ELECTROCHEMICAL AND CHEMOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF DORZOLAMIDE AND TIMOLOL IN EYE DROPS USING MODIFIED MULTIWALL CARBON NANOTUBE ELECTRODE

Objective: This work is focused on the construction of simple and sensitive electrochemical sensor for quantitative determination of dorzolamide (DOR) and timolol maleate (TIM). This method is based on the incorporation of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) into the carbon paste electrode which improve the characteristics of the electrode.Methods: The electrochemical response of modified electrode was based on voltammetric oxidation, using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The structural morphology of the surface modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Quantitative analysis for each of the two compounds in a mixture has been examined by using of chemometric tools for resolving overlapping signals. The prediction performance of the chemometric method was analyzed by principal component regression (PCR) and partial least square (PLS).Results: Fractional factorial design was constructed from set of synthetic mixtures of two drugs in concentration ranges of 0.05 to 1.6µg/ml for DOR and 1.5-20 µg/ml for TIM. Under optimum experimental conditions, DOR and TIM gave rectilinear response over the concentration range of 0.072-1.88 µg/ml and 1.16-20.84 µg/ml, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) was found to be 0.098 and 1.025 µg/ml, for DOR and TIM, respectively. It found that the % of relative prediction error (RPE) was acceptable and satisfactory.Conclusion: In these work, for the first time, a new voltammetric simultaneous method developed for a rapid and efficient determination of DOR and TIM from eye dropper sample at nano modified electrode with satisfactory results. These results indicate that MWCNT holds great promise in practical application

NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF SOLITARY WAVE FORMATION OF A PLANING HULL IN SHALLOW WATER CHANNELS

This paper uses a CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) analysis to investigate the shallow water effects on prismatic planing hull. The turbulence flow around the hull was described by Reynolds Navier Stokes equations RANSE using the k-ɛ turbulence model. The free surface was modelled by the volume of fluid (VOF) method. The analysis was steady for all the range of speeds except those close to the critical speed range due to the propagation of the planing hull solitary waves at this range. In this study, the planing hull lift force, total resistance, and wave pattern for the range of subcritical speeds, critical speeds, and supercritical speeds have been calculated using CFD. The numerical results have been compared with experimental results. The pressure distribution on the planing hull and its wave pattern at critical speed in shallow water were compared with those in deep water

SYNTHESIS OF NEW PYRIMIDINE DERIVATIVES AND EVALUATION OF THEIR ANTICANCER AND ANTIMICROBIAL ACTIVITIES

ABSTRACTObjectives: The objective of this work is to synthesize new pyrimidine derivatives starting from ethyl 2,4-dioxo-4-(thiophen-2-yl)butanoate.Several oxadiazole, triazole, and thiadiazole moieties were incorporated into the pyrimidine backbone. The structure of the novel compounds wascharacterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic methods.Methods: Synthesis of the target compounds was materialized starting from 2-oxo-6-(thiophen-2-yl)-2,3-dihydropyrimidine-4-carbohydrazide (4)which was prepared from the appropriate ethyl 2-oxo-6-(thiophen-2-yl)-2,3 dihydropyrimidine-4-carboxylate (2). Several synthetic pathways wereused for the preparation of the targets. Some of the newly synthesized compounds were subjected to in vitro cytotoxic screening against breastcarcinoma and colon carcinoma cell lines. On the other hand, the antimicrobial activity evaluation of some newly prepared compounds was performedusing cup plate diffusion method.Results: It was observed that the oxadiazole derivative 7b was the most potent compound against breast carcinoma cell line (IC=7.6 μg/ml). However,pyrimidine carrying substituted 1,2,4-triazole-2-thione moiety at position 6, 11 showed the highest cytotoxic activity against colon carcinoma cellline (IC50=4.7 μg/ml). On the other hand, compound 5c was the most active broad spectrum antimicrobial agent against the chosen microbial strains.Conclusion: From the observed results, further investigations recommended for the synthesis of heterocycles incorporated to pyrimidine backboneas cytotoxic as well as broad spectrum antimicrobial agents.Keywords: Pyrimidine, Oxadiazole, Triazole, Thiadiazole, In vitro anticancer study, Antimicrobial study.5

''Neurodegeneration and Oxidative Stress in Brain Tissues Induced by Tramadol with the Protective Effects of Royal Jelly in Rats''.

