Insulin causes airway hyper-reactivity

Background: We explored the acute effects of insulin and one possible mechanism underlying the acute contractile effects of insulin on isolated tracheal smooth muscle of guinea pig in vitro.Methods: Effects of increasing concentrations of histamine (10−7-10−3 M), insulin (10−7-10−3 M), insulin pretreated with a fixed concentration of indomethacin (10−6 M) were studied on isolated tracheal tissue of guinea pig in vitro by constructing cumulative concentration response curves. The tracheal smooth muscle contractions were recorded with transducer on four channel oscillograph.Results: Histamine and insulin produced a concentration-dependent reversible contraction of isolated tracheal muscle of guinea pig. The mean±standard error of the mean of maximum amplitudes of contraction with histamine, insulin and insulin pretreated with indomethacin were 92.5±1.20 mm, 35±1.13 mm and 14.55±0.62 mm respectively. Indomethacin shifted the concentration-response curve of insulin to the right and downwards.Conclusions: Insulin has acute contractile effects on guinea pig airways, which were significantly inhibited by prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor indomethacin confirming the involvement of contractile prostaglandins in insulin-induced airway hyper-responsiveness

Mortality Trends In Pre COVID And Pandemic Era In A Tertiary Care Setting

Objective: The coronavirus pandemic has emphasized stay-at-home and social distancing policies. Since the beginning of the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a declining trend of hospital mortality indicating that the pandemic might keep patients from seeking emergency care in a hospital setting. This study was carried out to determine the mortality trends pre-COVID and pandemic periods in a tertiary care hospital. Methods:  Study design: Retrospective observational study Place and Duration: 1st January 2019 to December 2021 at Federal Government Polyclinic (FGPC) Hospital Islamabad It was a retrospective review done on death data of pre-COVID (January-December 2019) and pandemic(January 2020-December 2021) period. Data on death was retrieved from medical male and female wards, medical ICU and isolation ward. The mortality rate was measured for both pre-COVID and pandemic periods along with co-morbid for the pandemic period. Descriptive statistics were measured with the SPSS software version. 23.  Association with age, gender and mortality was observed using a chi-square test taking p value ≤ 0.05 as significant. Result: In this study of the 366 deaths, the average age of patients in the pre-COVID and pandemic era was57.40±17.910 and 64.31±16.065 respectively. The males and females were 50.9% and 49.1% in the pre-COVID period while 61.5% and 38.5% in the pandemic period. The frequency of deaths was 46.7% in the pre COVID and 53.3% in the pandemic period with a p-value <0.05. Patients with co-morbid died more in the pandemic era. Conclusion: It was observed that hospital mortality trends were in decline during the COVID-19 pandemic in our setting which may be associated with lockdown, decreased access to the hospitals or fear of going to hospital

Inhibitory Effect of Sodium Cromoglycate on Insulin Induced Airway Hyper-Reactivity

Objective: To explore the acute effect of insulin on airway reactivity of guinea pigs and protective effects of sodium cromoglycate against insulin induced airway hyper-reactivity on isolated tracheal tissues of guinea pigs in vitro. Subjects and Methods: Effects of insulin (10-7- 10-3 M) and insulin pretreated with sodium cromoglycate (10-6 M) were observed on isolated tracheal strip of guinea pig (n=12) in vitro by constructing cumulative concentration response curves. The tracheal smooth muscle contractions were recorded with Transducer on Four Channel Oscillograph. Results: Insulin produced a concentration dependent reversible contraction of isolated tracheal muscle of guinea pig. The mean ± SEM of maximum amplitudes of contraction with insulin and insulin pretreated with sodium cromoglycate were 35 ± 1.13 mm and 14.55 ± 0.62 mm respectively. Cromoglycate shifted the concentration response curve of insulin to the right and downwards. Conclusion: Sodium cromoglycate significantly reduced the insulin mediated airway hyper-reactivity in guinea pigs. So we suggest that pretreatment of inhaled insulin with cromoglycate may have clinical implication in amelioration of its potential respiratory adverse effects such as bronchoconstriction

Plant Mediated Green Synthesis of CuO Nanoparticles: Comparison of Toxicity of Engineered and Plant Mediated CuO Nanoparticles towards Daphnia magna

Research on green production methods for metal oxide nanoparticles (NPs) is growing, with the objective to overcome the potential hazards of these chemicals for a safer environment. In this study, facile, ecofriendly synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles was successfully achieved using aqueous extract of Pterospermum acerifolium leaves. P. acerifolium-fabricated CuO nanoparticles were further characterized by UV-Visible spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Plant-mediated CuO nanoparticles were found to be oval shaped and well dispersed in suspension. XPS confirmed the elemental composition of P. acerifolium-mediated copper nanoparticles as comprised purely of copper and oxygen. DLS measurements and ion release profile showed that P. acerifolium-mediated copper nanoparticles were more stable than the engineered CuO NPs. Copper oxide nanoparticles are used in many applications; therefore, their potential toxicity cannot be ignored. A comparative study was performed to investigate the bio-toxic impacts of plant-synthesized and engineered CuO nanoparticles on water flea Daphnia. Experiments were conducted to investigate the 48-h acute toxicity of engineered CuO NPs and plant-synthesized nanoparticles. Lower EC50 value 0.102 ± 0.019 mg/L was observed for engineered CuO NPs, while 0.69 ± 0.226 mg/L was observed for plant-synthesized CuO NPs. Additionally, ion release from CuO nanoparticles and 48-h accumulation of these nano CuOs in daphnids were also calculated. Our findings thus suggest that the contribution of released ions from nanoparticles and particles/ions accumulation in Daphnia needs to be interpreted with care

