Antidiabetic Activity of the Alcoholic Extract of the Arial Part of Boerhaavia diffusa in Rats

This study indicates that Boerhaavia diffusa alcoholic extracts have good antidiabetic activity. Methanolic and ethanolic extracts of Boerhaavia diffusa at a dose level of 200 mg/kg/p.o exhibited significant anti-hyperglycemic activities in alloxan induced as well as in streptazotocin induced hyperglycemic rats. They can also improve the condition of diabetes as indicated by parameters like body weight along with serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. The extracts of the plant Boerhaavia diffusa was tested for oral hypoglycaemic and anti-diabetic activity, by glucose oral tolerance test, alloxan induced and streptozotocin induced diabetic rats respectively. The extracts of Boerhaavia diffusa have shown significant (

Pharmacognostical standardization and in vitro pediculocidal activity of Datura innoxia and Cyclea peltata

Datura innoxia and Cyclea peltata are two medicinally important plants with multiple medicinal values. The folklore of India uses these two plants for pediculocidal activity. Hence we have initiated to standardize both the plant parts pharmacognostically and then evaluate its pediculocidal potency. The micro anatomical studies of seeds of D.innoxia and leaves of C.peltata were studied. The proximate analysis, fluorescence analysis, preliminary chemical tests were performed for the both plant parts. Fixed oils were isolated from seeds of D.innoxia and the GC-MS studies were performed. The selected crude extract of C.peltata and the fixed oil of D.innoxia were evaluated for pediculocidal activity by filter paper diffusion bioassay. Permethrin(1%) was used as the standard and water as control. Lignified sclerenchyma was identified as tissue of diagnostic importance for D.innoxia seed and lignified unicellular covering trichomes was found to be the most important tissue of diagnostic importance for the leaves of C.peltata. Both the plants showed the presence of alkaloids as one of the major chemical constituents. GC-MS report of fixed oils from D.innoxia revealed the presence of different types of fatty acids. Both the plants showed potent pediculocidal activity. Among the two plants Datura innoxia seed oil was found to be best. It showed almost same activity as that of standard drug used. Further investigations have to be carried out on the isolated compounds which can set a base for the development of lead compounds with potent pediculocidal activity

Consumer intentions to buy nutrient-rich precooked bean snacks: does sensory evaluation matter?

Precooked bean products have the potential of bridging the common bean demand and consumption gap in Kenya. However, sensory evaluation of novel precooked processed products has been inadequate in determining acceptability. This study assessed the sensory evaluation of precooked bean snacks by 269 rural consumers in Machakos County of Kenya. Descriptive results indicated that less than one-quarter (22%) of the consumers were aware of the precooked bean products. The low awareness is a disconnect from the expectations that farming households were probably going to be aware of processed bean products because of their participation in bean value chain. Sensory evaluation showed that 75% of the consumers evaluated the freshness of the bean snacks positively, with about 90% and 63% of them positively assessing the taste of the precooked bean snacks branded Keroma Delicious and Keroma Fruity, respectively. The taste evaluation of Keroma Fruity brand significantly differed depending on age and level of education of the consumer. Similarly, the taste of Keroma Delicious brand also significantly differed by age and educational attainment of consumers. Furthermore, while consumers liked the taste parameters of the products, less than half of them liked the beany flavour of the two products. Results from the binary logit regression model indicated that freshness, sourness, and flavour positively and significantly predicted the probability of future purchases of Keroma Fruity bean snack brands. Consumer intentions to buy Keroma Delicious brand were positively predicted by flavour and marginally by sweetness. To accelerate the consumption of precooked bean products, product development and marketing strategies should recognise the role of sensory attributes in driving acceptability of the bean snacks, deploy processing technologies that retain and enhance sensory attributes, create awareness of the products, and segment the market from a gender lens in order to satisfy the diverse consumer needs and preferences

Clinical and Stroboscopic evaluation of vocal cord function before and after thyroid surgery

