Fabrications of electrochemical sensors based on carbon paste electrode for vitamin detection in real samples

This review article examines some advancements in electrochemical sensors for vitamin detection in the past few decades. Vitamins are micronutrients found in natural foods essential for maintaining good health. Most vitamins cannot be synthesized by a body and must be obtained externally from natural food. Vitamins make a class of organic chemicals that shortage can cause various ailments and diseases, and consumption can become harmful if it exceeds the usually needed level. Because of these factors, vitamin detection has become highly significant and sparked interest over the past few decades. The electrochemical sensors function on the concept of electro­chemical activity of practically all vitamins. This implies that concentrations of vitamins in the electrolyte may be detected by measuring the amounts of current generated at certain potentials by their oxidation and reduction at the working electrode surface. Voltammetric methods are superior to other methods because they are cheaper and show sharp sensitivity with faster analysis speed. The carbon-based electrodes, in particular carbon paste electrodes (CPE), have significant advantages like easier catalyst incorpo­ration, surface renewability, and expanded potential windows with lower ohmic resistance. This review goes into detail about several electro­chemical sensors involving CPE as the working electrode and its utilization to detect water- and fat-soluble vitamins

Approved and experimental small-molecule oncology kinase inhibitor drugs: a mid-2016 overview

Kinase inhibitor research is a comparatively recent branch of medicinal chemistry and pharmacology and the first small-molecule kinase inhibitor, imatinib, was approved for clinical use only 15 years ago. Since then, 33 more kinase inhibitor drugs have received regulatory approval for the treatment of a variety of cancers and the volume of reports on the discovery and development of kinase inhibitors has increased to an extent where it is now difficult—even for those working in the field—easily to keep an overview of the compounds that are being developed, as currently there are 231 such compounds, targeting 38 different protein and lipid kinases (not counting isoforms), in clinical use or under clinical investigation. The purpose of this review is thus to provide an overview of the biomedical rationales for the kinases being targeted on the one hand, and the design principles, as well as chemical, pharmacological, pharmaceutical, and toxicological kinase inhibitor properties, on the other hand. Two issues that are especially important in kinase inhibitor research, target selectivity and drug resistance, as well as the underlying structural concepts, are discussed in general terms and in the context of relevant kinases and their inhibitors

EFFICACY OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY IN PATIENTS SUFFERING FROM KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

A degenerative condition called knee osteoarthritis (Knee OA) causes excruciating discomfort and stiffness, which impair movement and make the knee joint disabled. When a person’s age increases, they are more likely to experience worsening symptoms and a higher prevalence of overweight knee OA. Pain, morning stiffness, oedema, decreased ROM, crepitus sound, joint damage, and extreme fatigue of muscles are the major symptoms. The incidence of knee osteoarthritis was observed to range from (22% to 39%) generally. In India, it is 28.7%. In this study considering extracorporeal shock wave therapy’s (ESWT) efficiency in treating individuals with knee OA, most studies in our review reported that extracorporeal shock wave therapy usefulness in knee OA

EFFECTIVENESS OF INSTRUMENT ASSISTED SOFT TISSUE MOBILIZATION IN UPPER TRAPEZIUS MYOFASCIAL TRIGGER POINT - A REVIEW ARTICLE

The hypersensitive, palpable nodules known as myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) are located along muscular bundles. They frequently affect the shoulder girdle  & cervical  muscles .The muscle most usually affected is the trapezius. Trigger points in the neck are thought to be present in 85% of patients who visit pain clinics, and they affect women more frequently than males. In this study we see the effect of Instrumented assisted soft tissue mobilisation (IASTM) on upper trapezius myofascial trigger point. Most studies in our review study reported the IASTM’s usefulness in treating upper trapezius trigger points, but additional research is required

Assessment of choice and anxiety toward different dentist's attires among 5–12-year-old children in dental operatory

Introduction: Fear and anxiety toward dentists, syringes, and white coats are significant issues affecting the treatment of pediatric patients. According to D.C.I guidelines for the COVID-19 pandemic, it was made mandatory to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) for dental professionals, adding one more cause of fear and anxiety, which made it more challenging to treat pediatric patients. Friendly dentist attire can make a positive impact on a patient's behavior. Aim: This study aimed to assessment of choice for dentist's attire and their effect on anxiety of 5–12-year-old children. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in the Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, IDS, Bareilly. To assess the choice of dentist's attire, a questionnaire consisting of 15 closed and open-ended questions was formulated and was asked to be filled by 182 patients with the help of their parents, who reported in our operatory. To assess the pre- and postanxiety levels among patients, vitals (blood pressure and pulse rate) and facial image scores were recorded. Data obtained were subjected to statistical analysis. Results: Majority of the children, i.e., 58.8%, showed preference for modified PPE with cartoon characters. Facial Image Scale: Score 2, i.e., sad face, was scored by 7% of children at baseline, and was reduced to only 1% after attire selection. Significant differences were seen in physiological parameters. Conclusion: Clinician's attire and appearance play a major role in behavior modification of anxious children. Modified PPE with cartoon characters was the attire of choice for the majority of children

