Cytotoxic and apoptogenic properties of Nigella sativa and thymoquinone,its constituent,in human renal cell carcinoma are comparable with cisplatin

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common renal malignancy in adults and exhibits highly intrinsic and acquired resistance to standard therapeutic strategies. We sought to determine the anti-cancer activity of hydroalcoholic extract of Nigella sativa seeds (NSE) and thymoquinone (TQ). Human renal cell carcinoma (ACHN) and fibroblast L929 cell lines were treated with NSE and TQ, and cytotoxicity was measured using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium (MTT) assay. Cell death pattern was determined by annexin V and propidium iodine (PI)-staining methods. Exposure to NSE, TQ and cisplatin significantly inhibited the growth of ACHN cells and showed significant increase of early apoptotic cells. Normal cells were more resistant to NSE and TQ-induced effects. The present study demonstrates that N. sativa and TQ exert anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects on ACHN cells in a concentration and time-dependent manner, which suggests their potential to be used as a new therapeutic strategy for renal cancers.     

Inhibitory effect of Crocus sativus L. ethanol extract on adjuvant-induced arthritis

Saffron is a well-known spice produced from dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. flowers. Apart from its wide use in food preparations, it also has a broad range of medical properties. We examined the potential anti-inflammatory effects of saffron ethanolic extract (SEE) using an animal model of arthritis. Adjuvant-induced arthritis was induced in Wistar rats by injection of Complete Freund's Adjuvant. The rats were then injected intraperitoneally every other day with 25–600 mg SEE/kg or dexamethasone (DEX, 2 mg/kg). Changes in body weight, paw oedema and arthritis indices were recorded over the subsequent 12 days of treatment. Results revealed that SEE particularly at the higher concentrations significantly reduced paw and tibiotarsal joint diameters and comparing with DEX caused no significant change in body weight. These observations suggest that SEE displays a considerable anti-inflammatory potency and could potentially be used as an anti-arthritic agent in control of inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis.     

Synthesis,characterization, molecular docking,and biological activities of coumarin–1,2,3-triazole-acetamide hybrid derivatives

Coumarins and their derivatives are receiving increasing attention due to numerous biochemical and pharmacological applications. In this study, a series of novel coumarin–1,2,3-triazole-acetamide hybrids was tested against some metabolic enzymes including α-glycosidase (α-Gly), α-amylase (α-Amy), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), human carbonic anhydrase I (hCA I), and hCA II. The new coumarin–1,2,3-triazole-acetamide hybrids showed K_i values in the range of 483.50–1,243.04 nM against hCA I, 508.55–1,284.36 nM against hCA II, 24.85–132.85 nM against AChE, 27.17–1,104.36 nM against BChE, 590.42–1,104.36 nM against α-Gly, and 55.38–128.63 nM against α-Amy. The novel coumarin–1,2,3-triazole-acetamide hybrids had effective inhibition profiles against all tested metabolic enzymes. Also, due to the enzyme inhibitory effects of the new hybrids, they are potential drug candidates to treat diseases such as epilepsy, glaucoma, type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and leukemia. Additionally, these inhibition effects were compared with standard enzyme inhibitors like acetazolamide (for hCA I and II), tacrine (for AChE and BChE), and acarbose (for α-Gly and α-Amy). Also, those coumarin–1,2,3-triazole-acetamide hybrids with the best inhibition score were docked into the active site of the indicated metabolic enzymes.     

Giant Osteoma of Mandible Causing Dyspnea: A Rare Case Presentation and Review of the Literature

Osteomas are benign slow growing tumors of bone. Tumors are usually asymptomatic until they attain remarkable size and cause asymmetry or dysfunction. In view of few reported cases of giant osteoma of mandible, this article presents a case of giant osteoma of left mandible in a 53-year old male causing dyspnea due to compression of air way space.     

Evaluation of the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy on tocophobia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Non-medical approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) have been proposed for the management of tocophobia. A new method of performing CBT is through internet. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of internet-based and traditional CBT on tocophobia. A literature search was conducted on qualitative and quantitative articles from 2000 to 2019 in Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases using search terms referring to tocophobia and CBT. Identified articles were screened in two steps; 1) title and abstract and 2) full text screening. The quality of the quantitative and qualitative studies was assessed using the quality criteria proposed by the Cochrane Collaboration and Jonna Briggs Institute (JBI) checklist respectively. Out of the 382 relevant studies, 9 studies were eligible for the review. A high level of heterogeneity was observed in the studies (I² = 94%, P < 0.001). The meta-analysis showed that both internet-based, and traditional CBT were effective in reducing tocophobia. CBT was more effective in interventions in the Middle Eastern compared to European countries. More than five CBT sessions could significantly reduce tocophobia. Healthcare providers and midwives should have basic knowledge on physiological interventions to reduce tocophobia.     

