Primary Splenic Hydatid: A Case Report

Hydatid disease is a parasitic infection caused mainly by Echinococcus granulosus and is a common entity in this part of the world . However, primary hydatid disease of spleen is a rare entity. We are reporting a case of a massive primary splenic hydatid cyst in a 27 yr old female, who presented with left upper quadrant swelling and pain. USG disclosed a large hydatid cyst and the CT scan confirmed the diagnosis. IgM Elisa for hydatid serology was strongly positive. An elective open splenectomy was performed, with an uneventful post operative recovery

Sacral tuberculosis: an atypical manifestation

Sacral tuberculosis (TB) is extremely rare and its unusual entity might delay the diagnosis and treatment of this treatable disease. A 38-year-old lady presented with a 1 year history of lower back pain with radiculopathy more to right lower limb. The patient was initially treated as Prolapsed Intervertebral Disc (PID), but showed no improvement despite regular physiotherapy and medication. Subsequently, the pain was confined to the right gluteal area and became more severe. Quality of life was impaired in which patient started using walking aids and stopped working. There was a weight loss of 20kg. No other symptom of TB infection or history of contact with TB patient. Bowel and urinary functions were normal. Examination showed localized tenderness at the right gluteal area. Neurological assessment of both lower limbs were MRC grade 5. Blood investigations were normal including the ESR level (17mm/hour). Mantoux test was positive with 18mm induration. MRI revealed a large rim enhancing paravertebral collection at pre-sacral space which extended into bilateral piriformis and gluteal muscles. The patient underwent CT-guided drainage of both gluteals and specimens taken to confirm the diagnosis of TB. Patient showed significant improvement clinically within 1 week after the drainage procedure and initiation of antituberculous chemotherapy. The initial presentation of this patient mimics PID due to irritation of sciatic nerve at piriformis level. However a change in the presentation and failure of conservative treatment should raise a high index of suspicion and necessitates further investigation to establish correct diagnosis hence proper treatment can be initiated

Evaluation of three medicinal plant extracts against Plasmodium falciparum and selected microganisms

Background: A great revival of scientific interests in drug discovery has been witnessed in recent years from medicinal plants for health  maintenance. The aim of this work was to investigate three Nigerian  medicinal plants collected in Nigeria for their in vitro antiplasmodial and antimicrobial activities.Materials and Methods: Extracts obtained from parts of Persea americana, Jatropha podagrica and Picralima nitida and their fractions wereevaluated for in vitro antiprotozoal and antimicrobial activity.Result: The methanol extract of P. nitida demonstrated activity against chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum clones with IC50 values of 6.3 and 6.0 µg/mL, respectively. Methanol and chloroform extracts of P. americana seed showed antifungal activity against Cryptococcus neoformans IC50 less than 8 and 8.211 µg/mL respectively. Finally, the petroleum ether extract of P. americana had activity against methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with an IC50 value of 8.7 µg/mL.Conclusion: The study revealed the antibacterial and antiplasmodial activities of the plants extracts at the tested concentrations.Keywords: Antifungal, Antibacterial, Persea americana, Picralima nitida, Jatropha podagrica, Plasmodium falciparu

Prevalence of Self-Medication of Psychoactive Stimulants and Antidepressants among Undergraduate Pharmacy Students in Twelve Pakistani Cities

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students of Pakistan.Methods: A cross-sectional survey on self-medication of psychoactive stimulants and antidepressants among pharmacy students was conducted with a structured and validated questionnaire distributed to a total of 2981 final year undergraduate pharmacy students in 12 major Pakistani cities (Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Dera Ismail Khan, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar) of Pakistan. Out of this, 2516 (718 male and 1798 female) students completed and returned the questionnaire.Results: Prevalence of self-medication of psychoactive stimulants was 1.31 (1.13 – 1.75 for 95% CI) and antidepressants was 8.34 (8.03 – 8.85 for 95% CI). A majority of the students (63 %) identified academic competition as a driving force for indulging in self-medication of psychoactive stimulants while nearly all the students (96 %)admitted using antidepressants to obtain relief from the pressure of studies (p < 0.05).Conclusion: Pakistani pharmacy students, despite being aware of the hazards of psychoactive stimulants, indulge in self-medication. Prevalence of self-medication with antidepressants is very high among the students due to the pressure of studies. Primarily, academic competition is the major driving force for the use of psychoactive stimulants.Keywords: Self-medication, Psychoactive stimulants, Antidepressants, Pharmacy students, Academicpressur

Influence of prohexadione-calcium, trinexapac-ethyl and hexaconazole on lodging characteristic and gibberellin biosynthesis of rice (Oryza sativa L.)

