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One of the biggest issues facing modern societies is diabetes, which is becoming more prevalent as a result of changes in daily routines. Numerous studies are currently being conducted to determine the impact of herbal medications on diabetes, given the negative side effects of chemical treatments used to treat the condition. The present study aimed to compare the antidiabetic effects of Caucasian whortleberry (Vaccinium arctostaphylos L.) methanolic extract and Ferula brewed extract (Ferula tea). To this end, 40 mice were given 200 mg/kg of streptozotocin intraperitoneally to induce diabetes in them. The mice were then divided into six groups, each consisting of ten mice: Group 1 included healthy mice that did not receive any treatment and was mentioned as the control; Group 2 was considered the diabetic control group and received a daily treatment of water; Group 3 and 4 received a daily treatment of the chemical drugs Acarbose or Metformin, which are regularly and separately used at a dose of 100 mg/kg of each drug. Group 5 received a daily treatment of 250 mg/kg of Caucasian whortleberry methanolic extract, and group 6 received a daily treatment of 300 mg/kg of Ferula tea. After the 40-day trial, the results showed that Caucasian whortleberry methanolic extract, Ferula tea, and Acarbose significantly reduced serum glucose levels compared to the control. In addition, Caucasian whortleberry methanolic extract caused a significant reduction in triglycerides and alkaline phosphatase. Abbreviations: STZ: Streptozotocin, HDL: High-Density Lipoproteins, LDL: Low-Density Lipoproteins, SGOT: Serum Glutamic Oxaloacetic Transaminase, ALP: Alkaline Phosphatase, HbA1c: Hemoglobin A1c, SGPT: Serum Glutamic Pyruvic Transaminase, CGA: Chlorogenic Acid. FBS: Fast Blood Sugar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gastric cancer is a foremost one among many regular carcinoma cases globally and most of the enhanced treatments could not significantly decrease the mortality range of this cancer. The current work is planned to develop a new rote for the synthesis of a nanophotocatalyst and substituted chromenones that are effective drugs against gastric cancer. Thus, CuO as a new heterogeneous green nanophotocatalyst is biosynthesized from Cressa leaf extract and the prepared nanophotocatalyst is applied in the synthesis of chromenones under air by the mediation of a green color LED in a solventless condition. In addition, in order to obtain the optimum synthesis conditions for the photocatalytic process, a Central Composite Design (CCD) is also applied, which predicted the optimal temperature of 33.8 °C, reaction time of 69 min, and catalyst amount of 5.9 mg. Fortunately, these findings fitted well with the experimentally attained optimal conditions. Furthermore, reusability and stability tests guarantee acceptable reproducibility of the protocol. It is found that the photocatalytic reaction mainly occurs through a radical-based mechanism involving •O2-, OH•, and h+. The significant features of this study invole the photocatalytic nature of the protocol with the irradiation of a commercially cheap LED, simple and inexpensive photocatalyst, low temperature, high yield, solvent-free, facile work-up, wide scope, and proper atom economy. At the final part of this report, the in-vitro cellular cytotoxicity of CuO nanoparticles and 3-nitro-substituted chromene is examined on KATO-III human gastric cell line with MTT assay. The reduction in cell viability confirmed cytotoxicity of these materials against the performed cancer cell line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND In the present study, an extraction method affected by sonication intensity (40%, 70% and 100%), sonication time (5, 10 and 15 min) and different solvents (ethanol, methanol and a combination of ethanol/methanol) was optimized to extract the white tea with the greatest polyphenolic compounds using a response surface methodology. To prepare the nano‐liposomal vesicles, phospholipids and cholesterol in various proportions (60:0, 40:20, 30:30 and 20:40) were applied based on thin‐film hydration and ultrasound method. The nano‐capsules enriched in bioactive compounds were examined through particle characteristics, encapsulation efficiency, morphological analysis, thermal properties and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. RESULTS: The observations showed that the extraction yield highly depended on the type