Piceatannol (PIC) is known to have anticancer activity, which has been attributed to its ability to block the proliferation of cancer cells via suppression of the NF-kB signaling pathway. However, its effect on hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is not well known in cancer. In this study, PIC was loaded into bovine serum albumin (BSA) by desolvation method as PIC–BSA nanoparticles (NPs). These PIC–BSA nanoparticles were assessed for in vitro cytotoxicity, migration, invasion, and colony formation studies and levels of p65 and HIF-1α. Our results indicate that PIC–BSA NPs were more effective in downregulating the expression of nuclear p65 and HIF-1α in colon cancer cells as compared to free PIC. We also observed a significant reduction in inflammation induced by chemical colitis in mice by PIC–BSA NPs. Furthermore, a significant reduction in tumor size and number of colon tumors was also observed in the murine model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer, when treated with PIC–BSA NPs as compared to free PIC. The overall results indicate that PIC, when formulated as PIC–BSA NPs, enhances its therapeutic potential. Our work could prompt further research in using natural anticancer agents as nanoparticels with possible human clinical trails. This could lead to the development of a new line of safe and effective therapeutics for cancer patients.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the fatal causes of global cancer-related deaths. Although surgery and chemotherapy are standard treatment options, post-treatment outcomes often end in a poor prognosis. In the present study, we investigated anti-pancreatic cancer and amelioration of radiation-induced oxidative damage by crocin. Crocin is a carotenoid isolated from the dietary herb saffron, a prospect for novel leads as an anti-cancer agent. Crocin significantly reduced cell viability of BXPC3 and Capan-2 by triggering caspase signaling via the downregulation of Bcl-2. It modulated the expression of cell cycle signaling proteins P53, P21, P27, CDK2, c-MYC, Cyt-c and P38. Concomitantly, crocin treatment-induced apoptosis by inducing the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol. Microarray analysis of the expression signature of genes induced by crocin showed a substantial number of genes involved in cell signaling pathways and checkpoints (723) are significantly affected by crocin. In mice bearing pancreatic tumors, crocin significantly reduced tumor burden without a change in body weight. Additionally, it showed significant protection against radiation-induced hepatic oxidative damage, reduced the levels of hepatic toxicity and preserved liver morphology. These findings indicate that crocin has a potential role in the treatment, prevention and management of pancreatic cancer.

In most countries, forensic age estimation in living subjects has become increasingly important in the last few years. In addition, as the age of legal majority ranges from 14 to 18 in many countries, and in Libya it is 18 years, radiographic assessment of the degree of third molar development is essential for forensic age estimation of adolescents and young adults. The aim of this paper is to assess the accuracy of the cut-off value of 0.08, by measurements of third molar index (I), in determining if a subject is adult or not in Libyan population. Digital panoramic radiographs of 307 healthy subjects (163 girls, 144 boys), aged between 14 and 22, were analysed. The I the age and the sex of the subjects were used as predictive variable for age estimation. Using a cut-off of 0.08, the sensitivity of the test for boys was 90.9% and the specificity 100%. The proportion of correctly classified individuals was 95.1% (95% CI: 91.5-98.7%). The sensitivity for girls was 90.6% and the specificity 100%. The proportion of correctly classified individuals was 94.5% (95% CI: 90.9-98.1%). Estimated post-test probability in boys and girls was 100%. Further analyses, performed using a cut-off of 0.09, do not affect the specificity (100%) while they improve the sensitivity for both boys and girls.

The authors wish to make the following corrections to this paper [...]