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The goal was to directly deliver curcumin, a natural polyphenolic anticancer and anti-inflammatory compound, to the lung tissues with minimal systemic exposure through the fabrication of proliposomes, overcoming its poor aqueous solubility and oral bioavailability. Nano-spray drying was employed to prepare proliposomes using hydroxypropyl beta-cyclodextrin as a carrier. Lecithin and cholesterol were used as lipids, stearylamine and Poloxamer 188 were added as positive charge inducer and a surfactant, respectively. Different characterization parameters were evaluated like percentage yield, entrapment efficiency, drug loading, aerodynamic particle size, in vitro release besides morphological examination. Cytotoxicity studies on cell line A549 lung tumor cells as well as in vivo lung pharmacokinetic studies were also carried. The optimized formulations showed superior aerosolization properties coupled their enhanced ability to reach deep lung tissues with a high % of fine particle fraction. Cytotoxicity studies using MTT assay demonstrated enhanced growth inhibitory effect on lung tumor cells A549 and significant reduction of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 compared to the pure drug. Results of lung pharmacokinetic tests confirmed the superiority of proliposomal curcumin over curcumin powder in both, the rate and extent of lung tissue absorption, as well as the mean residence time within the lung tissues. The pulmonary delivery of curcumin-loaded proliposomes as dry powder provides a direct approach to lung tissues targeting while avoiding the limitations of the oral route and offering a non-invasive alternative to the parenteral one.

Soft denture liners have limitations like short lifespan and increased microbial buildup. Despite promise as a non-leaching antimicrobial polymer in dentistry, the impact of dimethylaminododecyl methacrylate (DMADDM) on soft liner performance remains unexplored. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of integrating different concentrations of DMADDM to cold cure acrylic resin soft liner, on its antimicrobial activity, cytotoxicity, and physical properties. The same properties were compared to a conventional commercially available denture soft liner. The study employed a control group (conventional soft liner) and three test groups containing 3.3%, 6.6%, and 10% (total mass fraction) DMADDM, respectively. Antimicrobial activity against Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans was assessed through colony counts and biofilm biomass. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using an oral epithelial cell line. Additionally, wettability and hardness were measured to assess physical properties. Incorporation of DMADDM significantly reduced Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans counts, and biofilm biomass, compared to the control. Additionally, DMADDM improved the soft liner's wettability and mitigated long-term hardness increase. In conclusion, DMADDM holds promise in enhancing soft liner performance. However, careful selection of its optimum concentration is crucial to ensure both safety and efficacy for future clinical use.

Chronic inflammatory bowel disorders (IBDs) are characterized by altered intestinal permeability, prompting inflammatory, oxidative stress, and immunological factors. Gut microbiota disorders impact brain function via the bidirectional gut–brain axis, influencing behavior through inflammatory cascades, oxidative stress, and neurotransmitter levels. This study highlights the potential effect of integrating lyophilized milk kefir alone and lyophilized milk kefir as solid carriers loaded with a self-nanoemulsifying self-nanosuspension (SNESNS) of licorice extract on an induced chronic IBD-like model in rats. Licorice-SNESNS was prepared by the homogenization of 30 mg of licorice extract in 1 g of the selected SNEDDS (30% Caraway oil, 60% Tween 20, and 10% propylene glycol (w/w)). Licorice-SNESNS was mixed with milk kefir and then freeze-dried. Dynamic TEM images and the bimodal particle size curve confirmed the formation of the biphasic nanosystems after dilution (nanoemulsion and nanosuspension). Daily oral administration of lyophilized milk kefir (100 mg/kg) loaded with SNESNS (10 mg/kg Caraway oil and 1 mg/kg licorice) restored normal body weight and intestinal mucosa while significantly reducing submucosal inflammatory cell infiltration in induced rats. Importantly, this treatment demonstrated superior efficacy compared to lyophilized milk kefir alone by leading to a more significant alleviation of neurotransmitter levels and improved memory functions, thereby addressing gut–brain axis disorders. Additionally, it normalized fecal microbiome constituents, inflammatory cytokine levels, and oxidative stress in examined tissues and serum. Moreover, daily administration of kefir-loaded SNESNS normalized the disease activity index, alleviated histopathological changes induced by IBD induction, and partially restored the normal gut microbiota. These alterations are associated with improved cognitive functions, attributed to the maintenance of normal neurotransmitter levels and the alleviation of triggered inflammatory factors and oxidative stress levels.

