Flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds which are included in a panoply of drugs and used to treat and/or manage human ailments such as metabolic, cardiovascular, neurological disorders and ...cancer. Thus, the purpose of this review is to emphasize the importance of flavonoids for the treatment of autoimmune diseases and put into the limelight of the scientific community several health-promoting effects of flavonoids which could be beneficial for the development of novel drugs from natural products. Despite available reviews on flavonoids targeting various disease conditions, a comprehensive review of flavonoids for autoimmune diseases is still lacking. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to review the potential of flavonoids for autoimmune diseases. The structure-activity relationship of flavonoids in this review revealed that the rearrangement and introduction of other functional groups into the basic skeleton of flavonoids might lead to the development of new drugs which will be helpful in relieving the painful symptoms of various autoimmune diseases.
Antiplatelet drugs reduce the risks associated with atherothrombotic events and show various applications in diverse cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarctions. Efficacy of the current ...antiplatelet medicines including aspirin, clopidogrel, prasugrel and ticagrelor, and the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa antagonists, are limited due to their increased risks of bleeding, and antiplatelet drug resistance. Hence, it is important to develop new effective antiplatelet drugs, with fewer side‐effects. The vast repertoire of natural peptides can be explored towards this goal. Proteins and peptides derived from snake venoms and plants represent exciting candidates for the development of novel and potent antiplatelet agents. Consequently, this review discusses multiple peptides that have displayed antiplatelet aggregation activity in preclinical drug development stages. This review also describes the antiplatelet mechanisms of the peptides, emphasizing the signaling pathways intervened by them. Also, the hurdles encountered during the development of peptides into antiplatelet drugs have been listed. Finally, hitherto unexplored peptides with the potential to prevent platelet aggregation are explored.
The objective of this study was to develop electrospun polycaprolactone (PCL) membranes blended with hydroxyapatite (HA) and evaluate its potential in differentiating inflamed dental pulp ...stem/progenitor cells (IDPSCs) into odontoblasts. Electrospun nanofibrous membrane consisting of PCL blended with 10 wt% and 15 wt% of HA were fabricated and the characterization was done by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier- transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and contact angle analysis. Cytocompatibility, cell adhesion and odontogenic differentiation ability of the membranes were assessed by MTT, Live/Dead, SEM/DAPI and qPCR studies. The mineral deposition ability of the membranes with IDPSCs was estimated by SEM-EDS. The SEM analysis revealed a nanofibrous texture with an average fiber diameter of 140 nm for PCL, 220 nm for PCL10%HA and 250 nm for PCL15%HA. Among the membranes tested, PCL10%HA favored positive cell attachments, upregulated expression of DSPP and ALP gene and higher Ca/P ratio compared to PCL and PCL15%HA.
Display omitted
A growing number of evidences from clinical and preclinical studies have shown that dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) function contributes to the progression of cancer and thus miRNA ...can be an effective target in therapy. Dietary phytochemicals, such as quercetin, are natural products that have potential anti-cancer properties due to their proven antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative effects. Available experimental studies indicate that quercetin could modulate multiple cancer-relevant miRNAs including let-7, miR-21, miR-146a and miR-155, thereby inhibiting cancer initiation and development. This paper reviews the data supporting the use of quercetin for miRNA-mediated chemopreventive and therapeutic strategies in various cancers, with the aim to comprehensively understand its health‐promoting benefits and pharmacological potential. Integration of technology platforms for miRNAs biomarker and drug discovery is also presented.
Abstract
Gliotoxin produced by
Trichoderma virens
is inhibitory against various phytopathogenic fungi and bacteria. However, its stability in soil-ecosystem has not yet been well-defined. This study ...aimed to decipher its persistence and behaviour in growth media, irrigation water and soil ecosystems. Gliotoxin production was noticed at logarithmic growth phase and converted into bis-thiomethyl gliotoxin at late stationary growth phase of
T. virens
in acidic growth medium. But, no gliotoxin production was observed in neutral and alkaline growth medium. Gliotoxin was stable for several days in acidic water but degraded in alkaline water. Degradation of gliotoxin was more in unsterile soil than sterile soil and also that was higher under wet soil than dry soil. Degradation of gliotoxin was hastened by alkaline pH in wet soil but not in dry soil. Under unsterile soil conditions, high soil moisture increased the degradation of gliotoxin and the degradation of gliotoxin occurred quickly in alkaline soil (in 5 days) compared to acidic soil (in 10 days). Under sterile soil conditions, high soil moisture also enhanced the degradation of gliotoxin but level of degradation was less compared to unsterile conditions. Thus, gliotoxin stability is influenced mainly by the soil wetness, soil microbial community and pH conditions.
