Molecular intervention of colon cancer and inflammation manifestation by tannin capped biocompatible controlled sized gold nanoparticles from Terminalia bellirica: A green strategy for pharmacological drug formulation based on nanotechnology principles.

Among the diverse nanomaterials, gold nanoparticles (AuNps) are utilised for various therapeutic application due to the distinct physical, chemical properties and biocompatibility. Synthesis of gold nanoparticles using plants is the promising route. This method is low cost, eco-friendly and higher biological activities. In this present study, Gold nanoparticles were synthesised from fruit extract of Terminalia bellirica fruit extract. Their anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity was evaluated against colorectal cancer cell line (HT29) and TNBS-induced zebrafish model. Highly stable tannin capped gold nanoparticles were synthesised from fruit extract broth of Terminalia bellirica rapidly. Structural and functional properties of the synthesised nanoparticles were studied by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) equipped with energy-dispersive atomic X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). All the characterisation studies reveal highly stable, crystalline, phytochemicals, mainly tannin doped, spherical, 28 nm controlled sized gold nanoparticles. The molecular mechanism of anticancer activity was studied by determining cancer markers' expression, which was studied using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Antioxidative enzymes' status and apoptosis changes were also investigated. Synthesised nanoparticles brought a drastic reduction of all the tested cancer markers' expression. Notable changes in antioxidative enzymes' status and a good sign of apoptosis were observed in nanoparticles' treatment. The anti-inflammatory activity was studied against TNBS-induced zebrafish model, which was confirmed by determining inflammatory markers' expression TNF-α, iNOS (induced Nitric Oxide Synthase) and histopathological examination. Nanoparticles' treatment recorded a drastic reduction of inflammatory markers' expression. No marked sign of inflammation was also observed in histopathological analysis of the nanoparticles' treatment group. The present study suggests the possible utilisation of T. bellirica-mediated gold nanoparticles as an effective therapeutic agent against a prolonged inflammatory disease that progressively develops into cancer.

Cervical Cancer Identification with Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique and PCA Analysis using Random Forest Classifier.

Cervical cancer is the fourth most communal malignant disease amongst women worldwide. In maximum circumstances, cervical cancer indications are not perceptible at its initial stages. There are a proportion of features that intensify the threat of emerging cervical cancer like human papilloma virus, sexual transmitted diseases, and smoking. Ascertaining those features and constructing a classification model to categorize, if the cases are cervical cancer or not is an existing challenging research. This learning intentions at using cervical cancer risk features to build classification model using Random Forest (RF) classification technique with the synthetic minority oversampling technique (SMOTE) and two feature reduction techniques recursive feature elimination and principle component analysis (PCA). Utmost medical data sets are frequently imbalanced since the number of patients is considerably fewer than the number of non-patients. For the imbalance of the used data set, SMOTE is cast-off to solve this problem. The data set comprises of 32 risk factors and four objective variables: Hinselmann, Schiller, Cytology and Biopsy. Accuracy, Sensitivity, Specificity, PPA and NPA of the four variables remains accurate after SMOTE when compared with values obtained before SMOTE. An RSOnto ontology has been created to visualize the progress in classification performance.

A study of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis using computed tomographic imaging.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the various bony changes in osteoarthritis (OA) of elderly patients who are suffering from temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD) and to find if all the changes manifesting in generalized OA were presented in temporomandibular joint (TMJ). METHODS: Thirty TMJs of fifteen elderly patients who were diagnosed with TMD were selected for the study. Patient with TMD were subjected to computerized tomographic (CT) imaging, and the various bony changes in the TMJ were recorded. RESULTS: CT study of TMJ showed that there is a positive evidence of joint involvement in 80% of the cases. In this study, female patients were more commonly affected by OA than the males. The condylar changes (69.93%) are more common than the changes in the articular eminence (6.6%) and condylar fossa (10%). About 56.6% of TMJ in the study was affected by the early manifestations of the OA. CONCLUSION: CT study showed that there is a positive evidence of TMJ involvement in the elderly patients with TMD. The results show that condylar changes are more common than the changes in the articular eminence and condylar fossa. The study also shows that most of the patients are affected by early TMJ OA; hence, initiating treatment at early stages may prevent the disease progression.