The application of minimally invasive surgical techniques in the field of orthopedic surgery has created a growing need for new injectable synthetic materials that can be used for bone grafting. In this work, novel injectable thermosensitive foam was developed by mixing nHAP powder with a thermosensitive polymer with foaming power (Pluronic F-127) and loaded with a water-soluble bisphosphonate drug (risedronate) to promote osteogenesis. The foam was able to retain the porous structure after injection and set through temperature change of PF-127 solution to form gel inside the body. The effect of different formulation parameters on the gelation time, porosity, foamability, injectability, and in vitro degradation in addition to drug release from the prepared foams were analyzed using a full factorial design. The addition of a co-polymer like methylcellulose or sodium alginate into the foam was also studied. Results showed that the prepared optimized thermosensitive foam was able to gel within 1 min at 37°C, and sustain the release of drug for 72 h. The optimized formulation was further tested for any interactions using DSC and IR, and revealed no interactions between the drug and the used excipients in the prepared foam. Furthermore, the ability of the pre-set foam to support osteoblastic-like Saos-2-cell proliferation and differentiation was assessed, and revealed superior function on promoting cellular proliferation as confirmed by fluorescence microscope compared to the plain drug solution. The activity of the foam treated cells was also assessed by measuring the alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium deposition, and confirmed that the cellular activity was greatly enhanced in foam treated cells compared to those treated with the plain drug solution only. The obtained results show that the prepared risedronate-loaded thermosensitive foam would represent a step forward in the design of new materials for minimally invasive bone regeneration.

This study presents the first comprehensive GIS-MCDM site suitability model for a Waste-to-Energy (WTE) facility in Upper Egypt. A sixteen-criterion analytical framework encompassing environmental protection, geological safety, infrastructure accessibility, and social proximity constraints was developed through a structured expert consultation process involving 42 specialists from academic, governmental, and environmental sectors. Criterion weights were derived using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and validated with a Consistency Ratio of 2.6% (well below the 10% threshold). Spatial data layers were derived from Landsat-9 imagery (SVM classification), ASTER GDEM (30 m), ERA5-Land wind reanalysis, World population grids, OpenStreetMap infrastructure networks, and the Conoco–EGPC geological map of Egypt. Across the 10,698.5 km² study area, the integrated suitability map reveals that zones classified as high or very high suitability together constitute only 2.02% of the total area (59.5 km²; very high: 0.19%, 6.3 km²; high: 1.83%, 53.2 km²). The dominant land constraint, 69.3% classified as very low suitability, reflects strict environmental exclusion buffers around protected areas (PA; weight 11.4%), sensitive land uses (SU; 11.2%), surface water bodies (SW; 9.4%), and steep terrain (SP; 9.4%). Three candidate sites with high suitability scores were delineated, with the most favorable located east of Beni Suef city (coordinates: 29°01′ N, 31°07′ E; area: 22.75 km²), proximate to the governorate’s largest existing landfill (~ 2.6 km) and with favorable north-westerly wind alignment relative to populated zones. This study advances the GIS-MCDM literature by integrating geological (faults, lithology, soil bearing capacity) and environmental safety criteria within an arid-region planning context, an approach insufficiently addressed in prior Egypt-focused or MENA (WTE) siting studies. The resulting suitability model constitutes a reproducible, evidence-based decision-support tool for Egyptian environmental planners and aligns with Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy 2030 goals for renewable energy diversification and circular economy promotion. The selected site shows potential logistical and economic advantages due to its proximity to existing landfill infrastructure and regional road networks; however, these advantages represent spatial screening indicators and require further techno-economic and network-based transport assessment before implementation. Model validation using ROC–AUC analysis confirmed good discriminatory performance, with an AUC of 0.829, overall accuracy of 90.0%, and Kappa coefficient of 0.801.