Tramadol hydrochloride (TH) is an opioid centrally acting analgesic used to treat moderate to severe acute and chronic pains. Therefore, it became the most prescribed opioid worldwide.In this study, we investigated the neurodegenerative disorders of tramadol in brain tissues and the protective role of royal jelly. Twenty male albino rats allocated into four groups: Group 1,served as a control group, and Group 2, administrated with tramadol at a dose of 20 mg/kg/b. W for 60 days. Group 3: rats administrated with tramadol at a dose of 20 mg/kg/b. W for 60 days and treated with royal jelly (RJ) in a 100 mg/kg dose. b.w. Group 4: Rats inoculated with royal jelly (RJ) at a dose of 100 mg/kg. b.w. Blood samples were collected for hematological and biochemical analysis. Brain tissues were harvested for neurodegeneration biomarkers detection and histopathological examinations. Administration of tramadol revealed a significant decrease in Hb concentration, RBCs count, PCV %, Lymphocytes %, and platelets number, while WBCS count, Neutrophiles, and monocytes % increased. Also, Tramadol induced a decrease in glucose-6phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) while creatine kinase -BB (CK-BB) and neuron-specific enolase enzymes (NSE) were decreased.Tramadol increased the lipid peroxidation MDA, while total antioxidants capacity (TAC) and glutathione reductase (GSH) concentrations were decreased. Histopathologically, tramadol-induced neurodegenerative changes in brain neurons manifested by acute necrosed neurons with gliosis and vascular congestions. The administration of royal jelly improved the previous deleterious effects by decreasing brain tissue oxidative stress. Tramadol misuse caused neurodegenerative effects and was relieved by RJ administration

Dietary Supplementation of Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) With Panax ginseng Essential Oil: Positive Impact on Animal Health and Productive Performance, and Mitigating Effects on Atrazine-Induced Toxicity

The present study assessed the impact of Panax ginseng essential oil (GEO) supplementation on physiological parameters related to productive performance and health status in Nile tilapia reared under standard conditions and exposed to a sub-lethal atrazine (ATZ) concentration. Fish were allocated into 6 groups: the control group was reared in clean water and fed with a commercial basal diet (CNT), two groups were fed with the basal diet supplemented with two different levels of GEO (GEO1 and GEO2, respectively), one group was intoxicated with 1/5 of ATZ 96-h lethal concentration 50 (1.39 mg/L) (ATZ group), and the remaining two groups were fed with the GEO-supplemented diets and concurrently exposed to 1.39 mg ATZ/L (GEO1+ATZ and GEO2+ATZ, respectively). The experiment lasted for 60 days. GEO supplementation exerted a significantly positive influence on fish growth, feed utilization, and hepatic antioxidant defense systems at both levels of supplementation. ATZ exposure significantly reduced fish survival rates and impaired fish growth and feed utilization, with the lowest final weights, weight gain, total feed intake, and the highest feed conversion ratio being recorded in the ATZ-intoxicated group. ATZ exposure caused significant changes in intestinal digestive enzyme activity (decreased lipase activity), hematological indices (decreased hemoglobin, packed cell volume, erythrocytes, and leukocytes), blood biochemical variables (decreased total proteins, albumin, globulins, and immunoglobulin M; increased total cholesterol, triglycerides, and cortisol), and hepatic oxidative/antioxidant indices (decreased glutathione level, superoxide dismutase and catalase enzyme activity and mRNA expression levels, and increased malondialdehyde content). Moreover, in the hepatic tissue of ATZ-intoxicated Nile tilapia, histopathological alterations and upregulated mRNA expression levels of stress- and apoptosis-related genes (Hsp70, caspase 3, and p53) were observed. GEO supplementation in ATZ-treated groups significantly attenuated the aforementioned negative effects, though some parameters did not reach the CNT values. These findings provide further and partly new evidence that sub-lethal ATZ toxicity induces reduced survivability, growth retardation, impaired digestive function, anemia, immunosuppression, hepatic oxidative stress damage, and overall increased stress level in Nile tilapia, and suggest that GEO supplementation may be useful for mitigating this toxicity and provide more general support to the productive performance and health status of this fish species

A lipidomic screen of hyperglycemia-treated HRECs links 12/15-Lipoxygenase to microvascular dysfunction during diabetic retinopathy via NADPH oxidase

Retinal hyperpermeability and subsequent macular edema is a cardinal feature of early diabetic retinopathy (DR). Here, we investigated the role of bioactive lipid metabolites, in particular 12/15-lipoxygenase (LOX)-derived metabolites, in this process. LC/MS lipidomic screen of human retinal endothelial cells (HRECs) demonstrated that 15-HETE was the only significantly increased metabolite (2.4 ± 0.4-fold, P = 0.0004) by high glucose (30 mM) treatment. In the presence of arachidonic acid, additional eicosanoids generated by 12/15-LOX, including 12- and 11-HETEs, were significantly increased. Fluorescein angiography and retinal albumin leakage showed a significant decrease in retinal hyperpermeability in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice lacking 12/15-LOX compared with diabetic WT mice. Our previous studies demonstrated the potential role of NADPH oxidase in mediating the permeability effect of 12- and 15-HETEs, therefore we tested the impact of intraocular injection of 12-HETE in mice lacking the catalytic subunit of NADPH oxidase (NOX2). The permeability effect of 12-HETE was significantly reduced in NOX2−/− mice compared with the WT mice. In vitro experiments also showed that 15-HETE induced HREC migration and tube formation in a NOX-dependent manner. Taken together our data suggest that 12/15-LOX is implicated in DR via a NOX-dependent mechanism.National Institutes of Health Grant 5R01EY023315 and National Priorities Research Program Grant 4-1046-3-284 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). This study was also supported in part by the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health Grant S10RR027926

