Ultrasound Evaluation of Liver in Patients Who Had History of Hepatitis C

Background: Hepatitis is an infection of liver. The disorder can be self-limiting or lead to fibrosis(scarring), cirrhosis, or liver cancer. Both acute infection and chronic sequelae, such as hepatitis C, cause significance morbidity and mortality in the hum of population. Hepatitis can be very high in general population. Our study evaluate the liver parenchyma in patients with history of Hepatitis C and provide descriptive to prevent future liver pathologies.The primary goal of our research is to delay or perhaps stop the progression of liver fibrosis, as well as to prevent liver disease.Grey scale ultrasonography has been reported to detect Ultrasonographic features of chronic disease resulting in decreased liver function and ultimately, liver failure and to help the patients with cured hepatitis C to check out the parenchymal damage and to give healthy lifestyle. Objective: To evaluate the ultrasonographic features of the liver in the patients who had history of hepatitis C. Study design: ur study design was retro prospective. Material and method: The retro prospective study was conducted in which data of 56 patients were taken. The data was collected from the radiology department of al-Razi health care and Jinnah hospital. After informed consent, data was collected through ultrasound machine. Out of 56 patients 27 were females and 29 were males. study duration was 4 months. Inclusion criteria includes patients with history of liver hepatitis C. Exclusion criteria was patients with other causes of liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, metabolic liver disease and liver transplant recipients except hepatitis C. Result: 56 patients were included in our study out of which 27 were females and 29 were males. The ultrasonographic findings of the patients having liver hepatitis C shows the cirrhosis in 44.6%, change in liver contour in 37.5%, nodularity in 42.9% and vascular changes in 58.9%. Conclusion: Some extent of hepatitis C diseases cannot be seen on CT or MRI but can be seen on grey scale ultrasonography due to its high resolution .so, it can be concluded that the grey scale ultrasonography is more efficient and authentic diagnostic equipment in assessing the liver hepatitis C as compared to the CT. Keywords: hepatitis C, cirrhosis, liver abnormalities, ultrasound. DOI: 10.7176/JHMN/91-08 Publication date:July 31st 202

Compatibility and synergistic interactions of fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae, and insecticide combinations against the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Aphids are major pests affecting cereals, vegetables, fruit, forestry and horticultural produce. A multimodal approach may be an effective route to controlling this prolific pest. We assessed the individual and combined effect of eight insecticides and the entomopathogenic fungi, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschin.) against the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae), under laboratory conditions. Six of the insecticides tested were found to be highly compatible (flonicamid, imidacloprid, nitenpyram, dinotefuran, pyriproxyfen and spirotetramat), showing positive integration with the fungus and were selected for bioassays. The combination mixtures (1:1 ratio of M. anisopliae: insecticide) were significantly more toxic to A. gossypii than individual treatments. Maximum mortality (91.68%) of A. gossypii was recorded with combination of flonicamid and M. anisopliae (2.4 × 106 cfu/ml) 72 h after application. While minimum mortality (17.08%) was observed with the individual treatment of M. anisopliae (2.4 × 106 cfu/ml). The insecticides revealed toxicity consistent with their compatibility with M. anisopliae, ranking for efficacy exactly as they did for compatibility. In addition, the synergy factor (SF) and co-toxicity coefficient (CTC) values indicated synergistic interactions at different time intervals. The synergistic efficacy revealed the potential of fungus-insecticide integration against sucking insect pests

Foliar spray of salicylic acid and ascorbic acid ameliorates the biochemical compounds in hybrid chillies

Chillies (Capsicum annuum) are a spice crop with great medicinal value of its biochemical ingredients. Its high antioxidant value along with good nutritional properties. Foliar application of Salicylic Acid may stimulate various plant physiological parameter i.e., stomatal activity, ions uptake, seed germination, leave membrane response to electrolytes and growth rate. Salicylic Acid (SA) is known as a molecule that is participated in physiological processes in chillies, plant tolerance and resistance to abiotic and biotic stresses. Ascorbic acid possesses antioxidant properties, has positive impact on flowering and expounds effective plant defense system against pesticide toxicity. Moreover, ascorbic acid is effective chemical to mitigate the destructive impacts of salt stress. All the treatments improved the yield, fruit length and fruit width as compared to control treatment. Although, various treatments, salicylic acid and ascorbic acid combination showed the maximum plant height (80.3 cm), shoot weight (161 g), root weight (47.1 g) and pericarp thickness (1.99 mm) in treatment T9 variety of V4. Results declared that foliar spray of plants growth regulators increased the carbohydrates, protein, fiber and ash content. Results declared that foliar spray of plants growth regulators increased the carbohydrates, protein, fiber and ash contents. Furthermore, Biochemical attributes and Enzymes like proline (19.1%), SOD (1.40ug-1Fw), POD (17.9 ug-1Fw g) and CAT (6.15ug-1Fw) were significantly improved in plants sprayed with salicylic acid (SA) and ascorbic acid (AA) at T9 treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of foliar application of ascorbic acid and salicylic acid on the yield and biochemical traits of hybrid chillies. Generally, the highest values were obtained from T9 treatment application of SA and AA combination. Based on these findings, the SA and AA treatments may help alleviate the positive effect on the growth of Chillies

