Explore the vast range of titles available.

Cancer is one of the most common causes of disease-related deaths worldwide. Despite the discovery of many chemotherapeutic drugs that inhibit uncontrolled cell division processes for the treatment of various cancers, serious side effects of these drugs are a crucial disadvantage. In addition, multi-drug resistance is another important problem in anticancer treatment. Due to problems such as cytotoxicity and drug resistance, many investigations are being conducted to discover and develop effective anticancer drugs. In recent years, researchers have focused on the anticancer activity coumarins, due to their high biological activity and low toxicity. Coumarins are commonly used in the treatment of prostate cancer, renal cell carcinoma and leukemia, and they also have the ability to counteract the side effects caused by radiotherapy. Both natural and synthetic coumarin derivatives draw attention due to their photochemotherapy and therapeutic applications in cancer. In this review, a compilation of various research reports on coumarins with anticancer activity and investigation and a review of structure-activity relationship studies on coumarin core are presented. Determination of important structural features around the coumarin core may help researchers to design and develop new analogues with a strong anticancer effect and reduce the potential side effects of existing therapeutics.

Combretastatins are a class of closely related stilbenes (combretastatins A), dihydrostilbenes (combretastatins B), phenanthrenes (combretastatins C) and macrocyclic lactones (combretastatins D) found in the bark of Combretum caffrum (Eckl. & Zeyh.) Kuntze, commonly known as the South African bush willow. Some of the compounds in this series have been shown to be among the most potent antitubulin agents known. Due to their structural simplicity many analogs have also been synthesized. Combretastatin A4 phosphate is the most frequently tested compounds in preclinical and clinical trials. It is a water-soluble prodrug that the body can rapidly metabolize to combretastatin A4, which exhibits anti-tumor properties. In addition, in vitro and in vivo studies on combretastatins have determined that these compounds also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effects. Nano-based formulations of natural or synthetic active agents such as combretastatin A4 phosphate exhibit several clear advantages, including improved low water solubility, prolonged circulation, drug targeting properties, enhanced efficiency, as well as fewer side effects. In this review, a synopsis of the recent literature exploring the combretastatins, their potential effects and nanoformulations as lead compounds in clinical applications is provided.

Carotenoids are natural fat-soluble pigments synthesized by plants, algae, fungi and microorganisms. They are responsible for the coloration of different photosynthetic organisms. Although they play a role in photosynthesis, they are also present in non-photosynthetic plant tissues, fungi, and bacteria. These metabolites have mainly been used in food, cosmetics, and the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to their utilization as pigmentation, they have significant therapeutically applications, such as improving immune system and preventing neurodegenerative diseases. Primarily, they have attracted attention due to their antioxidant activity. Several statistical investigations indicated an association between the use of carotenoids in diets and a decreased incidence of cancer types, suggesting the antioxidant properties of these compounds as an important factor in the scope of the studies against oxidative stress. Unusual marine environments are associated with a great chemical diversity, resulting in novel bioactive molecules. Thus, marine organisms may represent an important source of novel biologically active substances for the development of therapeutics. Marine carotenoids (astaxanthin, fucoxanthin, β-carotene, lutein but also the rare siphonaxanthin, sioxanthin, and myxol) have recently shown antioxidant properties in reducing oxidative stress markers. Numerous of bioactive compounds such as marine carotenoids have low stability, are poorly absorbed, and own very limited bioavailability. The new technique is nanoencapsulation, which can be used to preserve marine carotenoids and their original properties during processing, storage, improve their physiochemical properties and increase their health-promoting effects. This review aims to describe the role of marine carotenoids, their potential applications and different types of advanced nanoformulations preventing and treating oxidative stress related disorders.

This study investigates the impact of hybrid nanoparticles on the temperature of nuclear reactor coolant, with a focus on graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)‐based hybrid nanoparticles. Sixteen different hybrid nanofluids were analyzed, and their performance was compared with a standard water‐based coolant. The criticality values were obtained through MCNP modeling, revealing that higher nanoparticle ratios led to increased criticality, with the highest value of 1.3239 observed in GNP‐Fe3O4 + Al2O3 nanofluids (0.05 wt%) and the lowest value of 1.2935 in GNP–Fe3O4 + SiO2 nanofluids (0.001 wt%). Temperature variations showed that increasing nanoparticle concentrations resulted in slightly higher temperatures, with a maximum of 611.97 K for 0.05 vol.% GNP nanoparticles. Additionally, the departure from nucleate boiling ratio values were consistently above the safety threshold of 2.08, with the lowest value of 3.657 for GNP–Fe3O4 + SiO2 nanofluids (0.05 vol.%). These findings suggest that hybrid nanofluids, particularly those with higher nanoparticle ratios, can enhance the thermal performance and safety margins of nuclear reactor coolants, offering a promising avenue for future research and application. Exploring thermal flow dynamics in pressurized water reactors using hybrid graphene nanoplatelet coolants.

Ethnobotanical field surveys revealed the use of fruits of Opuntia ficus indica (L.) Mill. for treating diabetes, burns, bronchial asthma, constipation, kidney stones, and rheumatic pains and as a sedative in Turkish folk medicine. This study aimed to verify the efficacy of the fruits of O. ficus indica experimentally and to define components responsible for the activity using bioassay-guided procedures. The crude methanolic extract of the fruits was sequentially fractionated into five subextracts: n-hexane, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. Further experiments were carried out on the most active subextract, that is, the ethyl acetate (EtOAc) subextract, which was further subjected to fractionation through successive column chromatographic applications on Sephadex LH-20. For activity assessment, each extract or fraction was submitted to bioassay systems; traction test, fireplace test, hole-board test, elevated plus-maze test, and open-field test were used for sedative and anxiolytic effects, and a thiopental-induced sleeping test was used for the hypnotic effect. Among the subextracts obtained from the methanolic extract, the EtOAc subextract showed significant sedative and anxiolytic effects in the bioassay systems. From the EtOAc subextract, major components were isolated, and their structures were determined as isorhamnetin, isorhamnetin 3-O-glucoside, isorhamnetin 3-O-rutinoside, and kaempferol 3-O-rutinoside using spectral techniques. In conclusion, this study confirmed the claimed use of the plant against anxiety in Turkish folk medicine.

