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New drugs and technologies are continuously developed to improve the efficacy and minimize the critical side effects of cancer treatments. The present investigation focuses on the development of a liposomal formulation for Idelalisib, a small-molecule kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of lymphoid malignancies. Idelalisib is a potent and selective antitumor agent, but it is not indicated nor recommended for first-line treatment due to fatal and serious toxicities. Herein, liposomes are proposed as a delivery tool to improve the therapeutic profile of Idelalisib. Specifically, PEGylated liposomes were prepared, and their physicochemical and technological features were investigated. Light-scattering spectroscopy and cryo-transmission electron microscopy revealed nanosized unilamellar vesicles, which were proved to be stable in storage and in simulated biological fluids. The cytotoxicity of the liposome formulation was investigated in a human non-Hodgkin's lymphoma B cell line. Idelalisib was able to induce death of tumor cells if delivered by the nanocarrier system at increased efficacy. These findings suggest that combining Idelalisib and nanotechnologies may be a powerful strategy to increase the antitumor efficacy of the drug., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Millet, a gluten-free cereal, has received attention for its environmental friendliness and higher protein content than other grains. It represents a staple food in many African countries, where fermentation is traditionally used for preserving food products and preparing different cereal-based products. This study aimed to assess the impact of sourdough fermentation on bioactive compounds and antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of pearl millet from Burkina Faso. Phenolic compounds were investigated spectrophotometrically and by HPLC-DAD. The antioxidant activity of unfermented (MF) and fermented (FeMF) millet was evaluated in vitro by spectrophotometric and fluorometric assays and ex vivo on oxidized human erythrocytes for hemolysis inhibition. Finally, the potential anti-inflammatory effect of FeMF and MF was evaluated on human adenocarcinoma cell line (HT-29) exposed to TNF-α inflammatory stimulus. Results revealed significantly higher levels of polyphenols, flavonoids, and in vitro antioxidant activity following millet fermentation. Notable differences in phenolic composition between FeMF and MF are observed, with fermentation facilitating the release of bioactive compounds such as gallic acid, quercetin, and rutin. A dose-dependent protection against oxidative hemolysis was observed in both FeMF- and MF-pretreated erythrocytes. Similarly, pretreatment with FeMF significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory markers in TNF-α-treated cells, with effects comparable to those of MF. Fermentation with sourdough represents a simple and low-cost method to improve the bioactive compounds content and in vitro antioxidant activity of millet flour with promising nutraceutical potential.

Cisplatin is a chemotherapeutic drug for the treatment of several solid tumors, whose use is limited by its nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity, ototoxicity, and development of resistance. The toxicity is caused by DNA cross-linking, increase in reactive oxygen species and/or depletion of cell antioxidant defenses. The aim of the work was to study the effect of antioxidant compounds (Lisosan G, Taurisolo ® ) or hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S)-releasing compounds (erucin) in the auditory HEI-OC1 cell line treated with cisplatin. Cell viability was determined using the MTT assay. Caspase and sphingomyelinase activities were measured by fluorometric and colorimetric methods, respectively. Expression of transcription factors, apoptosis hallmarks and genes codifying for antioxidant response proteins were measured by Western blot and/or RT-qPCR. Lisosan G, Taurisolo ® and erucin did not show protective effects. Sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS), a donor of H 2 S, increased the viability of cisplatin-treated cells and the transcription of heme oxygenase 1, superoxide dismutase 2, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase type 1 and the catalytic subunit of glutamate-cysteine ligase and decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS), the Bax/Bcl2 ratio, caspase-3, caspase-8 and acid sphingomyelinase activity. Therefore, NaHS might counteract the cytotoxic effect of cisplatin by increasing the antioxidant response and by reducing ROS levels and caspase and acid sphingomyelinase activity.

