Anticancer Gold N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes: A Comparative in vitro and ex vivo Study.

A series of organometallic Au N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes was synthesized and characterized for anticancer activity in four human cancer cell lines. The compounds' toxicity in healthy tissue was determined using precision-cut kidney slices (PCKS) as a tool to determine the potential selectivity of the gold complexes ex vivo. All evaluated compounds presented cytotoxic activity toward the cancer cells in the nano- or low micromolar range.

On the binding modes of metal NHC complexes with DNA secondary structures: implications for therapy and imaging.

Organometallic compounds currently occupy an important place in the field of medicinal inorganic chemistry due to the unique chemical properties of metal coordination compounds. Particularly, metal compounds ligated by N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) have shown high potential for biomedical applications as antimicrobial and anticancer agents during the recent 15 years. Although further studies are necessary to validate the modes of action of this family of compounds, a number of biological targets have been identified, including DNA secondary structures.

Fibrinogen Mahdia: A congenitally abnormal fibrinogen characterized by defective fibrin polymerization.

Introduction: Congenital dysfibrinogenemia is a rare qualitative fibrinogen deficiency. Molecular defects that result in dysfibrinogenemia are usually caused by mutations which affect fibrinopeptide release, fibrin polymerization, fibrin cross-linking or fibrinolysis.

Aim: Here, we investigated the genetic basis of hypodysfibrinogenemia in two Tunisian siblings with major bleeding.

Symptomatic efficacy of buckwheat products in Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS).

Background And Objectives: Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is a gluten-free grain with acclaimed benefi-cial effects on human health. Our aim was to assess the effect of buckwheat products on intestinal/extra-intestinal symptoms and biochemical parameters in patients with Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS).

Methods And Study Design: A randomized, crossover trial with two intervention phases was conducted on 19 NCGS patients over a 12 week-period.

Cyclometalated Complexes of Platinum and Gold with Biological Properties: State-of-the-Art and Future Perspectives.

Background: The inherent problems accompanying chemotherapy necessitate the development of new anticancer approaches. The development of compounds that can disrupt cancerous cellular machinery by novel mechanisms, via interactions with proteins and non-canonical DNA structures (e.g.

Relationship between sleep pattern and efficacy of calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet in overweight/obese subjects.

The association between the sleep pattern and the effectiveness of a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet in people with overweight/obesity has been investigated in this study. Four hundred and three subjects were provided with a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet and followed for 9 months. Personal information, including sleep pattern, was obtained at the baseline.

Hit and go CAS9 delivered through a lentiviral based self-limiting circuit.

In vivo application of the CRISPR-Cas9 technology is still limited by unwanted Cas9 genomic cleavages. Long-term expression of Cas9 increases the number of genomic loci non-specifically cleaved by the nuclease. Here we develop a Self-Limiting Cas9 circuit for Enhanced Safety and specificity (SLiCES) which consists of an expression unit for Streptococcus pyogenes Cas9 (SpCas9), a self-targeting sgRNA and a second sgRNA targeting a chosen genomic locus.

Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised trials.

Research has shown that a greater adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduced risk of major chronic disease. However, the existing literature leads to debate for different issues, such as the measurement of the adherence to the Mediterranean diet, the use of a wide variety of dietary indices with various food components and the large heterogeneity across the studies. In order to summarise the evidence and evaluate the validity of the association between the adherence to the Mediterranean diet and multiple health outcomes, an umbrella review of the evidence across meta-analyses of observational studies and randomised clinical trials (RCTs) was performed.

A Rare Complication following Thyroid Percutaneous Ethanol Injection: Plummer Adenoma.

Percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) is a technique used only for benign thyroid nodules, cystic or mixed cystic-solid with a large fluid component. It is a quite low-cost, safe, and outpatient method of treatment. Rare and severe complications have been described after PEI: jugular vein thrombosis and severe ethanol toxic necrosis of the larynx combined with necrotic dermatitis.

Mechanistic Insights into Gold Organometallic Compounds and their Biomedical Applications.

The application of gold in medicine can be traced back several thousand years and Au(i) compounds have been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis since the last century. Recently research into gold-based drugs for a number of human diseases has seen a renaissance due to their markedly different modes of action with respect to the classical platinum chemotherapeutic compounds. Within this research area, organometallic gold complexes have been particularly explored, mainly due to their higher stability in physiological conditions guaranteed by the presence of a direct Au-C bond.

Protein modelling to understand FGB mutations leading to congenital hypofibrinogenaemia.

Introduction: Congenital hypofibrinogenaemia is a quantitative fibrinogen disorder characterized by proportionally decreased levels of functional and antigenic fibrinogen. Mutations accounting for quantitative fibrinogen disorders are relatively frequent in the conserved COOH-terminal globular domains of the γ and Bβ chains. The latter mutations are of particular interest since the Bβ-chain is considered the rate-limiting chain in the hepatic production of the fibrinogen hexamer.

The mechanism of aquaporin inhibition by gold compounds elucidated by biophysical and computational methods.

The inhibition of water and glycerol permeation via human aquaglyceroporin-3 (AQP3) by gold(iii) complexes has been studied by stopped-flow spectroscopy and, for the first time, its mechanism has been described using molecular dynamics (MD), combined with density functional theory (DFT) and electrochemical studies. The obtained MD results showed that the most effective gold-based inhibitor, anchored to Cys40 in AQP3, is able to induce shrinkage of pores preventing glycerol and water permeation. Moreover, the good correlation between the affinity of the Au(iii) complex to Cys binding and AQP3 inhibition effects was highlighted, while no influence of the different oxidative character of the complexes could be observed.

