Response of Skin-Derived and Metastatic Human Malignant Melanoma Cell Lines to Thymoquinone and Thymoquinone-Loaded Liposomes.

Thymoquinone has been proved to be effective against neoplasms, including skin cancer. Its high lipophilicity, however, may limit its potential use as a drug. Melanoma remains the deadliest of all skin cancers worldwide, due to its high heterogeneity, depending on the stage of the disease.

Plant-Derived Terpenoids: A Promising Tool in the Fight against Melanoma.

Melanoma is responsible for the highest number of skin cancer-caused deaths worldwide. Despite the numerous melanoma-treating options, the fight against it remains challenging, mainly due to its great heterogeneity and plasticity, as well as the high toxicity of standard drugs. Plant-derived terpenoids are a group of plant defense molecules that have been proven effective in killing many different types of cancer cells, both in in vitro experiments and in vivo models.

Pentoxifylline as a Potential Adjuvant Therapy for COVID-19: Impeding the Burden of the Cytokine Storm.

The outburst of inflammatory response and hypercoagulability are among the factors contributing to increased mortality in severe COVID-19 cases. Pentoxifylline (PTX), a xanthine-derived drug registered for the treatment of vascular claudication, has been reported to display broad-spectrum anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties via adenosine A2A receptor (A2AR)-related mechanisms, in parallel to its rheological actions. Prior studies have indicated the efficacy of PTX in the treatment of various pulmonary diseases, including the management of acute respiratory distress syndrome of infectious causes.

The Role of Mitochondria Dysfunction in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and Colorectal Cancer.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is one of the leading gut chronic inflammation disorders, especially prevalent in Western countries. Recent research suggests that mitochondria play a crucial role in IBD development and progression to the more severe disease-colorectal cancer (CRC). In this review, we focus on the role of mitochondrial mutations and dysfunctions in IBD and CRC.

20-m resolution longitudinal nitrate data from before and after rainfall in low-order streams spanning rural to urban gradients.

This study aimed to provide datasets useful for identifying and disentangling any complex patterns in the fine spatial heterogeneity of a common nonpoint source pollutant, nitrate, as well as other related water quality metrics (temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity) in streams of the eastern U.S. We aimed specifically to provide a resource dataset of uniquely high spatial detail for the better understanding of how the rapid appearance or disappearance of this common nutrient at fine scales may relate to other aspects of form and function in these watersheds.

Three PilZ Domain Proteins, PlpA, PixA, and PixB, Have Distinct Functions in Regulation of Motility and Development in Myxococcus xanthus.

In bacteria, the nucleotide-based second messenger bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP) binds to effectors to generate outputs in response to changes in the environment. In Myxococcus xanthus, c-di-GMP regulates type IV pilus-dependent motility and the starvation-induced developmental program that results in formation of spore-filled fruiting bodies; however, little is known about the effectors that bind c-di-GMP. Here, we systematically inactivated all 24 genes encoding PilZ domain-containing proteins, which are among the most common c-di-GMP effectors.

The Effectiveness of Supportive Psychotherapy in Weight Loss in a Group of Young Overweight and Obese Women.

Overweight and obesity are among the most widespread health problems worldwide. The primary cause of obesity is an inability to control overeating. Therefore, today, obesity needs to be treated more as an eating disorder, i.

Favipiravir in Therapy of Viral Infections.

Favipiravir (FPV) is a novel antiviral drug acting as a competitive inhibitor of RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), preventing viral transcription and replication. FPV was approved in Japan in 2014 for therapy of influenza unresponsive to standard antiviral therapies. FPV was also used in the therapy of Ebola virus disease (EVD) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection.

Extracellular Adenine Nucleotides and Adenosine Modulate the Growth and Survival of THP-1 Leukemia Cells.

A new approach to improve the effectiveness of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment is to use the properties of purinergic signaling molecules secreted into the bone marrow milieu in response to leukemic cell growth. Therefore, our study aimed to evaluate the effects of extracellular adenine nucleotides and adenosine on the growth and death parameters in the leukemic THP-1 cell line. Cells were exposed to ATP, ADP, AMP, adenosine and nonhydrolyzable analogues of ATP and ADP (ATPγS and ADPβS) in a 1-1000 μM broad concentration range.

Electrostatic complex of neurotrophin 4 with dendrimer nanoparticles: controlled release of protein in vitro and in vivo.

NT4 has been regarded as a promising therapeutic protein for treatment of damaged retinal pigment epithelium cells. Here, we studied physicochemical parameters of an NT4-polyamidoamine (PAMAM) electrostatic complex, which can provide a sustained concentration of protein in intraocular space over an extended period after delivery. Adsorption/desorption of NT4 molecules to/from positively charged PAMAM dendrimers were precisely determined to control the concentration of bounded/unbounded protein molecules, diffusion coefficient, and size of a protein-laden dendrimer structure.

First Results on the Scalar WIMP-Pion Coupling, Using the XENON1T Experiment.

We present first results on the scalar coupling of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) to pions from 1  t yr of exposure with the XENON1T experiment. This interaction is generated when the WIMP couples to a virtual pion exchanged between the nucleons in a nucleus. In contrast to most nonrelativistic operators, these pion-exchange currents can be coherently enhanced by the total number of nucleons and therefore may dominate in scenarios where spin-independent WIMP-nucleon interactions are suppressed.

Autologous cord blood transfusion in preterm infants - could its humoral effect be the kez to control prematurity-related complications? A preliminary study.

