Temperature swing adsorption is a commonly used gas separation technique, and is being<br/>further researched as a method of carbon capture. Carbon capture is becoming increasingly<br/>important as a potential way to slow global warming. In this study, algae-derived activated<br/>carbon adsorbents were analyzed for their carbon dioxide adsorption effectiveness.<br/>Algae-derived carbon adsorbents were synthesized and then studied for their adsorption<br/>isotherms and adsorption breakthrough behavior. From the generated isotherm plots, it was<br/>determined that the carbonization temperature was not high enough and that more batches of<br/>adsorbent would have to be made to more accurately analyze the adsorptive potential of the<br/>algae-derived carbon adsorbent.
A survey was created to help gain some insight on the opinions of homeowners across the <br/>Phoenix Metro Area. This survey consisted of 7 questions relating to personal experiences and <br/>the homeowners’ opinions or concerns. The results of the survey showed that there are a few <br/>concerns surrounding solar energy with an emphasis on the cost of maintenance of panels and <br/>the payback period where the homeowners would see a return on their investment. Most of the <br/>homeowners answered that they do not use solar energy but have thought about using it for their <br/>main source of energy before. The homeowners in the survey also thought that solar energy was <br/>overall too expensive and that it would take a long time before they would see any payoff or <br/>savings from the solar panels. It was found that the payback period for panels is around 7 years <br/>and that depending on the size of the solar system installed or on the model used, solar panels <br/>cost much less than many people think. This was found by researching non-biased resources <br/>from government websites and from local energy companies’ websites. To combat the concerns <br/>found from the survey, an infographic was created to help inform the public about solar energy <br/>and allow the homeowners to make decisions that are well informed and not based on <br/>misinformation. The infographic included information related to the survey by explaining the <br/>survey and explaining topics that were of concern to the homeowners who took the survey. In <br/>addition, the infographic displayed information about solar energy and that the decision to use <br/>solar is ultimately up to the audience.
Background: Tumor Necrosis Factor-α Related Apoptosis Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) and agonistic antibodies to death receptor 4 and 5 are promising candidates for cancer therapy due to their ability to induce apoptosis selectively in a variety of human cancer cells, while demonstrating little cytotoxicity in normal cells. Although TRAIL and agonistic antibodies to DR4 and DR5 are considered safe and promising candidates in cancer therapy, many malignant cells are resistant to DR-mediated, TRAIL-induced apoptosis. In the current work, we screened a small library of fifty-five FDA and foreign-approved anti-neoplastic drugs in order to identify candidates that sensitized resistant prostate and pancreatic cancer cells to TRAIL-induced apoptosis.
Methods: FDA-approved drugs were screened for their ability to sensitize TRAIL resistant prostate cancer cells to TRAIL using an MTT assay for cell viability. Analysis of variance was used to identify drugs that exhibited synergy with TRAIL. Drugs demonstrating the highest synergy were selected as leads and tested in different prostate and pancreatic cancer cell lines, and one immortalized human pancreatic epithelial cell line. Sequential and simultaneous dosing modalities were investigated and the annexin V/propidium iodide assay, in concert with fluorescence microscopy, was employed to visualize cells undergoing apoptosis.
Results: Fourteen drugs were identified as having synergy with TRAIL, including those whose TRAIL sensitization activities were previously unknown in either prostate or pancreatic cancer cells or both. Five leads were tested in additional cancer cell lines of which, doxorubicin, mitoxantrone, and mithramycin demonstrated synergy in all lines. In particular, mitoxantrone and mithramycin demonstrated significant synergy with TRAIL and led to reduction of cancer cell viability at concentrations lower than 1 μM. At these low concentrations, mitoxantrone demonstrated selectivity toward malignant cells over normal pancreatic epithelial cells.
Conclusions: The identification of a number of FDA-approved drugs as TRAIL sensitizers can expand chemotherapeutic options for combination treatments in prostate and pancreatic cancer diseases.