Benth. (TB) is an important plant in the traditional medicine of the Mediterranean region. This study investigates the health-promoting properties of TB essential oil (TB-EO) for its possible use in ...clinical practice with regards to its cytotoxic, anti-herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and antihypertensive (through inhibition of human angiotensin-converting enzyme; ACE) properties. The phytochemical profile of EO (99.9%) was analyzed by Gas Chromatography with Flame-Ionization Detection (GC-FID) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). In this study, all biological methods were performed at the level of in vitro studies. The results showed that TB-EO exerted remarked cytotoxic properties against human cervical carcinoma cells, colon cancer cells, and lung adenocarcinoma cells with the half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC
) values of 7.22, 9.30, and 8.62 µg/mL, respectively, in comparison with that of standard anticancer drug cisplatin with IC
values of 4.24, 5.21, and 5.43 µg/mL, respectively. Fascinatingly, TB-EO showed very weak cytotoxicity on the healthy human fetal lung fibroblast cells with an IC
value of 118.34 µg/mL compared with that of cisplatin (IC
= 10.08 µg/mL). TB-EO, its main component geraniol, TB-EO combined with acyclovir (ACV) along with standard ACV, have displayed pronounced inhibitory properties against the replication of HSV-2 with the half-maximal effective concentration (EC
) values of 2.13, 1.92, 0.81 and 1.94 µg/mL, respectively, with corresponding selectivity indices (SI) 98.59, 109.38, 259.26 and 108.25, respectively. TB-EO and geraniol at a concentration of 15 µg/mL showed prominent inhibitory activities against ACE with % of inhibition 95.4% and 92.2%, respectively, compared with that of standard inhibitor captopril (99.8%; 15 µg/mL). Molecular docking studies were performed to unveil the mechanism of action of geraniol as well as structural parameters necessary for anti-HSV-2 activity (through the inhibition of HSV-2 protease) and ACE inhibition. This is the first report on the chemical composition of Egyptian TB-EO along with the above-mentioned biological activities. Our results may be considered as novel findings in the course of a search for new and active anticancer, anti-HSV-2 and antihypertensive agents, and expand the medicinal value of this plant and its phytochemicals in clinical practice.
Display omitted
•Development of a plan for electricity generation expansion, aiming low carbon emission in the future.•First comprehensive attempt for combining LEAP and EnergyPLAN software together ...for GEP of Tamil Nadu.•Two different scenarios are developed using LEAP, in which the GHG mitigation scenario outperformed Baseline scenario.•Results of GHG mitigation scenario are given as input to EnergyPLAN for monthly and hourly basis planning.•Elevated RES in overall installation capacity results with reduced GHG emission and also assures the reliable power supply.
Global climate change is the biggest challenge to decide on the energy and environmental policy. Reducing greenhouse gases (GHG) emission would confine hazardous effects of global warming. United Nations Climate Change Conference reported that global GHG emission rate has elevated by an average of 3% annually. In this context, the state of Tamil Nadu in India emits 51.42 Million Tons CO2 equivalent as reported by Tamil Nadu Carbon Footprint study carried out by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The study aims to meliorate astute plan for electricity generation expansion that would create a paragon future with low carbon emission. Combined utilization of Long-Range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) and EnergyPLAN software is done in this paper. Electricity demand, installation capacity and power production with overall cost and total GHG emission are planned till the year 2030 using LEAP. Baseline and GHG mitigation are the modeled scenarios with 2016 as the base year. The GHG mitigation scenario emits lesser GHG than the baseline scenario. The results of LEAP suggest to adopt GHG mitigation scenario and therefore the expansion capacities of power plants planned by this GHG mitigation scenario is given as input to EnergyPLAN software for monthly and hourly basis planning.
