Formulation and In-vitro Characterization of Metformin Hydrochloride-loaded Liposomes

The aim of study. is to formulate Metformin hydrochloride-loaded novel liposomal vesicles and investigate their physical stability. A new metformin hydrochloride (Met-HCL) liposomal formulation was prepared  for topical delivery. Traditionally, the biguanide metformin could be categorized the first line in treatment of diabetes. The prepared metformin hydrochloride-loaded liposomal vesicles were investigated  for different in vitro characterisations. Eleven different formulations were developed adopting a thin film hydration method using different molar concentrations of Phospholipon® 90G, cholesterol and metformin hydrochloride. The effect of varying concentrations of Phospholipon® 90G, cholesterol and metformin hydrochloride on entrapment efficiency percent, ex-vivo skin permeation percentage, vesicle size and zeta potential was studied. Metformin-loaded liposome stability over a period of time 90 days was investigated. Results. The optimized metformin hydrochloride liposomes, F2, F6 and F11 were selecte. The selected formulations displayed highly efficient permeation percent via the excised mice skin 53±0.09 %, 30±0.4 % and 40±0.02 % respectively. The formulations showed EE % of  80±0.09 %, 28.6±0.02 % and 71.8±0.4 % respectively. Morphology of F2  liposomal surface revealed spherical three-dimensional structure. The stability study revealed about 10-23 percent drug leaching out of the vesicular liposomes (F2) within 90 days. Conclusion. Metformin hydrochloride-loaded liposomal vesicles can provide a potentially promising and convenient approach for topical delivery

Investigating the Factors that Enhance Tourists’ Intention to Revisit Touristic Cities. A Case Study on Luxor and Aswan in Egypt

This article examines the impact of some factors that enhance tourists’ revisit intention to touristic cities. It adopts the TPB to predict tourists’ intention to revisit these destinations. An online the questionnaire was utilized to collect data from tourists that have earlier visited two touristic cities in Egypt which are Luxor and Aswan. The responses of 373 visitors to Luxor and Aswan were analyzed and the proposed hypotheses were evaluated using the Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that the model has a strong explanatory power to understand travelers’ revisit intention. Besides the TPB infrastructure, the added variables were found to exert a significant influence on the revisit intention. Specifically, the results show that: (1) e-WOM positively influences tourists’ attitudes and perceived behavioral control and subjective norms (2) tourist’s satisfaction positively influences tourists’ revisit intention and e-WOM (3) perceived behavioral control positively influences tourists’ revisit intention. The paper offers to the academic literature by implementing a framework that explains tourists’ intention to revisit the touristic cities. Also, it provides practitioners who are interested in tourism marketing with some guidelines to follow to enhance the revisit intention of tourists. Keywords: Revisit intention, Touristic cities, e-WOM, Theory of planned behavior DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/69-04 Publication date:October 31st 202

Physostigmine: A Plant Alkaloid Isolated from Physostigma venenosum: A Review on Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacological and Toxicological Activities

Medicinal plants have been documented as an important source for discovering new pharmaceutical molecules that have been used to treat serious diseases. Strikingly, previous reports stated that natural products and their derived compounds exhibit lesser side effects and improved efficacy than other synthetic counterparts. Physostigmine, a parasympathomimetic plant alkaloid isolated from the West African perennial shrub Physostigma venenosum, it shows a narrow therapeutic index and a short life span, despite its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier (BBB). It is a widely known reversible butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor and has been documented to treat various ailments such as Alzheimer’s disease. Pharmacologically, physostigmine was first reported as an antidote for atropine scopolamine and belladonna alkaloids toxicity. Recently, it has been documented as a therapy for treating several ailments including glaucoma, myasthenia gravis and the intoxication caused by tricyclic antidepressant overdoses, anti-histamines, antipsychotics, and benzodiazepines. Physostigmine has been reported to be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and showed short half-life, as, after the oral administration of 2 mg of physostigmine salicylate, the peak plasma concentration reached to 30 minutes. This review examines the biological activities, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity of physostigmine extracted from P. venenosum. Keywords: Physostigma venenosum, Physostigmine, pharmacological activities, acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase inhibitor

Role of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the differentiation of benign and malignant pulmonary lesions

Purpose: To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance (MRI) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurement of solid and cystic pulmonary masses in differentiating benign from malignant lesions. Material and methods: The study included 41 patients with pulmonary masses, who underwent conventional MRI and DWI (b value 0, 500, and 1000 s/mm²) examinations with 1.5-T MRI. The diffusion signal and the mean ADC values of the solid and cystic lesions were obtained. Statistical analyses were performed with the Mann-Whitney U test (z), Pearson's chi-square test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results: Thirty-three lesions were malignant, and eight lesions were benign. The malignant masses showed significantly higher signal intensity on DWI than benign masses (p = 0.006), and the mean ADC value of malignant solid lesions was significantly lower than that of benign lesions (p = 0.02). By ROC analysis, an ADC cut-off value of 1.4 × 10-3 mm2/s was considered the threshold value, and the sensitivity and specificity were 93.8% and 75%, respectively. There was no significant difference between the ADC value of the cystic parts inside the benign and the malignant lesions. Conclusions: Diffusion-weighted MRI and measurement of ADC value can significantly differentiate between solid benign and malignant pulmonary masses

Efficacy and Safety of Topical Corticosteroids for Management of Oral Chronic Graft versus Host Disease

