Spondylarthropathies (including psoriatic arthritis): 244. Validity of Colour Doppler and Spectral Doppler Ultrasound of Sacroilicac Joints Againts Physical Examination as Gold Standard

Background: Sacroiliac joints (SJ) involvement is a distinctive and charasteristic feature of Spondyloarthritis (SpA) and x-ray is the test routinely used to make a diagnosis. However, x-ray reveals late structural damage but cannot detect active inflammation. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of Doppler ultrasound in SJ. Methods: Prospective blinded and controlled study of SJ, in which three populations were compared. We studied 106 consecutive cases, who were divided into three groups: a) 53 patients diagnosed with SpA who had inflammatory lumbar and gluteal pain assessed by a rheumatologist; b) 26 patients diagnosed with SpA who didn't have SJ tenderness and had normal physical examination; c) control group of 27 subjects (healthy subjetcs or with mechanical lumbar pain). All patients included that were diagnosed with SpA met almost the European Spondyloarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) classification criteria. Physical examination of the SJ included: sacral sulcus tenderness, iliac gapping, iliac compression, midline sacral thrust test, Gaenslen's test, and Patrick s test were used as gold standard. Both SJ were examined with Doppler ultrasound (General Electric Logiq 9, Wauwatosa WI, USA) fitted with a 9-14 Mhz lineal probe. The ultrasonographer was blinded to clinical data. Doppler in SJ was assessed as positive when both Doppler colour and resistance index (RI) < 0.75 within the SJ area were present. Statistical analysis was performed estimating sensitivity and specificity against gold standard. The Kappa correlation coefficient was used for reliability study. Results: 106 cases (53 female, 55 male; mean age 36 10 years) were studied. There were no statistical differences between groups related to age or sex. Physical examination of SJ was positive in 38 patients (59 sacroiliac joints). US detected Doppler signal within SJ in 37 patients (58 SJ): 33 of them were symptomatic SpA (52 SJ), one of them were asymptomatic SpA (1 SJ) and one was a healthy control (1 SJ). The accuracy of US when compared to clinical data as gold standard at subject level in the overall group was: sensitivity of 68.6% and specificity of 85.7%, positive predictive value of 70.5% and negative predictive value of 84.5%. A positive likelihood ratio of 4.8, a negative likelihood ratio of 0.36 and a kappa coefficient of 0.55 were achieved. Conclusions: Doppler US of SJ seems to be a valid method to detect active SJ inflammation. Disclosure statement: The authors have declared no conflicts of interes

Synthesis and Antitubercular Activity of Some Novel Thiazolidinone Derivatives

Purpose: To synthesize and characterize novel thiazolidinone derivatives and screen them for antitubercular activity. Methods: A series of twelve novel thiazolidinones 4a-l have been synthesized by cyclocondensation of various Schiff bases of amino thiadiazole with thioglycollic acid. Various Schiff bases 3a-l were synthesized by condensation of 2-amino-5-aryl-5H-thiazolo[4,3-b]-l,3,4-thiadiazole with various aryl aldehydes. The synthesized compounds were characterized by FTIR, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR and mass spectrometry. Docking studies were carried out for the synthesized compounds which were also evaluated for in vitro anti-tubercular activity at a concentration of 0.1-100.0 μg/mL by Microplate Blue Alamar Assay method. Pyrazinamide and streptomycin were used as standard antitubercular agents. Results: The synthesized compounds showed good docking score, compared to standard drugs. Two of the compounds (labelled 4f and 4i) showed higher antitubercular activity than the standards (pyrazinamide and streptomycin) while compounds four others compounds (labeled 4b, 4c, 4e, 4h, 4k and 4l) showed comparable activity to pyrazinamide but greater activity than streptomycin. Conclusion: We report the successful synthesis of novel thiazolidinones, as well as their spectral characterization, docking properties and in vitro antitubercular activities which, for some, are superior to currently used anti-tubercular agents

Antibacterial and in vitro growth inhibition study of struvite urinary stones using Oxalis corniculata linn. Leaf extract and its biofabricated silver nanoparticles

© 2018 Bentham Science Publishers. Background: Herbal drugs are gaining exponential scientific recognition due to their distinct advantages. In the last 2-3 decades, a gradual increase in worldwide patents on herbal nano-formulations has been noted to address the solubility and bioavailability issues of phytoceuticals. Struvite or ammonium magnesium phosphate hexahydrate (NH 4 MgPO 4 .6H 2 O) is among the important urinary infection stones causing painful urological ailment. These smaller stones may bind together to form bigger staghorn calculus. Urinary tract infections caused by some gram positive and gram negative bacteria further enhance the chance of formation of such stones. Oxalis corniculata Linn. is an edible plant, traditionally used in the treatment of bacterial infections and kidney stones. However, there is no scientific evidence to relate the use of O. corniculata against struvite kidney stones. Hence, the antibacterial and struvite stones inhibition activity of the aqueous extract of Oxalis corniculata Linn. leaves and its biofabricated silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was studied. Methods: The aqueous extract of O. corniculata was prepared by Soxhlet extraction. AgNPs were synthesized using green technique and were characterized using UV and IR spectroscopy, XRD, TEM, DLS and zeta potential studies. Antibacterial activity of the aqueous extract and the silver nanoparticles was tested against E. coli (gram negative) and S. aureus (gram positive) species. Struvite stones were grown in a gel medium by in vitro single diffusion gel growth technique and its inhibition study was carried out using the extract and its biofabricated nanoparticles. Results: The aqueous extract and its biofabricated AgNPs exhibited potent antibacterial activity against both gram positive and gram negative strains of bacteria. The aqueous extract also effectively repressed the growth of struvite stones and led to the dissolution of stones, but the inhibitory effect was further enhanced by its biofabricated AgNPs. Conclusion: The present work confirms the inhibitory activity of the aqueous extract of edible O. corniculata and its biofabricated silver nanoparticles against urinary tract infection (UTI) causing bacteria and urolithiasis. Therefore, the consumption of O. corniculata in our daily diet may reduce the risk of UTI and urolithiasis

A clinical update on metformin and lung cancer in diabetic patients

© 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA. diabetes mellitus (dm) is frequently increased in many countries and become a serious health problem worldwide. diabetes is associated with dysfunction of different organs such as heart, eyes, blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys. There is a strong connection between diabetes and cancer. Metformin is one of the most commonly prescribed oral antidiabetic medicines and it is suggested as the first-line therapy due to its comparatively safe, inexpensive, effective and well-tolerated. Some of the in vitro and in vivo investigations proved that metformin may have a direct anticancer action by preventing the proliferation of malignant cells and formations of the colony, inducing arrest of cell cycle and apoptosis and suppressing tumor growth. The antiproliferative mechanism of metformin alone or in combination with various chemotherapeutic agents is complex and involves several beneficial roles. In this regard, clinical studies are required to explain these roles. In the coming future, the use of metformin, alone or in combination with current chemotherapy, might be a conventional approach to effectually manage lung cancer. This mini-review provides a critical overview of currently available clinical trials investigating the effects of metformin in lung cancer. (Cite this article as: Gupta G, de Jesus andreoli Pinto T, chellappan dK, mishra a, malipeddi H, dua K. a clinical update on metformin and lung cancer in diabetic patients

Tubercled wing flow physics and performance

N. Rostamzadeh, K. Hansen and R. Kels