Antibacterial efficacy of nanometals in conjunction with electrical stimulus

Hospital related infections generally result from the combined effect of preexisting bacteria on the patient and invasive devices. This demonstrates the significance in improving these medical devices to increase the quality of life of the patients that require them. This study will attempt to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of nanocopper particles and an electrical stimulus for the usage in medical device development and the hospital environment. For devices such as catheters, infections typically result from bacteria entering the body from the outside. This is accomplished by bacteria attaching themselves to the exterior of the device and producing biofilm which allows them to enter the body and cause an infection. The first and second studies positively demonstrate that the nanocopper and electrical stimulus work well in creating inhibition zones. However, the third test which focuses primarily on biofilm prevention presents negative results. In fact, it appears that the nanocopper has no effect on biofilm growth at all. The reasons for these mixed results could be due to a variety of reasons. For instance, when adding small particles to a very viscous solution, ensuring thorough dispersion proves very difficult without the proper tools which may have influenced the observed discrepancies. Another, possible conclusion could be due to the variability of thickness of the samples which can contribute to the high standard deviations. The results of this thesis indicate that with the proper materials and preparation, the application of nanocopper and direct current can potentially be applied towards the development of medical devices

Association between hypodontia and angles malocclusion

Abstract This study was planned to determine the prevalence of hypodontia in permanent dentition and to test whether an association was present between hypodontia and Angle\u27s malocclusion. The retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital, Karachi, and comprised record of all patients visiting the orthodontic clinics of the hospital from 2005 to 2015. Orthodontic records of 790(79%) subjects, including 189(23.9%) males and 601(76.1%) females, were reviewed. Their mean age was 17 ± 5.06 years. A tooth was considered missing if no evidence of tooth germ was observed on orthopantomograms and dental casts. The total sample was distributed into three groups on the basis of Angle\u27s classification. Chi-square test was applied to determine an association between hypodontia and Angle\u27s malocclusion. Tooth agenesis was observed in 34(4.3%) and a statistically significant difference was found between the genders (p=0.005). A positive association was found between hypodontia and malocclusion groups. Higher frequency of missing teeth was seen in Class III malocclusion which indicates a great need for orthodontic treatment as it has a psychosocial impact on the quality of life

Fireside corrosion degradation of ferritic alloys at 600°C in oxy-fired conditions

This paper reports the results of a study carried out to investigate the effects of simulated coal/biomass combustion conditions on the fireside corrosion. The 1000 h deposit recoat exposure (5 × 200 h cycles) was carried out at 600 °C. In these tests ferritic alloys were used 15Mo3, T22, T23 and T91. Kinetics data were generated for the alloys exposed using both traditional weight change methods and metal loss measurements. The highest rate of corrosion based on EDX results occurred under D1 deposit where provoke mainly by the formation of alkali iron tri-sulphate phase

mTOR inhibitors: A novel class of anti-cancer agents

threonine protein kinase that acts as a master switch between anabolic and catabolic functions of the human body in pathways stimulated by insulin, growth factors and mitogen [1]. mTOR functions as a central controller of growth, proliferation, metabolism and angiogenesis, but its signaling is dysregulated in various human diseases especially certain cancers like renal cell carcinoma and breast cancer [2]. In cancer, mTOR is frequently hyperactivated which promotes cancer development and progression. In certain cancers, resistance to antineoplastic agents such as topoisomerase 1, topoisomerase 2 inhibitors and methotrexate can be overcome with a synergistic combination with mTOR inhibitors [3,4]. Furthermore, mTOR activates the degradation of cyclin dependent kinases such as CDK1 which increases synthesis of dihydrofolate reductases. By decreasing this enzyme, mTOR inhibitors like sirolimus and temsirolimus, promote tumour sensitivity to agents such as methotrexate [4]. Recent development has made cancer treatment move on from conventional cytotoxic drugs to agents that target specific proteins like mTOR called mTOR inhibitors. A very common mTOR inhibitor, rapamycin, is a bacterial product that inhibits mTOR by associating with its intracellular receptor [5]. [Currently, two mTOR inhibitors, temsirolimus and everolimuswhich are derivatives of rapamycin, temsirolimus(Torisel: Wyeth-Ayerst, Charlotte, NC, U.S.A.) and everolimus(Certican: Novarti

UV SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC ASSAY METHOD DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION OF DABIGATRAN ETEXILATE IN CAPSULES

Objective: To develop a simple and a cheap UV spectrophotometric method for the quantitative estimation of Dabigatran etexilate in capsules and validate as per ICH guidelines.Methods: The optimized method uses triethyl ammonium phosphate aqueous solution (pH 2.5) as a solvent for the estimation of assay of Dabigatran etexilate in capsules at a wavelength of 325 nm.Results: The developed method resulted in Dabigatran etexilate exhibiting linearity in the range 5-15μg/ml. The assay precision is exemplified by relative standard deviation of 1.07%. Percentage Mean recovery was found to be in the range of 98â€102, during accuracy studies. Method was found to be robust with respect to wavelength and pH of the solvent. Conclusion: A simple and a cheap UV spectrophotometric method was developed and validated for the quantitative estimation of Dabigatran etexilate in capsules as per ICH guidelines and hence it can be used for routine analysis in various pharmaceutical industries.Â