montelukast (Montefree)

Phenolic metabolites from Ceratonia siliqua L. pods: chemical characterization, soybean lipoxygenase-1 inhibition, and in vitro gallstone-dissolving capacity.

Mekraf Souheyla S, Boufadi Mokhtaria Yasmina MY, Abbassene Fatiha F, Nedjari Benhadj Ali Kamal K et al.

Carob (Ceratonia siliqua L., Fabaceae) is a Mediterranean tree whose pods are rich in phenolic metabolites and are credited with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory,hypolipidemic and antimicrobial properties. The chemical composition of MECp was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet detection (HPLC/UV). Free radical-scavenging and ferric-reducing capacities were measured using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and ferric-reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) analytical descriptors assays, and soybean LOX-1 inhibition was assessed in vitro and examined in silico by molecular docking against the enzyme (PDB ID: 3O8Y). Gallstones removed at surgery were confirmed as cholesterol stones by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and then incubated in MECp under continuous agitation for 4 weeks, with a sodium chloride solution (NaCl, 9 g/L) as control. Gallstone mass after drying at 40 °C, the percentage of gallstone-dissolving capacity (% GDC) and the pH of the medium were recorded weekly. HPLC/UV analysis identified 20 phenolic metabolites in MECp. The extract contained 160.68 mg GAE/g DE of total phenolics and 9.19 mg QE/g DE of total flavonoids, with median inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 0.16, 0.86 and 0.19 mg/mL for the DPPH, FRAP and soybean LOX-1 inhibition assays, respectively. Compared with the control, MECp produced a highly significant increase in % GDC over time, and the docking analysis revealed strong and stable interactions between the major polyphenols and the soybean LOX-1 active site. The dissolution obtained with MECp is consistent with its phenolic composition, and the docking results agree with the soybean LOX-1 inhibition measured in vitro. These findings identify MECp as a promising natural candidate for cholesterol gallstone management and support further preclinical investigation.

Letter to the editor in response "Commissioning of a near real-time in vivo film dosimetry system".

Walewska Agnieszka A, Wesołowska Paulina P, Kukołowicz Paweł P

Structure-activity relationship of Cu(II) and Pd(II) thiosemicarbazone complexes with anticancer and antibacterial properties.

Rogalewicz Bartłomiej B, Iwan Magdalena M, Świątkowski Marcin M, Michalczuk Mariola M et al.

Twelve thiosemicarbazones and 24 corresponding Cu(II) and Pd(II) complexes were synthesised and evaluated for their physicochemical properties and biological activities. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and mass spectrometry confirmed ligand deprotonation and the formation of neutral ML2-type complexes. Several complexes containing 3,4-dimethoxybenzylidene- or 4-bromobenzylidene-substituted ligands exhibited submicromolar cytotoxicity against melanoma cells. Cu(b-TSC)2 and Pd(dm-TSC-pCl)2 were selected for mechanistic studies and induced cell-cycle arrest, pro-apoptotic gene activation, DNA damage, and apoptosis. Notably, Cu(b-TSC)2 retained activity against vemurafenib-resistant SK-MEL-28 and A-375 cells. Structure-activity analysis showed that additional chlorine substitution generally reduced anticancer activity. Calculated physicochemical descriptors suggested that increased chlorination enhanced lipophilicity and reduced hydrophilicity, which was associated with lower apparent solution stability. These findings highlight the importance of balancing lipophilicity, hydrophilicity, and solution stability in future design of potential drugs based on thiosemicarbazones. In contrast, antibacterial activity was more strain-dependent, with MIC values against E. coli as low as 3.125 mg/L.

Development of a digital cloud imaging platform based on a "pay-for-performance" model: an empirical study on cost control and resource conservation.

Long Xingbo X, Huang Min M, Ye Qing Q, Liu Xu X

Traditional physical film-based imaging services impose a heavy financial and operational burden on public hospitals. This study aims to evaluate the actual effectiveness of a digital cloud imaging platform-deployed under a model where "service providers make upfront investments and hospitals pay based on performance"-in terms of controlling medical costs, optimizing clinical workflows, and enhancing the patient experience, thereby providing a replicable management pathway and empirical evidence for the digital transformation of imaging services. A single-center, quasi-experimental before-and-after study design was adopted, supplemented by interrupted time series (ITS) analysis as the primary method for causal inference, with Deyang People's Hospital serving as the study site. Prior to project implementation, the study included data from 160,183 eligible imaging examinations; after implementation, it included data from 295,940 eligible imaging examinations. The platform was built on a hybrid cloud architecture. Through collaboration with a third-party technology provider, the hospital was able to deploy the system without upfront capital expenditures, replacing traditional physical films with "cloud films." Operational data was collected from the hospital's PACS system and the administrative backend of the digital cloud imaging service platform both before the platform's launch (January 1, 2022-December 31, 2022) and after (August 12, 2024-August 11, 2025). Descriptive statistical methods, the Mann-Whitney U test, and interrupted time series analysis to compare differences in data before and after project implementation, thereby evaluating the system's actual effectiveness. Within 12 months of the platform's operation, the hospital achieved net savings of 4,159,500 yuan on film-related consumables; the median time from examination to reporting for physicians was reduced from 6.86 h to 2.41 h (p < 0.001), a decrease of approximately 64.9%, resulting in a significant improvement in work efficiency. Patients experienced "zero wait time" for film retrieval, shortening their total visit duration; interrupted time series analysis showed that patient satisfaction exhibited a sustained quarterly upward trend following the intervention, increasing by an average of 0.46 percentage points per quarter (P < 0.001), though no immediate jump in satisfaction was detected at the time of intervention implementation (p = 0.440). Within the framework of this study's single-center, quasi-experimental design, a temporal association was observed between the "service provider upfront investment, pay-for-performance" model of the digital cloud imaging platform and reductions in film and consumable costs, improvements in physicians' image-reading efficiency, and enhancements in patient satisfaction. However, due to limitations in the study design, further evidence is needed to confirm the causality of these associations. The long-term financial sustainability and cross-institutional scalability of this model require validation through longer-term follow-up and multicenter studies.