Optimization of parameters for phenol degradation using immobilized Candida tropicalis SSK01 in batch reactor.

Bioremediation of phenol was done using Candida tropicalis SSK01 immobilized cells isolated from petroleum contaminated soil. Optimization of phenol degradation studies was carried at 30 °C to 40 °C, pH 6 to 8 and initial concentration of 300 mgl⁻¹ to 900 mgl⁻¹. Candida tropicalis SSK01 cells immobilized using sodium alginate were used in phenol degradation studies. Optimization of phenol degradation was performed by Central Composite Design (CCD). A total of 20 experiments were carried out and the optimal degradation of 95.2% was observed at 34.20 °C at pH 6.86 with initial concentration of 610 mgl⁻¹ The R², adjusted R² and Predicted R² values were 0.9976, 0.9955 and 0.9919 respectively which indicates that experimental values are in good agreement with the predicted values.

Curcumin- and natural extract-loaded nanofibres for potential treatment of lung and breast cancer: in vitro efficacy evaluation.

Drug-eluting medical implants are more common, particularly for fighting against cancers. FDA and other drug regulatory bodies have approved many nanoformulated devices eluting active pharmaceutical ingredients and thus there is growing demand for further value- added devices. Nanofibre membranes are known for its versatility of drug incorporation and sustained drug release. We intend to fabricate natural ingredient or extract, and their combination loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) nanofibre for usage as drug-eluting stents or implants for anticancer activity against lung and breast cancers. The fabricated nanofibre membranes were characterised by scanning electron microscope for morphology, FT-IR for chemical nature and tensile testing for mechanical strengths. Release of curcumin was studied with time to find the applicability of the device as drug-eluting implant. The activity of the nanofibre membranes was tested against human breast cancer (MCF7) and lung cancer (A459) cell lines in vitro. In both the cell lines tested, 1% aloe vera and 5% curcumin-loaded PCL nanofibre exhibited 15% more cytotoxicity in comparison with the commercial drug 1% cis-Platin-loaded PCL nanofibre after 24 h incubation.

Modulatory effects of morin on hyperglycemia by attenuating the hepatic key enzymes of carbohydrate metabolism and ß-cell function in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of morin on blood glucose, insulin level, hepatic glucose regulating enzyme activities and glycogen level in experimental diabetes. Diabetes mellitus was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ) (50 mg/kg b.w.). Five days after STZ injection, diabetic rats received morin (25 and 50 mg/kg b.w.) orally for 30 days. Glibenclamide was used as reference drug. Morin treatment significantly reduced the blood glucose and improved the serum insulin levels. Further, a dose-dependent reduction in glucose-6-phosphatase and fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase was observed along with the increase in liver hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities. Morin supplement were found to be effective in preserving the normal histological appearance of pancreatic islets as well as to preserve insulin-positive ß-cells in STZ-rats. Therefore, these findings suggest that morin displays beneficial effects in the treatment of diabetes, mediated through the regulation of carbohydrate metabolic enzyme activities.

Protective effect of gallic acid on alloxan-induced oxidative stress and osmotic fragility in rats.

In the present study, we investigated the antioxidant effect of gallic acid (GA) on membrane lipid peroxidation and osmotic fragility in alloxan-induced diabetic Wistar rats. GA was administered orally at doses of 5, 10, and 20 mg/kg body weight for 45 days, after which liver and kidney tissues were analyzed for the degree of lipid peroxidation, reduced glutathione, and the activities of antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. Administration of GA to alloxan-induced diabetic rats reduced the blood glucose level with an increase in the level of insulin. Liver and kidney tissues from diabetic animals exhibited disturbances in antioxidant defense compared with normal rats. GA at a dose of 20 mg/kg b.w. showed a significant effect than that of the other doses. In addition, the results revealed that GA protected the integrity of erythrocyte membrane in diabetic rats as demonstrated by lower percentage of hemolysis and resistance to hydrogen peroxide-induced peroxidation. The anti-hyperglycemic activity of GA in alloxan-induced diabetic rats was also comparable with glibenclamide, a reference drug. These results suggest that GA could provide a beneficial effect on diabetes by decreasing oxidative stress-related diabetic complications.

In the workup of patients with obscure gastrointestinal bleed, does 64-slice MDCT have a role?

