Potentiometric detection of low-levels of sulfamethazine in milk and pharmaceutical formulations using novel plastic membrane sensors

Novel potentiometric sensors for selective screening of sulfamethazine (SMZ) in pharmaceutical preparations and milk samples are reported. The sensor membranes were made from PVC matrix doped with magnesium(II)-, manganese(II)- and dichlorotin (IV)-phthalocyanines as ionophores and aliquat-336 and nitron/SMZ ion-pair complex as ion exchangers. These sensors revealed fast, stable and near-Nernstian anionic response for the singly charged sulfamethazine anion over the concentration range 10-2 - 10-5 M. The sensors exhibited good selectivity towards SMZ over most known anions, excipients and diluents commonly added in drug preparations. Validation of the proposed methods was demonstrated via evaluating the detection limit, linear response range, accuracy, precision (within-day repeatability) and between-day-variability. The sensors are easily interfaced with a double channel flow injection system and used for continuous monitoring of SMZ in drug formulations, spiked milk samples and biological tissues. The method offers the advantages of design simplicity, results accuracy, and automation feasibility

Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water with Polyethylene Terephthalate Bottles Coated with Nano-Titanium Dioxide

Water disinfection processes in the presence of titanium dioxide as a photo-catalyst material provide an interesting route to destroy contaminants, being operational in the UV-A domain with a potential use of solar radiation. In recent years, advanced oxidation processes (AOP) have been developed to meet the increasing need of an effective wastewater treatment. AOP generates powerful oxidizing agent hydroxyl radicals which completely destroy the pollutants in waste water. Solar disinfection of drinking water with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles coated with photo-catalyst TiO2 has been shown to be very effective. The study is based on comparison between three systems for treating contaminated water samples using PET bottles. First system was a PET untreated bottle, the second system was a PET bottle coated with black paint on its outer surface. Finally the third system was a PET bottle coated also with a black coat on its outer surface and its inner part was treated with citric acid solution to enable np-TiO2 to cover the surface later on, then 0.2 g of np-TiO2 powder (of particle size <25 nm, Sigma-Aldrich) was added. The total bacterial accounts were determined to monitor the effect in the three systems. The experimental results have shown that disinfecting water with merely UV was less effective than combining the bottle with heat effect, and adding TiO2 film was further more benefited. This work can be applied in rural areas, with no technical support or need for expensive/dangerous chemicals for drinking safe water even if is stored for two days

Influence of immediate postpartum contraception counseling on the rate of unintended pregnancy in primigravida: a randomized controlled study

Background: The current study aims to assess the influence of immediate postpartum counselling about effective contraceptive methods to be used by primigravida on the rate of unintended pregnancy during first 6 months post-partum.Methods: The study was a prospective randomized controlled trial for assessment the influence of immediate postpartum counseling about effective contraceptive methods to be used by primigravida on the rate of unintended pregnancy during first 6 months post-partum who delivered at the period between the 1st of December 2016 and 31st of December 2017. The study patients were randomly assigned into two groups: Group (A) were received counseling about contraceptive methods using illustrations through postpartum interview with the study researcher. Group (B) were not received any counseling about contraceptive methods. The primary outcome was the difference in the rate of unintended pregnancy in both groups.Results: No significant difference between both groups in preventing unintended pregnancy. In group (A): After 3 months postpartum 140 women (93.3%) were used the contraceptive method correctly. 10 women used method incorrectly and 2 of them get pregnant. After 6 months postpartum 8 women did not use any method but 134 women (95.7%) were correctly used the contraceptive method. In group (B): After 3 months postpartum 127 women (84.7%) were used the contraceptive method correctly. 23 women used method incorrectly and 4 of them get pregnant. After 6 months postpartum 1 woman did not use any method but 30 women (20.7%) were incorrectly used the contraceptive method.Conclusions: Immediate post-partum counseling about contraceptive methods is good tool to educate women who intend to have optimal inter–pregnancy period about the effective methods that suit them and when to initiate

Potentiometric detection of low-levels of sulfamethazine in milk and pharmaceutical formulations using novel plastic membrane sensors

Novel potentiometric sensors for selective screening of sulfamethazine (SMZ) in pharmaceutical preparations and milk samples are reported. The sensor membranes were made from PVC matrix doped with magnesium(II)-, manganese(II)- and dichlorotin (IV)-phthalocyanines as ionophores and aliquat-336 and nitron/SMZ ion-pair complex as ion exchangers. These sensors revealed fast, stable and near-Nernstian anionic response for the singly charged sulfamethazine anion over the concentration range 10-2 - 10-5 M. The sensors exhibited good selectivity towards SMZ over most known anions, excipients and diluents commonly added in drug preparations. Validation of the proposed methods was demonstrated via evaluating the detection limit, linear response range, accuracy, precision (within-day repeatability) and between-day-variability. The sensors are easily interfaced with a double channel flow injection system and used for continuous monitoring of SMZ in drug formulations, spiked milk samples and biological tissues. The method offers the advantages of design simplicity, results accuracy, and automation feasibility

Acaricidal activity of Foeniculum vulgare against Rhipicephalus annulatus is mainly dependent on its constituent from trans-anethone

