106 research outputs found
Psychopharmacological characterization of effects of Ferula asafoetida linn. formulation in mouse on a Y-maze, EPM, and open field apparatus
Background: Asafoetida is an herbal food supplement that has numerous peripheral pharmacological actions. Its central nervous system effects have not yet been completely elucidated in both animals and human participants. The study focuses on deciphering the effects of this Herbaceutical with that of Donepezil and vitamin C in mouse models of short term novelty object recognition memory and open field test.Methods: The study was conducted in two stages - a pilot stage which assessed the most effective dose of asafoetida on cognition, followed by a post-pilot study phase wherein its effects at that dose were compared with those of Donepezil and vitamin C. Novelty Preference Test (NPT) on y-maze and Open field test on Open field box were used to evaluate the effects of the formulation on memory and motor activity in mice.Results: A dose of 400mg/day of asafoetida orally was found to improve memory significantly in comparison to 200mg/day in mice. Asafoetida showed a greater potency in improving memory than Donepezil and vitamin C. After 11 days of daily treatment with Asafoetida commercial powder, more than fifty percent of the mice showed an increase in recognition index of 0.7-0.8 as compared to 0.55 at baseline.Conclusions: Asafoetida powder has nootropic efficacy in mouse model - this has to be explored mechanistically and pharmaceutically to enable the psychopharmacological characterization of the active principles and its pharmacological effects in the central nervous system
EFFECT OF MUCUNA COCHINCHINENSIS SEED EXTRACT ON 7, 12-DIMETHYL BENZANTHRACENE INDUCED MAMMARY CARCINOMA
ABSTRACTObjectives: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of ethyl acetate extract of M. cochinchinensis seeds (EMC) on 7, 12- Dimethyl Benzanthracene (DMBA) induced mammary carcinoma in Sprague dawley rats and to understand the expression of Bcl-2 an anti apoptotic protein in experimental animals tissues.Methods: The antitumor activity was accessed by the effects of EMC on tumor weight, body weight, enzymic and non enzymic antioxidant parameters such as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) in plasma, superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT), Vitamin C and Vitamin E in breast tissues and serum. The extract was administered orally at three different doses of low (200 mg/kg), high (400 mg/kg) and low dose with standard. Western blot analysis was carried out for understanding B cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) expressions. EMC was analyzed by HPLC/ESI-MS to comprehend the active constituents.Results: Significant (p < 0.01) reduction in tumor weight and gain in body weight were observed with EMC treatment. Enzymic and non enzymic antioxidant levels in serum as well in breast tissues were revert back significantly (P < 0.01) upon EMC treatment. Over expression of Bcl-2 was observed in tumor control and intensities were reduced in treatment group. HPLC/ESI-MS revealed the presence of Genistein and Daidzein. Conclusion: The ethyl acetate extract of Mucuna cochinchinensis seeds shown anticancer activity in tested animal model.Ă‚Â Keywords: Mucuna cochinchinensis, Isoflavones, DMBA, mammary carcinoma, LC-MSĂ‚
Formation of zinc phosphate coating by anodic electrochemical treatment
The formation of zinc phosphate coating by anodic electrochemical treatment is addrsed. The importance of the addition of nitrite, the extent of sludge formation and the eco-friendliness of the process is presented. Based on the amount of coating weight and change in potential–time measurements, a mechanism for the coating formation is proposed. The coating characteristics and corrosion resistance were evaluated. The study reveals that anodic electrochemical treatment, though enabling an acceleration of coating deposition, results in heavy sludge formation, making the process less eco-friendly. The coatings obtained by anodic phosphating are rich in phosphophyllite phase with a smaller proportion of hopeite
phase and iron phosphate. Since the porosity of the anodically phosphated mild steel substrate is relatively higher, these coatings will suit applications which require higher oil-retaining capacity. The corrosion behaviour of anodically phosphated mild steel substrate in 3.5% sodium chloride solution reveals the ability of the phosphate coating to act as a barrier film towards the ingress of corrosive media
Formation of zinc–zinc phosphate composite coatings by cathodic electrochemical treatment
The formation of zinc–zinc phosphate composite coatings by cathodic electrochemical treatment and evaluation of its corrosion resistance is addressed in this paper. The cathodic phosphating process offers some unique advantages—it requires no specific addition of accelerator in
the bath, it is capable of producing good quality coatings even at low temperature, it permits deposition of coatings of desired thickness, thus offering benefits in terms of energy savings, decrease in processing cost and improvement in plant life. Being a cathodic process, there is no iron dissolution and no ferric phosphate sludge formation, which renders it an eco-friendly process. Based on the amount of coating mass as a function of process variables and the potential-time measurement, a pictorial model is proposed for the deposition of zinc phosphate coating.
