Antitumor activity of doxorubicine-loaded nanoemulsion against Ehrlich ascites carcinoma-bearing mice

Purpose: To evaluate the antitumor activity of doxorubicine (DOX) loaded nanoemulsion (NE) on Ehrlich ascites carcinoma (EAC)-bearing Swiss albino mice.Methods: The mice were divided into five groups (n = 20) according to the administered drug. Groups I - V were labeled as negative control (normal), positive control of the untreated EAC bearing mice (EAC control), blank nanoemulsion (BI-NE), DOX-loaded-NE (DOX/LNE) and free DOX (DOX-Sol), respectively. Cardiotoxicity was assessed by measuring changes in body and organ weight, analyzing serum enzymes and lipids, and examining histological changes in heart tissues by light microscopy. In addition, mean survival time (MST), increase in life span (ILS) and survival (S) of the mice were determined.Results: DOX/LNE group reduced levels of serum enzymes and lowered damage to heart tissues relative to DOX-Sol group. The MST of the DOX/LNE group (80 ± 0.0 days) was significantly greater than that for DOX-Sol group (34.6 ± 8.9 days), while ILS of DOX/LNE (265.30 days) was higher than that of DOX-Sol (57.99 days) by 4.6-fold.Conclusion: Administration of DOX/LNE to EAC-bearing mice improves the efficacy of DOX and reduce its side effects on the heart.Keywords: Doxorubicine, Anti-tumor activity, Mean survival time, Heart histology, Nanoemulsion, Lipid profil

Cinnamon oil nanoemulsion as a novel nanocarrier for bleomycin amplifies its apoptotic effect on SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells

697-704Loading the chemotherapeutic agents in nanoemulsions system has recently gained attraction in medicine due to their ability to improve the drug’s efficacy and reduce its adverse effects. In this context, here, we loaded bleomycin (BLM) in nanoemulsion (NE) consisting of cinnamon oil in order to evaluate its antineoplastic effect on the SKOV-3 cells. The produced NE formulas were physically characterized by the zetasizer. The cytotoxic activities of BLM and NE formulas were examined by CCK-8 kit, Coomassie blue staining for the visualization of the morphological changes, Annexin V-FITC for identifying apoptosis and cell death detection ELISA plus kit for DNA fragmentation measurement. The average droplet diameter of the blank NE (450.90±1.57 nm) was increased when loaded with BLM (522.57±0.85 nm) while the magnitude of the negative zeta potential of the loaded formula (0.381±0.003 mV) was less than the blank NE (1.01±0.020 mV). The potential cytotoxicity of the BLM-NE was significantly greater than the toxicities of the free BLM and blank NE. The blank NE and BLM-NE have the greatest apoptotic effect and higher enrichment factor compared to free BLM. Loading BLM in NE based on cinnamon oil has considerably improved its efficacy as an anticancer drug on the SKOV-3 cells

How Does The Fasting of Ramadan Affect Breast Milk Constituents?

Background: Breast-feeding of infants is associated with their better biological, psychological and intellectual development. However, many factors affect the volume and composition of human milk such as stage of lactation and maternal diet. Many breast-feeding Muslim mothers fast the lunar month of Ramadan. The effects of fasting on milk constituents have not been previously studied in Sudan. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the variations between milk constituents during fasting and non-fasting periods among a group of Sudanese women.Materials and Methods: Twenty four healthy breast-feeding mothers volunteered to participate in this cross-sectional study. Each mother provided 100 ml of breast milk during fasting and again 2 weeks after end of the fasting month of Ramadan. Milk was properly stored and analyzed for the various constituents, using the appropriate laboratory methods. The main constituents analyzed were: ash, protein, lactose, iron and electrolytes.Results: The age range of lactating women was between 18 and 38 years, mean (+SD) 28.8 (± 5.15 years). Most mothers 17 (70.8%) were house-wives. Analysis of breast milk during fasting and non-fasting periods showed that: lactose, protein, sodium, potassium, calcium and phosphate were significantly decreased in the fasting breast milk compared with the non-fasting milk (p=0.01), while total soluble solid, moisture, ash and iron constituents had not significantly changed during fasting.Conclusion: Fasting of Ramdan significantly affects proteins, carbohydrates and electrolytes in breast milk.Keywords: breast-feeding, milk constituents, Ramadan, fasting

Cinnamon oil nanoemulsion as a novel nanocarrier for bleomycin amplifies its apoptotic effect on SKOV-3 ovarian cancer cells

Loading the chemotherapeutic agents in nanoemulsions system has recently gained attraction in medicine due to their ability to improve the drug’s efficacy and reduce its adverse effects. In this context, here, we loaded bleomycin (BLM) in nanoemulsion (NE) consisting of cinnamon oil in order to evaluate its antineoplastic effect on the SKOV-3 cells. The produced NE formulas were physically characterized by the zetasizer. The cytotoxic activities of BLM and NE formulas were examined by CCK-8 kit, Coomassie blue staining for the visualization of the morphological changes, Annexin V-FITC for identifying apoptosis and cell death detection ELISA plus kit for DNA fragmentation measurement. The average droplet diameter of the blank NE (450.90±1.57 nm) was increased when loaded with BLM (522.57±0.85 nm) while the magnitude of the negative zeta potential of the loaded formula (0.381±0.003 mV) was less than the blank NE (1.01±0.020 mV). The potential cytotoxicity of the BLM-NE was significantly greater than the toxicities of the free BLM and blank NE. The blank NE and BLM-NE have the greatest apoptotic effect and higher enrichment factor compared to free BLM. Loading BLM in NE based on cinnamon oil has considerably improved its efficacy as an anticancer drug on the SKOV-3 cells

