Cystatin C based eGFR - for early detection of diabetic kidney disease

Background: Diabetic kidney disease is the leading cause of premature death in young diabetic patients. Detection of diabetic kidney disease as early as possible in the disease process currently offers the best chance of delaying or possibly preventing progression to end-stage renal disease. The present study was aimed to evaluate utility of serum cystatin C based eGFR for early diagnosis of diabetic kidney disease.Methods: Diagnosed patients of type 2 diabetes mellitus having frank proteinuria were excluded. Patients without proteinuria were tested for microalbuminuria.  50 patients having microalbuminuria were tested for 24 hour urine creatinine, serum creatinine and serum cystatin C. Both cystatin C based eGFR and eGFR by Cockcroft and Gault equation were compared with standard GFR by 24 hour urine Creatinine clearance respectively.Results: There was statistically significant positive correlation between cystatin C based eGFR and standard GFR by 24 hr Creatinine clearance (r=0.87). For eGFR by Cockcroft-Gault equation, it was 0.36 (r=0.36).Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that serum cystatin C based eGFR  measurement is a useful, practical tool for the evaluation of renal involvement in the course of diabetes. As serum creatinine values are affected by many factors like age, sex, muscle mass and diet, serum cystatin C based eGFR estimation offers a hope that diabetic kidney disease can be well prevented with appropriate interventions

Ionic liquid catalyzed one pot green synthesis of isoxazolone derivatives via multicomponent reaction

459-464A series of 3-methyl-4-((3-aryl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)methylene)isoxazol-5(4H)-one derivatives have been efficiently synthesized by environmentally benign, one-pot three component condensation of substituted 1,3-diaryl-1H-pyrazole-4-carboxyaldehyde, β-keto ester and hydroxyl amine hydrochloride in the presence of ionic liquid [HNMP][HSO4] as a catalyst in ethanol. These derivatives have been synthesized by conventional, ultrasound and microwave irradiation methods. The combination of ionic liquid with ultrasound as well as microwave irradiation makes the protocol fascinating and environmentally benign. In addition, it has several benefits such as simple work-up procedure, clean reaction profile, short reaction time and good yields

Synthesis and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Novel Carbazole Based β-diketones and its Pyrazole Derivatives

Novel 9-ethyl-9H-carbazole-3-carboxylic acid derivatives including ester, β-diketone and pyrazole were prepared and characterized by FT-IR, 1H NMR, 13C NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. All synthesized compounds evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activities against four bacteria (Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putide, Bacillus subtilis, and Streptococcus lactis) and three fungi (Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp and Candida albicans). Among the compounds tested, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4a, 4b, 4c, 5a and 5b exhibited pronounced antibacterial activity as compared with standard drug ampicillin. Notably, carbazole based pyrazole derivatives 5a and 5b showed potent antifungal activity against C. albicans comparable to reference drug greseofulvin. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Importance of urine sodium dithionite test in paraquat poisoning: a case study

Suicidal tendencies are one of the major social problems worldwide. It is equally seen in Indian population. Organo-phosphorus compounds are usually preferred because of their easy availability. Paraquat is one of the lesser known herbicide agent, which is not an OP compound. It is highly toxic and causes damage to the lungs, liver and kidneys. Occurrence of paraquat poisoning is rare, but has very high mortality rate. Here we report one such case which was earlier misdiagnosed as organo-phosphorus poisoning, but diagnosed later by qualitative urine sodium dithionite test. It is a simple test for early diagnosis of paraquat poisoning. It is recommended to performing this test in all suspected cases of oral poisoning

Study of Properties of Al LM-25/SIC fabricated by using Stir Casting Method and Wear Analysis by RSM

Aluminum MMC’s are widely used in various applications because of their higher mechanical and physical properties when compared with their base Al alloy. This paper focuses on the change in mechanical properties of various Al/SiC composites fabricated by using stir casting method. Effect of SiC reinforcement in different Al alloys on mechanical properties like hardness, tensile strength, wear test, percentage elongation, residual stress measurements are discussed in detail. For this purpose various reinforcement of SiC with 0,4,8 percent weight and different particle sizes are considered along with Al alloys. Variations in process parameters of stir casting are also made and taken into consideration

Variation in the Interactions among soil K+, Ca++, Mg++ and Na+ ions as influenced by the variety and rootstock in grape