We investigated the influence of prohexadione-calcium (Pro-Ca), trinexapac-ethyl (TNE) and hexaconazole (HX) on lodging and gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis pathway of rice cultivar, Hwayeongbyeo. It was observed that these novel synthetic growth retardants suppressed lodging of rice under field conditions through blocking GA biosynthesis pathway. These growth retarding chemicals were applied at basic (20 uM) and elevated (40 uM) rates either 10 days before heading (10 DBH) or 5 days before heading (5 DBH). We found that Pro-Ca, TNE and their combined application (Pro-Ca + TNE) were most effective in decreasing rice length and lodging index, when applied at 10 DBH. Similarly, the endogenous bioactive GA1 contents of rice significantly declined with application of Pro-Ca, TNE and Pro-Ca + TNE, while they were less effected by basic and elevated rates of HX as compared to the control. The growth retardants were more effective in decreasing rice lodging and blocking GA biosynthesis when applied in elevated rates. The levels of the endogenous gibberellins in rice shoots were measured by GC/MS-SIM using 2H2-labeled gibberellins as internal standards. Effect of these synthetic chemicals on growth and GA inhibition were stronger initially but eroded rapidly under field conditions. It was thus concluded that Pro-Ca and TNE were most effective in reducing plant length and suppressing lodging of rice crop under field conditions, where lodging is a major constraint to higher productivity.Key words: Growth retardants, plant growth, gibberellin biosynthesis, lodging index, rice

Antioxidant Activity and Inhibitory Effect of Some Commonly used Medicinal Plants against Lipid Per-Oxidation in Mice Brain

Background: The present study compares the protective properties of aqueous extracts of six medicinal plants, Phyllanthus emblica, Terminaliachebula (black and yellow), Terminalia arjuna, Balsamodendron Mukul and Alium sativum against lipid per-oxidation in mice brain.Methods: The antioxidant activities were analyzed by lipid per-oxidation assay, 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical assay, total antioxidantactivity and metal chelation.Results: The extracts (fruits and bark) showed inhibition against thiobarbituric acid reactive species (TBARS) induced by pro-oxidant (10 µM FeSO4) in mice brain. Moreover, the free radical scavenging activities of the extracts was evaluated by the scavenging of DPPH radical (IC50, 23.23±1.2 µg/ml (Phyllanthus emblica), 20.24±0.9 µg/ml (Terminalia chebula yellow) and 17.33±1.1 µg/ml (Terminalia chebula black), 19.44±0.45 µg/ml (Terminalia arjuna), 56.59±2.1 µg/ml (Balsamodendron Mukul) and . 200 µg/ml (Alium sativum).Conclusion: The higher antioxidant and inhibitory effect of Terminalia chebula black in this study could be attributed to its significantly higherphenolic content, Fe(II) chelating ability, reducing ability and free radical scavenging activity. Therefore oxidative stress in brain could be potentiallyprevented by the intake of these plants.Key words: Antioxidant activity, Balb c mice, iron chelation, phenolics, oxidative stress, medicinal plants

Development of polymeric nanocomposite (Xyloglucan-co-Methacrylic acid/Hydroxyapatite/SiO 2 ) scaffold for bone tissue engineering applications—In-vitro antibacterial, cytotoxicity and cell culture evaluation

