Publications

Magnesium oxide nanoparticles (MgONPs) synthesized by efficient green approach have unique physiochemical properties. In this study, MgONPs are synthesized with bract extract of Musa acuminate , an agro waste. The surface plasmon resonance at 450 nm in UV spectrum and FTIR peaks at 601 and 890 cm −1 confirmed the presence of MgONPs. XRD pattern revealed high crystallinity of the nanoparticles with an intense orientation peak at 111, and the size was 13 nm. The particles were spherical with an average size of 24.85 nm. The elemental percentage of magnesium and oxygen were 68.55% and 31.45%. MgONPs had antibacterial activity against Bacillus subtilis , Escherichia coli , Vibrio harveyi , Vibrio parahemolyticus , and Staphylococcus aureus with MIC, 6 μg/mL. The IC 50 value for MCF‐7 cell was 113.56 μg/mL, and the normal cell line was 785.69 μg/mL. The NPs also exhibited hemolytic features in a dose‐dependent manner. The MgONPs exhibited photocatalytic degradation of methyl violet, CBB G‐250, and malachite green in 60 min duration. MgONPs had promising antibacterial, cytotoxic, hemolytic, photocatalytic, and seed germination activity. They have the potential to serve as an additive in a variety of biological applications.

: Cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) have caused a great burden in terms of morbidity and mortality worldwide. The vicious cycle of CMD consists of type II diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and atherosclerosis. They have interlinked pathways, interacting and interconnecting with each other. The natural flavonoid chrysin has been shown to possess a broad spectrum of therapeutic activities for human health. Herein, we did an in-depth investigation of the novel mechanisms of chrysin’s cardioprotection against cardiometabolic disorders. Studies have shown that chrysin protects the cardiovascular system by enhancing the intrinsic antioxidative defense system. This antioxidant property enhanced by chrysin protects against several risk factors of cardiometabolic disorders, including atherosclerosis, vascular inflammation and dysfunction, platelet aggregation, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cardiotoxicity, myocardial infarction, injury, and remodeling, diabetes-induced injuries, and obesity. Chrysin also exhibited anti-inflammatory mechanisms through inhibiting pro-inflammatory pathways, including NF-κB, MAPK, and PI3k/Akt. Furthermore, chrysin modulated NO, RAS, AGE/RAGE, and PPARs pathways which contributed to the risk factors of cardiometabolic disorders. Taken together, the mechanisms in which chrysin protects against cardiometabolic disorder are more than merely antioxidation and anti-inflammation in the cardiovascular system.

Abstract Introduction Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring encapsulates 24-h BP patterns across the sleep-wake cycle and provides a comprehensive assessment of BP regulation with certain features, such as sleep-time dipping, that can better predict health outcomes than traditional office BP measurements. However, 24-h BP patterns remain understudied in Latino populations, especially older adults. This pilot study investigated the feasibility of continuously ambulatory BP monitoring blood pressure with portable devices in Latinos with dementia. Methods Eight participants (4 with Alzheimer’s disease, 1 with Frontotemporal dementia, 3 controls; age range 45.8-80.3 years) from the ReDLat cohort (Multi-Partner Consortium to Expand Dementia Research in Latin America) were enrolled for a 48-h ambulatory BP assessment with hourly measurements using a portable arm-cuff device. Participants also answered six questions to evaluate: (1) device adaption, (2) measurement frequency tolerability, (3) study duration acceptability, (4) perceived value of the assessment, (5) willingness to perform the assessment again, and (6) likelihood of recommending the assessment to others. Results The study yielded high-quality recordings with minimal missing BP measurements (range: 0%-14.1%; mean: 8.9%). Device adaptation improved over time, with 75% (6/8) reporting better tolerance on the second day and 25% (2/8) reporting consistently good tolerance across both days. All participants reported that hourly BP measurement was tolerable, and majority (7/8, 87.5%) found 48-h monitoring acceptable. Seven participants (87.5%) believed that the assessment was valuable, were willing to participate again, and likely recommend to others the assessment. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate that 48-hour ambulatory BP monitoring is feasible and well-tolerated among older Latino adults with mild to moderate dementia in Latin American settings. Further feasibility testing should be performed in large samples and other populations, including individuals at later stages of dementia and in different countries. Support (if any) K99AG083234 and R01AG083799

The authors wish to make the following correction to paper [1], doi:10.3390/molecules190812173, website: http://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/19/8/12173.[...]

