To investigate the protective effects of Nigella sativa seed extract (NSSE) against acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity in TIB-73 cells and rats. Toxicity in TIB-73 cells was induced with 10 μmol/L APAP and the protective effects of NSSE were evaluated at 25, 50, 75, 100 μg/mL. For in vivo examination, a total of 30 rats were equally divided into five experimental groups; normal control (vehicle), APAP (800 mg/kg body weight single IP injection) as a hepatotoxic control, and three APAP and NS pretreated (2 weeks) groups (APAP + NSSE 100 mg; APAP + NSSE 300 mg and APAP + NSSE 900 mg/kg). TIB-73 cell viability was drastically decreased by (49.0 ± 1.9)% after the 10 μmol/LAPAP treatment, which also increased reactive oxygen species production. Co-treatment with NSSE at 25, 50, 75, and 100 μg/mL significantly improved cell viability and suppressed reactive oxygen species generation. In vivo, the APAP induced alterations in blood lactate levels, pH, anionic gap, and ion levels (HCO3(-), Mg(2+) and K(+)), which tended to normalize with the NSSE pretreatment. The NSSE also significantly decreased elevated serum levels of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alkaline phosphatase induced by APAP, which correlated with decreased levels of hepatic lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde), increased superoxide dismutase levels, and reduced glutathione concentrations. Improved hepatic histology was also found in the treatment groups other than APAP group. The in vitro and in vivo findings of this study demonstrated that the NSSE has protective effects against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity and metabolic disturbances by improving antioxidant activities and suppressing both lipid peroxidation and ROS generation.

The development of digital technologies and the evolution of open innovation approaches have enabled the creation of diverse virtual organizations and enterprises coordinating their activities primarily online. The open innovation platform titled "International Natural Product Sciences Taskforce" (INPST) was established in 2018, to bring together in collaborative environment individuals and organizations interested in natural product scientific research, and to empower their interactions by using digital communication tools. In this work, we present a general overview of INPST activities and showcase the specific use of Twitter as a powerful networking tool that was used to host a one-week "2021 INPST Twitter Networking Event" (spanning from 31st May 2021 to 6th June 2021) based on the application of the Twitter hashtag #INPST. The use of this hashtag during the networking event period was analyzed with Symplur Signals (https://www.symplur.com/), revealing a total of 6,036 tweets, shared by 686 users, which generated a total of 65,004,773 impressions (views of the respective tweets). This networking event's achieved high visibility and participation rate showcases a convincing example of how this social media platform can be used as a highly effective tool to host virtual Twitter-based international biomedical research events.

Carbon dot-based composite materials have been extensively developed for versatile biomedical applications, such as drug delivery, tissue engineering, bioimaging, biosensors, and photothermal cancer therapy, owing to their excellent mechanical properties, electrical and thermal conductivity, large surface-to-volume ratio, and biocompatibility. For instance, the hydrophobicity and delocalized π-electrons of carbon dots enable insoluble drug loading in carbon composite-based drug delivery carriers. In addition, carbon dot-based materials are suitable for optical and electrochemical biosensor applications owing to their intrinsic properties. Thus, this review briefly focuses on the following: (1) general aspects, (2) various sources, and (3) versatile biomedical applications of carbon dots and composite materials. More importantly, we present the emerging applications of carbon dot-based materials, such as in agricultural systems, COVID-19 theranostics, counterfeit, and security.

The present study aimed to evaluate the anti-fatigue effects of Aralia continentalis kitagawa (AC) extract during exhaustive exercise of rats by forced swimming. Rats were subjected to forced swimming until exhausted after pre-treatment with AC extract for 21 days. Exhaustion time significantly increased in rats treated with AC extract. AC treatment also preserved blood homeostasis during fatigue due to exhaustive exercise. For fatigue-related serum biomarkers, AC extract significantly fail to decrease glucose and triglyceride (TG), but ameliorated increased lactate levels compared with levels in control rats. Metabolic acidosis, a major cause of fatigue, was effectively attenuated by AC extract, according to metabolic acidosis-related blood parameters. AC extract suppressed muscle injury and attenuated gastrocnemius muscle apoptotic responses due to exhaustive exercise. To investigate the mechanisms behind the AC extract anti-fatigue effect, we evaluated its effect on oxidative stress-related fatigue. We showed that pro-oxidants were inhibited, while antioxidants were preserved by AC extract treatment. Therefore, the anti-fatigue effect of AC extract was mediated by suppression of oxidative stress. Overall, the study demonstrated that AC extract effectively attenuates fatigue from exhaustive exercise through oxidative stress inhibition. AC extract, as an antioxidant, could be utilized as a therapeutic or preventive strategy against exhaustive exercise fatigue.

3-D surgical planning for restorative osteotomy is costly and time-consuming because surgeons need to be helped from commercial companies to get 3-D printed bones. However, practitioners can save time and keep the cost to a minimum by utilizing free software and establishing their 3-D printers locally. Surgical planning for the corrective osteotomy of antebrachial growth deformities (AGD) is challenging for several reasons (the nature of the biapical or multiapical conformational abnormalities and lack of a reference value for the specific breed). Pre-operative planning challenges include: a definite description of the position of the center of rotation of angulation (CORA) and proper positioning of the osteotomies applicable to the CORA. In the present study, we demonstrated an accurate and reproducible bone-cutting technique using patient-specific instrumentations (PSI) 3-D technology. The results of the location precision showed that, by using PSIs, the surgeons were able to accurately replicate preoperative resection planning. PSI results also indicate that PSI technology provides a smaller standard deviation than the freehand method. PSI technology performed in the distal radial angular deformity may provide good cutting accuracy. In conclusion, the PSI technology may improve bone-cutting accuracy during corrective osteotomy by providing clinically acceptable margins.