Tumour hypoxia is a well-established contributor to prostate cancer progression and is also known to alter the expression of several microRNAs. The over-expression of microRNA-21 (miR-21) has been consistently linked with many cancers, but its role in the hypoxic prostate tumour environment has not been well studied. In this paper, the link between hypoxia and miR-21 in prostate cancer is investigated. A bioinformatic analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) prostate biopsy datasets shows the up-regulation of miR-21 is significantly associated with prostate cancer and clinical markers of disease progression. This up-regulation of miR-21 expression was shown to be caused by hypoxia in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line in vitro and in an in vivo prostate tumour xenograft model. A functional enrichment analysis also revealed a significant association of miR-21 and its target genes with processes related to cellular hypoxia. The over-expression of miR-21 increased the migration and colony-forming ability of RWPE-1 normal prostate cells. In vitro and in silico analyses demonstrated that miR-21 down-regulates the tumour suppressor gene Ras Homolog Family Member B (RHOB) in prostate cancer. Further a TCGA analysis illustrated that miR-21 can distinguish between different patient outcomes following therapy. This study presents evidence that hypoxia is a key contributor to the over-expression of miR-21 in prostate tumours, which can subsequently promote prostate cancer progression by suppressing RHOB expression. We propose that miR-21 has good potential as a clinically useful diagnostic and prognostic biomarker of hypoxia and prostate cancer.

For decades, there has been increasing interest in pharmaceuticals’ prevalence in water bodies. This represents a major challenge in providing clean water, free from pharmaceutical contaminants, in different parts of the world. The misuse and overuse of pharmaceuticals, their elevated concentrations in surface waters, and their negative impacts on humans, aquatic organisms, and ecosystems cannot be ignored. Significant efforts have been made toward the discovery of efficient water treatment techniques. Various technologies have been researched and applied, including co-precipitation, membrane separation, ion-exchange, oxidation, adsorption, and biochemical processes. Amidst these technologies, adsorption is considered a promising due to its unique advantages. This review discusses the pharmaceuticals that have been detected in surface waters in concentrations ranging from ng/L to μg/L. It also offers insights into the diverse applications of low-cost adsorbents to deal with pharmaceutical water pollutants and various parameters influencing the adsorption process. This article will assist in promoting the utilization of sustainable, low-cost adsorbents with high adsorption efficiencies in the water treatment process, and it will aid environmentalists in devising strategies for anticipated challenges and provide policymakers with valuable guidance.

Structural biomarkers determined by X-ray scattering of the tissues can complement conventional diagnostics and provide a pathway for early detection of diseases. In the present study, mouse models were utilized to observe the progress of prostate cancer. We induced cancer in the left lobe of the mouse prostate, whilst the right lobe was left uninoculated. The mice were sacrificed at several time points (Days 2, 4, 7, and 16 after inoculation), and the lobes were analyzed using X-ray scattering. Control samples were also collected from healthy mice sacrificed at the same time points. This investigation revealed that the ratio between the X-ray scattering peaks associated with the lipids and water can serve as a structural biomarker of cancer, and this biomarker develops as the tumor advances. The obtained cancer trajectory can serve as a baseline for the determination of the disease stage, and the biomarker movement along the trajectory can be evidence of the healing or disease progression.

Structural biomarkers determined by X-ray scattering of the tissues can complement conventional diagnostics and provide a pathway for early detection of diseases. In the present study, mouse models were utilized to observe the progression of prostate cancer. We induced cancer in the left lobe of the mouse prostate, whilst the right lobe was left uninoculated. The mice were sacrificed at increasing systematic time points, and lobe samples were subsequently analyzed using X-ray scattering. Control samples were also collected from healthy mice sacrificed at the same time points. This investigation revealed that the ratio between the X-ray scattering peaks associated with the lipids and water can serve as a structural biomarker of cancer, and this biomarker develops as the tumor advances. The obtained cancer trajectory can serve as a baseline for the determination of the disease stage, and the biomarker movement along the trajectory can be evidence of the healing or disease progression.

The removal of excessive amounts of antibiotics from water systems is of great benefit due to their adverse effects on the ecosystems, living organisms and the persistent increase in antibiotic resistance cases. This study was focused on the adsorption of vancomycin from a simulated aqueous medium using seaweed, a sustainable and low-cost adsorbent. Also, the work focuses on assessing the influence of surface modification on adsorption behaviour and determining if chemical treatment provides improvements over untreated seaweed. In particular, chemically modified seaweed and raw (non-modified) seaweed were assessed as adsorbents suitable for removing traces of vancomycin from water, as gauged from the results of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). In addition, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and the pH point of zero charge (pH_pzc) were used to measure the surface characteristics of these adsorbents. The degree of antibiotic adsorption was evaluated as a function of different factors, including the pH, adsorbent dosage, contact time, ionic strength and initial concentration of vancomycin. Thermodynamic parameters, such as the enthalpy change (∆H°), the entropy change (∆S°) and the free-energy change (∆G°), were calculated. The FTIR analysis indicates that functional groups, such as carbonyl and hydroxyl groups, were involved in the adsorption process, and their modification influenced adsorption behaviour. It was observed that the adsorption of vancomycin by the modified seaweed was slightly lower (±94%) compared to the level achieved for the raw seaweed (±97%). These figures were obtained with an initial concentration of vancomycin of 25 mg/L, a pH of the aqueous solution of 7.0, an adsorbent dose of 0.2 g and a contact time of 120 min. The results showed that untreated seaweed exhibited slightly higher adsorption efficiency than the treated seaweed, suggesting that chemical modification might not have enhanced adsorption performance. The thermodynamic parameters suggested that the adsorption process was exothermic and that adsorption was favourable for the untreated seaweed and less favourable for the treated seaweed. Regeneration studies showed a decrease in adsorption efficiency over repeated cycles. Although the adsorption capacity is lower than that of advanced nanomaterials, the use of seaweed offers an advantage in terms of low cost, availability and environmental sustainability. The comparable efficiency of the modified and untreated seaweed adsorbent suggests that seaweed adsorbents can be used as viable bio-adsorbents for the decontamination of water.