Antidiabetic potential of mucilage fraction extracted from Astragalus gyzensis seeds

The objective of the current work is to extract a new mucilage fraction from Astragalus gyzensis Bunge. seeds, which are collected from the El-Oued province (septentrional Algerian Sahara) and evaluated for their antidiabetic potential. The mucilage fraction is obtained using hot water extraction followed by alcoholic precipitation of polysaccharides by cold ethanol (96%). The primary investigation was performed by describing the main structural features of the extract through colorimetric assays, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thin-layer chromatography analysis using two systems. Biological activity was also monitored by antidiabetic activity by testing the inhibition of α-amylase and α-glucosidase enzymes in vitro. The extraction yield was 20.69%. The chemical composition mainly consisted of 78.60±0.29% carbohydrates, among them 63.92±0.67% neutral sugar, 15.78±0.76% uronic acid, 8.08±0.04% proteins and 2.57±0.05% phenolic compounds. The results obtained by thin-layer chromatography analysis showed the dominance of mannose and galactose. Fourier-transform infrared spectrum showed characteristic bands expected galactomannans. The investigations highlighted the antihyperglycemic effect in a dose-dependent manner by the inhibition of the α-amylase enzyme (IC50=0.8±0.005 mg/mL). These factors make it suitable for the industrial application of dietary supplement fiber made for diabetic individuals. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.761853

Gemcitabine and treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in relapsed or refractory elderly patients: A prospective randomized trial in Algeria

Context: Support for non-Hodgkin\u2032s lymphoma (NHL) with large cells that is refractory or relapsed after first-line chemotherapy poses a greater therapeutic problem with bone marrow transplant therapy or when old age is a contra-indication for high-dose chemotherapy, especially among developing countries such as Algeria. Aim: To show that the regimen, including gemcitabine, could be more effective in treating elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in relapse / refractory, without complete remission, when compared with the ESHAP (etoposide, cisplatine, solumedrol, aracytine) regimen. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six patients in the age group of 60-70 years were volunteers for a prospective randomized single-blind study, carried out for three years. Patients were divided into two groups by the drawing of lots. The first group (GA, n = 48, relapse; n = 27 [56.3%], refractory; n = 21 [43.7%]) received treatment with ESHAP protocol and the second one (GB, n = 48, relapse; n = 28 [58%], refractory; n = 20 [42%]) with GPD (gemcitabine, dexamethasone, cisplatine) protocol. Results: The overall response rates and mean survival at three years were significantly higher among patients subjected to GPD treatment compared with those subjected to ESHAP treatment (63% vs. 55%, P = 0.01 and 20.5% [95% CI 16.5-24.5] vs. 11.8% [8.9-14.6], respectively). Additionally, three-year progression-free and event-free survival rates were 20.5% (16.3-24) and 19.7% (15.9-23.5), respectively, for the GPD regimen and 10.9% (8.2-13.7) and 11.1% (95% CI 8.5-13.7), respectively, for the ESHAP regimen. Moreover, the GPD regimen was associated with improving overall survival (RR=2.02, 95% CI 1.59-2.56; P = 0.000), event-free survival (2.03, 1.64-2.52; P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (1.86, 1.46-2.37; P < 0.001). Conclusion: In cases of contra-indication for high-dose chemotherapy for elderly patients with DLBCL, without complete remission, the Gemcitabine-based therapy protocol represents a more effective and less toxic than that of ESHAP

Multiple Myeloma Treatment in Real-world Clinical Practice : Results of a Prospective, Multinational, Noninterventional Study

Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all patients and their families and all the EMMOS investigators for their valuable contributions to the study. The authors would like to acknowledge Robert Olie for his significant contribution to the EMMOS study. Writing support during the development of our report was provided by Laura Mulcahy and Catherine Crookes of FireKite, an Ashfield company, a part of UDG Healthcare plc, which was funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Janssen Global Services, LLC. The EMMOS study was supported by research funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical NV and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all patients and their families and all the EMMOS investigators for their valuable contributions to the study. The authors would like to acknowledge Robert Olie for his significant contribution to the EMMOS study. Writing support during the development of our report was provided by Laura Mulcahy and Catherine Crookes of FireKite, an Ashfield company, a part of UDG Healthcare plc, which was funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Janssen Global Services, LLC. The EMMOS study was supported by research funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical NV and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Funding Information: M.M. has received personal fees from Janssen, Celgene, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Novartis, and Takeda and grants from Janssen and Sanofi during the conduct of the study. E.T. has received grants from Janssen and personal fees from Janssen and Takeda during the conduct of the study, and grants from Amgen, Celgene/Genesis, personal fees from Amgen, Celgene/Genesis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, and Glaxo-Smith Kline outside the submitted work. M.V.M. has received personal fees from Janssen, Celgene, Amgen, and Takeda outside the submitted work. M.C. reports honoraria from Janssen, outside the submitted work. M. B. reports grants from Janssen Cilag during the conduct of the study. M.D. has received honoraria for participation on advisory boards for Janssen, Celgene, Takeda, Amgen, and Novartis. H.S. has received honoraria from Janssen-Cilag, Celgene, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, and Takeda outside the submitted work. V.P. reports personal fees from Janssen during the conduct of the study and grants, personal fees, and nonfinancial support from Amgen, grants and personal fees from Sanofi, and personal fees from Takeda outside the submitted work. W.W. has received personal fees and grants from Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Roche, Takeda, Gilead, and Janssen and nonfinancial support from Roche outside the submitted work. J.S. reports grants and nonfinancial support from Janssen Pharmaceutical during the conduct of the study. V.L. reports funding from Janssen Global Services LLC during the conduct of the study and study support from Janssen-Cilag and Pharmion outside the submitted work. A.P. reports employment and shareholding of Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) during the conduct of the study. C.C. reports employment at Janssen-Cilag during the conduct of the study. C.F. reports employment at Janssen Research and Development during the conduct of the study. F.T.B. reports employment at Janssen-Cilag during the conduct of the study. The remaining authors have stated that they have no conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The AuthorsMultiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease, with little information available on its management in real-world clinical practice. The results of the present prospective, noninterventional observational study revealed great diversity in the treatment regimens used to treat MM. Our results also provide data to inform health economic, pharmacoepidemiologic, and outcomes research, providing a framework for the design of protocols to improve the outcomes of patients with MM. Background: The present prospective, multinational, noninterventional study aimed to document and describe real-world treatment regimens and disease progression in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Patients and Methods: Adult patients initiating any new MM therapy from October 2010 to October 2012 were eligible. A multistage patient/site recruitment model was applied to minimize the selection bias; enrollment was stratified by country, region, and practice type. The patient medical and disease features, treatment history, and remission status were recorded at baseline, and prospective data on treatment, efficacy, and safety were collected electronically every 3 months. Results: A total of 2358 patients were enrolled. Of these patients, 775 and 1583 did and did not undergo stem cell transplantation (SCT) at any time during treatment, respectively. Of the patients in the SCT and non-SCT groups, 49%, 21%, 14%, and 15% and 57%, 20%, 12% and 10% were enrolled at treatment line 1, 2, 3, and ≥ 4, respectively. In the SCT and non-SCT groups, 45% and 54% of the patients had received bortezomib-based therapy without thalidomide/lenalidomide, 12% and 18% had received thalidomide/lenalidomide-based therapy without bortezomib, and 30% and 4% had received bortezomib plus thalidomide/lenalidomide-based therapy as frontline treatment, respectively. The corresponding proportions of SCT and non-SCT patients in lines 2, 3, and ≥ 4 were 45% and 37%, 30% and 37%, and 12% and 3%, 33% and 27%, 35% and 32%, and 8% and 2%, and 27% and 27%, 27% and 23%, and 6% and 4%, respectively. In the SCT and non-SCT patients, the overall response rate was 86% to 97% and 64% to 85% in line 1, 74% to 78% and 59% to 68% in line 2, 55% to 83% and 48% to 60% in line 3, and 49% to 65% and 36% and 45% in line 4, respectively, for regimens that included bortezomib and/or thalidomide/lenalidomide. Conclusion: The results of our prospective study have revealed great diversity in the treatment regimens used to manage MM in real-life practice. This diversity was linked to factors such as novel agent accessibility and evolving treatment recommendations. Our results provide insight into associated clinical benefits.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Phase selector for RFID localization system based on RSSI filter

The Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) localizations systems are actually from the most used in indoor environment. But this kind of closed environment allays presents more perturbation due to walls, roofs, obstacle presence and generally affect the measurements especially sensible parameters like the signal phase which can provide precious additional information for a better accuracy. In this work, we propose an alternative to resolve this problem; we propose a phase cleansing algorithms based on Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) selection. Our proposition consists to select just the phases corresponding to the best reads based on RSSI. Then, we use the selected phases as a metric for localization without using RSSI. We test our proposed approach on an RFID localization system composed from a set of EPC global Class-1 Gen-2 UHF RFID tags, an UHF RFID reader using a 7dbi antenna and a computer for data acquisition and processing. The system is carried by an operator and measurement zone was placed on a wall of 5.5m×1.25m

Design and Evaluation of an RFID Localization System based on Read Count

In this paper, we propose a new robust algorithm to improve the localization accuracy without using additional materials. This algorithm is based on a probabilistic approach which only uses the read count (number of detection) of reference and target tags. The localization is performed through two steps. The first step consists of estimating a local position of object tags in a given zone, while in the second step, all estimated local positions are used to calculate one global position. Furthermore, a complementary study concerning the influence of reference tags positions, the movement nature and the coverage of the work area is presented and discussed. For the proof of concept, a series of tests were elaborated with the proposed localization system created comprising conventional passive EPCglobal Class-1 Gen-2 UHF RFID tags, a commercial UHF RFID reader and a laptop. Measurements are carried out in an indoor environment where the 5.5 m×1.25 m measurement zone was placed on drywalls. The experimental results show that the present algorithm gives higher localization accuracy than the conventional ones

