Protective role of nanoemulsion containing roman chamomile oil against mitomycin C-induced toxicity in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice

33-44Mitomycin-C (MC), an anticancer agent, induces oxidative stress in normal tissues causing severe toxicity. The present study aimed to evaluate whether the side effects of MC may be diminished by the incorporation of MC into nanoemulsion containing Roman chamomile oil (RCM-NE). Fifty mice were equally divided into five groups. The first and second groups were the control and the untreated Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice (EAC), respectively, while the other three groups were EAC-bearing mice treated once intraperitoneally with a dose of 200 µL of RCM-NE, 1 mg/kg−1 MC/200 µL normal saline, and 1 mg/kg−1 MC/200 µL RCM-NE. The protective effect of the RCM-NE was examined by measuring the alterations in complete blood count, organs weight indices, and levels of serum biochemical parameters. The oxidative stress was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation and enzyme activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and thioredoxin reductase-1. MC-RCM-NE has significantly reduced the toxicity of MC on the white blood cells and platelets. It improved the renal and cardiac biomarker levels and the antioxidants of the kidney, heart, and thymus. The protective effect of the RCM-NE on the blood and organs against MC toxicity was associated with the decreasing of oxidative stress and maintaining the activity of the antioxidants

Protective role of nanoemulsion containing roman chamomile oil against mitomycin C-induced toxicity in Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice

Mitomycin-C (MC), an anticancer agent, induces oxidative stress in normal tissues causing severe toxicity. The present study aimed to evaluate whether the side effects of MC may be diminished by the incorporation of MC into nanoemulsion containing Roman chamomile oil (RCM-NE). Fifty mice were equally divided into five groups. The first and second groups were the control and the untreated Ehrlich ascites carcinoma bearing mice (EAC), respectively, while the other three groups were EAC-bearing mice treated once intraperitoneally with a dose of 200 µL of RCM-NE, 1 mg/kg−1 MC/200 µL normal saline, and 1 mg/kg−1 MC/200 µL RCM-NE. The protective effect of the RCM-NE was examined by measuring the alterations in complete blood count, organs weight indices, and levels of serum biochemical parameters. The oxidative stress was assessed by measuring lipid peroxidation and enzyme activities of catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and thioredoxin reductase-1. MC-RCM-NE has significantly reduced the toxicity of MC on the white blood cells and platelets. It improved the renal and cardiac biomarker levels and the antioxidants of the kidney, heart, and thymus. The protective effect of the RCM-NE on the blood and organs against MC toxicity was associated with the decreasing of oxidative stress and maintaining the activity of the antioxidants

Heating up the cold bounce

Self-dual string cosmological models provide an effective example of bouncing solutions where a phase of accelerated contraction smoothly evolves into an epoch of decelerated Friedmann--Robertson--Walker expansion dominated by the dilaton. While the transition to the expanding regime occurs at sub-Planckian curvature scales, the Universe emerging after the bounce is cold, with sharply growing gauge coupling. However, since massless gauge bosons (as well as other massless fields) are super-adiabatically amplified, the energy density of the maximally amplified modes re-entering the horizon after the bounce can efficiently heat the Universe. As a consequence the gauge coupling reaches a constant value, which can still be perturbative.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figure

Einstein's quantum theory of the monatomic ideal gas: non-statistical arguments for a new statistics

In this article, we analyze the third of three papers, in which Einstein presented his quantum theory of the ideal gas of 1924-1925. Although it failed to attract the attention of Einstein's contemporaries and although also today very few commentators refer to it, we argue for its significance in the context of Einstein's quantum researches. It contains an attempt to extend and exhaust the characterization of the monatomic ideal gas without appealing to combinatorics. Its ambiguities illustrate Einstein's confusion with his initial success in extending Bose's results and in realizing the consequences of what later became to be called Bose-Einstein statistics. We discuss Einstein's motivation for writing a non-combinatorial paper, partly in response to criticism by his friend Ehrenfest, and we paraphrase its content. Its arguments are based on Einstein's belief in the complete analogy between the thermodynamics of light quanta and of material particles and invoke considerations of adiabatic transformations as well as of dimensional analysis. These techniques were well-known to Einstein from earlier work on Wien's displacement law, Planck's radiation theory, and the specific heat of solids. We also investigate the possible role of Ehrenfest in the gestation of the theory.Comment: 57 pp

Patient preferences for topical treatment of actinic keratoses:a discrete-choice experiment

Funding: This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Research for Patient Benefit programme (PB-PG-0110-21244), Department of Health, UK. The funder was not involved in the study design. Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge support from the Cancer Research UK Clinical Trials Unit, the UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network, the NIHR Clinical Studies Group, and support for investigators from the British Skin Foundation and Cancer Research UK. We would also like to thank Martin Jones, Daniel Rigby and Ariel Bergmann for constructive comments on the design of the DCE.Peer reviewedPostprin

Ethnomedicinal study of medicinal plants used to cure dental diseases by the indigenous population of district Buner, Pakistan

