Bacoside A: Role in Cigarette Smoking Induced Changes in Brain

Cigarette smoking (CS) is a major health hazard that exerts diverse physiologic and biochemical effects mediated by the components present and generated during smoking. Recent experimental studies have shown predisposition to several biological consequences from both active and passive cigarette smoke exposure. In particular, passive smoking is linked to a number of adverse health effects which are equally harmful as active smoking. A pragmatic approach should be considered for designing a pharmacological intervention to combat the adverse effects of passive smoking. This review describes the results from a controlled experimental condition, testing the effect of bacoside A (BA) on the causal role of passive/secondhand smoke exposure that caused pathological and neurological changes in rat brain. Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke induced significant changes in rat brain histologically and at the neurotransmitter level, lipid peroxidation states, mitochondrial functions, membrane alterations, and apoptotic damage in rat brain. Bacoside A is a neuroactive agent isolated from Bacopa monnieri. As a neuroactive agent, BA was effective in combating these changes. Future research should examine the effects of BA at molecular level and assess its functional effects on neurobiological and behavioral processes associated with passive smoke

EFFECT OF VARMAM THERAPY IN SANTHU VATHAM (OSTEO ARTHRITIS–KNEE JOINT)-A SINGLE CASE STUDY

Santhu vatham is a vatha disease mentioned in the Siddha text book Yugi vaidhya chindhamani. The clinical features can be equated to osteo arthritis of knee joint. Varmam therapy is one of the external therapies mentioned in Siddha literature. A 68 y old male from chennai reported to the varmam, narambiyal matrum enbumurivu OPD of Siddha Central Research Institute (SCRI) on 2.5.2015 with chief complaints of pain and swelling in both knee joints since 5 y. He was given varmam therapy. Varma points are points where the pranan, ie, vital energy of our body is concentrated (residing). The treatment is given for 45 d for once in 2 d for 15 min. The pain was assessed using visual analogue score before and after treatment. The pain was markedly reduced after treatment. The range of movements of the knee joint was also improved

Polarized Neutron Reflectometry of Nickel Corrosion Inhibitors.

Polarized neutron reflectometry has been used to investigate the detailed adsorption behavior and corrosion inhibition mechanism of two surfactants on a nickel surface under acidic conditions. Both the corrosion of the nickel surface and the structure of the adsorbed surfactant layer could be monitored in situ by the use of different solvent contrasts. Layer thicknesses and roughnesses were evaluated over a range of pH values, showing distinctly the superior corrosion inhibition of one negatively charged surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulfate) compared to a positively charged example (dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide) due to its stronger binding interaction with the surface. It was found that adequate corrosion inhibition occurs at significantly less than full surface coverage.X-ray photoelectron spectra were obtained at the National Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) XPS User’s Service (NEXUS) at Newcastle University, an EPSRC midrange facility. NR data were obtained on the D17 instrument, and samples were treated in the laboratories of the Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter (PSCM) at the Institut Laue-Langevin. M.H.W. is grateful for funding from the Oppenheimer Trust.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the American Chemical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b0171

COVID-19 Detection in CT Images using Deep Transfer Learning

Confronting the COVID-19 pandemic introduced by newest corona virus, SARS-CoV-2, is one of the human species' most influential problems today. The fast identification and isolation of infected patients is a crucial factor in slowing down the spread of the virus. The Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) process, one of the basic methods for COVID-19 recognition, is time-consuming in addition short-lived due to the pandemic. Deep learning applied to patients' CT images has given away hopeful results popular the identification of COVID-19 in this context. The powerful net family of CNN models using CT images to perform COVID-19 recognition is suggested in this article by VGG-16. As a consequence, COVID-19 detection was proposed as a VGG-16 model with an overall accuracy of 98.33 percent. We assume that, both in terms of productivity and efficiency, the published figures reflect modern outcomes

Inhibition of corrosion of carbon steel by heptane sulphonic acid – Zn2+ system

Corrosion inhibition of carbon steel in dam water by sodium heptane sulphonate (SHS) and zinc ion system was investigated using weight loss and potentiodynamic polarization methods. Results of weight loss method indicated that inhibition efficiency (IE) increased as the inhibitor concentration increased. A synergistic effect existed between SHS and Zn2+. The influence of sodium potassium tartrate (SPT) on the IE of the SHS-Zn2+ system was evaluated. As the immersion period increased, the IE decreased. Polarization study revealed that SHS-Zn2+ system functioned as a cathodic inhibitor. AC impedance spectra revealed that a protective film was formed on the metal surface. The nature of the metal surface was analyzed by FTIR spectra, SEM and AFM analyses

Effect of bacoside a on brain antioxidant status in cigarette smoke exposed rats

Abstract Free radicals mediated oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of smoking-related diseases and antioxidant nutrients are reported to prevent the oxidative damage induced by smoking. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate the antioxidant role of bacoside A (triterpenoid saponin isolated from Bacopa monniera) against chronic cigarette smoking induced oxidative damage in rat brain. Adult male albino rats were exposed to cigarette smoke for a period of 12 weeks and simultaneously administered with bacoside A (10 mg/kg b.w./day, p.o.). Antioxidant status of the brain was assessed from the levels of reduced glutathione, vitamin C, vitamin E, and vitamin A and the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase. The levels of copper, iron, zinc and selenium in brain and serum ceruloplasmin activity were also measured. Oxidative stress was evident from the diminished levels of both enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. Alterations in the levels of trace elements with accumulation of copper and iron, and depletion of zinc and selenium were also observed. Bacoside A administration improved the antioxidant status and maintained the levels of trace elements. These results suggest that chronic cigarette smoke exposure enhances oxidative stress, thereby disturbing the tissue defense system and bacoside A protects the brain from the oxidative damage through its antioxidant potential.

Assessment of depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep in the vertigo patients

Background: Dysfunction of the vestibular system was linked with the development of psychological and sleep disorders. Vertigo is one of the most common clinical syndromes with a five percent prevalence in the adult population. Aim and Objective: To determine the depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep in vertigo patients. Material and Methods: A total of 50 male and female vertigo patients were part of the study after obtaining informed consent. Age and gender-matched 50 controls were also recruited. After recruitment, the participants underwent a general physical examination and filling out the questionnaires. Results: Age was not significantly different between the groups. Higher scores of depression were present in the cases when compared to the control group. Higher levels of anxiety were observed in the cases when compared with the control group. Significantly higher levels of stress scores were observed in the cases when compared to the control group. Significantly higher scores of insomnia were observed in the cases when compared with the control group. Conclusion: The present study results explain that there were significantly higher scores of depression, anxiety, stress, and insomnia scores in the participants of the cases group when compared with the control group