Development of Nanocomposite Microspheres for Nasal Administration of Deferiprone in Neurodegenerative Disorders.

Elevated brain iron levels are characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases. As an iron chelator with short biological half-life, deferiprone leads to agranulocytosis and neutropenia with a prolonged therapeutic course. Its inclusion in sustained-release dosage forms may reduce the frequency of administration.

Implementation of plate reader-based indooxine and Nessler protocols for monitoring L-asparaginase serum activity in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Monitoring the blood serum activity of L-asparaginase in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) has been highly recommended to detect enzyme inactivation that can cause relapse and to avoid unwanted toxicity. Nevertheless, perhaps at least partially due to the lack of clinically approved commercially available kits or standardized and independently reproduced and validated in-house protocols, laboratory assay-based determination of the optimal doses of L-asparaginase is not carried out routinely. In this study, we adapted previously published protocols for two plate reader-based colorimetric methods, indooxine and Nessler, to measure asparaginase activity.

Nuclear abnormalities and DNA damage indicate different genotoxic stress responses of marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus, Pallas 1771) to industrial and agricultural water pollution in South Bulgaria.

Amphibians are continuously exposed to pollutants and anthropogenic stressors in their natural habitats, representing a significant challenge to their survival. This study aimed to quantify the extent of DNA damage caused by chronic industrial and agrochemical surface water pollution in wild populations of the marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus). The observed genotoxic effects on the marsh frog DNA, manifesting as abnormalities in erythrocyte nuclei, micronuclei, and DNA strand breaks, demonstrate a clear cause-and-effect relationship with surface water parameters, heavy metals, metalloids, and pesticides.

Fumed-Si-Pr-Ald-Barb as a Fluorescent Chemosensor for the Hg Detection and CrO Ions: A Combined Experimental and Computational Perspective.

The surface of fumed silica nanoparticles was modified by pyridine carbaldehyde and barbituric acid to provide fumed-Si-Pr-Ald-Barb. The structure was identified and investigated through diverse techniques, such as FT-IR, EDX, Mapping, BET, XRD, SEM, and TGA. This nanocomposite was used to detect different cations and anions in a mixture of HO:EtOH.

Ultrafiltered Sweet Buttermilk as Additive Replacer in Ice Cream Production.

Sweet buttermilk, a by-product of butter production, remains highly underutilized despite containing some relevant components (i.e., phospholipids) that may have a high biological value and may exert some positive technological functions.

: Applications in the Pharmacy and Food Industry.

has been used since ancient times in traditional Eastern medicine. It is widely cultivated in numerous countries between the tropical and temperate climatic zones due to its high ecological plasticity and resilience to adverse weather. The different classes of chemical compounds contained in the plant are the reason for its medicinal properties.

Natural deep eutectic solvent-based dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction of pesticides in drinking waters combined with GC-MS/MS detection.

The current research aims to develop a new analytical method applying a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) assisted by vortex and using an environmentally friendly extractant for the preconcentration of organochlorine and organophosphorus pesticides followed by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) analysis. The extractant (i.e.

A Comparative Morphological and Anatomical Study of L., Burgsd., and K. Koch from Bulgaria.

Of the six species found in the Bulgarian flora, three of the species have controversial taxonomic positions. K. Koch and Burgsd.

Spectral Characteristics, In Silico Perspectives, Density Functional Theory (DFT), and Therapeutic Potential of Green-Extracted Phycocyanin from .

Phycocyanin (PC) is a naturally occurring green pigment in It was extracted by ultrasonic extraction using green technology, and its structure was studied using IR- and NMR-spectroscopy. Spectral data confirmed the PC structure. This study also involves an in silico assessment of the diverse applications of green pigment PC.

DLGRAFE-Net: A double loss guided residual attention and feature enhancement network for polyp segmentation.

Colon polyps represent a common gastrointestinal form. In order to effectively treat and prevent complications arising from colon polyps, colon polypectomy has become a commonly used therapeutic approach. Accurately segmenting polyps from colonoscopy images can provide valuable information for early diagnosis and treatment.

Idebenone-Loaded Nanocomposite Microspheres for Nasal Administration-A Perspective in the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease.

Background: Alzheimer's disease results in neurodegeneration and is characterized by an accumulation of abnormal neuritic lesions and intracellular aggregates of hyperphosphorylated Tau proteins in the cerebrum. That leads to progressive decline in memory, thinking, and learning skills. Oxidative stress has been shown to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Concise Synthesis of Pseudane IX, Its -Oxide, and Novel Carboxamide Analogs with Antibacterial Activity.

