Inhibitory effects of gallic acid in colon cancer cells

Colorectal cancer is a malignant tumor arising from the inner wall of the large intestine, which is the third most common type of cancer. American Cancer Society estimates about 93,090 new cases and 49,700 deaths due to colorectal cancer in the United States since 2015. Diet is thought to have a major role in the etiology of colorectal cancer. Scientists explore the phenolic phytochemicals found in various food substances for colorectal cancer treatment and prevention. In this research, a dietderived phenolic compound Gallic Acid (GA) was explored for its antiproliferative action against the colon cancer cell line HCT-15. MTT assay results illustrated that GA has an inhibitory effect on HCT-15 with IC50 value of 740 μmol/L. A timedependent inhibition of colony formation was evident with GA treatment as the maximum number of colonies formed was about 110 after 48 h. Cell cycle arrest was evident from the accumulation of GA treated HCT-15 cells at sub-G1 phase (0.98±1.03 vs 58.01±2.05) with increasing exposure time. Flow cytometric analysis of GA treated HCT-15 cells depicted various events associated with apoptosis like lipid layer breakage and reduction in mitochondrial membrane potential apart from an increase in the generation of ROS, which were in a time dependent manner. SEM and photomicrograph images of the GA-treated cells displayed membrane blebbing and cell shrinking characteristics of apoptosis. Further, the Yo-Pro-1 staining of GA treated cells confirmed apoptosis in a time dependent manner. These results propel the role of GA as a putative agent in colon cancer treatment. However, further experiments in preclinical and clinical settings are required to promote GA as a likely candidate for chemotherapy of colon cancer

Correlation between peak expiratory flow rate and pectoralis muscle length

Background: Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is a measure of the maximum speed of exhalation after a deep inspiration. The peak expiratory flow is measured by a device named peak flow meter. This study concentrates on the correlation of the PEFR with the pectoral muscle length.Methods: It is a cross sectional study of 30 convenient samples based on gender distribution where the PEFR and pectoralis muscle length were measured in the subjects.Results: Statistical analysis shows that there is a significant correlation between right pectoralis major general muscle length and PEFR (p=0.030), left pectoralis major general muscle length and PEFR (p=0.014), right pectoralis major clavicular end muscle length with PEFR (p=0.010).Conclusions: There is a significant correlation between peak expiratory flow and pectoralis muscle length.

STUDY OF DRUG COMPLIANCE AMONG DIABETIC PATIENTS

Diabetes is one of the most common ailments that the general population suffer in today’s world. Some are aware about their disturbing blood sugar levels and even understand the importance of appropriate control of the levels with the right medications. Some are aware and yet ignorant due to various causes. This study is aimed at evaluating the drug compliance among type 2 diabetes patients attending the review op of the department of Diabetology, KMCH. A study group of 100 patients attending the review OP were enrolled in the study. The compliance was assessed with the help of their diabetic OP records and a pretested questionnaire was used to further dig into the possible causes for non compliance. The study is broadly based on two main factors leading to non-compliance-causes for patients not getting medicines regularly and causes for patients not taking medicines regularly. These two factors were analyzed based on gender, age, duration of diabetes, co morbid illness, distance etc. The results have shown that 39% of the patients were not getting the medications regularly, out of which 33.3% did not get it due to sheer laziness,38.5% were forgetful and other serious illness hindered 28.2% of the patients from getting their medications. It was found that 55% of the patients took their medications regularly. Among those who took medications regularly,80.3% were regular and 15.4% were not regular in getting medications. Among  those who did not take medications regularly,66.7% claimed to be forgetful and 46.7% were non complaint as they did not have adequate knowledge about their medications.33.3% of the patients did not take it regularly as it gave them a feeling of wellbeing which tempted them to skip doses. Based on these significant data, we will be able to suggest ways and measures to improve the compliance on the treatment aspect. This would increase the desired therapeutic outcome and ultimately, on a broad aspect, it will reduce national health costs.Key words: drug compliance, therapeutic outcom

Sternalis “mystery” muscle and its clinical implications

Sternalis is an anomalous muscle found occasionally in the anterior part of the thorax. During routine dissection sternalis muscle was found in a male cadaver. This rare anatomic variant is reported in 8% of the population. In the present case, the muscle was found bilaterally, placed obliquely on either side of the sternum. It originated by tendinous fibres from the lower costal cartilages and inserted to the manubriosternal junction. The right side muscle was well developed whereas the left one was reduced in size. The pectoralis major and minor were normal. The knowledge of sternalis is important for radiologists and surgeons

Recent trends in nano-based drug delivery systems for efficient delivery of phytochemicals in chemotherapy