Potencijalna profilaktička uloga aminogvanidina u diabetičkoj retinopatiji i nefropatiji u eksperimentalnih životinja

This study sought to determine the potential prophylactic and antioxidant effects of aminoguanidine in experimentally induced diabetes. Four groups of Wistar rats, each composed of ten rats, were used. Two groups served as control. In group 3, diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (65 mg kg1). In group 4, diabetes was induced and treated with aminoguanidine 100 mg kg1 daily orally for 3 months. Levels of serum glucose, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and erythrocytes catalase were analyzed on day 90 of the experiment. Retinal and kidney specimens were examined histopathologically after sacrifice of the animals. A significant antioxidant effect of aminoguanidine and its prophylactic role in diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy were observed in experimental animals.U ovom radu ispitivano je potencijalno profilaktičko i antioksidativno djelovanje aminogvanidina u eksperimentalno induciranom dijabetesu. Ispitivanja su provedena na četiri skupine od 10 štakora. Dvije skupine bile su kontrolne skupine, u trećoj skupini dijabetes je induciran jednokratnom intraperitonealnom injekcijom streptozotocina 65 mg kg1, a u četvrtoj dijabetes je induciran i tretiran aminogvanidinom 100 mg kg1 dnevno, peroralno, tijekom 3 mjeseca. Devedeseti dan eksperimenta analizirane su koncentracije glukoze u serumu, glutation peroksidaze, glutation reduktaze i eritrocitne katalaze. Životinje su žrtvovane, a uzorci retine i bubrega ispitivani su histopatologiški. Uočen je značajni antioksidativni učinak aminogvanidina i njegova profilaktička uloga u dijabetičkoj retinopatiji i nefropatiji

Neck Circumference as a Predictor of Adiposity among Healthy and Obese Children

BACKGROUND: Obesity, particularly in the upper part of body, is a major health problem. Because body mass index (BMI) does not adequately describe regional adiposity, other indices of body fatness are being explored.OBJECTIVES: To determine if neck circumference is a valid measure of adiposity (fat distribution) among group of Egyptian children.SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This is a cross sectional study, included 50 obese subjects, aged 7 - 12 years recruited from Endocrine, obesity and Metabolism Pediatric Unit at Children Hospital, Cairo University and 50 healthy children, age and sex matched. All children were subjected to blood pressure assessment (systolic SBP and diastolic DBP), and anthropometric assessment (body weight, height, neck circumference (NC), waist (WC) and hip (HC) circumferences, and skin fold thicknesses at three sites: biceps, triceps and sub scapular. BMI [weight (kg)/height (m2)] was calculated.RESULTS: In healthy females, significant associations were detected between NC and SBP, DBP and all anthropometric measurements. However, in healthy males NC was not significantly associated with BMI, SBP and DBP. In the obese group; both sexes; insignificant association was found between NC and SBP, DBP, BMI and skinfold thickness. CONCLUSION: NC is related to fat distribution among normal healthy female children. However, this relation disappears with increasing adiposity. The results do not support the use of NC as a useful screening tool for childhood obesity

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

GIZA 11 AND GIZA 12; TWO NEW FLAX DUAL PURPOSE TYPE VARIETIES

Sixteen flax genotypes {13 promising lines and 3 check varieties viz., Giza 8 (oil type), Sakha 1 (dual purpose type) and Sakha 3 (fiber type)} were evaluated for straw, seed, oil yields and their related traits under twelve different environments; four locations (Sakha, Etay El-Baroud, Ismailia and Giza Exp. Stations through three successive seasons (2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14). These materials were evaluated in a randomized complete blocks design with three replications at the twelve above-mentioned environments. The analysis of variance revealed highly significant differences among genotypes (G), environments (E) and G x E interaction for all studied traits except straw weight per plant, indicating a wide range of variation among genotypes, environments and these genotypes exhibited differential response to environmental conditions. The significant variance due to residual for all characters except both straw weight per plant and oil yield per fad indicated that genotypes differed with respect to their stability suggesting that prediction would be difficult, which means that mean performance alone would not be appropriate. Interaction component of variance (σ2ge) was less than the genotypic variance (σ2g) for all characters, indicating that genotypes differ in their genetic potential for these traits. This was reflected in high heritability and low discrepancy between phenotypic (PCV) and genotypic (GCV) coefficients of variability values for these traits indicating the possibility of using each of long fiber percentage, plant height and technical stem length as selection indices for improving straw weight per plant, as well as, using 1000-seed weight and capsules number per plant as selection indices for improving seed weight per plant. Yield stability (YSi) statistic indicated that S.541-C/3 and S.541-D/10 gave high mean performance and stability for straw, fiber, seed and oil yields per fad in addition to oil percentage, capsules number per plant and 1000-seed weight. Therefore, the two genotypes well be released under the name Giza 11 and Giza 12, respectively. These newly released varieties are of dual purpose type for straw, fiber, seed and oil yield. They may replace the low yielding cultivars Giza 8, Sakha 1 and Sakha 3