Constipation and laxative herbs in Iranian traditional medicine

Context: Constipation is one of the most prevalent gastrointestinal disorders and is characterized by stiffness of waste and difficult defecation. In modern medicine, different laxative drugs are used for the treatment of constipation, but they are not without side effects. Nonetheless, the appropriate use of herbal medicines can be beneficial for treating this disorder. Therefore, this study attempted to draw together some pharmacological and medical insights into the management of constipation through the use of Iranian traditional medicine (ITM). Evidence Acquisition: In this review article, we initially researched constipation and laxative herbs using some of the most famous ancient medical and pharmacological textbooks pertaining to Iranian medicine written from the 10th to 18th century AD. This includes The canon of medicine by Avicenna (10th and 11th centuries, Beirut publication), Makhzan-ol-advie by Aghili (18th century, Tehran University of Medical Science Press), and Al-shamel by Gharashi (13th century, Caltural foundation Publication). Then we extracted the names and laxative mechanisms of some herbs prescribed for constipation through ITM. Finally, a search of scientific databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar was performed to find related works concerning laxative mechanisms. Results: In ITM doctrine, laxatives are weak purgatives that lead to the defecation of waste from the gastrointestinal tract. From this perspective, laxative herbs can be classified into two groups based on their nature: laxative herbs with a hot nature cause the dilution and flowing of humors, but herbs with a cold nature function as laxatives due to their mucilage properties. Each of the laxatives was used in accordance with the primary reason for constipation. Conclusions: This study presents medical and pharmacological approaches in ITM for dealing with complications arising from constipation. Considering the optimistic results, these herbs can be used as a means of constipation management and further investigation into this area can potentially lead to the formulation of new drugs. © 2016, Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal

Improving the multiobjective evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition with new penalty schemes

It has been increasingly reported that the multiobjective optimization evolutionary algorithm based on decomposition (MOEA/D) is promising for handling multiobjective optimization problems (MOPs). MOEA/D employs scalarizing functions to convert an MOP into a number of single-objective subproblems. Among them, penalty boundary intersection (PBI) is one of the most popular decomposition approaches and has been widely adopted for dealing with MOPs. However, the original PBI uses a constant penalty value for all subproblems and has difficulties in achieving a good distribution and coverage of the Pareto front for some problems. In this paper, we investigate the influence of the penalty factor on PBI, and suggest two new penalty schemes, i.e., adaptive penalty scheme and subproblem-based penalty scheme (SPS), to enhance the spread of Pareto-optimal solutions. The new penalty schemes are examined on several complex MOPs, showing that PBI with the use of them is able to provide a better approximation of the Pareto front than the original one. The SPS is further integrated into two recently developed MOEA/D variants to help balance the population diversity and convergence. Experimental results show that it can significantly enhance the algorithm�s performance. © 2016, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Selective CO₂ capture in metal-organic frameworks with azine-functionalized pores generated by mechanosynthesis

Two new three-dimensional porous Zn(II)-based metal-organic frameworks, containing azine-functionalized pores, have been readily and quickly isolated via mechanosynthesis, by using a nonlinear dicarboxylate and linear N-donor ligands. The use of nonfunctionalized and methyl-functionalized N-donor ligands has led to the formation of frameworks with different topologies and metal-ligand connectivities and therefore different pore sizes and accessible volumes. Despite this, both metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) possess comparable BET surface areas and CO₂ uptakes at 273 and 298 K at 1 bar. The network with narrow and interconnected pores in three dimensions shows greater affinity for CO compared to the network with one-dimensional and relatively large pores-attributable to the more effective interactions with the azine groups

Current trend in synthesis, Post-Synthetic modifications and biological applications of Nanometal-Organic frameworks (NMOFs)

Since the early reports of MOFs and their interesting properties, research involving these materials has grown wide in scope and applications. Various synthetic approaches have ensued in view of obtaining materials with optimised properties, the extensive scope of application spanning from energy, gas sorption, catalysis biological applications has meant exponentially evolved over the years. The far‐reaching synthetic and PSM approaches and porosity control possibilities have continued to serve as a motivation for research on these materials. With respect to the biological applications, MOFs have shown promise as good candidates in applications involving drug delivery, BioMOFs, sensing, imaging amongst others. Despite being a while away from successful entry into the market, observed results in sensing, drug delivery, and imaging put these materials on the spot light as candidates poised to usher in a revolution in biology. In this regard, this review article focuses current approaches in synthesis, post functionalization and biological applications of these materials with particular attention on drug delivery, imaging, sensing and BioMOFs