Formulation and Evaluation of Itraconazole Niosomal Gel for Topical Application

Niosomes have potential applications in topical drug delivery system. Niosomes play an increasingly important role in drug delivery as they can reduce toxicity and modify pharmacokinetic and bio-availability. Topically applied niosomes can increase the residence time of drugs in the stratum corneum and epidermis, while reducing the systemic absorption of the drug. It can act as drug containing reservoirs and the modification of the vesicular compositions or surface properties can adjust the drug release rate and the affinity for the target site. Itraconazole is a triazole derivative useful in the treatment of number of fungal infections. This includes aspergillosis, blastomycosis, coccidioidomycosis, histoplasmosis, and paracoccidioidomycosis. It may be given by mouth or intravenously. Itraconazole niosomes were prepared by thin film hydration method using span 20, 40, 60 (as non-ionic surfactant) and cholesterol (as stable vesicle forming agent). Niosomes were prepared using different ratio of drug: surfactant: cholesterol (1:1:1, 1:2:1, 1:3:1). The niosomal dispersion was evaluated for vesicle size, surface morphology, percent entrapment efficiency, drug content and in vitro drug release. The entrapment efficiency and drug content were calculated at 262 nm using UV spectrophotometer. The entrapment efficiency was found to be 57.2%, 73.2% and 61.2% for the formulations ITZ 20-3, ITZ 40-2 and ITZ 60-1. Itraconazole niosomal gel was prepared using Carbopol 940, glycerol, Triethanolamine and distilled water. Evaluation of niosomal gel was determined by physical appearance, pH, viscosity, drug content, entrapment efficiency and In-vitro permeation studies. The percentage of the drug release from the niosomal gel was found to be 55.67 % for ITZG-2. The present study demonstrates prolongation of drug release, an increase in amount of drug retention into skin and improved permeation across the skin after encapsulation of Itraconazole into niosomal topical gel. Keywords: Niosomes, Itraconazole, Fungal infection, Thin film hydration method, Carbopol 94

How Much Output should be Produced by the Firm? An Analysis

In this study, the main objective of the firm is to determine output and price level; we have taken the time series data of the firm and have applied the ordinary least square technique. We find out the equilibrium point of the firm where marginal revenue is equal to marginal cost and at that point firm earn the maximum profit and we also determine the price level of the firm. The output level that the firm should produce would be of 3922 units, at this point its total cost is 1131611, total revenue is 1115890, marginal revenue is 308.6689, marginal cost is 308.6702 and optimal price is 284.5206. Keywords: Price and Output Determination, Empirical Study, MR = M

Influence of dietary supplementation of probiotics on intestinal histo-morphometry, blood chemistry and gut health status of broiler chickens

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of probiotics, Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium bifidum, on histo-morphologic measurements of the small intestine and on the gut health status of broiler chickens. A total of 240 day-old broiler chicks were randomly assigned to one of six dietary treatments for six weeks. The dietary treatments were basal diet (T1); basal diet + bacitracin methyl di-salicylate (BMD) at 20 mg/kg diet (T2); basal diet + L. acidophilus (106 and 107 cfu/gm diet) (T3 and T4); and basal diet + B. bifidum (106 and 107 cfu/gm diet) (T5 and T6), respectively. The villus height (VH), width (VW), crypt depth (CD) and the ratio between villus height and crypt depth (VH: CD) were significantly increased at 21 days and 42 days in L. acidophilus-supplemented groups (T3 or T4). No significant differences were observed in protein, albumin and serum mineral (Ca and P) concentrations and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity in any of the dietary probiotic treatment groups. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and creatinine concentrations were increased, whereas alanine aminotransferase (ALT), uric acid and total cholesterol levels were significantly decreased in probiotic-supplemented groups. Coliforms and total anaerobes counts were significantly reduced at 21 and 42 days at the ileum and caecal in T4, whereas the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) Lactobacilli count was significantly increased in all the probiotic-supplemented groups. The results of the present study indicate that L. acidophilus at 106 cfu/g feed inclusion in basal diet may improve blood biochemical parameters and histo-morphometry in the intestine and gut health in broiler chickens, resulting in a valid feed additive to replace antibiotic growth promoters.Keywords: Feed additives, lactobacillus acidophilus, bifidobacterium bifidum gut health, histo-morphology, antibioti

Foreign Direct Investment Lead to Exports of Pakistan: An Econometric Evidence

The objective of the study is to empirically analyze that whether foreign direct investment lead to exports of Pakistan for the period from 1972 to 2014. Econometric results are estimated using Partial Adjustment Model for long run as well short run and then some diagnostic statistics are also applied for reliability of results. Long run and short run results propose positive influence of foreign direct investment, exchange rate, trade openness, and real GDP of Pakistan while inflation is found to have inverse effect of exports of Pakistan. Further tests indicate regression model free from Autocorrelation, Heteroskedasticity, abnormality of residuals and dynamic instability problems. Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment, Real GDP, Exports, Exchange Rate, Inflation