Introduction: Voice change due to injury to the Recurrent Laryngeal nerve and the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve is an important complication of Thyroid Surgery Objectives: Video Laryngeal Stroboscopy comes in handy for the detection of vocal cord palsies postoperatively that may be missed on routine examination, to know the extent of the pathology. Methods: 100 patients with thyroid swelling who have been evaluated and planned for thyroidectomy in a tertiary care centre between June 2016 to June 2018 were taken as subjects for this prospective observational study. Clinical examination and Video Laryngeal Stroboscopy were done pre operatively and compared to the same on third post-operative day and 1month following surgery. Results: Preoperative Video Laryngeal Stroboscopy was normal in all subjects. 26 out of 100 subjects had subjective postoperative voice change of various degrees. Out of 26 patients, 22 were diagnosed to have Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve palsy and 4 with Superior Laryngeal Nerve palsy .Most common symptoms post-surgery were Voice fatigue in 26% followed by decreased pitch range in 13% and hoarseness in 6% cases. Bowing of vocal cords was seen in 4 subjects (4%), Asymmetry of travelling mucosal wave (slight to severe) in 8 subjects (8%), incomplete glottis closure in 6 subjects (6%). Conclusion: Video Laryngeal Stroboscopy is a useful tool in evaluation of patients with suspected laryngeal paralysis. Paralysis of Superior Laryngeal Nerve, Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve or both results in asymmetric laryngeal vibration that is easily identified by even inexperienced observers using Stroboscopy in an otherwise normal rigid telescopy of laryn

Qualidade de vida nos doentes ostomizados – estudo usando o questionário Stoma-care QoL – influência de alguns dados clínicos e demográficos na QoL

Introduction In Portugal around 20,000 individuals are ostomized, with all the associated changes in patients’ everyday life that can compromise their Quality of Life (QoL). Objectives Assess and compare QoL of a group of ostomized patients according to sex, age group, type of surgery, primary disease, stoma duration and stoma type. Material and methods Ostomized patients observed in Stomatherapy department in between January 1st and May 30th 2017 was enrolled. QoL was assessed using the questionnaire Stoma Care QoL Questionnaire). Four domains were evaluated: Self-esteem and Self-image – SeSi Score; relation with Family and Friends – FF Score; relation with Sleep and Fatigue – SF score and ostomy Device Functioning insecurities – DeF score. Results Urostomy patients had significantly higher Total Scores, SeSi and FF scores than colostomy and ileostomy patients. Regarding SeSi Score, patients aged 70 years old or more and malignant diseases presented significantly higher scores than their younger counterparts and benign causes, respectively. FF Score document that patients with malignant diseases have significantly higher scores than patients with benign diseases. Conclusions Ileostomy and colostomy patients have a significantly lower QoL than urostomy patients mostly because of its impact on social relations and self-esteem and self-image.Introdução Em Portugal estima-se que cerca de 20.000 indivíduos sejam portadores de estoma, com todas as alterações associadas que podem comprometer a sua Qualidade de Vida (QdV). Objectivos Avaliar a QdV de doentes ostomizados de acordo com o sexo, idade, tipo de cirurgia, doença primária, duração e tipo de estoma. Materiais e métodos Foram incluídos todos os avaliados na consulta de Estomatoterapia entre Janeiro e Maio de 2017. A avaliação da QdV foi efetuada com recurso ao Questionário de QdV Stoma care. Avaliaram-se quatro domínios: autoestima e autoimagem (SeSi); relação com família e amigos (FF) relação com sono e cansaço e inseguranças relacionada com funcionamento do dispositivo (DeF). Resultados Doentes com urostomia apresentaram Scores Total, SeSi e FF, significativamente superior a doentes com colostomia e ileostomia. Relativamente ao score SeSi, os doentes com idade igual ou superior a 70 anos e doença maligna apresentaram scores significativamente maiores que os mais jovens e com doenças benignas, respectivamente. Quanto ao score FF verificou-se que doentes com causas malignas apresentaram scores significativamente superiores aos com causas benignas. Conclusões Doente ileostomizados e colostomizados apresenta QdV significativamente inferior aos doentes com urostomia, sobretudo devido ao impacto nas relações sociais, auto-estima e auto-imagem.(undefined

