Hydrodynamic Models with Quantum Corrections

We derive a quantum-corrected hydrodynamic and drift-diffusion model for the out-of-equilibrium particle dynamics in the presence of particle collisions, modeled by a BGK collision term. The quantum mechanical corrections are obtained within the Liouville formalism and are expressed by an effective nonlinear force. The Boltzmann and Fermi-Dirac statistics are included

A hydrodynamical model for covalent semiconductors with a generalized energy dispersion relation

We present the first macroscopical model for charge transport in compound semiconductors to make use of analytic ellipsoidal approximations for the energy dispersion relationships in the neighbours of the lowest minima of the conduction bands. The model considers the main scattering mechanisms charges undergo in polar semiconductors, that is the acoustic, polar optical, intervalley non-polar optical phonon interactions and the ionized impurity scattering. Simulations are shown for the cases of bulk 4H and 6H-SiC

Short-term oral administration of risperidone induces pancreatic damage and hyperamylasemia in Sprague-dawley rats

Risperidone is an atypical antipsychotic acting mainly as a dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2 receptors antagonist prescribed in the treatment of schizophrenia and various affective disorders. Risperidone has been reported to be associated with weight gain, panreatitis and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Various mechanisms of risperidone-induced toxicities have been reported but the histology of tissues especially pancreas has never been studied. Therefore, the current study was designed to elucidate the toxic effects of chronic administration of risperidone on pancreas, liver and kidneys. Animals (rats) of either gender were divided into two groups, the risperidone and control groups. Risperidone was administered in a dose of 2.5 mg/kg/d for three weeks. The controls received acidified saline only. Both the groups received restricted diet (20 g/12 h). The body weight and level of random blood sugar (RBS) were measured on a weekly basis. The levels of lipase and amylase were determined at the conclusion of the experiment. At the end of the experiment, the tissues were dissected out for histopathological evaluation. Risperidone showed no weight gain, hyperglycemia or rise in the level of lipase (P> 0.05); however, the level of amylase was raised (***P<0.05). Histological examination under light microscope showed no hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity but did show damage to the pancreas. The findings of this study indicated that the incidence of adverse effects associated with risperidone could be prevented/alleviated/delayed by allowing restricted diet

Comparative evaluation of pancreatic histopathology of rats treated with olanzapine, risperidone and streptozocin

Olanzapine and risperidone are widely prescribed atypical antipsychotics used in the treatment of schizophrenia and various other psychiatric disorders. Both of these drugs have been extensively reported to cause Type 2 diabetes mellitus and pancreatitis, however, the mechanism of olanzapine and risperidone-induced toxicity has not been so far unveiled. We, therefore, compared the streptozocininduced pancreatic damage with that of pancreas isolated from olanzapine and risperidone treated rats. It was noticed that fibrotic growth, necrosis and derangement of the pancreatic islet cells caused by streptozocin were more pronounced than olanzapine and risperidone

Induction of apoptosis in HeLa cells by chloroform fraction of seed extracts of Nigella sativa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cancer remains one of the most dreaded diseases causing an astonishingly high death rate, second only to cardiac arrest. The fact that conventional and newly emerging treatment procedures like chemotherapy, catalytic therapy, photodynamic therapy and radiotherapy have not succeeded in reverting the outcome of the disease to any drastic extent, has made researchers investigate alternative treatment options. The extensive repertoire of traditional medicinal knowledge systems from various parts of the world are being re-investigated for their healing properties. This study progresses in the direction of identifying component(s) from <it>Nigella sativa </it>with anti cancer acitivity. In the present study we investigated the efficacy of Organic extracts of <it>Nigella sativa </it>seed powder for its clonogenic inhibition and induction of apoptosis in HeLa cancer cell.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Methanolic, n-Hexane and chloroform extracts of <it>Nigella sativa </it>seedz effectively killed HeLa cells. The IC₅₀values of methanolic, n-hexane, and chloroform extracts of <it>Nigella sativa </it>were 2.28 μg/ml, 2.20 μg/ml and 0.41 ng/ml, respectively. All three extracts induced apoptosis in HeLa cells. Apoptosis was confirmed by DNA fragmentation, western blot and terminal transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin-end labeling (TUNEL) assay.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Western Blot and TUNEL results suggested that <it>Nigella sativa </it>seed extracts regulated the expression of pro- and anti- apoptotic genes, indicating its possible development as a potential therapeutic agent for cervical cancer upon further investigation.</p

Olanzapine induced biochemical and histopathological changes after its chronic administration in rats

