Spectrophotometric determination of nicradipine and isradipine in pharmaceutical formulations

A sensitive spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of some 1,4-dihydropyridine compounds namely, nicardipine and isradipine either in pure form or in pharmaceutical preparations. The method is based on the reduction of nicardipine and isradipine with zinc powder and calcium chloride followed by further reduction with sodium pentacyanoaminoferrate (II) to give violet and red products having the absorbance maximum at 546 and 539 nm with nicardipine and isradipine, respectively. Beer’s law was obeyed over the concentration range 8.0–180 μg/ml with the detection limit of 1.67 μg/ml for nicardipine and 8.0–110 μg/ml with the detection limit of 1.748 μg/ml for isradipine. The analytical parameters and their effects on the reported methods were investigated. The molar absorptivity, quantization limit, standard deviation of intercept (Sa), standard deviation of slope (Sb) and standard deviation of the residuals (Sy/x) were calculated. The composition of the result compounds were found 1:1 for nicardipine and 1:2 for isradipine by Job’s method and the conditional stability constant (Kf) and the free energy changes (ΔG) were calculated for compounds formed. The proposed method was applied successfully for the determination of nicardipine and isradipine in their dosage forms. The results obtained were in good agreement with those obtained using the reference or official methods. A proposal of the reaction pathway was presented

High-performance liquid chromatographic method for the determination of nicardipine in pure, pharmaceutical preparations and plasma and its application to pharmacokinetics in humans

A simple, sensitive and reproducible reversed-phase liquid chromatographic method has been developed and validated for the determination of nicardipine hydrochloride (NC) in pure, pharmaceutical preparations, human plasma and the study of the pharmacokinetics of the drug in human body. Nicardipine in plasma were extracted with hexane-butanol (12:1,v/v) after addition of borate buffer (0.5 M, pH=9.0), and then measured by HPLC-UV using a Waters Symmetry C18 column as stationary phase and methanol– triethylamine buffer (0.01M) pH 4 with acetic acid (70:30) as mobile phase. Nicardipine was quantified by ultraviolet absorbance at 353 nm. The method proved to be linear in the pure drug in the ranges of 15-200 ng/mL (r=0.9989) and 5-40 µg/mL (r=0.9995), and for the pharmaceutical preparations and plasma for drug concentrations in the range of 5-40 µg/mL (r =0.9992) and 25-150 ng/mL (r=0.9991), respectively. The lower limit of detection and the lower quantitation limit of NC in plasma were 11.74 and 35.57 ng/mL, respectively. The method is sensitive and reliable for pharmacokinetic studies of nicardipine in humans after the oral administration of immediate-release capsules to healthy subjects

Islamic Religiosity and Subjective Well-Being in the West: Meta-Analytic Evidence of Consistent Protections across the Diverse Muslim Diasporas

Please see the uploaded file

The role of transcranial grayscale and Doppler ultrasound examination in diagnosis of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Background: The role of transcranial grayscale ultrasound (TC-GSUS) and transcranial color Doppler (TCD) in the diagnosis and prognosis of neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is still questionable.Objective: This study targeted to evaluate the role of TC-GSUS and TCD in diagnosis and prediction of the outcome of neonates with suspected HIE in comparison to Sarnat's clinical scoring.Patients and methods: 26 neonates with suspected HIE were clinically evaluated and the severity of HIE was categorized according to Sarnat's clinical staging. Then, all neonates underwent sonographic examinations. TC-GSUS was performed at levels of anterior, mastoid, and posterior fontanelles and the level of the temporal window.Results: Cranial biometry had negative and positive rates for HIE of 7.7% and 92.3%, respectively. Using TC-GSUS, periventricular leukomalacia, intraventricular hemorrhage, brain edema, and hydrocephalus were detected in 17, 19, 14, and 16 patients, respectively. According to the resistive index (RI) of intracranial vessels, TCD excluded HIE in 11 patients and assured diagnosis of HIE with varying severity in 15 patients. Five neonates died and four developed neurological affection during follow-up. The outcome was correlated with Sarnat’s scoring, ventricular-hemispheric ratio, and abnormalities of RI. Statistical analyses defined severity of HIE as judged by RI as the significant predictor for mortality and abnormal RI of anterior cerebral (ACA) and internal carotid arteries (ICA) are the most significant predictors of outcomes.Conclusion: TCD can diagnose HIE in neonates with high sensitivity and specificity and abnormal RI of ICA and ACA might be used as valuable diagnostic and prognostic tests

