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Background: Even with the most reliable automated blood cell analyzers, obtaining an accurate platelet count in patients with thrombocytopenia is still challenging especially when making decisions for platelet transfusions. The Cell-Dyn Sapphire offers three methods for platelet counting including the optical, impedance, and immunological techniques. Aim: A comparative analysis evaluating the performance of these three methods, along with the manual technique, was performed in thrombocytopenic patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 32 blood samples from patients without a history of chemotherapy and a platelet count

This study aimed to develop a local 3 D-printed bioactive graft using poly-caprolacton (PCL) as a drug carrier and 3-O-acetyl-β-boswellic acid (β-ABA) as an anticancer compound. β-ABA-loaded 3 D-printed scaffold was fabricated and physically characterized. The results indicated more desirable mechanical and physical properties of the β-ABA-loaded PCL mat in comparison with the PCL scaffold. Following sustained release of β-ABA, the β-ABA-loaded PCL scaffold revealed selective cytotoxic activity against melanoma cells, while the PCL + ABA with the bolus delivery of β-ABA was toxic against fibroblast cells. Followed by the induction of apoptosis in melanoma cells at the gene level, the result of the western blot showed that the β-ABA-loaded scaffold significantly up-regulated P53 and down-regulated BCL2, with an increment in the ratio of Bax/BCL2. The selective anti-cancer properties of β-ABA-loaded 3 D printed scaffold against melanoma cells indicated that this scaffold could be potentially used as a bioactive graft to improve the melanoma treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A series of new 11-keto-β-boswellic acid were partially-synthesized by modifying the hydroxyl and carboxylic acid functional groups of ring A. The structures of the new analogs were confirmed by detailed spectral data analysis. Compounds 4, 5 and 9 exhibited potent anti-cancer results against two human tumor cancer cell lines having IC50 value of MCF-7 (breast) and LNCaP (prostate): 123.6, 9.6 and 88.94 μM and 9.6, 44.12 and 12.03 μM, respectively. Additionally, a maximum nuclear fragmentation was observed for 4 (78.44%) in AKBA treated cells after 24 hr followed by 5 and 9 with (74.25 and 66.9% respectively). This study suggests that the presence of hydrazone functionality (4 and 9) has effectively improved the potency of AKBA. Interestingly, compound 5 with a lost carboxylic acid group of ring A showed comparable potent activity. Highly selective AKBA requires further modification to improve its bioavailability and solubility inside the cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aim: The literature is scant on the effect of 11-keto-β-boswellic acid (KBA) on the liver of diabetes-induced mice. This study was designed to develop a rapid, sensitive, accurate, and inexpensive detection technique for evaluating the solubility of KBA obtained from the gum resin of Omani frankincense (Boswellia sacra) in the liver of streptozotocininduced diabetic mice using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) reflectance spectroscopy coupled with principal components analysis (PCA). It also aimed to investigate the effect of KBA on histological changes in the hepatocytes of diabetic mice. Materials and Methods: Eighteen mice were assigned to the healthy control group, the diabetic control group, or the KBAtreated diabetic group. Liver tissue samples from all groups were scanned using an FTIR reflectance spectrophotometer in reflection mode. FTIR reflectance spectra were collected in the wavenumber range of 400-4000 cm-1 using an attenuated total reflectance apparatus. Results: FTIR reflectance spectra were analyzed using PCA. The PCA score plot, which is an exploratory multivariate data set, revealed complete segregation among the three groups' liver samples based on changes in the variation of wavenumber position in the FTIR reflectance spectra, which indicated a clear effect of KBA solubility on treatments. Histological analysis showed an improvement in the liver tissues, with normal structures of hepatocytes exhibiting mild vacuolation in their cytoplasm. Conclusion: KBA improved the morphology of liver tissues in the diabetic mice and led to complete recovery of the damage observed in the diabetic control group. FTIR reflectance spectroscopy coupled with PCA could be deployed as a rapid, low-cost, and non-destructive detection method for evaluating treatment effects in diseased liver tissue based on the solubility of KBA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tridentate ligand LH3 ((2-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzylidene)-2-(hydroxyimino)propanehydrazide) comprising o -vanillin, hydrazone and oxime donor groups has been employed to prepare a series of tetranuclear Ln(III) complexes. The reaction of ligand LH3 with Ln(NO 3 ) 3 [Ln = Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er] in MeOH yielded Ln 4 ( LH ) 6 (MeOH) 2 (Ln = Sm(1), Eu(2), Gd(3), Tb(4), Ho (6) and Er (7))] whereas the corresponding reaction with Dy(NO 3 ) 3 afforded Dy 4 ( LH ) 4 ( LH 2 ) 2 (OH) 2 (5). All complexes were characterized by various analytical techniques including single crystal X-ray diffraction, IR spectroscopy, UV-Vis spectroscopy, and elemental analysis. To investigate the potential of these lanthanide complexes for wound healing applications, their effects on fibroblast viability, migration, and M2 macrophage polarization were evaluated. The cytotoxicity assessment revealed that complexes 2(Eu), 4(Tb), 5(Dy), and 7(Er) significantly enhanced fibroblast viability compared to the negative control (NC). In vitro wound healing assay demonstrated that complexes 2(Eu) and 7(Eu) substantially promoted fibroblast migration compared to the NC. Moreover, complex 2(Eu) exhibited significant anti-inflammatory effects by reducing the phagocytic ability of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated macrophage cells and attenuating nitric oxide (NO) production. In conclusion, among the series of complexes tested, complex 2(Eu) displayed the most potent anti-inflammatory effect on macrophage cells, while simultaneously promoting fibroblast viability and migration. This unique combination of properties renders complex 2 (Eu) highly promising for wound healing applications.