A nutritional survey was conducted to study the influence of variety and rootstock on interactionamong K+, Ca++, Mg++and Na+ ions in grape during 2012-14. Soil cation contents did not correlatewith their respective contents in petioles indicating a strong antagonism among them. Quadraticrelationship of soil cations with the absorption (ratio of petiole content to soil content) of otherions revealed that the antagonism among cations was observed in case of soil K+ with Ca++ andNa+ absorption on 110R and Dog Ridge rootstocks, soil Ca+ with K+ and Mg++ and Na+ in Sonakavariety and Na+ in own rooted vines, soil Mg++ with Ca++ and Na+ also in own rooted vines; andNa++ with Ca++ and Mg++ respectively in 2A clone and Dog Ridge. Contrarily, increased absorptionof K+ by soil Ca++ on 110R, Na+ and K+ by soil Mg++ respectively in Sonaka and 110R, and Ca++by soil Na+ on Dog Ridge was also observed. All the soil cations together influenced K+ absorptionmost in Sonaka followed by Mg++ absorption in 2A clone, but Ca++ absorption on Dog Ridgefollowed by K+ on 110R

Oxidative stress versus inflammation, a better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in polycystic ovary syndrome

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is also known as hyperandrogenic anovulation (HA) or Stein-Leventhal syndrome. PCOS has a diverse range of causes that are not entirely understood, but there is evidence that it is largely a genetic disease. Aim of the study was to evaluate better predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in women with polycystic ovary syndrome.Methods: 50 diagnosed patients of PCOS and 50 age matched healthy females were included in this study. Cases were diagnosed based on new Rotterdam criteria formulated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Fasting Blood samples were collected. Serum High sensitivity-C reactive protein (hs-CRP) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) were estimated.Results: Results were analyzed using unpaired t-test and p-value was calculated. Statistically non-significant increased levels of serum hs-CRP in PCOS cases as compared with controls were observed. MDA was found to be significantly increased in cases as compared to controls. ROC curve analysis shows MDA as a more specific predictor of cardiovascular disease risk in PCOS compared to hs-CRP.Conclusions: Increase in the serum MDA level indicates increased formation of reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxidation which leads to increased oxidative stress and this may increase cardiovascular disease risk in PCOS. hs-CRP a marker of chronic inflammation was not significantly increased in PCOS

A validated RP-HPLC method for simultaneous determination of Metformin HCl and Vildagliptin in pharmaceutical formulation

A selective and sensitive reverse phase high performance liquid chromatographic (RP-HPLC) method has been developed for the separation and quantification of metformin HCl (MET) and vildagliptin (VILD) in tablet dosage form. The determination was carried out using phenomenax C18 column (4.6150 mm) as a stationary phase and mobile phase comprised of phosphate buffer (pH6.0): methanol (65:35v/v). The pH of phosphate buffer is adjusted to 6.0 by using orthophosphoric acid. The flow rate was maintained at 1.0ml/min and the eluent was monitored at 255nm.The retention time of MET and VILD were 1.503 min and 5.530 min respectively. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, accuracy, ruggedness, specificity and robustness. The method was linear over the range 50-150 g/ml for both MET (r = 0.999) and VILD (0.998). For precision studies; RSD for MET and VILD were 0.24 and 0.14 respectively. The percentage recoveries for both drugs from their tablets were 100.16 and 99.98 respectively. Inter-day; intra-day RSD for both drugs were found be 0.27 and 0.26, 0.13 and 0.29 respectively

Evaluation of Immunomodulatory activity of Diosgenin in rats

Background: The immune system is intrinsic to health. Modulation of the immune responses to alleviate the diseases by using herbal plants has been of interest for many years. Diosgenin, a naturally occurring steroid saponin mainly present in the seeds of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum) and in the root tubers of wild yams (Dioscorea villosa). Activation of specific and nonspecific immunity results in stimulation of immune response. Diosgenin has the positive effects on both specific and nonspecific immunity. Aim: To study the immunomodulatory activity of Diosgenin in albino wistar rats. Method: The suspension of Diosgenin was given orally at the dosage level of 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg for 21 days in a rat. The immunomodulatory activity on specific and non-specific immunity was studied by heamagglutination antibody (HA) titer, delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response and carbon clearance test. Immunosuppression in a rat was induced by using Cyclophosphamide (100 mg/kg, p.o.). Sheep red blood cells (SRBCs) were used as antigen (0.1ml 20% SRBCs). Result: Diosgenin exhibited significant increase in the production of antibody titer in response to SRBC antigen. A significant increase in both primary and secondary HA titer was observed in immunosuppressed group treated with Diosgenin when compared with negative control. A significant increase in the DTH response was observed in immunosuppressed animals treated with Diosgenin, pre-sensitized with SRBCs antigen. Diosgenin exhibited significant increase in phagocytic index against control group, indicating the stimulation of the reticuloendothelial system. Conclusion: The study indicates that Diosgenin triggers stimulatory effect on specific and nonspecific immune response. The immunostimulant effect of Diosgenin could be attributed due to its saponin glycoside