Search

Single crystals of pure and NaCl doped sulphamic acid (SA) were grown by slow evaporation method at room temperature. The lattice parameters and structure were determined by using single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses. The presence of dopant in the SA lattice was affirmed by EDAX analysis. UV-Vis spectra show maximum transmittance in the visible region. The band gap energies were found to be 6.06 eV and 5.70 eV for pure and NaCl doped SA crystals respectively. From the PL specta the emission were observed at 335 and 424 nm for pure and 340 and 428 nm for doped SA crystal. The thermal stability of the grown crystals were analyzed by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis (TGA/DTA) and revealed that the grown crystals were thermally stable up to 331 ̊C and 334 ̊C for pure and NaCl doped SA. Vickers microhardness study reveals that the hardness of the crystals is increase with increasing load. The photoconductivity study shows that the grown crystals are negative photoconductive nature. The Laser Damage Threshold (LDT) indicates the grown crystals have good resistance to laser radiation than a standard Potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) crystal. The Z-scan technique was employed to determine the nonlinear refractive index, nonlinear optical absorption and third order nonlinear optical (TONLO) susceptibility of the grown crystals using He–Ne laser.

This study delves into the potential of chito-oligosaccharides (COS) to promote osteoblast differentiation and prevent osteoporosis, utilizing experiments with mouse MSCs and the zebrafish model. The preliminary biocompatibility study affirms the non-toxic nature of COS across various concentrations. In the osteoblast differentiation study, COS enhances ALP activity and calcium deposition at the cellular level. Moreover, COS induces the upregulation of molecular markers, including Runx2, Type I collagen, ALP, osteocalcin, and osteonectin in mouse MSCs. Zebrafish studies further demonstrate COS's anti-osteoporotic effects, showcasing its ability to expedite fin fracture repair, vertebral mineralization, and bone mineralization in dexamethasone-induced osteoporosis models. The scale regenerative study reveals that COS mitigates the detrimental effects of dexamethasone induced osteoclastic activity, reducing TRAP and hydroxyproline levels while elevating the expression of Runx2a MASNA isoform, collagen2α, OC, and ON mRNAs. Additionally, COS enhances calcium and phosphorus levels in regenerated scales, impacting the bone-healthy calcium-to‑phosphorus ratio. The study also suggests that COS modulates the MMP3-Osteopontin-MAPK signaling pathway. Overall, this comprehensive investigation underscores the potential of COS to prevent and treat osteoporosis. Its multifaceted cellular and molecular effects, combined with in vivo bone regeneration and repair, propose that COS may be effective in addressing osteoporosis and related bone disorders. Nonetheless, further research is imperative to unravel underlying mechanisms and optimize clinical applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective To delineate the etiology, symptomatology, and treatment of sickle cell intrahepatic cholestasis (SCIC). Sickle cell disease (SCD) is the most frequently inherited hematologic disease, and SCIC is one rare and often fatal complication and comorbid disease. The literature contains only a small number of case reports involving SCIC and hence limited guidance can be obtained. Methods We reviewed the scientific literature to evaluate the science of SCIC to determine if there were consistencies in presentation, evaluation, treatment, and clinical outcomes. Results We reviewed 6 case reports and a limited number of clinical papers on SCIC. We reported consistencies in clinical presentation and treatment outcomes among cases as well as serological and hematological finding. Conclusions While there is some consistency in the symptom presentation of individuals with SCIC, reliable evaluation and clinical procedures were not demonstrated in what we reviewed. Further research is needed to delineate the attributes of this complicated disease that occurs within SCD., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest We have no conflicts of interests., (Copyright © 2022 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The mediator (MED) multisubunit-complex modulates the activity of the transcriptional machinery, and genetic defects in different MED subunits (17, 20, 27) have been implicated in neurologic diseases. In this study, we identified a recurrent homozygous variant in MED11 (c.325C>T; p.Arg109Ter) in 7 affected individuals from 5 unrelated families., Methods: To investigate the genetic cause of the disease, exome or genome sequencing were performed in 5 unrelated families identified via different research networks and Matchmaker Exchange. Deep clinical and brain imaging evaluations were performed by clinical pediatric neurologists and neuroradiologists. The functional effect of the candidate variant on both MED11 RNA and protein was assessed using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and western blotting using fibroblast cell lines derived from 1 affected individual and controls and through computational approaches. Knockouts in zebrafish were generated using clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/Cas9., Results: The disease was characterized by microcephaly, profound neurodevelopmental impairment, exaggerated startle response, myoclonic seizures, progressive widespread neurodegeneration, and premature death. Functional studies on patient-derived fibroblasts did not show a loss of protein function but rather disruption of the C-terminal of MED11, likely impairing binding to other MED subunits. A zebrafish knockout model recapitulates key clinical phenotypes., Conclusion: Loss of the C-terminal of MED subunit 11 may affect its binding efficiency to other MED subunits, thus implicating the MED-complex stability in brain development and neurodegeneration., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest G.Z. and C.B. are employers of CENTOGENE. All other authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Amyloid β (Aβ40) is a class of amyloidogenic proteins known to aggregate into a fibrillar network. The rate of aggregation and fibril yield is sensitive to external energy input, such as shear. In this work, simple shear and shaking experiments are performed on Aβ40 solution using a Couette cell and an orbital shaker, respectively. Experiments show that, under uniform shear, both the mass of fibrils and aggregation rate increase with the shear rate. In the case of orbital shaking, the lag time decreases with the rotational speed of the shaker, but the final fibril mass is the same for all agitation speeds. To explain this contrasting behavior of aggregation kinetics, a population balance model is developed to account for the effect of shear on the aggregation of Aβ. The kinetic model includes primary nucleation, secondary nucleation, elongation, fragmentation, and depolymerization steps. The effect of steady uniform shear is encoded in the depolymerization rate constant (k d ), and it is shown that k d decreases with shear rate initially and saturates at high shear rates. A competition between elongation and depolymerization rates yields different equilibrium masses of fibril at different shear rates. The model results agree quantitatively well with experimental data on the rate of aggregation and mass of fibrils as a function of shear rate. The modeling framework can be used to explain the shear rate-dependent aggregation of other amyloidogenic proteins., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The pharmaceutical supply chain management system of Ethiopia has several problems including non-availability, poor storage, weak stock management and irrational use. However, few studies were conducted on progress and challenges towards implementation of Integrated Pharmaceuticals Logistics System (IPLS) in the study area. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the progress and challenges towards the implementation of IPLS in selected health facilities of Wollega zones, Western Ethiopia., Methods: A cross sectional quantitative and qualitative study was conducted in selected health facilities from February 15 to March 15, 2015. The calculated sample size was 31 health facilities with 20% margin of error and 90% confidence interval (CI). The Logistics Indicator Assessment Tool (LIAT) was used to collect information from selected health facilities; while an in-depth interview was held with chief pharmacist to collect qualitative data. Correlation and multiple linear regression analysis were used at significance level of 90%CI., Results: The average availability of bin cards for the selected products was 83.9% for hospitals, 75.4% for health centers, and 70.6% for health posts. On average, hospitals had an updated bin card for 43.8% of the product while health centers and health posts had an updated bin card for 32.9% and 32% of their products, respectively. On average the exact accuracy of request and resupply form (RRF) data for hospital and health center was 45.6% and 37.1%, respectively. IPLS implementation was related with health facility stores infrastructures (40.1%), Logistics Management Information System/LMIS/ (32.2%), stock availability and status (31.9%), storage condition (17.7%) and order fill rate (14.1%). Multivariable regression revealed LMIS (std. β = 2.539, p = 0.022), stock status (std. β = 0.848, p = 0.049) and availability of tracer medicines (std. β = 0.212, p = 0.013) were positively associated with IPLS implementation., Conclusion: There have been significant improvements in supply chain indicators in the availability of essential health commodities since IPLS has been implemented, with some variation by level of facility and product type. Involvement of all stakeholders is necessary to sustain the system. Additionally, there needs to be more focus on monitoring and evaluation of IPLS including more focused studies., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

