ANTI-INFLAMMATORY EFFECT OF ELETTARIA CARDAMOM OIL ON CARRAGEENAN-INDUCED PAW EDEMA USING RATS BASED ON TUMOR NECROSIS FACTOR α, INTERLEUKIN 6, AND INTERLEUKIN 1 LEVELS IN SERUM

 Objective: In this study, we evaluated the anti-inflammatory effect of Elettaria cardamom oil and the underlying mechanism using in vivo models of inflammation.Methods: Male Sprague–Dawley rats, 4-6 weeks old, weighing 120-130 gms are used for the study. The anti-inflammatory study of E. cardamom oil was studied by injecting 0.1 ml of 1% carrageenan to the subplantar region of the right hind paw of rats. The development of acute inflammation was measured at the end of every 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th h using plethysmometer.Results: As results from the above study, E. cardamom oil at a dose of 0.175 ml/kg was less significant than that of E. cardamom oil at a dose of 0.280 ml/kg when given orally. A p<0.05 shows a significant decrease in paw edema. It also reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL) 1, and IL 6 levels in the serum. The histopathology results also showed a significant reduction of congested blood vessels with no marked impression for inflammation.Conclusion: E. cardamom oil possesses anti-inflammatory activity in dose-dependent manner as they inhibit the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines

Early predictive response to multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitors in advanced refractory radioactive-iodine differentiated thyroid cancer: A new challenge for [18 f]fdg pet/ct

Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) represents the most common thyroid cancer histotype. Generally, it exhibits a good prognosis after conventional treatments; nevertheless, about 20% of patients can develop a local recurrence and/or distant metastasis. In one-third of advanced DTC, the metastatic lesions lose the ability to take up iodine and become radioactive iodine-refractory (RAI-R) DTC. In this set of patients, the possibility to perform localized treatments should always be taken into consideration before the initiation of systemic therapy. In the last decade, some multi-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (MKI) drugs were approved for advanced DTC, impacting on patient’s survival rate, but at the same time, these therapies have been associated with several adverse events. In this clinical context, the role of 2-deoxy-2-[18 F]fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography ([18 F]FDG PET/CT) in the early treatment response to these innovative therapies was investigated, in order to assess the potentiality of this diagnostic tool in the early recognition of non-responders, avoiding unnecessary therapy. Herein, we aimed to present a critical overview about the reliability of [18 F]FDG PET/CT in the early predictive response to MKIs in advanced differentiated thyroid cancer

Resonant spin-dependent electron coupling in a III-V/II-VI heterovalent double quantum well

We report on design, fabrication, and magnetooptical studies of a III-V/II-VI hybrid structure containing a GaAs/AlGaAs/ZnSe/ZnCdMnSe double quantum well (QW). The structure design allows one to tune the QW levels into the resonance, thus facilitating penetration of the electron wave function from the diluted magnetic semiconductor ZnCdMnSe QW into the nonmagnetic GaAs QW and vice versa. Magneto-photoluminescence studies demonstrate level anticrossing and strong intermixing resulting in a drastic renormalization of the electron effective g factor, in perfect agreement with the energy level calculations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 Postscript figures, uses revtex

The Mn site in Mn-doped Ga-As nanowires: an EXAFS study

We present an EXAFS study of the Mn atomic environment in Mn-doped GaAs nanowires. Mn doping has been obtained either via the diffusion of the Mn used as seed for the nanowire growth or by providing Mn during the growth of Au-induced wires. As a general finding, we observe that Mn forms chemical bonds with As but is not incorporated in a substitutional site. In Mn-induced GaAs wires, Mn is mostly found bonded to As in a rather disordered environment and with a stretched bond length, reminiscent of that exhibited by MnAs phases. In Au-seeded nanowires, along with stretched Mn-As coordination we have found the presence of Mn in a Mn-Au intermetallic compound.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article accepted for publication in Semiconductor Science and Technology. IOP Publishing Ltd is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at doi:10.1088/0268-1242/27/8/08500

