Recent Updates on the Functional Impact of Kahweol and Cafestol on Cancer

Kahweol and cafestol are two diterpenes extracted from Coffea arabica beans that have distinct biological activities. Recent research describes their potential activities, which include anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and anti-cancer properties, among others. The two diterpenes have been shown to have anticancer effects in various in vitro and in vivo cancer models. This review aims to shed light on the recent developments regarding the potential effects of kahweol and cafestol on various cancers. A systematic literature search through Google Scholar and PubMed was performed between February and May 2022 to collect updates about the potential effects of cafestol and kahweol on different cancers in in vitro and in vivo models. The search terms “Kahweol and Cancer” and “Cafestol and Cancer” were used in this literature review as keywords; the findings demonstrated that kahweol and cafestol exhibit diverse effects on different cancers in in vitro and in vivo models, showing pro-apoptotic, cytotoxic, anti-proliferative, and anti-migratory properties. In conclusion, the diterpenes kahweol and cafestol display significant anticancer effects, while remarkably unaffecting normal cells. Our results show that both kahweol and cafestol exert their actions on various cancers via inducing apoptosis and inhibiting cell growth. Additionally, kahweol acts by inhibiting cell migration.     

[bmIm]OH: an efficient basic catalyst for the synthesis of 4H-benzo[d][1,3-]oxazin-4-one derivatives in solvent-free conditions

Reusable [bmIm]OH was found to be a highly efficient renewable homogenous catalyst for the rapid and convenient synthesis of benzoxazine-4-one derivatives from o-iodobenzoic-acid and benzonitrile at 75 °C in moderate to good yields. This methodology provides a facile and straightforward path to construct other related heterocycles in an eco-compatible fashion.     

Flow-injection determination of total iron in freshwater samples with neutralisation chemiluminescence

A flow-injection chemiluminescence method has been established for the determination of total iron in freshwater samples. The enhanced chemiluminescence emission was caused by the iron(II) from the neutralisation reaction of hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide without the use of any chemiluminescent reagent. The calibration graph was linear in the concentration range of 2.8–560 µg L^?1 (r ² = 0.9983, n = 8), with relative standard deviation (RSD; n = 4) in the range of 0.8–2.6%. The limit of detection (S/N = 3) was 0.56 µg L^?1 with injection throughput of 180 h^?1. The effect of common anions and cations were studied over their environmentally relevant concentrations in freshwaters. The method was successfully applied to determine total iron in freshwater samples. Iron(III) was reduced to iron(II) by using hydroxylammonium chloride. The proposed method was compared with spectrophotometric method and there was no significant difference between the two methods at the 95% confidence level (t-test). Analysis of river water (certified reference material SLRS-4) for iron(II), after reduction of iron(III) with hydroxylammonium chloride, gave good results (2.17 ± 0.22 µM compared with the certificate value of 1.85 ± 0.1 µM).     

Determination of phosphate in freshwater samples by flow-injection with lucigenin chemiluminescence

Lucigenin chemiluminescence (CL) in conjunction with flow-injection analysis (FIA) is used for the determination of phosphate in freshwater samples. The procedure is based on the formation of molybdophosphoric heteropoly acid (MoP–HPA) by the reaction of phosphate and ammonium molybdate under acidic conditions. CL emission was observed as a result of oxidation of lucigenin in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in the presence of MoP–HPA. Calibration was linear up to 500?µg?L^?1 (r ^2?=?0.9998; n?=?8), with a detection limit (S/N?=?3) of 0.95?µg?L^?1. An injection throughput of 120 h^?1, and relative standard deviation (RSD; n?=?4) of 1.3–3.2% were achieved in the concentration range studied. An on-line chelating column was used to remove interfering cations. The method was applied to freshwater samples, and the results (51?±?1.0 – 107?±?2.0?µg?L^?1) did not differ significantly from results obtained using a spectrophotometric method (52.5?±?1.0 – 102?±?2.0?µg?L^?1) at 95% confidence level (t-test).     

