Experience with larangeal mask airway in Pakistani patients

One hundred and thirty seven adult patients undergoing peripheral surgery were studied regarding ease of larangeal mask airway (LMA) insertion, airway maintenance during surgery and complication encountered during insertion, maintenance and in the postoperative period. In a majority (84%) of patients, the airway was positioned correctly at the first attempt, 3% patients had mild laryngospasm at insertion and in 85% a good airway was obtained. No airway related problems were encountered intraoperatively. Two percent patients had laryngospasm on removal of LMA. Postoperatively, the complaint of sore throat and uvular trauma was seen in 4% cases

Synthesis and antibacterial evaluation of 2-(1,3- Benzodioxol-5-ylcarbonyl)arylsulfonohydrazide derivatives

Purpose: To study the antibacterial activity of various sulfonamides derived from 1,3-benzodioxol-5- carbohydrazide.Methods: The synthesis involved the conversion of 1,3-benzodioxol-5-carboxylic acid (1) to ethyl 1,3- benzodioxol-5-carboxylate (2) and then to 1,3-benzodioxol-5-carbohydrazide (3). The target molecules, 2-(1,3-benzodioxol-5-ylcarbonyl)arylsulfonohydrazide derivatives (5a-l) were synthesized through a benignant method from aqueous medium by the reaction of 3 and arylsulfonyl chlorides (4a-l). The structural formulae of the synthesized compounds were characterized by infra red spectroscopy (IR), proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) and electron impact mass spectrometry (EI-MS). The compounds were screened for in vitro antibacterial activity by determining their minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC).Results: The molecule, 5k, bearing 2-hydroxy-3,5-dichlorophenyl group exhibited the highest activity with MIC of 11.92 ± 3.40 (S. typhi), 8.37 ± 2.22 (E. coli), 9.28 ± 2.31 (P. aeroginosa), 11.76 ± 1.30 (B. subtilis) and 10.30 ± 1.63 (S. aureus) μmoles/L relative to that of ciprofloxacin with 9.42 ± 1.09, 8.02 ± 2.17, 8.11 ± 1.32, 8.88 ± 2.00 and 9.23 ± 1.87 μmoles/L respectively.Conclusion: The most potent of the synthesized compounds (5k) posesses moderate activity against all the bacterial strains, while 5g remained completely inactive.Keywords: 1,3-Benzodioxol-5-carboxylic acid, Antibacterial activity, Sulfonohydrazide, Synthesi

Synthesis and Evaluation of some New 5-Substituted-1,3,4- oxadiazol-2yl-4-(morpholin-4yl Sulfonyl)benzyl Sulfides as Antibacterial Agent

Purpose: To synthesise a new series of 5-substituted-1,3,4-Oxadiazol-2yl-4-(morpholin-4yl sulfonyl)benzyl sulfide and evaluate their antibacterial activity.Methods: Different organic acids were converted consecutively into corresponding esters, hydrazides and 5-substituted-1,3,4-Oxadiazol-2-thiols (4a-e). The targets, 6a-e were synthesized by stirring 4a-e with 4-(4-(bromomethyl)phenylsulfonyl) morpholine (5) in the presence of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and sodium hydride (NaH). All the structures were elucidated by modern spectroscopic techniques and screened against bacteria using standard procedure and ciprofloxacin drug as positive control.Results: The yield of the synthesized compounds (4a-e and 6a-e) were moderate (65 - 90 %). Compounds 6a-e had antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillis subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus while some had activity against the other bacteria used. One of the compounds, 6b, exhibited significant activity against all the bacterial strains, i.e., S. typhi (-), E. coli (-), K. pneumoniae (-), P. aeruginosa (-), B. subtilis (+) and S. aureus (+) with  MIC (μM) values of 11.01 ± 0.31, 15.37 ± 3.33, 16.11 ± 1.14, 9.70 ± 1.96, 10.01 ± 2.70 and 9.15 ± 0.29, respectively. However, none of the compounds had any inhibitory activity against any bacteria as high as that of ciprofloxacin.Conclusion: Five new compounds with antibacterial activities have been synthesized. Their potential as therapeutic agents is, however, yet to be evaluated.Keywords: 1,3,4-Oxadiazole, Benzyl sulfide, 4-(4-(bromomethyl)phenylsulfonyl)morpholine, Spectral analysis, Antibacterial activit

PHYSIOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF PESTICIDAL CONTAMINATION: CHALLENGE TO SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND BIODEGRADATION METHODS

Pesticides are chemicals used to eliminate pests and increase crop yield, as well as to control parasites in livestock. Their widespread use over the past two eras has led to increased agricultural yields but has also caused environmental issues. These chemicals can reduce the quality of the environment, impact vital ecosystem functions by decreasing species diversity, altering food pathways, and affecting energy patterns and nutrient cycling. Pesticides affect living organisms in various ways. Long-term exposure can reduce growth, reproduction, and survival of fish and other aquatic populations. Amphibians, which have semi-permeable skin and lay eggs in water, are particularly susceptible to pesticides during breeding and foraging. Birds can also be affected by continuous pesticide use. Ponds with standing water may recover more slowly from pesticide exposure compared to flowing water bodies. Livestock can be exposed to pesticides through contaminated fodder or water, which can have detrimental effects. Heavy pesticide treatment of soil can reduce beneficial soil microorganisms and alter the chemical structure of plants. Pesticide poisoning causes approximately one million global deaths and chronic disorders in humans each year. The use of pesticides also harms insect pollinators directly and indirectly through the reduction of appropriate pollinator communities, leading to crop damage. To reduce environmental contamination, it is important to minimize the use of pesticides and explore alternative methods of pest control