A Review on Bauhinia Variegata and its Phytoconstituents

Kachnar (Bauhinia variegata) is a common drug of the Ayurvedic system of medicine used in different Ayurvedic formulation for the treatment of various ailments. Kachnar is a member of the Leguminosae family and is widely produced in the tropical regions of world and countries such as Asia, China, India, Bhutan, and Thailand. All parts of Kachnar are enriched with medicinal and nutritional efficiency including the roots, leaves, bark, stem and flowers. A class of phytochemicals like protein, amino acid, fixed oils, fats, phenolic compounds, tannins and saponins are found in Kachnar. Kachnar is used to treat goiter, pain, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, ulceration and it shows various proven Pharmacological activities such as anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, immune-modulatory, antibacterial, anti-diabetic, analgesic and thyroid hormone regulator activity. This review article chiefly highlights the phytoconstituents present in the Kachnar and pharmacological properties of Kachnar

Pancreatic disease patients are at higher risk for Clostridium difficile infection compared to those with other co-morbidities

Abstract Background Surveillance of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in patients with underlying diseases is important because use of prophylactic antibiotics makes them prone to CDI. Epidemiology of CDI in this high-risk population is poorly understood. A study was conducted to evaluate the impact of CDI in patients with specific underlying co-morbidities. Method A total of 2036 patients, whose fecal samples were processed for C. difficile toxin A and B assay by ELISA formed the basis of study. Patients with underlying diseases were classified based on the organ/kind of disease as pancreatic (n = 340), renal (n = 408), hepatic (n = 245), malignant (n = 517) and miscellaneous disease (n = 526). Laboratory records of clinical and demographic details were reviewed. The association of CDI with age, gender, antibiotic receipt, clinical symptoms and underlying co-morbidities was analyzed. Variation in CDI cases based on age groups was also investigated. Result Clostridium difficile toxin positivity was 21.6% in general, whereas it was 30.6% in the pancreatic, 17.9% in the renal, 19.6%, in the hepatic, 21.3% in the malignancy and 20.0% in the miscellaneous disease groups. Toxin positivity was the lowest (14.8%) for female gender under renal disease and the highest (31.8%) for patients aged 40 to < 60 years, under pancreatic disease. Bloody diarrhea was a significant predictor for C. difficile toxin positivity. C. difficile toxin status irrespective to the underlying diseases was neither dependent on gender, age-groups or the number of antibiotics used. Association between patients’ gender, age and antibiotics receipt with underlying disease conditions, respective to C. difficile toxin status showed significance in relation to male gender (p < 0.05), age 40 to < 60 years (p = 0.03) and those receiving single (p = 0.09) or multiple antibiotics (p = 0.07). Conclusion Pancreatic disease patients are at a higher risk for developing CDI, and particularly male gender, age 40 to < 60 years and those receiving antibiotics are at significant risk

Metallothionein: Potential therapeutic target for osteosarcoma

The most aggressive and deadliest form of cancer for adolescence and young adults is osteosarcoma. Current treatment of osteosarcoma mainly consists of chemotherapy along with surgery has dramatically improved survival rate. However unfortunately, the survival-rate remained unchanged in its metastatic stages that might be due to chemoresistance against the treatment of osteosarcoma. Till date, in clinical applications, there is no precise diagnostic/prognostic marker of osteosarcoma. Metallothioneins are thiol rich intracellular proteins, which binds to several cytotoxic agents. Metallothionein isoforms participate actively in numerous physiological and patho-physiological processes like proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, and the heavy metals detoxification. There are many evidences in literature which are suggestive of participation of these proteins in carcinogenesis and antitumor therapy. Furthermore, a number of studies also reveal the important role of metallothioneins in tumor cell defense mechanism against the radiotherapy by preventing apoptosis. Also in osteosarcoma patients in comparison to healthy controls, the higher level of metallothioneins levels further indicates their significant role. Moreover higher level of metallothionein-2A in chemotherapy resistance patients with osteosarcoma further becomes potential supportive evidence. According to the information available in the literature, one may accomplish that metallothioneins has a role in osteosarcoma progression and chemoresistance and may become a potential diagnostic marker as well as a reliable therapeutic target. However, further multicentric studies are needed in support. A better knowledge of the communication among metallothioneins in osteosarcoma as well as with chemotherapeutic agents is necessity and may exposed new perspectives in cancer treatment. Keywords: Osteosarcoma, Metallothionein, Biomarkers, Chemoresistanc