Chemical Structure, Quality Indices and Bioactivity of Essential Oil Constituents

Essential oil (EO) is a mixture of low molecular weight constituents that are responsible for its characteristic aroma. These constituents include terpenoid and non‐terpenoid hydrocarbons and their oxygenated derivatives. This chapter focuses on the heterogeneous composition of the essential oils. It discusses the usage of essential oil constituents as a key marker of the oil quality, freshness and unique characteristics. It describes the biological activity and synergistic effect of the essential oil constituents as antioxidant, antibacterial, antifungal and anticancer agents

Medical students’ attitudes towards patient-centered care, Fayoum Medical School, Egypt

Background: Patient-centered care has been considered the foundation of healthcare quality and the core competency of the doctor-patient relationship.Aims: To assess the attitudes of medical students toward a patient-centered approach and identify the predictors of patient-centeredness scores.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in Fayoum Medical School/Egypt using a validated Arabic version of the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS).Results: The total PPOS score showed variable score as the grades move up. The total PPOS ranged from 0.05 to 4.39 with an average score of (2.71 ± 0.66) for the entire sample. The sharing and caring subscale score ranged from 0.56 to 4.44 and 0.44 to 5.33 with an average score of (2.33 ± 0.49) and (3.09 ± 0.92) respectively.Conclusion: Medical students had low patient-centered attitude. Medical curricula should be redesigned, and medical students may also benefit from engagement in patient healthcare service

Pulmonary embolism versus pulmonary vasculitis in Hughes-Stovin syndrome: Characteristic computed tomography pulmonary angiographic findings and diagnostic and therapeutic implications. HSS International Study Group

Background and aim: Hughes-Stovin syndrome (HSS) is a rare systemic vasculitis with widespread venous/arterial thrombosis and pulmonary vasculitis. Distinguishing between pulmonary embolism (PE) and in-situ thrombosis in the early stages of HSS is challenging. The aim of the study is to compare clinical, laboratory, and computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA) characteristics in patients diagnosed with PE versus those with HSS. Methods: This retrospective study included 40 HSS patients with complete CTPA studies available, previously published by the HSS study group, and 50 patients diagnosed with PE from a single center. Demographics, clinical and laboratory findings, vascular thrombotic events, were compared between both groups. The CTPA findings were reviewed, with emphasis on the distribution, adherence to the mural wall, pulmonary infarction, ground glass opacification, and intra-alveolar hemorrhage. Pulmonary artery aneurysms (PAAs) in HSS were assessed and classified. Results: The mean age of HSS patients was 35 ± 12.3 years, in PE 58.4 ± 17 (p &lt; 0.0001). Among PE 39(78 %) had co-morbidities, among HSS none. In contrast to PE, in HSS both major venous and arterial thrombotic events are seen. Various patterns of PAAs were observed in the HSS group, which were entirely absent in PE. Parenchymal hemorrhage was also more frequent in HSS compared to PE (P &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: Major vascular thrombosis with arterial aneurysms formation are characteristic of HSS. PE typically appear loosely-adherent and mobile whereas “in-situ thrombosis” seen in HSS is tightly-adherent to the mural wall. Mural wall enhancement and PAAs are distinctive pulmonary findings in HSS. The latter findings have significant therapeutic ramifications.</p

Essential Oil as Green Preservative Obtained by Ecofriendly Extraction Techniques

Essential oils are formed by a complex matrix of substances that are biosynthesized in the secondary metabolism of plants. Nowadays, different ecofriendly extraction techniques (e.g., ultrasound-, microwave-, enzyme-assisted extraction, and supercritical fluid by CO2, etc.) have been adopted to obtain essential oils. These techniques provide unique quality of essentials oils or extracts from aromatic plants in a short time with high energy savings. Essential oils not only impart aroma, but also possess antimicrobial and antioxidant activities. Health limitations in the use of synthetic additives have drawn researchers’ attention towards essential oils as safe natural preservatives. Therefore, this chapter summarizes novel technologies to recover essential oils or extracts. In addition, it focuses on application of essential oils and their constituents as green preservatives to retard microbial growth and oxidative spoilage

Molecular Study of Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) has been known as a causative pathogen of hospital acquired infections. The aim of this study is to examine the presence of A. baumannii among clinical isolates from intensive care unit (ICU) in Mansoura University Hospital (MUH), its antibiotic resistance pattern, and prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) and extended-spectrum-β-lactamases (ESBLs) among A. baumannii isolates. A. baumannii was identified by colony morphology, API 20E, and confirmed by detecting the bla OXA-51-like carbapenemase gene by PCR. Phenotypic expression of MBLs resistance was demonstrated by Combined Disk Test (CDT) in 273 isolates (97.5%) and of ESBLs was demonstrated by double disc synergy method (DDST) in 6 isolates (2.1%). MBLs genes were positive in 266 isolates (95%) and ESBLs genes were positive in 8 isolates (2.9%). The most frequent genes of MBLs studied genes were IMP (95.7%) followed by SIM and GIM (47.1% and 42.9%; resp.). For ESBL genes, the most frequent gene was TEM (2.9%). From this study, we conclude that multidrug resistant (MDR) A. baumannii with MBLs activity was the most common isolate. Careful monitoring for the presence of MDR A. baumannii among hospitalized patients is recommended to avoid wide dissemination of antibiotic resistance

Effects of different exercise training programs on the functional performance in fibrosing interstitial lung diseases: A randomized trial.