Evaluation of the Contribution of Renin Angiotensin System Polymorphisms to the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease Among Tunisians

International audienceRecent studies have identified genetic markers that may directly influence the risk of the coronary artery disease (CAD), in particular the renin angiotensin system genes. Since there are no existing data for the Tunisian population, we investigated the association between these polymorphisms (angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] insertion/deletion [Ins/Del]; the angiotensinogen T174M and M235T; and the angiotensin II type 1 receptor A1166C polymorphisms) and CAD in Tunisians. Study subjects comprised 341 cases and 316 age- and sex-matched healthy individuals. Clinical characteristics and other biochemical and environmental risk factors were collected for both. The distribution of the Ins/Del genotypes was significantly different between cases and controls (p = 0.049) with the genotype Ins/Ins identified as a risk, p = 0.02. Similarly, the distributions of the T174M and M235T genotypes were significantly different between cases and controls (p = 0.037 and 0.047, respectively) with 174M/M and 235 T/T as the risky genotypes (p = 0.001 and 0.026, respectively). However, A1166C genotype frequencies were not significantly different between patients and controls. In conclusion, our results suggest that a significantly higher risk of CAD was associated with the Ins/Del, the M235T, and T174M polymorphisms; other environmental variables such as body mass index; and biochemical variables such as cholesterol

–308G>A and –1031T>C tumor necrosis factor gene polymorphisms in Tunisian patients with coronary artery disease

Background: Recent research has shown that inflammation plays a key role in coronary artery disease (CAD) and other manifestations of atherosclerosis. Several lines of evidence support a key role for tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), a potent immunomodulator and pro-inflammatory cytokine, in the development of atherosclerosis and in complications of CAD. Methods: We investigated the possible association between CAD and the TNF gene promoter polymorphisms –308G>A and –1031T>C in a Tunisian population. We compared the distribution of these polymorphisms between 418 patients with CAD and 406 healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length-polymorphism analysis. Results: The frequency of the TNF-α –308A allele in the control group was similar to that observed in CAD patients [p=0.78; odds ratio (OR)=1.15; 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.86–1.55], but higher than those described in other Europeans, such as in the French, Finnish and Spanish. Concerning the TNF-α –1031T/C polymorphism, the same distribution was observed between patients with CAD and controls (p=0.12; OR=1.27; 95% CI=0.94–1.72). In addition, the genotype and allele frequencies of control individuals were comparable to those previously reported in healthy Tunisian controls and other ethnic groups. Haplotype analysis (TNF-α –308G>A and –1031T>C) demonstrated no significant association between TNF haplotypes and CAD. Conclusions: We conclude that TNF promoter gene polymorphisms at position –308G>A and –1031T>C do not play a major role in the pathogenesis of CAD in the Tunisian population. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009;47:1247–51.Peer Reviewe

Gemcitabine and treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in relapsed or refractory elderly patients: A prospective randomized trial in Algeria

Context: Support for non-Hodgkin′s lymphoma (NHL) with large cells that is refractory or relapsed after first-line chemotherapy poses a greater therapeutic problem with bone marrow transplant therapy or when old age is a contra-indication for high-dose chemotherapy, especially among developing countries such as Algeria. Aim: To show that the regimen, including gemcitabine, could be more effective in treating elderly patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in relapse / refractory, without complete remission, when compared with the ESHAP (etoposide, cisplatine, solumedrol, aracytine) regimen. Materials and Methods: Ninety-six patients in the age group of 60-70 years were volunteers for a prospective randomized single-blind study, carried out for three years. Patients were divided into two groups by the drawing of lots. The first group (GA, n = 48, relapse; n = 27 [56.3%], refractory; n = 21 [43.7%]) received treatment with ESHAP protocol and the second one (GB, n = 48, relapse; n = 28 [58%], refractory; n = 20 [42%]) with GPD (gemcitabine, dexamethasone, cisplatine) protocol. Results: The overall response rates and mean survival at three years were significantly higher among patients subjected to GPD treatment compared with those subjected to ESHAP treatment (63% vs. 55%, P = 0.01 and 20.5% [95% CI 16.5-24.5] vs. 11.8% [8.9-14.6], respectively). Additionally, three-year progression-free and event-free survival rates were 20.5% (16.3-24) and 19.7% (15.9-23.5), respectively, for the GPD regimen and 10.9% (8.2-13.7) and 11.1% (95% CI 8.5-13.7), respectively, for the ESHAP regimen. Moreover, the GPD regimen was associated with improving overall survival (RR=2.02, 95% CI 1.59-2.56; P = 0.000), event-free survival (2.03, 1.64-2.52; P < 0.001) and progression-free survival (1.86, 1.46-2.37; P < 0.001). Conclusion: In cases of contra-indication for high-dose chemotherapy for elderly patients with DLBCL, without complete remission, the Gemcitabine-based therapy protocol represents a more effective and less toxic than that of ESHAP