The surface morphology of the coatings exhibits plate-like crystals. The corrosion behaviour of cathodically phosphated mild steel substrate in 3.5% sodium chloride solution exhibits the stability of these coatings, which last for a week with no red rust formation. This is due to the presence of a composite layer of zinc and zinc phosphate that acts as a mechanical barrier against further corrosion for a considerably longer time. Being a cathodic process, the possibility of hydrogenation of steel is the major limitation of this methodology
Formation and characteristics of zinc phosphate coatings obtained by electrochemical treatment: Cathodic vs. anodic
Electrochemical treatment and galvanic coupling are some of the possible modes of acceleration of low temperature phosphating process. The cathodic and anodic treatments during phosphating influence the deposition mechanism, characteristic properties and the corrosion resistance of the resultant coatings in a differentway. The present paper aims to compare these aspects and to identify the possible applications of phosphate coatings obtained by these treatments
Paradoxical tuberculosis immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) in HIV patients with culture confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis in India and the potential role of IL-6 in prediction
Background: The incidence, manifestations, outcome and clinical predictors of paradoxical TB-IRIS in patients with HIV and culture confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in India have not been studied prospectively. Methods: HIV+ patients with culture confirmed PTB started on anti-tuberculosis therapy (ATT) were followed prospectively after anti-retroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Established criteria for IRIS diagnosis were used including decline in plasma HIV RNA at IRIS event. Pre-ART plasma levels of interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between baseline variables and IRIS. Results: Of 57 patients enrolled, 48 had complete follow up data. Median ATT-ART interval was 28 days (interquartile range, IQR 14–47). IRIS events occurred in 26 patients (54.2%) at a median of 11 days (IQR: 7–16) after ART initiation. Corticosteroids were required for treatment of most IRIS events that resolved within a median of 13 days (IQR: 9–23). Two patients died due to CNS TB-IRIS. Lower CD4+ T-cell counts, higher plasma HIV RNA levels, lower CD4/CD8 ratio, lower hemoglobin, shorter ATT to ART interval, extra-pulmonary or miliary TB and higher plasma IL-6 and CRP levels at baseline were associated with paradoxical TB-IRIS in the univariate analysis. Shorter ATT to ART interval, lower hemoglobin and higher IL-6 and CRP levels remained significant in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Paradoxical TB–IRIS frequently complicates HIV-TB therapy in India. IL-6 and CRP may assist in predicting IRIS events and serve as potential targets for immune interventions
Multifocal tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome – a case report of a complicated scenario
Background
Tuberculosis (TB)-associated Immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS) is an aberrant inflammatory response in TB patients with advanced human immunodeficiency virus coinfection, after antiretroviral therapy commencement.
Case presentation
We present a rare case of a 51-year-old woman living with HIV who developed a series of TB-IRIS events occurring at multiple sites sequentially, highlighting the clinical complexity in diagnosis and management.
Conclusion
This case illustrates how complicated a clinical scenario of successive TB-IRIS episodes can be, in terms of clinical management
Dynamics of T-Lymphocyte Activation Related to Paradoxical Tuberculosis-Associated Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome in Persons With Advanced HIV
Most persons living with HIV (PLWH) experience a significant restoration of their immunity associated with successful inhibition of viral replication after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation. Nevertheless, with the robust quantitative and qualitative restoration of CD4(+) T-lymphocytes, a fraction of patients co-infected with tuberculosis develop immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (TB-IRIS), a dysregulated inflammatory response that can be associated with significant tissue damage. Several studies underscored the role of adaptive immune cells in IRIS pathogenesis, but to what degree T lymphocyte activation contributes to TB-IRIS development remains largely elusive. Here, we sought to dissect the phenotypic landscape of T lymphocyte activation in PLWH coinfected with TB inititating ART, focusing on characterization of the profiles linked to development of TB-IRIS. We confirmed previous observations demonstrating that TB-IRIS individuals display pronounced CD4(+) lymphopenia prior to ART initiation. Additionally, we found an ART-induced increase in T lymphocyte activation, proliferation and cytotoxicity among TB-IRIS patients. Importantly, we demonstrate that TB-IRIS subjects display higher frequencies of cytotoxic CD8(+) T lymphocytes which is not affected by ART. Moreover, These patients exhibit higher levels of activated (HLA-DR(+)) and profilerative (Ki-67(+)) CD4(+) T cells after ART commencenment than their Non-IRIS counterparts. Our network analysis reveal significant negative correlations between Total CD4(+) T cells counts and the frequencies of Cytotoxic CD8(+) T cells in our study population which could suggest the existance of compensatory mechanisms for Mtb-infected cells elimination in the face of severe CD4(+) T cell lymphopenia. We also investigated the correlation between T lymphocyte activation profiles and the abundance of several inflammatory molecules in plasma. We applied unsupervised machine learning techniques to predict and diagnose TB-IRIS before and during ART. Our analyses suggest that CD4(+) T cell activation markers are good TB-IRIS predictors, whereas the combination of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells markers are better at diagnosing TB-IRIS patients during IRIS events Overall, our findings contribute to a more refined understanding of immunological mechanisms in TB-IRIS pathogenesis that may assist in new diagnostic tools and more targeted patient management
Characteristics of paradoxical tuberculosis-associated immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome and its influence on tuberculosis treatment outcomes in persons living with HIV
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