Parkia biglobosa seeds (African locust bean) play a crucial role in the diet and health of Western African populations. The seeds are spontaneously fermented to produce condiments used for food seasoning and stews preparation. Hence, to understand the health benefits of seed-based products from P. biglobosa, total polyphenol content, in vitro and ex vivo antioxidant properties, as well as antihypertensive activity, of fermented and non-fermented seeds were investigated. The Folin-Ciocalteu method was used to determine total polyphenol content; 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) tests were used to estimate the in vitro antioxidant activity. The ex vivo antioxidant and antihypertensive activities were evaluated by using cellular antioxidant activity in human red blood cells (CAA-RBC) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity assays, respectively. The fermented seeds showed a huge increase in polyphenol content and in vitro antioxidant activities compared to non-fermented ones. The fermented seeds showed a higher potency of biological antioxidant activity than non-fermented ones by exhibiting greater protection of erythrocytes from oxidative damage at a very low dose of extracts. Both fermented and non-fermented seeds have been shown to contain peptides with ACE-inhibitory activity; however, the non-fermented seeds exerted a higher ACE-inhibitory activity than fermented ones. In conclusion, traditional fermentation positively impacted the nutraceutical and health benefits of P. biglobosa seeds. However, the non-fermented seeds should not be ignored. Both fermented and non-fermented seeds can be used as valuable ingredients for the formulation of functional foods., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

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Physical therapy interventions for patients with Parkinson's disease prioritize task-specific exercise to address gait and motor dysfunction. Nordic walking (NW) is a moderate intensity exercise promoting walking speed and rhythm. This case series describes the application of customized NW training in individuals with varied severity of Parkinson's gait dysfunction and the outcomes specific to gait, motor and non-motor symptoms; and NW engagement and retention in the follow-up phase. Three individuals with idiopathic PD (two males and one female; ages 59–69; Hoehn & Yahr stages II–III) participated. Supervised NW training phase included 15 one-hour sessions over 6-weeks, individually progressed for each participant. During the 3-month follow-up phase independent NW exercise was prescribed 3 times a week. Primary outcome measures examined gait function and impairment-based measures assessed Parkinson's motor and nonmotor symptoms. Participants improved in: 10-Meter walk-fast speed (0.13, 0.18, 0.15 m/s; respectively); 6-Minute Walk distance (137.5, 56.4, 129.4 m, respectively); Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Motor Score (−6, −7, −14, respectively); and all Timed-Up-Go subtests. Participant 2 had 44.4% decline in freezing episodes and reduced fall rate. Participants' gains were retained at the 3-month follow-up. This case series suggests that NW has therapeutic benefits for three individuals with varied Parkinson's gait dysfunction. Independent NW exercise was sustained post-training and motor and gait function gains were retained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose, a sustainable and environmentally-friendly polymer derived from biomass, has shown great potential in many applications as an alternative to petroleum-based polymers. However, its hydrophilic nature limits its integration into packaging systems. This study aims to enhance the water-repellency of cellulose filament (CF) films by plasma deposition of an organosilicon (SiOCH) thin film. Water contact angle and Cobb test measurements reveal that the SiOCH coating deposited by non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure decreases the water absorbency of the substrate by about one order of magnitude, resulting in a highly hydrophobic CF film. However, the water vapour (WVTR) and oxygen transmission rates (OTR) of CF remain almost unchanged. Spray coating with 5% carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) sealer effectively decreases the WVTR and OTR of the CF film; however, the water absorbency is increased. Finally, the measurements conducted on a CF film sample coated with a bilayer of CMC/SiOCH reveal that the combined treatment reduces the WVTR and OTR of the film by 95% and 66%, respectively, and lowers the water absorbency by two orders of magnitude. The functionalization methods proposed herein provide an effective approach for the selective tuning of CF film permeation properties. It can be applied in the development of both, wet and dry, sustainable packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pea plants are an ideal crop to perform experiments relating to seed relcalcitrance and orthodoxy, because they are a stable source of nutrients in many communities. However, like with pineapple, strawberry and even calabash plants, there are several challenges that arise with Pisumsativum. The present contribution aims to widen our understanding of seed recalcitrance in pea crops. In this article, the causes, consequences and solutions to various issues pertaining to seed recalcitrance in Pisumsativum will be