To improve the quality of life of diabetic patients, oral delivery of insulin would be better than subcutaneous injection, and the encapsulation of insulin for its oral delivery is a promising alternative one. In this study, we prepared an oral insulin delivery system using thiolated chitosan nanoparticles (TCNPs) loaded with insulin (Ins) and tested under in vitro and in vivo systems. TCNPs prepared from CS and pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP) at 4:1 ratio showed 220 ± 4 nm, 2.3 ± 1 mV, and 119 ± 4 μmol g -1 in their size, charge and sulfhydryl content, respectively. There was a sustained release of insulin from the TCNPs at pH 5.3. TCNPs treatment did not alter cell viability in vitro and oral administration of TCNPs reached over the tip of the microvilli near the intestinal mucosa in vivo. There were increased and decreased the levels of insulin and glucose in the blood, respectively when Ins-TCNPs were orally administered in the diabetes induced rats. Thus, our results suggested that the insulin stays significantly for a prolonged period to make bio-distribution and bioavailability due to its interaction with the mucus of the intestine, thus offering a better oral insulin delivery system for diabetic patients., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is increasing interest from a social learning perspective in understanding the role of parental factors on adult health behaviors and health outcomes. Our review revealed no studies, to date, that have evaluated the effects of parental substance abuse on reports of chronic pain and coping in adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). We explored the effects of parental substance (alcohol or drug) abuse on reports of the sensory, affective and summary indices of pain in 67 adult patients, mean age 38.9 (13.5), with SCD. We also explored the effects of parental substance abuse on psychopathology associated with pain and active coping. Twenty-four percent of patients reported that their parent(s) abused substances. Patients whose parent(s) were characterized as substance abusers reported greater sensory (p=0.02), affective (p=0.01) and summary (VAS; p=0.02) indices of pain as compared to their counterparts, whose parent(s) were not characterized as substance abusers. Patients did not differ in average age, education or the propensity to respond in a socially acceptable manner. There was a significant trend towards patients who characterized their parents as abusers scoring higher than their counterparts on active coping. We propose a Social Learning Theory to explain the current findings and suggest a need for additional prospective research to simultaneously explore biological (genetic) and social factors that influence the interpretation, experience and reporting of chronic pain in adult patients with chronic disease.

Dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) is used for the liquid-liquid extraction, and recovery of titanium from paints, pigment, paper and pulp industries. The extraction mechanism of titanium(IV) from pH 4 medium with DB18C6 in dichloromethane was investigated. The DB18C6 concentration in organic phase, the concentration of titanium, the effect of pH and interference ions such as Mo(6+), V(5+), Nb(5+), Ta(5+), Zr(4+), Fe(3+), etc. in the aqueous phase and the temperature on the distribution coefficient for the Ti(IV) have been examined. The titanium was determined by spectrophotometric and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopic (ICP-AES) method. Titanium forms a colourless complex with DB18C6 at pH 4.0 which is extracted with dichloromethane having molar absorptivity 1.53x10(4) lmol(-1)cm(-1) at 285 nm. It obeys Beer's law in the range of 0.16-3.84 ppm of titanium. The colour was developed with thiocyanate which has molar absorptivity 1.50x10(3) lmol(-1)cm(-1) at 425 nm. The extract is directly inserted in the plasma for ICP-AES measurement, which enhance the sensitivity several folds and the limits for estimation are 0.5-30 ngml(-1). The overall formation (logbeta(2)K'e) and extraction (K(ex)) constants calculated are 18.61+/-0.02 and 1.03+/-0.03x10(-10), respectively. The transportation of titanium has been discussed. The titanium is preconcentrated and determined in standard and environmental samples.

Runt-related transcription factor-2 (RUNX2)/core binding factor a1 (Cbfa1) is implicated in the regulation of osteoblast differentiation and osteoblast-specific gene expression. Mutations in RUNX2 cause the bone disease cleidocranial dysplasia, which is characterized by multiple skeletal defects. RUNX2 is expressed as two isoforms (type-I and type-II) encoded by two different mRNAs. We report here the detection of both mRNAs in osteoblastic cells and osteoblast precursors as well as nonosteoblastic cells. Surprisingly, however, osteoblast precursors and nonosteoblastic cells express no RUNX2 protein; mature osteoblasts express both isoforms, while less mature osteoblastic cells express only type-I protein. Northern blot analysis of RNA isolated from polysomes and ribonucleoprotein particles demonstrated that RUNX2 mRNA is polysome-associated in osteoblastic cells but polysome-free in osteoblast precursors. These results suggest that (a) RUNX2 mRNAs are expressed but dormant in osteoblast precursors and nonosteoblastic cells, (b) RUNX2 gene expression is controlled at the translational level, and (c) the expression of individual protein isoforms of RUNX2 is differentiation stage specific. Thus, differentiation of cells along the osteoblast lineage appears to be regulated at the level of RUNX2 mRNA translation.

Runt-related transcription factor-2 (RUNX2) is expressed as two isoforms (type-I and type-II) differing only in their amino terminal sequences. The amino terminus of type-I contains MRIPV instead of MASNSLFSAVTPCQQSFFW in type-II. Although type-II mRNA has been considered osteoblast specific, the RUNX2 protein isoforms expressed in osteoblasts have not yet been identified. Using antisera generated against the two different amino terminal sequences of type-I and type-II RUNX2, we show the expression of both isoforms in cells with the mature osteoblast phenotype (fetal rat calvarial cells, and ROS 17/2.8, SaOS-2 and U2OS osteosarcoma cell lines), but only type-I in partially differentiated osteoblast-like cells (the UMR-106 osteosarcoma cell line). Since UMR-106 cells express both type-I and type-II mRNAs, our results suggest that the translation of type-II mRNA is repressed in these cells. No RUNX1 and RUNX3 proteins are detected in any of the osteoblastic cells tested. The antisera we have generated will be useful for studies relating expression of RUNX2 isoforms to control of osteoblast differentiation., (Copyright 2001 Academic Press.)

Fifty two patients of severe hypertension, diastolic blood pressure > or = 115 mmHg, with or without acute complications, were treated with sublingual nifedipine 10 mg or sublingual captopril 25 mg in a randomized prospective in patient study with careful clinical monitoring. Both the drugs were safe and effective in rapidly lowering blood pressure. Nifedipine appeared to be superior to captopril with earlier onset of action, greater magnitude of response and longer duration of action. No significant side effects were observed in either of the two groups.