Green Synthesis, Structural Characterization and Photocatalytic Applications of ZnO Nanoconjugates Using Heliotropium indicum

In recent years, biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) have been gaining importance due to their unique properties and tremendous applications. This study aimed to fabricate ZnO NPs by using extracts from various parts of the traditional medicinal plant Heliotropium indicum (H. indicum) and evaluate their photocatalytic activity. Further, their potential in photoluminescence and fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was assessed. The Ultraviolet-Visible spectrum exhibited a hypsochromic shifted absorption band between 350–380 nm. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis revealed spherical NPs, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) data revealed wurtzite, hexagonal and crystalline nature. The TEM and XRD consistently determined an average particle size range from 19 to 53 nm. The photocatalytic degradation reaches a maximum of 95% for biogenic ZnO NPs by monitoring spectrophotometrically the degradation of methylene blue dye (λmax = 662.8 nm) under solar irradiation. Photoluminescence analysis revealed differentiated spectra with high-intensity emission peaks for biogenic ZnO NPs compared with chemically synthesized ZnO NPs. Eventually, the highest efficiency of FRET (80%) was found in ZnO NPs synthesized from the leaves. This remains the first report highlighting the multifunctional ZnO NPs capabilities mediated by using H. indicum, which could lead to important potential environmental and biomedical applications

PENGARUH JENIS ELEKTRODA DAN BESAR AMPERE UNTUK UJI KEKUATAN TARIK PADA PENGELASAN SMAW (SHIELD METAL ARC WELDING) TERHADAP BESI HOLLOW 1.2 MM

PENGARUH JENIS ELEKTRODA DAN BESAR AMPERE UNTUK UJI KEKUATAN TARIK PADA PENGELASAN SMAW (SHIELD METAL ARC WELDING) TERHADAP BESI HOLLOW 1.2 MM, Program studi Teknik Mesin Fakultas Teknik, Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang Tahun 2022, Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui ada atau tidaknya pengaruh dari jenis elektroda yang digunakan pada saat proses pengelasan SMAW terhadap kekuatan uji tarik tidak hanya jenis elektroda saja namun pada besar kecilnya ampere juga akan di lakukan penelitian, untuk objeknya sendiri yaitu besi hollow dengan ketebalan 1.2mm, untuk jenis dari elektroda sendiri ada beberapa macambya seperti RD 460, RD 260, RB 320 dan masih banyak lainnya sedangkan untuk besar ampere sendiri biasanya untuk inverter las 450 Watt sendiri mempunyai besatan 10 – 120 Ampere, dari sini bisa dilakukan penelitian seberapa tahan atau kuat pengelasan tersebut pada uji tarik yang akan dilakukan

Green and Cost-Effective Synthesis of Metallic Nanoparticles by Algae: Safe Methods for Translational Medicine

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have received much attention for potential applications in medicine (mainly in oncology, radiology and infectiology), due to their intriguing chemical, electronical, catalytical, and optical properties such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect. They also offer ease in controlled synthesis and surface modification (e.g., tailored properties conferred by capping/protecting agents including N-, P-, COOH-, SH-containing molecules and polymers such as thiol, disulfide, ammonium, amine, and multidentate carboxylate), which allows (i) tuning their size and shape (e.g., star-shaped and/or branched) (ii) improving their stability, monodispersity, chemical miscibility, and activity, (iii) avoiding their aggregation and oxidation over time, (iv) increasing their yield and purity. The bottom-up approach, where the metal ions are reduced in the NPs grown in the presence of capping ligands, has been widely used compared to the top-down approach. Besides the physical and chemical synthesis methods, the biological method is gaining much consideration. Indeed, several drawbacks have been reported for the synthesis of NPs via physical (e.g., irradiation, ultrasonication) and chemical (e.g., electrochemisty, reduction by chemicals such as trisodium citrate or ascorbic acid) methods (e.g., cost, and/ortoxicity due to use of hazardous solvents, low production rate, use of huge amount of energy). However, (organic or inorganic) eco-friendly NPs synthesis exhibits a sustainable, safe, and economical solution. Thereby, a relatively new trend for fast and valuable NPs synthesis from (live or dead) algae (i.e., microalgae, macroalgae and cyanobacteria) has been observed, especially because of its massive presence on the Earth’s crust and their unique properties (e.g., capacity to accumulate and reduce metallic ions, fast propagation). This article discusses the algal-mediated synthesis methods (either intracellularly or extracellularly) of inorganic NPs with special emphasis on the noblest metals, i.e., silver (Ag)- and gold (Au)-derived NPs. The key factors (e.g., pH, temperature, reaction time) that affect their biosynthesis process, stability, size, and shape are highlighted. Eventually, underlying molecular mechanisms, nanotoxicity and examples of major biomedical applications of these algal-derived NPs are presented