Globally, the economic losses due to hard ticks infestation and the control of the associated diseases have been calculated at USD $13.9-18.7 billion per year. The economic impact is related to its direct damage to the skins, blood loss, anemia, severe immunological reactions and indirect losses that related to the effects of hemoparasites, cost of treatment for clinical cases and expenses incurred in the control of ticks. The current study evaluated the acaricidal activities of fennel Foeniculum vulgare essential oil and its main components; trans-anethole and fenchone; against R. annulatus. GC-MS analysis revealed that this oil contained 16 components representing 99.9% of the total identified compounds with E-anethole being the predominant component(64.29%), followed by fenchone (9.94%). The fennel oil and trans-anethole showed significant acaricidal activities. The LC50 of the fennel oil was attained at concentrations of 12.96% for adult ticks and 1.75% for tick larvae meanwhile the LC50 of trans-anethole was reached at concentrations of 2.36% for adult tick and 0.56% for tick larvae. On the contrary, fenchone showed no any significant adulticidal activities and its LC50 attained at a concentration of 9.11% for tick larvae. Regarding repellence activities, trans-anethole achieved 100% repellency at the concentration of 10% while fennel showed 86% repellency at the same concentration. Fenchone showed no repellency effect. Treatment of larvae with fennel, trans-anethole, and fenchone LC50 concentrations significantly inhibited the acetylcholinesterase activity. Meanwhile, glutathione s-transferase activity was significantly decreased in fennel treated larvae but no significant effect was found in the larvae of trans-anethole and fenchone groups. These results indicate that the acaricide effect of fennel oil may attributed to its high content of trans-anethole. This was supported by potent adulticidal, larvicidal, and repellency effects of trans-anethole against Rhipeciphalus annulatus tick and therefore it could be included in the list of acaricide of plant origin

ASSESSMENT OF CYTOTOXIC AND ANTICANCER ACTIVITY OF Zygophyllum album AND Suaeda palastina EXTRACTS ON HUMAN LIVER CANCER CELL LINES

In this study, anticancer activity of Zygophyllum album and Suaeda palastina extracts was evaluated. Dichloromethane, methanol and hot water were used as solvents for extraction. Results indicated that the highest half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) on human lung carcinoma (A549) cell lines was achieved by dichloromethane extracts of Z. album and S. palastina (70.48 μg/ml and 34.82 μg/ml respectively) compared to methanolic and hot water extracts. Furthermore, dichloromethane extracts of both plants had antiproliferative effect and highly cytotoxicity on human cancer cells. IC50 of Z. album was 27.74 μg/ml in the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2), while IC50 of S. palaestina was 30.76 μg/ml with no cytotoxic activity on normal cell lines. In conclusion, these results suggest that Z. album and S. palaestina could be a good candidate species as a natural source of anticancer agents

Systematic Analysis of Safety and Security Risks in Smart Homes

The revolution in Internet of Things (IoT)-based devices and applications has provided smart applications for humans. These applications range from healthcare to traffic-flow management, to communication devices, to smart security devices, and many others. In particular, government and private organizations are showing significant interest in IoT-enabled applications for smart homes. Despite the perceived benefits and interest, human safety is also a key concern. This research is aimed at systematically analyzing the available literature on smart homes and identifying areas of concern or risk with a view to supporting the design of safe and secure smart homes. For this systematic review process, relevant work in the most highly regarded journals published in the period 2016-2020 (a section of 2020 is included)was analyzed. A final set of 99 relevant articles (journal articles, book sections, conference papers, and survey papers) was analyzed in this study. This analysis is focused on three research questions and relevant keywords. The systematic analysis results and key insights will help researchers and practitioners to make more informed decisions when dealing with the safety and security risks of smart homes, especially in emergency situations.This publication was supported by Qatar University Internal Grant No. IRCC-2020-009

Catechol-O-Methyltransferase Expression and 2-Methoxyestradiol Affect Microtubule Dynamics and Modify Steroid Receptor Signaling in Leiomyoma Cells

CONTEXT: Development of optimal medicinal treatments of uterine leiomyomas represents a significant challenge. 2-Methoxyestradiol (2ME) is an endogenous estrogen metabolite formed by sequential action of CYP450s and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT). Our previous study demonstrated that 2ME is a potent antiproliferative, proapoptotic, antiangiogenic, and collagen synthesis inhibitor in human leiomyomas cells (huLM). OBJECTIVES: Our objectives were to investigate whether COMT expression, by the virtue of 2ME formation, affects the growth of huLM, and to explore the cellular and molecular mechanisms whereby COMT expression or treatment with 2ME affect these cells. RESULTS: Our data demonstrated that E(2)-induced proliferation was less pronounced in cells over-expressing COMT or treated with 2ME (500 nM). This effect on cell proliferation was associated with microtubules stabilization and diminution of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and progesterone receptor (PR) transcriptional activities, due to shifts in their subcellular localization and sequestration in the cytoplasm. In addition, COMT over expression or treatment with 2ME reduced the expression of hypoxia-inducible factor -1alpha (HIF-1 alpha) and the basal level as well as TNF-alpha-induced aromatase (CYP19) expression. CONCLUSIONS: COMT over expression or treatment with 2ME stabilize microtubules, ameliorates E(2)-induced proliferation, inhibits ERalpha and PR signaling, and reduces HIF-1 alpha and CYP19 expression in human uterine leiomyoma cells. Thus, microtubules are a candidate target for treatment of uterine leiomyomas. In addition, the naturally occurring microtubule-targeting agent 2ME represents a potential new therapeutic for uterine leiomyomas