A four-step synthesis of the natural product pseudane IX, starting from 3-oxododecanoic acid phenylamide and including only one chromatographic purification, was accomplished with an overall yield of 52%. The same synthetic sequence, but with a controlled partial reduction of a nitro group in the penultimate intermediate, led to the -oxide of pseudane IX (NQNO). A shortened three-step variation of the synthesis allowed for the preparation of novel carboxamide analogs of the natural product.

Students' Well-Being and Academic Engagement: A Multivariate Analysis of the Influencing Factors.

This paper aims to identify the factors that are positively or negatively impacting students' well-being and their academic engagement. We used partial least-squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the data collected through a questionnaire from four countries: Romania, Turkey, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The model includes seven factors that influence the well-being of students and indirectly their academic engagement: stressors in the students' lives; professors' support; social support from family and friends; the students' perceived satisfaction in their lives; engaging in activities during their leisure time; self-exploration regarding their careers; and environmental exploration regarding their careers.

Chemical Composition and Lipid Bioactive Components of Dwelling in Bulgaria.

is a plant common in southern Bulgaria. The inflorescences were collected during June and September 2021, while their seeds were obtained in September 2021. The chemical and lipid composition of the inflorescences during the vegetation process of the plant were established.

Assessment of the biological activity of Boiss. ().

Present scientific evidences about the biological activity and potential medical application of extracts derived from Boiss. are limited. Therefore, our study was undertaken to define several main characteristics in this regard - cytotoxicity and antitumor properties, antibacterial activity and immunomodulatory potential.

Optimizing Allelopathy Screening Bioassays by Using Nano Silver.

Nano solutions are widely used in medicine and also have the potential to be used when performing allelopathy screening studies. The present experiment aimed to test the effectiveness of colloidal nano silver Silver-Amber© with nanoparticles of 20 nm (>20 mg/L at a purity level of 99.99%) as a carrier of allelochemicals in laboratory conditions.

Metabolic Composition of Methanolic Extract of the Balkan Endemic Species Velen and Its Anti-Inflammatory Effect on Male Wistar Rats.

Extracts from medicinal plants are widely used in the treatment and prevention of different diseases. is a Balkan endemic species with reported antioxidant and antimicrobial characteristics; however, its phytochemical composition is not well defined. Here, we examined the metabolome of by chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), ultra-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Linear and Nonlinear Optics of Broad-Band Laser Pulses: Diffraction.

The typical spectrally limited laser pulse in the near-infrared region is narrow-band up to 40-50 fs. Its spectral width Δ is much smaller than the carrying wavenumber (Δ ≪ ) . For such kinds of pulses, on distances of a few diffraction lengths, the diffraction is of a Fresnel's type and their evolution can be described correctly in the frame of the well-known paraxial evolution equation.

Seed Oil-A Valuable Source of Lipid-Soluble Components with DNA Protective and Antiproliferative Activities.

The present study is focused on the chemical and lipid composition of seed oil of the European ornamental and invasive wood plant (Simaroubaceae). Total lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, ash, and moisture in the seeds were determined. A high yield of glyceride oil (30.

Spray-Dried Chitosan Hydrogel Particles as a Potential Delivery System for Benzydamine Hydrochloride.

Chitosan, being a biocompatible and mucoadhesive polysaccharide, is one of the most preferred hydrogel-forming materials for drug delivery. The objectives of the present study are to obtain spray-dried microparticles based on low-molecular-weight chitosan and study their potential application as cargo systems for the orally active drug benzydamine hydrochloride. Three types of particles are obtained: raw chitosan particles (at three different concentrations), cross-linked with sodium tripolyphosphate (NaTPP) particles (at three different chitosan:NaTPP ratios), and particles coated with mannitol (at three different chitosan:mannitol ratios), all of them in the size range between 1 and 10 µm.

ResDAC-Net: a novel pancreas segmentation model utilizing residual double asymmetric spatial kernels.

The pancreas not only is situated in a complex abdominal background but is also surrounded by other abdominal organs and adipose tissue, resulting in blurred organ boundaries. Accurate segmentation of pancreatic tissue is crucial for computer-aided diagnosis systems, as it can be used for surgical planning, navigation, and assessment of organs. In the light of this, the current paper proposes a novel Residual Double Asymmetric Convolution Network (ResDAC-Net) model.

Current status and prognosis of Raphidiopsis raciborskii distribution in Bulgaria as part of the southeastern region of Europe.

The cyanobacterial species Raphidiopsis raciborskii (Wołoszyńska) Aguilera et al. has a high invasiveness potential, which in less than a century leads to its cosmopolitan spread. In the temperate climate of Europe, R.