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The electrochemical behavior of Naproxen (NAP) at a novel β-Cyclodextrin/Multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrode (β-CD/CNTPE) was investigated. The study was carried out by using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) techniques. The overall analysis involved an accumulation step, in which the NAP was adsorbed onto β-cyclodextrin, followed by amperometric quantification of NAP. Various parameters such as amount of β-CD, accumulation time, pH and scan rate were optimized. The proposed electrode showed a good response toward NAP determination. The calibration plot for NAP determination is linear in the range of 0.4 to 23 μg mL−1under optimum experimental conditions. The limit of detection based on 3sb/b was found to be 0.37 μg mL−1. The proposed electrode (β-CD/CNTPE) presented good repeatability, evaluated in term of relative standard deviation (2.7%) for five replicate measurement. Also, the analytical applicability of the proposed electrode was tested through the analysis of several pharmaceutical preparations.

BackgroundLiver diseases, the fifth most common cause of global death, can be metabolic, toxin-induced, or infective. Though approximately 35 Saudi medicinal plants are traditionally used to treat liver disorders, the hepatoprotective potential of Aerva javanicahas not been explored.ObjectiveTo investigate the antioxidative and hepatoprotective effect of Aerva javanica.DesignTotal ethanol extract of A. javanicaaerial parts was prepared and tested on DCFH-toxicated HepG2 cells ex vivo, and in CCl4-injured Wistar rats in vivo. MTT assay was used to determine cell viability and the serum biochemical markers of liver injury as well as histopathology was performed. In vitro1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl and β-carotene free-radical scavenging assay and phytochemical screening of the extract were done. Furthermore, A. javanicatotal extract was standardized and validated by high-performance thin layer chromatographic method.ResultsMTT assay showed that, while DCFH-injured cells were recovered to ~56.7% by 100 µg/ml of the extract, a 200 µg/ml dose resulted in hepatocytes recovery by ~90.2%. Oral administration of the extract (100 and 200 mg/kg.bw/day) significantly normalized the serum glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase, serum glutamate pyruvate transaminase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, bilirubin, cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, very-low-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, and malondialdehyde levels, including tissue nonprotein sulfhydryl and total protein in CCl4-injured rats. In addition, the histopathology of dissected liver also revealed that A. javanicacured the tissue lesion compared to silymarin treatment. In vitroassays revealed strong free-radical scavenging ability of the extract and presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, tannins, sterols, and saponins where rutin, a well-known antioxidant flavonoid, was identified.ConclusionsOur findings demonstrate the potential of A. javanicain the attenuation of ex vivoand in vivohepatotoxicity and oxidative damage. This further suggests its therapeutic value in various liver diseases. However, isolations of the active principles, their mechanisms of action, and other therapeutic contributions remain to be addressed.

Epicardial fat may play a role in the pathogenesis of coronary artery disease (CAD). We explored the relationship of epicardial fat volume (EFV) with the presence and severity of CAD or myocardial perfusion abnormalities in a diverse, symptomatic patient population.

Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the association of left ventricular mass (LVM) with coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction (MI). Methods and results Patients (n = 338) underwent 320 × 0.5 mm detector row coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography, invasive coronary angiography (ICA), and single-photon emission CT (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging. Quantitative coronary atheroma volume was obtained from the CT images for the entire coronary tree (19-segment model) with an arterial contour detection algorithm. Normalized total atheroma volume (NormTAV) was analysed to reflect quantitative total atheroma volume. LVM was measured on myocardial CT images and indexed to height to the power of 2.7 (LVMi). Patients with obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD) were defined as those with ≥50% diameter stenosis by quantitative ICA. Abnormal perfusion defect was defined as ≥1 abnormal myocardial segment by SPECT. The association of LVMi with coronary atherosclerosis and myocardial perfusion defect on SPECT at the patient level was determined with uni- and multivariable linear and logistic regression analyses. Obstructive CAD was present in 60.0% of enrolled patients. LVMi was independently associated with abnormal summed rest score [SRS; odds ratio (OR), 1.07; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.03–1.09] and summed stress score (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.01–1.07). An increase in LVMi was also independently associated with that in NormTAV (coefficient, 10.44; 95% CI, 1.50–19.39) and SRS ≥1 (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01–1.10), even after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors in patients without previous MI. Conclusions LVM was independently associated with the presence of coronary artery atherosclerosis and MI.

Two independently derived denotational semantics for Prolog are contrasted, Arbab and Berry's for the full language and Nicholson and Foo's for a databaseless language. Using the ideas suggested by the former, the latter can be easily extended to include the database operations.

