Green extraction of Milletia pinnata oil for the development, and characterization of pectin crosslinked carboxymethyl cellulose/guar gum herbal nano hydrogel

Milletia pinnata oil and Nardostachys jatamansi are rich sources of bioactive compounds and have been utilized to formulate various herbal formulations, however, due to certain environmental conditions, pure extract form is prone to degradation. Therefore, in this, study, a green hydrodistillation technology was used to extract M. pinnata oil and N. jatamansi root for the further application in development of pectin crosslinked carboxymethyl cellulose/guar-gum nano hydrogel. Both oil and extract revealed the presence of spirojatamol and hexadecanoic acid methyl ester. Varied concentrations (w/w) of cross-linker and gelling agent were used to formulate oil emulsion extract gel (OEEG1, OEG1, OEEG2, OEG2, OEEG3, OEG3, OEEG4, OEG4, OEEG5, OEG5), in which OEEG2 and OEG2 were found to be stable. The hydrogel displayed an average droplet size of 186.7 nm and a zeta potential of −20.5 mV. Endo and exothermic peaks and the key functional groups including hydroxyl, amide II, and amide III groups confirmed thermal stability and molecular structure. The smooth surface confirmed structural uniformity. Bactericidal activity against both Gram-positive (25.41 ± 0.09 mm) and Gram-negative (27.25 ± 0.01 mm) bacteria and anti-inflammatory activity (49.25%–83.47%) makes nanohydrogel a potential option for treating various infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms. In conclusion, the use of green hydrodistillation technology can be used to extract the bioactive compounds that can be used in formulation of biocompatible and hydrophobic nanohydrogels. Their ability to absorb target-specific drugs makes them a potential option for treating various infections caused by pathogenic microorganisms

MRI signal intensity differentiation of brainstem encephalitis induced by Enterovirus 71: a classification approach for acute and convalescence stages

Additional file 3. After tick the segment region, Medflovan show the segmentation region of lesion

New Findings, Classification and Long-Term Follow-Up Study Based on MRI Characterization of Brainstem Encephalitis Induced by Enterovirus 71

Background To report the diversity of MRI features of brainstem encephalitis (BE) induced by Enterovirus 71. This is supported by implementation and testing of our new classification scheme in order to improve the diagnostic level on this specific disease. Methods Neuroimaging of 91 pediatric patients who got EV71 related BE were hospitalized between March, 2010 to October, 2012, were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent pre- and post-contrast MRI scan. Thereafter, 31 patients were randomly called back for follow-up MRI study during December 2013 to August 2014. The MRI signal patterns of BE primary lesion were analyzed and classified according to MR signal alteration at various disease stages. Findings in fatal and non-fatal cases were compared, and according to the MRI scan time point during the course of this disease, the patients’ conditions were classified as 1) acute stage, 2) convalescence stage, 3) post mortem stage, and 4) long term follow-up study. Results 103 patients were identified. 11 patients did not undergo MRI, as they died within 48 hours. One patient died on 14th day without MR imaging. 2 patients had postmortem MRI. Medical records and imaging were reviewed in the 91 patients, aged 4 months to 12 years, and two cadavers who have had MRI scan. At acute stage: the most frequent pattern (40 patients) was foci of prolonged T1 and T2 signal, with (15) or without (25) contrast enhancement. We observed a novel pattern in 4 patients having foci of low signal intensity on T2WI, with contrast enhancement. Another pattern in 10 patients having foci of contrast enhancement without abnormalities in T1WI or T2WI weighted images. Based on 2 cases, the entire medulla and pons had prolonged T1 and T2 signal, and 2 of our postmortem cases demonstrated the same pattern. At convalescence stage, the pattern observed in 4 patients was foci of prolonged T1 and T2 signal without contrast enhancement. Follow-up MR study of 31 cases showed normal in 26 cases, and demonstrated foci of prolonged T1 and T2 signal with hyper-intensity on FLAIR in 3 cases, or of prolonged T1 and T2 signal with hypo-intensity on FLAIR in 2 cases. Most importantly, MR findings of each case were thoroughly investigated and classified according to phases and MRI signal alteration. Conclusions This study has provided enhanced and useful information for the MRI features of BE induced by EV71, apart from common practice established by previous reports. In addition, a classification scheme that summarizes all types of features based on the MRI signal at the four different stages of the disease would be helpful to improve the diagnostic level

Recent advances in near-infrared-II hollow nanoplatforms for photothermal-based cancer treatment

