Biopotency of Biophytum sensitivum DC

The present study was intended to examine the antioxidant, cytotoxicity, larvicidal potentials of B. sensitivum DC. The total phenolic content was determined by the standard method described by Siddhuraju and Becker (2003). The antioxidant activity of different extracts were determined using the stable radical DPPH, phosphomolybdenum and scavenging of hydrogen peroxide assays according to the standard method. In addition, the larvicidal and cytotoxic properties of the various extract of B. sensitivum were examined. Maximum amount of extractable total phenolics was observed in methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum (1399.84 ± 215.79mg GAE/g). The best free radical (DPPH) scavenging activity of B. sensitivum was observed in acetone extracts with IC50 value 30.12µg/ml. The methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum displayed the strongest phosphomolybdenum reduction (202.24 ± 11.44 g AA/100 g) compared to other tested extracts. The methanolic extracts of B. sensitivum showed highest larval mortality in terms of lethal concentrations for 50% mortality against Culex quinquefasciatus with LC50= 215.34 mg/ml. The methanolic extract of B. sensitivum displayed most effective at 90% mortality (LC90) of brine shrimp nauplii occurred at 66.34 mg/ml Conclusion: The present investigations suggest that methanolic and acetone extracts showed a good result of antioxidant, larvicidal and cytotoxic activity. It was found that the high rates of phenolic substances widely distributed in B. sensitivum

Frequency of polymorphic variants in corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1, glucocorticoid induced 1 and Fc fragment of IgE receptor II genes in healthy and asthmatic Tamilian population

Background: Asthma is a chronic airway inflammatory disease characterized by increased hyper-responsiveness and recurrent episodes of reversible obstructions. Asthma pharmacogenomic studies report significant association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1 (CRHR1), Fc fragment of IgE receptor II (FCER2) and glucocorticoid induced 1 (GLCCI1) with inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) response. The present study was aimed to establish the allelic and genotypic frequencies of polymorphisms rs242941, rs28364072 & rs37972 in CRHR1, FCER2 and GLCCI1 genes, respectively in Tamilian healthy population and asthma patients and to compare with established frequencies of global populations.Methods: The study groups consisted of healthy volunteers and persistent asthma patients who were drug naïve or without ICS treatment in the last ≥2 months, attending JIPMER hospital (n=111 and 78, respectively). SNP genotyping was done using PCR-RFLP (polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism) and real time-PCR methods.Results: Allelic and genotypic frequencies for all the studied variants found to be in hardy-weinberg equilibrium with minor allele frequencies (MAF) of rs 242941, rs 28364072 and rs 37972 at 0.51, 0.33 and 0.38, respectively, in healthy population. No significant difference in gene frequencies was obtained between healthy control and asthma patient groups. Significant difference in allele frequencies was observed between Tamilian healthy and specific global populations. West African frequency was found to be significantly different for all 3 SNPs (p<0.0001).Conclusions: MAF of rs 242941, rs 28364072 and rs 37972 were 0.51, 0.33 and 0.38, respectively in Tamilian population which were significantly different from various global populations. The frequency distribution found helps to further with ICS response association studies in larger cohorts of asthma patients

IDENTIFICATION OF ANTIULCER ACTIVITY BY INSILICO METHOD IN SELECTED MEDICINAL PLANTS

Ulcer occurs when stomach acid damages the lining of the digestive tract caused by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Many pharmacological activities such as antiulcer activity can act against ulcer. Medicinal plants like Mimosa pudica and Vachellia nilotica has the antiulcer activity in a wide range. To study the antiulcer activity in medicinal plants using insilco studies by comparing the phytocompounds of plants with histamine 2 receptor as a binding protein, which is present in the stomach lining of homosapiens. Histamine 2 receptor was modelled using Swiss model and the ligand structures are obtained from PUB-CHEM, viewed easily via PYMOL. All the phytocompounds showed good binding energy with modelled protein on the docking methodology. Specifically ascorbic acid exhibited the lower binding energy of value -3.24 kcal/mol, indole and catechin shows highest binding energy of value -4.99 kcal/mol and -4.98 kacl/mol respectively. The results can be useful for the design and development of phytocompounds having better inhibitory activity against several types of ulcer