In this study, we evaluated the synergistic effect of nebivolol hydrochloride (NVH), a third-generation beta-blocker and NO donor drug, and chitosan on the tissue regeneration. Ionic gelation method was selected for the preparation of NVH-loaded chitosomes using chitosan lactate and sodium tripolyphosphate. The effect of different formulation variables was studied using a full factorial design, and NVH entrapment efficiency percentages and particle size were selected as the responses. The chosen system demonstrated high entrapment efficiency (73.68 ± 3.61%), small particle size (404.05 ± 11.2 nm), and good zeta potential value (35.6 ± 0.25 mV). The best-achieved formula demonstrated spherical morphology in transmission electron microscopy and amorphization of the crystalline drug in differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction. Cell culture studies revealed a significantly higher proliferation of the fibroblasts in comparison with the drug suspensions and the blank formula. An in vivo study was conducted to compare the efficacy of the proposed formula on wound healing. The histopathological examination showed the superiority of NVH-loaded chitosomes on the wound proliferation and the non-significant difference in the collagen deposition after 15 days of the injury to that of intact skin. In conclusion, NVH-loaded chitosomes exhibited promising results in enhancing skin healing and tissue regeneration.

The journal retracts the article “Investigation of the Potential of Nebivolol Hydrochloride-Loaded Chitosomal Systems for Tissue Regeneration: In Vitro Characterization and In Vivo Assessment” [...]

The study focuses on the effect of adding a conductive coating material to a micro-pin fin heat sink on the rate of thermal energy evacuation using the Multiple-Relaxation-Time lattice Boltzmann method. The effect of the governing parameters such as Rayleigh number, Ra ( 10 4 ≤ R a ≤ 10 6 ), relative thermal conductivity, k r ( k r = 8.8 - 167.2 ) and thickness of the conductive coating paste, Δ ( 0 ≤ Δ ≤ 0.1 ) on the conjugate natural convection heat transfer is evaluated numerically for a fixed radius of the heated fin ( R = 0.2 ). The accuracy of the numerical tool was checked by successfully reproducing credible analytical, numerical and experimental data available in the literature. The obtained results show that the addition of conductive coating materials to the micro-pin fin heat sink contributes significantly to improving the thermal energy evacuation. The improvement in terms of heat evacuation recorded with the mica layer paste always overcomes that reached using silicone layer paste with a maximum relative difference of 63.1% at R a = 10 4 for a single fin and 20.1% at R a = 10 5 for sixteen fins. The use of a coating material with a high thermal conductivity and a suitable thickness enhances the evacuation of heat generated by the electronic component via the micro-pin fin heat sink.

This paper is dedicated to deal with thermosolutal natural convection within an enclosure submitted to destabilizing heat and mass fluxes and confining an electrically conducting binary mixture. The cavity is bathed in an external magnetic field and Soret and Dufour effects are considered. An approximate analytical solution is derived, valid in the limit of a shallow enclosure and confirmed numerically by using a finite difference method. The results show the existence of six regions in plane describing different flow behaviours. The critical Hartman number and critical inclination of magnetic field, which lead to the suppression of convective flows are calculated analytically vs. the control parameters. The obtained results illustrate a significant impact of the combined effects of the inclined magnetic field (via its intensity and inclination) and the Soret and Dufour parameters on different thresholds of convection and the resulting heat and mass transfer. Moreover, the increase in the inclination of the magnetic field in the range has a stabilizing/(destabilizing) effect with respect to stationary and sub-critical convections, regardless of the Hartmann number.