Current Status and Future Perspectives on the Internet of Things in Oncology.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has penetrated many aspects of everyday human life. The use of IoT in healthcare has been expanding over the past few years. In this review, we highlighted the current applications of IoT in the medical literature, along with the challenges and opportunities. IoT use mainly involves sensors and wearables, with potential applications in improving the quality of life, personal health monitoring, and diagnosis of diseases. Our literature review highlights that the current main application studied in the literature is physical activity tracking. In addition, we discuss the current technologies that would help IoT-enabled devices achieve safe, quick, and meaningful data transfer. These technologies include machine learning/artificial intelligence, 5G, and blockchain. Data on current IoT-enabled devices are still limited, and future research should address these devices' effect on patients' outcomes and the methods by which their integration in healthcare will avoid increasing costs.

The burden of chronic diseases and patients' preference for healthcare services among adult patients suffering from chronic diseases in Bangladesh.

BACKGROUND: Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a disproportionately high burden of chronic diseases, with inequalities in health care access and quality services. This study aimed to assess patients' preferences for healthcare services for chronic disease management among adult patients in Bangladesh. METHODS: The present analysis was conducted among 10,385 patients suffering from chronic diseases, drawn from the latest Household Income and Expenditure Survey 2016-2017. We used the multinomial logistic regression to investigate the association of chronic comorbid conditions and healthcare service-related factors with patients' preferences for healthcare services. RESULTS: The top four dimensions of patient preference for healthcare services in order of magnitude were quality of treatment (30.3%), short distance to health facility (27.6%), affordability of health care (21.7%) and availability of doctors (11.0%). Patients with heart disease had a 29% significantly lower preference for healthcare affordability than the quality of healthcare services (relative risk ratio [RRR] = 0.71; 0.56-0.90). Patients who received healthcare services from pharmacies or dispensaries were more likely to prefer a short distance to a health facility (RRR = 6.99; 4.80-9.86) or affordability of healthcare services (RRR = 3.13; 2.25-4.36). Patients with comorbid conditions were more likely to prefer healthcare affordability (RRR = 1.39; 1.15-1.68). In addition, patients who received health care from a public facility had 2.93 times higher preference for the availability of medical doctors (RRR = 2.93; 1.70-5.04) than the quality of treatment in the health facility, when compared with private service providers. CONCLUSIONS: Patient preferences for healthcare services in chronic disease management were significantly associated with the type of disease and its magnitude and characteristics of healthcare providers. Therefore, to enhance service provision and equitable distribution and uptake of health services, policymakers and public health practitioners should consider patient preferences in designing national strategic frameworks for chronic disease management. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Our research team includes four researchers (co-authors) with chronic diseases who have experience of living or working with people suffering from chronic conditions or diseases.

Exciting Potential of Nanoparticlized Lipidic System for Effective Treatment of Breast Cancer and Clinical Updates: A Translational Prospective.

Breast cancer (BC) is a multifactorial disease and becoming a major health issue in women throughout the globe. BC is a malignant type of cancer which results from transcriptional changes in proteins and genes. Besides the availability of modern medicines and detection tools, BC has become a topmost deadly disease and its cure still remains challenging. Nanotechnology based approaches are being employed for the diagnosis and treatment of BC at clinical stages. Nanosystems have a significant role in the study of the interaction of malignant cells with their microenvironment through receptor-based targeted approach. Nowadays, lipid-based nanocarriers are being popularized in the domain of pharmaceutical and medical biology for cancer therapy. Lipidic nanoparticlized systems (LNPs) have proven to have high loading efficiency, less toxicity, improved therapeutic efficacy, enhanced bioavailability and stability of the bioactive compounds compared to traditional drug delivery systems. In the present context, several LNPs based formulations have been undertaken in various phases of clinical trials in different countries. This review highlights the importance of chemotherapeutics based lipidic nanocarriers and their anticipated use for the treatment of BC. Furthermore, the clinical trials and future prospective of LNPs have been widely elaborated.

Mechanistic Insight into Salt Tolerance of Acacia auriculiformis: The Importance of Ion Selectivity, Osmoprotection, Tissue Tolerance, and Na+ Exclusion.