Prediction of Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE)/Extreme Ultraviolet Spectro-Photometer (ESP) Irradiance from Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)/Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) Images Using Fuzzy Image Processing and Machine Learning

YesThe cadence and resolution of solar images have been increasing dramatically with the launch of new spacecraft such as STEREO and SDO. This increase in data volume provides new opportunities for solar researchers, but the efficient processing and analysis of these data create new challenges. We introduce a fuzzy-based solar feature-detection system in this article. The proposed system processes SDO/AIA images using fuzzy rules to detect coronal holes and active regions. This system is fast and it can handle different size images. It is tested on six months of solar data (1 October 2010 to 31 March 2011) to generate filling factors (ratio of area of solar feature to area of rest of the solar disc) for active regions and coronal holes. These filling factors are then compared to SDO/EVE/ESP irradiance measurements. The correlation between active-region filling factors and irradiance measurements is found to be very high, which has encouraged us to design a time-series prediction system using Radial Basis Function Networks to predict ESP irradiance measurements from our generated filling factors

Developmental competence of bovine oocytes in maturation media supplemented with follicular fluid exosomes

The present study evaluated the role offollicular fluid exosomes on the developmental competence of bovine oocytes. Ovaries from slaughtered crossbred cattle were collected, all visible surface follicles aspirated, and culture-grade oocytes were subjected to further study. Exosomes were isolated from bovine follicular fluid by differential ultracentrifugation. A total of 358 oocytes selected for the study were randomly divided into two groups. Group I constituted 111 oocytes, in which normal maturation was carried. Group II constituted 247 oocytes, in which in vitro maturation (IVM) medium was supplemented with follicular fluid exosomes at 1 μL/100 μL IVM medium. Maturation was assessed after 24h of culture in a CO2 incubator maintained at 38.5°C in 95 per cent humidified atmosphere of 5 per cent CO2. Following IVM of oocytes for 24 h, in vitro fertilisation (IVF)was carried out by co-incubating with capacitated spermatozoa for 18 h and embryo culture was carried out subsequently. In group II oocytes supplemented with exosomes, a significantly higher maturation rate (p ≤0.01) (95.80 ±1.67 vs76.10 ± 0.95), fertilisation rate (53.68 ± 3.02vs37.85 ± 7.01) and cleavage rate (p ≤0.01) (43.66 ± 2.13vs(32.47 ± 5.23) was noticed compared to oocytes in group I without any supplementation.The present study established that supplementation of follicular fluid exosomescould improve the developmental competence of bovine oocytes

Cytokines, GM-CSF and IFNγ administered by priming and post-chemotherapy cycling in recurrent ovarian cancer patients receiving carboplatin

BACKGROUND: Monocyte/macrophages (MO/MA), a polymorphic population of innate immune cells, have the potential to mediate antitumor effects, and may also contribute to protumor effects. A priming and post-chemotherapy schedule of the myeloid cell mobilizing and immune stimulatory growth factor, granulocyte monocyte stimulating factor (GM-CSF, Leukine(®)) and the MO/MA activating cytokine recombinant interferon gamma 1b (rIFN-γ1b, Actimmune(®)) has been developed. The pre- and post-chemotherapy design is based upon known in vivo kinetics and immune modulatory effects of these molecules. Carboplatin (Paraplatin(®)) was selected as the cornerstone of treatment of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). METHODS: We studied hematopoietic and immunologic effects of GM-CSF and rIFN-γ1b before and after carboplatin in patients with recurrent EOC. Potentially chemotherapy-sensitive patients with recurrent measurable tumors received subcutaneous GM-CSF (starting at 400 μg/day) for 7 days plus subcutaneous rIFN-γ1b (100 μg) on days 5 and 7, before and after intravenous carboplatin (area under the curve of 5). We performed standard hematologic assessment and monitored monocyte (MO), dendritic cell, major cell subset counts, and antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) against a Her2neu(+ )tumor cell line, as well as selected plasma inflammatory cytokine, chemokine and growth factor levels. RESULTS: Our analysis comprised only the first 3 months of treatment in the initial 25 patients. Relative to pretreatment baseline values, white blood cell, neutrophil, MO, and eosinophil counts increased (P ≤ .001 for each); the proportion of platelets increased 9 days after the second (P ≤ .002) and third (P ≤ .04) carboplatin treatments; and the number of cells in the activated MO subsets CD14+HLA-DR+, CD14+CD64+, and CD14(+)CXCR3(+ )increased (P ≤ .04 for each); plasma levels of the proangiogenic interleukins 1α, 6, and 8 were lower (P ≤ .03 for each); M-CSF, a product of activated MO/MA, was increased on day 9 (P = .007); and GM-CSF was increased in plasma after GM-CSF administration (P ≤ .04). Quality of life measurements were reduced during the GM-CSF/IFN-γ1b cycle while recovering at pre-chemotherapy baseline for FACT-G scores only. CONCLUSION: A novel regimen of GM-CSF plus IFN-γ1b administered to 25 EOC patients receiving carboplatin increased myeloid cells, platelets and total activated MO populations during the initial 3 months; however, ADCC responses were not consistently enhanced during this period