Hemoglobin production on stimulation of K562 human pluripotent leukemia cells

Programs pertaining to normal erythropoiesis, such as Hb synthesis, could be organized abnormally in the K562 blasts and perhaps also in other leukemic blast cells. Thus, an evaluation of the abnormal regulatory properties of these cell types may contribute to understand various aspects of the normal regulation of erythrocytic differentiation and Hb synthesis.peer-reviewe

Outcomes and uptake of explicit research skill development across degree programs

John Willison, Said Al Sarawi, Cynthia Bottema, Susan Hazel, Ursula Henderson, Sophie Karanicolas, Clinton Kempster, Ursula McGowan, Julia Miller, Kogi Naidoo, Brian Ng, Edward Palmer, Simon Pyke, Catherine Snelling, Richard Warner, Michael Wilmore, Glen Croy, Leanne McCann, Susan Mayson, Lyn Torres, Suniti Bandaranaike, Tai Peseta, Rowena Harpe

Global patient outcomes after elective surgery: prospective cohort study in 27 low-, middle- and high-income countries.

BACKGROUND: As global initiatives increase patient access to surgical treatments, there remains a need to understand the adverse effects of surgery and define appropriate levels of perioperative care. METHODS: We designed a prospective international 7-day cohort study of outcomes following elective adult inpatient surgery in 27 countries. The primary outcome was in-hospital complications. Secondary outcomes were death following a complication (failure to rescue) and death in hospital. Process measures were admission to critical care immediately after surgery or to treat a complication and duration of hospital stay. A single definition of critical care was used for all countries. RESULTS: A total of 474 hospitals in 19 high-, 7 middle- and 1 low-income country were included in the primary analysis. Data included 44 814 patients with a median hospital stay of 4 (range 2-7) days. A total of 7508 patients (16.8%) developed one or more postoperative complication and 207 died (0.5%). The overall mortality among patients who developed complications was 2.8%. Mortality following complications ranged from 2.4% for pulmonary embolism to 43.9% for cardiac arrest. A total of 4360 (9.7%) patients were admitted to a critical care unit as routine immediately after surgery, of whom 2198 (50.4%) developed a complication, with 105 (2.4%) deaths. A total of 1233 patients (16.4%) were admitted to a critical care unit to treat complications, with 119 (9.7%) deaths. Despite lower baseline risk, outcomes were similar in low- and middle-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSIONS: Poor patient outcomes are common after inpatient surgery. Global initiatives to increase access to surgical treatments should also address the need for safe perioperative care. STUDY REGISTRATION: ISRCTN5181700

Ageing, Muscle Power and Physical Function: A Systematic Review and Implications for Pragmatic Training Interventions.

BACKGROUND: The physiological impairments most strongly associated with functional performance in older people are logically the most efficient therapeutic targets for exercise training interventions aimed at improving function and maintaining independence in later life. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this review were to (1) systematically review the relationship between muscle power and functional performance in older people; (2) systematically review the effect of power training (PT) interventions on functional performance in older people; and (3) identify components of successful PT interventions relevant to pragmatic trials by scoping the literature. METHODS: Our approach involved three stages. First, we systematically reviewed evidence on the relationship between muscle power, muscle strength and functional performance and, second, we systematically reviewed PT intervention studies that included both muscle power and at least one index of functional performance as outcome measures. Finally, taking a strong pragmatic perspective, we conducted a scoping review of the PT evidence to identify the successful components of training interventions needed to provide a minimally effective training dose to improve physical function. RESULTS: Evidence from 44 studies revealed a positive association between muscle power and indices of physical function, and that muscle power is a marginally superior predictor of functional performance than muscle strength. Nine studies revealed maximal angular velocity of movement, an important component of muscle power, to be positively associated with functional performance and a better predictor of functional performance than muscle strength. We identified 31 PT studies, characterised by small sample sizes and incomplete reporting of interventions, resulting in less than one-in-five studies judged as having a low risk of bias. Thirteen studies compared traditional resistance training with PT, with ten studies reporting the superiority of PT for either muscle power or functional performance. Further studies demonstrated the efficacy of various methods of resistance and functional task PT on muscle power and functional performance, including low-load PT and low-volume interventions. CONCLUSIONS: Maximal intended movement velocity, low training load, simple training methods, low-volume training and low-frequency training were revealed as components offering potential for the development of a pragmatic intervention. Additionally, the research area is dominated by short-term interventions producing short-term gains with little consideration of the long-term maintenance of functional performance. We believe the area would benefit from larger and higher-quality studies and consideration of optimal long-term strategies to develop and maintain muscle power and physical function over years rather than weeks