Artemisia santolinifolia-Mediated Chemosensitization via Activation of Distinct Cell Death Modes and Suppression of STAT3/Survivin-Signaling Pathways in NSCLC

Conventional chemotherapy remains an integral part of lung cancer therapy, regardless of its toxicity and drug resistance. Consequently, the discovery of an alternative to conventional chemotherapy is critical. Artemisia santolinifolia ethanol extract (AS) was assessed for its chemosensitizer ability when combined with the conventional anticancer drug, docetaxel (DTX), against non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). SRB assay was used to determine cell viability for A549 and H23 cell lines. The potential for this combination was examined by the combination index (CI). Further cell death, analyses with Annexin V/7AAD double staining, and corresponding protein expressions were analyzed. Surprisingly, AS synergistically enhanced the cytotoxic effect of DTX by inducing apoptosis in H23 cells through the caspase-dependent pathway, whereas selectively increased necrotic cell population in A549 cells, following the decline in GPX4 level and reactive oxygen species (ROS) activation with the highest rate in the combination treatment group. Furthermore, our results highlight the chemosensitization ability of AS when combined with DTX. It was closely associated with synergistic inhibition of oncogenesis signaling molecule STAT3 in both cell lines and concurrently downregulating prosurvival protein Survivin. Conclusively, AS could enhance DTX-induced cancer cells apoptosis by abrogating substantial prosurvival proteins’ expressions and triggering two distinct cell death pathways. Our data also highlight that AS might serve as an adjunctive therapeutic option along with a conventional chemotherapeutic agent in the management of NSCLC patients.     

Green and sustainable carboxymethyl cellulose-chitosan composite hydrogels: Effect of crosslinker on microstructure

Cellulose - The toxicity level of conventional hydrogels is considerably high for most applications. To date, very few studies on hydrogels synthesized using only safe materials and simple,...     

On several new Hilbert-type inequalities involving means operators

In this paper, we establish several new Hilbert-type inequalities with a homogeneous kernel, involving arithmetic, geometric, and harmonic mean operators in both integral and discrete case. Such inequalities are derived by virtue of some recent results regarding general Hilbert-type inequalities and some well-known classical inequalities. We also prove that the constant factors appearing in established inequalities are the best possible. As an application, we consider some particular settings and compare our results with previously known from the literature.     

A Multidimensional Integral Inequality Related to Hilbert-Type Inequality

We present a multidimensional integral inequality related to the Hilbert-type inequality and the Carlson-type inequality. As an application, we obtain a sharper form of the Hilbert-type inequality. Carlson-type inequality is also considered.     

Preparation and characterization of cerium doped LaCoO<Subscript>3</Subscript> perovskite

Cerium doped lanthanum cobaltite perovskites La_1–x Ce _x CoO₃ with x = 0, 0.2, 0.4 were prepared by the sol-gel method (calcined for 5 h at 750°C) and characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray absorption, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analysis. The results showed that the cerium doping promoted the structural transformation of LaCoO₃ from rhombohedral into cubic structure. High specific surface area and small crystallite size were achieved at x = 0.2. The X-ray absorption results confirmed the formation of compound La_1–x Ce _x CoO₃.