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Purpose: The association between exposure to Toxocara canis and epilepsy is at the best contentious. Most of previous studies were retrospective, community-based, and contradictory to one another. As the impact of a positive association on the magnitude of epilepsy will be huge especially in developing countries where toxocariasis is common owing to poor hygienic practices, this study was carried out to determine whether exposure to T. canis predisposes to development of epilepsy., Patients and Methods: This case-controlled observational study was carried out a tertiary healthcare center in North India on 120 patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy who presented within 3 months of diagnosis. A total of 120 age- and sex-matched individuals from the same community were chosen as controls. Epilepsy was defined according to ILAE 1993 definition. Serological testing for T. canis was carried out using commercially available ELISA kits. All the positive samples were subjected to Western blot testing for confirmation., Results: The prevalence of antibodies to T. canis was similar in cases (16/120; 13.3%) and controls (16/120; 13.3%). Among the various risk factors, history of pica was significantly associated with T. canis seropositivity, while lack of hand washing was significantly associated with higher risk of epilepsy., Conclusion: Our study could not find any association between exposure to T. canis and epilepsy., Competing Interests: None

Objectives: Many community-based and hospital-based studies across the world have yielded contradictory results regarding association of positive Toxocara canis serology and epilepsy. The present study was planned to analyze disease burden of epilepsy in rural community of North India and its association with exposure to T. canis in this part of the world., Methods: A door-to-door screening survey was carried out in the rural community using a validated questionnaire for epilepsy by trained field workers, which was finally confirmed by trained neurologists. The risk factors for epilepsy and for predisposing infections were also enquired. The results were compared with an equal number of age- and sex-matched healthy controls enrolled from the same community. Serologic evaluation was carried out to detect antibodies against T. canis ., Results: A total of 41,973 persons from the rural community in 49 villages were enrolled in the study. Two hundred and eleven persons were confirmed to be suffering from active epilepsy, resulting in a crude prevalence of 5 per 1000 population. More than 50% of people with epilepsy were in the second or third decade of life. The prevalence of antibodies to T. canis was similar in people with epilepsy (13.7%; 29 of 211 individuals) and controls (9.95%; 21 of 211 individuals). Of the 151 persons with epilepsy, who underwent CT scan, 34 people (22.3%) had evidence of inflammatory granuloma, thereby confirming high incidence of this infestation in rural Northern India., Significance: Our study does not support the association between epilepsy and exposure to T. canis in rural Northern Indian population., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest.

Chrome shavings are the prominent solid wastes in tanning industry. Since chromium is known for its toxicity, the disposal of chrome shavings has been identified as a serious problem from the environmental point of view. At present, the popular utilization mode for chrome shavings is the manufacture of leather boards and related products. But this does not offer complete utilization of chrome shavings. Moreover, return per ton of chrome shavings is low if used for leather board production. In view of this, two processes have been developed to offer an alternative and better solution for the disposal of chrome shavings. The first process is preparation of parchment like membrane and the second process is related to development of leather like material. These products are analyzed for their mechanical behavior and other physicochemical properties. Parchment membrane can be used in the preparation of lampshades, chandeliers, wall hangers, table tops etc. and leather like material can be used in the preparation of chappal uppers, hand bags, purses, valets etc. The utilization of the chrome shavings in preparation of those two products not only reduces the environmental pollution but at the same time value added products can also be obtained.

The experimental anti-AIDS glycerophosphatidic acid: nucleoside (sn-1/sn-2 diacylglycerol:dideoxynucleotide) drugs 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine monophosphate diglyceride (AZT-MP-DG) and 2',3'-dideoxycytidine monophosphate diglyceride (ddC-MP-DG) were isolated and purified by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The chromatographic separation was based on the glycerophospholipid moiety of the drugs and detection of the nucleoside component. The separations were optimized on method development columns packed with the stationary phase to be used in the micro-preparative column and monitored by a UV detector. Fractions were collected and analyzed for purity by analytical-scale HPLC and by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The purity of the recovered drugs based on UV and light-scattering detection and on TLC was greater than 99%. The purified compounds were isolated for studies on structure confirmation, physical, biophysical and formulation properties and anti-HIV efficacy in culture.