Validation of a literature-based adherence score to Mediterranean diet: the MEDI-LITE score.

Numerous studies have demonstrated a relationship between adherence to Mediterranean diet and prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. The aim of this study was to validate a novel instrument to measure adherence to Mediterranean diet based on the literature (the MEDI-LITE score). Two-hundred-and-four clinically healthy subjects completed both the MEDI-LITE score and the validated MedDietScore (MDS).

Efficacy and safety of a single radiofrequency ablation of solid benign non-functioning thyroid nodules.

Objective: The objective of our study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes and safety of radiofrequency thermal ablation (RFA) for benign thyroid nodules (BTNs) over a 1-year follow-up.

Subjects And Methods: This is a monocentric retrospective study. Forty-eight patients with solid, non-functioning BTNs were treated by RFA using a 17G internally cooled electrode.

Genetics, diagnosis and clinical features of congenital hypodysfibrinogenemia: a systematic literature review and report of a novel mutation.

Unlabelled: Essentials Hypodysfibrinogenemia is rarely reported among the congenital fibrinogen disorders. This first systematic literature review led to identification of 51 hypodysfibrinogenemic cases. Diagnosis based only on functional/antigenic fibrinogen ratio may be insufficient.

Bioconjugation strategies to couple supramolecular exo-functionalized palladium cages to peptides for biomedical applications.

Supramolecular PdL cages (L = ligand) hold promise as drug delivery systems. With the idea of achieving targeted delivery of the metallacages to tumor cells, the bioconjugation of exo-functionalized self-assembled PdL cages to peptides following two different approaches is reported for the first time. The obtained bioconjugates were analyzed and identified by high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Mediterranean diet adherence among Catalonian adolescents: socio-economic and lifestyle factors.

Aim: This study aims to describe the adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MD), using the KIDMED questionnaire, in a sample of Catalonian adolescents and to assess the association between the MD adherence and socio-economic and lifestyle behaviours.

Material And Methods: Data are part of a multi-centre longitudinal study designed for the reduction of risk factors of eating and weight-related problems in adolescents. Here, a cross-sectional analysis was performed with the baseline data, academic period 2010-11.

Potent in vitro antiproliferative properties for a triplatinum cluster toward triple negative breast cancer cells.

The trinuclear platinum cluster [Pt(μ-PBu)(CO)]CFSO (I) was designed featuring the presence of a nearly equilateral platinum triangle bridged by three di-tert-butylphosphide ligands; in addition, each platinum center bears a terminal carbonyl ligand. This triplatinum cluster was initially developed in view of applications in the field of cluster-containing innovative materials. Yet, due to the large success of platinum complexes in cancer treatment, we also decided to explore its cytotoxic and anticancer properties.

Short-term Exposure to a Mediterranean Environment Influences Attitudes and Dietary Profile in U.S. College Students: The MEDiterranean Diet in AMEricans (A-MED-AME) Pilot Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether short-term exposure to a Mediterranean diet during a structured abroad experience could influence dietary habits and attitudes.

Design: This study used a cross-sectional design.

Setting: The study was conducted on the Florence University of the Arts (FUA) campus, Italy.

Ferrocenyl-Coupled N-Heterocyclic Carbene Complexes of Gold(I): A Successful Approach to Multinuclear Anticancer Drugs.

Four gold(I) carbene complexes featuring 4-ferrocenyl-substituted imidazol-2-ylidene ligands were investigated for antiproliferative and antivascular properties. They were active against a panel of seven cancer cell lines, including multidrug-resistant ones, with low micromolar or nanomolar IC (72 h) values, according to their lipophilicity and cellular uptake. The delocalized lipophilic cationic complexes 8 and 10 acted by increasing the reactive oxygen species in two ways: through a genuine ferrocene effect and by inhibiting the thioredoxin reductase.

Cardiovascular benefits from ancient grain bread consumption: findings from a double-blinded randomized crossover intervention trial.

Ancient grain varieties have been shown to have some beneficial effects on health. Forty-five clinically healthy subjects were included in a randomized, double-blinded crossover trial aimed at evaluating the effect of a replacement diet with bread derived from ancient grain varieties versus modern grain variety on cardiovascular risk profile. After 8 weeks of intervention, consumption of bread obtained by the ancient varieties showed a significant amelioration of various cardiovascular parameters.

BASIC: A Simple and Accurate Modular DNA Assembly Method.

Biopart Assembly Standard for Idempotent Cloning (BASIC) is a simple, accurate, and robust DNA assembly method. The method is based on linker-mediated DNA assembly and provides highly accurate DNA assembly with 99 % correct assemblies for four parts and 90 % correct assemblies for seven parts [1]. The BASIC standard defines a single entry vector for all parts flanked by the same prefix and suffix sequences and its idempotent nature means that the assembled construct is returned in the same format.

Management of congenital quantitative fibrinogen disorders: a Delphi consensus.

Introduction: No evidence-based guidelines for the management of patients suffering from afibrinogenaemia and hypofibrinogenaemia are available.

Aim And Method: The aim of this study was to harmonize patient's care among invited haemophilia experts from Belgium, France and Switzerland. A Delphi-like methodology was used to reach a consensus on: prophylaxis, bleeding, surgery, pregnancy and thrombosis management.