Advancement and innovation in bone regeneration, specifically polymeric composite scaffolds, are of high significance for the treatment of bone defects. Xyloglucan (XG) is a polysaccharide biopolymer having a wide variety of regenerative tissue therapeutic applications due to its biocompatibility, in-vitro degradation and cytocompatibility. Current research is focused on the fabrication of polymeric bioactive scaffolds by freeze drying method for nanocomposite materials. The nanocomposite materials have been synthesized from free radical polymerization using n-SiO2 and n-HAp XG and Methacrylic acid (MAAc). Functional group analysis, crystallinity and surface morphology were investigated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. These bioactive polymeric scaffolds presented interconnected and well-organized porous morphology, controlled precisely by substantial ratios of n-SiO2. The swelling analysis was also performed in different media at varying temperatures (27, 37 and 47 °C) and the mechanical behavior of the dried scaffolds is also investigated. Antibacterial activities of these scaffolds were conducted against pathogenic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. Besides, the biological behavior of these scaffolds was evaluated by the Neutral Red dye assay against the MC3T3-E1 cell line. The scaffolds showed interesting properties for bone tissue engineering, including porosity with substantial mechanical strength, biodegradability, biocompatibility and cytocompatibility behavior. The reported polymeric bioactive scaffolds can be aspirant biomaterials for bone tissue engineering to regenerate defecated bone

Graphene-doped photo-patternable ionogels: tuning of conductivity and mechanical stability of 3D microstructures

This work reports for the first time the development of enhanced conductivity, graphene- doped photo-patternable hybrid organic-inorganic ionogels and the effect of the subsequent materials condensation on the conductivity and mechanical stability of three- dimensional microstructures fabricated by multi-photon polymerisation (MPP). Ionogels were based on photocurable silicon/zirconium hybrid sol-gel materials and phosphonium (trihexyltetradecylphosphonium dicyanamide [P6,6,6,14][DCA] ionic liquid (IL). To optimise the dispersion of graphene within the ionogel matrices, aqueous solutions of graphene were prepared, as opposed to the conventional graphene powder approach, and employed as catalysts of hydrolysis and condensation reactions occurring in the sol-gel process. Ionogels were prepared via a two step process by varying the hydrolysis degree from 25 to 50%, IL content between 0-50 w/w%, and the inorganic modifier (zirconate complex) concentration from 30 to 60 mol.% against the photocurable ormosil and they were characterised via Raman, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy. MPP was performed on the hybrid ionogels, resulting in three- dimensional microstructures that were characterised using scanning electron microscopy. It is clearly demonstrated that the molecular formulation of the ionogels, including the concentration of graphene and the zirconate network modifier, play a critical role in the conductivity of the ionogels and influence the resulting mechanical stability of the fabricated three-dimensional microstructures. This work aims to establish for the first time the relationship between the molecular design and condensation of materials in the physico-chemistry and dynamic of ionogels

A survey of UK healthcare workers' attitudes on volunteering to help with the Ebola outbreak in West Africa

Objective To understand the barriers and enablers for UK healthcare workers who are considering going to work in the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa, but have not yet volunteered. Design After focus group discussions, and a pilot questionnaire, an anonymous survey was conducted using SurveyMonkey to determine whether people had considered going to West Africa, what factors might make them more or less likely to volunteer, and whether any of these were modifiable factors. Participants The survey was publicised among doctors, nurses, laboratory staff and allied health professionals. 3109 people answered the survey, of whom 472 (15%) were considering going to work in the epidemic but had not yet volunteered. 1791 (57.6%) had not considered going, 704 (22.6%) had considered going but decided not to, 53 (1.7%) had volunteered to go and 14 (0.45%) had already been and worked in the epidemic. Results For those considering going to West Africa, the most important factor preventing them from volunteering was a lack of information to help them decide; fear of getting Ebola and partners’ concerns came next. Uncertainty about their potential role, current work commitments and inability to get agreement from their employer were also important barriers, whereas clarity over training would be an important enabler. In contrast, for those who were not considering going, or who had decided against going, family considerations and partner concerns were the most important factors. Conclusions More UK healthcare workers would volunteer to help tackle Ebola in West Africa if there was better information available, including clarity about roles, cover arrangements, and training. This could be achieved with a well-publicised high quality portal of reliable information