Le cancer du rein chez l’adulte. Etude rétrospective à propos de 155 cas

Objectif: Analyser les différents aspects épidémiologiques, cliniques, radiologiques, pathologiques et thérapeutiques du cancer du rein dans notre contexte. Patients et méthodes: Il s’agit d’une étude rétrospective à partir des dossiers des patients hospitalisés à notre service d’urologie pour tumeurs du rein entre 1990 et 2007. Sur les 155 dossiers consultés, 125 patients ont été traités chirurgicalement, et pour 30 patients, l’abstention a été justifiée par le stade évolué localement ou métastatique et/ou le mauvais état général. Les paramètres étudiés ont été : l’âge, la symptomatologie clinique, le bilan radiologique, le type d’intervention, les résultats anatomopathologiques et le stade histologique TNM. Tous les patients ont été revus avec un examen clinique, une échographie ou tomodensitométrie abdominale avec radiographie thoracique et une créatinémie. Résultats: Il s’agissait de 105 hommes et 50 femmes. L’âge moyen de découverte était de 60 ans (extrêmes : 18 et 85 ans). Le délai moyen entre l’apparition des symptômes et le diagnostic était d’environ 9 mois (extrêmes : 1 et 24 mois). L’hématurie était le signe révélateur le plus important noté chez 45,2% des cas. Le diagnostic a été basé sur le couple échographie – tomodensitométrie chez tous nos patients. La taille tumorale moyenne était de 10 cm (extrêmes 3 et 20 cm) lors du bilan initial. Le rein gauche était touché plus souvent que le rein droit (67% vs. 33%). Le bilan d’extension à distance était négatif chez 95 patients (61,3%), alors que 60 patients avaient des métastases viscérales et/ou ganglionnaires. Parmi ces derniers, 30 avaient un mauvais état général et/ou des métastases viscérales multiples ce qui a contre indiqué le geste opératoire. Les localisations métastatiques des 30 patients opérés étaient les suivantes: poumons (5 cas), ganglions (15 cas), os (2 cas), foie (8 cas). Plus de 80% des tumeurs étaient des carcinomes à cellules claires (carcinomes conventionnels). L’intervention a consisté à une néphrectomie totale élargie à ciel ouvert chez tous nos patients opérés. La médiane de suivi était de 62 mois (extrêmes: 6-72 mois). Trente patients ont été perdus de vue définitivement après l’intervention. Sur l’ensemble de la série, les taux respectifs de survie sans récidive à 3 ans et à 5 ans étaient de 78,4% et 47,2%. Conclusion: Le cancer du rein est une pathologie qui n’est pas rare. Sa symptomatologie est polymorphe. Le traitement de référence est la néphrectomie totale élargie. Les facteurs pronostiques les plus déterminants sont le stade (TNM) et le grade histologique de Fuhrman. Selon notre série, la néphrectomie élargie permet un taux de survie sans récidive supérieur à 85%, tous stades et types histologiques confondus.Mots clés: Cancer, rein, adulte

Biological control of Egyptian broomrape (Orobanche aegyptiaca) using Fusarium spp.