of solvent with varying permeability, sonication time and power. The highest total phenolic content (68.38 mg GA g–1) and free radical scavenging activity (77.65%) were observed for the following optimal conditions: 70% for sonication intensity, 15 min for sonication time and methanol as solvent. Characteristics of nanoliposomes within a compositional ratio of lecithin/cholesterol (40:20) and with a zeta potential of −56 ± 0.01 mV, as well as white tea extract (WTE) samples with an average particle diameter of 82.20 ± 0.08, microencapsulation efficiency of 76.5% ± 0.081, polydispersity index of 0.06 ± 0.02 and span value of 0.69 ± 0.03. are used as the optimal formulation for microencapsulation of antioxidant WTE. The results demonstrated an increment in thermal stability of liposomal WTE samples compared to other samples. CONCLUSION: The findings of the present study indicated that nano‐liposomes comprise an effective technology for coating the WTE, as well as to increasing its stability and thermal properties. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering many applications of functionalized metal oxide nanoparticles in magnetic resonance imaging, drug delivery, neutron irradiation, electronics, catalysis and optics; herein, a new strategy is developed to functionalize magnetite nanoparticles to improve their performances in the delivery of acyclovir. In this study, magnetite Fe3O4 nanoparticles are synthesized by hydrothermal method. Then, the surface hydroxyl groups were extended by treating with TEOS (tetraethyl orthosilicate); Finally, TMPA (trimethoxysilylpropylamine) was anchored to the surface hydroxyl groups to produce amino-functionalized Fe3O4@SiO2-NH2 magnetic nanoparticles. The synthesized sample was characterized by UV-Vis, FESEM, FT-IR, and XRD. Afterward, the functionalized nanoparticles were examined in the delivery of acyclovir as an active antiviral drug model involving amine and hydroxyl functional groups. For this purpose, the amount of loading/release of the drug was investigated in different pHs, including mouth and stomach pH values. The screened experimental parameters in this study revealed that the prepared magnetite nanoparticles decorated with amine functional groups are successful in the controlled delivery of acyclovir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Heavy metals are considered as high risk biocides due to their harmful effects on human health, the environment and other living organisms. Bacterial strains showing resistance to heavy metals has been used for removing such toxic materials from the environment. In this study we isolated and characterized a heavy metals-resistance halophilic bacterial strains from Kal shoor Jovein of Sabzevar, one of the industrial zone of Khorasan-e- Razavi province in Iran and has naturally saline oils. Materials and Methods: Strain JC-66 is heavy metals-resistance halophilic bacterial strains isolated from Kal shoor Jovein of Sabzevar. The 16S rDNA gene was sequenced to identify this bacterium. The appropriate conditions for its potency to remove the lead were tested in various temprature, pH and agitation speed. The resistance mechanism of JC-66 to lead were investigated. Results: JC-66 is a Comamonas sp. according to 16S rDNA sequence analysis. Based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) results, the isolated strain has high resistance to the lead metal. The optimal condition for lead removal was exhibited in neutral medium (pH 7) incubation temperature 37 °C, and shaking rate of 180 rpm for JC-66. X-Ray Diffraction results also are indicative of adsorption mechanism to lead metal uptake. Plasmid extraction was performed to confirm the role of plasmids in bacterial resistance to lead. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the mechanism of resistance to heavy metals in the studied strain, is the result of an expression plasmid, and adsorption. It was concluded that JC-66 is able to be one of the best candidates to remove industrial pollution because it showed high resistance to lead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Accurate Diagnosis of Breast Cancer is of prime importance. Fine Needle Aspiration test or "FNA", which has been used for several years in Europe, is a simple, inexpensive, noninvasive and accurate technique for detecting breast cancer. Expending the suitable features of the Fine Needle Aspiration results is the most important diagnostic problem in early stages of breast cancer. In this