A reversed-phase chromatographic method is described for the analysis of an experimental anti-AIDS drug 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine monophosphate diglyceride (AZT-MP-DG) [J.M. Steim et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 171, 458-464 (1990)] [1], a phosphatidic acid derivative of AZT. Analytical conditions were based upon conventional separations of glycerophospholipid species. Where AZT-MP-DG was monitored by UV absorption, there were two wavelength maxima. The response was linear in the concentration range used in this study. The peak was characterized by absorbance ratios with a rapid scanning UV detector.

3'-Azido-3'-deoxythymidine-5'-phosphate diglyceride (16:0/18:1 omega 9), a phosphatic acid conjugate of AZT, is active against HIV replication in H9 cells and syncytia formation in MOLT-3 cells. The activities rank as AZT greater than pure conjugate greater than conjugate in mixed liposomes, with the pure conjugate having about one-third the activity of free AZT. The compound binds very rapidly to serum lipoproteins, but not to serum albumin, alpha and beta globulins, or red cells. Pancreatic phospholipase A2 hydrolyzes it to the lysophosphatidic acid conjugate.

Crude 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine-5'-phosphate (AZT-P), obtained from direct phosphorylation of 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (azidothymidine, AZT), was separated and purified by isocratic preparative high-performance liquid chromatography. The components in a 2.5-g load of crude AZT-P, obtained from work-up of the phosphorylation reaction, were separated in 50 min to give 1.8 g of 99.5% pure AZT-P. AZT-P was analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography and by high-resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (1H, 13C, 31P) spectroscopy. The practical and rapid preparative chromatographic method is being applied to the purification of AZT-P and other antiretroviral dideoxynucleotides, used as intermediates in the synthesis of target-directed experimental drugs for the treatment of AIDS.

Two new classes of actinomycin D analogues, tetracyclic "reverse" analogues and a tricyclic "symmetrical" analogue of actinomycin D, are reported. These analogues bind to DNA and the binding does not occur by an intercalation mechanism. The analogues inhibit the synthesis of DNA and RNA in P388 tumor cells and the growth of CCRF-CEM cells in vitro at nanomolar concentrations. The tetracyclic "reverse" analogues, which are structurally related to the previously reported actinomycin D oxazolyl analogues, are metabolized in the presence of rat hepatic microsomes and tumor cell homogenates. The metabolism takes place with the loss of the oxazole ring; thus the "reverse" analogues produce a major metabolite which is the "symmetrical" analogue; the actinomycin oxazolyl analogues generate 7-hydroxyactinomycin D. Further, the microsomes activate the analogues to free-radical states which catalyze the production of superoxide as shown by stimulation of epinephrine oxidation and also indicated by electron paramagnetic resonance studies. The "symmetrical" and "reverse" analogues also demonstrate very high activities in these systems. In in vivo studies using P388/S, P388/ADR leukemia, and B16 melanoma in mice, the analogues showed increased activity and superior therapeutic index values, in comparison to actinomycin D.

Enantiomeric forms of (+/-)-EPA [racemic 7-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)actinomycin D] have been synthesized; these are (R)-(+)- and (S)-(-)-EPA, which are active against a range of actinomycin resistant and marginally responsive tumors. The R-(+) enantiomer is uniformly superior to the other forms in all the tumor lines tested. These enantiomers act by binding to DNA, both by intercalation and alkylation at the guanine base of DNA. They are superior to actinomycin D in their in vitro activity against mouse leukemias (L1210 and P388/ADR) and mouse melanoma B16. This superior activity is also evident against all the preceding mouse leukemias and against solid tumors B16 and C26 in vivo. In biochemical action, the enantiomers behave similarly and act primarily by inhibiting DNA synthesis in tumor cells; the only difference found was in their preference for sites in DNA bases during alkylation. The R-(+) enantiomer generates an adduct that is believed to be bonded to the N7-site of guanosine; conversely, the S-(-) isomer forms two adducts with DNA that are different from the preceding one by HPLC and are tentatively assigned O6-guanosine-substituted structures on the basis of their UV, CD, and other chemical behaviors.