Background. Oral chronic graft versus host disease (cGVHD) is a major complication in transplantation community, a problem that can be addressed with topical intervention. Topical corticosteroids are the first line of treatment although the choice remains challenging as none of the available treatments is supported by strong clinical evidence. Objective. This systematic review aims to determine the clinical efficacy and safety of topical corticosteroids for the management of the mucosal alterations of oral cGVHD. Data Sources. Electronic search of different databases was conducted: PubMed, Cochrane library, Grey literature, WHO, and clinical trials.gov for clinical trial registration as well as hand search in the references of relevant articles up to November 2016. Data Extraction. Extracted pieces of information were intervention, population, sample sizes, and outcomes. Data Synthesis. Six studies were included: 2 randomized clinical trials (RCTs), 3 cohort studies, and 1 pre-post clinical trial. Results. There is a limited evidence concerning clinical efficacy of topical corticosteroids. Clobetasol, dexamethasone, and budesonide were the topical corticosteroid of choice. The highest level of evidence score was given to clobetasol followed by budesonide with a lower evidence level. Conclusion. All three topical corticosteroid preparations are effective for management of oral chronic GVHD with minimal easily avoided side effects

RT-PCR FOR ANTIOXIDANT GENES FROM EGYPTIAN GRAY MANGROVE Avicennia marina UNDER SALT STRESS TO NABQ PROTECTED AREA

RT-PCR was conducted for four genes implicated for salt tolerance, oxidative and osmotic stresses in Egyptian gray mangroves within Nabq protected area in South Sinai Governorate. The results showed over-expression of the mRNA of ferritin (amFer1) gene as very high expression, followed by increase in  mRNA of superoxide dismutase (amSOD1) and ubiquitin conjugation2 (amUBC2).  At the same time gene expression of catalase (amCAT1) decreased

Comparative Molecular Transporter Properties of Cyclic Peptides Containing Tryptophan and Arginine Residues Formed through Disulfide Cyclization

We have previously reported cyclic cell-penetrating peptides [WR]5 and [WR]4 as molecular transporters. To optimize further the utility of our developed peptides for targeted therapy in cancer cells using the redox condition, we designed a new generation of peptides and evaluated their cytotoxicity as well as uptake behavior against different cancer cell lines. Thus, cyclic [C(WR)xC] and linear counterparts (C(WR)xC), where x = 4–5, were synthesized using Fmoc/tBu solid-phase peptide synthesis, purified, and characterized. The compounds did not show any significant cytotoxicity (at 25 µM) against ovarian (SK-OV-3), leukemia (CCRF-CEM), gastric adenocarcinoma (CRL-1739), breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-231), and normal kidney (LLCPK) cells after 24 and 72 h incubation. Both cyclic [C(WR)5C] and linear (C(WR)5C) demonstrated comparable molecular transporter properties versus [WR]5 in the delivery of a phosphopeptide (F′-GpYEEI) in CCRF-CEM cells. The uptake of F′-GpYEEI in the presence of 1,4-dithiothreitol (DTT) as the reducing agent was significantly improved in case of l(C(WR)5C), while it was not changed by [C(WR)5C]. Fluorescence microscopy also demonstrated a significant uptake of F′-GpYEEI in the presence of l(C(WR)5C). Cyclic [C(WR)5C] improved the uptake of the fluorescent-labeled anti-HIV drugs F′-d4T, F′-3TC, and F′-FTC by 3.0–4.9-fold. These data indicate that both [C(WR)5C] and linear (C(WR)5C) peptides can act as molecular transporters

Trans-species transmission of Brucellae among ruminants hampering brucellosis control efforts in Egypt

Aims: This study aimed to identify the genotypic fingerprinting of Brucella melitensis biovar 3 isolates from ruminants in Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, to compare with other peers globally and to highlight the epidemiology and potential causes of brucellosis control failure.Kafr El-Sheikh University, Grant/Award Number: KFSU-3-13-04Depto. de Sanidad AnimalCentro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET)TRUEpu

Toxoplasma gondii Suppresses Th2-Induced by Trichinella spiralis Infection and Downregulates Serine Protease Genes Expression: A Critical Role in Vaccine Development

Background: Toxoplasma gondii coinfection can modify host immune responses and the severity and spread of other parasites. We investigated how T. gondii and Trichinella spiralis infections counter-regulate each other's immune responses. Methods: The parasite burden, the expression of T. gondii rhoptry kinase ROP18 and T. spiralis putative serine protease (TsSP), the IgG1 and IgG2a responses, besides histopathological and immunohistochemical staining with iNOS and arginase were used to evaluate the dynamics of coinfection. Results: Through their effects on host immune responsiveness, coinfection with T. gondii modified the virulence of T. spiralis infection. Coinfected animals with high and low doses of T. gondii demonstrated significant reductions in the T. spiralis burden of 75.2% and 68.2%, respectively. TsSP expression was downregulated in both groups by 96.2% and 86.7%, whereasROP18 expression was downregulated by only 6% and10.6%, respectively. In coinfected mice, elevated levels of T. gondii-specific IgG2a antibodies were detected. Th1 induced by T. gondii inhibits the Th2 response to T. spiralis in coinfected animals with high iNOS expression andlow-arginine1 expression. Conclusion: T. gondii infection induces a shift toward a Th1-type immune response while suppressing a helminth-specific Th2 immune response, paving the way for developing novel vaccines and more efficient control strategies