A study of an association between peripheral neuropathy and cognitive impairment in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease with many complications. Among the well-known complications are nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy. A complication which is rarely looked upon is cognitive impairment which is recently being highly associated with diabetes mellitus. There are a few recent publications which revealed that cognitive impairment and peripheral neuropathy could be brought about by a similar pathophysiology. A total of 279 diabetes mellitus patients were recruited from a diabetes clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia from the 1st of July, 2018 until the 30th of September, 2019. Demographic, clinical and laboratory data were recorded from the patients’ file. Cognitive impairment was assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) and peripheral neuropathy was assessed by Michigan Neuropathy Screening Instrument (MNSI). The association between peripheral neuropathy and cognitive impairment was analysed using simple and multiple logistic regression method. A total of 279 patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was 62.38 (SD 8.53) years old. The mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 9.59 (SD 5.53) years. Majority of them were females, n=206 (73.8%). All of them were married and 97.5% were Malays. 183 patients (65.6%) had peripheral neuropathy while 196 patients (70.3%) experienced cognitive impairment. There was a significant association between peripheral neuropathy and cognitive impairment (p<0.001). Half of the patients with peripheral neuropathy had concomitantcognitive impairment (n=141, 50.5%). There was also a significant association of gender in which females conferred 74% lower odds to experience cognitive impairment compared to males (p<0.001). For patients with hyperlipidaemia, there were 2.07 times odds to experience cognitive impairment as compared to patients without hyperlipidaemia (p=0.046). For patients with retinopathy, there were 2.14 times odds to experience cognitive impairment as compared to patients without retinopathy (p=0.008). There was a significant association between the development of cognitive impairment among diabetes mellitus patients with a peripheral neuropathy. Female gender was associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment as compared to male. DM patients with dyslipidaemia and diabetic retinopathy have a higher risk of developing cognitive impairment

The imaging properties of the Gas Pixel Detector as a focal plane polarimeter

X-rays are particularly suited to probe the physics of extreme objects. However, despite the enormous improvements of X-ray Astronomy in imaging, spectroscopy and timing, polarimetry remains largely unexplored. We propose the photoelectric polarimeter Gas Pixel Detector (GPD) as an instrument candidate to fill the gap of more than thirty years of lack of measurements. The GPD, in the focus of a telescope, will increase the sensitivity of orders of magnitude. Moreover, since it can measure the energy, the position, the arrival time and the polarization angle of every single photon, allows to perform polarimetry of subsets of data singled out from the spectrum, the light curve or the image of source. The GPD has an intrinsic very fine imaging capability and in this work we report on the calibration campaign carried out in 2012 at the PANTER X-ray test facility of the Max-Planck-Institut f\"ur extraterrestrische Physik of Garching (Germany) in which, for the first time, we coupled it to a JET-X optics module with a focal length of 3.5 m and an angular resolution of 18 arcsec at 4.5 keV. This configuration was proposed in 2012 aboard the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE) in response to the ESA call for a small mission. We derived the imaging and polarimetric performance for extended sources like Pulsar Wind Nebulae and Supernova Remnants as case studies for the XIPE configuration, discussing also possible improvements by coupling the detector with advanced optics, having finer angular resolution and larger effective area, to study with more details extended objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal Supplemen

Ectopic pituitary adenoma: a rare and unexpected diagnosis, clinical presentation and review of the literature

Nasal obstruction can be caused by many causes. Most common cause of nasal obstruction is deviated nasal septum followed by nasal masses. Nasal masses can be polyps, tumors or foreign bodies. We are presenting a case of ectopic pituitary tumor as a as cause of nasal obstruction along. Ectopioc pituitary tumors are rare tumors and can present in nasal cavity causing nasal symptoms. They can cause unilateral or even bilateral nasal obstruction depending on their spread in nasopharynx and nose and should be kept in mind while treating a case of nasal masses.</p