Abstract Near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 1000–1700 nm) light-triggered photothermal therapy (PTT) has been regarded as a promising candidate for cancer treatment, but PTT alone often fails to achieve satisfactory curative outcomes. Hollow nanoplatforms prove to be attractive in the biomedical field owing to the merits including good biocompatibility, intrinsic physical-chemical nature and unique hollow structures, etc. On one hand, hollow nanoplatforms themselves can be NIR-II photothermal agents (PTAs), the cavities of which are able to carry diverse therapeutic units to realize multi-modal therapies. On the other hand, NIR-II PTAs are capable of decorating on the surface to combine with the functions of components encapsulated inside the hollow nanoplatforms for synergistic cancer treatment. Notably, PTAs generally can serve as good photoacoustic imaging (PAI) contrast agents (CAs), which means such kind of hollow nanoplatforms are also expected to be multifunctional all-in-one nanotheranostics. In this review, the recent advances of NIR-II hollow nanoplatforms for single-modal PTT, dual-modal PTT/photodynamic therapy (PDT), PTT/chemotherapy, PTT/catalytic therapy and PTT/gas therapy as well as multi-modal PTT/chemodynamic therapy (CDT)/chemotherapy, PTT/chemo/gene therapy and PTT/PDT/CDT/starvation therapy (ST)/immunotherapy are summarized for the first time. Before these, the typical synthetic strategies for hollow structures are presented, and lastly, potential challenges and perspectives related to these novel paradigms for future research and clinical translation are discussed. Graphical Abstrac

Novel Pseudomonas aeruginosa Strains Co-Harbouring bla_NDM-1 Metallo β-Lactamase and mcr-1 Isolated from Immunocompromised Paediatric Patients

BACKGROUND: The rising resistance to carbapenems in Gram-negative bacteria worldwide poses a major clinical and public health risk. This study aimed to characterise carbapenem- and colistin-resistance genes, bla(NDM-1) and mcr-1 located on IncX4 plasmid in MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa, isolated from paediatric patients undergoing chemotherapy as a result of leukaemia. METHODS: In this study, six carbapenem-resistant strains of P. aeruginosa were isolated from two paediatric patients under chemotherapy treatment (1.8 years old female and 2.1 years male) from the Shenzhen Hospital, China, in the year 2019. Isolates were screened for conventional antibiotics such as tobramycin, cefepime, imipenem, and ciprofloxacin in additional colistin by using the broth dilution method. Furthermore, resistance determinants: mcr-1, bla(NDM-1,) bla(KPC-1,) and bla(GES) were screened using PCR and sequencing followed by multi-locus sequence typing. The horizontal gene transfer and location of mcr-1 and bla(NDM-1) were determined by a liquid mating assay. In addition, Incompatibility type (Inc), PCR-based replicon type, and subgroup (MOB) of plasmid were studied. RESULTS: The screening for conventional antibiotics isolates showed 100% resistance to all the tested antibiotics except tobramycin. All isolates harboured carbapenemase encoding bla(NDM-1), of which three also had mcr-1 located on a single IncX4 transferable plasmid. MLST typing revealed that four strains had a novel (new) STs type, while two belonged to ST1966. CONCLUSION: This study identified for the first time colistin- and carbapenem-resistant MDR P. aeruginosa in paediatric patients with leukaemia in Shenzhen, China. It highlights the need for continuous surveillance in high-risk clones of MDR P. aeruginosa. Prudent use of antibiotics based on local antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical characteristics can help in reducing mortality in immunocompromised patients

Use of Honey in the Management of Chemotherapy-Associated Oral Mucositis in Paediatric Patients

Background: Oral mucositis (OM) is a critical condition during chemotherapy in both adult and child cancer patients. Paediatric cancer patients have a higher prevalence of OM than adult cancer patients. Honey is a natural product that has been reported to have the best tissue healing properties. The present mini-review focused on the evaluation of the effectiveness of oral care with honey products in the treatment and prophylaxis of chemotherapy-induced OM in child patients. Methods: A network of electronic English databases including CINAHL, CENTRAL, EMBASE, MEDLINE and PubMed, were used for primary search from April 2010 to April 2020. We have also considered data collected from ClinicalTrials.gov, Web of Science and Google Scholar. PRISMA software was used to build collective data. Controlled trials were included in this review and were critically appraised by Down and Black. The narrative synthesis was performed. Results: A total number of 346 data of children and adolescents with cancer were considered in this short review. All patients were from three randomized controlled trial articles and two were non-randomised controlled trial articles. Based on the evidence so far revealed, honey may show an effect in the treatment and prophylaxis of OM. The analysis of collected data revealed that the probability value P< 0.05. The honey enhanced recovery time and severity of OM were significantly compared with those without honey treatment receiving group of pediatric patients. Conclusion: Honey not only has been shown to have the capability for healing injured tissues but it is also a more economical treatment, and it has fewer side effects compared to synthetic drugs. Honey or honey products can prevent chemotherapy-induced OM (CIOM) and be the best treatment to grade I, II and III CIOM. However, it is disappointing that studies involving children as patients were few, and limited data available so far