The broomrape (Orobanche spp.) is an obligate holoparasitic weed that causes severe damage to many important vegetable crops. Many broomrape control strategies have been tested over the years. In this investigation, 125 Fusarium spp. isolates were recovered from diseased broomrape spikes collected from fields in agricultural areas near Hebron. The pathogenicity of isolates on broomrape was evaluated using an inoculum suspension containing mycelia and conidia. The most effective Fusarium isolates significantly increased the dead spikes of broomrape by 33.6–72.7% compared to the control; there was no obvious pathogenic effect on the tomato plants. Fusarium spp. isolates Fu 20, 25 and 119 were identified as F. solani, while Fu 30, 52, 59, 87 and 12-04 were F. oxysporum. In addition, the two previously known Fusarium strains, F. oxysporum strain EId (CNCM-I-1622) (Foxy) and F. arthrosporioides strain E4a (CNCM-I-1621) (Farth) were equally effective in controlling broomrape parasitizing tomato plants grown in pots, where the dead spikes of broomrape increased by 50.0 and 51.6%, respectively

OPTN recruitment to a Golgi-proximal compartment regulates immune signalling and cytokine secretion.

Optineurin (OPTN) is a multifunctional protein involved in autophagy and secretion, as well as nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and IRF3 signalling, and OPTN mutations are associated with several human diseases. Here, we show that, in response to viral RNA, OPTN translocates to foci in the perinuclear region, where it negatively regulates NF-κB and IRF3 signalling pathways and downstream pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion. These OPTN foci consist of a tight cluster of small membrane vesicles, which are positive for ATG9A. Disease mutations in OPTN linked to primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) cause aberrant foci formation in the absence of stimuli, which correlates with the ability of OPTN to inhibit signalling. By using proximity labelling proteomics, we identify the linear ubiquitin assembly complex (LUBAC), CYLD and TBK1 as part of the OPTN interactome and show that these proteins are recruited to this OPTN-positive perinuclear compartment. Our work uncovers a crucial role for OPTN in dampening NF-κB and IRF3 signalling through the sequestration of LUBAC and other positive regulators in this viral RNA-induced compartment, leading to altered pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion

Adult Ocular Toxocariasis Mimicking Ciliary Body Malignancy

Purpose. To discuss an unusual presentation of ocular toxocariasis. Methods. Case report. Results. A 40-year-old woman presented with decreased vision in the left eye with a long history of recurrent red eye from uveitis. Eosinophilia and positive ELISA titers for Toxocara canis favored the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Over 3 months, an anterior scleral mass had a rapid growth raising the possibility of medulloepithelioma, which rarely can mimic uveitic syndromes. Surgical plan changed from local excision to enucleation. Histopathology demonstrated a large homogeneous mass of chronic inflammatory cells with inflammation of the overlying thinned out sclera, medial rectus insertion, and limbal cornea. The triad of peripheral granuloma, eosinophilia, and positive blood serology established the diagnosis of ocular toxocariasis. Conclusions. Ocular toxocariasis can mimic ocular malignancy such as medulloepithelioma in adults and rarely presents as an anterior scleral mass

Gender and Tahrir Square: contesting the state and imagining a new nation

This article argues that the concepts of ‘State’ and ‘Nation’ should be treated as separate from one another, hence, more than one image of the nation is possible at one given time. During the early days of the January 2011 Egyptian revolution, a contestation emerged between Mubarak’s state and the protesters in Tahrir Square over the image and notion of the Egyptian nation. Both the state and the protesters attempted to exclude one another from their respective discourse of the Egyptian nation. While reflecting back on a number of women’s voices who joined the early days of the Tahrir Square protests and using qualitative fieldwork interviews with Cairo-based feminist and political activists, this article points to the complexity of a newly forged image of Egyptian nationhood. In Tahrir Square, this image appeared to be largely framed within gendered criteria where notions of manhood and hyper visible gender equality were intrinsically linked to the broader objective of removing Mubarak and his regime. This raises the question of whether new gender paradigms of equality can continue to exist beyond Tahrir Square’s imagination of a ‘new’ nation