PURPOSE: The purpose was to prospectively determine the sensitivity of 64-slice MDCT in detecting and diagnosing the cause of obscure gastrointestinal bleed (OGIB). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study included 50 patients (male 30, female 20) in the age range of 3-82 years (average age: 58.52 years) who were referred to our radiology department as part of their workup for clinically evident gastrointestinal (GI) bleed or as part of workup for anemia (with and without positive fecal occult blood test). All patients underwent conventional upper endoscopy and colonoscopy before undergoing CT scan. Following a noncontrast scan, all patients underwent triple-phase contrast CT scan using a 64-slice CT scan system. The diagnostic performance of 64-slice MDCT was compared to the results of capsule endoscopy, 99m-technetium-labeled red blood cell scintigraphy (99mTc-RBC scintigraphy), digital subtraction angiography, and surgery whenever available. RESULTS: CT scan showed positive findings in 32 of 50 patients. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive values of MDCT for detection of bleed were 72.2%, 42.8%, 81.2%, and 44.4%, respectively. Capsule endoscopy was done in 15 patients and was positive in 10 patients; it had a sensitivity of 71.4%. Eleven patients had undergone 99mTc-RBC scintigraphy prior to CT scan, and the result was positive in seven patients (sensitivity 70%). Digital subtraction angiography was performed in only eight patients and among them all except one patient showed findings consistent with the lesions detected on MDCT. CONCLUSION: MDCT is a sensitive and noninvasive tool that allows rapid detection and localization of OGIB. It can be used as the first-line investigation in patients with negative endoscopy and colonoscopy studies. MDCT and capsule endoscopy have complementary roles in the evaluation of OGIB.

Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in acute reversible toxic leukoencephalopathy: A report of two cases.

Acute toxic leukoencephalopathy may be caused by endogenous or exogenous toxins. It may reverse clinically if the offending agent is withdrawn or the underlying condition is treated. However, demonstration of reversibility on imaging, especially with diffusion-weighted MRI, has been reported only very recently. We report two such cases.

Theory of the Maxwell pressure tensor and the tension in a water bridge.

A water bridge refers to an experimental "flexible cable" made up of pure de-ionized water, which can hang across two supports maintained with a sufficiently large voltage difference. The resulting electric fields within the de-ionized water flexible cable maintain a tension that sustains the water against the downward force of gravity. A detailed calculation of the water bridge tension will be provided in terms of the Maxwell pressure tensor in a dielectric fluid medium. General properties of the dielectric liquid pressure tensor are discussed along with unusual features of dielectric fluid Bernoulli flows in an electric field. The "frictionless" Bernoulli flow is closely analogous to that of a superfluid.

Two step purification of Acinetobacter sp. lipase and its evaluation as a detergent additive at low temperatures.

Acinetobacter sp. lipase was purified to homogeneity by a two-step process. The crude enzyme (along with biomass) was subjected to partial purification by aqueous two phase system (ATPS), avoiding centrifugation and filtration steps. Conditions for lipase partitioning by ATPS were optimized by response surface methodology (RSM) and a combination of 29.45% polyethylene glycol 8000, 15.5% phosphate, and a pH of 7.0 resulted in an optimal partition coefficient. Partially pure lipase was further purified by a modified batch process using Octyl Sepharose CL-4B in a vacuum filtration apparatus. This two-step process resulted in a purified lipase with a yield of 74.6% having a specific activity of 88.8 U/mg of protein and a purification fold of 14.92. The homogeneity of the lipase preparation obtained by the purification process was confirmed by reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography profile. The molecular weight of the purified lipase was found to be around 32 kDa as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified lipase exhibited pH and temperature optima of 8.5 and 37 degrees C, respectively. The lipase was active at low temperatures and it retained 86.8% activity at 10 degrees C. It also displayed other features such as stability over a broad range of pH (3.0-9.0) as well as stability in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and commercial detergents. Based on these characteristics, the potential of this lipase as an additive in laundry detergent formulation was evaluated under low temperature wash conditions. The results indicated that Acinetobacter sp. lipase increased the washing efficiency of the detergent Nirma by 21-24% at 15 degrees C-20 degrees C, respectively.

Mechanism of enzymatic dehairing of skins using a bacterial alkaline protease.