Study on clinical features and factors associated with thickness of chronic subdural hematoma in adult

Patients with chronic subdural hematoma encounter certain difficulties in diagnosis, especially in elderly, due to the characteristically non-specific symptoms and signs. Early diagnosis and proper operative treatment, on the other hand, results in complete recovery in most of the cases. In this study, the clinical features and factors of 31 patients with chronic subdural hematoma, associated with the thickness of chronic subdural hematoma were analyzed. The mean age was 62 ± 13.9 years. The maximum hematoma thickness in the axial CT scan was 25 mm. The thickness of hematoma obtained from axial plain CT had a positive relationship with the patient’s age where r=0.895 and p<0.001 signifies that the thickness of hematoma increased with the increasing age. But the hematoma thickness was not related to co-morbidity such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and ischemic heart disease. The presentation of the patient with higher hematoma thickness with hemiparesis was statistically significant and with lower thickness with headache and vomiting

Study on clinical features and factors associated with thickness of chronic subdural hematoma in adult

Patients with chronic subdural hematoma encounter certain difficulties in diagnosis, especially in elderly, due to the characteristically non-specific symptoms and signs. Early diagnosis and proper operative treatment, on the other hand, results in complete recovery in most of the cases. In this study, the clinical features and factors of 31 patients with chronic subdural hematoma, associated with the thickness of chronic subdural hematoma were analyzed. The mean age was 62 ± 13.9 years. The maximum hematoma thickness in the axial CT scan was 25 mm. The thickness of hematoma obtained from axial plain CT had a positive relationship with the patient’s age where r=0.895 and p<0.001 signifies that the thickness of hematoma increased with the increasing age. But the hematoma thickness was not related to co-morbidity such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and ischemic heart disease. The presentation of the patient with higher hematoma thickness with hemiparesis was statistically significant and with lower thickness with headache and vomiting

Visible light driven doped CeO2 for the treatment of pharmaceuticals in wastewater: A review

The high-level contamination of pharmaceuticals in aquatic environment, and their toxicities is a serious issue. This review highlights the use of ceria photocatalyst for treatment of pharmaceuticals. Cerium oxide (CeO2) with high oxygen storage, ecofriendly properties, reusability, and photostability contrary to other metal oxides photocatalysts is reportedly a better choice. However, ceria with high band gap energy show photoactivity mainly under UV light. This review highlights pharmaceuticals contamination in water, their contamination level, and toxicities and properties of CeO2 and different approaches used for extending photoactivity of CeO2 under visible irradiation. Metals and non-metals doping is found to promote greatly photoactivity of CeO2 under visible irradiation by narrowing band gap, shift in absorption edge to visible region, crystal defects and yield of oxygen vacancy, lower recombination of conduction band electrons and valence band holes and increasing surface area. The visible irradiation of CeO2 is found to produce hydroxyl radical (OH) and superoxide radical (O2 –) which contribute in pharmaceuticals degradation. The electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy and radical scavenger studies confirmed the formation of reactive oxygen species from CeO2 photoactivation. Doping was found to incorporate into the lattice of CeO2 and improve reusability and stability of CeO2 photocatalyst. The suggested mechanisms involved in the treatment of pharmaceuticals through OH and O2 – is discussed. Furthermore, the outlook and future challenges in the use CeO2 for photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals and other organic pollutants are evaluated

Potential degradation of norfloxacin using UV-C/Fe2+/peroxides-based oxidative pathways

The removal of norfloxacin (NOR), a widely used pharmaceutical and emerging water pollutant, was studied using UV-C and Fe2+ catalyzed peroxides-based oxidative processes (e.g., UV-C/Fe2+/H2O2, UV-C/Fe2+/S2O8 2− and UV-C/Fe2+/HSO5 −) and compared with UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+. The UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+ degraded NOR to 38 and 55%. However, use of peroxides, i.e., H2O2, S2O8 2−, HSO5 − with UV-C and UV-C/Fe2+ promoted NOR %degradation to 75, 83, and 90% using [peroxides]0 = 50 mg/L, [Fe2+]0 = 1 mg/L, and [NOR]0 = 10 mg/L, respectively. The significant impact of peroxides on NOR degradation was due to their decomposition into ●OH and SO4 ●− which showed high activity towards NOR degradation. The ●OH and SO4 ●− formation from peroxides decomposition and their contribution in NOR degradation was verified by different scavenger studies. Among the UV-C/Fe2+/peroxides processes, UV-C/Fe2+/HSO5 − showed better performance. The changing concentrations of peroxides, Fe2+, and NOR affected degradation of NOR. The use of different pH and inorganic anions also influenced NOR degradation. The degradation pathways of NOR were established and analyzed acute as well as chronic toxicities of NOR and its DPs