Chitosan extracted from the Persian Gulf chiton shells: Induction of apoptosis in liver cancer cell line

Here for the first time, we investigated the cytotoxic effects of the chitosan extracted from the Persian Gulf Chiton shell (Acanthopleura vaillantii) on liver cancer cell line (HepG_2). Chitosan extraction was implemented following this method: chitin was produced by demineralization and deproteinization procedure, and the extracted chitin was converted into soluble chitosan using deacetylation method. The cytotoxic effects of extracted chitosan were evaluated using four different tests, including 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, Annexin V-FITC, propidium iodide (PI) staining, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining, and Caspase activity analysis. The IC_50 inhibitory concentrations of chitosan were obtained at 250 µg/mL after 24 h. Chitosan clearly inhibited the growth of hepatocarcinoma cells in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. For detecting the induced cell apoptosis, HepG_2 cells were treated with 125, 250 and 500 µg/ml of chitosan for 24 h. According to the result of Annex in V/PI kit, in 125, 250, and 500 µg/ml of chitosan, 28.2, 49.1, and 83.3% of HepG_2 cells undergone late apoptosis, respectively. The morphology of treated cells by DAPI staining showed non uniform plasma membrane and DNA fragmentation compared to untreated cells with perfect nucleus. The analysis of cell cycle using flow cytometry demonstrated that the rate of sub-G1 peak was increased to 52.7%. Both caspase-3 and -9 activities increased by the extracted chitosan, but it was only significant for caspase-3. The results of the present study suggested that the extracted chitosan has efficient cytotoxicity on HepG_2 cells. Therefore, the extracted chitosan from the shell of the Chiton may be considered as a futuristic natural product regarding the treatment of liver cancer

Surveying and evaluation services quality in container terminals (case study: Shahid Rajaee container terminal)

This research aims to evaluate quality services in the Rajaee Port container terminal by using SERVQUAL model that is a tool for measuring quality services, identification and for analyzing available gaps between expectations and perceptions services. Container terminal customers at the port of Rajaee are community statistics in this Research. Judgmental sampling method use for selecting sample. The standard and localized questionnaires with Cronbach's alpha coefficient in the perceptions section was 0.921 and in expectations section was 0.895 that was distributed among the 150 members of sample, which 102 (68%) questionnaires were available. First for analyze the data, the researcher used of LISREL software to check reliability SERVQUAL model (Size Making Model First and Second term) and then used SPSS software to do T Test pair sample for analyzing significant gap between expectations and perceptions respondents. Results obtained in this study indicated that there is a gap between customer’s expectation services and perceptions services in container terminal of Rajaee Port in all five dimension of quality services and from weight point of view. the physical dimension is the most important dimension between all dimensions and after that, reliability, assurance, responsiveness and empathy are also important. In addition, physical dimension have maximum gap and empathy dimension have minimum gap between customers’ expectations and perceptions

The effects of hydro-ethanolic extract of Capparis spinosa (C. spinosa) on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation and cognitive impairment: Evidence from in vivo and in vitro studies

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Capparis spinose (C. spinosa) belonging to Capparaeae, originates from dry areas in the west or central Asia and Mediterranean basin. For thousands of years, C. spinosa has been reported to be used as a therapeutic traditional medicine to relieve various ailments including rheumatism, pain and inflammatory diseases. Aim of the study: There are several studies mentioning that systemic inflammation results in learning and memory impairments through the activation of microglia. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of C. spinosa on both in vivo and in vitro models of neuroinflammation and cognitive impairment using lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Materials and methods: In vivo: 40 male rats were used in the present study. Cognitive impairment was induced using LPS (1 mg/kg/d; i.p.) for 4 weeks. Treatment with C. spinosa (100 and 300 mg/kg/d; p.o.) was performed 1 h before LPS administration. At the end of the experiment, rats were undergone for behavioral and biochemical analysis. In vitro: Primary microglia isolated from mouse was used in the present study. The cells were pretreated with C. spinosa extract (10�300 μg/ml) and then stimulated with LPS (1 μg/ml). The expression levels of inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines were elucidated using Real-Time PCR and ELISA methods. Results: The escape latency in the Morris water maze test in the LPS group was significantly greater than the control group (p < 0.001), while, in extract-treated groups, it was less than the LPS group (p < 0.001). Additionally, we found that the levels of IL-1β, TNF-α, and iNOS/Arg-1 ratio was also significantly lower in extract-treated groups than the LPS group (p < 0.001). The results revealed that C. spinosa extract significantly reduced the levels of TNF-α, iNOS, COX-2, IL-1β, IL-6, NO and PGE2, and the ratios of iNOS/Arg-1 and NO/urea, following the LPS-induced inflammation in microglia (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our finding provides evidence that C. spinosa has a neuroprotective effect, and might be considered as an effective therapeutic agent for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases that are accompanied by microglial activation, such as AD. © 202

Umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles: Antiproliferation evaluation on human Fibrosarcoma cell line (HT-1080)

The potential applications of Fe3O4 magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) in nanomedicine as drug delivery systems are well known. In this study we prepared umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 MNPs and evaluated the antiproliferative effect of combination in vitro. After synthesis of Fe3O4 MNPs, particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction spectroscopy techniques. The natural candidate compound — umbelliprenin— was isolated and identified and umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 MNPs were prepared, using precipitation method. The surface chemistry of umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 MNPs as well as their thermal decomposition characteristics was examined using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analyzer equipment, respectively. HT-1080 cells were cultured until the logarithmic phase of growth, and MTT assay was successfully carried out to evaluate the possible cytotoxic effects of umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 MNPs in viable cells in vitro. The results demonstrated that umbelliprenin has moderate antiproliferative effects with IC50 value of 50 μg/mL. However, the combination of umbelliprenin and Fe3O4 MNPs showed the IC50 value of 9 μg/mL. In other words, cell proliferation decreased to the remarkably-low proportion of 45% after treating cells with umbelliprenin-coated Fe3O4 MNPs. This suggests that with the aid of nanoparticles as carriers, natural products may have even broader range of medical applications in future

New sesquiterpene coumarin from the roots of Ferula latisecta

Objective: The genus of Ferula belongs to the tribe Peucedaneae, subfamily of Apioideae and family of Umbelliferae with 133 species distributed throughout the Mediterranean area and central Asia, especially in the former USSR and neighboring countries such as Iran. The popular Persian name of the most of these species is “Koma”. In this research we tried to isolate and elucidate the structure of new sesquiterpene in the root of Ferula latisecta (F. latisecta). Materials and Methods: Dried and powdered roots of F. latisecta were extracted with CH2Cl2 using a Soxhlet apparatus. The extract was concentrated in vacuo to give a red extract. The extract was subjected to column chromatography on silica gel. 1H NMR, 13C NMR, DEPT, 1H-1H COSY, HMBC, HSQC, and NOESY spectra were the methods we used to elucidate the structure of new sesquiterpene in this plant. Results: One new sesquieterpene coumarin, namely Latisectin and IUPAC name [1-(2-Hydroxy-4- methoxy-phenyl)-3,4,8,12-tetramethyl-trideca-4,7,11-trien-1-one ] , together with one known compound , Kopetdaghin C, were isolated from the root of F. latisecta. Conclusion: In this research the structure of one new and one known sesquiterpene in the root of F. latisecta was elucidated

A novel reactor concept for thermal integration of naphtha reforming with propane ammoxidation

In this study, propane ammoxidation as an exothermic process is thermally coupled with the endothermic naphtha reforming process which resulted in the elimination of the naphtha reforming furnaces. Both processes are available in petrochemical plants. Naphtha reforming produces aromatics (BTX, Toluene, Ethylbenzene) as well as hydrogen, while propane ammoxidation reactions on V-Sb-Al oxide catalyst produce acrylonitrile (ACN) as the main product which is a known intermediate for the production of various polymers and polyamides. In addition to energy saving, the aromatics production in the proposed scheme increased by 10% compared to conventional naphtha reforming (CNR). Furthermore, the effect of operating temperature, the number of tubes of the reactors, and the inlet molar flow rate of propane on the hydrogen production and aromatics yield in the naphtha reforming process have been investigated