In the conventional dehairing process of leather manufacture, animal skins are subjected to a drastic chemical treatment using lime and sodium sulfide. Sulfide reduces disulfide bonds in keratin present in hair and epidermis and thereby detaches them from skin. Lime, being an alkali, contributes to opening up of collagen fiber structure by cleaving a major portion of the glycosaminoglycans from proteoglycans, the interfibrillar elements of skin connective tissue. Currently, as an alternative to chemical dehairing, enzyme based dehairing processes using proteases avoiding the use of lime and sulfide are being developed because of their environmental benefits. Though both chemical as well as enzymatic dehairing processes are aimed at removing noncollagenous proteins and proteoglycans in addition to fiber opening, the mechanism of enzymatic process is distinct from that of the chemical process. In this study, we attempt to study in detail the mechanism of hair saving enzymatic dehairing process for skins using a bacterial protease against the customary hair burn chemical dehairing process. Quantitative analysis shows that the collagen content remains unaffected in both treatments but there is a marked reduction of proteoglycan constituents from dehaired pelts in the enzymatic process when compared to lime-sulfide process. This is further substantiated by histochemical examination of the sections of dehaired pelts using different stains as well as immunohistochemical studies on the removal of decorin. HPLC profile shows that decorin is extensively degraded by the bacterial protease. This study conclusively demonstrates that proteolytic degradation of decorin and subsequent removal of proteoglycan aggregates play an important role in the opening up of the collagen fiber bundles during enzymatic dehairing.

Ecofriendly lime and sulfide free enzymatic dehairing of skins and hides using a bacterial alkaline protease.

The ever-increasing attention to the environmental impact of leather industry has necessitated the development of enzyme-based processes as potent alternatives to pollution causing chemicals. In this study, a hair saving process is developed for dehairing of skins and hides using a bacterial alkaline protease preparation, completely eliminating the use of lime and sulfide. To evaluate the efficacy of the enzymatic process, comparative studies have been carried out with two controls; a conventional lime-sulfide process and enzyme-assisted process using commercial dehairing enzyme with reduced quantities of lime and sulfide. The developed process requires a shorter duration of 6h for complete dehairing of skins and hides than control groups and also, it avoids the use of silicate carriers since the enzymatic dehairing is carried out by dip method. Histological and scanning electron microscopic analyses of the dehaired pelts obtained from enzymatic process reveal complete removal of hair and epidermis with moderate opening up of fiber structure in both dermis and corium. Moreover, the collagen is not damaged and resulting in a leather of good quality. The developed process has resulted in a remarkable reduction of effluent load in terms of biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total dissolved solids and total suspended solids. Physicochemical studies conclusively show that the leathers produced by enzymatic process are equivalent to or better than that obtained by control systems. Thus, the developed enzymatic process offers immense potential for greener mode of dehairing of skins and hides in leather industry coupled with environmental excellence.

Treatment of lymph node tuberculosis--a randomized clinical trial of two 6-month regimens.

OBJECTIVE: The currently recommended treatment for lymph node tuberculosis is 6 months of rifampicin and isoniazid plus pyrazinamide for the first 2 months, given either daily or thrice weekly. The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of a 6-month twice-weekly regimen and a daily two-drug regimen. METHODS: Patients with biopsy confirmed superficial lymph node tuberculosis were randomly allocated to receive either a daily self-administered 6-month regimen of rifampicin and isoniazid, or a twice-weekly, directly observed, 6-month regimen of rifampicin and isoniazid plus pyrazinamide for the first 2 months, in Madurai, South India, Patients were followed up for 36 months after completing treatment. RESULTS: Of 277 enrolled patients, data was available for analysis in 268. At the end of treatment, 116 of 134 [87%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 81-93%] patients in each treatment group had a favourable clinical response; 14 (11%; 95% CI 6-16%) and 17 (13%; 95% CI 7-19%) patients had a doubtful response, and 4 (3%; 95% CI 0-6%) and 1 (1%; 95% CI 0-2%) patients had an unfavourable response among those treated with the daily and twice-weekly regimen, respectively. During 36 months after completion of treatment, five patients [2 (2%; 95% CI 1-3%) and 3 (2%; 95% CI 1-3%) patients treated with the daily and twice-weekly regimen, respectively] had relapse of lymph node tuberculosis, of 260 assessed. Adverse reactions probably attributable to the treatment regimens occurred in 1% of the patients treated daily and in 11% of those treated twice-weekly (P < 0.001). At the end of 36 months after treatment, 126 of 134 (94%; 95% CI 90-98%) and 129 of 134 (96%; 95% CI 94-98%) of the patients treated with the daily and twice-weekly regimen, respectively, had a successful outcome. CONCLUSION: Both the self-administered daily regimen and the fully observed twice-weekly regimen were highly efficacious for treating patients with lymph node tuberculosis and may be considered as alternative options to the recommended regimens.