378-389This is the first study of its kind conducted with the aim to document and conserve the ethnomedicinal knowledge of plants used to cure dental diseases in Buner, Pakistan and to provide starting point for future pharmacological studies about new herbal drugs used for dental disorders. Several field trips were conducted in 2018-19 to collect indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants. A semi-structured questionnaire was used as tool for data collection in individual and group interviews and informants were selected by snowball sampling. In this study 935 men and 323 women were interviewed, yielding information on 55 plant species belonging to 34 families. Lamiaceae and Solanaceae were the dominant plant families used and the main life forms used were herbs (28 species). Leaves were the most used part (19 species). The local population was found to be sensitive and careful about oral hygiene and had rich ethnomedicinal knowledge

Antenatal depression among pregnant mothers in Afghanistan: a cross-sectional study

Background: Approximately one in five pregnant women experience antenatal depression globally. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of antenatal depression and explore its relationship between various demographic variables, recent sexual engagement, and recent adverse life events among pregnant Afghan women. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was carried out between January, 2023 and April 2023 among 460 women aged 15–45 years who were recruited using convenience sampling from Herat province (Afghanistan). Logistic regression models were utilized to explore the relationship between antenatal depression and socio-demographic characteristics among the participants. Results: The prevalence of antenatal depression symptoms was 78.5%. Multiple regression analysis indicated that antenatal depression was significantly associated with (i) being aged 30–45 years (AOR: 4.216, 95% CI: 1.868–9.515, p = .001), (ii) being of low economic status (AOR:2.102, 95% CI: 1.051–4.202, p = .036), (iii) not being employed (AOR: 2.445, 95% CI:1.189–5.025, p = .015), (iv) not having had sex during the past seven days (AOR: 2.335, 95% CI: 1.427–3.822, p = .001), and (v) not experiencing a traumatic event during the past month (AOR:0.263, 95% CI: 0.139–0.495, p < .001). Conclusion: The present study provides insight into the factors associated with the high prevalence of antenatal depression among pregnant Afghan women (e.g., demographic variables, recent adverse life events, and recent sexual engagement). It highlights the urgency of addressing antenatal depression in Afghanistan and provides a foundation for future research and interventions aimed at improving the mental health and well-being of pregnant women in the Afghan context

Identification of potential transcription factors that enhance human iPSC generation

Although many factors have been identified and used to enhance the iPSC reprogramming process, its efficiency remains quite low. In addition, reprogramming efficacy has been evidenced to be affected by disease mutations that are present in patient samples. In this study, using RNA-seq platform we have identified and validated the differential gene expression of five transcription factors (TFs) (GBX2, NANOGP8, SP8, PEG3, and ZIC1) that were associated with a remarkable increase in the number of iPSC colonies generated from a patient with Parkinson's disease. We have applied different bioinformatics tools (Gene ontology, protein–protein interaction, and signaling pathways analyses) to investigate the possible roles of these TFs in pluripotency and developmental process. Interestingly, GBX2, NANOGP8, SP8, PEG3, and ZIC1 were found to play a role in maintaining pluripotency, regulating self-renewal stages, and interacting with other factors that are involved in pluripotency regulation including OCT4, SOX2, NANOG, and KLF4. Therefore, the TFs identified in this study could be used as additional transcription factors that enhance reprogramming efficiency to boost iPSC generation technology.This study was supported by QBRI internal grant (QB16) and the Qatar University Student grant (QUST-2-CMED-2019-1)

Detection of early age-related macular degeneration using novel functional parameters of the focal cone electroretinogram

The focal cone electroretinogram is a sensitive marker for macular disease, but have we unlocked its full potential? Typically assessment of waveform parameters is subjective and focuses on a small number of locations (e.g. the a-wave). This study evaluated the discriminatory and diagnostic potential of 4 conventional and 15 novel, objectively determined, parameters in patients with early Age-related Macular Degeneration. Focal cone electroretinograms were recorded in 54 participants with early Age-related Macular Degeneration (72.9±8.2 years) and 54 healthy controls (69±7.7 years). Conventional a and b wave amplitudes and implicit times were measured and compared to novel parameters derived from both the 1st and 2nd derivatives and the frequency-domain power spectrum of the electroretinogram.Statistically significant differences between groups were shown for all conventional parameters, the majority of 1st and 2nd derivative parameters and the power spectrum at 25 and 30 Hz. Receiver operating characteristics showed that both conventional and 1st and 2nd derivative implicit times had provided the best diagnostic potential. A regression model showed a small improvement over any individual parameter investigated. The non-conventional parameters enhanced the objective evaluation of the focal electroretinogram, especially when the amplitude was low. Furthermore, the novel parameters described here allow the implicit time of the electroretinogram to be probed at points other than the peaks of the a and b waves. Consequently these novel analysis techniques could prove valuable in future electrophysiological investigation, detection and monitoring of Age-related Macular Degeneration