The Potential Role of Nigella sativa Seed Oil as Epigenetic Therapy of Cancer

Nigella sativa oil, commonly known as black seed oil (BSO), is a well-known Mediterranean food, and its consumption is associated with beneficial effects on human health. A large number of BSO’s therapeutic properties is attributed to its pharmacologically active compound, thymoquinone (TQ), which inhibits cell proliferation and induces apoptosis by targeting several epigenetic players, including the ubiquitin-like, containing plant homeodomain (PHD) and an interesting new gene, RING finger domains 1 (UHRF1), and its partners, DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) and histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1). This study was designed to compare the effects of locally sourced BSO with those of pure TQ on the expression of the epigenetic complex UHRF1/DNMT1/HDAC1 and the related events in several cancer cells. The gas chromatographs obtained from GC-MS analyses of extracted BSO showed that TQ was the major volatile compound. BSO significantly inhibited the proliferation of MCF-7, HeLa and Jurkat cells in a dose-dependent manner, and it induced apoptosis in these cell lines. BSO-induced inhibitory effects were associated with a significant decrease in mRNA expression of UHRF1, DNMT1 and HDAC1. Molecular docking and MD simulation showed that TQ had good binding affinity to UHRF1 and HDAC1. Of note, TQ formed a stable metal coordinate bond with zinc tom, found in the active site of the HDAC1 protein. These findings suggest that the use of TQ-rich BSO represents a promising strategy for epigenetic therapy for both solid and blood tumors through direct targeting of the trimeric epigenetic complex UHRF1/DNMT1/ HDAC1.     

Ultrasound-Assisted Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Using Deep Eutectic Solvents (DESs) for Neutral Red Dye Spectrophotometric Determination

Deep eutectic solvents (DES), which have low toxicity and are low cost, biodegradable, and easily synthesized, were used for the extraction of neutral red (NR) dye before its spectrophotometric analysis. DES, containing choline chloride as a hydrogen bond acceptor and phenol as a hydrogen bond donor with a molar ratio of 1:2, was used for the extraction of NR dye from aqueous media. The possible interaction of different DESs with NR was studied using density functional theory (DFT) calculations. Experimentally, a UV-visible spectrophotometer was used for the quantitative analysis. The most important parameters affecting method performance, such as pH, extraction temperature, DES type, its volume, THF volume, sonication time, and centrifugation time, were optimized. The developed method provides exceptional sensitivity in terms of LOD and LOQ, which were 2.2 and 7.3 µg/L respectively. The relative standard deviation was 1.35–1.5% (n = 10), and the pre-concentration factor was 40. The method was found to be linear in the range of 2–300 µg/L (R2 = 0.9967). The method was successfully used for the determination of NR in wastewater samples. Finally, the DES-based method presents operational simplicity, high sensitivity, and rapid determination (<5 min) compared with other analytical procedures.     

Effect of Sodium Iodide Dopant Concentration on the Electrical Behavior of AgPO3 Glassy Networks

Physics of the Solid State - The ionic and dielectric behavior of (AgPO3)(1&nbsp;–&nbsp;x)–NaIx (x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, …, 0.14) systems were tested in the frequency range of...     

7β-(3-Ethyl-cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2-methylbutyryloxy)-3,14-dehydro-Z Notonipetranone Attenuates Neuropathic Pain by Suppressing Oxidative Stress,Inflammatory and Pro-Apoptotic Protein Expressions

7β-(3-Ethyl-cis-crotonoyloxy)-1α-(2-methylbutyryloxy)-3,14-dehydro-Z-notonipetranone (ECN), a sesquiterpenoid obtained from a natural source has proved to be effective in minimizing various side effects associated with opioids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The current study focused on investigating the effects of ECN on neuropathic pain induced by partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) by mainly focusing on oxidative stress, inflammatory and apoptotic proteins expression in mice. ECN (1 and 10 mg/kg, i.p.), was administered once daily for 11 days, starting from the third day after surgery. ECN post-treatment was found to reduce hyperalgesia and allodynia in a dose-dependent manner. ECN remarkably reversed the histopathological abnormalities associated with oxidative stress, apoptosis and inflammation. Furthermore, ECN prevented the suppression of antioxidants (glutathione, glutathione-S-transferase, catalase, superoxide dismutase, NF-E2-related factor-2 (Nrf2), hemeoxygenase-1 and NAD(P)H: quinone oxidoreductase) by PSNL. Moreover, pro-inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrotic factor-alpha, interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6, cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase) expression was reduced by ECN administration. Treatment with ECN was successful in reducing the caspase-3 level consistent with the observed modulation of pro-apoptotic proteins. Additionally, ECN showed a protective effect on the lipid content of myelin sheath as evident from FTIR spectroscopy which showed the shift of lipid component bands to higher values. Thus, the anti-neuropathic potential of ECN might be due to the inhibition of oxidative stress, inflammatory mediators and pro-apoptotic proteins.     

Quinoline Carbonitriles as Novel Inhibitors for N80 Steel Corrosion in Oil-Well Acidizing: Experimental and Computational Insights

Russian Journal of Electrochemistry - Three quinoline derivatives as corrosion inhibitors for N80 steel 15% HCl solutions. Influence of the –H, –OCH3 groups and the introduction of...     

Application of the green analytical procedure index to the simultaneous analysis of co-formulated tinidazole and ciprofloxacin in pure form,tablet dosage form,and human plasma using an environmentally friendly micellar high-performance thin-layer chromatographic technology

JPC – Journal of Planar Chromatography – Modern TLC - In individuals with chronic refractory pouchitis and other gastrointestinal disorders, the combination of ciprofloxacin (CIP) and...     

A Personnel Selection Problem in Healthcare System Using Fuzzy-TOPSIS Approach

The methods of multiple criteria decision-making (MCDM) are increasingly becoming the most desired tools for making daily decisions in various fields of human endeavors. Staff employment in any sector requires a thorough evaluation of the applicant before selection to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. Besides, healthcare is one of the most complicated organizations dealing with human lives. This paper has developed a staff selection model considering a fuzzy environment by using the technique for order preference similar to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) method. For the delivery and promotion of quality healthcare systems, medical staff selection is crucial to the system. Therefore, the study evaluates medical staff by using the expert''s linguistic judgement under the criteria of skill, experience and ability to respond to a problem. The expert''s vagueness in judgments has been represented by using fuzzy triangular numbers. The study determines the closeness coefficient, the measures of separation and the ideal solutions of the TOPSIS method. The most appropriate medical staff are ranked and selected based on the available criteria. The Fuzzy-TOPSIS method is simple and can help other organizations achieve proper ranking, evaluation and selection of qualified candidates, as it takes imprecise information into account.     

Electrochemical Gold-Catalyzed 1,2-Difunctionalization of C−C Multiple Bonds**

Herein, we disclose the first report of 1,2-difunctionalization of C−C multiple bonds using electrochemical gold redox catalysis. By adopting the electrochemical strategy, the inherent π-activation and cross-coupling reactivity of gold catalysis are harnessed to develop the oxy-alkynylation of allenoates under external-oxidant-free conditions. Detailed mechanistic investigations such as ³¹P NMR, control experiments, mass studies, and cyclic voltammetric (CV) analysis have been performed to support the proposed reaction mechanism.