Umbilical cord blood (UCB), rich in stem/progenitor cells, is partially eliminated from the bloodstream during childbirth because the cord is immediately clamped. We hypothesize that transfusion of autologous UCB to premature infants after delivery could serve as an adjuvant modality for preventing the development of prematurity-related complications. We randomly enrolled 20 preterm infants born before 32 weeks of gestational age (GA), all of whom developed anemia, necessitating transfusion of red blood cells (RBCs).

Improved Limits for Higgs-Portal Dark Matter from LHC Searches.

Searches for invisible Higgs decays at the Large Hadron Collider constrain dark matter Higgs-portal models, where dark matter interacts with the standard model fields via the Higgs boson. While these searches complement dark matter direct-detection experiments, a comparison of the two limits depends on the coupling of the Higgs boson to the nucleons forming the direct-detection nuclear target, typically parametrized in a single quantity f_{N}. We evaluate f_{N} using recent phenomenological and lattice-QCD calculations, and include for the first time the coupling of the Higgs boson to two nucleons via pion-exchange currents.

Is a Trineutron Resonance Lower in Energy than a Tetraneutron Resonance?

We present quantum Monte Carlo calculations of few-neutron systems confined in external potentials based on local chiral interactions at next-to-next-to-leading order in chiral effective field theory. The energy and radial densities for these systems are calculated in different external Woods-Saxon potentials. We assume that their extrapolation to zero external-potential depth provides a quantitative estimate of three- and four-neutron resonances.

Mouse blastomeres acquire ability to divide asymmetrically before compaction.

The mouse preimplantation embryo generates the precursors of trophectoderm (TE) and inner cell mass (ICM) during the 8- to 16-cell stage transition, when the apico-basal polarized blastomeres undergo divisions that give rise to cells with different fate. Asymmetric segregation of polar domain at 8-16 cell division generate two cell types, polar cells which adopt an outer position and develop in TE and apolar cells which are allocated to inner position as the precursors of ICM. It is still not know when the blastomeres of 8-cell stage start to be determined to undergo asymmetric division.

Hydrologic refugia, plants, and climate change.

Climate, physical landscapes, and biota interact to generate heterogeneous hydrologic conditions in space and over time, which are reflected in spatial patterns of species distributions. As these species distributions respond to rapid climate change, microrefugia may support local species persistence in the face of deteriorating climatic suitability. Recent focus on temperature as a determinant of microrefugia insufficiently accounts for the importance of hydrologic processes and changing water availability with changing climate.

Alteration of Selected Neurotrophic Factors and their Receptor Expression in Mouse Brain Response to Whole-Brain Irradiation.

Ionizing radiation can significantly affect brain function in children and young adults, particularly in the hippocampus where neurogenic niches are located. Injury to normal tissue is a major concern when whole-brain irradiation (WBI) is used to treat central nervous system (CNS) tumors, and the pathogenesis of this injury remains poorly understood. We assessed the expression of selected neurotrophins (NTs) and NT receptors (NTRs) in brains of young mice after a single 10 Gy gamma-ray exposure using morphological and molecular analyses [qRT-PCR, Western blot, immunohistochemistry (IHC)] to evaluate WBI-induced injury in its acute phase.

Growth factors and their receptors derived from human amniotic cells in vitro.

In vitro studies have shown that amnion-produced growth factors participated in angiogenesis, re-epithelialization, and immunomodulation. The aim of our study was to investigate the growth factors and receptors produced by human amnion tissue and amniotic cells. Human amnions (hAM) were isolated, and amnion circles were dissected for in vitro analysis.

Endogenous regeneration of damaged retinal pigment epithelium following low dose sodium iodate administration: an insight into the role of glial cells in retinal repair.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has been reported to demonstrate feasible self-regenerative potential under specific conditions. However, the precise underlying mechanisms involved in this process are still elusive. Here, we performed a sequential morphological, molecular, and functional analysis of retinal injury and subsequent tissue regeneration after intravenous administration of a low dose of sodium iodate (15 mg/kg) in mice over long-term observation, up to 3 months post-injury.

Increased circulating endothelial progenitor cells in patients with haemorrhagic and ischaemic stroke: the role of endothelin-1.

Ischaemic stroke induces endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) mobilisation from bone marrow into peripheral blood. Circulating EPCs play an important role in post-injury regeneration of vasculature, whereas endothelial cells (ECs) have been shown to reflect endothelial damage and may be responsible for increased Endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression. We investigated herein the association between numbers of circulating ECs and EPCs, the levels of soluble factors regulating their migration and function, and the clinical outcome in patients with haemorrhagic (HS) or ischaemic stroke (IS).

Perinatal exposure to lead induces morphological, ultrastructural and molecular alterations in the hippocampus.

The aim of this paper is to examine if pre- and neonatal exposure to lead (Pb) may intensify or inhibit apoptosis or necroptosis in the developing rat brain. Pregnant experimental females received 0.1% lead acetate (PbAc) in drinking water from the first day of gestation until weaning of the offspring; the control group received distilled water.

Circulating hematopoietic stem cell count is a valuable predictor of prematurity complications in preterm newborns.

Background: The frequency of preterm labour has risen over the last few years. Hence, there is growing interest in the identification of markers that may facilitate prediction and prevention of premature birth complications. Here, we studied the association of the number of circulating stem cell populations with the incidence of complications typical of prematurity.