Fabrication and Analysis of Tapered Tip Silicon Microneedles for MEMS based Drug Delivery System

In this paper, a novel design of transdermal drug delivery (TDD) system is presented. The proposed system consists of controlled electronic circuit and microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based devices like microneedles, micropump, flow sensor, and blood pressure sensor. The aim of this project is to develop a system that can eliminate the limitations associated with oral therapy. In this phase tapered tip silicon microneedles have been fabricated using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching technology. Using ANSYS, simulation of microneedles has been conducted before the fabrication process to test the design suitability for TDD. More over multifield analysis of reservoir integrated with microneedle array using piezoelectric actuator has also been performed. The effects of frequency and voltage on actuator and fluid flow rate through 6×6 microneedle array have been investigated. This work provides envisage data to design suitable devices for TDD

A mesh network of MnO nanowires and CNTs reinforced by molecularly imprinted structures for the selective detection of para-nitrophenol

Advanced material architecture can be used to develop tailor-made interfaces for innovative and selective sensor platforms. An intricate mesh structure of manganese oxide nanowires and carbon nanotubes was synthesized. Further, the mesh was strengthened by a molecularly imprinted network to generate template cavities and impart selective recognition. Termed as MIP@MnO:CNT, this mesh structure was used as the receptor interface for microarray transducers. The unique hybrid composition and morphology enhanced binding performance for detection of para-nitrophenol (P-NP), an important pollutant. The sensor showed exceptional sensitivity towards P-NP monitoring with a limit of detection of 3 nM (S/N = 3). Benefitted from the imprinting strategy, the designed sensor exhibited 85–99% selectivity when compared to other aromatic compounds. Moreover, the designed interface was able to detect P-NP in water samples. As demonstrated in this study, other chemical compositions and morphology of multi-dimensional materials can be crafted for the improved and specific detection of analytes. </p

Polymeric Nanocomposites of Iron–Oxide Nanoparticles (IONPs) Synthesized Using <i>Terminalia chebula</i> Leaf Extract for Enhanced Adsorption of Arsenic(V) from Water

This study demonstrates the ecofriendly synthesis of iron&#8315;oxide nanoparticles (IONPs) and their stabilization with polymers, i.e., chitosan (C) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)&#8315;alginate (PA), along with a further investigation for the removal of arsenic(As(V)) from water. IONPs with an average diameter of less than 100 nm were prepared via a green synthesis process using an aqueous leaf extract of Terminalia chebula. Batch experiments were conducted to compare the removal efficiency of As(V) by these adsorbents. Factors such as pH and adsorbent dosages significantly affected the removal of arsenate As(V) by IONPs and polymer-supported reactive IONPs. Several adsorption kinetic models, such as pseudo first-order, and pseudo second-order Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, were used to describe the adsorption of As(V). The removal of As(V) by IONPs follows the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The highest monolayer saturation adsorption capacity as obtained from the Langmuir adsorption isotherm for IONPs was 28.57 mg/g. As(V) adsorption by polymer-supported IONPs best fit the Freundlich model, and maximum adsorption capacities of 34.4 mg/g and 40.3 mg/g were achieved for chitosan- and PVA&#8315;alginate-supported IONPs, respectively. However, among these absorbents, PVA&#8315;alginate-supported IONPs were found to be more effective than the other adsorbents in terms of adsorption, stability, and reusability

In-situ synthesis of 3D ultra-small gold augmented graphene hybrid for highly sensitive electrochemical binding capability

The fascinating properties of graphene can be augmented with other nanomaterials to generate hybrids to design innovative applications. Contrary to the conventional methodologies, we showed a novel yet simple, in-situ, biological approach which allowed for the effective growth of gold nanostructures on graphene surfaces (3D Au NS@GO). The morphology of the obtained hybrid consisted of sheets of graphene, anchoring uniform dispersion of ultra-small gold nanostructures of about 2-8 nm diameter. Surface plasmon resonance at 380 nm confirmed the nano-regimen of the hybrid. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the utilization of amine spacers to host gold ions leading to nucleation and growth. The exceptional positive surface potential of 55 mV suggest that the hybrid as an ideal support for electrocatalysis. Ultimately, the hybrid was found to be an efficient receptor material for electrochemical performance towards the binding of uric acid which is an important biomolecule of human metabolism. The designed material enabled the detection of uric acid concentrations as low as 30 nM. This synthesis strategy is highly suitable to design new hybrid materials with interesting morphology and outstanding properties for the identification of clinically relevant biomolecules