The effect of E-5-(2-bromovinyl)-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyluracil (BVaraU) on herpes simplex virus (HSV) replication was examined and compared with that of E-5-(2-bromovinyl)-2'-deoxyuridine (BVdUrd). The 50% inhibitory dose against HSV type 1 (HSV-1) was 0.1 microgram/ml compared with 0.008 microgram/ml for BVdUrd; the antimetabolic 50% inhibitory dose of BVaraU ranged from 20 to 95 micrograms/ml. The addition of 50 micrograms of BVaraU per ml to HSV-1-infected Vero cells decreased the synthesis of viral and cellular DNA by 37 and 28%, respectively. The 5'-triphosphate (BVaraUTP) competed with dTTP in DNA synthesis by the herpes-viral and cellular DNA polymerases; the apparent Ki values of HSV-1 DNA polymerase, DNA polymerase alpha, and DNA polymerase beta were 0.14, 0.32, and 5 microM, respectively. Thus, BVaraU was a less effective antiherpesvirus agent than BVdUrd; unlike BVdUrd, it did not appear to be internally incorporated into replicating DNA in virus-infected cells.

New analogs of 2-nitroimidazole have been synthesized in an effort to minimize the toxicity and increase selective sensitization of hypoxic mammalian cells toward lethal effects of ionizing radiation. 2-Nitro-4(5)-acetyl-5(4)-methylimidazole was synthesized from the corresponding 2-amino analog and then reacted with oxiranes to produce the corresponding 1-substituted 2-propanol and 3-methoxy-2-propanol derivatives. The biological results of radiosensitizing activity of these agents against Chinese hamster cells (V-79) indicated that the 3-methoxy-2-propanol derivative was a more effective radiosensitizer than misonidazole in vitro. Evaluation of the acute toxicity of these agents as determined by LD50 demonstrated no significant difference between these agents and misonidazole suggesting that the 3-methoxy-2-propanol analog may possess a therapeutic advantage over misonidazole.

The growing importance of functionalized aziridines in numerous organic biomolecules led us to develop syntheses of novel actinomycin D (AMD) analogues substituted with an aziridine. Reaction of 7-hydroxyactinomycin D with 2-(iodomethyl)aziridine produced the desired 7-(2-aziridinylmethoxy)actinomycin analogue. In an attempt to develop an alternate route to this analogue, 7-(2-azido-3-iodopropoxy)actinomycin was subjected to reduction with dimethylamine-borane complex; the reaction did not produce the three-membered aziridine; instead the reaction product was found to be linear 7-(2-aminopropoxy)actinomycin D. Calf-thymus-DNA binding of these analogues was comparable to that of AMD as examined by UV-visible difference spectral measurements, thermal denaturation of DNA, and CD techniques. The analogues were found to be about 1/4 to 1/30 as cytotoxic to human lymphoblastic CCRF-CEM leukemia and B16 melanoma cells in vitro as AMD.

The antitumour activity of actinomycin D (AMD) has been proposed to result, in part, from its intercalation into DNA dG-dC base-pairs leading to an inhibition of RNA synthesis. We have recently prepared 2-deamino-2-nitroactinomycin D and 2-deamino-actinomycin D and determined that, unlike AMD, these analogues do not intercalate into calf-thymus DNA. In the present study we show that these analogues and their corresponding peptide-free diethylamino derivatives are more effective than the parent AMD in forming ion radicals, in stimulating oxygen uptake and in forming superoxide anion when incubated in the presence of NADPH and NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase. NaBH4-mediated reduction of these compounds yielded free radicals as shown by electron paramagnetic resonance (e.p.r.) spectroscopy. Free radicals could also be generated by incubation of these actinomycins with NADPH and either liver microsomes or purified NADPH cytochrome P-450 reductase. In the presence of molecular oxygen these free radicals spontaneously reoxidized by transfer of a single electron to molecular oxygen to form superoxide. Relative rates of superoxide formation were established for these substrates with the 2-deamino-2-nitroactinomycin D exhibiting the highest activity. It is proposed that the antitumour activity of these AMD analogues results, in part, from their ability to form reactive reduced oxygen species and, as such, these actinomycin derivatives may serve as useful probes for the tumouricidal mechanism of this family of agents.