IntroductionThis study aimed to compare the radiological and clinical results of VP and EF applications in multi-fragmented radius distal intra-articular fractures (AO type C) in our clinic.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed 80 patients who underwent surgery for radius distal fracture (AO type C) between 2014 and 2020. Group 1 comprised patients who were treated with VP, and Group 2 comprised patients who were treated with EF. Radiological evaluation was performed by measuring radial inclination, radial length, volar tilt, intra-articular step-off and ulnar variance by two-way radiography. The clinical findings were evaluated using the Gartland and Werley scoring system, and complications were noted.ResultsThere were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, gender, side, fracture subtypes and follow-up time (p > 0.05). There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in radiological parameters (based on cut-off values) (p > 0.05). The clinical evaluation did not reveal a statistically significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.613).ConclusionEF is as successful as VP in providing radiological cut-off values. EF treatment can be used as an effective and safe alternative method for multi-fragmented radius distal intra-articular fractures.

It is well known that the excessive production of reactive oxygen species is hazardous for living organisms and damages major cellular constituents such as DNA, lipid and protein. To find new products reducing free radical damage is very important researches in recent pharmaceutical investigations. Considering this information, fourteen Veronica species are decided to research in the view point of their antioxidant capacity and the chemical content. Water extracts of the plants were tested for their radical scavenging activity against 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl hydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide (SO) and nitric oxide (NO) radicals spectroscopically. Dose dependent radical scavenging activity was observed and the results were found to be comparable to that of ascorbic acid, quercetin and BHA which are known antioxidative compounds. In addition, gallic acid equivalent total phenolic contents of the plants were also determined using Folin-Ciocalteau reagent. The most significant scavenging activity was found for V. chamaedrys against SO radical (IC50 113.40 μg/ml) and V. officinalis against DPPH and NO radicals (IC50 40.93 μg/ml, 570.33 μg/ml, respectively) .

Gasketed plate heat exchangers (GPHEX) are popular due to their small volume, ease of cleaning and high thermal performance. Hydraulic and thermal performance of GPHEX are not as easily determined since they solely depend on the corrugation pattern of the heat exchanger (HEX) plates. Every plate needs its own correlation for Nusselt number and friction factor. Correlation development based on plate-specific experiments is one method of performance prediction. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is also applicable to understand the Nusselt number and friction characteristics. However, since it is difficult to observe the effects of the corrugation pattern computationally, the pattern of the plates is usually ignored and CFD is performed on flat, nonpatterned plates. In addition, correlations developed using experimental data can not exactly predict the performance. In this article, GPHEX computations are performed with corrugated plates and the results are validated via comparison with experiments performed for the same HEX plates. The use of corrugation patterns in computations is justified with the help of experimental results, and corrugated and flat-plate HEX computations. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) based on experimental findings are used as an alternative to correlations to examine the performance. The results show that ANNs can depict the experimental trends better than the correlations. The ANN results, which are composed of 12 inputs, and two hidden layers consisting of 10 and six neurons, respectively, are within 16% of the experimental results, as opposed to the correlations, which are within 40%.

Nuclear energy sustainability and deployment flexibility can be significantly enhanced through Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) technology. Critical to their operational success is the thorough assessment of thermal-hydraulic characteristics, especially when incorporating advanced fuel design concepts. This research conducts an extensive thermal-hydraulic analysis examining various thorium-based fuel formulations, including (Th- 235 U)O 2 , (Th- 233 U)O 2 , and an innovative (Th- 233 U- 235 U)O 2 composition, benchmarked against standard UO 2 fuel. The investigation encompasses both solid fuel arrangements and dual-cooled annular assembly designs, focusing on safety optimization and operational efficiency enhancement. The analysis focuses on key safety parameters, including pressure drop, coolant enthalpy, fuel centerline temperature, and Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio (DNBR). Results for solid fuel configurations reveal that thorium-based fuels exhibit reduced pressure drop, more efficient enthalpy distribution, lower peak fuel temperatures, and higher DNBR values compared to conventional UO 2 , highlighting improved thermal stability and safety margins. The (Th- 233 U- 235 U)O 2 mixture demonstrates a balanced performance by mitigating the limitations of other thorium compositions. In annular configurations, all fuel types benefit from enhanced heat removal due to the dual cooling surfaces, resulting in further reductions in pressure drop and peak temperatures, as well as a significant increase in DNBR values. The highest DNBR, reaching up to 3.051, confirms the annular geometry’s superior safety performance against boiling crises.

Introducing a novel approach for assessing connectivity in dynamic optical networks, we propose the quantum-driven particle swarm-optimized self-adaptive support vector machine (QPSO-SASVM) model. By integrating quantum computing and machine learning, this advanced framework offers enhanced convergence and robustness. Tested against a network simulation with 187 nodes and 96 DWDM channels, QPSO-SASVM outperforms traditional benchmarks such as LSTM, Naive method, E-DLSTM, and GRU. Evaluation using metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio, ROC curve, RMSE, and R 2 consistently demonstrates superior predictive accuracy and adaptability. These results underscore QPSO-SASVM as a powerful tool for precise and reliable prediction in dynamic optical network environments.