Formulation and Characterization of Thymoquinone Bioadhesive Gel for Treatment of Chronic Gum Inflammation

The aim of study is to formulate Thymoquinone gel and investigate its effect in chronic periodontitis in terms of clinical periodontal parameters, anti-oxidant capacity and the levels of IL-1β in gingival crevicular fluid. different gelling agents (carbopol, hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose and chitosan) were used for the development of TQ gel. The optimized gel formulation was used for the clinical study. The study was conducted on 68 subjects (25-58 years old). 48 patients were clinically diagnosed with moderate to severe chronic periodontitis. Patients were divided into three groups; Group I (24 patients): received non-surgical periodontal therapy and Thymoquinone-chitosan gel (0.1 % w/w), Group II (24 patients): received only non-surgical periodontal therapy and Group III: 20 healthy subjects (control group). All patients were evaluated for clinical parameters including plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), probing depth (PD) and clinical attachment level (CAL).  The levels of IL-1β and total anti-oxidant capacity were recorded in gingival crevicular fluid at baseline (prior to treatment) and at weeks 4 and 12 after treatment. The results showed that combination of non-surgical periodontal therapy and Thmoquinone gel (group I)  exhibited statistically significant improvement in biochemical parameters compared to non-surgical periodontal therapy alone (group II). In conclusion we can say that the adjunctive use of thymoquinone gel with non-surgical periodontal therapy improves the biochemical parameters accompanied with chronic periodontitits significantly after 4 weeks only

ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIBIOTIC PRODUCING PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS NBRC-14160 FROM DELTA SOIL IN EGYPT

Pseudomonas fluorescens is one of plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria (PGPR) members which has a major role in the biological control of bacterial and fungal pathogens. A research was conducted at the Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Qalubyia governorate intended for isolating Pseudomonas fluorescens isolate, efficient in antibiotic production. For isolation, soil samples, collected from Faculty of agriculture farm soil at depth of 10 cm, were screened for Ps. fluorescens isolates by cultivating the samples on King’s medium. Out of 30 isolates obtained, one was selected based on its high lipid content, because of the lipid’s correlation to antibiotic production and inhibitory activity. The selected isolate was characterized by morphological, physiological, biochemical tests then confirmed its identity by 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and named Pseudomonas fluorescens NBRC-14160 16srRNA. Morphological features showed that Ps. fluorescens NBRC-14160 has large colonies, with irregular surface, opaque, producing green fluorescent pigments. Cells are short rods, Gram negative. Physiological features indicated that Ps. fluorescens NBRC-14160 is capable of producing several exoenzymes including lipase, phospholipase, protease and chitinase and incapable of producing amylase and cellulase. Carbohydrate fermentation tests were positive for fructose, glucose, D-glucose, and galactose, forming acids after 24 hrs. of incubation at 30˚C. However, it loses the ability to ferment inositol, mannose, xylose, mannitol, raffinose and rhamnose sugars. It’s lipid content was 607 mg/g. Inhibitory activity was studied by the method of disc diffusion test against nine pathogenic bacterial and fungal strains. Staphylococcus aureus was the most sensitive bacterial pathogen towards P. fluorescens NBRC-14160 with a 4.5 cm zone of inhibition, while Serratia marscens had 0.95 cm zone. Aspergillus niger and Alternaria solani were the most sensitive fungal pathogens towards P. fluorescens NBRC-14160 with 2.55 and 2.5 cm of inhibition zone, respectively. However, the most resistant fungus was Fusarium oxysporum with 1.3 cm inhibition zone

Essential Facts on the History of Hyperthermia and their Connections with Electromedicine

The term hyperthermia is a combination of two Greek words: HYPER (rise) and THERME (heat) and refers to the increasing of body temperature or selected tissues in order to achieve a precise therapeutic effect. This paper reviews the development of thermotherapy by describing the most important moments in its history. For decades, the development of hyperthermia ran parallel with the development of cancer treatment and had numerous connections with electromedicine. Throughout its history, hyperthermia evoked a number of hopes, brought spectacular successes, but also was the subject of many disappointments

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities of Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet

Abstract Background Many plants of genus Abutilon are traditionally used for treatment of inflammation, bronchitis, piles, gonorrhea, diabetes and fever. Abutilon hirtum is traditionally used to ease the pain of kidney gravel, to treat diarrhoea, cough and toothache, to cure bladder inflammations, wounds and ulcers and as an antipyretic, demulcent, diuretic and mouth wash. The aim of the study is to evaluate the anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic effects of the total ethanolic extract and different fractions of Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet leaves. Methods Air dried powder of A. hirtum leaves were extracted using 95% ethanol and fractionated successively with petroleum ether, chloroform and finally with ethyl acetate. The extracts were concentrated to afford petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions and were investigated for their anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities using carrageenan-induced paw edema, hot plate, yeast -induced pyrexia and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia methods, respectively. Results The total ethanolic extract and the chloroform fraction exhibited the highest anti-inflammatory activity with a percentage of inhibition 50.8% which is close to that of indomethacin (52.4%). The aqueous extract exhibited the maximum analgesic activity (216.6%) with a rapid onset and a longer duration followed by petroleum ether and chloroform fractions and total extract (189.8, 186.9 and 183.0%, respectively), which is almost similar to that of acetylsalicylic acid (186.4%). The total ethanolic extract showed higher activity compared to the used standard acetylsalicylic acid with a rapid onset (30 min) and a longer duration exhibiting the maximum activity. The crude polysaccharides fraction showed a significant lowering in blood glucose level (81.08%). The total extract and petroleum ether, chloroform, ethyl acetate and aqueous fractions exhibited a significant anti-diabetic activity after 5 h (47.49, 47.79, 50.04, 49.80 and 46.36%, respectively) compared with that of metformin (55.45%). Conclusion Abutilon hirtum extract and fractions exhibited anti-inflammatory analgesic, antipyretic and antipyretic activities which may be attributed by the presence of active phytoconstituents

Additional file 4: of Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities of Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet

Diagram representing the effects of the total ethanolic extract and different fractions of A. hirtum leaves on streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia in rats. (DOCX 173 kb

Additional file 3: of Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities of Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet

Diagram representing the effects of the total ethanolic extract and different fractions of A. hirtum leaves on yeast-induced pyrexia. (DOCX 172 kb

Additional file 2: of Anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antidiabetic activities of Abutilon hirtum (Lam.) Sweet

Diagram representing the analgesic activity of the total ethanolic extract and different fractions of A. hirtum leaves. (DOCX 157 kb