Effectiveness of alternative therapies for the management of lumbar disc disease: a descriptive research

BACKGROUND: Low back pain due to discopathy has become one of the most expensive and highest impact problems of global public health at present. AIM: To evaluate the effectiveness of alternative therapies (AT) and related factors in lumbar disk disease (LDD). METHODS: Information was collected by using a retrospective descriptive design from medical records of patients treated from January to December 2013 with LDD who were attended in a clinic specialized in AT. Sociodemographic and clinical variables included clinical diagnostic time, Visual Analog Scale at admission (V.A.S.) and post-treatment pain (0-100 points) were identifi ed. General and specifi c infl uence of the AT was measured. RESULTS: 453 medical records were identifi ed, at admission V.A.S. was 8.2 (CI95%, 7,9 to 8,3) and showed pain relief (scale 0-100) of 54,5 points (CI95%, 52.2 to 56.8). In overall, 13 types of ATs were implemented with LDD patients. The median of pain relief (p25-p75) in the general population was 60 (40-70); 8 of 13 interventions provided an estimated median of pain relief lower than the one evidenced in the general population . CONCLUSION: The AT treatment in our study showed a reduction in pain of 50-60 points and an absolute reduction of 35 points after two months of treatment, which remained over 6 or more months of follow-up. Our results suggest that the use of AT has signifi cant effect on chronic pain in patients with LDD with no response to conventional treatmen

Phyto-fabrication of AgNPs using leaf extract of Vitex trifolia: potential to antibacterial, antioxidant, dye degradation, and their evaluation of non-toxicity to Chlorella vulgaris

The study assessed the bactericidal effects of green rapid biogenic synthesis of Vitex trifolia leaves AgNPs on MDR bacteria. The synthesis of AgNPs is indicated by a color change from yellow to dark brown. The ultra-visible spectrophotometer displays AgNPs at 430 nm max. This demonstrates that ions (Ag+) were converted to silver (Ag), indicating the formation of silver nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were confirmed by their crystalline nature, shape, size, and functional groups via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X- ray spectroscopy (EDAX), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Biomolecules contain aqueous Vitex extract for capping and reducing the AgNPs. The nanoparticles have a face-centered cubic structure (FCC) crystallized. The antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Vibrio cholerae, and Klebsiella pneumoniae exhibited a maximum zone of growth inhibition at 75 µg/mL. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of AgNPs against the clinically isolated pathogen S. aureus were 3.12 µg/mL and 4.5 µg/mL. Furthermore, time-dependent killing kinetic experiments showed that a 6 h AgNPs treatment was sufficient to fully inhibit all bacterial growth. AgNPs at a concentration of 250 µg/mL demonstrated antioxidant activity as measured by the FRAP and DPPH tests (85% and 90%, respectively). AgNPs demonstrated efficient photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methylene blue (MB) and achieved their highest photocatalytic activity (95%) after 2.30 h. Besides, the synthesis of AgNPs was targeted towards C. vulgaris algae, and exhibited deleterious effects even at larger concentrations. The chosen AgNPs concentration reduced chlorophyll, impeded algal development, and damaged the whole membrane system, as evidenced by the increased electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione s-transferase (GSH) content after AgNPs exposure. Our report demonstrates that AgNPs V. trifolia have promising antibacterial, antioxidant, and potential dye degradation activities and can be employed in biomedical applications.</p

Cladophialophora bantiana metabolites are efficient in the larvicidal and ovicidal control of Aedes Aegypti, and Culex Quinquefasciatus and have low toxicity in zebrafish embryo

Mosquitoes' current insecticide resistance status in available public health insecticides is a serious threat to mosquito control initiatives. Microbe-based control agents provide an alternative to conventional pesticides and insecticides, as they can be more targeted than synthetic insecticides. The present study was focused on identifying and investigating the mosquitocidal potential of Cladophialophora bantiana, an endophytic fungus isolated from Opuntia ficus-indica. The Cladophialophora species was identified through phylogenetic analysis of the rDNA sequence. The isolated fungus was first evaluated for its potential to produce metabolites against Aedes aegpti and Culex quinquefasciatus larvae in the 1-4th instar. The secondary metabolites of mycelium extract were assessed at various test doses (100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 μg/mL) in independent bioassays for each instar of selected mosquito larvae. After 48 h of exposure, A. aegypti expressed LC50 values of 13.069, 18.085, 9.554, and 11.717 μg/mL and LC90 = 25.702, 30.860, 17.275, and 19.601 μg/mL; followed by C. quinquefasciatus LC50 = 14.467, 11.766, 5.934, and 7.589 μg/mL, and LC90 = 29.529, 20.767, 11.192, and 13.296 μg/mL. The mean % of ovicidal bioassay was recorded 120 h after exposure. The hatchability (%) was proportional to mycelia metabolite concentration. The enzymatic level of acetylcholinesterase in fungal mycelial metabolite treated 4th instar larvae indicated a dose-dependent pattern. The GC–MS profile of C. bantiana extracts identified five of the most abundant compounds, namely cyclobutane, trans-3-undecene-1,5-diyne, 1-bromo-2-chloro, propane, 1,2,3-trichloro-2-methyl-, 5,5,10,10-tetrachlorotricyclo, and phenol, which had the killing effect in mosquitoes. Furthermore, the C. bantiana fungus ethyl acetate extracts had a strong larvicidal action on A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus. Finally, the toxicity test on zebrafish embryos revealed the induction of malformations only at concentrations above 1 mg/mL. Therefore, our study pioneered evidence that C. bantiana fungal metabolites effectively control A. aegypti and C. qunquefasciastus and show less lethality in zebrafish embryos at concentrations up to 500 μg/mL

sj-docx-1-tpx-10.1177_01926233241234059 – Supplemental material for Deep Learning–Based Spermatogenic Staging in Tissue Sections of Cynomolgus Macaque Testes

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tpx-10.1177_01926233241234059 for Deep Learning–Based Spermatogenic Staging in Tissue Sections of Cynomolgus Macaque Testes by Lars Mecklenburg, C. Marc Luetjens, Annette Romeike, Rohit Garg, Pranab Samanta, Amogh Mohanty, Tijo Thomas and Gerhard Weinbauer in Toxicologic Pathology</p

Facing criticism: an analysis of (land-based) corporate responses to the large-scale land acquisition countermovement

This contribution analyses how corporations involved in large-scale land acquisition respond to a countermovement of critics such as non-governmental organisations, local communities, peasant movements, scholars and journalists. Though the countermovement rightly receives much attention, its impact on corporations/investors is less discussed. International guidelines and corporate pledges to ban 'land grabbing' in their operations, however, may be signs that critics have some influence. Yet by no means has this proven to be sufficient. Starting from a study of a European agribusiness operating in Zambia, this paper aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the extent to which corporations are susceptible to a countermovement