Development of Cephradine-Loaded Gelatin/Polyvinyl Alcohol Electrospun Nanofibers for Effective Diabetic Wound Healing: In-Vitro and In-Vivo Assessments

Diabetic wound infections caused by conventional antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains are fast emerging, leading to life-threatening situations (e.g., high costs, morbidity, and mortality) associated with delayed healing and chronic inflammation. Electrospinning is one of the most widely used techniques for the fabrication of nanofibers (NFs), induced by a high voltage applied to a drug-loaded polymer solution. Particular attention is given to electrospun NFs for pharmaceutical applications (e.g., original drug delivery systems) and tissue regeneration (e.g., as tissue scaffolds). However, there is a paucity of reports related to their application in diabetic wound infections. Therefore, we prepared eco-friendly, biodegradable, low-immunogenic, and biocompatible gelatin (GEL)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) electrospun NFs (BNFs), in which we loaded the broad-spectrum antibiotic cephradine (Ceph). The resulting drug-loaded NFs (LNFs) were characterized physically using ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry (for drug loading capacity (LC), drug encapsulation efficiency (EE), and drug release kinetics determination), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) (for thermostability evaluation), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) (for surface morphology analysis), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) (for functional group identification). LNFs were further characterized biologically by in-vitro assessment of their potency against S. aureus clinical strains (N = 16) using the Kirby–Bauer test and 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, by ex-vivo assessment to evaluate their cytotoxicity against primary human epidermal keratinocytes using MTT assay, and by in-vivo assessment to estimate their diabetic chronic wound-healing efficiency using NcZ10 diabetic/obese mice (N = 18). Thin and uniform NFs with a smooth surface and standard size (<400 nm) were observed by SEM at the optimized 5:5 (GEL:PVA) volumetric ratio. FTIR analyses confirmed the drug loading into BNFs. Compared to free Ceph, LNFs were significantly more thermostable and exhibited sustained/controlled Ceph release. LNFs also exerted a significantly stronger antibacterial activity both in-vitro and in-vivo. LNFs were significantly safer and more efficient for bacterial clearance-induced faster chronic wound healing. LNF-based therapy could be employed as a valuable dressing material to heal S. aureus-induced chronic wounds in diabetic subjects

Physicochemical Characterizations and Pharmacokinetic Evaluation of Pentazocine Solid Lipid Nanoparticles against Inflammatory Pain Model

Pentazocine (PTZ), a narcotic-antagonist analgesic, has been extensively used in the treatment of initial carcinogenic or postoperative pain. Hepatic first-pass metabolism results in low oral bioavailability and high dose wastage. Herein, 10 mg (-)-Pentazocine (HPLC-grade) was incorporated to solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) using a double water-oil-water (w/o/w) emulsion by solvent emulsification–evaporation technique, followed by high shear homogenization to augment its oral bioavailability, considering the lymphatic uptake. The resulting SLNs were characterized for zeta potential (ZP), particle size (PS), and polydispersity index (PDI) using a zetasizer. The entrapment efficiency (EE) and loading capacity (LC) were calculated. Chemical interactions, through the identification of active functional groups, were assessed by Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The nature (crystallinity) of the SLNs was determined by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The surface morphology was depicted by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In vitro (in Caco-2 cells) and in vivo (in male Wistar rats) investigations were carried out to evaluate the PTZ release behavior and stability, as well as the cellular permeation, cytotoxicity, systemic pharmacokinetics, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative activities of PTZ-loaded SLNs, mainly compared to free PTZ (marketed conventional dosage form). The optimized PTZ-loaded SLN2 showed significantly higher in vitro cellular permeation and negligible cytotoxicity. The in vivo bioavailability and pharmacokinetics parameters (t1/2, Cmax) of the PTZ-loaded SLNs were also significantly improved, and the nociception and inflammation, following carrageenan-induced inflammatory pain, were markedly reduced. Concordantly, PTZ-loaded SLNs showed drastic reduction in the oxidative stress (e.g., malonaldehyde (MDA)) and proinflammatory cytokines (e.g., Interleukin (IL)-1β, -6, and TNF-α). The histological features of the paw tissue following, carrageenan-induced inflammation, were significantly improved. Taken together, the results demonstrated that PTZ-loaded SLNs can improve the bioavailability of PTZ by bypassing the hepatic metabolism via the lymphatic uptake, for controlled and sustained drug delivery

