused on recreational shellfishing in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts (41.55°N, 70.80°W). Relationships among measures of recreational shellfishing, estuarine water quality, and local socioeconomic conditions were tested to understand how the benefits of cultural ecosystem services to local communities might be affected by declining water quality. Transferring estimated economic benefits from an analysis of nearby municipalities, the study finds that increases in Chl a during the 24-year period were associated with losses in recreational shellfishing benefits of $0.08-0.67 million per decade. The approach presented here suggests a more broadly applicable framework for assessing the impacts of changes in coastal ecosystem water quality on the welfare of local communities.

In vivo evidence of gamma-tocotrienol as a chemosensitizer in the treatment of hormone-refractory prostate cancer.

gamma-Tocotrienol (gammaT3) is known to selectively kill prostate cancer (PCa) cells and to sensitize the cells to docetaxel (DTX)-induced apoptosis. In the present study, the pharmacokinetics of gammaT3 and the in vivo cytotoxic response of androgen-independent prostate cancer (AIPCa) tumor following gammaT3 treatment were investigated. Here, we investigated these antitumor effects for PCa tumors in vivo. The pharmacokinetic and tissue distribution of gammaT3 after exogenous gammaT3 supplementation were examined. Meanwhile, the response of the tumor to gammaT3 alone or in combination with DTX were studied by real-time in vivo bioluminescent imaging and by examination of biomarkers associated with cell proliferation and apoptosis. After intraperitoneal injection, gammaT3 rapidly disappeared from the serum and was selectively deposited in the AIPCa tumor cells. Administration of gammaT3 alone for 2 weeks resulted in a significant shrinkage of the AIPCa tumors. Meanwhile, further inhibition of the AIPCa tumor growth was achieved by combined treatment of gammaT3 and DTX (p < 0.002). The in vivo cytotoxic antitumor effects induced by gammaT3 seem to be associated with a decrease in expression of cell proliferation markers (proliferating cell nuclear antigen, Ki-67 and Id1) and an increase in the rate of cancer cell apoptosis [cleaved caspase 3 and poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase]. Additionally, the combined agents may be more effective at suppressing the invasiveness of AIPCa. Overall, our results indicate that gammaT3, either alone or in combination with DTX, may provide a treatment strategy that can improve therapeutic efficacy against AIPCa while reducing the toxicity often seen in patients treated with DTX.

A study of single drug particle adhesion interactions using atomic force microscopy.

This paper aims to use Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) to characterise the interaction forces between micronized salbutamol particles, an active ingredient frequently used in metered dose inhalers, and also to glass, lactose and a fluoropolymer. The methodology used involves challenging a salbutamol functionalized AFM tip to the surfaces of interest and measuring the force experienced by the cantilever as a function of tip-sample separation. Analysis of this force-distance data allows quantification of the particle-substrate adhesion. This study yields a ranking of adhesion as glass>lactose>salbutamol>polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). An increase in the interaction force between the salbutamol particle and PTFE on repeated contact due to tribocharging is also observed.