Equivalent dose in 2 Gy (EQD2) to pelvic lymph nodes using volume based prescription for three brachytherapy applicators — a dosimetric retrospective analysis

BACKGROUND: Pelvic lymph node (PLN) metastasis has been included in the FIGO staging, so there is a need to determine the dose contribution from brachytherapy to ascertain the total delivered dose to the pelvic lymph nodes in cervical cancer. The aim of the study was to calculate the equivalent dose in 2 Gy (EQD2) of the pelvic lymph nodes (PLNs) based on volume prescription using three applicators. Materials and methods: Forty-one patients who had undergone external beam radiotherapy followed by brachytherapy using tandem ovoids (TO), tandem ring (TR) and TO + free hand interstitial needles (TO + FH) applicators were taken for this study. 26 Gy in 4 fractions was prescribed to HRCTV. The external iliac node (ELN), internal iliac node (ILN) and obturator (OBT) were contoured and the median EQD2 of the lymph nodes was calculated. RESULTS: The median bilateral EQD2 values of ELN were 1.55 Gy (TR), 1.75 Gy (TO), 1.9 Gy (TO + FH), of ILN these were 2.57 Gy (TR), 3.27 Gy (TO), 3.04 Gy (TO + FH), and of OBT these were 3.69 Gy (TR), 4.46 Gy (TO), 4.69 Gy (TO + FH), respectively. The total median EQD2 values of TR, TO and TO + FH were 52.71 Gy, 53.03 Gy, and 53.88–62.73 Gy, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our study calculated the median EQD2 to the pelvic lymph nodes using three types of applicators in brachytherapy. This could serve as reference to decide on the EBRT boost dose while treating patients with enlarged pelvic lymph nodes

May Measurement Month 2018: a pragmatic global screening campaign to raise awareness of blood pressure by the International Society of Hypertension

Aims Raised blood pressure (BP) is the biggest contributor to mortality and disease burden worldwide and fewer than half of those with hypertension are aware of it. May Measurement Month (MMM) is a global campaign set up in 2017, to raise awareness of high BP and as a pragmatic solution to a lack of formal screening worldwide. The 2018 campaign was expanded, aiming to include more participants and countries. Methods and results Eighty-nine countries participated in MMM 2018. Volunteers (≥18 years) were recruited through opportunistic sampling at a variety of screening sites. Each participant had three BP measurements and completed a questionnaire on demographic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Hypertension was defined as a systolic BP ≥140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥90 mmHg, or taking antihypertensive medication. In total, 74.9% of screenees provided three BP readings. Multiple imputation using chained equations was used to impute missing readings. 1 504 963 individuals (mean age 45.3 years; 52.4% female) were screened. After multiple imputation, 502 079 (33.4%) individuals had hypertension, of whom 59.5% were aware of their diagnosis and 55.3% were taking antihypertensive medication. Of those on medication, 60.0% were controlled and of all hypertensives, 33.2% were controlled. We detected 224 285 individuals with untreated hypertension and 111 214 individuals with inadequately treated (systolic BP ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic BP ≥ 90 mmHg) hypertension. Conclusion May Measurement Month expanded significantly compared with 2017, including more participants in more countries. The campaign identified over 335 000 adults with untreated or inadequately treated hypertension. In the absence of systematic screening programmes, MMM was effective at raising awareness at least among these individuals at risk