Validation of Safety and Efficacy of Antitussive Herbal Formulations

Background: Cough is an important defensive pulmonary reflex that removes irritants, fluids or foreign materials from the airways. Frequently, cough is non-productive and requires suppression and opioid receptor agonists such as codeine are commonly used as antitussive agents. However, opioids produce side effects that include sedation, addiction potential and constipation. Novel cough suppressant therapies should maintain or improve upon the antitussive efficacy profile of opioids but with minimum or no side effects. Objective: To evaluate antitussive activity of combination of herbal medicines as formulations in sulphur dioxide - induced cough model in rats. Methodology: Wister rats of either sex, weighing 150 - 200 g, were divided into 7 groups (n = 6). Group 1 served as a control and received normal saline, groups 2 received codeine phosphate, group 3 and 4 received the coded market samples and groups 5, 6 and 7 received the test samples, respectively. Thirty or sixty minutes following administration, the rats were exposed to sulphur dioxide gas for 1 minute and then placed in an open chamber for counting of cough bouts. Results: The formulations exhibited cough inhibitions of between 15 and 27%, and 14 and 38%, with respect to the control group, 30 and 60 minutes after sample administration respectively. Conclusion: The herbal formulations demonstrated significant (p < 0.05) antitussive activity in sulphur dioxide induced cough model. Key words: Antitussive activity; herbal formulations; sulphur dioxide; coug

Bioheterojunction Effect on Fluorescence Origin and Efficiency Improvement of Firefly Chromophores

We propose the heterojunction effect in the analysis of the fluorescence mechanism of the firefly chromophore. Following this analysis, and with respect to the HOMO-LUMO gap alignment between the chromophore's functional fragments, three main heterojunction types (I, II, and I*) are identified. Time-dependent density-functional theory optical absorption calculations for the firefly chromophore show that the strongest excitation appears in the deprotonated anion state of the keto form. This can be explained by its high HOMO-LUMO overlap due to strong bio-heterojunction confinement. It is also found that the nitrogen atom in the thiazolyl rings, due to its larger electronegativity, plays a key role in the emission process, its importance growing when HOMO and LUMO overlap at its location. This principle is applied to enhance the chromophore's fluorescence efficiency and to guide the functionalization of molecular optoelectronic devices.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure

Genetic Association of a Gain-of-Function IFNGR1 Polymorphism and the Intergenic Region LNCAROD/DKK1 With Behcet's Disease

Objective. Behçet’s disease is a complex systemic inflammatory vasculitis of incompletely understood etiology. This study was undertaken to investigate genetic associations with Behçet’s disease in a diverse multiethnic population.Methods. A total of 9,444 patients and controls from 7 different populations were included in this study. Genotyping was performed using an Infinium ImmunoArray- 24 v.1.0 or v.2.0 BeadChip. Analysis of expression data from stimulated monocytes, and epigenetic and chromatin interaction analyses were performed.Results. We identified 2 novel genetic susceptibility loci for Behçet’s disease, including a risk locus in IFNGR1(rs4896243) (odds ratio [OR] 1.25; P = 2.42 × 10−9) and within the intergenic region LNCAROD/DKK1 (rs1660760) (OR 0.78; P = 2.75 × 10−8). The risk variants in IFNGR1 significantly increased IFNGR1 messenger RNA expression in lipopolysaccharide- stimulated monocytes. In addition, our results replicated the association (P 30 genetic susceptibility loci with a suggestive level of association (P < 5 × 10−5), which will require replication. Finally, functional annotation of genetic susceptibility loci in Behçet’s disease revealed their possible regulatory roles and suggested potential causal genes and molecular mechanisms that could be further investigated.Conclusion. We performed the largest genetic association study in Behçet’s disease to date. Our findings reveal novel putative functional variants associated with the disease and replicate and extend the genetic associations in other loci across multiple ancestries

Mechanistic Elucidation of the Arylation of Non-Spectator N-Heterocyclic Carbenes at Copper Using a Combined Experimental and Computational Approach

CuI(NHC)Br complexes (NHC = N-heterocyclic carbene) undergo a direct reaction with iodobenzene to give 2-arylated benzimidazolium products. The nature of the N-substituent on the NHC ligand influences the reactivity of the CuI(NHC)Br complex toward arylation. N-Benzyl or N-phenyl substituents facilitate arylation, whereas N-mesityl substituents hinder arylation. Density functional theory calculations show that an oxidative addition/reductive elimination pathway involving CuIII species is energetically feasible. A less hindered CuI(NHC)Br complex with N-benzyl groups is susceptible to oxidation reactions to give 1,3-dibenzylbenzimidazolium cations containing a CuIBr anion (various polymorphs). The results described herein are of relevance to C–H functionalization of (benz)azoles

Tuberculosis infection among homeless persons and caregivers in a high-tuberculosis-prevalence area in Japan: a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health problem. The Airin district of Osaka City has a large population of homeless persons and caregivers and is estimated to be the largest TB-endemic area in the intermediate-prevalence country, Japan. However, there have been few studies of homeless persons and caregivers. The objective of this study is to detect active TB and to assess the prevalence and risk factors for latent TB infection among homeless persons and caregivers.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cross-sectional study for screening TB infection (active and latent TB infections) using questionnaire, chest X-ray (CXR), newly available assay for latent TB infection (QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube; QFT) and clinical evaluation by physicians at the Osaka Socio-Medical Center Hospital between July 2007 and March 2008. Homeless persons and caregivers, aged 30-74 years old, who had not received CXR examination within one year, were recruited. As for risk factors of latent TB infection, the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for QFT-positivity were calculated using logistic regression model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Complete responses were available from 436 individuals (263 homeless persons and 173 caregivers). Four active TB cases (1.5%) among homeless persons were found, while there were no cases among caregivers. Out of these four, three had positive QFT results. One hundred and thirty-three (50.6%) homeless persons and 42 (24.3%) caregivers had positive QFT results. In multivariate analysis, QFT-positivity was independently associated with a long time spent in the Airin district: ≥10 years versus <10 years for homeless (OR = 2.53; 95% CI, 1.39-4.61) and for caregivers (OR = 2.32; 95% CI, 1.05-5.13), and the past exposure to TB patients for caregivers (OR = 3.21; 95% CI, 1.30-7.91) but not for homeless persons (OR = 1.51; 95% CI, 0.71-3.21).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Although no active TB was found for caregivers, one-quarter of them had latent TB infection. In addition to homeless persons, caregivers need examinations for latent TB infection as well as active TB and careful follow-up, especially when they have spent a long time in a TB-endemic area and/or have been exposed to TB patients.</p