Background: and purpose: The formation of postoperative intra-abdominal adhesion band formation may lead to severe complications. This study aimed to evaluate the preventive effect of local administration of frankincense n-hexane extract (FHE) on the formation of postsurgical adhesion bands., Materials and Methods: FHE was extracted from the resin of a Boswellia sacra tree and its components were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). In an animal model, the expression levels of TNF-α and TGF-β1 cytokines after application of FHE were assessed to check the inflammatory and fibrotic cues, respectively., Results: Following FHE compound analysis, in vivo experiments demonstrated that intraoperative local administration of FHE resulted in the prevention of adhesion band formation. The adhesion grades in the FHE-treated group were significantly lower than those in the negative control (NC) and the positive control (Interceed). The infiltration of inflammatory cells observed by histopathology revealed a significant anti-inflammatory potential of FHE. Furthermore, the gene expression results proved that significant suppression of TNF-α and TGF-β1 was responsible for its antiadhesion properties., Conclusions: The study reported the potential of FHE as an ointment for the prevention of adhesion bands., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2021 Center for Food and Biomolecules, National Taiwan University. Production and hosting by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.)

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a curative treatment for otherwise incurable diseases. Conditioning regimen is an important part of HSCT and consists of chemotherapy with or without irradiation. Conditioning exerts myelosuppressive, immunosuppressive and antitumor effects, but also contributes to HSCT-related complications including graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Since almost 50% of the transplanted patients are conditioned with cytostatics without irradiation, we developed and characterized a GVHD mouse model following conditioning with busulphan and cyclophosphamide. Recipient Balb/c female mice were treated with busulphan (20 mg/kg/day for 4 days) and cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg/day for two days). After one day of rest, recipient mice were transplanted with 2×10(7) bone marrow and 3×10(7) spleen cells from male C57BL/6 (allogeneic group) or female Balb/c (syngeneic/control group) mice. The allogeneic, but not syngeneic transplanted mice developed GVHD. Histopathology of the major internal organs (liver, pancreas, spleen, lungs, heart and kidney) was examined before conditioning start, after conditioning's end and 5, 7 and 21 days after transplantation using hematoxylin-eosin staining. Decreased spleen cellularity and diminished glycogen content in the liver were observed after conditioning regimen. Histopathological changes such as vasculitis, inflammation and apoptotic cell forms in liver, spleen, pancreas, lungs and heart were observed in allogeneic transplanted mice, however, only hypocellular spleen and extramedullar hematopoiesis were detected in syngeneic transplanted animals. No morphological changes were observed in kidney in either HSCT setting. This is the first study describing early histopathological changes after conditioning regimen with busulphan/cyclophosphamide and dynamics of GVHD development in several major internal organs.