The role of cross-layered designs in wireless body area network

With recent advancement, Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) plays an important role to detect various diseases of a patient in advance and informs the medical team about the life threatening situation. WBAN comprises of small intelligent Biomedical sensors which are implanted inside patient body and attached on the surface of a patient to monitor different vital signs, namely; respiratory rate, ECG, EMG, temperature, blood pressure, glucose. The routing layer of WBAN has the same challenging problems as similarly faced in WSN but the unique challenge is the temperature-rise during monitoring of vital signs and data transmission. IEEE 802.15.6 MAC Superframe of WBAN is different from IEEE 802.15.4 MAC of WSN and provides channels to emergency and non-emergency data for transmission. As similarly seen in WSN, PHY layer of IEEE 802.15.4 and IEEE 802.15.6 provide various modulation techniques for data transmission. The purpose of this study is to familiar with routing layer, MAC layer and PHY layer in the cross-layer design of WBA

Benzodiazepine use in medical out-patient clinics: a study from a developing country

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of Benzodiazepine use in the outpatient setting of general medicine clinics at a single tertiary care centre. Methods: The prospective prevalence study was conducted in the outpatient setting of Internal Medicine Clinics at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, from November to December 2009. All subjects were interviewed after informed consent and variables were recorded on a specially-designed proforma. Apart from basic demographics and comorbid conditions, duration, frequency and route of benzodiazepine use, as well as the reason and who initiated it was noted. Chi-square test and t test was applied to see the association of socio demographic or clinical factors with the use of benzodiazepine. Results: Of the 355 patients, 129 (36.33%) reported using the drug. The majority (n=86; 24.2%) were taking it on a daily basis. The highest numbers of patients using the drug were suffering from cardiovascular problems, 32 (25%) followed by 22 (17%) from endocrinology. Diazepam equivalent dose was around 7.04+4, with a inter-quartile range of 3-96 weeks. Alprazolam (9%) was the most frequently prescribed Benzodiazepine. CONCLUSION: Benzodiazepine use is alarmingly high in the outpatient clinics of General Internal Medicine Department. There is no implementation of law to prevent its hazardous sale. In this regard all concerned should work collectively for awareness and irrational drug sale and use

An Application of Artificial Intelligence for the Joint Estimation of Amplitude and Two-Dimensional Direction of Arrival of Far Field Sources Using 2-L-Shape Array

An easy and efficient approach, based on artificial intelligence technique, is proposed to jointly estimate the amplitude, elevation, and azimuth angles of far field sources impinging on 2-L-shape array. In these proposed artificial intelligence techniques, the metaheuristics based on genetic algorithm and simulated annealing are used as global optimizers assisted with rapid local version of pattern search for optimization of the adaptive parameters. The performance metric is employed on a fitness evaluation function depending on mean square error which is optimum and requires single snapshot to converge. The proposed approaches are easy to understand, and simple to implement; the genetic algorithm specifically hybridized with pattern search generates fairly good results. The comparison of the given schemes is carried out with 1-L-shape array, as well as, with parallel-shape array and is found to be in good agreement in terms of accuracy, convergence rate, computational complexity, and mean square error. The effectiveness and efficiency of the given schemes are examined through Monte Carlo simulations and their inclusive statistical analysis

Risk factors for Hepatitis B

Abstract Background: To evaluate the risk factors fo

Strategies to improve coverage of typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV) immunization campaign in Karachi, Pakistan

The emergence and spread of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) typhoid in Karachi, Pakistan led to an outbreak response in Lyari Town, Karachi utilizing a mass immunization campaign with typhoid conjugate vaccine (TCV), Typbar TCV®. The mass immunization campaign, targeted Lyari Town, Karachi, one of the worst affected towns during the XDR typhoid outbreak. Here we describe the strategies used to improve acceptance and coverage of Typbar TCV in Lyari Town, Karachi. The mass immunization campaign with Typbar TCV was started as a school- and hospital-based vaccination campaign targeting children between the age of 6 months to 15 years old. A dose of 0.5 mL Typbar TCV was administered intramuscularly. A mobile vaccination campaign was added to cope with high absenteeism and non-response from parents in schools and to cover children out of school. Different strategies were found to be effective in increasing the vaccination coverage and in tackling vaccine hesitancy. Community engagement was the most successful strategy to overcome refusals and helped to gain trust in the newly introduced vaccine. Community announcements and playing typhoid jingles helped to increase awareness regarding the ongoing typhoid outbreak. Mop-up activity in schools was helpful in increasing coverage. Networking with locally active groups, clubs and community workers were found to be the key factors in decreasing refusals

Consortium framework using blockchain for asthma healthcare in pandemics

Producción CientíficaAsthma is a deadly disease that affects the lungs and air supply of the human body. Coronavirus and its variants also affect the airways of the lungs. Asthma patients approach hospitals mostly in a critical condition and require emergency treatment, which creates a burden on health institutions during pandemics. The similar symptoms of asthma and coronavirus create confusion for health workers during patient handling and treatment of disease. The unavailability of patient history to physicians causes complications in proper diagnostics and treatments. Many asthma patient deaths have been reported especially during pandemics, which necessitates an efficient framework for asthma patients. In this article, we have proposed a blockchain consortium healthcare framework for asthma patients. The proposed framework helps in managing asthma healthcare units, coronavirus patient records and vaccination centers, insurance companies, and government agencies, which are connected through the secure blockchain network. The proposed framework increases data security and scalability as it stores encrypted patient data on the Interplanetary File System (IPFS) and keeps data hash values on the blockchain. The patient data are traceable and accessible to physicians and stakeholders, which helps in accurate diagnostics, timely treatment, and the management of patients. The smart contract ensures the execution of all business rules. The patient profile generation mechanism is also discussed. The experiment results revealed that the proposed framework has better transaction throughput, query delay, and security than existing solutions