NMR investigation of hydrogen bonding and 1,3-tautomerism in 2-(2-hydroxy-5-substituted-aryl) benzimidazoles.

The 1,3-tautomerism associated with 2-(2-hydroxy-5-substituted-aryl)benzimidazoles was studied in different solvents. The effect of hydrogen bonding involving the hydroxyl group of the 2-aryl ring on the tautomerism was investigated using NMR spectroscopy. The influence of the solvent concentration on 2-(2-hydroxy-5-chloroaryl)benzimidazole was studied in acetone-d6 and DMSO-d6.

Lipase assay in soils by copper soap colorimetry.

A simple and sensitive method for the estimation of lipase activity in soils is reported. In this method, 50mg of soil is incubated with emulsified substrate, the fatty acids liberated are treated with cupric acetate-pyridine reagent, and the color developed is measured at 715 nm. Use of olive oil in this protocol leads to an estimation of true lipase activity in soils. The problem of released fatty acids getting adsorbed onto the soil colloids is obviated by the use of isooctane, and separate standards for different soils need not be developed. Among the various surfactants used for emulsification, polyvinyl alcohol is found to be the most effective. Incubation time of 20 min, soil concentration of 50 mg, pH 6.5, and incubation temperature of 37 degrees C were found to be the most suitable conditions for this assay. During the process of enrichment of the soils with oil, interference by the added oil is avoided by the maintenance of a suitable control, wherein 50 mg of soil is added after stopping the reaction. This assay is sensitive and it could be adopted to screen for lipase producers from enriched soils and oil-contaminated soils before resorting to isolation of the microbes by classical screening methods.

Synchronous bilateral VATS decortication for paediatric bilateral empyema.

Bilateral empyema is a rare condition in children. In the current era of minimally invasive surgical treatment, our experience with two cases suggests that video thoracoscopic drainage and decortication for children with bilateral empyema is safe, effective, and potentially less expensive.

Synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies of metal(II) bis-chelates and mixed-ligand complexes of alpha-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-N-(1-phenyl-2-nitroethyl)nitrone.

This paper describes the synthesis of complexes of the type MB2. 2H2O and CuBL.2H2O where BH = alpha-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-N-(1-phenyl-2-nitroethyl)-nitrone, M = copper(II)/cobalt(II)/nickel(II) and LH = salicylaldehyde/salicylaldoxime/8-hydroxyquinoline/2-hydroxypyridine. The magnetic moment, ligand field spectra, thermal and ESR studies reveals that these dihydrates possess octahedral geometry. The antimicrobial studies of these complexes against several microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella aerogenes, Salmonella typhi and Pseudomonas sp. have been tested and reported in comparison with ceftazidime standard.

Short-course chemotherapy for tuberculosis of the spine. A comparison between ambulant treatment and radical surgery--ten-year report.

We performed a randomised, controlled clinical trial to compare ambulant short-course chemotherapy with anterior spinal fusion plus short-course chemotherapy for spinal tuberculosis without paraplegia. Patients with active disease of vertebral bodies were randomly allocated to one of three regimens: a) radical anterior resection with bone grafting plus six months of daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Rad6); b) ambulant chemotherapy for six months with daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Amb6); or c) similar to b) but with chemotherapy for nine months (Amb9). Ten years from the onset of treatment, 90% of 78 Rad6, 94% of 78 Amb6 and 99% of 79 Amb9 patients had a favourable status. Ambulant chemotherapy for a period of six months with daily isoniazid plus rifampicin (Amb6) was an effective treatment for spinal tuberculosis except in patients aged less than 15 years with an initial angle of kyphosis of more than 30 degrees whose kyphosis increased substantially.