discussed. In addition, mentioned will be made on storage conditions ideal to pea crops and that are contrasting to orthodox seed behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The various forms of cellulose-based materials possess high mechanical and thermal stabilities, as well as three-dimensional open network structures with high aspect ratios capable of incorporating other materials to produce composites for a wide range of applications. Being the most prevalent natural biopolymer on the Earth, cellulose has been used as a renewable replacement for many plastic and metal substrates, in order to diminish pollutant residues in the environment. As a result, the design and development of green technological applications of cellulose and its derivatives has become a key principle of ecological sustainability. Recently, cellulose-based mesoporous structures, flexible thin films, fibers, and three-dimensional networks have been developed for use as substrates in which conductive materials can be loaded for a wide range of energy conversion and energy conservation applications. The present article provides an overview of the recent advancements in the preparation of cellulose-based composites synthesized by combining metal/semiconductor nanoparticles, organic polymers, and metal-organic frameworks with cellulose. To begin, a brief review of cellulosic materials is given, with emphasis on their properties and processing methods. Further sections focus on the integration of cellulose-based flexible substrates or three-dimensional structures into energy conversion devices, such as photovoltaic solar cells, triboelectric generators, piezoelectric generators, thermoelectric generators, as well as sensors. The review also highlights the uses of cellulose-based composites in the separators, electrolytes, binders, and electrodes of energy conservation devices such as lithium-ion batteries. Moreover, the use of cellulose-based electrodes in water splitting for hydrogen generation is discussed. In the final section, we propose the underlying challenges and outlook for the field of cellulose-based composite materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have developed photoinduced sulfonyl radical‐triggered cyclization of 1,6‐dynes without metals, oxidants, or additives. During the reaction, three new bonds are formed (−SO2−C, C−C, and C−I/C−Se−) under mild conditions, with excellent selectivity. The conversion is temporally and atomically economical and is easy to handle even on a gram scale. Detailed mechanistic studies showed that the reaction proceeds via a radical pathway. Subsequent synthetic transformations of the new products produced various substituted compounds. Importantly, we observed an unprecedented and selective C−C single bond cleavage with boronic acid insertion under Suzuki reaction conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the effects of pulsed nitrogen gas injections on the stability of Townsend dielectric barrier discharges operated in continuous nitrogen gas flows at atmospheric pressure. For single-pulse injections with pulse durations lower than the continuous gas residence time (∼50 ms), currentâ€"voltage characteristics reveal homogeneous discharges with a single current peak per half-cycle of the applied voltage. However, a sudden decrease of the discharge power over time combined with a temporary transition from homogeneous to filamentary discharge is observed for longer pulses at fixed pulsed gas flows and for higher pulsed gas flows at fixed pulse duration. In addition, for multiple pulsed gas injections with repetition frequencies between 0.1 and 10 Hz, discharge destabilisation increases with the number of pulses. Time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy reveals that, over the single pulse time scale, temporal variations of the emission intensities are longer than the expected residence times of the continuous and pulsed gas flows. Furthermore, a rise of oxygen impurities can be seen over both single and multiple-pulses time scales. Two-dimensional gas flow simulations reveal that pulsed injections introduce sharp and narrow temporal gas velocity profiles over the range of experimental conditions investigated, with no cumulative effects in the discharge cell from one pulse to the other. However, pulsed operation introduces significant changes in the neutral gas composition with time scales comparable to those revealed by electrical and optical diagnostics. In such conditions, the outgassing of impurities adsorbed on surfaces located upstream of the discharge cell plays a vital role in Townsend discharges’ physics and characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the first application of the 210Pb dating method to quartz-sandstone stalactites, which until now had only been used to determine the growth rates of recent carbonate speleothems. Five stalactites were sampled from two quartz-sandstone caves located in Serra de Itaqueri, southeastern Brazil, and they all exhibited a quantifiable measure of the 210Pb activity concentration in their sectional layers. Two samples showed a desirable exponential decrease of the excess 210Pb activity along with the vertical distance, yielding growth rates of 0.39±0.08 mm/yr and 0.18±0.01 mm/yr, respectively, for stalactites 25-mm long (Paredão Cave) and 17-mm long (Fazendão cave). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]