In the current research work, NiMo thin films were successfully co-deposited with W on the copper substrate (NiMoW) by varying the plating times like 30, 45, and 60 min at a constant current density ...(50 mA/cm
2
). All the electroplated NiMoW thin films have been subjected to structural (SEM–EDS and XRD), mechanical (hardness, roughness, and corrosion), and magnetic (VSM) characterization analysis. The existence of a perfect nanocrystalline phase in the coated NiMoW thin films was found through XRD, and the average crystalline size varied from 33 to 37 nm. All the coated NiMoW thin films have a cubic (FCC) crystalline structure with an
Fm
-3
m
(225) space group. The obtained SEM–EDS result discloses that the synthesized NiMoW thin films have uniform surface morphology with spherically shaped nanoclusters, and the film deposited at 60 min has the maximum nickel content as compared with coatings at 30 min which in turn enhance the corrosion resistance and magnetic nature of NiMoW coatings and also reveals the NiMoW thin films coated at 30 and 45 min have almost equal W and Mo content. The thickness of synthesized NiMoW thin films was found to be varied from 5 to 15 µm using Metallurgical Microscope (OIAL/MMN/MET/01). The coatings were found to be strongly adherent with a substrate (Cu) and the NiMoW coatings at 60 min exhibited the highest hardness value of 293 VHN. The electrochemical studies of NiMoW thin films explored that the coatings synthesized at 60 min exhibited the highest corrosion resistance value of 635.18 K Ω (low corrosion rate of 0.6861 mm/year). All the electroplated NiMoW coatings have an average roughness (
R
a
) value of around 185 nm, and the roughness values were calculated using a profilometer. The magnetic investigation on NiMoW thin layers through VSM shows that the coatings at 60 min exhibited the nanocrystalline soft ferromagnetic nature with a lower coercivity of 106.94 Oe and saturation magnetization of 925.80 × 10
–6
emu. The analysis concluded that the NiMoW thin films coated at 60 min exhibited better mechanical and magnetic properties than coatings at 30 and 45 min of deposition time.
•This post-hoc analysis was performed to report the impact of Image guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) across organ system and ...grades of toxicity within PARCER trial (NCT 01279135) using MOSES.•MOSES, a new system to report adverse events in oncology trials, incorporates the dimension of time, the multiplicity of events and also takes into account persistence of low-grade events, thereby providing a longitudinal depiction of physician-reported late adverse events using CTCAE.•Difference in arms was analyzed as time-to-event and intention-to-treat analysis using CTCAE grade ≥ 1 and C-MOSES ≥ 0.70.•We observed no difference in the 3-year cumulative incidence of CTCAE grade ≥ 1 GI, GI or GU, or any late toxicity between treatment arms.•However, while using C-MOSES, HR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.38–0.92, p = 0.017), 0.68 (95% CI: 0.44–1.05, p = 0.08) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.52–0.99, p = 0.04) was observed for GI, GI or GU, or any late toxicity within IG-IMRT respectively.•This demonstrates superior discrimination of intervention effects using MOSES which demonstrates superiority of IG-IMRT.
This post-hoc analysis was performed to report the impact of Image guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) and three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) across organ system and grades of toxicity within PARCER trial (NCT 01279135). Primary endpoint of PARCER focused on grade ≥ 2 late gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity using Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). We now analyze all adverse events using CTCAE and time and severity weighted toxicity reporting method (MOSES).
MOSES was calculated separately for GI, genitourinary (GU)/GI, and any late toxicities (GI, GU, lymphedema, fatigue, vaginal stenosis, fibrosis and constitutional symptoms) by imputing proportionate time weightage to CTCAE. Cumulative MOSES (C-MOSES) for multiple system and multiorgan toxicity was determined. Difference in arms was analyzed as time-to-event and intention-to-treat analysis using CTCAE grade ≥ 1 and C-MOSES ≥ 0.70.
We observed no difference in the 3-year cumulative incidence of CTCAE grade ≥ 1 GI, GI or GU, or any late toxicity between treatment arms. However, while using C-MOSES, HR of 0.59 (95% CI 0.38–0.92, p = 0.017), 0.68 (95% CI: 0.44–1.05, p = 0.08) and 0.72 (95% CI: 0.52–0.99, p = 0.04) was observed for GI, GI or GU, or any late toxicity within IG-IMRT respectively.
This demonstrates superior discrimination of intervention effects using MOSES which demonstrates superiority of IG-IMRT.
PDF
