Novel biosensors based on carboxymethyl cellulose extract from date palm fronds containing Ag nanoparticles as an electrochemical working electrode for fast hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) sensing in date molasses were prepared. The morphological, structural, and crystallinity characteristics of the prepared Ag@CMC were described via SEM, DLS, TEM, and XRD. In addition, Raman spectroscopy and UV–VIS spectroscopy were performed, and thermal stability was studied. The investigated techniques indicated the successful incorporation of AgNPs into the CMC polymer. The sensing behavior of the prepared AgNPs@CMC electrode was studied in terms of cyclic voltammetry and linear scan voltammetry at different HMF concentrations. The results indicated high performance of the designed AgNPs@CMC, which was confirmed by the linear behavior of the relationship between the cathodic current and HMF content. Besides, real commercial samples were investigated using the novel AgNPs@CMC electrode.

Date palm fruit (Phoenix dactylifera: Arecaceae) is rich in essential nutrients and possesses several pharmacological and medicinal activities. The current study aimed to optimize a water bath-assisted extraction method for two cultivars of date palm fruits, Anbara (An) and Reziz (Rz), and investigated the protective effect of the optimized date palm fruit extract against CCl4-induced liver toxicity in relation to oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and DNA integrity. The optimization process of two date palm fruit cultivars was applied, using response surface methodology through adjusting three “factors”; time, temperature, and rotation, to allow maximum contents of total phenolic (TPC), total flavonoid (TFC), reducing power (FRAP) and scavenging activity (ABTS) of the extract “responses”. Extraction factors’ application significantly enhanced TPC, TFC, FRAP, and ABTS responses by 1.30, 1.23, 3.03, and 2.06-fold, respectively in An and 2.18, 1.71, 1.11, and 2.62-fold, respectively in Rz, in relation to the convectional water extraction. Furthermore, co-administered CCl4 with An or Rz optimized extracts enhanced body weight gain, amended hepatic architecture, and diminished collagen fiber accumulation. Furthermore, An or Rz extracts reduced liver enzymes, hydroxyproline, alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), MDA, inflammatory cytokine (TNF-α, NF-κB) levels, and DNA fragmentation, while increasing deteriorated adiponectin (ADP) and antioxidant enzyme (GSH, GPX, NO, and IFN-γ) levels, relative to CCl4-administered animals. The protective effects of An or Rz-optimized extracts were also evidenced by suppressing hepatic fibrosis and improving liver function and structure via modulating oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis, in CCl4-induced hepatic damage. Hence, the optimized extraction process for the two date palm fruits resulted in extracts which are rich in phenolic and flavonoid contents and with an elevated antioxidant power. The presence of these rich extracts could help to explain their proven hepatoprotective activity against CCl4-induced liver toxicity.

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Objectives This study aimed to resolve the clinical dilemma of solitary thyroid nodules by fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and histopathological studies and evaluate the incidence of different lesions manifested as this entity.Methods Fifty patients with a clinical diagnosis of solitary thyroid nodules were recruited. FNAC and histopathological results for all the patients were reviewed, confirmed, and evaluated.Results A solitary thyroid nodule was more common in women (78%) than in men (22%). The patients who were maximally affected (30%) were between 21 and 30 years of age. On the basis of FNAC, out of 50 cases studied, 84% were benign/non-neoplastic, 4% were suspicious, 6% were malignant, and the remaining 6% were nondiagnostic aspirates. The most common benign lesion diagnosed by FNAC was a colloid nodule (56%), whereas the most common malignant lesion was papillary carcinoma (6%). There were no false-negative cases (0%). A false-positive result was found in only one case (2%). According to the histopathological findings, 92% were benign/ non-neoplastic lesions and 8% were malignant. The most common benign/non-neoplastic lesions were colloid goiter (60%) and follicular adenoma (12%), whereas the most common malignant lesion was papillary carcinoma (6%).Conclusion FNAC is a useful diagnostic tool, but it has some limitations in terms of diagnosis. However, histopathological examination overcomes these limitations and helps establish a conclusive diagnosis.