Synthesis,characterisation and ion exchange properties of hybrid organic–inorganic composite material: polyacrylamide zirconium (IV) iodosulphosalicylate

ABSTRACT

Contamination of groundwater by heavy metal is one of the most emerging and serious environmental problems. There are so many methods which are available to overcome these problems. Among various available methods, hybrid organic–inorganic ion exchange resin has become more popular due to certain advantages over other available conventional methods; hence, in the present proposed work, we synthesised a hybrid organic–inorganic composite material polyacrylamide zirconium (IV) iodosulphosalicylate by using the sol-gel technique. Synthesised resin was characterised by various methods like Infrared spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric analysis-Differential thermal analysis. Various samples of this ion exchange resin are prepared by changing the condition of synthesis, i.e. concentration of acrylamide to rationalise the ion exchange capacity of the synthesise hybrid organic–inorganic ion exchange resins. A mixture of 0.1 M potassium iodate, 0.1 M sulphosalicylic acid and 0.1 M acrylamide was added dropwise to 0.4 M zirconium oxychloride accompanied by constant stirring for 8 h using magnetic stirrer at 70°C to yield polyacrylamide zirconium (IV) iodosulphosalicylate with maximum ion exchange capacity. Ion exchange capacity of synthesised resin was determined by column method and the maximum ion exchange capacity was found for Pb(II). Determination of k_d values shows that the resin was highly selective for Pb (II).The selectivity for Pb was also evaluated by using certain binary mixture separation such as Ni (II)-Pb(II), Cu(II)-Pb(II), Cd(II)-Pb(II), Sr(II)-Pb(II), Ba(II)-Pb(II),Zn(II)-Pb(II) and Mg(II)-Pb(II).     

Determination of carbaryl by flow injection with luminol chemiluminescence inhibition detection

A flow-injection procedure is described for the determination of carbaryl based on its inhibition effect on luminol-cobalt(II) chemiluminescence reaction in alkaline medium in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. The calibration data over the range 5.0?×?10^?7 to 20?×?10^?6?M give a correlation coefficient (r ²) of 0.9972 with relative standard deviations (RSD; n?=?4) in the range of 1.0–2.1% with a limit of detection (3?×?blank noise) of 2.37?×?10^?7?M for carbaryl. The sample throughput was 120?h^?1. The effects of some carbamates, anions, and cations were studied on luminol CL system for carbaryl determination. The proposed method has been applied to determine carbaryl in natural waters.     

Numerical study of forced convection heat transfer across a cylinder with various cross sections

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - The thermal performance of an isothermal horizontal cylinder with different selected cross sections in cross-flow was investigated numerically. These...     

Isolation and Identification of Bioactive Compounds from Bidens spp. Using HPLC-DAD and GC-MS Analysis and Their Biological Activity as Anticancer Molecules

The genus Bidens a member of family Compositae, is widely documented as an ethno-medicinally important genus of plants. In the present study, anticancer potential of three ethno-medicinally important species i.e., B. bipinnata, B. biternata and B. pilosa were tested. For in-vitro evaluation, an MTT (Thiazolyl blue tetrazolium bromide) assay was performed against cervical cancer cells (HeLa), hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG), and adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549). For in vivo evaluation, Artemia salina, Danio rerio, and Caenorhabditis elegans were used. Among all the tested extracts, the ethanol extract of B. biternata appeared to have highest anticancer activity, and the compounds responsible for this activity were identified to be Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl), 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone, and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol. This is the first report of the isolation of Tris (2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl) phosphate from the genus Bidens and the first report of 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol from B. biternata. Among the isolated compounds, 4-hydroxy-2,4′-dimethoxychalcone showed the highest anticancer activity with an LD50 value of 236.7 µg/mL. Therefore, this compound carries promising potential for being established as a pharmaceutical for chemoprevention and chemotherapy.     

Bulk ablation of soft tissue with intense ultrasound: modeling and experiments

Methods for the bulk ablation of soft tissue using intense ultrasound, with potential applications in the thermal treatment of focal tumors, are presented. An approximate analytic model for bulk ablation predicts the progress of ablation based on tissue properties, spatially averaged ultrasonic heat deposition, and perfusion. The approximate model allows the prediction of threshold acoustic powers required for ablation in vivo as well as the comparison of cases with different starting temperatures and perfusion characteristics, such as typical in vivo and ex vivo experiments. In a full three-dimensional numerical model, heat deposition from array transducers is computed using the Fresnel approximation and heat transfer in tissue is computed by finite differences, accounting for heating changes caused by boiling and thermal dose-dependent absorption. Similar ablation trends due to perfusion effects are predicted by both the simple analytic model and the full numerical model. Comparisons with experimental results show the efficacy of both models in predicting tissue ablation effects. Phenomena illustrated by the simulations and experiments include power thresholds for in vivo ablation, differences between in vivo and ex vivo lesioning for comparable source conditions, the effect of tissue boiling and absorption changes on ablation depth, and the performance of a continuous rotational scanning method suitable for interstitial bulk ablation of soft tissue.