ObjectivesWe aimed to compare the effects of different aerobic exercise training (ET) programs on respiratory performance, exercise capacity, and quality of life in fibrosing interstitial lung diseases (f-ILD).MethodsA case-control study where 31 patients with f-ILD diagnosis based on chest high-resolution computed tomography were recruited from Main Alexandria University hospital-Egypt. Ten patients were randomly assigned for only lower limbs (LL) endurance training program, and 10 patients for upper limbs, lower limbs, and breathing exercises (ULB) program for consecutive 18 sessions (3 sessions/week for 6 consecutive weeks). Eleven patients who refused to participate in the ET program were considered as control. All patients were subjected for St George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ), 6-minute walk test (6-MWT), forced spirometry and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) before and after ET programs.ResultsFibrosing non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and collagenic associated-ILD were the commonest pathologies among the ET groups (30% each) with mean age of 44.4±12.25 and 41.90±7.58 years for LL and ULB groups respectively and moderate-to-severe lung restriction. 6-MWT and SGRQ significantly improved after both ET programs (p0.05).ConclusionsET was associated with improvements in exercise capacity and quality of life in f-ILD patients irrespective of the type of ET program provided

Pulsed magnetic field versus ultrasound in the treatment of postnatal carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized controlled trial in the women of an Egyptian population

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of pulsed electromagnetic field versus pulsed ultrasound in treating patients with postnatal carpal tunnel syndrome. The study was a randomized, double-blinded trial. Forty postnatal female patients with idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome were divided randomly into two equal groups. One group received pulsed electromagnetic field, with nerve and tendon gliding exercises for the wrist, three times per week for four weeks. The other group received pulsed ultrasound and the same wrist exercises. Pain level, sensory and motor distal latencies and conduction velocities of the median nerve, functional status scale and hand grip strength were assessed pre- and post-treatment. There was a significant decrease (P  0.05). In conclusion, while the symptoms were alleviated in both groups, pulsed electromagnetic field was more effective than pulsed ultrasound in treating postnatal carpal tunnel syndrome

Detection, Purification and Elucidation of Chemical Structure and Antiproliferative Activity of Taxol Produced by Penicillium chrysogenum

Penicillium chrysogenum has been reported as a potent taxol producer based on quantitative analysis by TLC and HPLC. The biosynthetic potency of taxol has been validated from PCR detection of rate-limiting genes of taxol synthesis such as taxadienesynthase and 10-de-acetylbaccatin III-O-acetyltransferase (DBAT), which catalyzes the immediate diterpenoid precursor of the taxol substance, as detected by PCR. Taxol production by P. chrysogenum was assessed by growing the fungus on different media. Potato dextrose broth (PDB) was shown to be the best medium for obtaining the higher amount of taxol (170 µg/L). A stepwise optimization of culture conditions necessary for production of higher amounts of taxol was investigated. The substance taxol was produced optimally after 18 d of incubation at 30 °C in PDB adjusted initially at pH 8.0 with shaking (120 rpm) (250 µg/L). The P. chrysogenum taxol was purified successfully by HPLC. Instrumental analyzes such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, 1HNMR and 13C NMR approved the structural formula of taxol (C47H51NO14), as constructed by ChemDraw. The P. chrysogenum taxol showed promising anticancer activity

Ipriflavone and Ipriflavone loaded albumin nanoparticles reverse lipopolysaccharide induced neuroinflammation in rats.

BackgroundNeuroinflammation causes neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Ipriflavone (IP), therapeutic compound to postmenopausal osteoporosis, has limited estrogenic activity and is accounted as AChE inhibitor. The developing of drug delivery systems to enable drug targeting to specific sites increases the drug therapeutic effect.ObjectiveThe aim of the present study was to formulate and evaluate ipriflavone loaded albumin nanoparticles (IP-Np) along with free ipriflavone against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced neuroinflammation in rats.MethodsNeuroinflammation was induced by intra-peritoneal (i.p) injection of LPS (250 μg/kg rat body weight) then treatments were conducted with (1) ipriflavone at two doses 50 mg/kg and 5 mg/kg, (2) IP-Np (5 mg ipriflavone/kg) or (3) IP-Np coated with polysorbate 80 (IP-Np-T80) (5 mg ipriflavone/kg). The alteration of the inflammatory response in male adult Wistar rats' brain hippocampus was investigated by examining associated indices using biochemical and molecular analyses.ResultsA significant upsurge in inflammatory mediators and decline in antioxidant status were observed in LPS-induced rats. In one hand, ipriflavone (50 mg/kg), IP-Np and IP-Np-T80 ameliorated LPS induced brain hippocampal inflammation where they depreciated the level of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β) and enhanced antioxidant status. In another hand, ipriflavone at dose (5 mg/kg) didn't show the same therapeutic effect.ConclusionThe current study provides evidence for the potential neuroprotective effect of ipriflavone (50 mg/kg) against LPS-induced neuroinflammation in rats through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Moreover, nanoparticles significantly attenuated neuroinflammation in concentration lower than the effective therapeutic dose of free drug ten times