study, we introduced a new algorithm that can detect breast cancer based on combining artificial intelligent system and Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA). Methods: We studied the Features of Wisconsin Data Base Cancer which contained about 569 FNA test samples (212 patient samples (malignant) and 357 healthy samples (benign)). In this research, we combined Artificial Intelligence Approaches, such as Evolutionary Algorithm (EA) with Genetic Algorithm (GA), and also used Exact Classifier Systems (here by Fuzzy C-Means (FCM)) to separate malignant from benign samples. Furthermore, we examined artificial Neural Networks (NN) to identify the model and structure. This research proposed a new algorithm for an accurate diagnosis of breast cancer. Results: According to Wisconsin Data Base Cancer (WDBC) data base, 62.75% of samples were benign, and 37.25% were malignant. After applying the proposed algorithm, we achieved high detection accuracy of about "96.579%" on 205 patients who were diagnosed as having breast cancer. It was found that the method had 93% sensitivity, 73% specialty, 65% positive predictive value, and 95% negative predictive value, respectively. If done by experts, Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) can be a reliable replacement for open biopsy in palpable breast masses. Evaluation of FNA samples during aspiration can decrease insufficient samples. FNA can be the first line of diagnosis in women with breast masses, at least in deprived regions, and may increase health standards and clinical supervision of patients. Conclusion: Such a smart, economical, non-invasive, rapid and accurate system can be introduced as a useful diagnostic system for comprehensive treatment of breast cancer. Another advantage of this method is the possibility of diagnosing breast abnormalities. If done by experts, FNA can be a reliable replacement for open biopsy in palpable breast masses. Evaluation of FNA samples during aspiration can decrease insufficient samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cr (VI) is a toxic metal produced as a by-product of numerous industrial processes. Thus, strategies employed to decontaminate environmental chromate focus on reducing it to the less toxic form. In the present study, a new low cost, easily available, and environmentally friendly method was used for removal of Cr (VI). Here we report the isolation of high chromate tolerant strain with MIC value of 75000 ppm in LB medium (pH 7) from chromium mine. Based on the 16S rRNA gene analysis, strain Ckcr-6 was identified as Bacillus sp. with 99% similarity and was referred to as Bacillus cereous. The (VI) removal efficiency was studied as a function of contact pH, bacterial dose, chromium concentration, temperature and stirring speed. Result showed that in all concentrations there was a reduction of approximately 95% of the Cr (VI) after 24 h incubation. After optimization this strains was shown to be of a high efficiency in detoxifying chromate, this could rapidly remove up to 100 ppm of Cr (VI) to a non-detectable level over 3h. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A thermophilic and amylolytic bacterium (LH8) was isolated from the hot spring of Larijan in Iran at 65 degrees C. Identification of strain LH8 by 16S rDNA sequence analysis showed that LH8 strain belongs to the Geobacillus sp. with 99% sequence similarity with the 16S rDNA of Geobacillus thermodenitrificans. A new alpha-amylase (GA) was extracted from this strain and purified by ion-exchange chromatography. SDS-PAGE showed a single band with an apparent molecular mass of 52kDa. The optimum temperature and pH were 80 degrees C and 5-7, respectively. In the presence of Mn2+, Ca2+, K+, Cr3+ and Al3+, the enzyme activity was stimulated while Mg2+, Ba2+, Ni2+, Zn2+, Fe3+, Cu2+ and EDTA reduced the activity. The K(m) and V(max) values for starch were 3 mg ml(-1) and 6.5 micromol min(-1), respectively. The gene encoding alpha-amylase was isolated and the amino acid sequence was deduced. Comparison of GA and other alpha-amylase amino acid sequences suggested that GA has conserved regions that were previously identified in alpha-amylase family but GA exhibited some substitutions in the sequence. Its phytate resistant is an important property of this enzyme. 5 and 10 mM phytic acid did not inhibit this enzyme. Therefore, features of phytate resistant alpha-amylase from Geobacillus sp. LH8 are discussed., (Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)