Comparative Effectiveness of Defatted Hypotensive Crude Extract, Ethyl Acetate and Butanolic Fractions of Cassytha filiformis L. on Different Models of Hypertensive Rats

The hypotensive effectiveness of defatted crude ethanolic extract, ethyl acetate and butanolic fractions of Cassytha filiformis L. have been compared on anesthesized prednisone-saline-induced (PN) and Prednisone-saline-LNAME -induced (PNL) hypertensive rats. Extract/fractions were given at the dose of 5 mg/kg each while a group treated by 100 μmol/kg oftempol was used as comparison. Extract/fractions/vehicle were commence in 3 consecutive doses intravenously every one hour interval. The systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) of the animals were measured (Biopac® MP 150 Data Acquisition System). Data were presented as the percentage changes of those parameters and analyzed by three way ANOVA followed by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. Results showed that the ethanolic defatted extract and tempol decreased animal SBP, DBP, MAP and HR significantly (p0.1). The average percentage decrease of animal SBP and MAP on PNL rats were higher (p0.1). Repeated dose of all samples tent to decrease animal SBP and HR (p0.1). These results indicated that the hypotensive effectiveness of the defatted ethanolic extract of Cassytha filiformis is better as compared to its ethyl acetate and butanolic fractions and these effects are greater on oxidative stress related hypertensive rats

Clinical, Radiological, and Molecular Findings of Acute Encephalitis in a COVID-19 Patient: A Rare Case Report.

We report a case of encephalitis in a young male patient with severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who initially presented with typical symptoms of fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath but later on developed acute respiratory distress syndrome and required mechanical ventilation. Two days post-extubation, the patient developed new-onset generalized tonic-clonic seizures and confusion. MRI of the brain was done and it showed an abnormal signal in the bilateral medial cortical frontal region. His cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed a characteristic picture of a viral infection with a high white blood cell count and normal glucose and protein levels. After ruling out all common causes of viral encephalitis such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and based on the review of available literature regarding the neurological manifestations of COVID-19, this case was labeled as acute viral encephalitis secondary to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection

Spatial profiling of optical gain for optimizing lasing in plasmonic nano-lasers

Design of cylindrical metal-clad semiconductor nano-lasers is undertaken. Specific attention is given to determining the modal gain instructures supporting TM01 Surface Plasmon Polarition (SPP) modes. For representative structures it is indicated that cavity lengths oforder 100 μm enable lasing action. In comparison structures supporting TE01 core-confined modes having cavity lengths of order 10 μm may sustain lasing. The analysis methodology adopted offers means to affect the design of candidate semiconductor lasers for bespokeapplications

COVID-19 Induced Myocarditis: A Rare Cause of Heart Failure.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causing lung injury has been well documented in the literature recently. They do so primarily by binding to the membrane-bound form of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors. However, since these receptors are also expressed in the heart and blood vessels, coronavirus can also cause damage to these organs by binding to the ACE-2 receptors. A typical case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) usually presents with respiratory symptoms like cough and shortness of breath accompanied by fever. The literature regarding this pandemic has been growing and now we know very well that the effect of this deadly virus is not restricted to the lungs alone. It can, unfortunately, cause various other complications ranging from neurological damage to even myocardial injury in rare cases. We present an interesting case of a 40-year-old male patient who presented to us with shortness of breath. When further investigated, the patient was found to have a new onset of heart failure secondary to COVID-19 induced myocarditis

Locked-in Syndrome in a Young Patient Due to SARS-CoV-2: A Case Report

© Copyright © 2020 Sattar, Iqbal, Haider, Zia, Niazi, Hanif, Ali and Khan. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), apart from commonly involving the respiratory system, has its impact on the central nervous system, with a wide spectrum of clinical presentations ranging from headaches to ischemic strokes. The ongoing research regarding this novel disease has found that there is a very high prevalence of thrombotic episodes especially in critically ill patients when compared to severe presentation of other viral illnesses. This COVID-19-associated coagulopathy has a very complex etiology with the ability to form thrombus in arteries, veins, and microvasculatures of different organs. We present a unique case of a young woman with underlying COVID-19 who unfortunately developed locked-in syndrome due to bilateral pontine infarction during the course of her illness

