LYCOPENE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ORAL SUBMUCOUS FIBROSIS

Background: Oral Submucous Fibrosis is a potentially malignant disorder well known for its chronic and resistant nature. The conservative drug treatment that is currently available for this disorder is clearly inadequate. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral lycopene therapy when used in combination with conventional intralesional steroid therapy in the management of oral submucous fibrosis. Methods: Forty five patients with oral submucous fibrosis (grade III and IV) were included under the study and were randomly divided into 3 groups consisting of 15 cases each: Group A (oral lycopene 16 mg/day with biweekly intralesional steroids and hyaluronidase), Group B (oral antioxidant capsules with biweekly intralesional steroids and hyaluronidase) and Group C (biweekly intralesional steroids and hyaluronidase alone). Mouth opening and burning sensation were recorded from baseline to 6 weeks. Cases were followed up to 3 and 6 months. Results: There was significant increase in mouth opening among all the 3 groups. The results were statistically significant between Group A and C and Group B and C. Conclusion: Lycopene in combination with intralesional steroids and Hyaluronidase, is highly efficacious in improving the mouth opening and reducing other symptoms in patients with Oral Submucous Fibrosis. No side effects were reported with its usage

Three-Dimensional Nanostructured Palladium with Single Diamond Architecture for Enhanced Catalytic Activity

Fuel cells are a key new green technology that have applications in both transport and portable power generation. Carbon-supported platinum (Pt) is used as an anode and cathode electrocatalyst in low-temperature fuel cells fueled with hydrogen or low-molecular-weight alcohols. The cost of Pt and the limited world supply are significant barriers to the widespread use of these types of fuel cells. Comparatively, palladium has a 3 times higher abundance in the Earth’s crust. Here, a facile, low-temperature, and scalable synthetic route toward three-dimensional nanostructured palladium (Pd) employing electrochemical templating from inverse lyotropic lipid phases is presented. The obtained single diamond morphology Pd nanostructures exhibited excellent catalytic activity and stability toward methanol, ethanol, and glycerol oxidation compared to commercial Pd black, and the nanostructure was verified by small-angle X-ray scattering, scanning tunneling electron microscopy, and cyclic voltammetry

Hyperferritinemia and markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in the cord blood of HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) infants

OBJECTIVES : The purpose of this study was to evaluate markers of iron status and inflammation/oxidative stress in maternal and cord blood (CB) of HIV-infected and HIVuninfected women as potential mechanisms for poor outcomes among HIV-exposed, uninfected (HEU) infants. METHODS : Maternal venous and cord blood (CB) specimens were obtained from eighty-seven pregnant women (45 HIV-infected and 42 HIV-uninfected) enrolled at Kalafong Hospital, Pretoria, South Africa. Iron status (serum iron, ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation, soluble transferrin receptor [sTfR], sTfR/log ferritin [sTfR/F index], antenatal exposure to inflammation (CB C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, haptoglobin switch-on status) and oxidative stress (total radical trapping ability of CB plasma [TRAP], and chronic oxidative stress (soluble receptor of advanced glycation end-products [sRAGE]) were assessed by laboratory studies. RESULTS : There were no differences in maternal hematological and iron indices except that HIVinfected mothers had decreased WBC counts (P=0.048) and increased serum ferritin (P=0.032). Ferritin levels were significantly higher in CB than in maternal blood (P<0.001) in both groups and further elevated in the CB of HEU infants (P=0.044). There was also an inverse relationship between CB sTfR/F index and sRAGE (r=-0.43, P=0.003) in the HIV-infected but not HIVuninfected group. CONCLUSIONS : Our study shows for the first time that ferritin is significantly elevated in CB of HEU infants. The inverse relationship between sTfR/F index and sRAGE in CB suggests that chronic oxidative stress or RAGE axis activation in HIV-infected mothers may play a role in modulating ferritin levels.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1468-12932016-07-31hb201

Curcumin and derivatives function through protein phosphatase 2A and presenilin orthologues in Dictyostelium discoideum.

Natural compounds often have complex molecular structures and unknown molecular targets. These characteristics make them difficult to analyse using a classical pharmacological approach. Curcumin, the main curcuminoid of turmeric, is a complex molecule possessing wide-ranging biological activities, cellular mechanisms and roles in potential therapeutic treatment including Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Here, we investigate the physiological effects and molecular targets of curcumin in Dictyostelium discoideum We show curcumin causes acute effects on cell behaviour, reduces cell growth, and slows multicellular development. We then employ a range of structurally related compounds to show the distinct role of different structural groups cell behaviour, growth, and development, highlighting active moieties in cell function, and showing that these cellular effects are unrelated to the well-known antioxidant activity of curcumin. Molecular mechanisms underlying the effect of curcumin and one synthetic analogue (EF24) were then investigated to identify a curcumin-resistant mutant lacking the protein phosphatase 2A regulatory subunit (PsrA) and an EF24-resistant mutant lacking the presenilin 1 orthologue (PsenB). Using in-silico docking analysis, we then show that curcumin may function through direct binding to a key regulatory region of PsrA. These findings reveal novel cellular and molecular mechanisms for the function of curcumin and related compounds

Characterization of orifice gas flow through a tubular, coated consumable welding electrode by CFD analysis

Employing tubular coated consumable welding electrodes by modifying the conventional shielded metal arc welding (SMAW) is a recently developed concept aimed to make the welding process towards more environmentally friendly by eliminating organic cellulose in the flux coating. The modified process named as Plasma Enhanced Shielded Metal Arc Welding (PESMAW) employs controlled orifice gas flow through the tubular electrode which is a key parameter for the process to achieve the objectives of its development. In this study, tubular electrode flow channel model was generated and simulated to investigate the fluid flow characteristic with multiple volume flow rates. Two orifice gases, Argon (Ar) and Carbon dioxide (CO2) were considered for the study and a commercial finite element tool for Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used. The velocity profile at each point on the entire length of the electrode at fully developed region was identified with in the fluid flow stream and the development from Laminar to Turbulent flow was also observed. The standard identification method of theoretically computing the Reynolds number (Re) was adopted and the simulated results were compared with the theoretically calculated results for validation