Development and Characterizations of Pullulan and Maltodextrin-Based Oral Fast-Dissolving Films Employing a Box–Behnken Experimental Design

Migraine is a neurological disorder characterized by severe headaches, visual aversions, auditory, and olfactory disorders, accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Zolmitriptan (ZMT®) is a potent 5HT1B/1D serotonin receptor agonist frequently used for the treatment of migraine. It has erratic absorption from the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), but its oral bioavailability is low (40–45%) due to the hepatic metabolism. This makes it an ideal candidate for oral fast dissolving formulations. Hence, the current study was undertaken to design and develop oral fast-dissolving films (OFDFs) containing ZMT for migraine treatment. The OFDFs were formulated by the solvent casting method (SCM) using Pullulan (PU) and maltodextrin (MDX) as film-forming agents and propylene glycol (PG) as a plasticizer. The strategy was designed using Box–Behnken experimental design considering the proportion of PU:MDX and percentage of PG as independent variables. The effectiveness of the OFDF’s was measured based on the following responses: drug release at five min, disintegration time (D-time), and tensile strength (TS). The influence of formulation factors, including percent elongation (%E), thickness, water content, moisture absorption, and folding endurance on ZMT-OFDFs, were also studied. The results showed a successful fabrication of stable ZMT-OFDFs, with surface uniformity and amorphous shape of ZMT in fabricated films. The optimized formulation showed a remarkable rapid dissolution, over 90% within the first 5 min, a fast D-time of 18 s, and excellent mechanical characteristics. Improved maximum plasma concentration (C max) and area under the curve (AUC 0–t) in animals (rats) treated with ZMT-OFDFs compared to those treated with an intra-gastric (i-g) suspension of ZMT were also observed. Copolymer OFDFs with ZMT is an exciting proposition with great potential for the treatment of migraine headache. This study offers a promising strategy for developing ZMT-OFDFs using SCM. ZMT-OFDFs showed remarkable rapid dissolution and fast D-time, which might endeavor ZMT-OFDFs as an auspicious alternative approach to improve patient compliance and shorten the onset time of ZMT in migraine treatment

Use of ginger extract and bacterial inoculants for the suppression of Alternaria solani causing early blight disease in Tomato

Abstract Early blight (EB), caused by Alternaria solani, is a serious problem in tomato production. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria promote plant growth and inhibit plant disease. The present study explored the bio-efficacy of synergistic effect of rhizobacterial isolates and ginger powder extract (GPE) against tomato EB disease, singly and in combination. Six fungal isolates from symptomatic tomato plants were identified as A. solani on the basis of morphological features i.e., horizontal septation (6.96 to 7.93 µm), vertical septation (1.50 to 2.22 µm), conidia length (174.2 to 187.6 µm), conidial width (14.09 to 16.52 µm), beak length (93.06 to 102.26 µm), and sporulation. Five of the twenty-three bacterial isolates recovered from tomato rhizosphere soil were nonpathogenic to tomato seedlings and were compatible with each other and with GPE. Out of five isolates tested individually, three isolates (St-149D, Hyd-13Z, and Gb-T23) showed maximum inhibition (56.3%, 48.3%, and 42.0% respectively) against mycelial growth of A. solani. Among combinations, St-149D + GPE had the highest mycelial growth inhibition (76.9%) over the untreated control. Bacterial strains molecularly characterized as Pseudomonas putida, Bacillus subtilis, and Bacillus cereus and were further tested in pot trials through seed bacterization for disease control. Seeds treated with bacterial consortia + GPE had the highest disease suppression percentage (78.1%), followed by St-149D + GPE (72.2%) and Hyd-13Z + GPE (67.5%). Maximum seed germination was obtained in the bacterial consortia + GPE (95.0 ± 2.04) followed by St-149D + GPE (92.5 ± 1.44) and Hyd-13Z + GPE (90.0 ± 2.04) over control (73.8 ± 2.39) and chemical control as standard treatment (90.0 ± 2). Ginger powder extracts also induce the activation of defence-related enzymes (TPC, PO, PPO, PAL, and CAT) activity in tomato plants. These were highly significant in the testing bacterial inoculants against A. solani infection in tomato crops