Suppression of inflammatory mediators by aqueous leaf extract of Crotalaria verrucosa: in vivo and in vitro analysis

Background: Crotalaria verrucosa is a traditional plant frequently prescribed by the tribes for its medicinal value against inflammation. The present study was designed to investigate the scientific basis for medicinal value in inflammation by in vivo and in vitro analysis.Methods: Anti-inflammatory activity of the plant’s leaf was evaluated by two in vivo methods - carrageenan induced rat paw edema and xylene induced mice ear edema. Moreover, in vitro analysis was performed through heat induced hemolysis and heat induced protein denaturation methods.Results: The inflammation produced by carrageenan and xylene were effectively suppressed by the aqueous leaf extract of C. verrucosa (CVAQ) at 600 mg/kg body weight which was comparable to the standards. In heat induced hemolysis test the extract was able to inhibit the lysis up to 70% at 500 µg/ml whereas in heat induced protein denaturation test it reduces the percentage till 69% at the same concentration.Conclusions: The findings suggested that CVAQ possess moderate to high anti-inflammatory activity when applied in low to high concentrated doses. However, the study can only conclude from this basic evaluation that the extract needs to be further investigated for identifying the potential compound which contributed to such medicinal value of the plant

Conductive textiles for signal sensing and technical applications

Conductive textiles have found notable applications as electrodes and sensors capable of detecting biosignals like the electrocardiogram (ECG), electrogastrogram (EGG), electroencephalogram (EEG), and electromyogram (EMG), etc; other applications include electromagnetic shielding, supercapacitors, and soft robotics. There are several classes of materials that impart conductivity, including polymers, metals, and non-metals. The most significant materials are Polypyrrole (PPy), Polyaniline (PANI), Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), carbon, and metallic nanoparticles. The processes of making conductive textiles include various deposition methods, polymerization, coating, and printing. The parameters, such as conductivity and electromagnetic shielding, are prerequisites that set the benchmark for the performance of conductive textile materials. This review paper focuses on the raw materials that are used for conductive textiles, various approaches that impart conductivity, the fabrication of conductive materials, testing methods of electrical parameters, and key technical applications, challenges, and future potential

Physical growth during the first year of life. A longitudinal study in rural and urban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Good infant growth is important for future health. Assessing growth is common in pediatric care all over the world, both at the population and individual level. There are few studies of birth weight and growth studies comparing urban and rural communities in Vietnam. The first aim is to describe and compare the birth weight distributions and physical growth (weight and length) of children during their first year in one rural and one urban area of Hanoi Vietnam. The second aim is to study associations between the anthropometric outcomes and indicators of the economic and educational situations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Totally 1,466 children, born from 1^stMarch, 2009 to June 2010, were followed monthly from birth to 12 months of age in two Health and Demographic Surveillance Sites; one rural and one urban. In all, 14,199 measurements each of weight and length were made. Birth weight was recorded separately. Information about demographic conditions, education, occupation and economic conditions of persons and households was obtained from household surveys. Fractional Polynomial models and standard statistical methods were used for description and analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Urban infants have higher birth weight and gain weight faster than rural infants. The mean birth weight for urban boys and girls were 3,298 grams and 3,203 grams as compared to 3,105 grams and 3,057 grams for rural children. At 90 days, the urban boys were estimated to be 4.1% heavier than rural boys. This difference increased to 7.2% at 360 days. The corresponding difference for girls was 3.4% and 10.5%. The differences for length were comparatively smaller. Both birth weight and growth were statistically significantly and positively associated with economic conditions and mother education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Birth weight was lower and the growth, weight and length, considerably slower in the rural area, for boys as well as for girls. The results support the hypothesis that the rather drastic differences in maternal education and economic conditions lead to poor nutrition for mothers and children in turn causing inferior birth weight and growth.</p

Nitrogen quantification and tracking during high temperature oxidation in air of titanium using 15N isotopic labelling

International audienceIsotopic labelling was used to track the diffusion of nitrogen during the oxidation of Titanium in air at 700°C. Alternate exposure in 15 N2-labelled air and regular air was used. The nitrogen is mainly located at the oxide/metal interface and forms essentially a nitride phase close to Ti2N. Each nitrogen isotope was quantified by Nuclear Reaction Analysis. Nitrogen quantity doubles between 5 and 20 h, which represents 16 % respectively 12.5 %, of the total mass gains. The nitrogen is partially renewed by both inward and outward diffusion during the oxidation. A model for nitrides migration is proposed