Functional quality of optimized peach‐based beverage developed by application of ultrasonic processing

The influence of thermal treatment (at 90°C for 10 min) and sonication (at 20 kHz and 130 W for 30, 60, and 90 min on room temperature) on the physicochemical properties, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and organic acids of fresh formulated functional peach beverage was investigated. The results indicated that conventional pasteurization and sonication treatment did not show any significant changes in pH value and Brix amount of juice, and however, a rise in cloud value was observed under all processing conditions. The thermal treatment caused the decrement in total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), antioxidant activity (assessed by diphenyl dipicryl hydrazyl (DPPH), ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and 2,2'‐azino‐bis(3‐ethylbenzothiazoline‐6‐sulfonic acid) (ABTS)), and organic acids of juice, whereas sonication treatment for 90 min increased maximum the activity of bioactive compounds (TPC: 600.61 µg/100 ml; TFC: 177 µg CE/100 ml), antioxidants (DPPH: 51.87%; FRAP: 506.13 µmol Trolox/L; ABTS: 1,507.375 µmol Trolox/L), and organic acids (malic acid: 998; citric acid: 128; oxalic acid: 145; shikimic acid: 63 µg/100 ml) as compared to other treatment conditions and control. Multivariate data analysis was done by principal component analysis as it identifies patterns in data by comparing data sets which is further expressed based on their similarities and discriminations, respectively

Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Arylidene Acetophenones

An efficient synthesis of arylidene acetophenones have been achieved by using the microwave heating in comparison to the conventional heating. In this work compound 1-phenyle-3-(4-droxyphenyle)-2-propen-1-one, 1-(4-chlorophenyle)-3-phenyle-2-propen-1-one, and 1-(4-chlorophenyle)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyle)-2-propen-1-one have been synthesized by the condensation reaction between aromatic aldehydes and substituted acetophenones under microwave irradiation. The compounds of aldehydes and acetophenones were used as benzaldehyde, parahydroxybenzaldehyde, acetophenone, and parachloroacetophenone. The result shows that the time taken for the reaction was reduced from the conventional 1-2 hours to 60–120 seconds. The yield of the compounds in the conventional heating was moderate while the highest yield of 90–98% was observed in MWI method. The structure of the compounds was characterized by their IR, 1H-NMR spectral data

Topical piroxicam in vitro release and in vivo anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects from palm oil esters-based nanocream

During recent years, there has been growing interest in use of topical vehicle systems to assist in drug permeation through the skin. Drugs of interest are usually those that are problematic when given orally, such as piroxicam, a highly effective anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic, and analgesic, but with the adverse effect of causing gastrointestinal ulcers. The present study investigated the in vitro and in vivo pharmacodynamic activity of a newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs)-based nanocream containing piroxicam for topical delivery

Stability Studies of Nano-Scaled Emulsions Containing Ibuprofen for Topical Delivery

Biphasic systems, like emulsions and nano-scaled emulsions, are naturally unstable. The extent and rate of the destabilization process differ from system to another. The stability of such systems upon storage is an important aspect to ensure their abilities to exert the expected effects and consequently render them pharmaceutically acceptable. In the present study, the stability of the nano-scaled emulsion containing newly synthesized palm oil esters (POEs) was assessed under different storage conditions and over specified durations. Three nano-scaled emulsion formulae were chosen for this investigation. They basically comprised ibuprofen as the active ingredient, triethanolamine aqueous solution pH 7.4 as the external phase, POEs as the oil phase, Tween 80 as an emulsifier, Carbopol® 940 as the rheology modifier and menthol or limonene as penetration promoters. The evaluation processes were carried out at several temperatures (4, 25 and 40 °C) with factors, such as droplets size, electrical conductivity, drug content, pH and flow properties were relatively held constant. The data collectively showed that all formulations were stable over an observation period of three months.Keywords: Ibuprofen, nano-scaled emulsion, palm oil esters, stabilit