The advent of nanotechnology has revolutionized various scientific inventions, out of which the debut of nanomedicine is outstanding. Especially, research has embarked on nano-drug delivery for treating cancer. Natural compounds present in plants, namely phytochemicals, have been extensively exploited for their anticancer properties. Despite their excellent anticancer abilities, phytochemicals are limited by their low water solubility and poor bioavailability. However, the field of nanotechnology has overcome these limitations. This review focusses on various methods of nano-drug delivery of phytochemicals against the killer disease, cancer. Common carriers that were employed ranged from micelles, with a polymeric base, to dendrimers, liposomes and nanoparticles. The phytochemicals were found to become more soluble when delivered by the nanocarriers and exhibited a remarkable effect on the cancer cells, compared to their free form. More interestingly, the half-maximal dose of the phytochemical was reduced significantly when it was delivered by the nanocarrier. On the whole, this review encourages the idea of "cancer-nanotechnology" after in-depth clinical studies on these phytochemical-loaded nanocarriers. Moreover, it will epitomize the nanocarriers as a crusader in improving cancer chemotherapy by reducing undesired effects and will invigorate site-specific drug deliver

Pd Nanoparticles and Thin Films for Room Temperature Hydrogen Sensor

We report the application of palladium nanoparticles and thin films for hydrogen sensor. Electrochemically grown palladium particles with spherical shapes deposited on Si substrate and sputter deposited Pd thin films were used to detect hydrogen at room temperature. Grain size dependence of H2sensing behavior has been discussed for both types of Pd films. The electrochemically grown Pd nanoparticles were observed to show better hydrogen sensing response than the sputtered palladium thin films. The demonstration of size dependent room temperature H2sensing paves the ways to fabricate the room temperature metallic and metal–metal oxide semiconductor sensor by tuning the size of metal catalyst in mixed systems. H2sensing by the Pd nanostructures is attributed to the chemical and electronic sensitization mechanisms

Remdesivir for 5 or 10 Days in Patients With Severe Covid-19

Background: Remdesivir is an RNA polymerase inhibitor with potent antiviral activity in vitro and efficacy in animal models of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Methods: We conducted a randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial involving hospitalized patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection, oxygen saturation of 94% or less while they were breathing ambient air, and radiologic evidence of pneumonia. Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive intravenous remdesivir for either 5 days or 10 days. All patients received 200 mg of remdesivir on day 1 and 100 mg once daily on subsequent days. The primary end point was clinical status on day 14, assessed on a 7-point ordinal scale. Results: In total, 397 patients underwent randomization and began treatment (200 patients for 5 days and 197 for 10 days). The median duration of treatment was 5 days (interquartile range, 5 to 5) in the 5-day group and 9 days (interquartile range, 5 to 10) in the 10-day group. At baseline, patients randomly assigned to the 10-day group had significantly worse clinical status than those assigned to the 5-day group (P = 0.02). By day 14, a clinical improvement of 2 points or more on the ordinal scale occurred in 64% of patients in the 5-day group and in 54% in the 10-day group. After adjustment for baseline clinical status, patients in the 10-day group had a distribution in clinical status at day 14 that was similar to that among patients in the 5-day group (P = 0.14). The most common adverse events were nausea (9% of patients), worsening respiratory failure (8%), elevated alanine aminotransferase level (7%), and constipation (7%). Conclusions: In patients with severe Covid-19 not requiring mechanical ventilation, our trial did not show a significant difference between a 5-day course and a 10-day course of remdesivir. With no placebo control, however, the magnitude of benefit cannot be determined. (Funded by Gilead Sciences; GS-US-540-5773 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT04292899.)

Non-solvolytic synthesis of aqueous soluble TiO2 nanoparticles and real-time dynamic measurements of the nanoparticle formation.

Highly aqueously dispersible (soluble) TiO2 nanoparticles are usually synthesized by a solution-based sol-gel (solvolysis/condensation) process, and no direct precipitation of titania has been reported. This paper proposes a new approach to synthesize stable TiO2 nanoparticles by a non-solvolytic method - direct liquid phase precipitation at room temperature. Ligand-capped TiO2 nanoparticles are more readily solubilized compared to uncapped TiO2 nanoparticles, and these capped materials show distinct optical absorbance/emission behaviors. The influence of ligands, way of reactant feeding, and post-treatment on the shape, size, crystalline structure, and surface chemistry of the TiO2 nanoparticles has been thoroughly investigated by the combined use of X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, UV-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy, and photoluminescence (PL). It is found that all above variables have significant effects on the size, shape, and dispersivity of the final TiO2 nanoparticles. For the first time, real-time UV-vis spectroscopy and PL are used to dynamically detect the formation and growth of TiO2 nanoparticles in solution. These real-time measurements show that the precipitation process begins to nucleate after an initial inhibition period of about 1 h, thereafter a particle growth occurs and reaches the maximum point after 2 h. The synthesis reaction is essentially completed after 4 h.RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens