Can Vitamin D Supplemental Therapy improve the Disturbed Follicular Fluid Milieu and affect the Outcome of ICSI?

Background: Vitamin D (VD) receptor is widely distributed in reproductive systems thus hypovitaminosis D can impair the response to ovarian stimulation. Objectives: Determination of the effect of VD supplemental therapy (VD-ST) on the ovarian follicular fluid (FF) milieu in infertile women undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Patients and Methods: 103 infertile women were evaluated clinically and gave blood samples for estimation of serum and FF levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25-OH-VD), and FF levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and total antioxidant capacity and underwent a cycle of ICSI using the antagonist protocol before and after receiving 3-month VD-ST. The study outcome is the impact of VD-ST on the clinical pregnancy rate. Results: Serum (P=0.0004) and FF (P=0.040) levels of 25-OH-VD were significantly increased, while FF levels of TNF-α were significantly (P95% fragmentation (P=0.019) rates were significantly increased with doubling of number of high-grade embryos and clinical pregnancy rate. These changes were correlated positively with increased in serum and FF levels of 25OH-VD and decrease of TNF-α level. Statistical analyses defined the higher increase in serum and FF levels of 25OH-VD as the important predictors for the number of oocytes and clinical pregnancy, while the higher decrease in FF levels of TNF-α was the important predictor for the rate of high-grade embryos. Conclusion: VD-ST may play an important role for success of ICSI through increasing serum and FF levels of VD and decreasing FF levels of TNF-α

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 3-arylidene chromen-2, 4-dione derivatives

Abstract: Derivatives of 3-arylidene chromen-2, 4-dione 1 were synthesized to be used as a starting material for synthesizing some new fused heterocyclic compounds containing coumarin moiety. When compounds 1 reacted with hydrazine derivatives, hydroxylamine hydrochloride, urea, thiourea, semicarbazide and thiosemicarbazide it gave the corresponding compounds 2-5. Compound 4a, b reacted with methyl iodide in DMF and K2CO3 at room temperature to afford the corresponding 6a, b. All these compounds were screened InVitro for their antibacterial activity

Letter: The Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Neurosurgeons Worldwide

This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or be any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.The aim of our study was to explore the impact of this pandemic on neurosurgeons with the hope of improving preparedness for future crisis. We created a 20-question survey designed to explore demographics (nation, duration and scope of practice, and case-burden), knowledge (source of information), clinical impact (elective clinic/surgery cancellations), hospital preparedness (availability of personal protective equipment [PPE] and cost of the supplies), and personal factors (financial burden, workload, scientific and research activities). The survey was first piloted with 10 neurosurgeons and then revised. Surveys were distributed electronically in 7 languages (Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish) between March 20 and April 3, 2020 using Google Forms, WeChat used to obtain responses, and Excel (Microsoft) and SPSS (IBM) used to analyze results. All responses were cross-verified by 2 members of our team. After obtaining results, we analyzed our data with histograms and standard statistical methods (Chi-square and Fisher's exact tests and logistic regression). Participants were first informed about the objectives of our survey and assured confidentiality after they agreed to participate (Helsinki declaration). We received 187 responses from 308 invitations (60.7%), and 474 additional responses were obtained from social media-based neurosurgery groups (total responses = 661). The respondents were from 96 countries representing 6 continents (Figure ​(Figure11A-​A-11C)

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Substituted phenols as corrosion inhibitors for copper in nitric acid

The dissolution of copper in nitric acid solution in the presence of resorcinol, o, p-aminophenols, catechol, o-cresol and salicylaldehyde as corrosion inhibitors has been studied by galvanostatic polarization and weight loss methods. For these compounds the two methods gave consistent results. Polarization data suggest that in the case of these inhibitors the cathode is preferentially polarized under the influence of an external current. The inhibitors appear to function through general adsorption following the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The inhibiting effect of tested compounds is due to the destruction of the HNO2 formed and its interference with the cathodic reaction.Wiley Online Librar

Inhibition of corrosion of copper in nitric acid solution by some arylmethylene cyanothioacetamide derivatives

The inhibition of corrosion of copper in 2M HNO3 solution by some arylmethylene cyanothioacetamide derivatives was tested using polarization measurements. The results showed that these compounds act as mixed type inhibitors and inhibition efficiencies up to 90% can be obtained. The inhibition was assumed to occur via physical adsorption of the inhibitor molecules fitting a Frumkin isotherm. The influence of the substituent group on the inhibition efficiency of the inhibitor was explained in terms of the density of the electron cloud on the cyanothioacetamide moiety and the mode of adsorption. The increase in temperature was found to increase the corrosion in absence and in presence of inhibitors. Some thermodynamic functions were also computed and discussed

Some azodyes as corrosion inhibitors for iron in HCl solution

The inhibitor effect of the quinazol-4-one derivatives on the corrosion of iron in hydrochloric acid solution was investigated. Polarization curves indicated that these compounds act as mixed type inhibitors, but the cathode is more preferentially polarized. The effect of structural changes in these compounds on their inhibition efficiency has been studied. The inhibitors appear to function through general adsorption following the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. Results indicate that the rate of corrosion of iron increases with increasing temperature over the range 27-50°C both in absence and in the presence of inhibitors. Some thermodynamic functions were also computed and are discussed

Chemical Composition and Synergistic Antimicrobial Effects of a Vegetatively Propagated Cameroonian Lemon, Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck

Nsangou MF, Happi EN, Fannang SV, et al. Chemical Composition and Synergistic Antimicrobial Effects of a Vegetatively Propagated Cameroonian Lemon, Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck. ACS Food Science & Technology. 2021.This study analyzed the antimicrobial effects of compounds present in the roots and leaves of Citrus x limon (L.) Osbeck to help understand how this plant (1) ecologically modulates microbial defense in the rhizosphere and (2) protects against food-borne bacterial pathogens. Antimicrobial effects of C. limon collected from a farm in Foumban in Cameroon are reported against Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium, Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Shigella flexineri, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The study modeled synergistic antifungal effects of an essential oil from the roots of C. limon or E-caryophyllene when combined with the isolated compounds against S. cerevisiae. Twenty-four compounds were identified from the methanol extracts of the roots and leaves: 10 prenylated coumarins (1–10), six methoxylated flavones (11–16), two limonoids (18 and 19), a phenylalanine derivative (20), lupeol, stigmasterol, sitosterol, and sitosterol-3-O-β-d-glucoside. Major compound 16, atalantoflavone, was esterified using lauric acid to yield the undescribed 5,4′-dilaureate atalantoflavone (16a). The essential oil from the roots contained methyl esters of hexadecanoic acid (39%) and 9-octadecenoic acid (9.3%) and sesquiterpenes β-bisabolene (10.1%) and α-santalene (8.0%). The antimicrobial effects of the root extract, leaf extract, compounds 1, 2, 4, 7–9, 11, 12, 14, 16, 16a, and 18 were evaluated against S. typhi, S. typhimurium, S. enteritidis, E. coli, S. flexineri, and S. cerevisiae. Compounds 11, 16, and 18 from the root extract of C. x limon showed significant antimicrobial effects with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 62.5 μg/mL against S. flexineri, whereas compounds 5, 7, 11, and 18 showed significant antimicrobial effects with a MIC of 62.5 μg/mL against S. typhi. The essential oil from the roots synergized compounds 11–14 against S. cerevisiae. A synergistic MIC of 7.8 μg/mL was registered by combining 12 and E-caryophyllene