Salinity, one of the major environmental constraints, threatens soil health and consequently agricultural productivity worldwide. Acacia auriculiformis, being a halophyte, offers diverse benefits against soil salinity; however, the defense mechanisms underlying salt-tolerant capacity in A. auriculiformis are still elusive. In this study, we aimed to elucidate mechanisms regulating the adaptability of the multi-purpose perennial species A. auriculiformis to salt stress. The growth, ion homeostasis, osmoprotection, tissue tolerance and Na+ exclusion, and anatomical adjustments of A. auriculiformis grown in varied doses of seawater for 90 and 150 days were assessed. Results showed that diluted seawater caused notable reductions in the level of growth-related parameters, relative water content, stomatal conductance, photosynthetic pigments, proteins, and carbohydrates in dose- and time-dependent manners. However, the percent reduction of these parameters did not exceed 50% of those of control plants. Na+ contents in phyllodes and roots increased with increasing levels of salinity, whereas K+ contents and K+/Na+ ratio decreased significantly in comparison with control plants. A. auriculiformis retained more Na+ in the roots and maintained higher levels of K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, and K+/Na+ ratio in phyllodes than roots through ion selective capacity. The contents of proline, total free amino acids, total sugars and reducing sugars significantly accumulated together with the levels of malondialdehyde and electrolyte leakage in the phyllodes, particularly at day 150th of salt treatment. Anatomical investigations revealed various anatomical changes in the tissues of phyllodes, stems and roots by salt stress, such as increase in the size of spongy parenchyma of phyllodes, endodermal thickness of stems and roots, and the diameter of root vascular bundle, relative to control counterparts. Furthermore, the estimated values for Na+ exclusion and tissue tolerance index suggested that A. auriculiformis efficiently adopted these two mechanisms to address higher salinity levels. Our results conclude that the adaptability of A. auriculiformis to salinity is closely associated with ion selectivity, increased accumulation of osmoprotectants, efficient Na+ retention in roots, anatomical adjustments, Na+ exclusion and tissue tolerance mechanisms.

Dog sperm cryopreservation using one step dilution with glycerol-free tris extender.

OBJECTIVE: The present study was to investigate a freezing method using one step-dilution with glycerol-free TRIS extender containing 172.2 mM glucose (GFTG). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sperm pellet from selected ejaculates was resuspended in GFTG at 1×10(8) cells/mL. The semen was cooled for 10, 30, 50 or 70 min in GFTG at 4 degree C and was frozen in LN(2) vapor or in deep freezer (-80 degree C, DF) for 20 min before plunge into LN(2). Post-thaw sperm characteristics were examined. The phosphatidylserine (PS) translocation (Annexin V-FITC) and DNA integrity (TUNEL assay) were assessed using flow cytometry. RESULTS: Progressive motility and viability were significantly higher in 50 and 70 min groups than the other groups (P<0.05). PS translocation index was significantly lower in spermatozoa cooled for 50 or 70 min compared to 10 min (P<0.05). Freezing methods using LN2 vapor showed higher progressive motility than DF method (P<0.05), while viability and DNA fragmentation were not different between two freezing methods. CONCLUSION: Cryopreservation of canine sperm cooled for 50 or 70 min following one step dilution in GFTG yields more viable sperm with lower PS translocation and freezing method using LN(2) vapor is more effective on progressive motility.

2,9-Bis(5-sulfanylidene-4,5-di-hydro-1,3,4-oxa-diazol-2-yl)-1,10-phenanthroline dimethyl sulfoxide disolvate.

In the title compound, C16H8N6O2S2·2C2H6OS, the phenanthroline mol-ecule resides on a twofold axis, and the asymmetric unit also contains a slightly disordered [occupancy ratio for S atom of 0.95 (3):0.047 (3)] mol-ecule of dimethyl sulfoxide. The O atoms of the solvent mol-ecule accept hydrogen bonds from the N-H groups of the five-membered 2,3-di-hydro-1,3,4-oxa-diazole-2-thione ring. This ring is nearly coplanar with the phenanthroline ring, with a dihedral angle between their least-squares planes of 8.86 (6)°. In the crystal, the mol-ecules are linked by C-H⋯O inter-actions.

Development and in vitro Evaluation of Enteric Coated Multiparticulate System for Resistant Tuberculosis.

The multiparticulate formulation of sodium para aminosalicylate for oral administration was developed by extrusion spheronization technique. Microcrystalline cellulose was used as filler in concentration of 14.4% w/w. Pellets were coated with Eudragit L 30 D-55 using fluidized bed processor. Different weight gains of acrylic polymer were applied onto the pellets and evaluated for in vitro dissolution behavior in 0.1 N HCl for two hours and then media was changed to phosphate buffer pH 6.8. A 60% w/w coating level of Eudragit L30 D 55 has produced the most acceptable results against the gastric attack. 3% Seal coat of HPMC E5 was also applied in order to protect the drug from migration into the Eudragit coat and film coat was applied in order to prevent aggregation of pellets in the dissolution media. Morphological characteristics of developed pellets were also investigated by scanning electron microscopy and found to be smooth and spherical. Developed system was found to be suitable for the delivery of Sod PAS in to intestinal region.