AbstractObjective: Olanzapine is a second generation antipsychotic acting mainly as a dopamine D2 and serotonine 5-HT2 receptors antagonist prescribed in the treatment of schizophrenia and various other psychiatric illnesses. Even though olanzapine is widely used in psychiatry, its effects on the architecture of pancreas, liver and kidneys are little known. The histology of pancreas especially has never been studied. For these reasons, the current study was designed to elucidate the toxic effects of chronic administration of olanzapine on pancreas, liver and kidneys and the enzymes released by these tissues in an escalating dose manner. Methods: Fourteen male rats were divided into two groups equally, the olanzapine group and the controls. Olanzapine was administered in a dose of 5mg/kg/d for the first eight weeks, 10mg/kg/d for next four weeks and 15mg/kg/d through the last two week period of 14weeks experiment. The controls received acidified saline only. Both the groups received restricted diet (20g/12h). The body weight and level of random blood sugar (RBS) were measured on a weekly basis. The levels of lipase, amylase, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) were determined terminally. At the end of the experiment, the tissues were dissected out for histopathological evaluation. Results: Significant loss in body weight, change in the level of random blood sugar (∗∗P<0.05, ∗∗∗P<0.001) and significant rise in amylase and lipase levels (∗P<0.05, ∗∗∗P<0.001) were observed. However, the same treatment has shown no significant change in the levels of alanine and aspartate transaminases (P>0.05). The pancreas has shown derangement of beta cells and fibrotic growth. A mild to moderate focal increase in glomerular cellularity, cellular proliferation and glomerular capsules with negligible basement membranes were observed in the kidneys. No changes were observed in the architecture of the liver. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the incidence of adverse effects associated with olanzapine could be prevented/alleviated/delayed by allowing restricted diet

Synthetically modified bioisosteres of salicyl alcohol and their gastroulcerogenic assessment versus aspirin: biochemical and histological correlates

The present study was conducted to synthesize nitrogen containing derivatives of salicyl alcohol and to investigate in vivo their ulcerogenic potential in comparison with aspirin in rats. The compounds [4-(2-hydroxybenzyl) morpholin-4-iumchloride (I)] and [1,4-bis(2-hydroxybenzyl) piperazine-1,4-diium chloride (II)] were synthesized and their chemical structures were characterized using spectral data. In our previous study (Ali et al., Afr J Pharm Pharmacol 7:585–596, 2013), both compounds showed anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, and antipyretic properties in standard animal models and a greater binding affinity for cyclooxygenase-2 versus cyclooxygenase-1 in molecular docking and dynamics analysis. For in vivo studies, animals were randomly divided into four groups. The synthetic compounds (both at 100 or 150 mg/kg), aspirin (150 mg/kg), or saline vehicle was administered orally, once daily for 6 days and then tested for ulcerogenic activity. At the end of the procedure, gastric juice and tissues were collected and subjected to biochemical and histological analyses. The results of the study revealed that in the case of the aspirin-treated group, there was a significant increase in gastric juice volume, free acidity, total acidity, and ulcer score and a decrease in gastric pH. Moreover, histological examination of the gastric mucosa of the aspirin-treated group indicated morphological changes while neither of the synthetic compounds showed any significant ulcerogenic or cytotoxic properties. The results of the present study suggest that both compounds are free from ulcerogenic side effects and may represent a better alternative to aspirin

Novel hydroquinone derivatives alleviate algesia, inflammation and pyrexia in the absence of gastric ulcerogenicity

Purpose: To synthesize and characterize novel hydroquinone compounds that exhibit an aspirin-like pharmacological profile devoid of ulcerogenic side effects.Methods: Two novel hydroquinone derivatives, viz, 2,5-bis(piperidinomethyl)hydroquinone and 2,5- bis(pyrrolidinomet hyl)hydroquinone, were synthesized by refluxing hydroquinone, paraformaldehyde and secondary amines (piperidine or pyrrolidine) in ethanol. The structures were authenticated by infrared (IR) spectroscopy, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry (MS) and 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopic techniques. The synthesized derivatives were evaluated for antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activities along with gastric-ulcerogenicity using wellknown testing paradigms. Aspirin served as reference standard.Results: The newly synthesized hydroquinone derivatives, significantly attenuated tonic visceral chemically-induced nociception at 10 mg/kg (p &lt; 0.01, p &lt; 0.001), 20 and 40 mg/kg (p &lt; 0.001), inhibited the temporal-inflammatory reaction at 50 mg/kg (2 - 5 h, p &lt; 0.05, p &lt; 0.001), 100 and 150 mg/kg (1 - 5 h, p &lt; 0.05, p &lt; 0.01, p &lt; 0.001) in addition to alleviating the febrile-response at test doses during 0.5 h (p &lt; 0.05, p &lt; 0.01, p &lt; 0.001), 1 and 1.5 h (p &lt; 0.001) of the study period. The synthesized compounds exhibited improved gastric tolerability profile since they were devoid of aspirin-associated biochemical and ulcerative changes. The in silico studies predicted high binding affinity of the hydroquinone derivatives to the active site of the cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) enzyme.Conclusion: The synthesized hydroquinone compounds possess analgesic, antipyretic and antiinflammatory properties with low gastric-ulcerogenic potential. This may be credited to preferential inhibition of the COX-2 enzyme and the beneficial basic rather than acidic chemical nature of the compounds. However, further molecular studies are required to substantiate these findings.Keywords: 2,5-Bis(piperidinomethyl)hydroquinone], 2,5- is(pyrrolidinomethyl)hydroquinone, Antiinflammatory, Antinociceptive, Antipyretic, Gastric-ulcerogenicity, Algesi