Quantitative assessment of crystal material and size on the performance of rotating dual head small animal PET scanners using Monte Carlo modeling

In this work, among different proposed designs we have studied dual-head coincidence detectors (DHC) with pixelated crystals in order to optimize the design of detector systems of small animal PET scanners. Monte Carlo simulations and different detector components and materials, under different imaging conditions and geant 4 application for tomographic emission (GATE) were used for all simulations. Crystal length and inter material space on system performance were studied modeling several pixel sizes, ranging from 0.5 x 0.5mm2 to 3.0 x 3.0mm2 by increment of 0.5mm and using epoxy intermaterial with pitch of 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3mm. Three types of scintillator crystals:bismuth germinate orthosilicate, cerium-doped lutetium orthosilicate and gadolinium orthosilicate were simulated with thicknesses of 10mm and 15 mm. For all measurements a point source with the activity of 1MBq was placed at the center of field of view. The above simulation revealed that by increasing pixel size and crystal length in scintillator material of a pixelated array, sensitivity can be raised from 1% to 7%. However, spatial resolution becomes worse when pixel size increases from 0.6mm to 2.6mm. In addition, photons mispositioned events decrease from 76%to 45%. Crystal length decrease, significantly reduces the percentage of mispositioned events from 89% to 59%. Moreover increase in crystal length from 10mm to 15 mm changes sensitivity from 2% to 6% and spatial resolution from 0.6mm to 3.5mm. In conclusion, it was shown that pixel size 2mm with 10mm crystal thickness can provide the best dimensions in order to optimize system performance. These results confirmed the value of GATE Monte Carlo code, as being a useful tool for optimizing nuclear medicine imaging systems performance, for small animal PET studies.     

Immunomodulatory vitamin D effects on regulatory T-cells and cytokines in an in vitro study on patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease affecting various organs. Decreased numbers of regulatory T-cells (Treg cells; CD4⁺CD25^highFoxp3⁺) are associated with the pathogenesis of SLE. A vitamin D deficiency was observed in many lupus patients. In the present study, peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated and cultured in the presence or absence of vitamin D, and total Tregs percentage was analyzed by flow cytometry. In addition, the level of expressions of Foxp3, TGFβ, and IL6 genes were analyzed by real-time-PCR. The results indicated that vitamin D treatment increased the percentage of Treg cells, and the expression of Foxp3 and TGFβ, and decreased the expression of IL6 in SLE patients.     

Phosphodiesterase inhibitors and prostaglandin analogues in dermatology: A comprehensive review

Due to immune‐mediated nature, medicines with immunomodulatory and anti‐inflammatory effects can used to treat many dermatologic diseases. Phosphodiesterase and prostaglandins are involved in many inflammatory pathways that cause cutaneous disorders. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEIs) and prostaglandin analogues are currently employed to treat several dermatologic disorders. Given the few comprehensive reviews in this context, focusing on the dermatologic applications and efficacy of these medicines appears valuable. The present comprehensive review was, therefore, performed on the applications of PDEIs and prostaglandin analogues in different cutaneous disorders. All the relevant articles were selected to perform this review by searching databases such as Medline, Google Scholar, Scopus, and Web of Science. Oral PDEIs, especially apremilast, is an effective medicine in psoriasis and a number of other cutaneous disorders such as vitiligo. Topical PDEIs, including crisaborole ointment 2%, is a safe and effective treatment in atopic dermatitis. Prostaglandin analogues, especially their topical forms such as latanoprost and bimatoprost, have different applications in cutaneous disorders, including pigmentary disorders, especially vitiligo and hair repigmentation; for instance, bimatoprost is used for eyelash repigmentation. Prostaglandin analogues are also used in alopecia, including androgenetic alopecia and alopecia areata. Oral (apremilast) and topical (crisaborole) PDEIs and topical prostaglandin analogues, including latanoprost and bimatoprost, were found safe and effective in different skin diseases. In terms of efficiency and safety, these medicines compete with other medications of similar use even with higher efficacy and fewer side effects that necessitate further studies.     

Support vector wavelet adaptation for pathological voice assessment

The presence of abnormalities in the vocal system affects the quality of the voice and changes its characteristics. Digital analysis of pathological voices can be an effective and non-invasive tool for the detection of such alterations. This paper proposes a wavelet-based method to distinguish between normal and disordered voices. Wavelet filter banks are used in conjunction with support vector machines, as feature extractors and classifiers, respectively. Orthogonal filter banks are implemented using a highly efficient structure known as “lattice” that parameterizes filter banks and produces a few parameters. The overall problem is to find these parameters such that perfect classification is achieved. To search for such parameters, a genetic algorithm with a fitness function corresponding to the classification result is applied. Simulation is done on the KAY database (a comprehensive database including 710 normal and pathological voice signals, developed by the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary Voice and Speech Lab), and one additional test set. It is observed that a genetic algorithm is able to find the filter bank parameters such that a 100% correct classification rate is achieved in classifying normal and pathological voices when the test is performed on both databases.