Nitrogen quantification and tracking during high temperature oxidation in air of titanium using 15N isotopic labelling

International audienceIsotopic labelling was used to track the diffusion of nitrogen during the oxidation of Titanium in air at 700°C. Alternate exposure in 15 N2-labelled air and regular air was used. The nitrogen is mainly located at the oxide/metal interface and forms essentially a nitride phase close to Ti2N. Each nitrogen isotope was quantified by Nuclear Reaction Analysis. Nitrogen quantity doubles between 5 and 20 h, which represents 16 % respectively 12.5 %, of the total mass gains. The nitrogen is partially renewed by both inward and outward diffusion during the oxidation. A model for nitrides migration is proposed

Impact of Zinc, Vitamins C and D on Disease Prognosis among Patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Vitamin C, (ascorbic acid), vitamin D (cholecalciferol) and zinc (zinc sulfate monohydrate) supplements are important in immunity against coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). However, a limited number of studies have been conducted on the association of vitamins and supplements with the reduced risks of COVID-19 infection. This study aims to evaluate the association of vitamins and supplements as treatment options to reduce the severity of COVID-19. Data were collected from 962 participants from 13 December 2020 to 4 February 2021. The presence of COVID-19 was confirmed by qRT-PCR. The Chi-square test and multivariate regression analyses were conducted. The ratio of uptake of vitamin C:vitamin D:zinc was 1:1:0.95. Uptake of vitamin C, vitamin D and zinc were significantly associated with the reduced risk of infection and severity of COVID-19 (OR: 0.006 (95% CI: 0.03&ndash;0.11) (p = 0.004)) and (OR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01&ndash;0.22) (p = 0.005)). The tendency of taking supplements was associated with the presence of infection of COVID-19 (p = 0.001), age (p = 0.02), sex (p = 0.05) and residence (p = 0.04). The duration of supplementation and medication was significantly associated with reduced hospitalization (p = 0.0001). Vitamins C, D and zinc were not significantly (p = 0.9) associated with a reduced risk of severity when taken through the diet. Hospitalization (p = 0.000001) and access to health facilities (p = 0.0097) were significantly associated with the survival period of the participants. Participants with better access to health facilities recovered early (OR: 6.21, 95% CI 1.56&ndash;24.7). This study will add knowledge in the field of treatment of COVID-19 by using vitamins and zinc supplements

Predictors of the number of under-five malnourished children in Bangladesh: application of the generalized poisson regression model

Islam MM, Alam M, Tariquzaman M, et al. Predictors of the number of under-five malnourished children in Bangladesh: application of the generalized poisson regression model. BMC Public Health. 2013;13(1): 11.BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is one of the principal causes of child mortality in developing countries including Bangladesh. According to our knowledge, most of the available studies, that addressed the issue of malnutrition among under-five children, considered the categorical (dichotomous/polychotomous) outcome variables and applied logistic regression (binary/multinomial) to find their predictors. In this study malnutrition variable (i.e. outcome) is defined as the number of under-five malnourished children in a family, which is a non-negative count variable. The purposes of the study are (i) to demonstrate the applicability of the generalized Poisson regression (GPR) model as an alternative of other statistical methods and (ii) to find some predictors of this outcome variable. METHODS: The data is extracted from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey (BDHS) 2007. Briefly, this survey employs a nationally representative sample which is based on a two-stage stratified sample of households. A total of 4,460 under-five children is analysed using various statistical techniques namely Chi-square test and GPR model. RESULTS: The GPR model (as compared to the standard Poisson regression and negative Binomial regression) is found to be justified to study the above-mentioned outcome variable because of its under-dispersion (variance < mean) property. Our study also identify several significant predictors of the outcome variable namely mother's education, father's education, wealth index, sanitation status, source of drinking water, and total number of children ever born to a woman. CONCLUSIONS: Consistencies of our findings in light of many other studies suggest that the GPR model is an ideal alternative of other statistical models to analyse the number of under-five malnourished children in a family. Strategies based on significant predictors may improve the nutritional status of children in Bangladesh