Site-selective cyclic AMP analogs provide a new approach in the control of cancer cell growth

Site-selective cyclic AMP analogs bind to site 1 or site 2 of the known cAMP-binding sites depending on the position of substituents on the purine ring, either at C-2 and C-8 (site 1) or at C-6 (site 2). The growth inhibitory effect of such site-selective cAMP analogs used in this investigation with 15 human cancer cell lines surpassed that of analogs previously tested. The most potent analogs were 8-chloro, N6-benzyl and N6-phenyl-8-p-chlorophenylthio-cAMP. The combination of a C-8 with an N6 analog had synergistic effects. The 24 site-selective analogs tested produced growth inhibition ranging from 30 to 80% at micromolar concentrations with no sign of toxic effects. Growth inhibition was not due to a block in a specific phase of the cell cycle but paralleled a change in cell morphology, an increase of the RII cAMP receptor protein and a decrease of p21 ras protein. Since the adenosine counterpart of the 8-chloro analog produced G1 synchronization without affecting the RII and p21 ras protein levels, it is unlikely that an adenosine metabolite is involved in the analog effect. Site-selective cAMP analogs thus provide a new biological tool for control of cancer growth

Apremilast retention rate in clinic practice:observations from an Italian multi-center study

Objective There are few real-world setting studies focused on apremilast efectiveness (i.e., retention rate) in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). The main aim of this retrospective observational study is the assessment of apremilast 3-year retention ratein real-world PsA patients. Moreover, the secondary objective is to report the reasons of apremilast discontinuation and thefactors related to treatment persistence. Methods In ffteen Italian rheumatological referral centers, all PsA consecutive patients who received apremilast were enrolled. Anamnestic data, treatment history, and PsA disease activity (DAPSA) at baseline were recorded. The Kaplan–Meier curve and the Coxanalysis computed the apremilast retention rate and treatment persistence-related risk factors. A p-value<0.05 was considered statistically signifcant. Results The 356 enrolled patients (median age 60 [interquartile range IQR 52–67] yrs; male prevalence 42.7%) median observation period was 17 [IQR 7–34] months (7218 patients-months). The apremilast retention rate at 12, 24, and 36 months was, respectively, 85.6%, 73.6%, and 61.8%. The main discontinuation reasons were secondary inefcacy (34% of interruptions), gastro-intestinal intolerance (24%), and primary inefcacy (19%). Age and oligo-articular phenotype were related to treatment persistence (respectively hazard ratio 0.98 IQR 0.96–0.99; p=0.048 and 0.54 IQR 0.31–0.95; p=0.03). Conclusion Almost three-ffths of PsA patients receiving apremilast were still in treatment after 3 years. This study confrmed its efectiveness and safety profle. Apremilast appears as a good treatment choice in all oligo-articular PsA patients and in those ones burdened by relevant comorbiditi

Dirty footprints and degenerate archives: Tabitha Nikolai’s impure walking sims

Tabitha Nikolai’s Shrine Maidens of the Unseelie Court and Ineffable Glossolalia are impure specimens of the walking sim. While these are still first-person games that see players exploring eerily underpopulated environments and archiving textual fragments, they are at once more aesthetically reflexive and more refer-entially dense than many walking sims. Accommodating giant spiders, Weimar sexologists, messageboard trolls and quotations from Roman poetry, Nikolai’s unorthodox spins on the ‘archival adventure’ reflect her interest in queer and trans history and her commitment to interrogating discourses of purity, progress and redemption. Reviewing critical discussions of the walking sim alongside queer, trans and decolonial perspectives on archives, identity and subjectification, the article argues that while walking sims have often been praised for telling emotion-ally engaging stories, in Nikolai’s hands the form assumes different function: that of reckoning with history and exploring subjectivity