Clinical symptom based criteria for IBS is not sufficient enough to rule out microscopic colitis (MC). We sought to study whether biopsy is necessary in IBS.

In this study, construction of a new lanthanum selective disk electrode based on benzo-15-crown-5 (B15C5) as a neutral carrier has been described. The electrode has been composed of 2.5 mg of Benzo-15-crown5 as an ionophore, 7 mg of oleic acid (OA) as an additive, 60.5 mg of ortho-nitrophenyloctyl ether (NPOE) as a plasticizer, and 30 mg of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as the membrane supporting matrix. The electrode shows a linear dynamic response in the concentration range of 5 × 10−7to 1 × 10−2M with a Nernstian slope of 19.5 mV per decade and a detection limit of 8.74 × 10−7M. It has a response time of <15 s and can be used for at least 5 months without any significant divergence in potentials. The selectivity coefficients for mono, di, and trivalent cations indicate a good selectivity for La(III) ions over a large number of interfering cations. It could be used in a pH range of 3.0−6.0. The proposed electrode was applied as an indicator electrode in potentiometric titration of fluoride ion and also used for determination of F−ion in mouthwash solution, tap water and toothpaste samples.

Background: Ferumoxides-protamine sulfate (Fe-Pro) complexes are used for intracellular magnetic labeling of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to non invasively monitor cell trafficking and tissue distribution by in vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It has been previously shown that there was no short or long- term toxic effects on cell’s viability, proliferation, reactive oxygen species and biological functions including differentiation capacity of MSCs, however the effects of dextran coated superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) nanoparticles labeling on cellular iron metabolism and storage is unknown. Objective: Evaluate the effect of using Fe-Pro complexes for magnetic cell labeling in MSCs on the expression of transferrin receptor (TfR-1) and ferritin, proteins involved in intracellular iron metabolism and storage. Methods: Confluent MSCs were labeled with Fe-Pro complexes at the ratio of 100 ug/mL to 6 ug/mL. After labeling, cells were washed and cultured for 2 months. TfR-1 and ferritin expression were evaluated at the gene and protein levels in total cell lysates, on day 1, 3, 7, 14, 28 and 35 days post-labeling, by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blotting. MSCs were evaluated for the presence of iron by Prussian blue stain and light microscopy. In addition, TfR-1 and ferritin levels were determined for Fe-Pro labeled and unlabeled MSCs, allowed to slowly multiply, as a result of dividing the cells in half when they reached confluence. Results: All cells were Prussian blue positive on light microscopy following labeling with Fe-Pro. Labeling of MSCs grown to confluence resulted in short-term increase of TfR-1 mRNA (day 1 and day 3, p= 0.0056) without changes in TfR-1 protein levels. Fe- Pro labeled MSC demonstrated an increase in ferritin gene expression on day 7 and 14 (p=0.0003) compared to unlabeled cells, while protein levels were higher compared to unlabeled MSC at each time point (p=0.005). However, ferritin protein levels from Fe-Pro labeled MSCs were not significantly increased after 7 passages. Conclusions: Magnetic labeling of cells with FDA approved ferumoxides complexed to protamine sulfate elicited short-term changes in cellular iron metabolism and storage that was dependent on ability to divide. Fe-Pro labeling did not have any long-term implications validating the safety of Fe-Pro labeling technique for MSCs trafficking studies by MRI.

The aim of this study was to assess the usefulness of 99Tcm-tetrofosmin for detecting tumours of the lungs and adjacent structures and to compare the results with those for 201T1. In the 18 patients studied, there were 30 lesions in total. Dual-isotope SPET acquisitions were performed 10 min and 3 h after the administration of 99Tcm-tetrofosmin and 201T1. Image quality and semi-quantitative parameters were evaluated for both tracers. All lesions were detected by the two radiopharmaceuticals on both the early and delayed images. In seven patients, the image quality of 99Tcm-tetrofosmin was better than that of 201T1. For the detection of metastatic lymph nodes, the delayed 201T1 and the early 99Tcm-tetrofosmin images were superior. No significant difference was observed between the uptake ratios of the two tracers. 99Tcm-tetrofosmin showed significantly (P< 0.001) higher washout than 201T1 from both the lesions and normal lungs, although washout of 201T1 from normal lungs was significantly higher than that from the lesions. In conclusion, 99Tcm-tetrofosmin may be helpful for detecting tumours of the lungs and adjacent structures, but has limited applicability in differentiating between malignant and benign tumours and may not be used instead of 201T1 to detect malignant tumours of the lungs.

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