Background: Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) are a rare complication of transplantation, although with the increasing number of transplantations this paradigm is changing. Studies describe a peak in PTLD incidence in year 1 post-transplant, and some describe a second peak after 8–10 years. PTLD incidence beyond the 10th year is not well characterized.1 Early-onset of PTLD is frequently related with induction immunosuppression and is often characterized by EBV positivity. Late PTLD (more than 2 years after transplantation) is related with cumulative immunosuppression2. A large multicentre study revealed that 80 PTLD patients after solid organ transplant, whose the majority (80%) received rituximab-based treatment, had a 3-year overall survival (OS) of 62%.3 Aims: To review the prevalence of PTLD in a kidney and liver transplantation centre, time from transplant to diagnosis and outcome. Methods: Data were retrospectively collected from PTLD patients who underwent liver (LT) and kidney transplant (KT) at our centre between January 1985 and December 2018. KT patients received induction immunosuppression followed by maintenance with glucocorticoids, calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) and antimetabolite agent. LT patients received mainly maintenance monotherapy immunosuppression with CNI. As initial management of all patient with PTLD, immunosuppression was reduced, suspended or switched to mTOR inhibitors. The treatment was chosen according to the best practise at the time of diagnosis. Results: Among 2667 KT patients, 33 (1.2%) had PTLD, 22 were male, with a median age at transplantation of 37 years (range 14–64). Median time from transplant to PTLD diagnosis was 11.9 years (range 0.08–27.67), 29 patients (88%) had late PTLD and 17 (52%) were diagnosed ≥10 years from transplant. The overall OS at 3 years was 49%. Monomorphic PTLD was the most frequent diagnosis (25 patients, 75%): 16 had Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), 3 had high grade lymphoma (HGL), not otherwise specified and the remaining 6 had other diagnosis. Nine of the 19 patients diagnosed with DLBCL/HGL were treated with Rituximab based chemotherapy (R-CT) and their 3-years OS was of 35%. Among 1211 LT patients 9 (0.7%) had PTLD, 7 were male, with a median age at transplantation of 50 years (range 21–60). Median time from transplant to PTLD diagnosis was 4.5 years (range 0.06–17.8). Six (67%) patients were diagnosed with late PTLD, 2 more than 10 years from transplant. Four had monomorphic PTLD, 3 DLBCL and 1 Burkitt Lymphoma, 2 patients were treated with R-CT and 2 with A-CT. The LT patients with PTLD had a 3 years OS of 40%. In respect to all 42 patients, with a median follow-up of 2.2 (range 0.01–20.5) years the OS at 3 years is 50%. Summary/Conclusion: We performed an analysis of the PTLD incidence in KT and LT patients in a single centre. Given the retrospective nature and the large period of data collection of this study, our incidence may be underestimated. We observed a higher incidence of PTLD in KT patients compared to LT, which is according to literature. Of those, more than half were diagnosed at least 10 years from transplantation, suggesting that maintenance immunosuppression might be the main reason for PTLD is this cohort. Patients diagnosed with DLBCL/HGL and treated with R-CT had a 3-years OS of 35%, representing a poorer outcome than what is described in literature3.

Neurological disorders are diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system that affect millions of people, and the numbers are rising gradually. In the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, the roles of many signaling pathways were elucidated; however, the exact pathophysiology of neurological disorders and possible effective therapeutics have not yet been precisely identified. This necessitates developing multi-target treatments, which would simultaneously modulate neuroinflammation, apoptosis, and oxidative stress. The present review aims to explore the potential therapeutic use of astaxanthin (ASX) in neurological and neuroinflammatory diseases. ASX, a member of the xanthophyll group, was found to be a promising therapeutic anti-inflammatory agent for many neurological disorders, including cerebral ischemia, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and neuropathic pain. An effective drug delivery system of ASX should be developed and further tested by appropriate clinical trials.