Side effects connected with chemotherapeutic agents used in cancer treatment has led to alternative modalities of combinatorial therapies in an attempt to reduce the drug dosage and associated risks. In the current study we evaluated the potential use of Ajwa Dates Extract (ADE), reported to have anti-cancer effects, as an adjuvant therapy in combination with 5-flurouracil (5FU) against the human-breast-adenocarcinoma cell line (MFC-7) in vitro. The effects of ADE alone and in combination with 5-FU were evaluated in terms of cell viability and cytotoxicity. For drug delivery purpose, we successfully encapsulated 5FU in both presence and absence of ADE through electrospinning together with poly lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) in different combinations. Physicochemical properties of 5FU and ADE incorporated into PLGA nanofibers remained unaltered as confirmed by Fourier-Transform-Infrared (FTIR), Raman-spectroscopies and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) techniques. The morphological characterization of nanofibers was done using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface roughness of PLGA and PLGA + ADE nanofibers increased by incorporation of 5FU. PLGA + ADE nanofibers were in hydrophilic range (<90°) while nanofibers prepared from both PLGA + 5FU and PLGA + 5FU + ADE combinations were in hydrophobic range (∼112°). The percentage inhibition of MCF-7 proliferation at 72 hrs showed an enhanced combinatorial anti-cancer effect of 5FU and ADE on the cells seeded on PLGA + 5FU + ADE mat (47% decrease) while PLGA + 5FU and PLGA + ADE demonstrated only 23% and 16% decrease respectively as compared to controls. The hydrophobicity induced by 5FU can further be investigated to get improved cellular adherence and efficient controlled-drug-release.

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We introduce a novel diagnostic Visual Voiding Device (VVD), which has the ability to visually document urinary voiding events and calculate key voiding parameters such as instantaneous flow rate. The observation of the urinary voiding process along with the instantaneous flow rate can be used to diagnose symptoms of Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction (LUTD) and improve evaluation of LUTD treatments by providing subsequent follow-up documentations of voiding events after treatments. The VVD enables a patient to have a urinary voiding event in privacy while a urologist monitors, processes, and documents the event from a distance. The VVD consists of two orthogonal cameras which are used to visualize urine leakage from the urethral meatus, urine stream trajectory, and its break-up into droplets. A third, lower back camera monitors a funnel topped cylinder where urine accumulates that contains a floater for accurate readings regardless of the urine color. Software then processes the change in level of accumulating urine in the cylinder and the visual flow properties to calculate urological parameters. Video playback allows for reexamination of the voiding process. The proposed device was tested by integrating a mass flowmeter into the setup and simultaneously measuring the instantaneous flow rate of a predetermined voided volume in order to verify the accuracy of VVD compared to the mass flowmeter. The VVD and mass flowmeter were found to have an accuracy of ±2 and ±3% relative to full scale, respectively. A VVD clinical trial was conducted on 16 healthy male volunteers ages 23–65.

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