The growing importance of functionalized tricyclic rings, e.g., cyclopropyl and aziridine, in numerous organic biomolecules led us to develop syntheses of novel actinomycin D (AMD) analogues substituted with aziridine and cyclopropyl functions. Reaction of 7-hydroxyactinomycin D with 1-aziridineethyl iodide and bromomethylcycloporopane afforded the desired 7-[2-(1-aziridinyl)ethoxy] and cyclopropylmethoxy analogues, respectively. Calf thymus DNA binding of these analogues was comparable to that of AMD as examined by UV-vis difference spectral measurements, CD techniques, and relaxation of supercoiled closed circular SV40 DNA, indicating an intercalative mode of binding to the DNA duplex. Thermal denaturation of DNA experiments employing higher temperatures than room temperature exhibit a thermal lability of the DNA analogue complexes, suggestive of a probable covalent bond formation with DNA bases. The analogues were found to be 1/4-1/40 as cytotoxic to human lymphoblastic CCRF-CEM leukemia and B16 melanoma cells in vitro as AMD, with ID50 values in the nanomolar concentration range.

The effect of 5'-triphosphate of acyclovir (ACV) on DNA polymerases of two human herpes-viruses, herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) as well as human cellular DNA polymerases alpha and beta has been examined. Of the enzymes tested, HSV-1 DNA polymerase was the most sensitive to inhibition by acyclovir triphosphate (ACVTP). The EBV DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase beta were less sensitive. ACVTP inhibition was competitive with dGTP with Ki values of 0.03, 0.15, 9.8 and 11.9 microM for HSV-1 DNA polymerase, DNA polymerase alpha, EBV DNA polymerase and DNA polymerase beta, respectively. Substituting a synthetic primer template (dG) approximately 15 x (dC)n for activated DNA template did not alter the pattern of inhibition. In a time course experiment, addition of ACVTP instead of dGTP did not increase DNA synthesis and it appeared to act as a chain terminator in DNA replication catalyzed by either HSV-1 DNA polymerase or DNA polymerase alpha. Although EBV DNA polymerase was less sensitive to ACVTP inhibition, the nucleoside analog itself was inhibitory to EB virus production by P3HR1 cell line as determined by a reduction in the percentage of cells expressing virus capsid antigen (VCA). On day 4, ACV at 10 and 25 micrograms/ml reduced the cell growth by 10% and 32%, respectively, while it reduced the VCA-positive cells by 80% and 84%, respectively. These results indicate that inhibition of EBV DNA polymerase activity by ACVTP may not be the primary mechanism responsible for ACV inhibition of EBV replication.

A series of 1-substituted 2,4-dinitroimidazole analogues have been synthesized and tested for their radiosensitizing ability for selectively sensitizing hypoxic mammalian cells to the lethal effect of radiation. The reaction of 2,4-(5)-dinitroimidazole (1) with a variety of oxiranes upon heating in absolute ethanol yielded the expected 1-substituted 2,4-dinitroimidazoles (2) and also resulted in the formation of a novel class of isomeric nitroimidazo[2,1-b]oxazoles 3 and 4) by intramolecular cyclization. The results of radiosensitizing activity of these agents against hypoxic Chinese hamster cells (V-79) indicated that 2,4-dinitroimidazoles were better sensitizers than the nitroimidazo[2,1-b]oxazoles, suggesting the necessity of the 2-nitro function in the molecule. The 1-(2-hydroxy-3-methoxypropyl)-2,4-dinitroimidazole (2d) was found to be the most effective radiosensitizer of this series.

New compounds of the nitroimidazole series have been synthesized as radiosensitizers which selectively sensitize hypoxic cells to the lethal effect of radiation. The reaction of 2,4(5)-dinitroimidazole (2) with chloroethanol or hydrochloric acid yielded 4(5)-nitro-5(4)-chloroimidazole (3), which upon reaction with ethylene oxide yielded the 4-nitro-5-chloroimidazole-1-ethanol (6). Reaction of 2 with ethylene oxide resulted in a mixture of two compounds, the 2,4-dinitroimidazole-1-ethanol (4) and 2,3-dihydro-5-nitroimidazo[2,1-b]oxazole (5). The structure of the new heterocyclic compound 5 was confirmed by 1H NMR, mass spectrum, and X-ray crystallography. These agents were tested for their ability to sensitize hypoxic Escherichia coli cells to killing by ionizing radiation. Compound 4 was found to be the most active agent of this series of compounds.